Pax Bellum

[reeftivo]

i believe chaeto will uptake at around 4:1 nitrate to phosphate so if your nitrate is already low or zero'd it may slow the PO4 uptake. if your nitrates are zero you may want to try N+Mo from Pax. a little goes a long way.

my chaeto grows thick and lush if my nitrates are 2 to 5ppm but when NO3 drops to 1ppm or zero it will bleach. To keep my NO3 up i dose N+Mo only (1ml twice a week) and dont run GFO. My PO4 is 0.02 to 0.05 always. I dont have a lot of LR in the tank but have a lot of matrix and siporax in bags in the sump which helps control my PO4

how long have you had it running?

took a few months for mine to bed in and start growing well

 

[David29price]

what would you guess your flow through is?

you mention your PO4 is high, but what are your nitrates?

I’m right around 200 gph. Nitrates are very high. Struggling with that at 60 right now. At 30 I had no better growth.

 

[David29price]

i believe chaeto will uptake at around 4:1 nitrate to phosphate so if your nitrate is already low or zero'd it may slow the PO4 uptake. if your nitrates are zero you may want to try N+Mo from Pax. a little goes a long way.

my chaeto grows thick and lush if my nitrates are 2 to 5ppm but when NO3 drops to 1ppm or zero it will bleach. To keep my NO3 up i dose N+Mo only (1ml twice a week) and dont run GFO. My PO4 is 0.02 to 0.05 always. I dont have a lot of LR in the tank but have a lot of matrix and siporax in bags in the sump which helps control my PO4

how long have you had it running?

took a few months for mine to bed in and start growing well

It’s been running for well over a year now.

 

[reeftivo]

It’s been running for well over a year now.

so your iron was fine on the ICP?

How do you pack the reactor? do you stuff the chaeto inside the coiled lines or lightly wrap the chaeto around the outside?

for what it's worth. i wrap around the outside which seems to hold the chaeto away from the center tube and let it grow inwards. when i started doing that my growth increased substantially. Is you chaeto bleached and mushy toward the center and green on the outside? If so wrap the chaeto on the outside of the lines if you aren't already.

 

[David29price]

so your iron was fine on the ICP?

How do you pack the reactor? do you stuff the chaeto inside the coiled lines or lightly wrap the chaeto around the outside?

for what it's worth. i wrap around the outside which seems to hold the chaeto away from the center tube and let it grow inwards. when i started doing that my growth increased substantially. Is you chaeto bleached and mushy toward the center and green on the outside? If so wrap the chaeto on the outside of the lines if you aren't already.

Yeah iron was good, or at least I’m told it was. What value should iron be at?

I wrap it around the outside coils like you do and some on the inside but try to leave a good gap so it’s not burned. I had it mushy in the beginning but that stopped once I started using Chaetogro. It’s pretty wirey.

 

[reeftivo]

Odd that it's not growing. Something else must be going on then. Iron should be at least 3 to 5 ppb. What were your icp levels?

One thing i would do right off that bat is increase your lighting schedule to 12 hrs opposite the main lights.

I run my n18 13 hrs

 

[David29price]

Odd that it's not growing. Something else must be going on then. Iron should be at least 3 to 5 ppb. What were your icp levels?

One thing i would do right off that bat is increase your lighting schedule to 12 hrs opposite the main lights.

I run my n18 13 hrs

Wow, that’s a long time. I was actually running my lights for 13 hours and read some people felt it was too long so I’ve gradually reduced it but don’t see any difference.

My ICP test is a bit old. Let me get a new one and I’ll come back in a few weeks with the results. Maybe something will jump out at ya.

 

[reeftivo]

Wow, that’s a long time. I was actually running my lights for 13 hours and read some people felt it was too long so I’ve gradually reduced it but don’t see any difference.

My ICP test is a bit old. Let me get a new one and I’ll come back in a few weeks with the results. Maybe something will jump out at ya.

10-4

make sure to take the sample closer to your WC day so numbers won't be elevated from the new salt

 

[shadyraro]

10-4

make sure to take the sample closer to your WC day so numbers won't be elevated from the new salt

Hey mate where do u run your return line to?

 

[reeftivo]

Hey mate where do u run your return line to?

Sorry for late reply (on vacation). I run rx return back into skimmer chamber

 

[shadyraro]

Sorry for late reply (on vacation). I run rx return back into skimmer chamber

All good thanks mate, it’s all plumbed I’m just trying to source some chaeto believe it or not lol.

 

[shadyraro]

@reeftivo after one week this is how it looked.

After



Before

I didn’t use the recommended pax supps as I don’t have any yet, will I still need to order some?
I’m pretty happy with this growth, it’s a beast of a reactor that’s for sure!

 

[reeftivo]

Don't harvest yet

 

[shadyraro]

Don't harvest yet

What do you mean?

 

[reeftivo]

Sorry. I meant let it go a little longer next harvest. That looks good. It should only get better I've time

 

[shadyraro]

Sorry. I meant let it go a little longer next harvest. That looks good. It should only get better I've time

Thanks, I’ll let it go a bit longer next time.
Do u dose the pax supps at all? From what I’ve read it says to dose the supps to run the arid successfully, but if I’m getting good growth without supplementing then do I even need to dose?