in tank macro grower.

Discussion in 'I made this!' started by Swisswiss, Feb 11, 2014.

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  1. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2011
    Messages:
    2,879
    Location:
    Geneva Switzerland
    ello ello!!!

    right well im not a very talented DIY guy despite my male gendre but i did come up with what you will see below. but first a little history and the questions that i ask myself.

    in my old setup i had improvised a small sump under my bed where i grew caluerpa, most nights before going to sleep i would crawl under my bed with a flash light (if the sump lights were not on yet) and check on the macro. i LOVED seeing king kong sized amphipods and all sorts of little critters squirming about.

    further more i had abundant corailline growth, thought i doubt this was directly related to my impro-sump. I also enjoyed the stability the macros gave as they ran on opposite schedule to my DT lights.

    unfortunately in my current setup i dont have the time, money or want to set up a side sump system. mainly because I would have to feed it by overflow and there is nothing more annoying and noisy (IMO).

    i have about 4 h of pitch black darkness in my tank (from 21h- 23h and from 4am-6am) otherwise the aquarium is always lit, at night, with a 5% deep blue led setting on my radions.

    my concern is that seeing as the macros will be getting the same light schedule as my DT this might temper with parameters. can someone confirm this?

    secondly it should receive ample amounts of light directly from my radions seeing as the cover is a thin acrylic sheet, would you all agree?

    thirdly, flow, a small slow flow should be able to seep through the cracks in the box and i was wondering if i should perhaps drill small holes in the front panel to increase this. i have a pump directly facing it on the other end of the aquarium

    what i like about this box is that the holes are large enough to let water through all while keeping my macro eating fish away. should the caluerpa expand through the holes in the box im sure my tangs will trim it back efficiently.

    here it is!!! im a genius right!?

    P.S: sorry for the endless thread and clearly the main reason why im doing this would be to have a No3 export
     

    Attached Files:

  2. Click Here!

  3. kstafford003

    kstafford003 Feather Star

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2010
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    769
    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Looks good. Tucked away nicely in the corner. I think the only parameter change you will see running macros on the same light schedule as your DT vs opposite schedule, is that your pH will drop a little at night. If you have been running this tank without macros on an opposite light schedule you won't see any change to what you already have (except the nutrient export and pod growth of course). Someone chime in if I'm wrong.
     
  4. Av8Bluewater

    Av8Bluewater Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Aug 27, 2008
    Messages:
    3,401
    Location:
    Dallas
    It can be done.
    I know a local reefer here that has a nice SPS system with no sump and no skimmer. He has no dosing pumps or reactor. He doesn't even own a magnesium kit. His nutrient export is in display macro and xenia plus water changes. Yet his system flourishes with nice SPS color and growth. The difference from most people is he's been in the hobby for 25 years and really knows his tank. He said he can tell if his mag is low because the Xenia pulse gets slower.
    A couple of things I noted about his tank:
    Very little fish.
    He feeds very little and fish are small. He has fish that are 15 years old.
    He does not have a barrier for his macro. There is a baby yellow tang that eats a little macro he says.

    I would consider adding some xenia if you go that route as I understand it's a good nutrient export mechanism.
     
  5. oldfishkeeper

    oldfishkeeper Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2012
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    7,660
    Location:
    Cincinnati
    Genius Swiss! I think your little box looks great and I hope it works well for you!

    very interesting about the xenia. I've never heard about it being a nutrient exporter. I'm constantly trimming mine back and have just thrown the cuts away....maybe I should start putting it in my fuge.
     
  6. Av8Bluewater

    Av8Bluewater Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Aug 27, 2008
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    3,401
    Location:
    Dallas
    Yeah, It's a fun read. There are people out there with Xenia refugiums.
    Xenia Refugium - YouTube