Weeds

[Michael Hoaster]

With the algae phase apparently over, the tank's a lot less work. Now I can fiddle around and tweak stuff, to optimize. Today I tidied up around some of the new reds, so they get good light. I'm very excited about them! One that I originally thought was red grapes may actually be Halimenia Elongata, or Nemastoma. Both cool plants! Several other reds that are too small to call for now, look very promising.

What's next? I'm hoping to get my standpipe set up, and resolve my circulation issues. That would be nice. I've got some thoughts on making a slight adjustment to rock placement. The arrangement is a little square which fits the space, but could look a little more natural.

Mostly I'll be doing a lot of tank watching and try to understand what is going on in there…

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Happy Easter!

I got my standpipe built today. I'm giving it 24 hours to cure before trying it out, so tomorrow we'll see. I hope it works!

Last week, one of the Codium plants floated up to the surface. I took the opportunity to plant it up on the back wall. This week it seems to be doing well, so I planted a few more up there. Getting codium to grow on the fake wall is an option I hadn't considered. I'd never had success with it before, so it's a treat to see them grow and prosper. I love how they look like corals or sponges.

The Manatee Grass is doing phenomenally well. I planted it on December 18, 2018. Four months have passed. 4! Right now it is multiplying like crazy in an orgy of asexual reproduction. New rhizomes and blades are everywhere. It took at least twice as long to get this far in v1. Big dif!

 

[vlangel]

Happy Easter!

I got my standpipe built today. I'm giving it 24 hours to cure before trying it out, so tomorrow we'll see. I hope it works!

Last week, one of the Codium plants floated up to the surface. I took the opportunity to plant it up on the back wall. This week it seems to be doing well, so I planted a few more up there. Getting codium to grow on the fake wall is an option I hadn't considered. I'd never had success with it before, so it's a treat to see them grow and prosper. I love how they look like corals or sponges.

The Manatee Grass is doing phenomenally well. I planted it on December 18, 2018. Four months have passed. 4! Right now it is multiplying like crazy in an orgy of asexual reproduction. New rhizomes and blades are everywhere. It took at least twice as long to get this far in v1. Big dif!

Happy day after Easter to you! Codium is a really cool macro and I like it too. Sometimes mine gets hair algae on it, especially in the seahorse tank. I am able to just clean it up periodically and it does fine.

It must really be rewarding to see the manatee grass multiplying so well so quickly.

And good luck with the stand pipe today!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Dawn!

I am thrilled with the progress of the Manatee Grass. It was a challenge getting them to progress in v1. This time they appear to be much happier. The difference is in the dirt!

The question mark standpipe gets tested today. I'll let you know!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Fail. I tried several variations on the question mark standpipe without success. Back to the drawing board, I guess. No matter what I did, I had to throttle down the pump to an ineffective level for it to 'work'.

I think the main issue is that water cannot flow quickly and easily enough on the outgoing side, causing the water level to drop too low in the overflow chamber and allowing air into the plumbing. The problem is exacerbated by the new fake wall and wave box.

Here are a few sketches:

Overflow chamber with no standpipe. On the right you can see surface and subsurface slots for water flowing out. Just to the left you can see the overflow weir (shaded grey) that all outgoing water must flow over. The water drops a long distance, making lot of noise and a lot of bubbles.

This shows the first standpipe I tried. Water level started out OK, but cycles through higher and lower water levels, making bubbles again. This got me thinking that putting a 'U' at the top so that water would be drawn from below the surface, would solve the bubble issue.

The question mark. I tried different length extensions to reach deeper, as well as no extension with just the 'U'. No matter what I tried, the same issue of water fluctuation/air introduction caused major bubbles.

All configurations had the same results. Whenever I turned the pump up to a useful velocity, overflow chamber water levels dropped, introducing air.

 

[vlangel]

Michael, have you ever tried a hoffer gurgle buster? You can see how they work on youtube. I used one for a while to stop bubbles and siphon drain noise. I did worry about macro algae getting in it and plugging the holes and for me that would be disasterous. Eventually I was able to just drill holes in the standpipe and added a hole at a time until the right amount of water was drawn into the drain. I added a foam sleeve over the standpipe which quieted it even more and I bet would help with micro bubble. In a sense the foam sleeve acts like the hoffer gurgle buster's sleeve except it does not limit the water going into the drain very much. I control the water flow with my variable return pump. I can draw a pic of the hoffer gurgle buster if you like?

 

[sam.basye]

Drill a small hole in the top of your question mark. I used a T fitting with a cap at the top and 90° off the side. Experiment with different sized holes to get the water level right so it doesn't flush like a toilet. I bought multiple caps to test with.
Durso standpipe, cheap and pretty effective.

Water level should be about halfway up the horizontal part

 

[Chasmodes]

The Manatee Grass is doing phenomenally well. I planted it on December 18, 2018. Four months have passed. 4! Right now it is multiplying like crazy in an orgy of asexual reproduction. New rhizomes and blades are everywhere. It took at least twice as long to get this far in v1. Big dif!

That's awesome. You paved the way, and you're proving your theory! I'm happy for you.

