1000 Gallon Build- Here we go- Lots of Pictures
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silentscream
New member
If you have an appropriately sized scrubber for your bio load, then you should be able to eliminate GFO usage all together. The only time you would still need to use GFO is if your scrubber was not keeping up with the demands of the tank, and Floyd seems to be knowledgable about sizing properly. Like a skimmer, you can oversize your scrubber to allow for expansion of your tank's bio load, but there is a sweet spot to hit when it comes to tank nutrient levels and scrubber size.
I had a significant algae reduction in my tank, because I had grown tired of the GFO dance and had slacked off on replenishing the reactor. My algae really took off and I was undecided between either a chaeto refugium or an ATS. The ATS was the easier option because I didn't have the space in my sump to incorporate a large enough refugium.
The maintenance was not oppressive, but was also not set-it-and-forget-it. I believe that because my scrubber was a homemade unit, there were a few shortcomings in my design that made the maintence harder than it needed to be, but rest assured that Floyd's design has refined the maintenance aspect to a point where it probably can't be reduced much further. With my DIY unit I started with weekly cleanings of the screen, but found that the best results in nutrient reduction were when I went 2-3 weeks between cleanings. I would use the dusty looking algae on the aquarium glass as my barometer.
If you look on his YouTube channel, he has a couple of good videos detailing the new design. There is no question that this man knows algae scrubbers.
I had a significant algae reduction in my tank, because I had grown tired of the GFO dance and had slacked off on replenishing the reactor. My algae really took off and I was undecided between either a chaeto refugium or an ATS. The ATS was the easier option because I didn't have the space in my sump to incorporate a large enough refugium.
The maintenance was not oppressive, but was also not set-it-and-forget-it. I believe that because my scrubber was a homemade unit, there were a few shortcomings in my design that made the maintence harder than it needed to be, but rest assured that Floyd's design has refined the maintenance aspect to a point where it probably can't be reduced much further. With my DIY unit I started with weekly cleanings of the screen, but found that the best results in nutrient reduction were when I went 2-3 weeks between cleanings. I would use the dusty looking algae on the aquarium glass as my barometer.
If you look on his YouTube channel, he has a couple of good videos detailing the new design. There is no question that this man knows algae scrubbers.
Thanks Justin. I'll dig deeper into his turf scrubber options. Now the next question is what to do with my reactors. i have 3 of them- 2 running Carbon. One GFO. I'm wondering if Royal exclusiv can design a turf scrubber hat can retro fit into my existing sump. Just trying to keep things clean. Appreciate the advice.
I wanted to post an update on my tank. So it's been about six months since we moved into our house and as I mentioned before I was looking at a couple of different options for filtration. I did a thorough evaluation of the tank today and the parameters today and really everything is just perfect... knock on wood!
My water Parameters are perfect the salinity great and other than two anthias, I haven't lost any fish since I started the tank six months ago. When I first started I lost a couple of chromis. 20 years ago back in college and I did my tank as a budget I was losing fish left and right. I was determined not to let that happen this time and I'm thankful that it worked.
I have about 40 fish in there, acombination of tangs, angelfish, clowns, anthias, and cardinals. I have a cleanup crew that comprises of some snails and shrimp and five Emerald crabs.
I don't have Apex for tank automation but I did automate many of the features such as automatic water changes automatic top off automatic lighting. I will be installing Some switches so I can remotely turn off my powerheads my return palms for feeding. Instead of using Apex I'm going to use Control4 and hook it up to the rest of my home automation lighting sound etc.
To this date I have not done any quarantine. I don't say this to brag or boast and I'm certain some of you will think I'm playing with fire but every single one of my fish I've purchased from a trusted source held in their own tank for weeks before I brought them and introduce them to mine.
I have no signs of disease of any sort. I had some people ask me what the secret is and really I think it boils down to that I over designed my filtration. I've got 15 filter socks of differing sizes I've got a massive skimmer I've got a massive UV filteration system tons of live rock and really nothing else. Other than the turf scrubber and potentially the calcium reactor later I'm not planning on adding any additional equipment.
I clean my socks once a week I clean my glass twice a week I clean my skimmer once every other month. I have automatic water changes with the reef genesis And the wastewater I run through my skimmer cup to clean the skimmer.
