reeftivo
Skim junkie
Hey buddy!
The rock will collect more junk than a more open scape but you would be fine by getting a large turkey baster and blasting the rock weekly.
CADlights 39g Pro build thread
- Thread starter ArtC
- Start date
Hey buddy!
The rock will collect more junk than a more open scape but you would be fine by getting a large turkey baster and blasting the rock weekly.
Ya, i'm trying to figure out how to spend some money. I figure there are a few things I need to buy.
First, I was thinking about getting a dual reactor from bulkreefsupply, or at least a single reactor, to run GFO. i'm using a fair amount of rowaphos in my filter sock right now, but i've still got chaeto (and pink cotton candy algae) growth out the wazoo in my sump, and i can't get my green slimer to turn green.
On the subject of coloration, I was thinking it's about time to replace some bulbs. I am leaning toward a 20k radium (a local guy has one that won't fire in his sunpod that he'll sell for $55, so hard to turn that down), but i'm still not sure -- i don't want to lose the growth i'd get from the 13k geissman, for instance. i also think i will get some of the Actinic+ bulbs from bulkreefsupply as well. but, i don't want to overdo the "blue" -- on the other hand, i don't want to lose the sunrise/sunset effect from the actinics.
i was also thinking about that air king fan that bulkreefsupply sells. it would be nice to get rid of that super loud stock fan (which has become salt-encrusted/louder). speaking of which, does anyone have a good suggestion for cleaning that off? i was just going to take it apart and wipe it down with some vinegar.
Then, I also feel like I need to come up with a better system for hanging my lights. right now, i'm just using the legs that the fixture comes with, but it's a complete hassle to get the top off to do maintenance/etc. (have to take off the light). anyone have a great idea?
and finally, to your point about my thin digitata branches, i think i need more flow. maybe a second mp10, or maybe just another regular powerhead. it's funny, though -- the tunze 6025 is pointed almost right at the digitata. i don't want to blast it, but i definitely agree that the branches, especially that tall branch on top, is too thin.
I've been thinking about Marinetankdiver's efforts to eliminate the filter sock (and micro-bubbles) so I thought I'd give it a try - Turns out the solution was simple...
1) Remove the label, clean and cut the top 4" of off a 2-liter bottle.
2) Remove the filter sock and replace with the 2-liter bottle (if you have the standard Cadlights sump, it will be a tight fit.)
Viola! - No more micro-bubbles. The bottle prevents the return from injecting the bubbles directly into the first bubble trap. It even works in my high flow sump (1000+ GPH.)
It's very difficult to see the bottle as it virtually disappears under water. The red arrow marks to top of the 2-liter bottle.
I've only had this in place for a couple of days - Here are my observations so far...
Pros
Micro-bubbles are GONE
No more weekly filter sock maintenance
Pods survive the trip with a chance to return to the DT to keep my Mandarin happy.
Skimmer efficiency should increase with raw water feed
Significant increase in PE
Happy filter feeders (My Porcelain crabs are loving it.)
Cons
Although the water is crystal clear (compliments of BRS ROX .08 GAC) there are a lot of micro-particles in suspension. I thought these would dissipate but as of yet, haven't. I suspect this is also explains the PE.
When I think about how much GUNK is in the filter socks after just a week, I'm concerned about on-going water quality. Hopefully the skimmer (helped by my DSB) will pick up the slack, but time (and water tests) will tell the story.
very interesting. my filter sock maintenance is definitely once weekly, and i hate worrying about whether i'm introducing laundry detergent/phosphates into the tank every time i wash a sock. the suspended particles does seem to be a bit of a drawback, but if the corals like it, maybe it's not such a bad thing?
CalmSeasQuest
Active member
The particles aren't "horrible", (far less than visible while diving anywhere) and some may not even be bothered by them. I just got used to having perfectly clear water. The offset is, the corals definitely seem to prefer it - there's a major improvement in PE.
The deciding factor will be water quality (I'm expecting much more skimmate.) If it stays the same over time, I'll probably ditch the sock permanently.
reeftivo
Skim junkie
I moved my slimer down to the middle level of my tank when I started the LNS and PE is back along with the nice deep bright green color. I think it was getting too much light because it was always pale and barely had PE until I moved it. I can't really pinpoint the lighting or the LNS as the sole cause of the slimer bouncing back but I'm sure it's the combination of both.
In regards to your fixture, you may want to check out electrical conduit. I've seen some sweet set ups where they have used two lengths of conduit and had them bent at HD and used them as hangers mounted to the back of the cabinet. Just get them bent, put caps on the ends and paint them black!
Just a thought!
