Gig la

I have a very much over sized skimmer. It is the only mechanical filtration. I am on a pretty decent schedule of wc now. I have run with the sock and without. I may put the sock back in now just to keep things a little more tidy. I also took my carbon/gfo reactor offline months ago as well. No problems from that, and it actually seemed to help. I have gotten my mindset back in it and even given myself alarms on my phone so i dont forget something. I have 3 kids and a couple hobbies...I have to stay busy or I go nuts, so the alarms help alot.
 
It’s interesting that the only other person I follow Marc Leveson, that also run sockless and it keeps same arguments (oversize skimmer, keeps with WC, yada... yada... yada) And all of the sudden, out of nowhere his Na3 gets out of chart.
 
I also use a sockless system. I can use sock if I want but chose not to use it for a long time now.
To each his/her own. Keep the tank however you like if it work well for you.
 
I agreed everyone can keep their tank however they like if it work well for them, but "frog.pauley" on post #240 described various situations where his trying to lower his nitrates and his not successful until he takes his sump out of his stand and gets rid of the excess of discomposed waste. Then when he puts it back on line, the next day like magic... Non traceable nitrates.

IMO the use of a mechanical filter (sock of floss) to catch large particles, will help this trouble. But if there's not going to be anything to filter out such particles, then add cleaning the bottom of your sump more often.
 
I hate sump debris. I ran sockless for awhile and never will again. Only due to the fact my sumps are always so low to the ground I can't get a syphon going to clean all the crud out. Have to rig up an old pump that won't jam and try to pump it all out. Or drain it and so it by hand.
 
Well the nitrates have bounced back to detectable...good thing. I ran a sock in the beginning. I actually have a vertex sock bracket that i just took out. Reasoning was a design flaw on my part. Alot of the sludge in my sump could be contributed to the sand I chose. I have marco rocks course sand....it was really dirty! I rinsed for hours, but when it wnt into the tank it was a cloud for a day or so and alot of that stuff settled in the sump. Over time what settled in the tank has been pic up and moved to the sump...of course alot of it was decaying debris :)
Nemmy i agree as well i should run my sock just because of the siphon thing. My sump is in the stand and only a couple inches off the floor. It would have made a fantastic RC comedy show seeing me get the sump out of a stand it was never intended to come out of. Once again...design flaw! I do have alot of verticle room in my stand as we builty it that way. During construction of the stand my boy was 2...we built it high enough to keep finger prints off the glass :) But the large access was in the back, and at the time it wasnt a big deal because i had room to get back there...new house + 2 more children = less room lol. Soooo, there is a possibility I will dig out the sock set up and re install this weekend. I havent made up my mind.
 
nemmy said:
I hate sump debris. I ran sockless for awhile and never will again. Only due to the fact my sumps are always so low to the ground I can't get a syphon going to clean all the crud out. Have to rig up an old pump that won't jam and try to pump it all out. Or drain it and so it by hand.
Click to expand...


This is what you seek: Python Water Changer Comes in multiple lengths. Basically, it's a water bed filler with a quick disconnect and ball valve. Water goes down the sink, and no mess. I've been using the same one for over 20 years now with no issues.
 
maxxII said:
This is what you seek: Python Water Changer Comes in multiple lengths. Basically, it's a water bed filler with a quick disconnect and ball valve. Water goes down the sink, and no mess. I've been using the same one for over 20 years now with no issues.
Click to expand...

I just use a wet/dry vac to clean out my sump. Typically every other water change I vacuum it out. I like the Home Depot buckethead because it fits on 5 gallon buckets. I have tons of salt buckets so I just line up a couple and swap the buckethead when the bucket fills up.

It's cheap too:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Bucket-Head-5-gal-Wet-Dry-Vacuum-BH0100/202017218
 
Thats a really good idea! Never would have thunk a wet dry vac would be useful. I swear I learn new stuff every time i am on here lol
 
frog.pauley said:
Thats a really good idea! Never would have thunk a wet dry vac would be useful. I swear I learn new stuff every time i am on here lol
Click to expand...

nemmy said:
Was just about to say the same thing. Never once thought to vacuum it out. That's just wild.
Click to expand...