As I sit here and look at my journey which started almost 3 years ago I can't sit and wonder how much I've learned from this website from the contributors and about my tank. I'm so grateful to all the great help that I've had over the past years to bring my tank to where it is. I still have a long way to go I have more fish to add I have more corals to add but I'm in no rush. I love coming home and enjoying my tank I love that my girls take pride in keeping it clean and helping Feed the fish and I'm most proud that my wife actually love the tank as well in the house.
If you've seen the photos of my house you can see the tank from the front door through the front door and everybody in the neighborhood comments and wonders what's that glowing light coming to your house.
I was looking at this thread and and I noticed that is been viewed over 330,000 times. I hope that those of you that have viewed this have enjoyed my journey and hopefully have learned a little bit. Certainly you have not learned as much as I have an learn to appreciate what it takes to put together a great tank as much as I have. I want to thank all of you for being such great contributors and participants in my thread. Onward to the next 330,000 posts.
My water Parameters are perfect the salinity great and other than two anthias, I haven't lost any fish since I started the tank six months ago. When I first started I lost a couple of chromis. 20 years ago back in college and I did my tank as a budget I was losing fish left and right. I was determined not to let that happen this time and I'm thankful that it worked.
I have about 40 fish in there, acombination of tangs, angelfish, clowns, anthias, and cardinals. I have a cleanup crew that comprises of some snails and shrimp and five Emerald crabs.
I don't have Apex for tank automation but I did automate many of the features such as automatic water changes automatic top off automatic lighting. I will be installing Some switches so I can remotely turn off my powerheads my return palms for feeding. Instead of using Apex I'm going to use Control4 and hook it up to the rest of my home automation lighting sound etc.
To this date I have not done any quarantine. I don't say this to brag or boast and I'm certain some of you will think I'm playing with fire but every single one of my fish I've purchased from a trusted source held in their own tank for weeks before I brought them and introduce them to mine.
I have no signs of disease of any sort. I had some people ask me what the secret is and really I think it boils down to that I over designed my filtration. I've got 15 filter socks of differing sizes I've got a massive skimmer I've got a massive UV filteration system tons of live rock and really nothing else. Other than the turf scrubber and potentially the calcium reactor later I'm not planning on adding any additional equipment.
I clean my socks once a week I clean my glass twice a week I clean my skimmer once every other month. I have automatic water changes with the reef genesis And the wastewater I run through my skimmer cup to clean the skimmer.
As I sit here and look at my journey which started almost 3 years ago I can't sit and wonder how much I've learned from this website from the contributors and about my tank. I'm so grateful to all the great help that I've had over the past years to bring my tank to where it is. I still have a long way to go I have more fish to add I have more corals to add but I'm in no rush. I love coming home and enjoying my tank I love that my girls take pride in keeping it clean and helping Feed the fish and I'm most proud that my wife actually love the tank as well in the house.
If you've seen the photos of my house you can see the tank from the front door through the front door and everybody in the neighborhood comments and wonders what's that glowing light coming to your house.
I was looking at this thread and and I noticed that is been viewed over 330,000 times. I hope that those of you that have viewed this have enjoyed my journey and hopefully have learned a little bit. Certainly you have not learned as much as I have an learn to appreciate what it takes to put together a great tank as much as I have. I want to thank all of you for being such great contributors and participants in my thread. Onward to the next 330,000 posts.
South City
New member
I'd say to give Kalkwasser a chance and see if it keeps up with your tanks Alk & Calcium needs. If it doesn't, you can then explore the other options like 2 part or a calcium reactor.
If you decide to go with adding Kalkwasser to your top off water, you might want to consider adding a piece of hardware like the Tunze 5074. Kalkwasser infused top off water significantly shortens the life of any pump moving it out of the storage tank. You can put something like the Tunze 5074 inline between the RO top off and the sump and extend the life of your top off pump. It's basically just a container that you fill with a Kalkwasser paste and the top off water moves through it on it's way to the sump.
If you decide to go with adding Kalkwasser to your top off water, you might want to consider adding a piece of hardware like the Tunze 5074. Kalkwasser infused top off water significantly shortens the life of any pump moving it out of the storage tank. You can put something like the Tunze 5074 inline between the RO top off and the sump and extend the life of your top off pump. It's basically just a container that you fill with a Kalkwasser paste and the top off water moves through it on it's way to the sump.
good question- I wanna say 3 feet for the king and queen. I ordered them from amazon-who gets it from www.giantchesspieces.com I think.
