malacoda
Valuable Member
Sometimes the simplest, cheapest pieces of equipment can have the biggest and most surprising impact on a system...
In my case it was the combination of Seachem De-Nitrate and a $1.25 jar of mayo.
When I set up my system, I used aqua-cultured Walt Smith 2.0 live rock along with a shallow sand bed of 2". It was loaded with life and I loved it (still do).
Being a noob though (it was my first tank), I failed to realize that the man-made rock lacks the volume of micro-pores needed for the anaerobic bacteria that fully process nitrates. So, for ~10 months I struggled to keep nitrates below 15 ppm.
Overall the tank health was good, but I did have occassional outbreaks of a bit of green cyano-like algae on the sand (I now suspect it was a spirulina strain).
Realizing I needed the help of anaerobic bacteria, I added some De-Nitrate in a mesh bag to my sump. 3 months later, still no noticeable impact on nitrate levels.
Digging a little deeper I realized I wasn't using the De-Nitrate properly. Reading the directions closer I discovered Seachem recommends 25-50 gph flow through it for maximum benefit.
Enter the surprising savior: a $1.20 jar of mayo.
It was the cheapest jar of mayo on the grocery store shelf. Didn't eat the mayo (it was lousy tasting uber-cheap stuff) but was really only after the jar anyway.
Used a the plastic jar, a bit of left over PVC, and some JB Marine weld I had to make a nitrate reactor.
Plumbed it off my return with an inline valve to limit flow to 30 ghp, dropped in some De-Nitrate (along with a bit of carbon and Phosguard in a mesh bag for safe measure), and let 'er run.
Within 7 days my nitrates dropped to 1 ppm and have remained there ever since.
Been a year and still working like a charm.
Just got back from a 25 day trip last week. Had the skimmer off the entire time and the tank was still clean as can be ... with nitrates ~1 ppm ... when I returned home.
That little jar with De-nitrate in it has been one of the most beneficial pieces of equipment in my entire setup.
What has your most surprisingly beneficial pieces of equipment been?
In my case it was the combination of Seachem De-Nitrate and a $1.25 jar of mayo.
When I set up my system, I used aqua-cultured Walt Smith 2.0 live rock along with a shallow sand bed of 2". It was loaded with life and I loved it (still do).
Being a noob though (it was my first tank), I failed to realize that the man-made rock lacks the volume of micro-pores needed for the anaerobic bacteria that fully process nitrates. So, for ~10 months I struggled to keep nitrates below 15 ppm.
Overall the tank health was good, but I did have occassional outbreaks of a bit of green cyano-like algae on the sand (I now suspect it was a spirulina strain).
Realizing I needed the help of anaerobic bacteria, I added some De-Nitrate in a mesh bag to my sump. 3 months later, still no noticeable impact on nitrate levels.
Digging a little deeper I realized I wasn't using the De-Nitrate properly. Reading the directions closer I discovered Seachem recommends 25-50 gph flow through it for maximum benefit.
Enter the surprising savior: a $1.20 jar of mayo.
It was the cheapest jar of mayo on the grocery store shelf. Didn't eat the mayo (it was lousy tasting uber-cheap stuff) but was really only after the jar anyway.
Used a the plastic jar, a bit of left over PVC, and some JB Marine weld I had to make a nitrate reactor.
Plumbed it off my return with an inline valve to limit flow to 30 ghp, dropped in some De-Nitrate (along with a bit of carbon and Phosguard in a mesh bag for safe measure), and let 'er run.
Within 7 days my nitrates dropped to 1 ppm and have remained there ever since.
Been a year and still working like a charm.
Just got back from a 25 day trip last week. Had the skimmer off the entire time and the tank was still clean as can be ... with nitrates ~1 ppm ... when I returned home.
That little jar with De-nitrate in it has been one of the most beneficial pieces of equipment in my entire setup.
What has your most surprisingly beneficial pieces of equipment been?
I love a good and frugal DIY.