Good luck with the stand pipe issue. I'm sure that you'll figure it out sooner or later.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Dawn. I hadn't seen the Hofer design before. I checked it out. Pretty slick! I hadn't considered adding a vent hole to my contraption. Maybe that's the missing ingredient!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Sam! That looks great! I'll try adding a vent hole on top. To think that all my troubles could be solved by a quarter inch hole, is just typical! I'm not sure that it will solve the problem or not, given this is a closed loop. I'd REALLY love it if it did!

I've been reading up on closed loop designs. One thing that stands out is that the suction side (outgoing water) should be IN the tank, which I don't have. Mine is in the side chamber, with plenty of flow impediment, which seems to be the problem. Eliminating the overflow weir in the chamber looks like a possible solution, but making that kind of change would be complicated with a full tank. If I could seal off the chamber from the tank and drain it, that might work. Then I'd need to figure out what kind of power tool I could fit in there to do it.

Needless to say, I'll try the quarter inch hole first!

 

[sam.basye]

Thanks Sam! That looks great! I'll try adding a vent hole on top. To think that all my troubles could be solved by a quarter inch hole, is just typical! I'm not sure that it will solve the problem or not, given this is a closed loop. I'd REALLY love it if it did!

I've been reading up on closed loop designs. One thing that stands out is that the suction side (outgoing water) should be IN the tank, which I don't have. Mine is in the side chamber, with plenty of flow impediment, which seems to be the problem. Eliminating the overflow weir in the chamber looks like a possible solution, but making that kind of change would be complicated with a full tank. If I could seal off the chamber from the tank and drain it, that might work. Then I'd need to figure out what kind of power tool I could fit in there to do it.

Needless to say, I'll try the quarter inch hole first!

Start smaller, try a 1/8" hole first, then 3/16", then 1/4" if those don't work.
You can also drill it out and if it's too big stick some airline tubing in the hole to reduce it back.
I think mine is 3/16".

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Kevin!

I'm bursting with pride over my Manatee Grass! Dirt theory! Now if I can just get my circulation system functioning properly…

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Sam, and Dawn for your suggestions! Sometimes it takes a village! I'm off to do some drillin'!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Well, a simple hole did not solve my problem. I really hoped it would! I tried an eighth inch hole first, then a quarter. The water level stabilized but the vent hole introduced air, so micro bubbles galore.

Had this been in a sump arrangement, I'm sure it would have worked. Closed loops are a different animal. I've done some more reading. Closed loops should be submerged so no air gets in. I need to make the outgoing chamber to be just like it's in the tank. So I need to remove impediments between it and the tank. So the overflow weir, or part of it has got to go. I think I can probably get that done using a dremel.

We're getting there!

 

[Chasmodes]

Good effort by trying drilling the hole in your standpipe. It's an easy fix it if had worked, and an easy thing to correct if it didn't. Trial and error...eventually you will solve it. I think that you're on the right track.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Kevin. I'm open to suggestions! I think my next step will be to take a dremel to the overflow weir, to lower it's height. If I can reduce impediment to flow-through, I just might get it.

Quick update on living elements: The two remaining barnacle blennies are living it up, and as cute as ever. The female molly is pregnant. Hopefully she'll have a good brood. Having a bunch of tiny fish looks very natural, and they basically just eat constantly. The neon and tuxedo damsels are doing well, but I have seen them scratching.

I resumed CO2 injection. I had stopped because I was seeing oxygen bubbles on the grasses, which I thought indicated dinos, but I'm not seeing any dinos on them at all. If they were there, they'd grow and become obvious - they're not. So I guess the grasses are 'pearling', which is a very good thing. At least two grasses have reached the water surface. The snails have completely relieved me of seagrass cleaning. It's a huge relief, with so many new blades.

I still have several tiny macros I can't ID yet, but they're growing. The newest ones are tiny halimeda plants. A couple of others got munched by something but there is some remaining to grow back. With my army of snails, there are some macros I just can't keep. It's a worthwhile trade off, relieving me of a ton of work.

I still plan to add a few more green macros next month.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Nov 23, 2018. The dirt.

Dec 19, 2018. Manatee Grass 24 hours in.

Jan 10, 2019. Ulva popping up.

Jan 27, 2019. Less algae.

March 7, 2019. Codium and red sampler. Grass looks taller.

April 5, 2019.

April 13 2019.

 

[vlangel]

I love seeing the progression since late Nov. last year. Seeimg how much the manatee grass is getting established is really neat.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Dawn! I thought it would be fun to see the progression. I hope to get more seagrass pics up close to show the growth and reproduction that is happening.

Having kept these plants before in v1, I'm keenly aware of how much better it's going this time. Experience is a good teacher!

 

[vlangel]

Thanks Dawn! I thought it would be fun to see the progression. I hope to get more seagrass pics up close to show the growth and reproduction that is happening.

Having kept these plants before in v1, I'm keenly aware of how much better it's going this time. Experience is a good teacher!

Are you able to post a v1 pic at this time in its development so we can compare v1 with v2?