cant get to 0 nitrates on an 8ft tank

[BBQHILLBILLY]

cant get to 0 nitrates on an 8ft tank. Have a large amount of fish, and a lot of coral. Im looking for 0 nitrates.
did a 40 gallon sw change sunday and will do another 40 gallons thursday and then again on sunday. Ill see what the readings are after that.
In the meantime, I am looking for solutions so I dont continue to buy large quantities of salt.
what choice do I have that are proven? lmk Looking to do something maybe June 6.
thinkning pellet reactor or something else?
need specifics on what has worked with your large tank

Thanks

[rrasco]

To get to zero I would think you're only surefire methods would be pellets or carbon dosing (which is what pellets is).

[ramsey]

Biopellets worked for me but you may have cyano problems due to phosphates. You have to be careful with them if you have certain softies though. A lot of softies and some LPS like a little bit of nitrate. At least they seemed to IME.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

ok thats Im thinking too. which pellets and what reactor works for big tanks and wont break the piggy bank. links could help too. lmk

looking for a sure thing, but I dont wanna spend a truck payment on it. lol

[BBQHILLBILLY]

Ive heard you start with a little bit of pellets, lower than the recommended, see how the coral is doing, cyano problems . . . I have none. dont want any . . lol

corals doing ok here

[ramsey]

Ive heard you start with a little bit of pellets, lower than the recommended, see how the coral is doing, cyano problems . . . I have none. dont want any . . lol

corals doing ok here


Yeah, for sure start slowly. You don't want a bacteria bloom depleting all the oxygen in your tank. You can look at phosphates after the pellets are in full effect. The bacteria will use some phosphates, but far less than they'll consume nitrates (redfield ratio I think?).

You might want to check out the reactor that Innovative Marine just released. I have the "mid-sized" reactor and it's awesome. Changing media and adjusting flow is simple. I've also used the NextReef reactor. It's nice too, but doesn't really compare to the ease of use of the IM reactor.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

googling lol if you know the link post it and thanks for the tip

[BBQHILLBILLY]

heres a link i think this is the one http://www.marinedepot.com/Innovative_Marine_MiniMax_All_In_One_Media_Reactor _DeskTop_Phosphate_Reactors-Innovative_Marine-0I10410-FIFRISPR-vi.html

$200 for this one; this is for 250 gallons max; any specific pellets to use

[Big_Pun]

i love pellets and if done properly you can do any coral. i have no problems with lps or softies.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

im interested, which reactor do you like and what pellets? Ill make a decision next week
its for the 8 ft tank and 7ft refugium

[BBQHILLBILLY]

in addition to new im interested in a used pellet reactor no leaks and pump that works with some pellets lmk

[ducati996]

The link I just pm'd you will save u lots of $$$$$

[350gt]

Guess the miracle sand ain't enough ehh?....

[BBQHILLBILLY]

actually the miracle sand was in the 75 gallon sump not on this one. what happened I had grown some algae on the back wall that was getting me near 0 nitrates.
being a dummy I got 10 turbos. woola algae gone and nitrates increase to maybe 40 or 50. lol 1st 40 gallon water change brought down to max 20.
ill do another one thursday and another sunday.

I will try to grow the algae back but i need time. it would be nice to have a pellet reactor standing by.

also another dummy thing got enginners in the tank digging up the sand. ugh
the big engineers are relaxed but these new guys are making a mess.
so i did this to myself. :(

[BBQHILLBILLY]

the tank will heal itself. just need time. lesson learned here

[Big_Pun]

how much rick rubble is in the sump. im thinking a lot of the techniques your trying is compounding the problem. if hair algae is helping then why not run a bug fuge if macro algae and get rid the rubble.

[ramsey]

i love pellets and if done properly you can do any coral. i have no problems with lps or softies.

What do you mean by "doing it properly"? Feeding a lot? I'm just curious because when I ran them on my big tank, my Xenia melted away and my GSP's growth was nonexistent (not that that's a bad thing :P). I'm thinking maybe I had too few nutrients?

I started running them on my 38g a few weeks ago but I want to do an SPS tank. It'd be nice to keep a few softies though. NO GSP OR XENIA!

