Mattgsa 315 gallon build

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Alight I have been thinking about my Nitrate problem, and the fact I have not been able to bring them down much despite my efforts. This afternoon it occurred to me, I may be short-circuiting my sump. I have my return pump turned up to almost max. I'm now thinking I should turn it way down, and give that water more time sitting in the sump. Since there is no live stock in the tank there is no point in having it set so high. What are your thoughts?
 
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I had message from Marine Collector on my phone, my fish are ready for shipping. Which means I need to do the largest water change I can tomorrow. I'm going to try and mix up as close to 200 gallons as I can for a really large water change. I really need to bring that Nitrate level down before the fish get here. Other than that I think the tank is ready to go. I can't wait, not to mention I have plenty of live food for them to feast on when they get here. In addition to plenty of nori.
 

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I had a terrible time getting nitrates down early on in this tank. I've been keeping reefs for over 20 years. I honestly think starting with dry rock is the crux of the problem. My best advise is to remain patient and don't resort to dosing etc. I tried and failed. All my fish made it through but I lost a lot of coral early on. Trust your refugium and skimmer to do its job. I added pumice stones vs ceramic media due to reported issues of crumbling and leaching.
I believe your fish will be fine. Just be cautious about adding nitrate sensitive corals.
 

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Alight I have been thinking about my Nitrate problem, and the fact I have not been able to bring them down much despite my efforts. This afternoon it occurred to me, I may be short-circuiting my sump. I have my return pump turned up to almost max. I'm now thinking I should turn it way down, and give that water more time sitting in the sump. Since there is no live stock in the tank there is no point in having it set so high. What are your thoughts?

I believe that is a good idea, especially as you mention that there is no livestock active for the moment.
The best course of action would be to wait it out. Dry rock is sooo slow in getting 100% effective.
 
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I believe that is a good idea, especially as you mention that there is no livestock active for the moment.
The best course of action would be to wait it out. Dry rock is sooo slow in getting 100% effective.

I had a terrible time getting nitrates down early on in this tank. I've been keeping reefs for over 20 years. I honestly think starting with dry rock is the crux of the problem. My best advise is to remain patient and don't resort to dosing etc. I tried and failed. All my fish made it through but I lost a lot of coral early on. Trust your refugium and skimmer to do its job. I added pumice stones vs ceramic media due to reported issues of crumbling and leaching.
I believe your fish will be fine. Just be cautious about adding nitrate sensitive corals.

Alright, perhaps I understand the concept wrong. I thought the live rock is good for converting Ammonia to Nitrite and then to Nitrate. However, I didn't think it had anything to do with removing Nitrate. I know corals and algae will consume nitrates, and I thought water changes were the next best thing for removing them. I know people with very well-established rock having to use a denitrator to bring down their nitrates, or dosing as bdare mentions. Am I missing something?
 

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Alright, perhaps I understand the concept wrong. I thought the live rock is good for converting Ammonia to Nitrite and then to Nitrate. However, I didn't think it had anything to do with removing Nitrate. I know corals and algae will consume nitrates, and I thought water changes were the next best thing for removing them. I know people with very well-established rock having to use a denitrator to bring down their nitrates, or dosing as bdare mentions. Am I missing something?
Used to be the understanding that porus live rock would remove nitrate. The deep pores within the rock have anaerobic areas where anaerobic bacteria are allowed to grow and remove nitrate. Much of the mined rock now a days is too dense for these areas to grow. This is why I LOVED pukani. Great shapes and very porus.

Live rock and it's ablity to remove nitrate is why people used to insist on 1 to 1.5 lbs of rock per gallon. With the introduction of refuguims and improvements in skimming the dependence on rock has been reduced. People also started using ceramic media to create these anaerobic areas. I have a bunch of Seachem Matrix in my sump to help with nitrate reduction.
 
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Alright, well I have ordered the lights for the tank. For now I'm getting 6 XR15's. I know that is not enough for this tank when it is full of coral. But its a lighting system that can grow with the tank. Six will be perfect while the tank is maturing and getting ready for coral. Fish don't care about the light.
As far as the Nitrates go, they are still sky high despite multiple large water changes. I ran out of salt, and BRS doesn't have any more of the salt I like to use, so I had to order the HW salt. I just don't want it to make a mess of my mixing stations. LOL I still have some water for the automatic water changes, so hopefully they will continue to help bring that nitrate number down.
 

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Alright, well I have ordered the lights for the tank. For now I'm getting 6 XR15's. I know that is not enough for this tank when it is full of coral. But its a lighting system that can grow with the tank. Six will be perfect while the tank is maturing and getting ready for coral. Fish don't care about the light.
As far as the Nitrates go, they are still sky high despite multiple large water changes. I ran out of salt, and BRS doesn't have any more of the salt I like to use, so I had to order the HW salt. I just don't want it to make a mess of my mixing stations. LOL I still have some water for the automatic water changes, so hopefully they will continue to help bring that nitrate number down.
Safe to assume you've tested your makeup water for nitrates to ensure you aren't adding nitrates during water changes?
 
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Look what came in the mail.

IMG_0565.jpg


IMG_0566.jpg


Its missing the secondary co2 controller I ordered and the second regulator. I will reach out to Bill on monday. I sent him a text to let him know.
 
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My next question is how in the world does this thing go together. There are tubes and valves everywhere and there are no instructions. Perfect! I'm hoping I can find some instructions on line.
 

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Glad it finally came. I have heard that there is a Facebook group for ACR owners that has some good info and real world tips on it.

I will be curious to know your thoughts on it, once you are ready for it and get it up and running.
 
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Glad it finally came. I have heard that there is a Facebook group for ACR owners that has some good info and real world tips on it.

I will be curious to know your thoughts on it, once you are ready for it and get it up and running.
Thanks, I requested access to the group. I hope the reactor works better than the customer service.
 
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So in a moment of need for instant gratification, I ordered more stuff from BRS on the old CC. ;Greedy;FacepalmI will post pictures when all that comes in. I really need to stop looking on BRS when I'm bored. Long story short, I have temporarily thrown caution to the wind, and decided that the tank is more fun than a generator (Probably not the brightest idea.) However, I have done a little research and I think there are more cost-effective ways of doing the same job without the huge price tag. Still, a lot of research remains before anything final is decided.;Bookworm
 
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I did at least a 50% water change last night in the desperate hope that I can bring down the Nitrate levels. I didn't test, afterward because I was worried it made no difference.

Here is a pick of the tank draining. I found this old sump pump in the garage I used on the swimming pool, back when I had one. I must say that thing pumps the water out a lot faster than the utility pump I bought from BRS. Then just to make sure it didn't rust up, I went and flushed it with some freshwater.
IMG_0568.jpg



Since the larger pump does not fit n my container I had to use the small utility pump. (I will come up with something else later.) Basically, it took minutes to drain and hours to refill.
IMG_0569.jpg
 
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Well, I tested the water again today, and it was down to 5, which at first I was really happy about. Then I started thinking about the bacteria, since there are no fish in the tank and wont be for another 11 days or so, should I still dose Ammonia?
Also look what came in the mail today.

IMG_0570.jpg


I even started putting them on the rail.

IMG_0571.jpg


This is only half of the total number of lights I plan on putting on the tank. However, I will not require all of them at first. So I will add them as needed.
 

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Eleven days won't matter for the bacteria. You can dose some ammonia to give you peace of mind though. Just make sure it is low enough to be zero when you first put the fish in.
 
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