Tivo
reeftivo
Skim junkie
I ran sockless for two years with my other small tank and yes, the animals will be happier but maintenance was much more tasking. Particulate matter that is not consumed or picked up by the skimmer gets imbedded into the substrate and rock and must be basted/churned frequently (CUCs work but not entirely). The animals will benefit from more suspended matter and will have longer periods of PE but if maintenance (basting/churning/skimmer/sump cleaningetc.) is not routinely performed, the water quality can go down hill just as quick and worse than a dirty sock ( a dirty sock is alot faster to switch out and clean than basting rocks or siphoning a sand bed). If you open the photo in my gallery of the old 28 gal JBJ, you will see all the happy animals and alot of particulate matter in the water column. If I paste the pic to my post it's too small to appreciate but in the gallery it's BIG.
I used an eheim sludge extractor (battery operated) when I ran sockless and it worked awsome for the sand. I just siphoned the first inch every few days.
Both have their benefits!
Tivo
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CalmSeasQuest
Active member
LEDs for the Frag Tank
LEDs for the Frag Tank
I've been trying to use the Cadlights 150HQI/T5 fixture over my frag tank with little success. The tank very shallow (24X20X8) as a result, very little light from the MH is dispersed to the sides and corners and the T5s are no where near enough.
I love my AI's on my DT, but don't need the penetration and narrow focus from the 40 degree optics (and I didn't want to spend that much on lights for a small frag tank) so...
I ordered a Maxspect G2-160 to try. I'll hang it above the tank for easy access and the lack of optics should work well in that shallow depth and footprint.
It probably won't be in for a few weeks, but it should make for an interesting comparison. I'll post more once it comes in.
LEDs for the Frag Tank
I've been trying to use the Cadlights 150HQI/T5 fixture over my frag tank with little success. The tank very shallow (24X20X8) as a result, very little light from the MH is dispersed to the sides and corners and the T5s are no where near enough.
I love my AI's on my DT, but don't need the penetration and narrow focus from the 40 degree optics (and I didn't want to spend that much on lights for a small frag tank) so...
I ordered a Maxspect G2-160 to try. I'll hang it above the tank for easy access and the lack of optics should work well in that shallow depth and footprint.
It probably won't be in for a few weeks, but it should make for an interesting comparison. I'll post more once it comes in.
reeftivo
Skim junkie
I'll be purchasing the same one in september so I'm looking forward to your review.
The AI's are the pinnacle but if you can deal with the lack of a true controller like the AI's have, then these are the next best thing. Plus they are getting rave reviews for the price point.
Nice buy Money bags $$ :lmao: Just kidding.
I'm jealous buddy!
coolcorals
New member
I've been thinking about Marinetankdiver's efforts to eliminate the filter sock (and micro-bubbles) so I thought I'd give it a try - Turns out the solution was simple...
1) Remove the label, clean and cut the top 4" of off a 2-liter bottle.
2) Remove the filter sock and replace with the 2-liter bottle (if you have the standard Cadlights sump, it will be a tight fit.)
Viola! - No more micro-bubbles. The bottle prevents the return from injecting the bubbles directly into the first bubble trap. It even works in my high flow sump (1000+ GPH.)
It's very difficult to see the bottle as it virtually disappears under water. The red arrow marks to top of the 2-liter bottle.
Very interesting idea - kind of a simplified bubble tower. I don't like the maintenance of the sock, but appears it filters out a significant amount of waste. Still would love to eliminate the additional work of a weekly sock cleaning! Cheato looks very healthy!
coolcorals
New member
Was afraid of that. Plan to have good flow through tank - not sure that'll be enough. For better or worse, will give the large rock scape a try (wife approved). Will need a good clean-up crew. Let me know when the BM ships and thanks about for all the help.
CalmSeasQuest
Active member
Sockless Results at One Week
Sockless Results at One Week
This has been an interesting test yielding some results that initially had me scratching my head. Here's what I observed...
- The 2-liter bubble trap works perfectly. The few micro-bubbles that initially escaped disappeared completely after a few days once a slime coat developed on the bottle. For those that want to go "Sans sock", it's a great solution.
- At first glance, my water test results were confusing. Even though "visibly" the water quality had degraded with large amounts of suspended debris and detritus - Initial and post test water quality tests were unchanged (within my testing limits using API) No detectable Po3, No3 - Ca=420, dKh=10. Even stranger - ORP has increased from an average of 280, to over 300 (and still climbing.)
- There was a LOT of sediment on all horizontal surfaces (as RT indicated.) The maintenance required to blast all the rocks in the DT and racks in the FT at least weekly would be more time consuming than simply swapping out a filter sock. Even so, the skimmer didn't seem to capture much of it. I think over time, this alone would have driven me back to the filter sock.
- SPS showed significant increases in PE BUT the Z & Ps were struggling (even lost a few new ones that were a bit weak to begin with.)