It was a good way to break up the backyard without doing a pool which we did not want.
I'd say to give Kalkwasser a chance and see if it keeps up with your tanks Alk & Calcium needs. If it doesn't, you can then explore the other options like 2 part or a calcium reactor.
If you decide to go with adding Kalkwasser to your top off water, you might want to consider adding a piece of hardware like the Tunze 5074. Kalkwasser infused top off water significantly shortens the life of any pump moving it out of the storage tank. You can put something like the Tunze 5074 inline between the RO top off and the sump and extend the life of your top off pump. It's basically just a container that you fill with a Kalkwasser paste and the top off water moves through it on it's way to the sump.
Appreciate the suggestion. Im not worried about pump life in the top off. I think I have a $30 ehiem pump. Essentially disposable if they go out. Im still not sure what Im going to do with regards to the calcium solution. But will certainly keep everyone up to date.
So I've got a ton of growth going on in the sump- lots of feathers and other vegetation. Would it make sense to put a rock in the main display and let the fish, especially the Angels and Tangs, nibble at the vegetation?
I'm not worried about them eating it all up as I can rotate the rocks in the sump and have a constant supply of food for them.
My concern is is this stuff gonna over run the display tank with the extra growth?
Here is a picture of some of the rocks in the sump.
I'm not worried about them eating it all up as I can rotate the rocks in the sump and have a constant supply of food for them.
My concern is is this stuff gonna over run the display tank with the extra growth?
Here is a picture of some of the rocks in the sump.
dave.m
Active member
Usually stuff grows in the sump that doesn't get a chance to grow in the display tank. In other words, your sump is a refugium. From that point of view I can't see any harm in rotating rocks back and forth from the sump. It will certainly keep your fish entertained. Much healthier for them than to be sitting in front of the TV all day.
Dave.M
Dave.M
Rudimenta
Member
I agree, I personally would not let it grown oi and remove it from time to time, like cheato
Its not like cheato- this stuff is pretty well adhered to the rocks. Im thinking maybe throw a couple of crabs in the sump or just rotate rocks out like I mentioned.
If it gives the fish a chance the feast on something other than what they normally eat, Im all for it. if its going to over run the display- not gonna do it.
o2manyfish
o2manyfish
SoCal,
Moving the rocks between sump and tank is not a problem. Anything growing in your sump has the opportunity to be growing in your tank. And is already in your tank, but is kept from exploding into view because of the livestock in your tank. Somewhere under or between your rocks you have the little mini featherdusters and there is a tiny spot of algae. But all the hungry mouths in your tank keep it in check.
Moving the rocks back and forth gives your fish a chance to munch on "real" foods. And is a great supplement to their diet. It also will be moving fresh batches of pods directly into the display tank.
This is definitely something you can do without worry.
I hadn't caught up on the post for awhile, so here are some comments to some topics from the past month.
Calcium Reactor is the easiest, least amount of time and effort, and in the long run lowest cost for calcium alkalinity in a reef aquarium. With a pH controller any calcium reactor can be very easy to setup and run and adjust. Using the Apex as the pH controller will make you immediately aware if your reactor clogs or you run out of CO2.
Someone mentioned the Dastaco Reactor. The Dastaco is cake. Just fill it up and then it has two adjustment knobs. Once it is running if you want to raise your alk from 7 to 8 you just turn the alk knob. Its very simple.
Getting CO2 tanks is easy. If you want something pretty you can order them online. And get shiny aluminum tanks. My preference is to look up a 'Tavern' service in your area. Tavern services are the companies that supply the soda and beer machines for all the restaurants and bars -so every neighborhood has a couple. Or find a brewery store. The tavern supplies have a huge inventory of used CO2 tanks that they rent out for minimal security deposit. When the tank is empty you just take it to the tavern supply and they hand you a filled tank. The tanks are usually painted an ugly color and are not pretty. But for a small fee you can have a tank and a spare and swap them out when needed. Also the Tavern supply has 'Food' grade CO2 - I don't know what the difference is between food grade and welding grade...
If you want the shiny pretty CO2 tanks - Still use the Tavern supply for your fill up. And depending on the size of the metropolis you live in the CO2 tanks are available on Craigslist used. If the tanks are old they may need a hydro test which is $20-$40. But that test certifies the tanks for 9 more years of use.
