Best Chemical Filtration for Nano w/o skimmer

[CarlosM]

Hi all,

 

Looking for insight as to types of chemical filtration and setup folks have had best experience with on Nano reefs. I'm running a 6 gal Nano mixed reef currently with Chemipure Blue, in addition to filter floss. I do weekly ~15% water changes.

 

Specifically, really interested if anyone has been able to tell if they've had better success with Chemipure Elite, vs. the Blue version.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Clown79]

Filter floss and carbon is the basics.

 

Elite and blue is just carbon either with a gfo like material or ion resin.

Both additional media in it will exhaust faster than may be needed if there is a need to reduce per say phosphate. 

 

Never found it lasted longer than a month, I prefer to just use individual media I bag myself for my tanks. More control on quantity and use.

[jservedio]

For tanks as small as yours, IMO the best chemical filtration is none at all - just bigger water changes. If you are going to use GFO, definitely go the route Clown suggested and just bag your own. This way you know exactly how much carbon and GFO is going into your tank - you can mix them both in one bag. Plus it's way cheaper.

[CarlosM]

22 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Filter floss and carbon is the basics.

 

Elite and blue is just carbon either with a gfo like material or ion resin.

Both additional media in it will exhaust faster than may be needed if there is a need to reduce per say phosphate. 

 

Never found it lasted longer than a month, I prefer to just use individual media I bag myself for my tanks. More control on quantity and use.

Thanks Clown79.

6 hours ago, jservedio said:

For tanks as small as yours, IMO the best chemical filtration is none at all - just bigger water changes. If you are going to use GFO, definitely go the route Clown suggested and just bag your own. This way you know exactly how much carbon and GFO is going into your tank - you can mix them both in one bag. Plus it's way cheaper.

Thanks jservedio.

 

Any thoughts on how much Carbon and GFO to use for a 6 gallon, and how often (on average) I should plan on replacing? Seperate replacement intervals, or do you replace both at same time?

[burtbollinger]

4 minutes ago, CarlosM said:

Thanks Clown79.

Thanks jservedio.

 

Any thoughts on how much Carbon and GFO to use for a 6 gallon, and how often (on average) I should plan on replacing? Seperate replacement intervals, or do you replace both at same time?

I'd be hesitant to use GFO in a 6g unless i was having major issues...and then I'd just to water changes instead.

 

 

 

[jservedio]

23 minutes ago, CarlosM said:

Any thoughts on how much Carbon and GFO to use for a 6 gallon, and how often (on average) I should plan on replacing? Seperate replacement intervals, or do you replace both at same time?

How much carbon is greatly dependent on what type of carbon you use. For example, the Rox 0.8 I use suggests 1tbsp per 10g. In actuality, when I do run carbon (which isn't all that often) I typically use 1tbsp in my 25g system and only run it if I just made changes or screwed something up and I run it for about a month. Organics are coral food, so I don't like to strip them all from the water.

 

With GFO, it depends on how much phosphate you are trying to remove. When I ran GFO, I used about 1/3 of what was suggested and changed it every month, adjusting depending on my Phosphate level (measured with a Hanna ULR checker). I only ever ran it when dealing with Phosphate problems - if there weren't any, I didn't run it. I haven't ran it in a good 5 years and my reactor is collecting dust in the garage.

 

Now I don't even bother to test or break out a reactor and just do an extra water change if it looks like I've got some algae popping up. Works far better for a small tank.

[CarlosM]

Really helpful info, thanks guys.

 

With the end goal of reaching low and consistently stable levels of Nitrate and Phosphate....what levels are you comfortable with not running any chemical filtration?

[Clown79]

Any phos reducers should be used as needed, in smaller quantities and frequent testing. Stripping phos is easy and ends up with bad results.

 

I use Kent carbon and I use less than stated and change every 2 weeks.

[MrObscura]

I personally would avoid chemical filtration if possible. Try to balance things so water changes are enough to keep nutrients in check. If not then maybe cut back on feeding and/or add a skimmer. 

