New fuge results on Nitrates and Phos in my tank

funman1

funman1

Active member
Well my fuge has been running for about 2 weeks now.
Results are now in.

My nitrates and phosphates had been slowly rising over the last 2 months.

I do a 15% water change each week. (5Gs on 60Gs worth of water)
It's sad when more water is in a fuge and sump then in the actual show tank :)

Anyways, I had been wanting to add a fuge for sometime but the rising numbers forced me to do it sooner than later.

I have not changed anything during this period other than regular WCs as described above and daily dosing of CA and ALK.

Nitrates were at 25 and phos was at .03 (about 2 weeks ago 4-6-07)(Installed the Fuge that date)
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1091640&highlight=fuge


Just tested nitrates today, 2 weeks and 2 days from install date on fuge, and now...

Nitrates are undectable now!!!!
and Phos is on the bottom (last measurable scale) of the chart (.01)

Before (The day it was installed)
fuge3.jpg



After
fuge2weeks2.jpg


fuge2weeks1.jpg



Fuges work; plain and simple, best thing I think I have added to the system yet!

Just thought I'd share my results.
 
Well Mike, the cheato grew so fast because of two things, high nitrates, and VERY bright lights.

It's a 65 Watt compact fluorescent
A 29 Watt compact fluorescent is about a 100 Watt normal incandescent bulb; so a 65 CF light is like having 225 Watt normal light (Flood light)

Jordan, the lighting cycle is really crazy.
The light is so frikin bright I run it at odd hours so my living room looks somewhat normal when I'm home.

Here's the lighting schedual I run for it.

M,T,W,T = On 8:00 AM off at 6:00 PM
F = On 8:00 AM off at 5:00 PM
Sa = On 9:00 AM off at 5:00 PM
Su = On 9:00 AM off at 5:00 PM

BUT
They also come on in the middle of the night on
M,T,W,T,Su = On 1:00 AM off at 5:00 AM
 
i run my fuge light from 9pm to 10 am......

on a reverse photo period.

My cheato grows like that , I have a 75watt halogen lamp.

But this is what I was talking about in the meeting post....

If you control feeding and waste load and have a refuge packed with cheato.... NO NITRATES......

Ive been running no Trates since Ive set up my tank.... ON my nano and 50g
 
ive been running my fuge for about 3 weeks and am not getting any chaeto growth. I got a 96watt quad CF light on the sucker and reverse photo period of 12 hours.

Maybe i have low nitrates, but i definately have high phos...barely any bioload
 
djscribz,

Well try running 24/7
I would if I could.
I do this on my nano fuges, 24/7 lighting cause I can't see the fuge lights ever.

What are your Nitrates actually testing at (We need real numbers)
AND I don't think cheato uses much phos. I think it's primarily for nitrates.

What are your other prams? (With numbers)

If you have high phos then it's time to bust out the phosban reactor for SURE.
 
i dont test my water except for salinity and ammonia. only reason i suspect phos is because i get a daily little algae on certain deadspots of the tanks glass.
 
Djscribz - I would also test for alk and nitrate. IMO - in an established tank, it's not critical to test for ammonia on a regular basis. And if you have the nitrate under control - you don't need to test for it on a regular basis either. However - you definitely want to test Alk.


Steve - I have been battling nitrate for sometime now. I have a fuge (10G) , but it's small compare to my tank (120G). I am thinking about moving my sump system out to my garage this summer, but that will probably involve some plumbing and new wiring. If I do that, I plan on having a 40+ gallon refugium and a remote DSB. Hopefully that will help my nitrate level.

Minh
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9790427#post9790427 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by djscribz
i dont test my water except for salinity and ammonia. only reason i suspect phos is because i get a daily little algae on certain deadspots of the tanks glass.
Click to expand...

As mentioned, ALK is the one test that I would recommend. If alk swings too much, this could result in a tank crash. It is one test I do when I am lazy and don't want to be so "nerdy".
 
Steve. That is some great news. I added a small refugium to my sump and my nitrates are undetectable and I have a heavy fish load and I like to feed. I have mine on a reverse photoperiod so my PH stays high enough during the evening.

What test kits are you using?
 
Based on my testing, a fuge with Chaeto drops nitrates way more than a Euroreef skimmer.

I use the power compact outdoor floodlight bulb they sell at Costco in a 3 pack. Works great for me.

Best of luck,

Roy
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9792679#post9792679 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by djscribz
alk is relative to PH right? my alk has always hoovered around 10-12dkH, normal swing?
Click to expand...

A two point swing in alk is a lot.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9792679#post9792679 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by djscribz
alk is relative to PH right? my alk has always hoovered around 10-12dkH, normal swing?
Click to expand...

In addition to the swing, the value seems a bit high. You might want to look into backing it down a bit.
 
I have to dose Alk 3-4 times per week, and CA 2-3 times per week.

I have to say that the fuge is MUCH better than my ER skimmer.

Sounds like fun Mihn :) I always like to see upgrades on systems to make them better..
 
I'd also be very curious in a nitrate test -- the refuge looks beautiful by the way. Very cool!
 
Thats a HUGE cheato ball. You should give it out to people or sell it to get some extra dough. The fuge certainly has helped you really well!
 
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