Dawn's seahorse garden. Farewell 36g bowfront!

[Felicia]

Yes space is the problem. A 10g sump is all I could fit in the cabinet of the bowfront. I did not know that the reactor could be outside of the sump. If they have a small footprint that could probably work. I have space behind the tank too but it's not real accessible. I think I read that you do not do much maintenance with the reactor and biopellets, just add more on occasion?

Yeah, the TLF reactor is pretty small in terms of footprint and they can hang on the outside of the tank. On my old seahorse tank and my previous set-up, I had my reactors outside of the tank/sump on both without any issues. You'd just have to have space in the sump for a little pump to power it. Or you could tee off your return pump to power the reactor (that's how I have mine set-up). With GFO/carbon, you'd need to mess with it every 2 weeks or so, so you'd want good access to it. However, with the biopellets you just add them and then just top off when they start to run low. It takes like 3 months or more from what I've read for much of the biopellets to get consumed. I've had mine running for several months now and have not yet needed to top off.

[markalot]

TMZ on ReefCentral (a mod) has Seahorses and also doses a mix of vodka and vinegar as a carbon source. Dosing a carbon source gives you more control than bio-pellets but, of course, needs to be dosed. Sitting a bag of biopellets under an overflow where they get lots of flow would probably work ok too.

[vlangel]

Yeah, the TLF reactor is pretty small in terms of footprint and they can hang on the outside of the tank. On my old seahorse tank and my previous set-up, I had my reactors outside of the tank/sump on both without any issues. You'd just have to have space in the sump for a little pump to power it. Or you could tee off your return pump to power the reactor (that's how I have mine set-up). With GFO/carbon, you'd need to mess with it every 2 weeks or so, so you'd want good access to it. However, with the biopellets you just add them and then just top off when they start to run low. It takes like 3 months or more from what I've read for much of the biopellets to get consumed. I've had mine running for several months now and have not yet needed to top off.

I did a bit of looking at the different reactors and there seems to be a wide range of prices, anywhere from $50 ish up to over $300. Is there that much difference in them. Most didn't have pumps but some of the cheaper ones did.

[Felicia]

I did a bit of looking at the different reactors and there seems to be a wide range of prices, anywhere from $50 ish up to over $300. Is there that much difference in them. Most didn't have pumps but some of the cheaper ones did.

Yeah I've never really have understood what makes those really expensive ones worthwhile. I had a single and a dual BRS reactor for a long time and those were both nice but bulky and a bit hard to get open for servicing. I switched to the TLF phosban reactor because it's smaller and I heard it was easier to get open and service. I really like it much better and it's inexpensive and works well. You'd just need to buy a pump for it. I'd recommend the Cobalt MJ1200 that most people use with the BRS reactors.

[Eckozulu]

I use the IM media reactors, super easy to service. Felicia is right about the biopellets, I haven't had to touch them for months.

[vlangel]

TMZ on ReefCentral (a mod) has Seahorses and also doses a mix of vodka and vinegar as a carbon source. Dosing a carbon source gives you more control than bio-pellets but, of course, needs to be dosed. Sitting a bag of biopellets under an overflow where they get lots of flow would probably work ok too.

I will keep vodka or vinegar dosing in mind Mark. My biggest question I guess is in regards to how you handle travelling. Vodka dosing once dialed in dosage-wise needs to be done consistently every day, is that correct? Can it be put in top off water? But even then evaporation is not always the same so it might not be consistent. The whole vodka/vinegar dosing scares me a bit with seahorses because I am afraid if something goes awry then nasty bacteria could proliferate unseen and make the seahorses sick.

I could try biopellets in a high flow area first just to see if that helped.

Of course I have not even been using RO/DI long enough to give it a chance to make a difference so I should not be so hasty to keep trying new stuff. It's not like my tank is pea green.

I use the IM media reactors, super easy to service. Felicia is right about the biopellets, I haven't had to touch them for months.

