Running a filter sock again

[OneReef]

I used to run filter socks all the time in my sump. For about the last year I have been going without. Today I decided to start running one again just to see if I noticed any positive changes by running it. Wow, I could not believe how crystal clear the water got in about 2 minutes. No stuff floating around, no micro bubbles, it looks just like pure crystal clear water...... Nice to see that again...... :0)

 

[neuroslicer]

Let me know if your coral growth rate slows down or even changes at all... a lot of what you collect in the sock is organics... yummy coral food!

 

[Rich1427]

yea me too i only run a sock after doing water change for a day to clear up after scrubbing

 

[OneReef]

Let me know if your coral growth rate slows down or even changes at all... a lot of what you collect in the sock is organics... yummy coral food!

Yes, I have thought of that. But with me trying to take my system to ULNS and using the EcoBak biopellets, I expect to be feeding the coral more to make up for it. I will probably have to change the socks out very often though. Will keep you updated on progress.

 

[neuroslicer]

The term ULNS is a bit of a misnomer, as you actually don't want water quality to simulate the zero nutrient level found in the open ocean, which has very little life in it. Here's somebody's rant on the term and some interesting reefer comments:

************.com/2009/10/29/ulns-load-detritus-ultra-nutrient-system-desert/#comments (for some reason the word "r e e f b u i l d e r s" is left out of the above link... just type it in)

I'm feeding pretty heavily now, and still have zero detected nitrates and phosphates. I had zero NO3 and PO4 before, but could tell they were being rapidly cycled into diatoms by the high frequency of glass scraping I was doing. After installing an algal turf scrubber (and waiting about 2 months for it to mature) I went from scraping diatoms off the front of the tank every two days to once a week. Now I scrap to remove coralline algae, not diatoms. Nuisance algae is not a problem.

I've removed my filtration pads to keep more organics and plankton in the water column, I've increased coral feeding (Coral Frenzy and daphnia) and this week I'm switching from Hamilton 14K 250 watt bulbs to XM 10K 250 watt bulbs. All this I'm hoping all this will increase my coral growth, which has been very slow this past year.

Next step to keep up the organics in the water column, I'm probably going to remove the skimmer... my last crutch (I'm still keeping the DSB and chaeto).

 

[OneReef]

The term ULNS is a bit of a misnomer, as you actually don't want water quality to simulate the zero nutrient level found in the open ocean, which has very little life in it. Here's somebody's rant on the term and some interesting reefer comments:

************.com/2009/10/29/ulns-load-detritus-ultra-nutrient-system-desert/#comments (for some reason the word "r e e f b u i l d e r s" is left out of the above link... just type it in)

I'm feeding pretty heavily now, and still have zero detected nitrates and phosphates. I had zero NO3 and PO4 before, but could tell they were being rapidly cycled into diatoms by the high frequency of glass scraping I was doing. After installing an algal turf scrubber (and waiting about 2 months for it to mature) I went from scraping diatoms off the front of the tank every two days to once a week. Now I scrap to remove coralline algae, not diatoms. Nuisance algae is not a problem.

I've removed my filtration pads to keep more organics and plankton in the water column, I've increased coral feeding (Coral Frenzy and daphnia) and this week I'm switching from Hamilton 14K 250 watt bulbs to XM 10K 250 watt bulbs. All this I'm hoping all this will increase my coral growth, which has been very slow this past year.

Next step to keep up the organics in the water column, I'm probably going to remove the skimmer... my last crutch (I'm still keeping the DSB and chaeto).

Of course I am not going to replicate the ocean. This hobby is all trial and error. It has grown by leaps and bounds in the last 5 years, when you think about Zeovit, LED lighting, better skimmers, etc... An enclosed aquarium reef is totally different than an ocean environment. If you were to go to most reefs, you would not see anything like the brightly colored corals and SPS that are in some of our reefs. Most SPS that you would come across while snorkeling would be brown or yellow. I am trying in my own way to achieve what colors that I want out of my corals, not what natural sea water would give me.