[FireWater]

Ramsey, I believe what Chris was trying to say is finding the "sweet" spot between too much and not enough. Too much and you run the chance of stripping too much out of the water like you said.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

you need to see this 7ft refugium, its full of chaeto, rubble and sand. all kinds of critters in there, whole other world.
The system went through a shock with the turbos removing the algae on the backwall, macroalgae may double in size,.
With the backwall aglae the sw was clear and nitrates close to 0. Turbos ate it up.
The Algae started growing on the front display 3x as much. sw is doing better know, just have to replace the backwall algae with sw changes for now.
no dosing here at all. tank will heal itself. may have to get the turbos out.

[ramsey]

Ramsey, I believe what Chris was trying to say is finding the "sweet" spot between too much and not enough. Too much and you run the chance of stripping too much out of the water like you said.


Hmm, maybe I need to take some out of my 38 then! I'll keep an eye on it for sure. I thought you basically couldn't have too much BP's but that makes sense.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

i have 1 fish in the 65; 0 nitrates no need for pellet reactor there

[The_wolfeman]

Like Chris said all the techniques you are trying seem to be counter productive. Do you enjoy hair algae on the back glass?

[BBQHILLBILLY]

ive seen hair algae, the algae i had were different colors and actually yes I did like it. I knew that the system was cleaning itself without dosing.
It was doing great. I realize a lot of folk like to sterlize their tanks and dose. I do prefer a natural habitat. and the different algaes were only growing on the back glass nowhere else.
I have a lot of benfecial critters on all my LR that clean up anything. Its a clean tank. lol
YOU say it as if I have hair stretching off my back wall. lol. Its not like that all. this is how I prefer all my tanks. they clean themselves no dosing.

[The_wolfeman]

No where did I say anything about the length or concentration of hair algae just asked if you like it. Simple question. Reason being is because you can put a lot more appealing things, like coral, on the back glass to replicate the same affect. How often do you do water changes?

[BBQHILLBILLY]

very good point. coral is another option. for now the algae on the backglass was bringing nitrates down to close to 0. sw changes weekly my friend.
I was amazed at how good it was doing. Turbos ate it up and I had a nitrate spike. You dont like different colored algae on the backglass do you?:bigsmile:

[Big_Pun]

Hmm, maybe I need to take some out of my 38 then! I'll keep an eye on it for sure. I thought you basically couldn't have too much BP's but that makes sense.

you can and i have put too many. start slow and test till you can hold 0 nitrates with out freaking out coral. i have xenia growing on my glass and gsp does fine and zoas in my tank. just ease them in,the biggest problem is people have is wanting results right away.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

I do have this monster reactor. I think I just need the disks to close in the pellets. Anyone have any? lmk

[BBQHILLBILLY]

http://www.maast.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=20817&d=1362362625

[CoryDude]

Imho, You're chasing the dragon here. You can still have hair algae when running zero nitrates. Your best be is to keep your nitrates around 2-10 ppm and let your tank hit its sweet spot. But, what works for one reefer doesn't always work for another.

[350gt]

Very true Corey....

I have phosphates though the roof right now, and don't even want to know where my nitrates are at..... But I have no algae issues what so ever... Corals haven't been happy in awhile but I will let it play out......

[350gt]

Hey Shane are you running any carbon?

i bought a pound of BRS rox from elegant and boy did it clean up the water..... Big difference than the the crappy Kent's carbon I've been using...

[BBQHILLBILLY]

nope The monster reactor has the disks and sponges for the carbon and gfo. I need to pick some carbon up next week. BRS rox?, thanks for the tip.
lol Is that the name? you mean bulk reef supply carbon not kents carbon; some are better than the others good to know

edit: I should mention the tank looks awesome with the sw change and 1 more sw change should get me under 10. Then I can work on the 0 part.

[350gt]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oVpRGzerJFI

[BBQHILLBILLY]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oVpRGzerJFI

website not opening

[jrossjr79]

website not opening

opened fine for me, here is a direct share link to it:
http://youtu.be/oVpRGzerJFI

[BBQHILLBILLY]

direct share link worked

[allan]

being a dummy I got 10 turbos. woola algae gone and nitrates increase to maybe 40 or 50. lol 1st 40 gallon water change brought down to max 20.
. :(

Your testing kit seems out of whack.

I'm guessing you have at least 300 gallons of water in your tank/sump, doing a 40 gallon water change should bring your nitrates down by 13%, not 50%.

The only way to bring your nitrates down by 50% is to do a 50% water change.