What made you decide to try biopellets? Did you have high PO4 and nitrates or algae? They do sound easy to maintain and I like that.

[Eckozulu]

I started using pellets because I major fight with Dinos in my SPS tank. Only thing that worked was pellets, zeobak, and coral snow. 3 weeks later, tank was sparkling. Now I use those 3 on all my tanks, even my little fusion 10. On my newest seahorse tank, I got a custom vidarock piece, and it leached phosphates FOREVER. Started my usual routine and even started to feed the tank like I was going to have 4 messy horses in there. Algae gone, only clean the glass every 3 or 4 days. I hardly even test phosphate and nitrate anymore.

[markalot]

I will keep vodka or vinegar dosing in mind Mark. My biggest question I guess is in regards to how you handle travelling. Vodka dosing once dialed in dosage-wise needs to be done consistently every day, is that correct? Can it be put in top off water? But even then evaporation is not always the same so it might not be consistent. The whole vodka/vinegar dosing scares me a bit with seahorses because I am afraid if something goes awry then nasty bacteria could proliferate unseen and make the seahorses sick.

I could try biopellets in a high flow area first just to see if that helped.

Of course I have not even been using RO/DI long enough to give it a chance to make a difference so I should not be so hasty to keep trying new stuff. It's not like my tank is pea green.

 

 

If you go on vacation you stop dosing and nitrates rise a little, then you start back when you get home. The issue with biopellets is that they are relentless and IMO are more dangerous than dosing. I would not put vinegar in topoff, I would dose it by hand or with one of those old school dripper things and would not dose when away. Just my opinion, of course.

 

You know my personal preference now is bio pellets with nitrate dosing, but I don't have seahorses!

[vlangel]

I started using pellets because I major fight with Dinos in my SPS tank. Only thing that worked was pellets, zeobak, and coral snow. 3 weeks later, tank was sparkling. Now I use those 3 on all my tanks, even my little fusion 10. On my newest seahorse tank, I got a custom vidarock piece, and it leached phosphates FOREVER. Started my usual routine and even started to feed the tank like I was going to have 4 messy horses in there. Algae gone, only clean the glass every 3 or 4 days. I hardly even test phosphate and nitrate anymore.

Thanks, that is great to know. I think I will definitely give biopellets a try, even if I just tumble them in a mesh bag in the sump at first. I am hoping now that I use RO/DI water my phosphates will go down. I have a lot of thriving macro algae and softies in my seahorse tank plus a clam and LPS in the reef, so I need to be careful not to starve everything. I don't have crazy algae problems but I am doing diligent maintenance and 30% or more WCs every week and it would be great to cut down a bit on that.

[vlangel]

If you go on vacation you stop dosing and nitrates rise a little, then you start back when you get home. The issue with biopellets is that they are relentless and IMO are more dangerous than dosing. I would not put vinegar in topoff, I would dose it by hand or with one of those old school dripper things and would not dose when away. Just my opinion, of course.

 

 

You know my personal preference now is bio pellets with nitrate dosing, but I don't have seahorses!

O good to know about not dosing when going away! I did not know that. I have so much in my head now about the biopellets and vodka dosing. With my seahorse tank being so heavily planted I can see the merits of having control of how much phosphate and nitrates are being consumed. I don't want to starve my corals and macros. Basically I am looking for a method that will let me cut down my extreme maintenance (WCs in particular) and keep the tanks from getting over run with algae.

[vlangel]

Tested some of my parameters and whoa, my PH was really down- about 7.6. Last time I tested it was lower than it always was at 8.0, (I used to always be 8.3 or so). My nitrates and phosphates were much improved, about 2 ppm and under .25 ppm which for my tanks is great. I am guessing that my magnesium is probably very low from all the plant growth. I will check that tomorrow along with CA. My alkalinity was not too bad, 8.5 dkh. I added some super buffer and ions magnesium to help the PH. I probably should change out some of the surface sand in the reef for fresh buffering capacity. My bad but I haven't done a thing with the sandbed since I set the reef up the end of 2012. We will see what tomorrow brings...at least everything looks great.

