GiddyORION Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Hey Guys. thought i would share some pics of my reef. Its not so hot right now- i plan on getting a WHOLE lot more Zoanthids some time later in order to complete my dream of a zoanthid garden! For now, i have a couple xenia, some leathers, Kenya tree, brain coral, a hammer resting on the overflow, a trumpet coral, and a couple unidentified LFS finds. for the fish I have a Red Tail Triggerfish, a pair of your run-of-the-mill clowns, a Foxface Lo, a orchid dottyback, and a mandarin fish. I hope to not only show a progression of my tank on this thread but also fix some problems im having in it, but il get to that on a later post on this topic. Thx for bearing with me! - Keep it Cool, Justin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Off to a good start! I am moving this thread to the Tank Build section where everyone chronicles their tank progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 looks good so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiddyORION Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 Hey thanks y'all. I have begun the complete reconstruction of my sump, as admittedly i had gotten lazy in the initial setup of my tank, and neglected to circulate the water through several stages of filtration thus far. currently i have it going through a single filter pad, a skimmer, a FEW bioballs and back into the main. I don't find it surprising that my nitrates are about 80, and my stony coral Live/Die ratio very low. I guess i didnt catch on because my more hardy softies (lol) seem pretty unaffected. so, my new sump will be as follows... water outake will lead to filter sock, then to bioballs (about a 8-11 inch layer), then to about two filter pads, then to my skimmer compartment that is housed with a bag of phosguard and a bag of denitrate, then back into the main tank. I would love input on this setup Thanks again for all the support. after this tank is stable and succesfully hosting acropora, etc. I will post pics of my rimless 30 gallon, which i also neglected in its initial setup. in the long run, trying to cut corners on my sump is kicking me in the butt. i hope to get everything done and purty by friday. -Keep it cool, Justin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiddyORION Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 Anyone have any input on the sump setup? I really need guidance for this as my nitrates are pretty high and I understand Zoanthids gardens need some nutrients, but my readings are... Ammonia- 0ppm Nitrites- 0ppm Nitrates - 40-80ppm Ph- 8.1 PO4- unknown I am trying to shy away from an in-sump Refugium to try and fix the problem with macroalgae because I don't have the room. Keep it Cool- Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Hi Giddy, Looks like it's going to be a great tank setup. For the sump, bio balls are nitrate factories and I don't see their usage much in saltwater applications because of that. They are just too efficient at nitrification (ammonia and nitrite converted to nitrate) and you end up with tons of excess nitrates and very little denitrification (nitrates to nitrogen gas). I would either try to add more live rock in the sump or add a biopellet reactor. They are super efficient at nitrate removal and even remove some phosphates. Sent via Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiddyORION Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 Ya I have been looking into a phosphate reactor with some good ol' GFO. Anyone have some experience with this? I contacted Aquadome and they carried some, and I plan on visiting today to see their display tank's sump and try to replicate it- to my knowledge Hunter doesn't use too much Biofiltration sump wise... Correct me if I'm wrong ya but I'm gonna lose the bio balls and I think il just run some polyfilters and clean them weekly and also stuff a whole section of my sump with small pieces of LR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiddyORION Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 In complete and utter contradiction to my stated intentions, I redid the sump with a layer of bio-balls, a refugium with macro algae, and then the skimmer. I will keep the refugium lit 24/7. It has chaeto and Dragons breath algae. I also had a green grape caulerpa but afterwards read horror stories of tank crashes, and plan on returning it to my LFS tomorrow. Idk if I should add poly filter pads in between the refugium and the other compartments, or on top of the bio balls. Input always welcome on the setup P.S. I think I will find mor chaeto to add to the refugium tomorrow and I will probably run phosguard for good measure until the algae gets movin. Keep it cool- Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiddyORION Posted July 21, 2014 Author Share Posted July 21, 2014 It's update time! So after everything was said and done I got my water tested and the results are in!! Ammonia- ~0ppm Nitrite- ~0ppm Nitrate- ~20ppm Ph- ~7.9 Calcium- 500< Magnesium- 1500 Alkalinity- 6.5 (Ack! I buffered it after hearing this) Salinity- 1.026 And finally... The dang phosphates read at ~0.25ppm on my API test... Even though I've changed around 50 percent of the water, and am running phosguard, AND have macro algae! I have a Montipora and a birdnest coral dying on me and lost my first Acro some weeks ago all theses corals died within 2 weeks, while my soft corals are thriving do you think it was the phosphates or the salinity? - Keep it cool, Justin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I use GFO (phosban in a two little fishies reactor with an eheim 300 pump). It is pretty effective, keeps my phosphates between 0.0 and 0.3. I started the tank with dry pukani rock which was leaching a lot of phosphates (while cooking the rock I was measuring around 1.6ppm, after six weeks it was still 1.4ppm), but over time this has slowed down and I have reduced the amount of GFO in my reactor from 1/2 cup to two teaspoons (32 gallon tank) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Salinity looks perfect Justin. I'm pretty sure your alk and your phosphate levels are the culprits for your SPS dying. If your nitrates start creeping up with the bio ball usage, then it'll start killing them too around > 40 ppm nitrates... at least that's what I observed in my own experience. +1 to what JimH says... a reactor with GFO is highly effective at removing phosphates. Just slowly introduce it as stripping the water of phosphates too quickly can