Felicia Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Yay! Glad Adam is doing so much better. You know, you're probably the perfect candidate for biopellets. I LOVE how well they work for my predator tank and they'd be completely harmless to seahorses. Biopellets work great for people with nutrient heavy tanks (predators, seahorses, NPS, etc) because you export tons of nutrients and thereby lower phosphates in the process. It really only works well if you have plenty of nitrates to export, which I believe you do. You already have a reactor, so it would be really easy to just switch over to biopellets. The key is just to add only a very small amount to start and work up to the right amount slowly so that you don't drop your levels too quickly. Link to comment
vlangel Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 That's a sweet surprise! Yes, a sweet surprise indeed. So many hitchhikers can be unwelcome, but this is one I am very happy about! Yay! Glad Adam is doing so much better. You know, you're probably the perfect candidate for biopellets. I LOVE how well they work for my predator tank and they'd be completely harmless to seahorses. Biopellets work great for people with nutrient heavy tanks (predators, seahorses, NPS, etc) because you export tons of nutrients and thereby lower phosphates in the process. It really only works well if you have plenty of nitrates to export, which I believe you do. You already have a reactor, so it would be really easy to just switch over to biopellets. The key is just to add only a very small amount to start and work up to the right amount slowly so that you don't drop your levels too quickly. I don't understand how I already have a reactor? Do you use a protein skimmer and some how convert it to a biopsy let reactor? I think I will look up biopellet reactors. I never looked into it because I figured my sump was too small to add another piece of equipment. Try to catch that little goby in a picture! You know he's in there, so maybe you can target feed to get him to come out! I will try to capture a pic of it. He's not very colorful so I am not sure how well he'll show up. Link to comment
vlangel Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 A pic of Adam and Eve eating. You can see Adam's pouch looks pretty normal. Please try to ignore the cyano. Ok, this is not a stellar pic, but the goby is on the right under the toadstool but above the gsp. I wonder if this could be a freshwater or brackish goby? Especially if it came with the feeder ghost shrimp I ordered. Link to comment
metrokat Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Cute goby, close up would be cool if he's not shy. Link to comment
vlangel Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 Cute goby, close up would be cool if he's not shy. He is a bit shy but everything in the tank is bigger than him, even the peppermint shrimp. I don't have a great camera for close up shots but I will keep trying to get a better pic. Link to comment
vlangel Posted August 2, 2015 Author Share Posted August 2, 2015 Yay! Glad Adam is doing so much better. You know, you're probably the perfect candidate for biopellets. I LOVE how well they work for my predator tank and they'd be completely harmless to seahorses. Biopellets work great for people with nutrient heavy tanks (predators, seahorses, NPS, etc) because you export tons of nutrients and thereby lower phosphates in the process. It really only works well if you have plenty of nitrates to export, which I believe you do. You already have a reactor, so it would be really easy to just switch over to biopellets. The key is just to add only a very small amount to start and work up to the right amount slowly so that you don't drop your levels too quickly. After reading about biopellets and reactors I am not sure they are right for me after all. My problem is not nitrates as much as it is phosphates. The gfo was keeping them under control. Those phosphates are not coming from the food as much as from my tap water, which I already know is very high in phosphates. I do big water changes but without gfo, that does nothing to lower my phosphates, it only lowers the nitrates. I think using my portable RO/DI unit will remove the phosphates and that way water changes will both lower nitrates and phosphates. I will probably have to dose more Mag, CA, iron and a little iodine for my macro algaes since some beneficial things will be removed with the phosphates. Link to comment
Felicia Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Oh! I thought you had a reactor for the GFO. Didn't realize it was just in a bag in the sump. Yeah biopellets work well if you also need to control nitrates, which is why they work so well for my tank. If you know the phosphates are from the tap water, then switching to RO water is definitely the way to go. Link to comment
