I dont know half of what I am reading, but enjoy it none the less...
Subsea,
Why no DSB next time?
I dont know half of what I am reading, but enjoy it none the less...
I'm enjoying the read as well, keep up the ramble. The idea of running a more natural tank fascinates me. On of my favourite freshwater tanks was a self sustaining set up the owner could leave for weeks at a time with nothing but water top offs.
When I set up my first large system, I was working oversea on a 28 day on 28 day off work schedule. My display tank at 150G sat on a cabinet that would not allow for a sump or refugium. I used up one side of a two car garage and plumbed in a remote refugium propagation system. The refugiums consisted of two 55G tanks and the propagation troughs consisted of two 4' by 8' by 6" deep plywood tanks. When I was home, I feed heavily with the macro and pod population increasing dramatically. When I was gone for 28 days, the refugiums feed the tanks. I had no automatic feeders except for complex food webs that provided nutrient recycling.
PS. Interesting signature. Boredom in mankind may well provide some drive, I don't think it put us on top of the evolutionary ladder. I believe in a Creator that is the author of Intelligent Design. He gave us an inate appetite to strive and grow.
And thank you for sharing your experiences with usThank you for the link. Yes, the parallel is there. I like Tom's set up.
I laughed a lot when I read some of the quotes from Sir Terry Prachett.
"The trouble with having an open mind is people will come along and insist on trying to put stuff in it."
Thanks for the laugh.
I am a laisafaire reef keeper. They are more work with sandbed maintenance. Without strict attention to sandbed cleaning, they easily become a nutrient sink. Particularly with the corse substrate used in the Jaubert Plenumn. The Ron Schmeck method is differrent. It's primary goal is nutrient recycling which feeds corals and fish, live nutritious food. However, I think this can be accomplished with a refugium. I like my Eco-System mud filter for that purpose.
Do you think my system with dual chambers on to catch particulate matter to keep the main reverse flow deep sand bed clean, will end up being a nutrient sink? I designed it to be a calc reactor/denitrator, with very low flow, It is working very well currently but it is somewhat new.
What do you think about doing a Jaubert system with calcium reactor media for 4 inches and them an inch or two of course sand?
If your dual chambers, equate to a settleling basin, I would think that your up flow DSB would stay in good shape. Might I ask you, what is your main goal in this design? What size substrate is calcium reactor media? In my use of calcium reactors, I used Caribsea Crushed Coral with very good results. PS: I thought your Franentank thread was diffenitely outside the box of mainstream thinking. I found it very interesting and will be following your thread. Also, thank you for your service. I really think that it is neat that you have involved your 5 year old in this fascinating hobby.
Yeah Baby, plenty to go around :thumbsup: I love this thread. :lol:
Subsea, it is too early for most people to grasp this. They are still in the quarantine and sterile, "don't let any dirt, bacteria, parasites into your tank" phase. Just like us humans were at the turn of the century. Eventually they will learn. I will be gone then, but it will happen. :lol:
:fish1: Hi, just did a complete change of the sand in my tank, collected from the outer reefs off the Florida Keys over the last month. With the sand change I removed all the old sand with a lot detritus and mulm. The new sand is full of worms and other micro and macro flora and fauna, and will hopefully enrich my bacteria colonies on the live rock. I believe in adding or changing the substrate every so often just to add new life to my system, plus I am able to redo the rock work, just make sure you wear gloves when handling the rock. Paul does changing sand or adding sand to your system have the same benefits as adding the mud you collect for your system, if not their are plenty of mud banks to collect mud from, that I could add to my fuge. My primary live food for my fish is Sargasso Shrimp and pods, and I like how you maintain your system using live food as a source for beneficial bacteria for your fish. :fish1:Subsea, it is too early for most people to grasp this. They are still in the quarantine and sterile, "don't let any dirt, bacteria, parasites into your tank" phase. Just like us humans were at the turn of the century. Eventually they will learn. I will be gone then, but it will happen. :lol: