dmorel's 220 Round & Shallow reef build

[dmorel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15730415#post15730415 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Snakebyt
awesome tanks a great build thread, i love the way those caps are coming together. Very interesting build. Just encase i missed it, how many gallons is the DT?

Thanks Snakebyt.

the DT is about 190 gallons, the whole system is about 400 not counting the tank that just houses new salt water prior to a water change.

 

[dmorel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15727667#post15727667 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Elliott
I'm tempted to abandon my Ca Reactor and start dosing, better control of parameters, however both methods have their advantages/disadvantages, if I dose I'll get some very large containers to buy me some time between fill ups

I could see making up a few 5 gallon buckets of two part at a time and running a couple of dosing pumps. But even using BRS two part, it's so much more expensive in the long run. It's true I like it better, but I'm currently burning 300ML a day of two part!

The control factor is big though, and I really like not having to worry about pH the way I do with the reactor, and for the life of me, I've yet to get a reactor in all my time doing this that just worked... everyone talks about set it and forget it, but that's never once happened to me. Right now (save for the tinkering I'm doing with vodka and MB7) my tank is more or less on auto pilot and that's BIG.

 

[dmorel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15742631#post15742631 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rickyrooz1
Where did you buy the lights?

Hi Ricky, I spent a lot of time in Newtown PA in my early days. Lived and went to school in New Hope for years.

The majority of the lights were imported from Japan. The WON Brothers spots I got from a US based distributor.

 

[Rickyrooz1]

Thanks for the info. I went to Council Rock High School.

 

[jmoney]

double post

 

[jmoney]

ever thought about changing your regulator? If you have a good on you shouldnt be having these issues...that being said you can buy a regulator recommended by everybody and it may not work for you.

 

[dmorel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15743207#post15743207 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jmoney
ever thought about changing your regulator? If you have a good on you shouldnt be having these issues...that being said you can buy a regulator recommended by everybody and it may not work for you.

Not only have I thought about it, I did it... didn't help.
thanks though.

 

[jmoney]

that is very strange how old is your c02 bottle? I would also try just doing a half fill. If its still fluctuating I would think you may have a defective bottle...c02 tanks are cheap...and mass produced

 

[Untamed12]

If you have not already done so, pick up a small dosing pump for use with the reactor. Once you have a pH controller governing the CO2 and a dosing pump controlling the flow through...you have complete, reliable control over the reactor.

Bubble count/rate no longer matters and you can get rid of any needle valve that is controlling flow rate. Both are weaknesses in consistency.

Then...start testing various combinations of pH and flow rate by testing the alk of the output. (Use 1/2 the regular tested amount and multiply the answer by 2 or you will use up all your test kit reagent really fast) IME, all reactors have a sweet spot maximum. If you flow too much through them the net delivered Alk goes down...if you decrease the pH too much the media turns to mush.

Take (Output Alk- Tank Alk) x flow rate = "output number".

ie: (20dkh - 8dkh) x 40ml/min = 480... (18dkh - 8dkh) x 50ml/min = 500... (16dkh-8dkh) x 60ml/min = 480. In these three examples the net contribution to the tank is about the same assuming the tank is running at 8dkh.

Once you've done all that, you'll know for sure if your reactor is simply too small...or just not reaching it's potential.

 

[dmorel]

If you have not already done so, pick up a small dosing pump for use with the reactor. Once you have a pH controller governing the CO2 and a dosing pump controlling the flow through...you have complete, reliable control over the reactor.

Bubble count/rate no longer matters and you can get rid of any needle valve that is controlling flow rate. Both are weaknesses in consistency.

Then...start testing various combinations of pH and flow rate by testing the alk of the output. (Use 1/2 the regular tested amount and multiply the answer by 2 or you will use up all your test kit reagent really fast) IME, all reactors have a sweet spot maximum. If you flow too much through them the net delivered Alk goes down...if you decrease the pH too much the media turns to mush.

