BATMANS CLAM CAVE

[Deckoz2302]

From my experience, I have done about 40 gallons of water changes on my 55 over the last 5 years. AND most come from me starting to remove the sand (going barebottom). My tank has hardly any problems and when I do a water change EVERYTHING gets pissed off!

 

Curious do you ball or use a reactor?

[ZephNYC]

From my experience, I have done about 40 gallons of water changes on my 55 over the last 5 years. AND most come from me starting to remove the sand (going barebottom). My tank has hardly any problems and when I do a water change EVERYTHING gets pissed off!

 

hey, I didn't blow off your PM, I meant to get back to you but since it was not a fish question I got side tracked. Understand Im out of my mind these days because my DIET has started and I live in the gym. I will asap, sorry

[jball1125]

From my experience, I have done about 40 gallons of water changes on my 55 over the last 5 years. AND most come from me starting to remove the sand (going barebottom). My tank has hardly any problems and when I do a water change EVERYTHING gets pissed off!

Out of curiosity, isn't barebottom counter intuitive to a self sustainable system? Are you not depriving the system of biological filtration???

[FishBrawler]

Curious do you ball or use a reactor?

I use the balling method. I does cal alk mag and trace elements. I always get cyano in march. It seems unevitable. During march i usually run gfo and carbon to combat.

hey, I didn't blow off your PM, I meant to get back to you but since it was not a fish question I got side tracked. Understand Im out of my mind these days because my DIET has started and I live in the gym. I will asap, sorry

That is okay! Life gets busy sometimes!

Out of curiosity, isn't barebottom counter intuitive to a self sustainable system? Are you not depriving the system of biological filtration???

Here are my curent feeling on sandbeds. Not that they are productive in filtration, but that they are counter oroductive and more ways then productive. My sand bed is deep enough to really provide life of being benificial. It just collects detritus and is bad for MY .system. It also is what some people believe leads to old tank sydrome by absorbing phosphurous. Those are just my feelings.

[Deckoz2302]

I like sandbeds. I sift 1/4 my tank once weekly by running my hand through the entire depth and picking it up like im gonna throw a sand ball at someone on the beach then let it fall through my fingers. It keeps it clean and feeds the corals and also removes any gunk. Screw whay everyone says about letting it be and only touching the top layer its bull

[FishBrawler]

I like sandbeds. I sift 1/4 my tank once weekly by running my hand through the entire depth and picking it up like im gonna throw a sand ball at someone on the beach then let it fall through my fingers. It keeps it clean and feeds the corals and also removes any gunk. Screw whay everyone says about letting it be and only touching the top layer its bull

But see, what you are doing is killing the life in it. You are not allow anything to settle and decay, but all your sand is serving is a visual aspects. You are the filter instead of the sand... well atleast you and you skimmer.

[Deckoz2302]

But see, what you are doing is killing the life in it. You are not allow anything to settle and decay, but all your sand is serving is a visual aspects. You are the filter instead of the sand... well atleast you and you skimmer.

 

Thats exactly the point. Sock and skimmer. Otherwise buildup in the long run doesn't allow ulns to be maintained. And leads to old tank syndrome. Also means that if I ever decide to move the sandbed wont crash causing total system combustion lol

[ZephNYC]

I think stirring up my DSB is the best food for corals, and gorgonians. I have a very deep DSB on BIG Bitrthas tank and stirring it is a part of the daily maintenance routine. I stir it up around 5 pm every night and that makes all the sun corals and nps gorgonians open right up, allowing me to feed them more directly. I also think my gonioporas benefit a lot. I know they are trained to open at this time now, and would do it regardless,

 

 

 

 

But see, what you are doing is killing the life in it. You are not allow anything to settle and decay, but all your sand is serving is a visual aspects. You are the filter instead of the sand... well atleast you and you skimmer.

 

 

 

There are large areas of my sandbed that I cant get under, so about 50% of mine goes untouched. Would I swirl it if I could ? Probably, but I do like to leave it be for anaerobic denitrification.

 

 

 

 

Wayne Shange keeps a 4 inch sand bed and 300lbs of live rick IN HIS SUMP. Its not a fuge, no lighting or stirring,just letting bacteria do its thing.

[Deckoz2302]

Same reason I have 30lbs of mud and 15lbs of sand in my fuge...lol well its not really even a fuge now haha ive nutruent deprived it so well all it goes are leather corals, worms and pods lol. But that keeps my denitrification happening

 

I definitely agree about the food. Its like having a zeo reactor that you pump for food...but not lol

[ZephNYC]

Same reason I have 30lbs of mud and 15lbs of sand in my fuge...lol well its not really even a fuge now haha ive nutruent deprived it so well all it goes are leather corals, worms and pods lol. But that keeps my denitrification happening

 

I definitely agree about the food. Its like having a zeo reactor that you pump for food...but not lol

 

So now that I am doing wayyyyy less water changes on the big system, I have been thinking about hooking up my jumbo sized Dr. Tims Bio Pellet reactor thats sitting around doing nothing. ITs very big, prolly 2 feet tall..and W I D E. Any advice how I should go about breaking it in ?

[Deckoz2302]

So now that I am doing wayyyyy less water changes on the big system, I have been thinking about hooking up my jumbo sized Dr. Tims Bio Pellet reactor thats sitting around doing nothing. ITs very big, prolly 2 feet tall..and W I D E. Any advice how I should go about breaking it in ?

