550G Display + Fish Room Frag Tanks = 900G of Fun

[Blue Tang Clan]

Ammonia = 0
Nitrites = 3ppm
Nitrates = 150ppm

fish are happier now they have lived through the ammonia spike. Two downsides occurred - I lost one blue green chromis and my Blue Tang got super stressed in the process and has white spots. Hard to say if it is full on Ich yet (spots can be temporary for a day or two) but that is the obvious hunch.

I have a huge UV sterilizer that I have been waiting to turn on. What is the latest science (or informed opinions) on when to turn on UV? Bacteria lives on the rock substrate, so nothing in the water column should matter right?

 

[bpro32]

Ammonia = 0
Nitrites = 3ppm
Nitrates = 150ppm

fish are happier now they have lived through the ammonia spike. Two downsides occurred - I lost one blue green chromis and my Blue Tang got super stressed in the process and has white spots. Hard to say if it is full on Ich yet (spots can be temporary for a day or two) but that is the obvious hunch.

I have a huge UV sterilizer that I have been waiting to turn on. What is the latest science (or informed opinions) on when to turn on UV? Bacteria lives on the rock substrate, so nothing in the water column should matter right?

Last I heard, the vast majority of beneficial bacteria is on the rocks so you can turn on a UV at any time.

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

Awesome. I think it's time to unleash 120W of UV goodness!

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

Fully cycled now! Nitrates were out of control for a day or so but my 40G breeder filled with chaeto took nitrates down from 200ppm to 10ppm in 3 days!

 

[JumboShrimp]

Nice job, chaeto!!

 

[rushbattle]

That was the nitrite coming down. Nitrate test kits convert it to nitrite to determine levels. 1ppm nitrite adds some huge amount to the tested nitrate level.

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

My wife got me this doorstop for the fish room door. Genius, sheer genius!!

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

Can you believe I’m getting purple coralline already? Amazing! Well... if that’s what it was...dang cyano

I'm not sure anyone truly knows what causes cyano. My lighting period was increased, but Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, Phosphates are all near zero, and I have awesome skimming, ORP and flow. Ugh!

 

[TexAgReefer]

Can you believe I’m getting purple coralline already? Amazing! Well... if that’s what it was...dang cyano

I'm not sure anyone truly knows what causes cyano. My lighting period was increased, but Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, Phosphates are all near zero, and I have awesome skimming, ORP and flow. Ugh!

Good luck knocking it out!

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

I'm looking for thoughts on running one return pump vs. two. Redundancy/backup is always key, and I have not one, but two spare Reef Octopus Varios-8 pumps that I can swap in on a moments notice.

If one pump can run everything I need at the right flow rates, and I have identical backups ready to go, is there any other reason to go with two returns?

 

[alton]

When I had my 300DD I ran two return pumps for safety. Plus I would turn one off at 10 pm and back on at 8am. It made for a very quiet tank at night.

 

[bpro32]

I'm looking for thoughts on running one return pump vs. two. Redundancy/backup is always key, and I have not one, but two spare Reef Octopus Varios-8 pumps that I can swap in on a moments notice.

If one pump can run everything I need at the right flow rates, and I have identical backups ready to go, is there any other reason to go with two returns?

The worst case scenario is that your single pump will die while on vacation and if you have dual returns you are still covered during this time. If your pumps are connected to your controller you can even turn up the flow of the remaining pump so that your tank doesn't miss a beat.

That being said, for my 230g build I'm only going to run a single pump with a back up on the shelf because I think the chances of my pump dying while on vacation are slim. I also live in a mild climate and I have a Nest thermostat so I could remotely turn on my home's heater and warm up the whole house to keep the tank up to the right temperature until I can return home and replace the return pump.

 

[rushbattle]

I'm looking for thoughts on running one return pump vs. two. Redundancy/backup is always key, and I have not one, but two spare Reef Octopus Varios-8 pumps that I can swap in on a moments notice.

If one pump can run everything I need at the right flow rates, and I have identical backups ready to go, is there any other reason to go with two returns?

I am considering series plumbed Varios-8, or just a single Varios-8 and a few backups which I already have. Given that head pressure reduces flow so much on these pumps, I figure that it might be better to halve the pressure they see by plumbing the output of one into the intake of the other. Doubles pressure they can make. Based on the curves it seems like a good option. If one went out, the other would still work at a much lower flow rate but that's not a problem for a while until you can swap it out.

 

[BZOFIQ]

I dont know how I missed this thread. Great build!

Sorry about the more recent issues encountered - give it time.

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

I am considering series plumbed Varios-8, or just a single Varios-8 and a few backups which I already have. Given that head pressure reduces flow so much on these pumps, I figure that it might be better to halve the pressure they see by plumbing the output of one into the intake of the other. Doubles pressure they can make. Based on the curves it seems like a good option. If one went out, the other would still work at a much lower flow rate but that's not a problem for a while until you can swap it out.

I've heard mixed reviews doing this -- have you tried in the past with success?

 

[rushbattle]

I've heard mixed reviews doing this -- have you tried in the past with success?

I have done this with multi-horsepower centrifugal pumps in aquaculture applications, and it worked exactly as expected. I think it would work well in this application as well. If I get around to getting my system running anytime soon I’ll give it a shot and see how it works with exactly the same two pumps as you are considering!

 

[emvanburen]

The situation described- you away on a trip - is exactly when the pump will fail. So if you are running a single pump, it would be wise to religiously clean and maintain it, and have a ready spare. I would set the spare up with the exact fittings so a non reefer can easily exchange it if need be- unions. I would set the cords up so it is easy to disconnect and replace. And I’d label it well. I did these things on my last tank. On this tank I have an a400 and haven’t been bold enough to get another to sit on a shelf. But I really should!

 

[BZOFIQ]

I have an a200 and a varios 8 for dual pump setup I'm working on. Going to plum both using same couplings. I then have a spare VARIOS-8 (yeah second abyzz is out of the question) that can replace either as needed.

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

That's the plan -- if I were going on vacation, I would have an extra Varios 8 sitting in the sump ready to go. It would simply be a matter of unscrewing the union on top and screwing it onto the other pump. Then turn on the other pump via Apex and away we go.

Since I've already run most of the pipe, I'll probably end up plumbing two returns anyway. I could then run one 95% of the time, and then when I'm going away, turn on both, tune the overflow, and not worry about if one fails.

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

Stability is... stable, which is good. New fish are hard to come by, which makes the process helpfully slower.

Question regarding Neptune Trident reagents. I am on my last box of the Six Month Pack, and through some cosmic mystery, I am out of B and C, but have a completely new bottle of A. Don’t ask, long story.

If I only wanted to test Alkalinity right now, I can’t because if you’re out of any bottle, the Trident won’t run any tests. I even tried switching to Manual, but it’s still a no go.

has anyone gotten around this? Like adding water to the empty bottles so the Trident has something to “test” even if they are dummy readings?