FarmerTy Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 When I ran biopellets in my 125-gallon, I ran the output directly into the skimmer. On my 215, before I took them offline, I ran the output in my skimmer compartment but didn't have it directly hooked together. I saw enormous sponge growth when I did that probably due to the excess bacteria in my tank from the biopellet reactor not being directly hooked up to my skimmer. I wouldn't worry as much about which one is in front of the other if you can run your bioreactor effluent output either directly into the skimmer or at least into the skimmer chamber. Hope that helps. Sent via Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OU12004 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Share Posted October 27, 2014 JeeperTy, do you think this will work? Also why did you take your reactor out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OU12004 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Share Posted October 27, 2014 Tanks on the stand, hoping to get water in it soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 I think that setup should work just fine. I took my biopellets offline because I was having better success without them. They drove my nitrates too low on the 215-gallon. On my old 125-gallon, they worked perfectly for 2 years and I was very happy with the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OU12004 Posted November 10, 2014 Author Share Posted November 10, 2014 I finished the plumbing and turned all of the pumps on and everything seems to be working correctly. Time to pick up the few remaining pieces to the puzzle. Home Depot here I come for the 20th time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OU12004 Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 Water and 50 pounds of live rock in 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Great looking aquascape! Great use of negative space! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Very nice. This should look awesome once your get coral filling it in. I've always liked the island look with or without sand. I'm assuming you're using cadlights or other pellets, but do not use TLF NPX pellets with that reactor. Once they start to wear down, they perfectly fit in the holes at the bottom and clog it up. Burned my pump out on mine and it took a ridiculous amount of work to clean the holes out because they're not very accessible. You probably don't need to plumb the reactor directly into the skimmer but wouldn't hurt either way. I still really like running pellets. Seems like it's a mixed bag depending on the nutrient input / export capabilities of a tank. You may really benefit since there's not going to be much export without a sandbed or other area for denitrification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OU12004 Posted November 17, 2014 Author Share Posted November 17, 2014 Very nice. This should look awesome once your get coral filling it in. I've always liked the island look with or without sand. I'm assuming you're using cadlights or other pellets, but do not use TLF NPX pellets with that reactor. Once they start to wear down, they perfectly fit in the holes at the bottom and clog it up. Burned my pump out on mine and it took a ridiculous amount of work to clean the holes out because they're not very accessible. You probably don't need to plumb the reactor directly into the skimmer but wouldn't hurt either way. I still really like running pellets. Seems like it's a mixed bag depending on the nutrient input / export capabilities of a tank. You may really benefit since there's not going to be much export without a sandbed or other area for denitrification. Jestep, Thanks for the advice, what pellets worked for you? I was looking at the NP biopellets all in one or the BRS pellets, have you tried either of these? I wanted to go bare bottom but the wife is making me get sand because she thinks the bottom looks dirty, I currently have the return going into the skimmer chamber, should I rework the return to go directly into the skimmer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 I'm using the pellets that came with the reactor. I've looked around and can't figure out what, if any, off the shelf brand is the same. Seem to be a little larger than BRS but smaller than the NP XL's. I would just avoid anything that is a sphere or oval and smooth like the NPX. If they're cylindrical shape, or uneven shaped, they should be fine. If the reactor never shuts off I think it would be less likely to clog as well. I just have my reactor in the same compartment as my skimmer and it works fine. From what I've read it doesn't matter where they are in relationship to each other as long as there is a skimmer in a tank. I would keep it the way you currently have it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Loving the scape it looks really nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I just have my reactor in the same compartment as my skimmer and it works fine. From what I've read it doesn't matter where they are in relationship to each other as long as there is a skimmer in a tank. I would keep it the way you currently have it. For functionality, I tend to agree with Jestep on this. As long as you have a skimmer in the system, the principles of biopellet nutrient exportation will be achieved. When biopellets were first introduced, I saw an emphasis to directly connect the biopellet reactor to the skimmer to export all bacteria out of the system. I think as biopellet use was more widely used and accepted, it seemed that there were benefits to allowing some of that bacteria to make it into the system. Companies saw this and started adding it on the list of benefits... feed your corals... feed your sponges. I do have to add that I had exponential sponge growth during the times I ran a biopellet reactor and allowed the effluent to just go into the system versus directly hooking it to my skimmer. As far as adverse effects, I didn't notice anything but who knows what effects may be down the line when adding that much more of a bacterial population in the tank. I don't see it as a negative