It works like a charm. Especially for those of us who like looking at a clean sump, using a wet/dry vac literally removes all of the muck.
 
Was thinking the same thing! All the expensive equipment we have and a solution can be a shop vac! lol This item should be listed with essential equipment when building a sump! The bad part is, it has never crossed my mind. I am a pretty handy guy i guess, and its such a simple thing.

On to other news, BRS order arrived today with new toys. The hanna Alk checker has got be on the list with the wet/dry vac! So simple and spot on. I have been using the red sea color kit, and just never felt confident that i was getting it right. Turns out I was spot on. On the other hand, the calcium kit is a little less user friendly...but a digital read out is nice. I was also a little off with the red sea kit on that. of course 5 ppm isnt bad i guess.
Now i have a dilemma. I am deciding on an automated dosing pump now. I do like gadgets. For now i am gonna see how dosing myself goes and make a decision. BRS 2 part is decently easy to deal with, but if it gets ridiculous, I'll pick up a pump system.
 
frog.pauley said:
Was thinking the same thing! All the expensive equipment we have and a solution can be a shop vac! lol This item should be listed with essential equipment when building a sump! The bad part is, it has never crossed my mind. I am a pretty handy guy i guess, and its such a simple thing.

On to other news, BRS order arrived today with new toys. The hanna Alk checker has got be on the list with the wet/dry vac! So simple and spot on. I have been using the red sea color kit, and just never felt confident that i was getting it right. Turns out I was spot on. On the other hand, the calcium kit is a little less user friendly...but a digital read out is nice. I was also a little off with the red sea kit on that. of course 5 ppm isnt bad i guess.
Now i have a dilemma. I am deciding on an automated dosing pump now. I do like gadgets. For now i am gonna see how dosing myself goes and make a decision. BRS 2 part is decently easy to deal with, but if it gets ridiculous, I'll pick up a pump system.
Click to expand...


You might want to research that a little bit more. There have been several reports of the Hanna Alk checker being off by a significant amount, and by off, I mean reading low. So you are reading a DKh of 9 and you're really at 13.

I have a Hanna Phosphate Photometer and really like it, but the Hanna Alk checkers have gotten a bad rap as of late due to a bad batch of reagent.

I've used a shop vac to clean out my sump before, but I dont like hauling 5 gallon buckets of nasty water and muck around my house to the sink. I use the python to pull the nasty water out and then the shop vac for the muck.
 
When I cleaned my sump that's what I do. I empty the sump using a power head with a hose attached into my drum, and the few inches of water left in there I sucked them dry using a mini craftsman shopvac.

Works great!
 
I have been checking the hanna meter against the red sea pro kit...so far both are reading the exact same on the ALK one. The calcium one has slight deviation of 5 maybe 10 ppm. My thought there is the red sea kit is in 10 ppm increments. With it I was reading, to my best guess, 385. The hanna meter was showing 381.
BRS 2 part came in yesterday. I spread out three doses over 6 hours. Using the calculator on brs site, I was supposed to hit 400ppm with the full dose. Checked thiois morning. Hanna says 422ppm. Red sea says 420. I also re checked alk with both as well...rock solid 8.4.

Tank is 3 years old...yes im slow!
Temp----79
Nitrate----5(API)
Specific Gravity------1.026
ALK-----8.4
CAL-----420
Mag----1400

I haven't tested ph in a very long time. I have an APex jr, just never got the ph kit for it. I have an API kit, but really...Those colors are rough to deal with. Everytime i have tested it has been one of the colors around 8.2 to 8.4.
I feel like I am finally getting ahead. Its been a roller coaster. The disasters I have had with this tank have only made it sweeter.
 
Numbers look great!

I had the pH probe for my aquacontroller lite for more than a couple of years and I love it. You only have to remember of calibrating the unit. I bought the two pouches of solution and did it and it was simple and easy.
 
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