- Even stranger, Chaeto which had been rocking (despite no measurable phosphates) quickly began to whither. At present pace, it would be totally dead w/i a week. The small amount of hair algae in my systems (sump weirs and a few frags in the frag tank) has turned white and died - All in conflict with what I expected from an increased nutrient environment, especially since I had just cleaned my skimmer prior to this test resulting in a couple of days of no skimmate.
So this seemingly higher nutrient environment was acting more like a ULN system...then I figured it out.
About a week prior to this test, I began adding vinegar to my ATO/Kalk (300ml per 10 tsp Kalk/5 Gal RO/DI) to increase the Ca saturation and slightly lower the pH so I can keep up with evaporation (works great by the way.) One of the additional benefits of this (depending on dosing levels) is that it provides a Carbon source for beneficial bacteria (in the form of Acetate ions.)
I deduce that the addition on the carbon source and resulting increased "good" bacteria out-competed the algae resulted in the whithering of all algae in the system and likely skewed the water test results toward the positive.
I have decided to replace the filter sock and accept the weekly maintenance. As my system in heavy SPS (70+ pieces) I don't want to take any chances. I believe it would have surely resulted in a degradation in water quality over time. I may try a mesh sock instead of the felt, to see what if any impact is derived from allowing "some" smaller particles to remain.
Of course your results may vary but I'm glad I tried this - At least now I KNOW that for me, the benefits from the filter sock outweigh the additional maintenance.
Sockless Results at One Week
This has been an interesting test yielding some results that initially had me scratching my head. Here's what I observed...
- The 2-liter bubble trap works perfectly. The few micro-bubbles that initially escaped disappeared completely after a few days once a slime coat developed on the bottle. For those that want to go "Sans sock", it's a great solution.
- At first glance, my water test results were confusing. Even though "visibly" the water quality had degraded with large amounts of suspended debris and detritus - Initial and post test water quality tests were unchanged (within my testing limits using API) No detectable Po3, No3 - Ca=420, dKh=10. Even stranger - ORP has increased from an average of 280, to over 300 (and still climbing.)
- There was a LOT of sediment on all horizontal surfaces (as RT indicated.) The maintenance required to blast all the rocks in the DT and racks in the FT at least weekly would be more time consuming than simply swapping out a filter sock. Even so, the skimmer didn't seem to capture much of it. I think over time, this alone would have driven me back to the filter sock.
- SPS showed significant increases in PE BUT the Z & Ps were struggling (even lost a few new ones that were a bit weak to begin with.)
- Even stranger, Chaeto which had been rocking (despite no measurable phosphates) quickly began to whither. At present pace, it would be totally dead w/i a week. The small amount of hair algae in my systems (sump weirs and a few frags in the frag tank) has turned white and died - All in conflict with what I expected from an increased nutrient environment, especially since I had just cleaned my skimmer prior to this test resulting in a couple of days of no skimmate.
So this seemingly higher nutrient environment was acting more like a ULN system...then I figured it out.
About a week prior to this test, I began adding vinegar to my ATO/Kalk (300ml per 10 tsp Kalk/5 Gal RO/DI) to increase the Ca saturation and slightly lower the pH so I can keep up with evaporation (works great by the way.) One of the additional benefits of this (depending on dosing levels) is that it provides a Carbon source for beneficial bacteria (in the form of Acetate ions.)
I deduce that the addition on the carbon source and resulting increased "good" bacteria out-competed the algae resulted in the whithering of all algae in the system and likely skewed the water test results toward the positive.
I have decided to replace the filter sock and accept the weekly maintenance. As my system in heavy SPS (70+ pieces) I don't want to take any chances. I believe it would have surely resulted in a degradation in water quality over time. I may try a mesh sock instead of the felt, to see what if any impact is derived from allowing "some" smaller particles to remain.
Of course your results may vary but I'm glad I tried this - At least now I KNOW that for me, the benefits from the filter sock outweigh the additional maintenance.
CalmSeasQuest
Active member
A Silver Lining To The ONLY Downside Of AI LEDS
A Silver Lining To The ONLY Downside Of AI LEDS
The Z & Ps in my DT haven't been thriving, I believe due in part to too much light from my AI LEDS. As a result, I've decided to relegate many of them back to the frag tank, freeing up space for more clams that will happily bask in the LED glow
These two already reside in the display tank...
Blue Crocea
Blue Maxima
These are being delivered on Tuesday...
Soloman Islands Derasa
ORA First Grade Green Maxima
Blue and Gold Maximas
Time to crank up to 2-part dosing
A Silver Lining To The ONLY Downside Of AI LEDS
The Z & Ps in my DT haven't been thriving, I believe due in part to too much light from my AI LEDS. As a result, I've decided to relegate many of them back to the frag tank, freeing up space for more clams that will happily bask in the LED glow
These two already reside in the display tank...
