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Hypes SPS Dropoff Peninsula-New Skimmer


Rehype

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4 hours ago, Rehype said:

 

Thanks man. Yea they're easy enought to build and I was going back and forth on  making my own for a while. Ultimately I preferred the LEDS on the inside of the reactor so I was going to go with the cleartides model but right as I was about to pull the trigger I found a used ARID.  Its definitely a sexy beast but you can get the same results with just about any setup as confirmed by BRS... they are in the  midst of a comprehensive test using chaetomorpha solely for nutrient export. Great watch...It confirmed what many of us have known for years but I appreciate the scientific methodical approach to validate the results.  

 

 

 

 

 

+1

 

Impressive results, and a real experimental setup with control, too!  

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1 hour ago, J-Ranko said:

 

Impressive results, and a real experimental setup with control, too!  

 

I know right! They dont know it but I really love everything those guys do at BRS.....they truly elevate the hobby.

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I want those darned pods, though >:C

 

I swear I'm just gonna have to sneak a napkin into @metrokat's tank and wipe the glass clean while she's not looking, then stuff that in a ziplock and take it home..

 

 

Or maybe feed my tank more pod-friendly stuff and be patient? Or order another shipment of live rock? Who knows.

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17 hours ago, Mariaface said:

I want those darned pods, though >:C

 

I swear I'm just gonna have to sneak a napkin into @metrokat's tank and wipe the glass clean while she's not looking, then stuff that in a ziplock and take it home..

 

 

Or maybe feed my tank more pod-friendly stuff and be patient? Or order another shipment of live rock? Who knows.

 

Just ask kat to send you some clippings of macroalgae and a bit of sand from her fuge and nature will take care of the rest :happy:

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Quick update

    Added a couple of test sps frags. Ill keep an eye on them over the next two weeks and if they do well. Ill pickup a bunch more.  So far the tank has a few invertebrates. Pederson shrimp,scarlet hermits and a pom pom crab. I had a setback with adding fish. I picked up a sunburst anthias and I went through my routine of acclimation before adding him to the QT and while drip acclimating in a small bucker with a heater/air pump. The friggin heater (tetra 26447 50 watt) malfunctioned superheated the bucket and killed him :( So I have to wait a bit to pick up another. In more positive news the macroalgae reactor is working great. Heres a pic after a week of growth. Im going to shorten the photoperiod to 8 hours since nitrates are at 0.

 

Day 1                                                               Day 7

33588702865_2a156ffce8.jpg  33584611492_9fdb26d2e9.jpg

 

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1 minute ago, DCUEVAS74 said:

Waddup E!  I've been MIA for a while, great to see you up and at em' again my friend!  Impressive new setup as always (golf clap).

 

Hey DC!!! Hows it going buddy?!Any plans for a new build? 

 

Thanks bud I appreciate it....still a work in progress

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Things are taking off, so cool to see!!

I've been wanting some Anemone Shrimp, looking forward to seeing yours. 

That Macroalgae Reactor is obviously working well, tho I'm sorry to hear about the fish. 

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3 minutes ago, Weetabix7 said:

Things are taking off, so cool to see!!

I've been wanting some Anemone Shrimp, looking forward to seeing yours. 

That Macroalgae Reactor is obviously working well, tho I'm sorry to hear about the fish. 

 

Thanks weetie! Yea it was a total bummer especially since it was such a beautiful fish. 

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4 hours ago, Rehype said:

 

Hey DC!!! Hows it going buddy?!Any plans for a new build? 

 

Thanks bud I appreciate it....still a work in progress

It's all good down here.  Yah, just got settled in working towards my master's.  Had to put my last one on hold but up and going again.  Nothing extravagant but just enough to scratch the itch if ya know what I mean?!  I'll be doing something with my DOA thread before long.  

 

Hahahaha That's what every artist says..... and you Sir are an aquatic artiste!  Take your time so we can all enjoy!  

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Oh no, how frustrating to lose a fish for something as simple as a bad heater :(

 

That reactor is doing a great job. And it looks good :)

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5 hours ago, DCUEVAS74 said:

It's all good down here.  Yah, just got settled in working towards my master's.  Had to put my last one on hold but up and going again.  Nothing extravagant but just enough to scratch the itch if ya know what I mean?!  I'll be doing something with my DOA thread before long.  