 

You. Already run a relatively LNS right? And your on 450gallon volume total?

 

The verdict seems to be relatively the same across the board with most people. There is the recommended dosage...but most people end up running 1/3rd of that. Id start out at 1/10th dosage and work up slowly. Most people including myself when I've helped friends setup start a culture by filling the reactor with tank water, then using a product like dr.tims or microbac7 and dosing the water volume of the reactor along with a couple ml of ammonium phosphate then letting it sit for a couple days heated. Then turning the reactor on hooked directly to your skimmer input. This seems to allow denitrification bacteria to take hold on the substrate quickly. Then flushing them through the skimmer starting off slowly at 5gph then working up to 2-300gph rated flow as to get rid of the excess and not oxygen deprivate the system. At 1/10th dosage kr less it should mimic your 1% daily waterchanges fairly well

[ZephNYC]

Pictilis Anthia arrived perfectly this morning. I was SO HAPPY to see Live Aquaria is using UPS now and not Fed Ex. Don't ask me how my mug got in the shot - some funky reflection of sorts.

 

Ghetto 125 gallon QT

 

[ZephNYC]

You. Already run a relatively LNS right? And your on 450gallon volume total? The verdict seems to be relatively the same across the board with most people. There is the recommended dosage...but most people end up running 1/3rd of that. Id start out at 1/10th dosage and work up slowly. Most people including myself when I've helped friends setup start a culture by filling the reactor with tank water, then using a product like dr.tims or microbac7 and dosing the water volume of the reactor along with a couple ml of ammonium phosphate then letting it sit for a couple days heated. Then turning the reactor on hooked directly to your skimmer input. This seems to allow denitrification bacteria to take hold on the substrate quickly. Then flushing them through the skimmer starting off slowly at 5gph then working up to 2-300gph rated flow as to get rid of the excess and not oxygen deprivate the system. At 1/10th dosage kr less it should mimic your 1% daily waterchanges fairly well

 

Yes.... Let me also ask you if you feed your corals by dispersion at all, because I do, I use lots of baby brine shrimp and copepods for the anthias and sun corals and I don't want the reactor to clog up. That's pretty much my reason for not running one. On the Batcave, with heavy NPS, a new carbon/phosguard reactor will clog in 3 days from the 24/7 phyto and heavy rotifers and daphnia.

[Deckoz2302]

I feed heavy phyto and rotifer culture when im home. About a cup of 3 phytos mixed daily and rotifers are added every 3 days or so at about 1 liter

[Deckoz2302]

Oh I meant to say bio pellets dont clog they clump which is from not enough flow. Warner marine is my favorite. Pellets are a carbon plastic so they arent porous like carbon or gfo. They are colonized kn the surface whicg is why they take a while to establish because tumbling knocks the colonies off. Which is what you want because they get expirted via skimmer...but thats why I suggested abive method to get the pellets going

[ZephNYC]

Oh I meant to say bio pellets dont clog they clump which is from not enough flow. Warner marine is my favorite. Pellets are a carbon plastic so they arent porous like carbon or gfo. They are colonized kn the surface whicg is why they take a while to establish because tumbling knocks the colonies off. Which is what you want because they get expirted via skimmer...but thats why I suggested abive method to get the pellets going

 

Good enough. Im'a hook it up baby! Thanks.

[Deleted User 3]

hey, I didn't blow off your PM, I meant to get back to you but since it was not a fish question I got side tracked. Understand Im out of my mind these days because my DIET has started and I live in the gym. I will asap, sorry

DONT TRUST HIM lol he lies.

[ZephNYC]

Somebody please help, I have been staring at this clam allllllll night long. I put in in my shopping cart TWICE, and the second time got as far as to enter my Credit Card Info before common sense took over. I promised myself I would not buy any more MAXIMAS until I figured out the relationship between them and my system -

 

BUT THIS ONE HAS LIGHTNING BOLTS!!!!!!!

 

 

I even texted Metrokat, for a voice of logic, and this is what she said:

 

" You have a habit. Kill the ones you have now before getting more"

DONT TRUST HIM lol he lies.

 

Hush you !!!

[Deleted User 3]

Well I only speak the truth! lol

 

 

Hush you !!!

[ZephNYC]

Well I only speak the truth! lol

 

HUSH!

[Deleted User 3]

HUSH!

I WILL NOT LISTEN TO YOU!!!

[Deckoz2302]

Lol nice max

[andi.rahl]

Somebody please help, I have been staring at this clam allllllll night long. I put in in my shopping cart TWICE, and the second time got as far as to enter my Credit Card Info before common sense took over. I promised myself I would not buy any more MAXIMAS until I figured out the relationship between them and my system -

 

BUT THIS ONE HAS LIGHTNING BOLTS!!!!!!!

 

 

I even texted Metrokat, for a voice of logic, and this is what she said:

 

" You have a habit. Kill the ones you have now before getting more"

 

 

Hush you !!!

you need that. hurry up and figure shit out so you can have the lightning bolt-y clam!

[banshee]

Buy it and send it to me. I'll hold it for you.

[ward827]

I say go for it Zeph! It's only $69 + shipping. You'd have the only one with lightning bolts!!!
PEA has a bunch of sweet clams!!!