Help!

[Bpb]

I'll start by saying I'm a busy dad with 3 kids and not a ton of time. Actually in the process of downsizing tanks because it's too much to deal with.

I've had my GEO 618 calcium reactor running for 8-10 months now I guess. It's been operating flawlessly. I woke up this morning to the familiar chugging sound of air trapped in the tube arch coming off the circulation pump. No water circulating through the reactor. No effluent coming out


I've been running a slow effluent off a masterflex at 40 rpm and about 1 bubble every 8 seconds from the co2.

I turned off the co2 in hopes that the trapped bubble would dissolve and flow would resume. But how long will that take? How did this happen in the first place. Unfortunately I don't have the hours and hours it would take to disassemble the whole thing today and I'm horribly worried about my tank crashing now

 

[bif24701]

I'll start by saying I'm a busy dad with 3 kids and not a ton of time. Actually in the process of downsizing tanks because it's too much to deal with.

I've had my GEO 618 calcium reactor running for 8-10 months now I guess. It's been operating flawlessly. I woke up this morning to the familiar chugging sound of air trapped in the tube arch coming off the circulation pump. No water circulating through the reactor. No effluent coming out


I've been running a slow effluent off a masterflex at 40 rpm and about 1 bubble every 8 seconds from the co2.

I turned off the co2 in hopes that the trapped bubble would dissolve and flow would resume. But how long will that take? How did this happen in the first place. Unfortunately I don't have the hours and hours it would take to disassemble the whole thing today and I'm horribly worried about my tank crashing now

Do you have another way to add ALK and Cal? Test, monitor and add as needed until you have that time.

I though most CalRx had some way to purge the air.

 

[Bpb]

I think when I have time the first thing I'll do is put a stronger circulation pump on it. This little eheim it came with is a good pump but realistically its way too small

 

[Bpb]

Yes I have lots of two part and kalkwasser. I'll likely put a scoop or two of kalkwasser in my auto topoff in the mean time

 

[Bpb]

Fixed it already. Wow. This was long past due. Let it be a reminder to you masterflex users. Keep an eye on your roller tubing.

Tube was flattened in some spots and even had holes

 

[geo]

Good morning Bpd,
First off make sure your intake of the Masterflex is not drawing any air. Keep the CO2 off. I would then run the Masterflex at a very high rate around 150 mlpm or more to clear out the air pocket in the reactor. This should take care of the issue.

I am not sure if you are pulling or pushing with the Masterflex but I have seen this happen occasionally when pulling. I prefer pushing the feed water rather then pulling.

This airpocket will also occur when the circulating pump impeller is damaged.

Thank you
GEO

 

[geo]

Happy to see issue is solved.
GEO

 

[Bpb]

Thanks for the reply GEO. Definitely don't regret going with your product. A reply at 8 am on a holiday less than an hour after a post was made speaks volumes about your attentiveness to your customers.

When I replaced the masterflex tubing it purged the bubble instantly even at only 80 ml/min. Running smooth and quiet now. Though this was an eye opener. I need to replace all the tubing. It's all feeling a bit crunchy and brittle

 

[Junior84]

Don't mean to but in but just joined the site and not sure how to post a new question for help

 

[Bpb]

What's the nature of the question?

 

[Junior84]

New to saltwater so please bare with me. My nitrates 30-40, salinity 1.022, phosphates .41 . Tank has been set up since January 3rd. I have 1 foxface, 1 sleeper goby, 2 clowns, yellow eye kole tang, bunch of snails mainly turbos 2 emerald crabs. The tank was doing very well but the last month i have algae problem. I also have 3 acans , 2 zoanthids colonies, 3 soft green mushrooms, 1 green star polyp. What's the best way to get the Algae under control ?

 

[Bpb]

My thread issue is solved so I'm happy to help with yours.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=104

For starters this is a good place to go for new hobby topics. There's a link toward the top left to start a new thread. Should be pretty easy.

Second. Don't get overwhelmed. That's a nauseating amount of information out there on this hobby and it's easy to get lost in it all at first. Just know that your tank is still VERY young and that even the most seasoned and experienced reef tank keepers will have algae at that point in the game. Main difference is those who expect it and know it will pass, and those who are surprised and discouraged by it and often go out of their way to get rid of it, often making it worse. I'll hit your points one at a time

Yes. Nitrate is pretty high at 30-40 ppm. I have run my mature tank with those exact parameters (nitrates between 30-40 ppm and PO4 in excess of 0.4 ppm) for well over a year without a spec of algae. Coral growth was pitiful but no algae.

People will tell you algae is caused by too much light, high nutrients, wrong spectrum, low flow, etc. but in my experience tank immaturity and imbalance of micro Fauna is the biggest contributor. You can have sky high nutrient levels and lighting overload but zero algae if your tank is very mature, stable, and you have plenty of herbivores.

I would advise controlling the nutrients for coral health sake first and foremost. Everything will grow faster and be more vibrantly colored if you clean that water up a bit. Ensure you are using RODI water, do regular water changes, don't over feed, and don't be afraid to run a little carbon. Rox 0.8 type carbon in a media bag in your sump is typically just fine. I don't like running it in a reactor actually.

For your phosphates I would install a GFO reactor. It will knock them down for sure.

For algae I have found pincushion and tuxedo urchins to be the absolute best algae eaters in the hobby period the end. Better than any fish or invert.

How big is your tank?

 

[Junior84]

It's a 55 gallon tank ... 350 penguin filter on one side and a 150 penguin filter on the other side. I don't have a sump unfortunately. I have 2 power heads one on each side of the ttank to make flowing water circle around the tank. Just picked up phosfiltrum and am running that for now. I do 5 gallon water changes every 2 weeks. I always tried not to disturb the live sand when I cleaned the tank. But from what I'm reading now I should siphon the sand to get my nitrates down correct

 

[Lynchmob3000]

Stir the sand with a turkey Baster to let your filtration remove the detritus and add gfo along with water changes more often and it will go away slowly

 

[Orcus Varuna]

It's a 55 gallon tank ... 350 penguin filter on one side and a 150 penguin filter on the other side. I don't have a sump unfortunately. I have 2 power heads one on each side of the ttank to make flowing water circle around the tank. Just picked up phosfiltrum and am running that for now. I do 5 gallon water changes every 2 weeks. I always tried not to disturb the live sand when I cleaned the tank. But from what I'm reading now I should siphon the sand to get my nitrates down correct

For a tank with no swamp I would strongly advise ditching the penguin filters. Unfortunately the biowheel design is not ideal for marine aquariums. While great at turning ammonia into nitrate the wheel does nothing but become a constant unnecessary source of nitrate in a marine system. I would replace as soon as possible with an aquaclear 110 filter. The reason for this is because the filter is kind of designed like an hang on sump. It allows you to load it with different equipment and media. I would then pick up some rox carbon and phosguard and place it in a media bag in the aquaclear filter to help with organics and phosphate. Then if you like you can eventually add a media reactor and a skimmer inside the aquaclear. Here's a picture of the setup on a secondary tank of mine.

 

[Bpb]

Fantastic example. That hob aquaclear looks literally like a hob sump. Probably for 1/2 the price of one too

 

[Orcus Varuna]

Fantastic example. That hob aquaclear looks literally like a hob sump. Probably for 1/2 the price of one too

Yup got the ac110 on sale at petsmart for $55. They send large coupons all the time if you sign up for their email notices. Now I just need to order my pink skunks and the anemone cube will be complete!