atoll Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 More about getting a balance Albert and now if I turn the reactor off for instance it does not affect the skimmer input and water level inside it. However I still need to monitor it of course to see the effects the mod will have. 1 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 More about getting a balance Albert and now if I turn the reactor off for instance it does not affect the skimmer input and water level inside it. However I still need to monitor it of course to see the effects the mod will have. Yes indeed Les ... thanks for keeping us updated on the progress and findings Albert 1 Quote Link to comment
Paul.b Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 I spent about an hour on my tank today which is much more then I ever do. I decided to remove half of the screen in the algae trough because there was no algae growing just tubeworms and corals which completely filled the trough almost preventing the water from getting through. I had to pry up the screen with a large screwdriver because it was completely cemented to the bottom with coral and coralline algae. Underneath the thing looked like a bristle worm farm. I removed those as they were large and I am sure on the side I didn't touch there are dozens more. The stuff I removed would have made a great starter culture for a new tank. I threw it behind the rocks in my tank because I didn't have the heart to dump all those tube worms and brittle stars. The part I cleaned I replaced the screen with a new one but this time I placed a cotton cloth on top of it. I have been experimenting with cotton cloths for a few months by draping a cloth over the side of the trough so that just a little water gets wicked up into the cloth and drips into the tank. That experiment was a huge success and that cloth is covered almost 1/2" thick with algae. When I get time, probably in the winter I plan on taking advantage of that experiment and completely removing my algae trough and re-designing it so that the algae is not submerged. I just want water spraying on it but I want it to be exposed to the air. I think this is going to have a fantastic outcome. Just my opinion of course. 1 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Reef Automation http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/reefing-from-afar-part-2-automation-options-5261/ Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 I spent about an hour on my tank today which is much more then I ever do. I decided to remove half of the screen in the algae trough because there was no algae growing just tubeworms and corals which completely filled the trough almost preventing the water from getting through. I had to pry up the screen with a large screwdriver because it was completely cemented to the bottom with coral and coralline algae. Underneath the thing looked like a bristle worm farm. I removed those as they were large and I am sure on the side I didn't touch there are dozens more. The stuff I removed would have made a great starter culture for a new tank. I threw it behind the rocks in my tank because I didn't have the heart to dump all those tube worms and brittle stars. The part I cleaned I replaced the screen with a new one but this time I placed a cotton cloth on top of it. I have been experimenting with cotton cloths for a few months by draping a cloth over the side of the trough so that just a little water gets wicked up into the cloth and drips into the tank. That experiment was a huge success and that cloth is covered almost 1/2" thick with algae. When I get time, probably in the winter I plan on taking advantage of that experiment and completely removing my algae trough and re-designing it so that the algae is not submerged. I just want water spraying on it but I want it to be exposed to the air. I think this is going to have a fantastic outcome. Just my opinion of course. Lots of work that was I imagine Paul. Interesting observation about the algae and the cloth 1 Quote Link to comment
Paul.b Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Today my wife and I did a little boating as we always do in the summer and I took the dinghy to shore to do a little collecting just before the storm rolled in. We just made it back in time but I managed to get a bucket full of amphipods. This is the first collecting of the year and I hope to go again this week depending on the weather. I like to dump thousands of amphipods along with some mud in the early summer. My tank depends on it. 2 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Today my wife and I did a little boating as we always do in the summer and I took the dinghy to shore to do a little collecting just before the storm rolled in. We just made it back in time but I managed to get a bucket full of amphipods. This is the first collecting of the year and I hope to go again this week depending on the weather. I like to dump thousands of amphipods along with some mud in the early summer. My tank depends on it. Nice start for the season Paul and good for your tank that is for sure Albert 1 Quote Link to comment
