Aquabacs' Cadlights Artisan 50 Azooxanthellae Tank build

[Kreeger1]

Yeah Chuck's back yard is pretty wild to say the least, I've got some good pics I could post up if you like
Erik

 

[Aquabacs]

Erik, if you could, that would be great.

Mike

 

[Kreeger1]

Here's Chuck's backyard, Tropical Jungle in Ohio.

 

[slapshot]

Yes, she's selling her tank and setting up a "smaller" tank that will take up less of her time. She picked up the new tank this weekend so the switchover will begin soon.

Glad to hear that the azoox site project is still alive. I'd written it off. If I can help . . .

Gary

How can she be getting a smaller tank? I'm still waiting for your FTS until she gets her corals out of your tank.

 

[Kreeger1]

The massive 10 by 12 waterfall was still under construction. Imagine the roar of 20,000gph, its good to friends with your neighbors.

 

[uhuru]

Wow, totally unexpected environment in ohio haha. Especially right now. My eyeballs just about froze off as I was walking to my car earlier.

Totally bummed that Chuck is no longer going to be involved.

 

[Aquabacs]

Thanks Erik! A true labor of love there...absolutely beautiful. As far as I remember isn't the majority of those plants taken in over the winter, every year.

Mike

 

[Kreeger1]

Yep, He brings them into his basement and fires up the MH over them. Most of them get chopped down to a few feet. LABOR of love is all I can call it.

 

[aninjaatemyshoe]

Chuck has got to be one of the most interesting guys I've ever met. He bring a whole new meaning to the concept of hobby obsession. It's a real shame he's getting out of this hobby.

 

[GreshamH]

Thanks Uhuru for the photo compliment.

Who sells LC, in what form is it available (liquid, powder, granules), and why is a 10 micron bag needed for dosing. I would much rather go that route than deal with GFO. From what I've read, it's also a more effective means of phosphate removal, assuming you carefully control the dosing.

Gary

Have you read the threads on the "other" forum about LC? Personally I'm not sold on it given what was written.

 

[DML08]

LC dosing?? someone got a link?

 

[Matt_Wandell]

There is a good thread here:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1474839&highlight=lanthanum

We used it on our big tank and definitely experienced coral death afterwards, some of them are now recovering. Knowing everything I know about this system, I can't attribute it to anything else but the lanthanum. In my azoox tank it invariably killed a single species of nice yellow sponge I had every time I dosed it.

Some people don't have problems with it. Joe's tank is probably the greatest example of it being used successfully. So, there are pros and cons, cost being the big one. For me the risks outweigh the costs.

A wise chem expert pointed out that we don't have a test to tell us what our lanthanum level is, only the absence of PO4 as a proxy measurement.

For what it's worth, lanthanum does have some interesting effects on cnidarians. It's used in sunblock lotions as jellyfish sting protection:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...7eeb51d63f773f0182b9b65fd5b3ace0&searchtype=a

Cnidarian venoms produce a wide spectrum of envenoming syndromes in humans ranging from minor local irritation to death. Here, the effects of Chironex fleckeri, Chiropsalmus sp., and Carybdea xaymacana venoms on ventricular myocyte cytosolic Ca2+, haemolysis and Artemia sp. lethality are compared for the first time. All three venoms caused a large, irreversible elevation of cytosolic Ca2+ in myocytes as measured using the Ca2+ sensitive fluorescent probe Indo-1. The L-type Ca2+ channel antagonist verapamil had no effect on Ca2+ influx whilst La3+, a non-specific channel and pore blocker, inhibited the effect. Haemolytic activity was observed for all venoms, with C. xaymacana venom displaying the greatest activity. These activities are consistent with the presence of a pore-forming toxin existing in the venoms which has been demonstrated by transmission electron microscopy in the case of C. fleckeri. The venom of C. fleckeri was found to be more lethal against Artemia sp. than the venom of the other species, consistent with the order of known human toxicities. This suggests that the observed lytic effects may not underlie the lethal effects of the venom, and raises the question of how such potent activities are dealt with by envenomed humans.

 

[Aquabacs]

Matt, how much was the 3ml of lanthanum diluted down when you dosed it on your azoox tank?

 

[Matt_Wandell]

Matt, how much was the 3ml of lanthanum diluted down when you dosed it on your azoox tank?

In a gallon IIRC. Seems like the length of time it takes to apply the dose is important too. I dripped it in over 12 hours at one point. Still killed the sponge. FWIW certain other sponge species were completely unaffected, so go figure.

 

[Aquabacs]

IIRC Joe was dosing the mix slowly over a week directly into the intake of the sand filter. Don't have that luxury so...socks it is.

Plan on stopping by Atlantis next week, weather permitting

By the way Matt, do you find the BRS filter sponges clog very quickly on the GFO reactors? Or using a different type of sponge.

With the carbon dosing of the system, especially with the pellets, the sponges need to be cleaned more often then just when the GFO is changed, real PITA.

Mike

 

[glparr]

"the sponges need to be cleaned more often then just when the GFO is changed, real PITA"

Good to know as I get ready to start using pellets. In general, I wish there was a better solution than those sponges in the BRS reactors.

Gary

 

[slapshot]

"the sponges need to be cleaned more often then just when the GFO is changed, real PITA"

Good to know as I get ready to start using pellets. In general, I wish there was a better solution than those sponges in the BRS reactors.

Gary

Take the sponges out and replace them with fiberglass screening. I'm getting two weeks in between cleanings. Just tie wrap it to the reactor plates.

 

[glparr]

That just confused me. I was not planning to use sponges in my pellet reactor because it seems everyone is using screen to avoid clogged sponges. I thought Mike was saying that his BRS reactor sponges, in which he has GFO and carbon, were clogging faster as a result of adding pellets to the system. Or am I completely mis-reading this?
Gary

 

[Aquabacs]

Gary you are correct, it is the sponges in the GFO reactor what I am speaking about. There are screens from Michael's inside the pellet reactor.

 

[glparr]

Mike,
How are you mounting screens in the BRS reactor? Are you removing all sponges and gluing a piece of screen to the cap to give the GFO a resting platform? Are you keeping the sponge that goes at the top end where the rubber gasket is?
Gary