cause issues with your SPS too. Sent via Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiddyORION Posted July 22, 2014 Author Share Posted July 22, 2014 Does anyone have any experience with a media that removed a fair share of phosphates and nitrates in a reactor? Like a biopellet or something? I'd love to know the name of it as well! And if so is it possible to mix media in a phosban? Sorry I'm a little new to this gadgetry -keep it cool, Justin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 That would be the holy grail media Orion! Depending on your system, you might be able to just run biopellets and as long as your phosphates aren't too high in your system, it may take care of them as well, even though they are way more efficient at tackling nitrates. You can run them in a phosban reactor with some modification on the TLF150 and no modification on the TLF550. Sent via Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingjames Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 ++++++1 on introducing GFO VEEEERRRRYYY SLOWLY, i bleached and almost killed everything in my tank when i overdid my GFO and did it way to fast...im talking like start with a quarter of what is recemmended with your tank size, believe me i have stuff that still is recovering and that was amost a year ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiddyORION Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 Thanks everyone for the replies it really is helpful anyway I think I'm gonna try to mix some carbon and GFO for both nitrates and phosphates... Correct me if I'm wrong about believing the "carbon removing nitrates" rumor. Ya Jeeperty my phosphates look right around 0.5 so It's urgent I make a dent in them. One question though... As far as size, should I get a 150 or a 550 reactor model? Can you have TOO big of a reactor? Thanks a bunch! -Keep it cool, Justin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Are your phosphates .05 or .5? You should probably continue water changes if they are at .5 How are you measuring PO4? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiddyORION Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 Hey reburn ya it's right around 0.5 and the lowest it's ever been is 0.25. I use an API test kit. -Keep it cool, Justin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 API test kits are pretty notorious for low resolution at the bottom end of the test scale. You would likely have some pretty hairy algae Issues if you were truly at 0.5 ppm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiddyORION Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 Ok guys. The final countdown. I literally have my basket ready to commence total SPS mastery What am I going to fix or maintain? - Nitrates, Phosphates, Organics. What am I going to do? POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS: 1. Phosban with a mix of G.A.C and G.F.O. 2. Two Phosban reactors, one with G.F.O, one with G.A.C. 3. One Phosban reactor with G.F.O and a Media bag of G.A.C. 1. and 3. are most preferable if you guys think it will work the same as 2., but i guess il fork over the extra 59.99 if its ABSOLUTELY necessary, and if you cant simply mix in the G.A.C with the G.F.O, or cant simply place a media bag of G.A.C by the return pump. I need your guys input on this. I know thats a lot... sorry bout' it. -Keep it cool, Justin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 3, do not mix carbon and GFO in the same reactor. Carbon, in my experience, works good enough for me passively without a reactor. Just know that neither will do anything for your nitrate issue you mentioned but will at least lower phosphates and remove some organics. Sent via Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiddyORION Posted August 4, 2014 Author Share Posted August 4, 2014 Update Time! Have installed a GFO reactor, have brought my alk up, and in the past 2 weeks bought new coral! I waited to post this to make sure everything was healthy before I shared. Already new growth in all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiddyORION Posted August 18, 2014 Author Share Posted August 18, 2014 Hey guys! My tank has been pretty stable in the last month and I am keeping it up. However it would be nice to have a solid dosing schedule of trace minerals until I bite the bullet on a good dosing pump. Does anyone have a similarly sized tank, and if so, what is your weekly/daily dosing schedule? Also what buffers are you using? Much appreciated. BTW I'm remembering who gives me help as I want very much to contribute to this community of awesome reefers with some free frags down the road ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 Tank is looking good Orion. I am assuming you took care of the higher phosphate and nitrate levels as all the corals seem very happy. I would avoid buffers if at all possible. For now, with your stocking load, simple weekly or bi-weekly water changes should be able to maintain your levels. I had a 65-gal awhile ago and that worked for me. If you start adding a bunch more SPS or even some clams, then I'd look into what you were speaking of, 2 peristaltic dosing pumps, one for calcium and the other for alkalinity. Most run the 2-part solution from bulk reef supply and have great success. If you wanted, you can also dose amino acids once or twice a week. Just keep an eye on your nutrient levels (phosphates and nitrates) as it sometimes increases those levels. Sent via Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 Agree with Ty it's easier to replenish trace elements via water changes, and if your sps really start to take off, through a calcium reactor. Problem with bottled trace element supplements is they contain too many things to reliably test for, and on top of that are mostly water. In the long run salt mix for water changes is cheaper. For a 65 gallon, a 200 gallon box of instant ocean or reef crystals will run you $45-50 on foster smith with free shipping and last close to a year depending on how aggressive you are with water changes. In that time you will likely have run through more than $50 in trace element supplements, and at concentrations that are filled with question marks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 +1 on what everyone has said about water changes. I also dose amino acids via AquaVitro Fuel biweekly. I wouldn't run dosing pumps for quite a while yet. If you do anything maybe kalkwasser in your ATO to maintain alk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.