So a 40 gallon water change in a 300 gallon system will bring your 40 nitrates down to 35.1.... Lets just call it an even 30 although its not possible to reduce the nitrate level by 20% when you're removing only 13% of your total water volume.

Makes sense? In order for a 40 gallon water change be able to reduce your nitrates by 50%, your total water volume would have to be 80 gallons.

So I'm thinking your testing is flawed.

I keep my nitrates down by encouraging a nasty algae growth in my sump, macro and micro, if it grows in there, it gets to live.

But definitely no rubble rock. I've been down that road.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[FireWater]

I agree with Allan on the rubble rock. I pulled all rock and even the sand out of my fuge area. It became a detritus trap for me and no matter what I did my params kept creeping up. In the area that I had rock and sand the algae has triple the room to grow so I'm still pulling out excess nutrients from the water.

If you just want to try the Rox carbon I have a jug here at the house. You are welcome to swipe a couple cups worth before you buy it.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

lol Im looking through tube with the liquid thats turns purple and holding it against a paper and trying to compare from the other purple colors on the paper.lol
gueestemating; and positive thinking:bigsmile:So much that has been said on here is true. Its time to step it up a bit on the 8ft tank.
I have learned to enjoy the algae on the backglass do its job of bringing nitrates down. lol Time to step it up. with no algae.
I have a ton of LR and LR rubble in the 7ft sump. Time to step it up. with no detritus. cleaning the sump will be a project and take time. lol lotta of good stuff on these rocks
Im probably creating my own nitrates. time to step it up.

Thanks for everyones tips. 1st step for me is to get a little pellet reactor and carbon dose a little bit and watch the parameters.
also thinking a 36 watt sterilizer
sump will get cleared when I get another dsa:bigsmile:

[350gt]

With reactors, your just covering up the problem....

if I remember correctly, your skimmer was under sized, maybe that isn't helping?....

[Big_Pun]

get the correct size reactor for your system size as you may need the full recommended dose or at least 3/4 of it. what i also meant by doing it properly is getting the correct equipment and not modifying reactors. you should look into dr tims bio pearls and using his waste away, not only does the waste away help clean up your system it also helps kick off the bacteria that consume the pellets. i like all the octopus reactors for pellets especially those that do not use a bottom screen or plate as they get clogged up quick as pellets dissolve and get lodged in holes.

http://www.coralvue.com/reactors.html?cat=76

[BBQHILLBILLY]

350 your right about the reactor, but remember I have a lot of fish. I stand the skimmer up high, otherwise I would be filling buckets up.lol
If I can get nitrates under 10 and be confident of that number all the fish I have without the reactor, I have no problem using the pellet reactor for now, to get close to zero.
of course with weekly sw changes is a must.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

Thanks for the link

[BBQHILLBILLY]

wow those are some pretty pellet reactors. Red looks sharp. BR140 $229 MAG 9 $113 @ BRS without the pellets. lol its not cheap is it. . .

[rrasco]

Theoretically speaking, you can't overdose pellets. As you introduce a carbon source (pellets), bacteria begin to metabolize it along with nitrates. They can only process what is available in the water. If there is nothing in the water column, the pellets won't do anything. It is recommended to start off with a smaller amount not for fear of 'overdosing', but out of fear of altering the water's chemistry too quickly. On an established tank with nutrients in the water column, this is a concern. For new tanks starting with pellets, there is relatively no risk involved.

[350gt]

350 your right about the reactor, but remember I have a lot of fish. I stand the skimmer up high, otherwise I would be filling buckets up.lol.


So your lifting the skimmer so it won't skim as much????


I think I solved one of your issues.....

I actually think I warned you about under sizing your skimmer awhile back...

[FireWater]

Another thing to keep in mind is that throwing a lot of different stuff at the problem will never lead to a true answer. If you're doing large water changes that will bring the numbers down for now. They will creep up. You already mentioned you were looking for cost effective answers. If it were me I would look at cleaning the detritus and your rubble and keeping it clean first. That is in my opinion the most cost effective method.

