The "How to go Barebottom thread."

[topmav1]

Just be aware that although it may sound easy, going BB is not at all a simple task. There is a significant amount of poop and other waste that builds up on the bottom of your tank that you have to remove. When you have a lot of rock, removing it is not always easy. It could be in our that are very difficult or impossible to get to with a siphon unless you move everything. I got desperate after cyano and diatom breakouts that covered my whole tank that I just went nuts and siphoned all the sand out of my tank. Now I constantly worry about how to remove the buildup. Now I know that an experienced BB person may say, relax, its only a matter of positioning your pwerheads properly but again I say, not so easy.
Then again, you may already have a BB and I am just rambling about my situation...but in any case, I still have serious diatoms and cyano issues...so whoever wants to go BB, I'm not saying its wrong, I'm just saying its not as easy as it sounds...

 

[NoSchwag]

Now I know that an experienced BB person may say, relax, its only a matter of positioning your pwerheads properly but again I say, not so easy.

Have you considered penductors with a pressure rated pump instead of powerheads?

 

[Weatherman]

Agreed. Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s not easy, especially when we are talking about tank retrofits (removing sand from an existing tank).

Disrupting the entire tank to remove the sand bed. Cooking rocks. It often takes a long time (months) to complete the transition, and is very painful for both the reefkeeper and the animals. Thatââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s one of the main reasons why I set up a third tank (my 120) to get all my most delicate animals out of the way before I started to retrofit my 180.

I had enough space and resources to make the transition relatively easy, but I still never want to have to go through it again.


Setting up from scratch, on the other hand, is very simple.

 

[topmav1]

Noshwag: Never heard of that idea...I'll look into it...

What is a penductor??

 

[Weatherman]

What is a penductor??

They are little versions of eductors:

http://www.filterpump.com/binn/products.taf?function=series&category_id=108

Not quite as efficient as eductors (due to the smaller cone), but they use up less space.


Hereââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s one of the first threads on eductors:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=157682

This one goes into the theory of how they work:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=577498

 

[causeofhim]

Eductors are GREAT!

 

[topmav1]

OK. I have a 46 gal, Rio 2100 as my return from the sump...and 2 Maxijet 900's for flow in the tank.

Which one would I buy?
What pump would I use it on?
Is my tank big enough to use this thing?

 

[NoSchwag]

I don't think your tank is big enough to run one of these things like you are supposed to (with a pressure rated pump)

Then again i'm not sure, but I can tell you that 2 penductors does a job with the flow on my 120

 

[Weatherman]

OK. I have a 46 gal, Rio 2100 as my return from the sump...and 2 Maxijet 900's for flow in the tank.

Which one would I buy?
What pump would I use it on?
Is my tank big enough to use this thing?

I don't have any experience with using eductors or penductors in a small tank. Maybe someone else can chime in.

Here's what eductors look like in a 120 (the eductors are driven by a single Iwaki MD55-RLT:

 

[causeofhim]

In my 55 I have one eductor running off a pressure rated Iwaki 30RLT. I have it located behing my rock about 1/2 way down my tank. I definetly have current. I have my Quiet One 4000 running from my sump blowing in the opposite direction to create a little random turbulence but doesn't help too much. It really doesn't let things settle. It is a mixed tank and just put the SPS and other high flow corals in the high flow and place low flow corals in sheltered areas. It works well and the best thing, no powerheads!

 

[NoSchwag]

In my 55 I have one eductor running off a pressure rated Iwaki 30RLT.

:thumbsup:

 

[jugger]

Im sure this question has been asked before but, im thinking of starting another small 20 gallon tank up for SPS only and was thinking about putting in 60lbs of large size live rock for the usual rock structuresââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦.but then I was wondering if I could just cover the rest of the bottom of the tank (where the sand would be in the front) with 2-3ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ pieces of live rock. So basically it would be a rock bed instead of a sand bedââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦.

Like I said im sure this idea has already been brought up but I wanted to know what you thought of it and are there any advantages or disadvantages to it?

thanks

 

[SeanT]

60+ lbs of LR may be a bit much for a 20 gallon tank.

As for the rock bed idea I would say that the inherent problems are twofold.
1. The ability to get flow down low to sweep the detritus up and to the skimmer would be hindered by all the rock.
2. The ability to siphon detritus out would be hindered by all the rock.

hth,
Sean

 

[ClamLover]

Hi SeanT, I'm starting out a BB this weekend. Saw in one of your posts that Acrylic release Phosphorous to tank water, is this confirmed/scientifically supported? I am selecting some media as racks for the LR as such inputs from you will be very much helpful

 

[Weatherman]

Hi SeanT, I'm starting out a BB this weekend. Saw in one of your posts that Acrylic release Phosphorous to tank water, is this confirmed/scientifically supported? I am selecting some media as racks for the LR as such inputs from you will be very much helpful

Phosphate plasticizers are used in some plastic formulations in order to give the plastic flexibility and durability (although phosphate plasticizers usually represent a small fraction of the total plasticizer used). Hereââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s an example of an application:

http://www.geomembrane.com/TechPapers/OutdoorExposure.htm

Some of these compounds may volatize into the surrounding air or leach into the surrounding water.

I wasnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t able to find a reference for how much phosphate plasticizers are used in acrylic, but there might be some.

 

[SeanT]

Many objects, such as PVC pipes, do indeed leech plasticizers into your water column.
This can be combated by soaking them in water.

However, if you are starting a new tank from scratch I wouldn't worry about it at all.
Your WC's will take care of it in no time.

hth,
Sean

 

[REEF-DADDY]

Many objects, such as PVC pipes, do indeed leech plasticizers into your water column.
This can be combated by soaking them in water.

However, if you are starting a new tank from scratch I wouldn't worry about it at all.
Your WC's will take care of it in no time.

hth,
Sean

WC's?

 

[Ereefic]

Water Changes

 

[SeanT]

 

[ClamLover]

Thanks buddies, for the help. I've been soaking PVC pipes and all sorts of related plastics in water suspecting that it would be good, glad I've been doing that. Yeah, WCs are really crucial. Will post pics once I'm ready