600 gal display/900+ gal build thread in the Chicago 'burbs.
- Thread starter JohnL
- Start date
Well, the pipe to the right is the return to the tank from the sump. I put a 90 elbow on it so it jets water up against the front glass parallel. The back left is the overflow pipe. This causes a clockwise swirl of the whole tank. The ball spins in the middle... well it did, its so big now its just stuck in the middle. The Koralia was aimed so that it helped lock the spinning ball int he middle.
Its hard to describe. Basically it wanted to stick to the middle and I just made it so the korallia didn't blast it to the other side of the tank and then all around.. the flow locks it in the middle.
I planned this out when I set the tank up, and I didn't think there was a chance in hell it would actually work. Surprisingly, it did.
Oh btw, I think this spinnign motion is why the whole damn thing is green and growing. There seems to be no dead parts on it, like usually happens after it "mats" up. Its all bright green and growing like mad. I keep ripping fistfull chunks out of it and tossing it
Its hard to describe. Basically it wanted to stick to the middle and I just made it so the korallia didn't blast it to the other side of the tank and then all around.. the flow locks it in the middle.
I planned this out when I set the tank up, and I didn't think there was a chance in hell it would actually work. Surprisingly, it did.
Oh btw, I think this spinnign motion is why the whole damn thing is green and growing. There seems to be no dead parts on it, like usually happens after it "mats" up. Its all bright green and growing like mad. I keep ripping fistfull chunks out of it and tossing it
jnarowe
New member
hardly royalty but I was never able to get it right in my fuge, and it was oval! :lol: I have seen people suggest keeping it in a collander, and I can't see that working either. The issue is just as you describe. Kind of a feast or famine in my fuge.
It mats up and then you really just have a detritus trap probably putting more nutrients into the system than it can remove. I am not really a fan of refugiums for that purpose anyway. IMO, they would need to be very large to have any reall affect on nutrients, but I do value them greatly as a predator-free zone to grow pods and even just as a point of interest. In my next system, my fuge will be on the floor with substantial head room so I can service it easily and allow mangroves to grow tall.
I will give you some sort of negative feedback as well, in that I think the rubble and sand will just cause you trouble in that arrangement. My experience has been that rubble just collects detritus and without water movement throughout the rock, it's a bit of a time-bomb.
I also feel the same way about sand. If I can't get in, shut down the water throughput, and swap out a portion of the sand with new EASILY, there is another negative event on the way.
Within the first few months of having my system running, I yanked all the rubble from my sumps. This was prompted by a complete drain and cleaning, during which I found a HUGE amount of detritus under the rubble, even with 4,000 gph circulating through. So now ALL water coming from the overflow goes through floss, and the sumps are completely bare. That way I can drain them during a water change, shop-vac out the detritus, and re-fill quickly and easily.
I am a fan of RDSB (Remote Deep Sand Beds) as long as they are EASILY serviced on a set schedule. I hope you take this as constructive and not a lecture. Tough to come across properly over the net, but you clearly have an interest in doing things "right" and/or experimenting with various methods, which makes you a prime example of someone who will take advice into account and use it when appropriate.
It mats up and then you really just have a detritus trap probably putting more nutrients into the system than it can remove. I am not really a fan of refugiums for that purpose anyway. IMO, they would need to be very large to have any reall affect on nutrients, but I do value them greatly as a predator-free zone to grow pods and even just as a point of interest. In my next system, my fuge will be on the floor with substantial head room so I can service it easily and allow mangroves to grow tall.
I will give you some sort of negative feedback as well, in that I think the rubble and sand will just cause you trouble in that arrangement. My experience has been that rubble just collects detritus and without water movement throughout the rock, it's a bit of a time-bomb.
I also feel the same way about sand. If I can't get in, shut down the water throughput, and swap out a portion of the sand with new EASILY, there is another negative event on the way.
Within the first few months of having my system running, I yanked all the rubble from my sumps. This was prompted by a complete drain and cleaning, during which I found a HUGE amount of detritus under the rubble, even with 4,000 gph circulating through. So now ALL water coming from the overflow goes through floss, and the sumps are completely bare. That way I can drain them during a water change, shop-vac out the detritus, and re-fill quickly and easily.
I am a fan of RDSB (Remote Deep Sand Beds) as long as they are EASILY serviced on a set schedule. I hope you take this as constructive and not a lecture. Tough to come across properly over the net, but you clearly have an interest in doing things "right" and/or experimenting with various methods, which makes you a prime example of someone who will take advice into account and use it when appropriate.