[Big_Pun]

Theoretically speaking, you can't overdose pellets. As you introduce a carbon source (pellets), bacteria begin to metabolize it along with nitrates. They can only process what is available in the water. If there is nothing in the water column, the pellets won't do anything. It is recommended to start off with a smaller amount not for fear of 'overdosing', but out of fear of altering the water's chemistry too quickly. On an established tank with nutrients in the water column, this is a concern. For new tanks starting with pellets, there is relatively no risk involved.
so what happens is you take out all the nitrates too fast starving the bacteria which will die off, then nitrates will build up again and then drop again which will create a stressful environment,it takes the pellets weeks to colonize and work properly so by "overdosing" your not using them properly. i did this with my 70g tank and all my sps looked like a zeovit system and very pastel looking colors and killed off all softies.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

I would love to get a bigger skimmer. Their not cheap, either. Im getting there. I would love to skim or eat more sw. :bigsmile:

[FireWater]

Theoretically speaking, you can't overdose pellets. As you introduce a carbon source (pellets), bacteria begin to metabolize it along with nitrates. They can only process what is available in the water. If there is nothing in the water column, the pellets won't do anything. It is recommended to start off with a smaller amount not for fear of 'overdosing', but out of fear of altering the water's chemistry too quickly. On an established tank with nutrients in the water column, this is a concern. For new tanks starting with pellets, there is relatively no risk involved.

You said the key words - new tank.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

Another thing to keep in mind is that throwing a lot of different stuff at the problem will never lead to a true answer. If you're doing large water changes that will bring the numbers down for now. They will creep up. You already mentioned you were looking for cost effective answers. If it were me I would look at cleaning the detritus and your rubble and keeping it clean first. That is in my opinion the most cost effective method.

yes your right, cleaning up the sump/refug will probably bring nitrates down. I have so much life in there, Im not ready to nuc it all yet. slowly maybe
The big refugium on this 7ft sump has produced a ton of life and feeds the fish on the 8ft tank. I cant just go in there and start removing yet.

[hobogato]

just out of curiosity, how long has it been since you have left this tank alone? meaning, how long since the last time you did a big rearrangement of your rock or sand, or major movement of stuff in your sump? you also said that you have some engineer gobies stirring up sand currently?

[350gt]

I would love to get a bigger skimmer. Their not cheap, either. Im getting there. I would love to skim or eat more sw. :bigsmile:



Well this is exactly why I stick to my size tank.... The bigger you go the more costly it will be.... More salt, bigger equipment, yada yada yada.....


Well good luck on this tank.... Hope you do what you need to do...... Keep us posted, and where are the pics???

[BBQHILLBILLY]

This is the pic of the 7ft sump and refugium. It doesnt look big but it is. I probably be heckled at my bad habits thats fine. I dont mind be heckled.:bigsmile:
The 1st chamber is full of LR rubble and small LR full of life. I can clear that out. The 2nd chamber has some small LR too. Those can go.
the 3rd chamber refugium I wont touch. and the 4th chamber has the room to polish the sw.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

http://www.maast.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=20824&d=1369842873

[BBQHILLBILLY]

The 3rd chamber size, refugium size, is 2ftx15inx15in and full of life.

[350gt]

Nobody is heckling you.....

we are giving advice..

allan already posted out of his own experience, John too...

i was just stating, I knew your undersized skimmer would come into play..... It has now..

[BBQHILLBILLY]

i know, i like the advice, i will step this up and take it to the next level

[BBQHILLBILLY]

what I probaly should do is upgrade the blueline to a dart, and with the extra sw push that into the RO pellet reactor. BRS has the new dart/snapper at $315

[350gt]

I vote for $315 and what ever you sell your present skimmer now, for a bigger skimmer!

[BBQHILLBILLY]

lol there not cheap . I may have to wait, for some ot.:bigsmile:

[350gt]

What about

http://www.aquacave.com/Reef-Octopus-SUPER-SRO-3000INT-In-Sump-Protein-Skimmer-P2914.aspx?gclid=CKW1_I_2u7cCFU1o7AodJ2wAWg


even that would be borderline on a heavy stocked tank..... But will make a world of a difference compared to what your running now...... Save the reactor for later in the game!....

[350gt]

Just heard elegant has the sea side es2 rated at 300 gallons for $450 right now "in stock"!!!

[350gt]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/05/30/hygamu8u.jpg

Look at that beast!!!....

