220 Inwall - Plan

[bheron]

ChinChek787 - thank you!!! Glad you enjoy it.

Marc -

We have a great thread on our club's message board that is rather old, but it had lots of different ways of doing this. I'll try to locate it for you.

- Ok. That would be great if you could.

Your tank looks great. Cerith eggs on the back glass is a good indication.

- Cool. Ive had these before in my other tank never got any baby snails to grow. Im guess its b/c the eggs get eaten. THis time I put some in my fuge in the hope to reproduce my snail population.

The shrimp in the overflow can be netted out of there, along with the kent scraper blade.

- Yea, but I need a 36" net! I was hoping he'd climb back up but he really hasnt left the spot. I dropped some food down and het ate. Very anti-social if you ask me.

Put the torch in an area of very low flow, surrounded by rocks and it will open up more if it isn't sick (brown jelly disease).

- Hmmm. Ok, had it in a "lower" flow area, but never a very low flow. I'll have to move it asap. Im concerned that my very low flow areas are also really the lowest places for light. Might have to fix that. OK! thanks. Hopefully it doesnt have that disease.

The bubble is how the frogspawn splits one head into two. It will take time, but soon you'll see the division clearly.

Cool!

Thanks so mcuh Marc!

~~~~

Also, on another topic, in my quest for crystal clear water, Ive started using the micron bags in my sump again. And, while I know its a pain to clean them (every other day usually) I have to say I really do notice a difference. I think Ive done a good job with the microbubbles and have a feeling most of my problems with clear water has to do with floating, water-borne particles.

Anyway, my question is around these particles. Besides the micron filter bag, what would be other effective methods of Mechanical filtration?

- Of course some sort of hang on back filter

- Would a more powerful protein skimmer catch these things, or does a skimmer get smaller, invisible waste?

 

[Stile2]

My peppermint is very anti social as well, but then again I haven't seen an aiptasia since he's been in the tank.

That's good enough for me .

Keith

 

[melev]

Bryan, if you were to run ozone, you'd have crystal clear water. However, I tend to believe that floating particulates becomes a meal for something in the tank, so I never try to have pristine water. I want it clear and bubble free, but that's it.

If you don't like the color of the water, run carbon actively in a phosban reactor with slow flow going through it.

 

[bheron]

Stile2- didnt think about that. there are little sponges in my overflow that, I dont think, the peppermint shrimp has touched. I'll haveto work on building a net to get 'em out!

Marc - so a skimmer wont address the particles?

Im definitely in agreement that some particles are good for the inhabitants, but there's just too much! Plus, I think my ppowerful lights magnify the situation.

Hmmmm, ok, so Ozone can destroy free floating particles, huh? Cool. Didnt know that. Is that different or the same as UV sterlization? Cause I've seen both.

Its not the color of the water - Im great there and do have carbon but havent run it yet. Im going to get a phosban reactor someday, but maybe the Ozone should be first if my goal is to clear up the water.

Cool, thanks. Jsut have to get ready to fall off my chair when I check out prices!

 

[melev]

Be sure to read RHF's article about Ozone in last month's RKO (reefkeeping.com). Ozone increases your skimmers' ability to pull stuff out. A great skimmer will indeed pull out particulates.

I know a few people using a cheap Coralife ozonizer that runs less than $100. I don't run ozone.

You can attach your current net to a piece of PVC with zip ties.

 

[bheron]

Ah, so its not directly responsible for pulling otu particles. Hmmm. Alright, I'll read the article.

I just tried for 30 mins to get the shrimp out of my overflow! I gave up when I realized I was gonna do more damage to my dursos than was worth it. I left the net there just in case he decided to go in it, then i'll pull it up. Otherwise, he's on his own!

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7027835#post7027835 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bheron
Ah, so its not directly responsible for pulling otu particles. Hmmm. Alright, I'll read the article.

I just tried for 30 mins to get the shrimp out of my overflow! I gave up when I realized I was gonna do more damage to my dursos than was worth it. I left the net there just in case he decided to go in it, then i'll pull it up. Otherwise, he's on his own!

You could try putting a piece of food inside the net and lowering it down so he climbs in for a snack; that might work..

Just to add onto the ozone discussion.. I run ozone in my skimmer. I must admit it makes for very clean water.