 

I've gotten away from chemical filtration other than carbon occasionally. I think it's easier to balance the tank without chemical filtration. Po4 removers, as mentioned can easily strip to much, and carbon while good for polishing the water and removing contaminates doesn't add much being ran continuously imo. 

[Tamberav]

On 3/21/2019 at 8:01 PM, CarlosM said:

Really helpful info, thanks guys.

 

With the end goal of reaching low and consistently stable levels of Nitrate and Phosphate....what levels are you comfortable with not running any chemical filtration?

What exact numbers do you mean by low?

 

Too low and your corals will be unhappy and then the dino hits and you feel like setting the tank on fire 🔥

[Clown79]

1 hour ago, Tamberav said:

What exact numbers do you mean by low?

 

Too low and your corals will be unhappy and then the dino hits and you feel like setting the tank on fire 🔥

That's for sure! 

 

The vast majority of dino sufferers have 1 thing in common- low to no nutrients.

[CarlosM]

On 3/23/2019 at 9:50 AM, Tamberav said:

What exact numbers do you mean by low?

 

Too low and your corals will be unhappy and then the dino hits and you feel like setting the tank on fire 🔥

Tamberav, I have undetectable (<0.25 ppm) Nitrates and 0.90 ppm, using a Red Sea Pro and Hanna Checker, respectively.

 

[Tamberav]

41 minutes ago, CarlosM said:

Tamberav, I have undetectable (<0.25 ppm) Nitrates and 0.90 ppm, using a Red Sea Pro and Hanna Checker, respectively.

 

I would be careful with those Nitrates... too low and corals will begin to suffer and dino pest may show up. I just started dosing Nitrates to try and get mine up. Nitrates and PO4 are necessary for growth and health of corals. If you bring your Nitrates up it may naturally drop your PO4 since organisms use both. 

 

Be careful with any filtration you use with Nitrates hanging so low. 

[CarlosM]

9 hours ago, Tamberav said:

I would be careful with those Nitrates... too low and corals will begin to suffer and dino pest may show up. I just started dosing Nitrates to try and get mine up. Nitrates and PO4 are necessary for growth and health of corals. If you bring your Nitrates up it may naturally drop your PO4 since organisms use both. 

 

Be careful with any filtration you use with Nitrates hanging so low. 

Yeah, I agree...thanks. Have been reading about the dangers of low to undetectable nitrates, especially if they’re considerably lower than PO4 leading to a severe imbalance.

 

What are you using to dose Nitrates? After some reading last few days, I just started with 0.25 ml’s of Seachem Flourish Nitrogen last night, mainly because its what I already had back when I had a fw planted tank.

[Tamberav]

5 hours ago, CarlosM said:

Yeah, I agree...thanks. Have been reading about the dangers of low to undetectable nitrates, especially if they’re considerably lower than PO4 leading to a severe imbalance.

 

What are you using to dose Nitrates? After some reading last few days, I just started with 0.25 ml’s of Seachem Flourish Nitrogen last night, mainly because its what I already had back when I had a fw planted tank.

That is what I am using atm, there are a few other brands but haven't tried them. NeoNitrate, ME Nitrate, and some people make their own from potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate powders. 

[CarlosM]

3 hours ago, Tamberav said:

That is what I am using atm, there are a few other brands but haven't tried them. NeoNitrate, ME Nitrate, and some people make their own from potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate powders. 

What dose rate (mls per gallon) do you use and how often? 

 

I assume the amounts added are testable using hobby nitrate test kits, right?

[Tamberav]

It has a math equation on the back to calculate a specific increase which I found accurate. Just be sure to account for the water displaced by rock/sand. 

 

I just use red sea low range kit.

 

2 hours ago, CarlosM said:

What dose rate (mls per gallon) do you use and how often? 

 

I assume the amounts added are testable using hobby nitrate test kits, right?