making better use of those rear corner sections

pompeyjohn · Mar 16, 2018

I am a big fan of the AIO tank. I have had several JBJs, even an aquapod, and now I am on my thrid or fourth Innovative Marine. The newer designs have shelves, and then a large full width area beneath them. I have found that detritus settles in this area. Even if you do your water changes by draining from here, detritus still settles in the corners. Occasionally I'll drop a small powerhead into here and let the return kicking it out into the display.

I am planning a new tank and was thinking about how to handle this. One idea was to have a very small powerhead like a wp10 at one end. It could run on a timer a couple of times a day. It'll be a paid feeding that power cord down though, and it is another heat source in the tank.

So how about this... filling up the areas with a a marinepure/xport block or bags of seachem denitrate?

I know they are most effective with flow through them, but I wonder how they would work simply being submerged, and adjacent to flow.

Tahoe61 · Mar 16, 2018

Following as I have the 40 IM. Detritus in the back was a issue in my JBJ's specifically the 45.

I am hoping the socks will assist in keeping the back chambers a little cleaner.

My concern would be that if the idea is not effective removing the medium would be a chore. Are you going to upgrade the return pump?

chefjpaul · Mar 16, 2018

I used to keep a nano powerhead in one corner shooting across in my nuvo 40.

Rufus’ goofs · Mar 16, 2018

Tahoe61 said:
Following as I have the 40 IM. Detritus in the back was a issue in my JBJ's specifically the 45.

I am hoping the socks will assist in keeping the back chambers a little cleaner.

My concern would be that if the idea is not effective removing the medium would be a chore. Are you going to upgrade the return pump?

Did you run socks in your 30? I found them to be irritating and ditched them for the media caddy’s with filter pads that I throw away.

pompeyjohn · Mar 16, 2018

Tahoe61 said:
My concern would be that if the idea is not effective removing the medium would be a chore. Are you going to upgrade the return pump?

You are right. The idea is these would be something you set and forget. If you had to remove the media it would be a pain. Remove the return pump and then get your arm wet. I guess in this situation media that is bagged would be better than blocks as they could probably be pulled out easier. I think denitrate needs very little flow to be effective. The media that is right in the corners would probably be contributing very little.

In every aio tank I upgrade the return pump. Usually with a sicce or tunze. Just to clarify - I am in the early stages here of a new build. I have an IM 40 now and would like the 50, but it is 600 + 150 for shipping. That is quite a bit of cash for a slightly larger tank.

I was putting this out there for discussion because whilst planning this new tank I wanted to tackle this problem, and see how everyone else is approaching it.

Tahoe61 · Mar 16, 2018

Ergodyne said:
Did you run socks in your 30? I found them to be irritating and ditched them for the media caddy’s with filter pads that I throw away.

I had the 20 and yes I did run the socks. I would also take a knee stocking and put charcoal in it and place that in the socks as well. You're right it is a pain to clean the socks. The 40's socks are much larger and I will add the foam and charcoal using the same method. I hated the media baskets for the JBJs. In the past I just siphoned out the back chambers but there was always areas that are hard to get to.

@pompeyjohn, do you run a significant bio-load so that nitrates are chronically elevated?

Yeah that is a lot of money, the tank ok I get it, but the stands are outrageously priced.

pompeyjohn · Mar 16, 2018

Tahoe61 said:
@pompeyjohn, do you run a significant bio-load so that nitrates are chronically elevated? Yeah that is a lot of money, the tank ok I get it, but the stands are outrageously priced.

Typically I do not. I am more about the coral than the fish now. However, the tank I am planning would have a heavy bio-load. A LFS has a 60 gallon cube clownfish harem tank. It is stunning and what I'd like to replicate.

pompeyjohn · Mar 17, 2018

chefjpaul said:
I used to keep a nano powerhead in one corner shooting across in my nuvo 40.

Which powerhead did you use? Did you leave it always on, or run it on a timer?

chefjpaul · Mar 17, 2018

pompeyjohn said:
Which powerhead did you use? Did you leave it always on, or run it on a timer?

In my 40 i had just left it on. When i would do a full cleaning, Id switch sides.

I just ordered the 50 lagoon yesterday, as I am downsizing.

LetItReef · Mar 17, 2018

I have this on the back of the chamber of my Nuvo 40:

pompeyjohn · Jun 11, 2018

In case anyone is interested......... you can pack just over 3 liters of bagged up Seachem Denitrate in these sections. Happy Reefing!

chefjpaul · Jun 11, 2018

Im just turning mine into a cryptic zone

Richard Cross · Jun 23, 2018

following

Frogg · Jul 29, 2018

So how it going? Good idea or bad? I keep a heater on both sides in the bottom. With a sicce 2.0 there isn't much room left on the bottom. Never really thought about having to clear it out. Or to stuff mediamlm in there

pompeyjohn · Aug 1, 2018

Good question. So far I am liking it, and there has been no obvious downside. It has been about two months now, which I think is plenty of time for denitrate to have seeded and be working. The tank looks good. I dont test nitrate levels, but I'll check it tomorrow.

Kyle Rinker · Aug 1, 2018

I have kept Marine pure spheres in that area of my Nuvo 40 for over a year. Since I have not running any other way I cannot comment on how it compares to not having it in there. I I just like the idea of using some wasted space for some positive biological ffiltration.