Help me figure out my tank issues
- Thread starter inktomi
- Start date
Elricsfate
New member
I ordered one from BRS, filled it, attached the tube, and my PH went up a little. Not a lot, but some. Media has lasted roughly 2 months now and is not changing color. I don't know if that's typical or not.
I would guess that if you have much higher levels of C02 relative to mine, your media would run out sooner, but the impact on your PH would also be greater. In any event, I do not recall the media being expensive, so worth a shot.
inktomi
Aviator
Thanks for the link. That's more affordable than I thought.
My tank is in an inside room, but I do have a crawlspace under the house. I'm half considering just getting air from under there since it'd be maybe a couple foot run. Maaayyybee.
I'm still working on the nitrates for now. Vodka is up to 3.45mL but still nitrates are stubborn at ~20. At least I have a goal now...
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My tank is in an inside room, but I do have a crawlspace under the house. I'm half considering just getting air from under there since it'd be maybe a couple foot run. Maaayyybee.
I'm still working on the nitrates for now. Vodka is up to 3.45mL but still nitrates are stubborn at ~20. At least I have a goal now...
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Pittsburgh
New member
Your tank doesn't have much in terms of livestock to worry about gradual vodka dosing increase. Those 3.5ml are not doing much for a 150g tank. Bump it up to about 20ml of 50/50 Vodka/vinegar and you'll have nitrates down to zero in a few days.
Pittsburgh
New member
Look at it this way. RedSea NO3PO4-X has been measured to contain about 60% vinegar and 40% vodka. Many people have had great success with the product. The recommended starting amount for the product is 3ml per 25g a day when NO3 is over 10ppm. This means that for your 150g system you would start with 18ml a day. For your volume to have a major bacterial bloom you would have to dump a bottle of vodka in the tank.
Pittsburgh
New member
Good, give it a week or so now. How's your PO4 and are you dosing any bacteria?
Pittsburgh
New member
Are you using anything to control PO4? IME carbon dosing doesn't work without phosphates. 0.05ppm is the sweet spot for me.
inktomi
Aviator
Nope. No GFO or anything. I removed my biopellets as well.
I feed my tank several times throughout the day with NLS pellets and once with frozen food (I cycle through many varieties of food randomly). I also give my tangs algae most days, though they pick the algae on the rocks constantly as well.
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I feed my tank several times throughout the day with NLS pellets and once with frozen food (I cycle through many varieties of food randomly). I also give my tangs algae most days, though they pick the algae on the rocks constantly as well.
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karimwassef
Active member
My bet is fresh air. Find a way.
The tank is dying anyway and in the winter, cities don't spray.
Find a way for the fresh air to get injected into the water vigorously. How did the open windows work out? any change? Did you run the CO2 scrubber?
The tank is dying anyway and in the winter, cities don't spray.
Find a way for the fresh air to get injected into the water vigorously. How did the open windows work out? any change? Did you run the CO2 scrubber?
karimwassef
Active member
fresh air does more than fix the pH. That's just the result.
It grounds the tank's gas exchange to the atmosphere - keeping it balanced and able to respond to changes.
Just because other tanks can thrive at 7.8 doesn't mean that yours will. They each have other mechanisms that are unique to them. Unless you duplicate them all, you can't assume that you're going to be just as successful.
It grounds the tank's gas exchange to the atmosphere - keeping it balanced and able to respond to changes.
Just because other tanks can thrive at 7.8 doesn't mean that yours will. They each have other mechanisms that are unique to them. Unless you duplicate them all, you can't assume that you're going to be just as successful.
inktomi
Aviator
Those are good points. Certainly there are benefits to fresh air. I agree.
I do have a plan for running an airline into the crawlspace, but it's not that trivial unfortunately for a number of reasons (one of which is that the previous owners fed feral cats and they used the crawlspace as a litter box.. stinky)
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I do have a plan for running an airline into the crawlspace, but it's not that trivial unfortunately for a number of reasons (one of which is that the previous owners fed feral cats and they used the crawlspace as a litter box.. stinky)
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Pittsburgh
New member
Interesting. Well, it looks like you have a PO4/NO3 imbalance somehow. Most people seem to have the opposite problem.
Thinking out loud, something is taking out PO4 in your system. If this is you macro algae, than it also is taking out some NO3, but not all of it. If this is your vodka dosing, same problem.
I would try foods high in phosphates, nori for one, more of it. In an empty tank like yours I would also experiment with PO4 additives, such as triple super phosphate fertilizer or some commercial aquarium PO4 additive. Bottom line though, you would need to restore the balance somehow for NO3 export to start working again.
Also, I wouldn't put fresh air and pH high on priorities when NO3 is 20-30ppm for small SPS frags.
Thinking out loud, something is taking out PO4 in your system. If this is you macro algae, than it also is taking out some NO3, but not all of it. If this is your vodka dosing, same problem.
I would try foods high in phosphates, nori for one, more of it. In an empty tank like yours I would also experiment with PO4 additives, such as triple super phosphate fertilizer or some commercial aquarium PO4 additive. Bottom line though, you would need to restore the balance somehow for NO3 export to start working again.
Also, I wouldn't put fresh air and pH high on priorities when NO3 is 20-30ppm for small SPS frags.