gena Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Talk about a happy surprise! What a great HH! Definitely looks like a goby...maybe something out of Caribbean waters? Link to comment
vlangel Posted August 2, 2015 Author Share Posted August 2, 2015 Talk about a happy surprise! What a great HH! Definitely looks like a goby...maybe something out of Caribbean waters? It is a happy surprise. Considering that the seahorses are H erectus and they are from the Caribbean it would be really cool if that is where the goby came from, even if the tank is not strictly a Caribbean biotope. so small!!! It's a petite little thing for sure! Link to comment
vlangel Posted August 2, 2015 Author Share Posted August 2, 2015 Today I went to the basement where my excess miscellaneous fish supplies are and dug out my portable RO/DI unit. One reason I never used it, (and I hate to admit this) is I didn't really understand it. I knew it filtered the water but the cartridges confused me. It didn't help when I went to both Lowe's and HD and they no longer carry the cartridges. However the Internet has everything including an explanation. My unit is a 6 stage RO/DI. The sentiment stage looked pretty bad so we bought 2 replacements for it. Then stage 2 and 3 are carbon and they did not look too bad so just ordered 1 each. Stage 4 is the membrane which for what I want is the most important as I think that is the stage that removes the phosphates. Finally stage 5 and 6 are resin for the DI. Mine did not look too bad but I ordered a replacement anyway. I have it hooked up and I will make some RO/DI water and test the phosphates to see where they are at. My replacement filters will be here in a week or so. I got free shipping so it'll take longer. The good news is all the O rings seem to have good seals and there are no leaks. I will let you know how this turns out. Link to comment
vlangel Posted August 2, 2015 Author Share Posted August 2, 2015 I think this is a video of Adam and Eve dancing over dinner! I think my boy is back to his 'lover boy' self. Link to comment
Pinner Reef Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 oooo Someone's gonna be a grandma again! Link to comment
vlangel Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 oooo Someone's gonna be a grandma again! Yeah and I can't wait. Actually I am so relieved to see Adam acting like a stallion. It helps me feel like he's getting back to full health. If he carries and delivers healthy robust fry I will know he is good. Link to comment
vlangel Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 I guess I should say Adam and Eve have courted again. The tale tell sign was Adam hitched smugly to the caulerpa with bright orange eggs draped over some fronds in front of him. Judge ing by the fullness of his pouch I would guess some eggs made it inside! Link to comment
vlangel Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 Awesome! The only bad thing is I just realized that we will still be visiting our kids when he is due.:-( Link to comment
markalot Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 So with the RO/DI (6 stage, good grief) .. if this helps. First filter should be sediment, to get rid of the particulates. Second should be carbon. Sometimes an extra filter somewhere in here to reduce chloramines, not sure where, I don't use one. Third, for me, is the RO membrane (I have two piggy backed) which should reduce the TDS ot the water to 3 or less. Because rejected water from the RO membrane is not really bad I run the output of the first into the input of the second, which raises by GPH to 180 from 90. The output from the final RO membrane goes to the reject hose and into the sink. This has a limiter in it designed to increase back pressure (reduce waste). You're supposed to cut this shorter to make sure you are getting 4 to 1 waste to product but I left mine as is so I get about 2.5 to 1. This will shorten the life of the RO membranes, but so far so good. Fourth is the DI resin, which is supposed to last up to a year usage or no usage. I used my first one for 1.5 years before it started to look bad (but still tested 0 TDS). The lower the TDS from the RO membrane the longer the DI will last. My unit comes with a inline TDS meter but it's not temperature correcting so can be inaccurate in the winter when the water is very cold. Amazon sells a meter TDS3 that is cheap and temperature corrects. I test water in my garbage can after filled up to make sure it's 0. Too much info? Link to comment
kimberbee Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Wow... Adam just keep cranking out those babies!! Link to comment