[BBQHILLBILLY]

thats a very very nice skimmer. I pull out a bunch of gunk now, and could pull out more, I just dont know where to put it. lol
Im barely gonna make the hybrid snapper/dart. To pull out 5 bills for a great skimmer. Not in the cards at this time.
Once I get the hybrid, I can get a RO reactor and run a little bit of pellets, if I need too.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

curious any ideas on how big that cup is? If your gonna pull the gunk out, you need a big cup. I have an 8inx5.5in.

[Big_Pun]

that cup is a decent size i know its bigger than the one on my sea side cs-2. what i dont get is why you have to pull the skimmer out the water, doesnt it have a valve to control water height? or is your sump levels too deep?

[350gt]

thats a very very nice skimmer. I pull out a bunch of gunk now, and could pull out more, I just dont know where to put it. lol
Im barely gonna make the hybrid snapper/dart. To pull out 5 bills for a great skimmer. Not in the cards at this time.
Once I get the hybrid, I can get a RO reactor and run a little bit of pellets, if I need too.



Your trying to avoid the ineviable .....


what will the snapper/dart combo run you?

And the reactor?


i bet it's more than 5bills after everything.....

[BBQHILLBILLY]

sw height is a hair past 13in. little tall for that skimmer. It stands on about 3.5in of LR.

[350gt]

Or what about

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewitem.aspx?idproduct=4W05001&child=4W09001&utm_source=adwordsfroogle&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=adwordsfroogle&utm_content=4W09001&gclid=COSOk6_7u7cCFe3m7AodFUoAfg


Rated up to 400 gallons!!!! $400

[Big_Pun]

Or what about

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewitem.aspx?idproduct=4W05001&child=4W09001&utm_source=adwordsfroogle&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=adwordsfroogle&utm_content=4W09001&gclid=COSOk6_7u7cCFe3m7AodFUoAfg


Rated up to 400 gallons!!!! $400
another good skimmer and also in stock at elegant reef

[BBQHILLBILLY]

the hybrid is quiet, the blueline is loud. lol Its also energy efficient. Thats 2 reasons to go hybrid. 3rd I get more flow on closed loop. 4 reasons And I have more push for the reactor.
Hybrid is awesome external pump. When I upgrade the skimmer its gonna have to have a monster cup.

[350gt]

Why would it need a monster cup???


is your tank that dirty?

Your present skimmer is pulling so much cause its being over worked!!!.... It's too small..


The right sized skimmer will not fill up as quickly....

[350gt]

I went from a 200 gallon skimmer which I cleaned out every 2 weeks to a 150 gallon skimmer that I'm cleaning out once a week...


my total water volume is less than 130 gallons....

I hate having to clean so often.... I miss over skimming..

[BBQHILLBILLY]

5 tangs, 6 pajamas, 6 chromis, 2 darts, 2 cleaners, 2scooters, 2 damsels, 2clowns, and a lot of food
Not to mention all the inverts

[350gt]

5 tangs, 6 pajamas, 6 chromis, 2 darts, 2 cleaners, 2scooters, 2 damsels, 2clowns, and a lot of food
Not to mention all the inverts


I have 5 tangs in my tank ;)


no algae issues.... No bio pellets....

[BBQHILLBILLY]

thats a lot of tangs; whats the nitrate reading? you also have a sterilizer too. im also thinking that too.
you are a great example 5tangs with a sterilizer and awesome skimmer. whats the nitrate reading?

[BBQHILLBILLY]

my dsa65 has one blue reef chromis, sterilizer, and awesome skimmer and Im at 0 on nitrates
I just have a lot of fish in the 8ft tank trying to get 0 on nitrates

[350gt]

Haven't tested in awhile... No need as I don't have a spec of LHA or any nuisance algae in my display....

I will though for reference....

no sterilizer either.......

I'm not trying to be an example but trying to help....

[350gt]

my dsa65 has one blue reef chromis, sterilizer, and awesome skimmer and Im at 0 on nitrates
I just have a lot of fish in the 8ft tank trying to get 0 on nitrates



Nuff said

[BBQHILLBILLY]

thats what this thread is about 0 nitrates, i really would like to know what the nitrates are
Im assuming their big tangs like mine, not little babys, when you get a chance test the nitrates, i really want to know
Im thinking of a 36 watt stereilizer for the boat tank so I need your input.