[Eckozulu]

Hey Dawn, since you are doing so many water changes, why don't you set up a automatic water changer? Right now I'm doing about 1.3 gallons a day on my horse tank, giving me about 100% water change a month. A little overboard, after a month or two ill probably cut that in half.

[vlangel]

Hey Dawn, since you are doing so many water changes, why don't you set up a automatic water changer? Right now I'm doing about 1.3 gallons a day on my horse tank, giving me about 100% water change a month. A little overboard, after a month or two ill probably cut that in half.

I don't really know much about them, are they easy to set up? Of course cost is a consideration too but it would definitely make my life easier.

So you have seahorses now...I wasn't sure if you were still cycling the SH tank or not? What kind do you have? I would love to see pics of them. There aren't a lot of us on NR with seahorses so I am always happy to meet the folks who do.

[Eckozulu]

I got the dual head Stenner pump. Super easy setup. They are on sale right now from 500 to 284. I debated the apex dos and the spectrapure setup, but the Stenner setup: easy setup, cheapest option, and if motor goes out, both heads stop.

 

There's a video on my build thread. Please excuse the fake plants. I always use them, until my macros/gorgs/sponges grow out

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/363611-ezs-seahorse-im-fusion-40now-with-awc/

[vlangel]

I got the dual head Stenner pump. Super easy setup. They are on sale right now from 500 to 284. I debated the apex dos and the spectrapure setup, but the Stenner setup: easy setup, cheapest option, and if motor goes out, both heads stop.

There's a video on my build thread. Please excuse the fake plants. I always use them, until my macros/gorgs/sponges grow out

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/363611-ezs-seahorse-im-fusion-40now-with-awc/

Ha ha, you added your thread in your signature! I like your auto WC but it's not in the budget at the moment. Who knows though, maybe in the future?

In September I would like to place an order with KPA for some gorgs and sponges and maybe RFAs.

[Nanofreak79]

I use bio pellets in a BRS mini reactor and cobalt1200 pump. Ive had them online for almost 6 months. I dose mb7, zeobak, and coral snow. I mix rhem in a small measuring container, let them sit, then pour in at night. I use reef roids, XZ pohls extra and kz coral vitalizer. I also use reef chili once a week. So far so good. My last bio pellet experience didnt go well, i had nothing but problems and algae even after giving it over 3months. I would use a reactora md also run carbon 24/7.my tank is not starving and not overun with algae, i feed heavy as well, pellets, frozen and flake.....overstocked with fish as well. Id read more on pellets. I dont think running in a bag is a good idea or a food way to get the results from them. JMO!

[vlangel]

I use bio pellets in a BRS mini reactor and cobalt1200 pump. Ive had them online for almost 6 months. I dose mb7, zeobak, and coral snow. I mix rhem in a small measuring container, let them sit, then pour in at night. I use reef roids, XZ pohls extra and kz coral vitalizer. I also use reef chili once a week. So far so good. My last bio pellet experience didnt go well, i had nothing but problems and algae even after giving it over 3months. I would use a reactora md also run carbon 24/7.my tank is not starving and not overun with algae, i feed heavy as well, pellets, frozen and flake.....overstocked with fish as well. Id read more on pellets. I dont think running in a bag is a good idea or a food way to get the results from them. JMO!

Thanks nanofreak for the input. The more info I can gather from other's experiences will help me make a more informed decision. I am really happy that it is giving you such excellant results.