ReefWeeds Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 A pic of Adam and Eve eating. You can see Adam's pouch looks pretty normal. Please try to ignore the cyano. Ok, this is not a stellar pic, but the goby is on the right under the toadstool but above the gsp. I wonder if this could be a freshwater or brackish goby? Especially if it came with the feeder ghost shrimp I ordered. What is that pink thing with the long polyps???? The goby almost looks like a lawnmower blenny. Or some type of blenny. Link to comment
vlangel Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 Here is a pic of my RO/DI. It is hooked up to my kitchen sink now. You can see both the sediment and resin needs changed but my new cartridges won't be here for a week. I have ordered them all. I need a TDS meter to see where we are at. Link to comment
vlangel Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 So with the RO/DI (6 stage, good grief) .. if this helps. First filter should be sediment, to get rid of the particulates. Second should be carbon. Sometimes an extra filter somewhere in here to reduce chloramines, not sure where, I don't use one. Third, for me, is the RO membrane (I have two piggy backed) which should reduce the TDS ot the water to 3 or less. Because rejected water from the RO membrane is not really bad I run the output of the first into the input of the second, which raises by GPH to 180 from 90. The output from the final RO membrane goes to the reject hose and into the sink. This has a limiter in it designed to increase back pressure (reduce waste). You're supposed to cut this shorter to make sure you are getting 4 to 1 waste to product but I left mine as is so I get about 2.5 to 1. This will shorten the life of the RO membranes, but so far so good. Fourth is the DI resin, which is supposed to last up to a year usage or no usage. I used my first one for 1.5 years before it started to look bad (but still tested 0 TDS). The lower the TDS from the RO membrane the longer the DI will last. My unit comes with a inline TDS meter but it's not temperature correcting so can be inaccurate in the winter when the water is very cold. Amazon sells a meter TDS3 that is cheap and temperature corrects. I test water in my garbage can after filled up to make sure it's 0. Too much info? No not too much info. I am reading as much as possible about RO/DI. I think I am starting to understand it sort of. I understand basically what the cartridges filter out. I don't quite get the ratio of ro/di and waste water and the pressure. My pressure is almost 40 and my ratio appears to be about 3.3-3.5 waste water or so to 1of ro/di water. I need a TDS meter and a better phosphate test kit. When I replace the cartridges it should definitely be better, right? What is that pink thing with the long polyps???? The goby almost looks like a lawnmower blenny. Or some type of blenny. I think it is a type of xenia. The polyps pulse very gently. I would be just as pleased to have a blenny as a goby although some blennies will harass seahorses trying to scrape algae from them. I did see this little feller eat live brine. Link to comment
markalot Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Pressure might get better, I'm unclear on how a clogged sediment filter would change that. I know 60 works much better than 40. Waste water is water that can't be pushed through the RO membrane. I guess you can think of it as holding a thimble in front of a jet of water. Some will get through the thimble but most will be splashed out and around, rejected. There's some RO sciency stuff in there I ignore. The idea behind the limiter on the output line is you are forcing more water to make it through the thimble. If you plugged the waste line the RO filter would probably tear and all water would make it through. Link to comment
vlangel Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 Pressure might get better, I'm unclear on how a clogged sediment filter would change that. I know 60 works much better than 40. Waste water is water that can't be pushed through the RO membrane. I guess you can think of it as holding a thimble in front of a jet of water. Some will get through the thimble but most will be splashed out and around, rejected. There's some RO sciency stuff in there I ignore. The idea behind the limiter on the output line is you are forcing more water to make it through the thimble. If you plugged the waste line the RO filter would probably tear and all water would make it through. Ah, thank you. That was an excellant explanation. So basically when my new cartridges arrive I should just put them in and assume I will have better water than what I have now until I get a TDS meter. Link to comment
vlangel Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 Wow... Adam just keep cranking out those babies!! Yes and I am so happy about this time. I have been worrying that he wasn't feeling good but I am thinking that he is just fine if courting and dancing with his mate is on his mind! Link to comment
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