No offense taken on the criticism. My main sump is 175 gallons and completely bare. Its easy to vac out and everything dumps in there. My frag tank and my fuge have that rock rubble as you see. That fuge also has 1 bag of sand, and 1 large container of mud.
Why? I'm kinda interested in seeing what grows. I'm interested in different types of macro algae and I can't plant it in the display tank because it will get out of control. The cheato was a test to see if I can grow the stuff well. My plan is to remove the cheato slowly and start planting different kinds of interesting macros when ever I can find the time
If it doesn't work out and becomes a trap, I'll just break it all sown and get rid of the junk. Everyone is looking to buy rubble
The frag tank just has rubble. Its all tiny pieces that I'm going to use to mount frags. Same thing, if it becomes a problem, I'll dump it. The Frag tank is the third tank in the chain. I removed rock to get to the bottom and there has been no build up of anything over the last few months. Some pods, and a very fine layer of sediment, some tube worms, thats it. The sediment doesn't look organic. Again if its a problem I can easily move the rock to wine side of the tank every few months and vacuum it out.
Speaking of which I've stopped vacuuming out my sump to see what happens. At first I noticed an alarming build up of organic matter. Then cam an explosion of life. Now I've got turnicates, bivalves, worms, you name it down there. I might be wrong, and I wont know for another couple of months, but I think the organic layer is actually shrinking. I don't know how that can be unless the life down there is processing it.
Why? I'm kinda interested in seeing what grows. I'm interested in different types of macro algae and I can't plant it in the display tank because it will get out of control. The cheato was a test to see if I can grow the stuff well. My plan is to remove the cheato slowly and start planting different kinds of interesting macros when ever I can find the time
If it doesn't work out and becomes a trap, I'll just break it all sown and get rid of the junk. Everyone is looking to buy rubble
The frag tank just has rubble. Its all tiny pieces that I'm going to use to mount frags. Same thing, if it becomes a problem, I'll dump it. The Frag tank is the third tank in the chain. I removed rock to get to the bottom and there has been no build up of anything over the last few months. Some pods, and a very fine layer of sediment, some tube worms, thats it. The sediment doesn't look organic. Again if its a problem I can easily move the rock to wine side of the tank every few months and vacuum it out
.Speaking of which I've stopped vacuuming out my sump to see what happens. At first I noticed an alarming build up of organic matter. Then cam an explosion of life. Now I've got turnicates, bivalves, worms, you name it down there. I might be wrong, and I wont know for another couple of months, but I think the organic layer is actually shrinking. I don't know how that can be unless the life down there is processing it.
mcliffy2
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14893841#post14893841 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wmilas
Oh and the back glass. Think I should scrape it? Its kinda looking cool now that its getting all purple
Trust me, scrape it now, thank me later.
When you have corals you'll want the clean backdrop so they stand out - a lot of corals blend in if you don't have a clean background.I always post Reef Bum's tank as a good example of why you want to keep your background clean:
Also (sorry to post multiple little posts) I'm thinking of a copper banded butterfly as my next fish. I'm getting sick of injecting Aptasia for 20 minutes every weekend and I love the way the fish looks. If he ends up too aggressive on the LPS I could possible shift over towards more of a sps tank since I still have that option being no corals are currently in.
What do you guys think?
What do you guys think?
Mr. Brooks
MASVC Member
Get some peppermint shrimp instead. Worked for me.
jnarowe
New member
I didn't have a good experience with the peps, but I have heard others say they worked. For me, I think there were just too many or too big, or just too much other good food in the system...
I put over 50 peppermints in my tank and they did nothing but provide a nice snack for someone else. I also discovered that there are look-a-like shrimp sold as peppermints that actually aren't.
I put over 50 peppermints in my tank and they did nothing but provide a nice snack for someone else. I also discovered that there are look-a-like shrimp sold as peppermints that actually aren't.
I put a few peps on one rock pile and they are keeping the aptasia down on that pile... but they don't move around the tank.. they stick to that pile. I put 4 in, 2 made it. One got sucked to a powerhead the first day, and one just up and died.
I could introduce 2 or 3 more per rock pile, but they aren't cheap, that's for sure.
I have lots of rock.. I'm hoping I could keep one alive. I probably should try a few more peps first though. They are kind of expensive though locally.. like 11 or 12 bux a pop.
I could introduce 2 or 3 more per rock pile, but they aren't cheap, that's for sure.
I have lots of rock.. I'm hoping I could keep one alive. I probably should try a few more peps first though. They are kind of expensive though locally.. like 11 or 12 bux a pop.