I know you are happy with the automation you have installed and been able to accomplish without the Apex. But now that you are at the point where the tank is stable and doing well. You are slowly going to increase the livestock of fish and corals. The investment you will have in livestock will soon be significantly more than the cost of an Apex. You should get an Apex if not for the automation - just purely for the security of having it monitor your system and let you know when something is going wrong or not functioning. Whether temp issue, topoff failure, pump failure, power failure - The apex can let you know something is amiss in your tank - Even when you are in the next room and might not notice.
Dave B
Moving the rocks between sump and tank is not a problem. Anything growing in your sump has the opportunity to be growing in your tank. And is already in your tank, but is kept from exploding into view because of the livestock in your tank. Somewhere under or between your rocks you have the little mini featherdusters and there is a tiny spot of algae. But all the hungry mouths in your tank keep it in check.
Moving the rocks back and forth gives your fish a chance to munch on "real" foods. And is a great supplement to their diet. It also will be moving fresh batches of pods directly into the display tank.
This is definitely something you can do without worry.
I hadn't caught up on the post for awhile, so here are some comments to some topics from the past month.
Calcium Reactor is the easiest, least amount of time and effort, and in the long run lowest cost for calcium alkalinity in a reef aquarium. With a pH controller any calcium reactor can be very easy to setup and run and adjust. Using the Apex as the pH controller will make you immediately aware if your reactor clogs or you run out of CO2.
Someone mentioned the Dastaco Reactor. The Dastaco is cake. Just fill it up and then it has two adjustment knobs. Once it is running if you want to raise your alk from 7 to 8 you just turn the alk knob. Its very simple.
Getting CO2 tanks is easy. If you want something pretty you can order them online. And get shiny aluminum tanks. My preference is to look up a 'Tavern' service in your area. Tavern services are the companies that supply the soda and beer machines for all the restaurants and bars -so every neighborhood has a couple. Or find a brewery store. The tavern supplies have a huge inventory of used CO2 tanks that they rent out for minimal security deposit. When the tank is empty you just take it to the tavern supply and they hand you a filled tank. The tanks are usually painted an ugly color and are not pretty. But for a small fee you can have a tank and a spare and swap them out when needed. Also the Tavern supply has 'Food' grade CO2 - I don't know what the difference is between food grade and welding grade...
If you want the shiny pretty CO2 tanks - Still use the Tavern supply for your fill up. And depending on the size of the metropolis you live in the CO2 tanks are available on Craigslist used. If the tanks are old they may need a hydro test which is $20-$40. But that test certifies the tanks for 9 more years of use.
I know you are happy with the automation you have installed and been able to accomplish without the Apex. But now that you are at the point where the tank is stable and doing well. You are slowly going to increase the livestock of fish and corals. The investment you will have in livestock will soon be significantly more than the cost of an Apex. You should get an Apex if not for the automation - just purely for the security of having it monitor your system and let you know when something is going wrong or not functioning. Whether temp issue, topoff failure, pump failure, power failure - The apex can let you know something is amiss in your tank - Even when you are in the next room and might not notice.
Dave B
Dave- thanks for a great post. I keep going back and forth on the dosing options for Ca and as much as Im trying to avoid a calcium reactor you make some salient points. If it is truly as easy as you say it is, I need to look deeper into the option. I also will exchange some rock tonight from the sump to my display to give the fish something fresh to eat.
Who sells Dastaco reactors? Is there a link online?
Also with regards to the automation, Everything is automated without apex. I dont think I need Apex for automation, however I have no issues installing it for monitoring as you suggested and I think its a great idea to have that in place to monitor ph, temp, etc. I wish they had a calcium, alk and mag probe -that would make monitoring super easy. Ill keep you up to date with regards to the progress.
Thanks for your input.
Who sells Dastaco reactors? Is there a link online?
Also with regards to the automation, Everything is automated without apex. I dont think I need Apex for automation, however I have no issues installing it for monitoring as you suggested and I think its a great idea to have that in place to monitor ph, temp, etc. I wish they had a calcium, alk and mag probe -that would make monitoring super easy. Ill keep you up to date with regards to the progress.
Thanks for your input.
Rudimenta
Member
1000 Gallon Build- Here we go- Lots of Pictures
Personally if they show no interest better put back in the sump, you don't want it to flourish in the DT
Personally if they show no interest better put back in the sump, you don't want it to flourish in the DT
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