[350gt]

thats what this thread is about 0 nitrates



And everyone's advice is pointing you in that direction....



you will never get there with a UNDERsized skimmer is all I'm saying.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

stop passing gass:bigsmile:i want some results, if your at 0 nitrates with the big fish, your solution works

[allan]

I'm also confused, how do you think a sterilizer will help with your nitrates?

[BBQHILLBILLY]

not nitrates, maybe some algae control, cleared up the sw in the dsa65 real nice

[Zack]

Shane, I was running zero nitrates with 2 clownfish, 2 chromis, springers dottyback, a molly, and a six line in a 40 breeder with heavy feedings. Skimmer was rated for 5x water volume.

[350gt]

Passing gas? Is that what you consider trying to help?....




wow dude, you really are a hillbilly....




Trying to jerryrigg a solution......

[BBQHILLBILLY]

at this time, how many fish are still there, they got sick didnt they

[350gt]

Everyone here can see the logic but you......


your in too deep with a tank that's beyond your budget!.....


I reef with in your means.... I would like a 300 but it would be too much $$ and too much work......... Reefing within my means..

[BBQHILLBILLY]

trust me I want a monster skimmer, and I will get it,
you offer great advice, im looking for 0 nitrates, if you have 0 nitrates than say it, ill believe you, and we can move on,

350 move on

[350gt]

at this time, how many fish are still there, they got sick didnt they


All of them, and Allan still has one of them that's still big fat and healthy...

[Zack]

It was running for a month before I introduced the tang and they got sick. During that entire month with heavy feedings, all zero. In my 10 gallon using the same skimmer with 2 clowns, a neon goby, and a six line, all zero and with my 20 long with 2 clowns, a royal gramma, neon goby, and six line, all zero.

[allan]

Yep, Chris floats about and eats all day, big happy fish.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

thats good, you are for sure are doing something right

[350gt]

I will move when I feel like it....


not cause you say so.......

Im all against halfass tanks.....

[Zack]

thats good, you are for sure are doing something right

Yeah, it's a great skimmer. I slacked on water changes on my 20 long for a month or so and even then nitrates were about 10ppm.

[Big_Pun]

Yep, Chris floats about and eats all day, big happy fish.

thanks Allan great name for a fish.....all my tanks have had zero nitrates but ive always oversized the skimmers on all my systems

[BBQHILLBILLY]

I will move when I feel like it....


not cause you say so.......

Im all against halfass tanks.....

lol you wont tell me your nitrate reading

[350gt]

I haven't tested hillbilly, no issues over here.....

[rrasco]

My skimmer is rated for 395-530 gallons, on a 105 gallon tank. My trates are around 10-20ppm; last time I checked anyways. It's not all in the skimmer, but a nice one does help. Algae isn't isolated to nitrates, phosphates play a role too.

If I were you, I would start out with a GFO reactor and go from there.

[Gseclipse02]

5 tangs, 6 pajamas, 6 chromis, 2 darts, 2 cleaners, 2scooters, 2 damsels, 2clowns, and a lot of food
Not to mention all the inverts


i keep reading were you say you have a lot of fish for a ( 8 ft tank).... but did you leave some fish off of this list?


i find it funny how the skimmer is kind of being blamed i think other issues are going on personally i had my skimmer offline for 7 months with twice as much fish (twice the number of tangs ) with no issues of algae

[350gt]

My skimmer is rated for 395-530 gallons, on a 105 gallon tank. My trates are around 10-20ppm; last time I checked anyways. It's not all in the skimmer, but a nice one does help. Algae isn't isolated to nitrates, phosphates play a role too.

If I were you, I would start out with a GFO reactor and go from there.

But on a heavily(in his words) stocked 300 gallon tank, would you run a 200 gallon rated skimmer?....


Thats all I'm saying....

[BBQHILLBILLY]

i have the monster reactor for that. sounds like a plan. when I order the hybrid, ill order some gfo and carbon, get nitrates under 10 and go from there.
eventually RO pellet reactor, 36 watt sterilizer, and monster skimmer in the future. 1step at a time.need some ot:bigsmile:

[350gt]

JT the skimmer is to start......

Adding a reactor right now is just covering up the root of the problem.. I said that too.

[rrasco]

But on a heavily(in his words) stocked 300 gallon tank, would you run a 200 gallon rated skimmer?....


Thats all I'm saying....

