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11-21-2008, 10:20 AM
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#11 (permalink)
| | PICTURE POLICE
Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Miami, FL Age: 40
Posts: 6,280
| Quote:
Originally Posted by bc219 I've always read not to use those with saltwater, that you end up sucking up your pods and other beneficial stuff. Heck, if it's a good idea I should start using the one I had for my freshwater tanks... | The way I do it, it only suchs up light weight stuff, not strong enough to pick up sand. Luna _________ 10 yr old system, 90g Corner-megaflow DT, custom 55g sump/refug, 692w lighting, Mag-18, AquaC EV 180, AC-Jr, Pin-Point Cal monitor and too many corals and fish to list. Happy Reefing |
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11-23-2008, 08:05 AM
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#12 (permalink)
| | Astrea Snail
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 26
Karma: 25

| My water changes:
-Unplug return pump so all water with potential nastiness kicked up is not going into the sump, then take out all the sponge filters from the overflow box and sump and get the wife to rinse them down.
-Blast off nastiness from rock and sand and such and keep the powerheads on so it doesn't settle back down
-Siphon out 5 gallons into my glorious 5 gallon bucket and try to take as much nastiness out of the water as possible during the process
-Pour in the WCW
-replace sponges/filters, plug in return pump, and let the bio filter handle what I didn't get with the siphon.
Having a 55 makes 10% water changes easy to handle with a 5 gallon bucket, and having hermit crabs and snails roaming around make life much easier by cleaning up the place. |
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11-23-2008, 08:53 AM
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#13 (permalink)
| | MX 838
Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Lebanon ME Age: 32
Posts: 580
| Quote:
Originally Posted by crashtestdummy My water changes:
-replace sponges/filters, plug in return pump, and let the bio filter handle what I didn't get with the siphon.. |
So is this stating that you let your bio-balls collect the gunk? Just curious because I made that mistake and have been fighting algae from the nitrate factory! Cleaning bio balls weekly a quarter at a time now
Luna good call on the turkey baster. I am in the middle of a w/s not and got alot of the sand with it. Just the stuff I couldnet pick up with the siphon. I have the python that you showed in the pic also btw. I am doing 10 gallons today just to do maintaince on the sump.
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220 Gallon Reef, Marineland model 4 sump, PM Bullet 2 Skimmer, 300lbs of live rock 100 lbs Fiji Pink Sand, 2 Marineland 5500 pumps for return.
Last edited by mirandacollc; 11-23-2008 at 09:19 AM.
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11-23-2008, 05:07 PM
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#14 (permalink)
| | Astrea Snail
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 26
Karma: 25

| The way my sump is setup I have 3 sponges/filters for the water to pass through. It needs to pass through 2 of these to even reach the bioballs. The first one being in my overflow box, it collects the big stuff like poop and what-not before sending the water down into the sump. The next sponge is a large square 1 inch thick really fine thing. Only super small stuff would be able to get through it...my bioballs do not get any "detritus" on them thanks to those sponge filter things. Those filters, combined with my Live Rock and Bioballs, and snails, crabs, shrimp and other critters, and a BA protein skimmer (no not a brand), I rarely have any debris build up in my tank.
So what I'm saying is that no, my bioballs do not collect all the gunk. The things that do collect all the gunk are cleaned once a week. The bioballs handle ammonia to nitrate only, and water changes control the nitrate levels. If you have a problem with a "nitrate" factory, ease up on the feeding. Anything that isn't eaten by something will indeed fuel the nitrate factory. |
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11-25-2008, 01:02 PM
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#15 (permalink)
| | Pajama Cardinal
Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Southern CA Age: 34
Posts: 1,443
| I just use a 3/8" tube to siphon out my water. The flow is low enough to control sand being sucked out but strong enough to get the loose gunk when it's an inch away. I do what Luna says, I pinch the tube if I see that sand was sucked up. Sand sifting stars can also clean it up.
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150G Custom All-Glass 48"x24"x33", Bubble King Mini 180, CR-2000 Wet/Dry sump, 380W MH/CF Hamilton, currently with LR and my mean 3-strip damsel, lionfish and porcupine puffer 20G Top-Fin, CPR Bak-Pak2, 70W HOT HQI Hamilton, T5 2x24 actinic supplement, Aquacontroller Jr., 2 maroons, 2 nems, cleaner shrimp and 4-stripe damsel 65G Clear-For-Life All-in-one aquarium, Aqua-C EV-180, 130W Coralife CF Retrofit, empty 12G JBJ Nanocube with 2 sea horses, upgraded to 2 Current USA LED lights. |
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11-25-2008, 01:17 PM
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#16 (permalink)
| | Coral Banded Shrimp
Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Southern California
Posts: 370
| I use hermit crabs. It may just be my tank, but the hermits tend to hang out on my sand and clean it. I rarely see them on the rock and when i do, the sand is spotless.
I also have a lot of current. I use quite a bit of flow in my tank.
I never siphon my sand. Then again, my tank is only a 20g. _________ Tank: 20 Gallon Tall Reaction 4 Stage Filter with UV, JBJ 65X2 PCs, Rio nano skimmer, 65 pounds LR, 15 Pounds LS, Custom temp monitors and computer fans, Rio powerheads. My Tank Thread |
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11-25-2008, 01:50 PM
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#17 (permalink)
| | Purple Spiny Lobster
Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Buffalo, NY Age: 31
Posts: 499
| I turkey baste the rock with my filter and Hydor on. I wait 20 min for the water to clear and baste again. Ater 2-4 times there's really nothing let. Then i waterchange, and then change my filter pad, so all the debris leaves the tank. Also, since I bought Turbo snails, I hardly have any detritus on my rocks. My Nass snails, hermits, and Turbos clean my gravel. Good luck! _________ 16g Nano w/ AC70, Hydor 1, AquaC My Tank Thread Sixline & Coral Banded Shrimp |
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11-26-2008, 08:50 AM
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#18 (permalink)
| | Scooter Blennie
Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Tennessee Age: 19
Posts: 1,207
| God knew what he was doing when he made the oceans, so the snails and hermits are the best things I've seen to clean off waste. You can never go wrong with a hermit crab. Unless it kills a snail to steal it's shell...then you're down one snail...but other than that all is well. _________ -46g bowfront-born 11/21/08 =9g Mantis= born 02/04/09 I think I'd find watching my mantis shrimp more enjoyable if she didn't watch me back... |
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11-26-2008, 09:06 AM
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#19 (permalink)
| | Purple Spiny Lobster
Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Buffalo, NY Age: 31
Posts: 499
| Quote:
Originally Posted by =Jwin= God knew what he was doing when he made the oceans, so the snails and hermits are the best things I've seen to clean off waste. You can never go wrong with a hermit crab. Unless it kills a snail to steal it's shell...then you're down one snail...but other than that all is well. | Ahh, I lost a hermit and a snail in the last few days! My Nass snails had a feeding frenzy on the hermit, and I watched the snail shell get snatched by my starfish. |
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11-26-2008, 09:14 AM
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#20 (permalink)
| | Scooter Blennie
Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Tennessee Age: 19
Posts: 1,207
| Animal fights are so intense...but sad at the same time. Stupid Nass shells have to look so pretty to hermits and other critters, they should just stay in the sand like they're supposed to. |
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