 

Hahahaha That's what every artist says..... and you Sir are an aquatic artiste!  Take your time so we can all enjoy!  

 

wow thats awesome to hear. Whats your field of study? I totally know what you mean thats exactly why I started this build.

 

Thanks man still have a long way to go but im enjoying the ride. 

 

5 hours ago, teenyreef said:

Oh no, how frustrating to lose a fish for something as simple as a bad heater :(

 

That reactor is doing a great job. And it looks good :)

 

Tell me about it teeny. I had been using that heater on and for quite some time with no issues and the one time I need it to work for just an hour.....unreal

 

Thanks teeny I may be making a slight upgrade :D:ninja:

 

2 hours ago, J-Ranko said:

Ugh. Sorry to hear about the anthias. :(  

 

Thanks J I feel so bad I didnt notice in time..

 

34 minutes ago, nanoreef-R said:

Haven't been around for a couple years...excited to come back to another one of your builds. Following! 

 

Wow good to see you back man! This thread is a like a family reunion :happy:  Hows everything? Any new builds on the horizon?

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20 minutes ago, Rehype said:

Wow good to see you back man! This thread is a like a family reunion :happy:  Hows everything? Any new builds on the horizon?

Yes seems like it! Yeah, I bought the Fluval EVO "Sea" 5-gallon last week...we'll see what it develops into.  

 

Regarding the chaeto reactor, I remember a fellow New York reefer ran this SPS heavy tank using only a large chaeto reactor. Swear to God, no skimmer or pellet reactor. Just the chaeto and some chemi-pure, with the weekly WC.

 

This was at least six years ago, glad to see the trend is finally catching on. 

 

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1 hour ago, nanoreef-R said:

Yes seems like it! Yeah, I bought the Fluval EVO "Sea" 5-gallon last week...we'll see what it develops into.  

 

Regarding the chaeto reactor, I remember a fellow New York reefer ran this SPS heavy tank using only a large chaeto reactor. Swear to God, no skimmer or pellet reactor. Just the chaeto and some chemi-pure, with the weekly WC.

 

This was at least six years ago, glad to see the trend is finally catching on. 

 

 

Looking forward to seeing it develop. Be sure to start to thread :)

 

Its amazing what biofiltration can do...Ive used macroalgae for nutrient export in nearly all my builds because its always been so efficient. I just really like these reactors as they keep the cheato contained and supercharge their growth with amazing results. Its great too that they're so easy to DIY any reefer could try it out for themselves.

 

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On 3/30/2017 at 11:22 PM, Rehype said:

 

wow thats awesome to hear. Whats your field of study? I totally know what you mean thats exactly why I started this build.

 

Thanks man still have a long way to go but im enjoying the ride. 

 

 

Tell me about it teeny. I had been using that heater on and for quite some time with no issues and the one time I need it to work for just an hour.....unreal

 

Thanks teeny I may be making a slight upgrade :D:ninja:

 

 

Thanks J I feel so bad I didnt notice in time..

 

 

Wow good to see you back man! This thread is a like a family reunion :happy:  Hows everything? Any new builds on the horizon?

My field of study is Psych-Clinical Mental Health in Counseling.  Keeps me pretty busy but stimulated.  If that chaeto fuge works out for you, I might have to get my hands on one of those sexy beasts.

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Do you think the initial mass of the chaeto has any significant impact?  I figured its efficiency in absorbing nutrients is driven more by growth rate, but I suppose the total net increase in mass over a given time period would be greater if you start with a larger mass of chaeto.  If I try this setup I can only fit a small reactor behind my tank.

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Nano sapiens

Having a fish pass that way is like 1 in a 1000.  Sorry to see that.  Your algae reactor seems to be going great guns, though :)

 

Thanks for posting the BRS Chaeto test.  Even though I don't use algae as a nutrient export method I do find the topic interesting, especially in relation to DOC (Disolved Organic Carbon).  Scientific studies show that algae leachates (DOCs, specifically) in sufficient quantity can increase the coral's own native holobiont bacterial count to such a high level that the corals can literally suffocate due to a lack of oxygen.  Seems prudent to use at least some GAC in any system with a large amount of algae since it has been shown to be highly effective at reducing/controlling DOC (much more so than a skimmer).