Paul.b Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 I have been experimenting with this concept and so far the small version grew an enormous amount of algae so I built one on a larger scale. It is basically just a cotton sheet suspended over my tank by an acrylic tube that has holes drilled in it which tank water drips through slowly flowing over the material then back to the tank. A light is hung in front of it. Soon, hopefully, it will be covered in algae. 1 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 I have been experimenting with this concept and so far the small version grew an enormous amount of algae so I built one on a larger scale. It is basically just a cotton sheet suspended over my tank by an acrylic tube that has holes drilled in it which tank water drips through slowly flowing over the material then back to the tank. A light is hung in front of it. Soon, hopefully, it will be covered in algae. Very interesting Paul. Since the small one did so well, I am sure the large one will do as well Albert 1 Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 An algae turf scrubber by any other name Paul. Not been around much due to the fact I have been setting up a Facebook group for Aqua Reef tank enthusiasts which has taken off a bit faster than I was expecting. Not sure if I can mention it's name on here 1 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 An algae turf scrubber by any other name Paul. Not been around much due to the fact I have been setting up a Facebook group for Aqua Reef tank enthusiasts which has taken off a bit faster than I was expecting. Not sure if I can mention it's name on here Thanks for the update Les .... Aqua Reef tanks ... I'll search for it on FB Albert 1 Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Thanks for the update Les .... Aqua Reef tanks ... I'll search for it on FB Albert Aquareefers Albert 1 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Aquareefers Albert Oops. Tks for clarifying Albert 1 Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Finished making and installing my 2nd Siporax filtration crate complete with 5ltrs of 25mm Siporax yesterday. 1 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Finished making and installing my 2nd Siporax filtration crate complete with 5ltrs of 25mm Siporax yesterday. Looking good Les Albert 1 Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 I seeded it with a bottle of Colony marine nitrifying bacteria. 1 Quote Link to comment
DurocShark Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Are you three the only ones left posting in this thread? 1 Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Are you three the only ones left posting in this thread? People dip in and out all the time 2 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Are you three the only ones left posting in this thread? Lots of followers but few posters it seems at times Albert Quote Link to comment
Paul.b Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Atoll, I get my nitrifying bacteria from that tide pool where I posted above 2 Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 That's great Paul you are lucky. I live in the UK where the local waters are cold not warm so of little use in my case as I have a tropical reef like you. Perhaps you could send me some then ? 1 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Atoll, I get my nitrifying bacteria from that tide pool where I posted above +1 1 Quote Link to comment
brandon429 Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I claim that bacteria seeded from the cold pool into a tropical reef tank will still habituate and grow the colonies from the inoculate that likes the warmer zone. same for adding a jolt of tap water (nitrifiers are live inside chlorinated tap water, neat huh) most adaptive creature in our whole tank, interesting tidbit the coldwater inoculation post above made me recall. google heterotrophic bacteria counts in tap water (so goes nitrifiers by close association, you wont find heteros mixed without them in water systems) im aware of the differences in marine and aquatic filtration bacteria but im saying that you can still incolulate one off the other given typical contamination variations for the seed material we encounter. The marine bio work published by Hovanec online using dna analysis on marine bacterial communities had low level hits for fw variations in the mix...not that they would sustain long term like marine specific ones, but that cross contamination into that marine test sample by natural means wasnt immediately lethal therefore they can xfer from that material to an ideal habitat, if chance provides. the point is, nitrifiers are everywhere always, some of them in the wind on aerial floc and some of them under our fingernails as we've dug in the garden and didnt clean up well enough. not that one couldnt sterilize water to be free of both nitrifiers and mixed aerobes...its just that cold vs warm natural waters wont kill them and neither does out tap water treatment nor the fact none of us has ever changed that little black gasket ring on the faucet output recently, this is your major bacterial production zone and so is the pipe scum from 1967 in the pipes, pumping out good healthy bacteria for 40 yrs in spite of no free ammonia readings in the water, aint that a kick to what aquarists always pose as a limiting factor for cycling bacteria./ nope, ammonia gets to them, and it gets in our tanks, and nitrifiers get in our tanks too. bacteria rant over lol. 2 Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Well I am also a long way from the sea as well esp non polluted sea water. However I do know many living on the coast in the UK where the waters are as good as clean use natural seawater in their tanks. I think some even use the sand but clean it first. We also have native marine keepers. The biggest problem they have is keeping the water cool enough and most either have a cool cellar or employ chillers but that is another story. 1 Quote Link to comment
brandon429 Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 http://reefbuilders.com/2015/05/31/unsung-pioneers-reef-aquarium-hobby/ ALbert they love ya here! 2 Quote Link to comment
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