[vlangel]

Ok, I checked all my parameters for the first time in months (my bad!) and i have a bit of a problem. Because I used super buffer to get my PH up, now my alkalinity is high 14.5 dkh and my CA is low 320. The PH is 8.3. Magnesium is 1260. Should I let the tank use up some of the alkalinity or should I dose some of the Calcium part of the bionic 2 part? Nothing looks stressed so I am leaning toward letting the tank use up some alkalinity plus continue with my regular WC schedule with the IO which has numbers near NSW. That's what I get for slacking on testing the parameters.:-(

[markalot]

Stop testing PH. Most kits are inaccurate anyway.

 

Let KH fall naturally, slowly dose some calcium. It's a good idea to have two part on hand even if you don't dose regularly. The calcium part of two part will have some Mg and other traces in it.

[vlangel]

Stop testing PH. Most kits are inaccurate anyway.

 

Let KH fall naturally, slowly dose some calcium. It's a good idea to have two part on hand even if you don't dose regularly. The calcium part of two part will have some Mg and other traces in it.

Thanks Mark, I was hoping you would answer as I respect your opinion on water chemistry. That was my inclination as I know it's not wise to chase numbers with PH. I foolishly added the super buffer since the PH was really down but the lights were still off and I have a lot of plants so I should know that the PH could be down, doh! Yes, I have 2 part so I will go ahead and dose a small amount of CA and slowly raise it. I know CA and alkalinity are a seesaw though and I did not want to make alkalinity worse. At least my magnesium is not awful and only a bit low.

[vlangel]

So today I go to my lfs, (the one I worked at for 12 years) to buy ion magnesium. They are going out of buisness so I am just perusing the isles in case I see a good deal and then a thought comes to me...what is going to happen to the beautiful 93g corner tank, the one with the custom oak cabinet that my boss built. I asked his daughter who inherited the store after his death and she said it is for sale too. I could have everything but the livestock for a grand. That's a lot of $ but Lloyd soaked the wood to bow it for this corner bowfront tank. It's a real show piece. The tank itself has some scratches in it which would have to be buffed out. He built the tank around 2000 and the old plumbing is gonna be a bugger to take apart and reset up. Do I really want to get into something like this, what is wrong with me? That store was a big part of my life and I was proud to work there. I loved the family who owned it and maybe I am just succumbing to major sentimental feelings. Now is the time to decide because we were going to get a new carpet this autumn. I have a place in mind for it. I would keep my current bowfront and make it the seahorse tank and the corner bow would be my new reef. The tanks would be separate, one on each side of our living room picture window. I am a crazy woman, someone should just commit me now!

[Mirya]

DO EET!

[vlangel]

DO EET!

Says the hobbyist who I just recently realized owns 3 tanks herself. I think this is a case of one addict helping another get a fix.

[Mirya]

And I bought a tank from my LFS that was going out of business! I viewed it as an investment.

[gena]

So today I go to my lfs, (the one I worked at for 12 years) to buy ion magnesium. They are going out of buisness so I am just perusing the isles in case I see a good deal and then a thought comes to me...what is going to happen to the beautiful 93g corner tank, the one with the custom oak cabinet that my boss built. I asked his daughter who inherited the store after his death and she said it is for sale too. I could have everything but the livestock for a grand. That's a lot of $ but Lloyd soaked the wood to bow it for this corner bowfront tank. It's a real show piece. The tank itself has some scratches in it which would have to be buffed out. He built the tank around 2000 and the old plumbing is gonna be a bugger to take apart and reset up. Do I really want to get into something like this, what is wrong with me? That store was a big part of my life and I was proud to work there. I loved the family who owned it and maybe I am just succumbing to major sentimental feelings. Now is the time to decide because we were going to get a new carpet this autumn. I have a place in mind for it. I would keep my current bowfront and make it the seahorse tank and the corner bow would be my new reef. The tanks would be separate, one on each side of our living room picture window. I am a crazy woman, someone should just commit me now!

93 gallons

 

I'm not taking care of it, so I say go for it!!!!!

 

Would love to see what you do with it. Plus I'm curious to see this handmade oak stand...sounds awesome!