Howevr, the ozone doesn't do anything for the free-floating particles in my system. I think right now my problem is that I have so much flow going in the tank that no matter how hard I try I'm getting little things floating around. Part of my problem is that my sump turnover is so high that nothing really has a chance to settle out in the sump...

I'm still planning on trying some filter socks too to see how well those work. Even just cheap stocking seemed to help, but they're a bit annoying to change..

And Marc, I'm interested in the gravity fed skimmer too! My 54" beckett is a great skimmer, but the 400w of power it sucks is a killer. I'd like to slowly DIY a nice gravity fed NW or airstone skimmer.

Tyler

 

[melev]

Yeah, that's a lot of power, Tyler. I love my Euro-Reef even more now, using only 81w of power.

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7028755#post7028755 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Yeah, that's a lot of power, Tyler. I love my Euro-Reef even more now, using only 81w of power.

When I first set up my reef I didn't really think about the power usage too much in the plans. I kinda regret that now. In all honesty I thought I could run my skimmer with a PCX-40 (150w), but it didn't work very well that way..

Wow, 81w for the EuroReef! Now that's nice...

Oh well, I'll just have to start tweaking power usage as I build up my system; move to more efficient solutions where possible, etc.

Tyler

 

[bheron]

Thanks for the ozone feedback Tyler. Started to read RHF's article lastnight but didnt finish it. Those bball games were amazing!

I should step out of this discussion since I have such a wimpy skimmer!

Great idea about dropping some food in the net for the shrimp - that'll get em, im sure.

I went to town last night cleaning and adding the filter bags to my system. Probably not something, Im sure, that I'll keep up forever, but Im curious to see how well it battles the waterborne particulate.

Tyler - gravity fed "skimmer"? I think Marc was referring to a gravity fed ATO. Whats the idea behind the skimmer?

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7029573#post7029573 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bheron
Thanks for the ozone feedback Tyler. Started to read RHF's article lastnight but didnt finish it. Those bball games were amazing!

I should step out of this discussion since I have such a wimpy skimmer!

Great idea about dropping some food in the net for the shrimp - that'll get em, im sure.

I went to town last night cleaning and adding the filter bags to my system. Probably not something, Im sure, that I'll keep up forever, but Im curious to see how well it battles the waterborne particulate.

Tyler - gravity fed "skimmer"? I think Marc was referring to a gravity fed ATO. Whats the idea behind the skimmer?

If you do look into ozone, I'd recommend an ORP controller for it; it's kinda flaky to just time it like I have.

Let us know how the filter bags turn out. Where'd you get them from? What micron are they?

I've gotta get my act together this weekend and do a thorough cleaning of my system; clean of the rocks, etc... Amazing how much crud you can clean out isn't it?

Ooops, I thought I read skimmer; I didn't realize Marc was mentioning ATO. OOOOOPS! My mistake.

I've seen some people on here build skimmers such that the water from their overflow dumps directly into the skimmer and then drains out of the skimmer into the sump. The advantage is all overflow water hits the skimmer and you're not using a pump. Then they either use recirculating needlewheel pumps or large airstones to generate the requisite bubbles; a MUCH more efficient option than I'm using.

Tyler

 

[bheron]

Tyler - thanks for the heads up on the ORP contorller. didnt know that.

INteresting on the skimmer idea - would be nice to be able to leverage that water and power coming out of the overflows.

Youre gonna clean the rocks? Like blowing detritus off them? Ive heard of people doing that but I just HATE to make that mess.

I forget what the micron bags are right now, but I think they're 800 micron? or 300, cant rememeber. i bought them at the LSF awhile back knowing id want to use them. a 5 pack for like $10. good deal. i also sometimes "double bag' them which I think helps. Usually just then rinse them out in the sink every few days, but sometimes put them in a hot cycle in the wash.

Wanna know something crazy....
when I rinse out the micron bags, Im sooo happy they're filled with tons of pods that I cant rinse them down the drain!!! I feel so guilty that I stand over the fuge and pick them off one by one. I used to do this in my old sump. What a waste of time?!

 

[gkarshens]

My tank usually settles down in about 1/2 an hour after blowing of the rocks. It is a good thing to do since it helps get rid of excess detritus by putting it back into the water column to go thru your filtration. It also provides more nutrients for your corals. HTH

 

[bheron]

