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GwenInNM

So, I just met this guy, off CL. Bought some LR from him. Seems very knowledgeable and trustworthy. I want to tell you some things I learned, and get your opinion. I told him that I'm frustrated because with only 2 fish in a 75 gal I'm getting nitrates of almost 40ppm after doing a 15 gal WC a week ago. I'm now feeding only every other day. One fish is a green spotted puffer, the other a yellowtail damsel. He's telling me to ditch my fluval filter ("nitrate machines"). He's saying I can run the Emperor 400 I have on the tank, but to use it only for water movement, not using the cartridges. This not being a big surprise, he says the LR is all you need. Could be true; but I only have I'm guessing, about 40 lbs of live rock. Also, said that bristleworms are "good", I do definately have those :)

Should I even think of doing this (not running filters, just skimmer)? Should I wait till I have X amount of LR? How much would "X" be?

He also said don't mess with vacumning the gravel. That would be nice to stop doing!

Another no surprise, is he did convince me I need to start doing my water changes with RO/DI water, because I've been using tap

Thanks

Gwen

Reefing Madness

He is absolutely correct. I say all this in the beginning. No one ever believes it. You should also have 75lbs of LR for your system. You also should ditch the Emperor, its not really flow. You need 750gph worth of powerheads in your tank for water movement. 2 powerheads, 2 500gph would do nicely.

funkman262

Canister filters (and even HOB filters) can in fact be nitrate factories. And I also agree with RM about adding more live rock (1 lb/gal minimum). I use a 750GPH powerhead for flow in my 27g cube, and my filtration consists of a phosban reactor and a biopellet reactor being fed by a MJ1200. I'm currently not running a protein skimmer though because the tank is coral-only (mainly softies). My water for mixing salt comes from a Typhoon III RODI system. If you don't want to invest in your own system, many stores have little water stations in front of the building that you can fill up buckets of water for fairly cheap, but on your size tank I would highly recommend just getting your own RODI setup.

GwenInNM

Cool. Thanks to u both. I've got more LR to buy. Boy, this hobby does get expensive!
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bigehugedome

If you have LR why not take a look at dead rock like Marco rock. That way the LR you have will seed the Marco and you will save some $.

I assume the GSP is super messy and all that nasty is getting trapped in your filter thus increasing nitrates!
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GwenInNM

Here's the new update. This guy is so knowledgeable, and I've gone "crazy" again spending money. Reefing madness was right, the Kessil just wasn't right, because I had this big shadow in the tank, due to the support bar. Yes, I spent lots of money on that light, but this guy purchased an almost exact tank of mine, a bit better shape, and all rigged with the undermount of two "box/square" shaped blue/white LED's with fancy digital timers :) It also has a SeaLife systems refugium. He convinced me that if I'm going to go SW, this is such a better way to go, with a drilled tank. So, I gave him my Kessil, and paid $200 for the tank. . . but got a complete tank, no need to buy another light, this tank is drilled and with the lights that make it look great. Timers can be set to have blue lights go on first, than blue/white (I just need to figure out how to work these timers :D). He bought the tank only for powerheads that are apparently very high end, expensive. He then parts things out. I'll be setting the new tank up in the next few days, and already found a buyer to buy my tank for $130, which I paid $150 for on CL. Not bad. Also, when I set the tank up, he's got LR he'll sell me for $1.00 lb, so I'll have all the L.R. I need for this tank.

He tells me to rinse all my substrate, which I hesitate to do, but he's telling me he's done this thousands of times, and that is the best thing to do.

I asked him about what I keep in this refugium, and he says only grow algae, not to bother with bioballs etc, because those are also "nitrate machines".

What do you all think of that? I think I should put something in the refugium, but don't know what?

I'd like to hear what you all recommend. Oh, I also am getting the skimmer that goes underneath, so nothing will be hanging on the back.

Gwen

Reefing Madness

From what this guy is telling you, I'm 100% confident he will not stear you wrong. I'd go with what ever he tells you.
As for Aglage, here is a list.
http://live-plants.com/