right now but just mentioning to be thorough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OU12004 Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 I'm using the pellets that came with the reactor. I've looked around and can't figure out what, if any, off the shelf brand is the same. Seem to be a little larger than BRS but smaller than the NP XL's. I would just avoid anything that is a sphere or oval and smooth like the NPX. If they're cylindrical shape, or uneven shaped, they should be fine. If the reactor never shuts off I think it would be less likely to clog as well. I just have my reactor in the same compartment as my skimmer and it works fine. From what I've read it doesn't matter where they are in relationship to each other as long as there is a skimmer in a tank. I would keep it the way you currently have it. Do you have your reactor setup to recirculate the water? I currently have mine setup to run directly into the skimmer and will need to rework the plumbing to have it recirulate and go into the skimmer chamber. Do you think that is worth the effort? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OU12004 Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 I added 80 pounds of CaribSea black sand and it is way to light and is getting blown off all the way to the glass bottom, any ideas on what to do about this. Can't beleive I got to this part of the build and messed up on the sand. I really do not want to have to have to take it out and start over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Can you alter the flow or adjust the powerheads to keep it from blowing the sand away? If you only have rocks in there, I would just scoop back out the sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OU12004 Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 I have the powerhead on the lowest setting and I was trying not to make a hundred dollar mistake. I was thinking of mixing in a heavier sand to see if that would keep it in place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 The light sand will work its way up and blow around. You can use a large diameter hose to siphon out the hose and put it through a filter sock while pumping water from the bucket back to the tank. Of course after you've manually removed as much as is practical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OU12004 Posted November 21, 2014 Author Share Posted November 21, 2014 I moved the power head and took it off of wave, sand is still being pushed to 1 side. Anyone know what to do with 80 pounds of sand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bigsby Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I moved the power head and took it off of wave, sand is still being pushed to 1 side. Anyone know what to do with 80 pounds of sand? I've noticed the free section on here to be a pretty useful place for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 (edited) Better to remove sand from a brand new tank and go with a heavier grain than wait until you have fish and corals in there. Also sand tends to move around a bit less once it gets some gunk in it Edited November 21, 2014 by Bpb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OU12004 Posted November 21, 2014 Author Share Posted November 21, 2014 I am going to try and use a gravel cleaner to remove the lighter particles and then back fill with a larger diameter sand. The sand i used is .25-5mm does anyone know of a black sand that is larger? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I'd heed Victoly's advice. As your sand settles and sorts itself, the tendency is for the larger grains to be driven to the bottom and the finer grains to be pushed towards the top. Mix in larger grains all you want but eventually, they'll settle down and all you'll have is a base layer of the larger sand you added and then the fine black sand still at the top, getting blown around. Basically, you'll end up with the same result but by the time it actually occurs in your system, you'll have fish and corals to complicate the removal of the sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OU12004 Posted November 21, 2014 Author Share Posted November 21, 2014 I'd heed Victoly's advice. As your sand settles and sorts itself, the tendency is for the larger grains to be driven to the bottom and the finer grains to be pushed towards the top. Mix in larger grains all you want but eventually, they'll settle down and all you'll have is a base layer of the larger sand you added and then the fine black sand still at the top, getting blown around. Basically, you'll end up with the same result but by the time it actually occurs in your system, you'll have fish and corals to complicate the removal of the sand. Yea some times it is better to just admit you messed up and start over. Any ideas for black sand that is larger than 5mm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I've never run black sand though I've always loved the look of it. Hopefully someone else can chime on the black sand larger than 5mm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OU12004 Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share Posted November 23, 2014 I went with shopping with the wife and kids today and I will list the fish requested in order. Can we get a shark? No their not reef safe Can we get a sting ray? No their not reef safe Can we get an eel? No, well maybe. Can we get the pretty black and white pokadoted one he's cool (clown trigger)? No he's aggresive Can we get the cool one with the horns (cow fish)? No, that will kill the whole tank, it has toxins Fine what what about the blue one(red tail trigger) Maybe but it is $150 and I think it eats clams. "Clams just sit there" we should get the other one (blue cheek trigger) We can get the black and blue stripped one (chalk bass). "That's boring like the fish we already have." How about the pretty blue one (Macneill's Assessor Basslet) "Boring!" Please note this was a discussion between my 10 year old dauter and my wife. My wife was the one asking questions! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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