THanksGabriel. I know your point. Usually I wind up working on/in my tank enought that I cause these detritus storms anyway. I just neve thought about making it part of a my cleaning routine. thanks.

ALso, just finished reading, or should I say, attempting to read the article Marc pointed me to. I dont know what it is - maybe Im dumb, impatient or what - but I can never seem to get into these scientific, technical type articles! I feel like Im back in chemistry class, or doing a research paper in college......or reading some of my wife's work she brought home. Im sure its all very accurate, scholarly work, but it just reminds me why I cant read most of the Reefkeeping magazine. I can appreciate the work, time, and industry expertise put into it. Just not for me and just my opinion.

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7029807#post7029807 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bheron
Tyler - thanks for the heads up on the ORP contorller. didnt know that.

INteresting on the skimmer idea - would be nice to be able to leverage that water and power coming out of the overflows.

Youre gonna clean the rocks? Like blowing detritus off them? Ive heard of people doing that but I just HATE to make that mess.

I forget what the micron bags are right now, but I think they're 800 micron? or 300, cant rememeber. i bought them at the LSF awhile back knowing id want to use them. a 5 pack for like $10. good deal. i also sometimes "double bag' them which I think helps. Usually just then rinse them out in the sink every few days, but sometimes put them in a hot cycle in the wash.

Wanna know something crazy....
when I rinse out the micron bags, Im sooo happy they're filled with tons of pods that I cant rinse them down the drain!!! I feel so guilty that I stand over the fuge and pick them off one by one. I used to do this in my old sump. What a waste of time?!

Bryan,

I don't know that you NEED an ozone controller but I think it'll make getting the ozone set properly a LOT easier if you go down that route...

Yes, I liked the idea of the gravity fed skimmer too. I'm going to see if I can DIY a skimmer down the road that'll work on that principle; being able to reduce the power consumption from my skimmer would help things out quite a bit.

Sounds pretty simple for the micron filter bags. Do you just tie them to the drain pipes or did you make a little hoop for them or something like that?

Heh, I know the feeling; when I siphon the detritus out of my sump I will usually carefully drain off the pail leaving a pile of sludge behind. I then sift through the sluge and pick out the snails, mini-stars and anything else "alive".

Tyler

 

[bheron]

Tyler - thanks for clearing up the ozone controller topic. I'll have to put it on my list down the road along with a primo skimmer .

Still will battle the particles in the meantime. It can be tough to get the bags to stay on. Mine have straps that tighten the bag when you pull them. I used to tie these to the PVC plumbing and it worked ok. Now, b/c I have Melev's bubble towers implemented, they're held in place by the towers and the LR rubble.

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7029914#post7029914 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bheron
THanksGabriel. I know your point. Usually I wind up working on/in my tank enought that I cause these detritus storms anyway. I just neve thought about making it part of a my cleaning routine. thanks.

ALso, just finished reading, or should I say, attempting to read the article Marc pointed me to. I dont know what it is - maybe Im dumb, impatient or what - but I can never seem to get into these scientific, technical type articles! I feel like Im back in chemistry class, or doing a research paper in college......or reading some of my wife's work she brought home. Im sure its all very accurate, scholarly work, but it just reminds me why I cant read most of the Reefkeeping magazine. I can appreciate the work, time, and industry expertise put into it. Just not for me and just my opinion.

Ooops, I didn't even respond about blowing off the rocks.

You'll be amazed what you can baste out of the rocks... I find it helps get any uneaten food out, keeps the sand from building up in the rocks, etc. And if you throw the filter socks on after you do that it'll clear up pretty quick..

My feathers go nuts when I go this! So much for them to eat.

Tyler

 

[bheron]

Excellent points! Maybe I'll makeit part of the routine to do a majore dusting periodically, and right when I've rinsed out the bags.

Here's a pic I found of how I secure the bags:

 

[bheron]

Skimmer gurus - what do you think of this deal?

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=801889

 

[melev]

Seems like a lot for that skimmer. I've paid less for used skimmers in the past. $400 and the injector isn't even a beckett. Hmm. I guess if it came with the pump, which I don't seem to see listed....