- Joined
- May 19, 2023
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- 3,766
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- What state or country do you live in
- Tennessee
Reefer 250
DKH 8.5 (working to get it to 9)
1.026
78.5 temp
PO4 .09
NO3 >5
PH 8.3
Roughly 70 pounds of premium wet KPA rock flown up in water to start.
Tank has been up and running since 7/4. My seeded biomedia couldn't handle the ammonia that the high level of die off that took place within the first 12 hours, so after talking with Phillip I dark cured the display for 30 days, on the 31st day started to put pods in the tank, shoot, I must have put over 2 gallons of pods in this tank. To date all that I have battled is diatoms, and I know the last water change I did, I did a 25% without realizing that 2 of my DI resins were spent and lots of silicates flooded my system. There are 4 fish, some inverts and a couple coral just for something to interact with the water.
Like I said I planned to do a bare bottom, and I probably should have stayed the course, but now I have all this sand, 40 pounds, well probably 30 by now, I aggressively vacuum it up with every water change. This weekend I am planning on putting in about 30 frags of acro/montis. But I don't nearly have enough flow. The Nero 5's just don't have enough horse power to really do what is likely needed. However, with the sand it is creating a challenge. Here is what I have to work with. I have 2 Reefwave 45s I could put in this with the Neros. Or, I could pull 2 MP40s from another tank and replace those with the 2 Reefwave 45s. That is a Max 500. I want to have a ton of water movement, or the ability to dial it up as I need. But, the sand is driving me nuts. I am continplating removing 50-70% of it and let it pool in the back 50% of the tank. I know there are still uglies headed this way, but knock on wood, I think it is going "ok". But, I likely just f'd my self. Need some opinions on the flow and should I get uber aggressive with the sand? At this point where I am, nearly 90 days in, is it too late to rip all the sand out and roll the dice? I also have about 10 pounds of ceramic media in the sump that I seeded in my other tank. It's a cope and amphi pod factory down there. Not sure if I should leave all that alone or is it way over kill? How bad will it get if I attempt a bare bottom at this point? Any help, thoughts, opinions are welcomed. I love this hobby as it helps me maintain my sobriety. Thanks for the read.
I also added a Reefermat (pulled it from my other tank as I put a 1200 on that one) and I didn't want to screw around with the sump so I put a 20L down there. To my surprise the chaeto spins (didn't even try) and much more manageable and a fraction of the work. Did multiple power failure tests and plenty of room in that sump. The UV is on, fyi.
DKH 8.5 (working to get it to 9)
1.026
78.5 temp
PO4 .09
NO3 >5
PH 8.3
Roughly 70 pounds of premium wet KPA rock flown up in water to start.
Tank has been up and running since 7/4. My seeded biomedia couldn't handle the ammonia that the high level of die off that took place within the first 12 hours, so after talking with Phillip I dark cured the display for 30 days, on the 31st day started to put pods in the tank, shoot, I must have put over 2 gallons of pods in this tank. To date all that I have battled is diatoms, and I know the last water change I did, I did a 25% without realizing that 2 of my DI resins were spent and lots of silicates flooded my system. There are 4 fish, some inverts and a couple coral just for something to interact with the water.
Like I said I planned to do a bare bottom, and I probably should have stayed the course, but now I have all this sand, 40 pounds, well probably 30 by now, I aggressively vacuum it up with every water change. This weekend I am planning on putting in about 30 frags of acro/montis. But I don't nearly have enough flow. The Nero 5's just don't have enough horse power to really do what is likely needed. However, with the sand it is creating a challenge. Here is what I have to work with. I have 2 Reefwave 45s I could put in this with the Neros. Or, I could pull 2 MP40s from another tank and replace those with the 2 Reefwave 45s. That is a Max 500. I want to have a ton of water movement, or the ability to dial it up as I need. But, the sand is driving me nuts. I am continplating removing 50-70% of it and let it pool in the back 50% of the tank. I know there are still uglies headed this way, but knock on wood, I think it is going "ok". But, I likely just f'd my self. Need some opinions on the flow and should I get uber aggressive with the sand? At this point where I am, nearly 90 days in, is it too late to rip all the sand out and roll the dice? I also have about 10 pounds of ceramic media in the sump that I seeded in my other tank. It's a cope and amphi pod factory down there. Not sure if I should leave all that alone or is it way over kill? How bad will it get if I attempt a bare bottom at this point? Any help, thoughts, opinions are welcomed. I love this hobby as it helps me maintain my sobriety. Thanks for the read.
I also added a Reefermat (pulled it from my other tank as I put a 1200 on that one) and I didn't want to screw around with the sump so I put a 20L down there. To my surprise the chaeto spins (didn't even try) and much more manageable and a fraction of the work. Did multiple power failure tests and plenty of room in that sump. The UV is on, fyi.
