Is this cruel?

[hansnfrans]

Heres what I wanna do with my newly setup 29 gallon reef tank.

2 ocellaris clowns (currently in tank)
1 Lawnmower blenny
2 green chromis (how much room do these guys need?)
1 cleaner shrimp (currently in tank)
1 pom pom crab (currently in tank)
1 Tridacnid clam (currently in tank)


Is this too heavy of a bioload? Is there room for another blenny? Would I run into problems by adding a watchman goby w/ a pistol shrimp? (don't want the shrimp to kill the cleaner shrimp or pom pom crab or any other livestock for that matter)

Thanks in advance!

 

[Zoalander]

I wouldnt go with the green chromis, they actually need room to swim. The clowns are ok, lawnmower blenny has a wierd diet and IMO are a bit hard to keep. You could get away with another fish as long as it stays small. It also depends on your filteration and lighting when it come to the clam.

 

[mbunaman]

I agree w/ Arash green chromis need more room to swim plus they get big. Also a lawnmower blenny is hit or miss on eating. Sometimes they eat Algae only and sometimes they take prepared fish foods. Mine only eats algae no prepared foods. Plus majority of blennies tend to bite clam mantels and cause your clam to die or get infected. I would go with a small gobie instead. If your going to add a goby with a pistol add them first so they can establish their territories. The pom pom is up for grabs it might cause a problem with a pistol or it might not. Can tell you yes or no.

 

[hansnfrans]

Lighting is 150 MH and 132 watts of PC (66w daylight/66w actinic)
I have a lawnmower blenny in a 46 gallon tank right now and he eats meaty items like formula one flake and pellets and shrimp, also he goes to town on the algae on the glass and rocks (gotta love tapwater). The 2.5 inch blenny also likes to bite the pectoral fins of my 5 inch maroon clown.

 

[Zoalander]

your lighting is fine for the clam but I wouldnt use tap water if your going to make it a reef tank.

 

[hansnfrans]

I am using the tap water up at school on my 46 gallon bowfront that the lawnmower blenny lives in. My reef tank is back at home and we have an RO system. My RO at home only makes 5 gallons of water per day (setup for drinking purposes). What would I have to do to it in order to increase the daily output of it?

 

[adamjr]

Randal ought to be lurking to answer you RO questions but I'll field this one in basic terms.

What it is capable of outputing is based on the rating of the TFC membrane. If this is a big box store RO unit by GE or Omni my guess is it has a 13 gallon per day rating.

If the 5 g.p.d is because of the pressure tank output you should be able to empty the pressure tank (leave the water valve open until the product water comes out in short spurts or a slow trickle. I have a permeate pump on my system (booster pump run from the pressure of the waste water) so the product water comes out in short spurts when the tank is drained.

There should be a valve on top of the pressure tank that attaches to a tube that goes back to your RO system. If you turn off this valve then you are bypassing the tank.

Here is where Randal needs to correct me if I am wrong; If you open the drinking water valve you are operating without the pressure tank (that part I know for certain) and the system will flow product at the max capability of the TFC membrane.

Now with that said the true g.p.d capability is a rating at peak efficiency. That would be determined by the state of your pre-filters, the temperature of the input water, and the operating water pressure. What you want coming into the membrane is warmer water at around 70 p.s.i.

I hope this helps and I hope I am right. Randall?

Adam

 

[RandalB]

Here I be.. In answer to your question Hans, I'd replace the existing membrane/flow restrictor to a 75GPD one. Should hit you for about $40.00 and would give you more output.

Adam has some good responses but I can add a little... so here goes:

Randal ought to be lurking to answer you RO questions but I'll field this one in basic terms.

Here I be!

What it is capable of outputing is based on the rating of the TFC membrane. If this is a big box store RO unit by GE or Omni my guess is it has a 13 gallon per day rating.

Good Guess, 12-14 depending on the manufacturer

If the 5 g.p.d is because of the pressure tank output you should be able to empty the pressure tank (leave the water valve open until the product water comes out in short spurts or a slow trickle. I have a permeate pump on my system (booster pump run from the pressure of the waste water) so the product water comes out in short spurts when the tank is drained.
The pressure tank is a contributing factor, but probably not why it's producing such low amounts. Adam, short spurts of water from the pressure tank is a sign that the bladder is leaking or sticking in the cylinder. Check to see if water is in the cylinder after the tank is empty

There should be a valve on top of the pressure tank that attaches to a tube that goes back to your RO system. If you turn off this valve then you are bypassing the tank.
Yep, that you are

Here is where Randal needs to correct me if I am wrong; If you open the drinking water valve you are operating without the pressure tank (that part I know for certain) and the system will flow product at the max capability of the TFC membrane.
Actually, if you close the valve, you are operating right off the membrane


Now with that said the true g.p.d capability is a rating at peak efficiency. That would be determined by the state of your pre-filters, the temperature of the input water, and the operating water pressure. What you want coming into the membrane is warmer water at around 70 p.s.i.
Basically correct, but the parameters depend on the brand of membrane. Industry standard for rating output is the following parameters: pH 8.0, 200PPM TDS, 77F 55-65PSI (55 being Filtmtec)
What you want is the most pressure your unit can handle at around 77F. The main factor that effects performance is Pressure. The most you can improve performance with temperature is around 50%. So other than replacing the membrane to a Filmtec 75GPD, you need to Pump It Up! HansnFranz

HTH,
RandalB

 

[adamjr]

The pressure tank is a contributing factor, but probably not why it's producing such low amounts. Adam, short spurts of water from the pressure tank is a sign that the bladder is leaking or sticking in the cylinder. Check to see if water is in the cylinder after the tank is empty

I wasn't clear in my explanation. The water comes from the tap at a trickle when the tank is drained (about two and a half gallons). The spurts I was referring to are on the waste water side. I was curious about this from day one and contacted Air-Water-Ice. The permeate pump pressure is what makes the water on the waste side spurt like that.

Adam

Thanks for clarifying that too, by the way.

 

[hansnfrans]

Thanks guys! I also wanted to know 1 other thing. I have all of the RO equipment in the basement and it runs to the RO faucet in my sink upstairs. The thing is that my fish tanks are in the basement and I am sick of making trips down the stairs with the buckets of RO water. Is there any way to temporarily divert the water so that I can access it from the basement? Any sort of valves on the equipment to get the water from?

 

[RandalB]

No problem Adam....

Hans,
You need a "T" Connector (1/4" Quick Connect available at Home Depot), a 1/4" Quick Connect Ball Valve (Also Home Depot) and some 1/4" tube to run to where you need. A Float valve for your storage tanks might come in handy also.

HTH,
RandalB