 

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On 4/1/2017 at 1:08 PM, DCUEVAS74 said:

My field of study is Psych-Clinical Mental Health in Counseling.  Keeps me pretty busy but stimulated.  If that chaeto fuge works out for you, I might have to get my hands on one of those sexy beasts.

 

Thats awesome... Well I hope all goes well.  Ill keep you posted ;)

 

On 4/1/2017 at 7:06 PM, J-Ranko said:

Do you think the initial mass of the chaeto has any significant impact?  I figured its efficiency in absorbing nutrients is driven more by growth rate, but I suppose the total net increase in mass over a given time period would be greater if you start with a larger mass of chaeto.  If I try this setup I can only fit a small reactor behind my tank.

 

IME it doesnt  matter as long as the lighting (spectrum/intensity) is correct. To your point the efficiency is driven by growth rate not the overall mass. As ive seen reefers with a huge clump of cheato in their fuge say their nutrients were unaffected (most likely the effect of poor lighting). On the other hand someone with a cheato reactor could be singing its praises in a few weeks. In my setup nitrates/phosphates were reduced to 0 in just a week and I started with a relatively small amount of cheato.

 

On 4/1/2017 at 9:22 PM, Nano sapiens said:

Having a fish pass that way is like 1 in a 1000.  Sorry to see that.  Your algae reactor seems to be going great guns, though :)

 

Thanks for posting the BRS Chaeto test.  Even though I don't use algae as a nutrient export method I do find the topic interesting, especially in relation to DOC (Disolved Organic Carbon).  Scientific studies show that algae leachates (DOCs, specifically) in sufficient quantity can increase the coral's own native holobiont bacterial count to such a high level that the corals can literally suffocate due to a lack of oxygen.  Seems prudent to use at least some GAC in any system with a large amount of algae since it has been shown to be highly effective at reducing/controlling DOC (much more so than a skimmer).

 

 

Thanks nano...it was very unfortunate. Its definitely been worth the investment so far :)

 

Thats interesting as I haven't read those studies personally. Does the study identify the species of coral observed during testing? Im just curious if some species are more sensitive or tolerant than others. I suspect these negative affects aren't experienced by most reefers using algae for nutrient export. Primarily because most use some form of mechanical filtration (skimmer or GAC etc) or perform water changes to reduce their levels of DOC. Personally Ive never run a system without some form of activated carbon for numerous reasons.

 

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Nano sapiens
3 hours ago, Rehype said:

 

Thats awesome... Well I hope all goes well.  Ill keep you posted ;)

 

 

IME it doesnt  matter as long as the lighting (spectrum/intensity) is correct. To your point the efficiency is driven by growth rate not the overall mass. As ive seen reefers with a huge clump of cheato in their fuge say their nutrients were unaffected (most likely the effect of poor lighting). On the other hand someone with a cheato reactor could be singing its praises in a few weeks. In my setup nitrates/phosphates were reduced to 0 in just a week and I started with a relatively small amount of cheato.

 

 

Thanks nano...it was very unfortunate. Its definitely been worth the investment so far :)

 

Thats interesting as I haven't read those studies personally. Does the study identify the species of coral observed during testing? Im just curious if some species are more sensitive or tolerant than others. I suspect these negative affects aren't experienced by most reefers using algae for nutrient export. Primarily because most use some from of mechanical filtration (skimmer of GAC etc) or perform water changes to reduce their levels of DOC. Personally Ive never run a system with some form of activated carbon for numerous reasons.

 

 

Montastraea annularis.

 

The complete study:  

 

http://people.uncw.edu/szmanta/2007 Bio 585 pdfs/Kline et al 2006 Elevated DOC and microbes on corals.pdf

 

The interesting takeaway is that elevated nutrients (nitrate, phosphate) didn't kill the corals, but elevated DOC did.

 

Since each species of coral has it's own unique set of bacteria (usually over 100 different bacterial species/coral species), it is indeed plausible that some are more sensitive to DOC buildup than others.

 

In the aquaria, Ken Feldman (Advanced Aquarist articles) had shown that some reef tanks running GAC, skimming and frequent WCs kept DOCs much lower (~1/10th) than pristine natural reef waters, whereas reef aquaria without filtration and infrequent WCs can have up to 5x the DOC level of the reef water.  Corals in the later scenerio were still doing okay as they had likely adapted over an extended period of time to the conditions.

