Lance's 225 gal tank

fishytime · #1 02-19-2010, 12:42 AM

Welcome back Lance.....good to hear the tank did well while you were gone......Its also good to hear about the bio-lentils.....*I wonder if I could add a couple more fish if I stared using them

*....thats a pretty dramatic improvement you've seen.......sounds like its kinda like time realeased carbon dosing huh?......We will be getting them at the shop soon

Lance · #2 02-19-2010, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishytime

Welcome back Lance.....good to hear the tank did well while you were gone......Its also good to hear about the bio-lentils.....*I wonder if I could add a couple more fish if I stared using them

*....thats a pretty dramatic improvement you've seen.......sounds like its kinda like time realeased carbon dosing huh?......We will be getting them at the shop soon

Thanks Doug. It was nice to come home to healthy tanks. 17 days away was the longest stretch to date and I must admit I did stress a bit from time to time, but the Dos Equis and tequila mellowed me out again. Are you thinking of trying the pellets?

fishytime · #3 02-19-2010, 01:12 AM

mmmmmm tequilla

(cabo)..........Im not sure I really need to, but they do intrige me.....Tony tested my trates awhile back with his fancy gadget and they tested out at 5......but like I said....if using them could mean readings of 0.....then I could probably add a fish or.....um three

.....you must be excited about your results!

Lance · #4 02-19-2010, 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishytime

mmmmmm tequilla

(cabo)..........Im not sure I really need to, but they do intrige me.....Tony tested my trates awhile back with his fancy gadget and they tested out at 5......but like I said....if using them could mean readings of 0.....then I could probably add a fish or.....um three

.....you must be excited about your results!

Yes, very much so. I've been battling nitrates in this tank from day one. Very frustrating. All SPS are now doing much better. Even seeing some decent growth now.

Delphinus · #5 02-19-2010, 03:03 AM

Lance how are you running the pellets? You should be closer to zero by now. Let me know how you have them and let's see what can do to break through that 10 barrier. Mine levelled off at 10 too as you might recall but literally FELL to zero within days of fixing things.

To give you an idea of what's going on in my tank: 14 fish, fed 5 times per day via autofeeder, plus nori once or twice a day, plus mysis once per day, PLUS frozen krill or whatever the eel eats .. and zero nitrates.

Lance · #6 02-19-2010, 03:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Lance how are you running the pellets? You should be closer to zero by now. Let me know how you have them and let's see what can do to break through that 10 barrier. Mine levelled off at 10 too as you might recall but literally FELL to zero within days of fixing things.

To give you an idea of what's going on in my tank: 14 fish, fed 5 times per day via autofeeder, plus nori once or twice a day, plus mysis once per day, PLUS frozen krill or whatever the eel eats .. and zero nitrates.

Tony, I'm running the pellets in a Phosban reactor with an MJ-1200. 18 fish (65") fed twice a day plus nori once per day. 70g sump with live rock and chaeto, MR-3 skimmer with dual Becketts, Phosban Reactor running Rowaphos and BRS Reactor running carbon. I was dosing MicroBacter7 to jump start the bacteria growth but haven't dosed since I left for vacation.

Delphinus · #7 02-19-2010, 04:18 AM

You don't need to seed them with bacteria. I took mine offline, cleaned them in tapwater and let them dry out for 3 days and then put them back online and the reactor was emitting zero nitrate effluent within a day.

How much are they moving in your reactor, and do you have any foam or enkamat on the output?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lance

Tony, I'm running the pellets in a Phosban reactor with an MJ-1200. 18 fish (65") fed twice a day plus nori once per day. 70g sump with live rock and chaeto, MR-3 skimmer with dual Becketts, Phosban Reactor running Rowaphos and BRS Reactor running carbon. I was dosing MicroBacter7 to jump start the bacteria growth but haven't dosed since I left for vacation.

Lance · #8 02-19-2010, 04:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delphinus

You don't need to seed them with bacteria. I took mine offline, cleaned them in tapwater and let them dry out for 3 days and then put them back online and the reactor was emitting zero nitrate effluent within a day.

How much are they moving in your reactor, and do you have any foam or enkamat on the output?

They tumble pretty good, all the way from the bottom to the top. I took the top foam out and replaced it with fine plastic mesh.

Delphinus · #9 02-19-2010, 04:27 AM

How high up the reactor are they running when moving?

If it were me, I'd take the filter right out, and take out enough pellets so that it can run full bore without burping any pellets into the sump. No more than 1/2 - 2/3 up the reactor.

And save up for a MR-1 reactor (actually it's pretty cheap all things considered).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lance

They tumble pretty good, all the way from the bottom to the top. I took the top foam out and replaced it with fine plastic mesh.

Lance · #10 02-19-2010, 04:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delphinus

How high up the reactor are they running when moving?

If it were me, I'd take the filter right out, and take out enough pellets so that it can run full bore without burping any pellets into the sump. No more than 1/2 - 2/3 up the reactor.

And save up for a MR-1 reactor (actually it's pretty cheap all things considered).

They run about 2/3 of the way up the reactor. Where can one get the MR-1 reactor?