Blue Crocea
Blue Maxima
These are being delivered on Tuesday...
Soloman Islands Derasa
ORA First Grade Green Maxima
Blue and Gold Maximas
Time to crank up to 2-part dosing
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my slimer is right underneath the halide, but it's at least 10" below the surface at the base. i do plan on moving it around a little bit though (i'm gonna cut it up once i get some bonecutters)
i think this sounds pretty smart. this is my new plan! thanks!
coolcorals
New member
Looking for some thoughts on a light fixture issue. Specifically, the LED moonlights. When I first plug in LED transformer, the lights come on normally, but after a few minutes (2-5 mins), they begin flickering. Also, the transformer is very hot to the touch.
Any thoughts or anyone had this issue? I have the older silver fixture, but I assume the LEDs are same (Class 2 Transformer, DC 3v 800mA). Not much info, but does it sound like it could be LEDs, fixture or transformer?
Transformer would be easiest to replace and the plug's heat just doesn't seem normal (I leave it unplugged).
Any thoughts or anyone had this issue? I have the older silver fixture, but I assume the LEDs are same (Class 2 Transformer, DC 3v 800mA). Not much info, but does it sound like it could be LEDs, fixture or transformer?
Transformer would be easiest to replace and the plug's heat just doesn't seem normal (I leave it unplugged).
coolcorals
New member
I'm planning a long trip in June so I need to make sure my tank can manage without maintenance for at least 7 days. Part of that is increasing the capacity of the skimmer cup so the tank doesn't have to run without the skimmer while I am gone.
And to put Tom's soda bottle idea in place and that will be another thing I don't have to worry about - changing the filter sock
Very interesting idea on the skimmer cup overflow. Let us know how that worked out after you return from your trip.
How's the soda bottle working for you? I tried running without a sock, just using the LRR, but I still get some microbubbles. Might try bottle idea, but fill with LRR - maybe that'll trap some of the particles, and require less frequent cleaning than sock - monthly instead of weekly.
coolcorals
New member
Thanks for the update - I plan to give it a try, but do some tuning to make it like a bubble tower. Worth a try, but I still have my pair of filter socks!
What's PE and Z & P (Zoas & Palys)?
CalmSeasQuest
Active member
Polyp Extension, Zoas and Palys
The 2-liter bubble trap works perfect. My issue was the havoc the GUNK normally caught by the filter sock had on my system - and that was only after 1 week. I can't image how nasty it would be many months later.
I'm resigned to doing "sock laundry" - Rotating 6 socks means I only have to do it every month.
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marinetankdiver
New member
The new version of the lights don't have an external transformer for the LED's. Though your problems sounds like the transformer isn't passing consistent power to the LED's. DC transformers do get warm but not so warm that it is uncomfortable to touch them.
With the flickering and heat I guess that the problem is with the transformer.
You should get an AI or Ecoxotic LED fixture to correct this problem
coolcorals
New member
Polyp Extension, Zoas and Palys
The 2-liter bubble trap works perfect. My issue was the havoc the GUNK normally caught by the filter sock had on my system - and that was only after 1 week. I can't image how nasty it would be many months later.
I'm resigned to doing "sock laundry" - Rotating 6 socks means I only have to do it every month.
Thanks - I don't have SPS, so was lost on the PE. Makes sense.
Interesting about the gunk in tank. I'm just completing cycle and my sock does get dirty, but not horrible. I understand other systems run without a sock, but makes you wonder where all the gunk goes.
Maybe in a bubble tower with LRR, the critters (snails, stars, pods, worms, etc) work on the gunk, but without, it just goes back into tank.
Thanks again for providing detailed info.
coolcorals
New member
The new version of the lights don't have an external transformer for the LED's. Though your problems sounds like the transformer isn't passing consistent power to the LED's. DC transformers do get warm but not so warm that it is uncomfortable to touch them.
With the flickering and heat I guess that the problem is with the transformer.
You should get an AI or Ecoxotic LED fixture to correct this problem
Wasn't sure how different the fixtures are.
I'm guessing (hoping) it's the transformer. After a few minutes, it gets much warmer to touch than the transformers for fans or fuge light. Just doesn't seem right.
Also, I'm not 100% sure that the LEDs go out or just go dim, but it does seem like power is not consistent, like you said. Will go to Radio Shack and get a replacement and see what happens.
Yes, I'm been reading the posts on the LED fixtures and would love to get one - esp. to help with summer heat. Unfortunately it goes to end of list behind transformer, RO/DI unit, ATO, clean up crew, corals, fish, etc, but maybe in front of a chiller!
I finally added sand today, so it's looking a lot more like a tank :celeb1:
