bio-load question

[digitalsteve]

bob, arent you supposed to change your watter every 4 days with chemi pure , and arent you supposed to change like 30-40% if u use that stuff>?

[lionlover]

if i upgrade to a CPR bakpak i can get rid of the fluval 404?

[TheReefGeek]

Yes. I ran a CPR BakPak on my 50g for 1 year, and I would say it is my most successful tank to date, although my 180 is coming along slowly.

An AquaC Remora would be even better though, I ran the Pro for 1 year on a 110 gallon.

[Beverly]

I run my 37g, 67g and 120g BB tanks without skimmers or sumps. Don't use Chemi-pur or anythink like that to remove whatever those things are designed to remove. Do not run carbon unless there is a problem, which is maybe once every two years. Do weekly maintenance as described on my webpage (link below). Lots of pics, lots and lots of blah, blah, blah ....

http://www.lostmymarblz.com/reeftips...ottomtanks.htm

The only problem not mentioned on the page is that we have is a scum build up in each tank, probably due to the rinsed PE mysis we feed soaked in Kent Zoe and Garlic Xtreme. Easily taken care of by skimming the water's surface weekly with the powerheads off.

[TheReefGeek]

Beverly, have you tried pointing some powerheads upwards to break up the surface of the water more? That might help with the scum build up. Or maybe you want it to develop so you can remove it....

[Beverly]

All powerheads in all tanks are at surface level for optimal air exchange.

[Bob I]

Originally Posted by digitalsteve

bob, arent you supposed to change your watter every 4 days with chemi pure , and arent you supposed to change like 30-40% if u use that stuff>?

[OCDP]

I'll throw in my two cents as well. Fluval filters are junk, complete junk. They lose efficiency and as been stated in previous threads.. collect so much nasties it's not even funny. They need to be frequently cleaned. Like... weekly. When I DID use mine, it was only for carbon use. When I used the fluval, I had algae all the time... nuisance algae everywhere. Since I got rid of it... the phosphate/nitrate factory is gone and I am seeing a slow improvement.

Skimmers are most definately important... the #1 thing to have IMO. I would definately put a skimmer on your tank. When you see the crap that it takes out of your water you'll think "wow... what a great investment" trust us.

In my opinion... (key word here, MY) the basics to a successful reef are:

- A good skimmer (decent anyways for the size of tank)
- A good amount of Live Rock for the size of tank
- Keeping paramaters as stable as possible, at all times. Stability is key!
- Doing smaller, but frequent water changes. (weekly)
- Good water circulation throughout the entire tank
- And keeping all equipment clean so no junk can build up and reduce performance.

There's my little rant.

[Ruth]

I think another classic mix up with chemi clean and chemi pure is taking place here. This bush has been run around so many times that I am getting dizzy (ier). I wish they would change the name of one of them.
I think I have this right - chemi clean is for treating your tank for cyno algea and then the whole water change regime come into play.
Chemi pure is sort of like a super carbon that stays in your filter or passively in the sump to help maintain water quality.
In a nut shell anyway - as long as I don't have the names backassward.

[SJSobczyk]

See i have been using a fluval for about a year now and i never have any junk collect in it. Usually i will open it up once a month and things are fairly clean. My nitrates have always been zero and never any algea. Then again i have a fairly light bio load and i also have an aqua c remora pro with a mag 5.

Remember these are only suggestions. Everyone has different experiences so the best thing to do is what you think is right.

Steve