 

Since Chaeto has been used successfully for so long, it's obviously not a problem in a properly maintained reef tank.  Problems may arise in neglected systems where the Chaeto is not harvested to keep it productive (or just not growing and allowed to break down) and WCs are neglected and GAC (if used) is not changed after it is exhausted.

 

Facinating stuff, for sure and tieing it all together to really understand all the complexities is certainly a challenge.  

 

 

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That is flipping awesome research and helps give at least a plausible explanation some mysterious issues with various combinations of filtration and husbandry.

 

I don't use cheato or carbon and rarely change water and some acros seem to not want to color up.  Could it be high DOCs?  I've haphazardly added carbon every month or so, not looking for an improvement in coral health but instead to clear the water a bit.    Something else to consider, anyway. :D

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Nano sapiens said:

 

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Nano sapiens
50 minutes ago, markalot said:

That is flipping awesome research and helps give at least a plausible explanation some mysterious issues with various combinations of filtration and husbandry.

 

I don't use cheato or carbon and rarely change water and some acros seem to not want to color up.  Could it be high DOCs?  I've haphazardly added carbon every month or so, not looking for an improvement in coral health but instead to clear the water a bit.    Something else to consider, anyway. :D

 From what I've gathered, DOCs are largely produced by algae photosynthesis leachates.  Even in a tank with minimal macroalgae, under higher nutrient conditions the coral's zooxanthellae can reproduce prolifically and would produce/release more photosynthate than can be used by the coral...which could then be responsible for too much holobiont bacterial growth and a drop in locally available oxygen (coral would be expelling excess zooxanthellae is an effort to normalize this delicate balance).  A coral with excess zooxanthellae and/or stressed by too much bacteria growth would appear less vibrant than one under optimal conditions.

 

Would be nice to have a simple test kit to measure POC/DOC, but the complexities involved make that unlikely.

Quote

 

 

 

 

 

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16 hours ago, Nano sapiens said:

 

Montastraea annularis.

 

The complete study:  

 

http://people.uncw.edu/szmanta/2007 Bio 585 pdfs/Kline et al 2006 Elevated DOC and microbes on corals.pdf

 

The interesting takeaway is that elevated nutrients (nitrate, phosphate) didn't kill the corals, but elevated DOC did.

 

Since each species of coral has it's own unique set of bacteria (usually over 100 different bacterial species/coral species), it is indeed plausible that some are more sensitive to DOC buildup than others.

 

In the aquaria, Ken Feldman (Advanced Aquarist articles) had shown that some reef tanks running GAC, skimming and frequent WCs kept DOCs much lower (~1/10th) than pristine natural reef waters, whereas reef aquaria without filtration and infrequent WCs can have up to 5x the DOC level of the reef water.  Corals in the later scenerio were still doing okay as they had likely adapted over an extended period of time to the conditions.

 

Since Chaeto has been used successfully for so long, it's obviously not a problem in a properly maintained reef tank.  Problems may arise in neglected systems where the Chaeto is not harvested to keep it productive (or just not growing and allowed to break down) and WCs are neglected and GAC (if used) is not changed after it is exhausted.

 

Facinating stuff, for sure and tieing it all together to really understand all the complexities is certainly a challenge.  

 

 

 

Thanks for the link nano...very informative.

 

That certainly helps to explain why a reefer with higher DOC levels could experience issues when adding new corals (even if the coral was acclimated properly and all other parameters are in line). 

 

14 hours ago, markalot said:

 

I don't use cheato or carbon and rarely change water and some acros seem to not want to color up.  Could it be high DOCs?

 

Based on the research nano provided it certainly seem plausible...especially with more sensitive species such as SPS.

 

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So far test frags are doing good and I plan to pick up some more this weekend. Reactor is also working splendidly. Nitrates and Phosphates remain at 0 despite daily feeding of flakes and pellets.

 

     Day 1                                                         Day 7                                                         Day 14

     33588702865_2a156ffce8.jpg&key=c621df950 33584611492_9fdb26d2e9.jpg&key=7196e3d8f 33832829366_22863f95bb.jpg

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