Take (Output Alk- Tank Alk) x flow rate = "output number".

ie: (20dkh - 8dkh) x 40ml/min = 480... (18dkh - 8dkh) x 50ml/min = 500... (16dkh-8dkh) x 60ml/min = 480. In these three examples the net contribution to the tank is about the same assuming the tank is running at 8dkh.

Once you've done all that, you'll know for sure if your reactor is simply too small...or just not reaching it's potential.

Oh I had it dialed in and working fine, and then something just went wrong mechanically. I was already controlling the PH via my RKE and a PH probe on my output, there is simply something wrong with the reactor I have, I'm certain of that fact. It's annoyed me so much I just stopped trying to figure out what it is

 

[dmorel]

Just took a couple of shots for a thread on my local club forum, reposting here for your viewing pleasure, these are shots from this morning with just the superkaru's on.

The required "full tank shot" of course I can't really get a full tank shot since it's round, but you get the point

Little taste of some of the acan garden

Here are a few coral shots

The GIANT milli, this is nearly 18" at the moment and growing every day. Front on view and top down

and close it out with a shot of some zoa's.

 

[dmorel]

Frags growing out in the "back room"

 

[Tater11]

what a beautiful tank.

 

[Elliott]

wow, very nice, you have had significant growth lately!

 

[dmorel]

what a beautiful tank.

thanks a bunch Tater, I'm enjoying it so far

wow, very nice, you have had significant growth lately!

Yeah, stuff is definitely growing well. It better be with 300ML of alk and calc a day! I'm pleased enough that I'm going to invest in 12 gallons of BRS 2 part and some dosers and see what things look in a couple of months before I mess around with a reactor again. I really do like the lack of PH concern with the two part.

What I notice is that my zoa's don't dig the changes of having super clean water, some of them just randomly close up (no pests have checked very closely to make sure) --- it's even almost specific to a specific zoa at a time. I have two different areas of my tank that have some red zoa's that came from the same initial frags (moved the disk after a bunch grew onto the surrounding rock) and both closed up at the same time... I will get some die off but so far, knock wood, they all have recovered after a few days.

 

[dmorel]

So Elliott, you got me curious so I found some old photo's of that milli...

Here are three pics in sequence of growth, June of 08 is shortly after I got the "frag" from aztbs (more of a mini colony)

Second is the day before I moved everything into this tank.

The last one is yesterday.

 

[Elliott]

yeah, nice growth! your tank keeps getting better and better

I'm hanging up the Ca reactor and going with 2 part, ordering a large qty from BRS with their dosing pumps and will get some lg dispensing containers

thanks for the photos

 

[dmorel]

yeah, nice growth! your tank keeps getting better and better

I'm hanging up the Ca reactor and going with 2 part, ordering a large qty from BRS with their dosing pumps and will get some lg dispensing containers

thanks for the photos

That's my plan, I'll mix up 4 gallons at a time and use the dosing pumps with the reefkeeper to automate. I figure I can do about 50 days with 4 gallons so I won't have to be a slave to mixing up 2 part all the time and the automated dosing will be better than this twice a day stuff I'm doing now. I hope it works out for you... UPS is going to be delivering a lot of stuff to our neck of the woods pretty soon

 

[Bax]

The round reef really looks awesome! The growth on the green mille is sick!
I have a really hard time with zoas, acans and such due to low neutrients also. Perhaps we are becoming too efficient?!

 

[dmorel]

The round reef really looks awesome! The growth on the green mille is sick!
I have a really hard time with zoas, acans and such due to low neutrients also. Perhaps we are becoming too efficient?!

thanks bax!
coming along nicely, just hitting the 7 month mark about now I think.
You may be on to something with the nutrients. I do note that my acans are doing well, it's only the zoa's I'm struggling with... weird to say the least, but it certainly could be a nutrient issue and I do some target feeding of the acans which may account for their health.