If I had other means of nutrient export, sure. I have a skimmer rated for 150g on my 150 FOWLR (SCA 303), predator tank so feeding is messy and adds a lot of waste, but I have other means of filtration that account for that. My trates are actually lower in that tank than on my reef.

[350gt]

If I had other means of nutrient export, sure. I have a skimmer rated for 150g on my 150 FOWLR (SCA 303), predator tank so feeding is messy and adds a lot of waste, but I have other means of filtration that account for that. My trates are actually lower in that tank than on my reef.

So what's in this tank? I thought you just had the dsa with the dirty sand bed...

[Big_Pun]

i have the monster reactor for that. sounds like a plan. when I order the hybrid, ill order some gfo and carbon, get nitrates under 10 and go from there.
eventually RO pellet reactor, 36 watt sterilizer, and monster skimmer in the future. 1step at a time.need some ot:bigsmile:


If I had other means of nutrient export, sure. I have a skimmer rated for 150g on my 150 FOWLR (SCA 303), predator tank so feeding is messy and adds a lot of waste, but I have other means of filtration that account for that. My trates are actually lower in that tank than on my reef.
wow looks like you should start a "help" thread on your reef tank...... seriously Shane you should take a long hard look at your entire system and find those weak points in filtration and slowly start fixing them until you get things worked out. start small see if your sump is flawed or maybe not be utilized to it fullest, im sorry but larger water volume sump does not mean better filtration, but with larger volume you could grow a lot more macro that can help. maybe the flow in the tank itself is not enough to keep everything suspended and moving to your sump. these are thoughts and ideas to start off on im not saying its whats happening but just places to look at.

[rrasco]

So what's in this tank? I thought you just had the dsa with the dirty sand bed...

The 150 has a coral cat shark, snowflake eel, blonde naso, desjardini sailfin, and kole tang. The reef tank is doing much better since I got back on the GFO, got my fuge back operational, and upped WCs.


wow looks like you should start a "help" thread on your reef tank...... seriously Shane you should take a long hard look at your entire system and find those weak points in filtration and slowly start fixing them until you get things worked out. start small see if your sump is flawed or maybe not be utilized to it fullest, im sorry but larger water volume sump does not mean better filtration, but with larger volume you could grow a lot more macro that can help. maybe the flow in the tank itself is not enough to keep everything suspended and moving to your sump. these are thoughts and ideas to start off on im not saying its whats happening but just places to look at.

Did you intend to quote my post?

[Big_Pun]

Did you intend to quote my post?
yup and shanes also. but i fixed that added shanes

[rrasco]

yup and shanes also. but i fixed that added shanes

Okay. Why should I start a help thread? I know what my problems were, what caused them, and how to fix them. Pretty much fixed at this point anyways.

My anecdote was to illustrate that just because you have a big skimmer, doesn't mean that it will result in lower nitrates. There is other stuff going on there as well.

[FireWater]

Every post has just rehashed the same thing over and over. We all know there's more than one way to do it.

Aces point of the engineer gobies stirring up the sand bed didn't get answered either. There's so many different questions that only Shane can answer on his own tank. Like I said 40 pages back, I would take it slow and change one thing at a time. I understand there is a bunch of life in the fuge- it's there because it has stuff to eat. When that gets out of balance the critters can't eat all of it.

I've ran tanks with no extra equipment and have ran tanks that had more crap on them than a fish store needs. There is an answer to your question somewhere Shane. I would start small with things you can change now.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

lol I posted for sale to clear some LR rubble and small LR from the sump, if anyones interested lmk, to clear room for others methods of filtration
I have mostly medium size rubble and some smaller LRs for sale.not touching the refug.
The hybrid will be the 1st step in many to take the 8ft tank to another level.
Im still down to 2 pumps for the entire system. mag18 for return and soon hybrid for closed loop, I should have plenty of flow to feed any skimmer or reactor.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

My bad I couldnt find Aces post. I will be pulling the 2 smaller engineers out, but I have 2 monster engineers and they just stay in the caves. not digging much at all.
Ill keep the big engineers in there.

[hobogato]

...but I have 2 monster engineers and they just stay in the caves. not digging much at all.
Ill keep the big engineers in there.

to have the dsb function correctly, it should not be disturbed. any repeated digging will cause problems.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

the 2 small engineers and turbos, both spiked the nitrates, everything was close to 0
all the sps, lps, and softies are growing and doing great, during this nitrate spike