preview of 800 g tank in 3 rooms

[FishTruck]

Running two rollermatt systems. It took some trial and error to get the plumbing right. It is critical to make sure that the pipes are vented and pours in smoothly to avoid erroneously tripping the float valves and pulling a whole roll through in a day. Right now... these two rolls last about two months.

The filter sock is 1 micron and helps polish the water. The clear hose I use to vacuum the display into the sock each week. I have to change the sock twice per week.

 

[FishTruck]

My favorite upgrade is the stainless steel sink an sprayer. Super handy. The mop has been used many times for would be floods - saved by having a fish room with a drain.

 

[FishTruck]

Near disasters this year were the skimmer overflow, and the DI incident which probably wiped out 1/2 my coral.

I also lost a blue throat trigger, a hybrid tang and a naso tang, a vampire tang, two wrassses. All of them shipped in at SG 1.017 and didn't make it through the acclimation process in QT (even though I took it over several days). This was also aggravated by brutally slow shipping with fish being boxed for 12 hours longer than expected. I had a flame angel die for no apparent reason (five years old), and a really awesome chocolate tang that I had for six months, then suddenly started wasting away and died. Current fish are all colorful and healthy and very well fed. Many other fish got through QT just fine and are doing great.

Currently, I am selecting only established fish, avoiding shipping, and hoping to pick up a pair of Nasos, that have been in a huge reef tank for over 10 years this weekend.

I also had an aiptasia outbreak in my frag tanks, which seems to be over with (peppermint shrimp, a filefish, ruthless disposal of infected frags, and relentless bombardment with Kalk paste). The aips came in with a zoa frag.

I have a fair amount of vermatid snails, which came from the old system. Still having some algae in one of the frag tanks... but none in the display tank or other frag tank. I am not really doing anything about these pests, other than snapping vermatid vents when they get near corals and adding occasional vibrant to the one frag tank that likes to grow algae.

So, that's the update.

I'll post more when I learn to take better pictures, when I build my new dialysis system and after another year of coral growth. Cheers!

 

[GBRsouth]

We do care and would love to learn from what you do. Great system!

 

[ScottB]

I have been doing only dialysis and no water changes for a year now. I process about 400 gallons of water per month. The little white bucket adds brine to keep the salinity up. My ICP tests never looked better (in terms of trace elements). My nitrates are around 20 ppm, phosphates I try to keep .1 ppm or lower. I have used GFO three times this year. The system uses more RO water that I predicted, so I have had to augment the system some.

I have learned the hard way that I need to keep my new water at 0 ppm. If it is at 1 ppm, then within a few weeks the acros start to brown out and die. Whatever is getting through is anionic. So... the big can to the right is nuclear grade anionic media from BRS, which should last for a couple of months beyond the first warning that the first DI stages are used up.

I have plans to build my own dialysis system and make some improvements on this one. I'd elaborate more, but, I am sure nobody cares.

I am quite interested in this dialysis process. The short version is fine, but I am unfamiliar with the term in this context.

 

[McPuff]

I am quite interested in this dialysis process. The short version is fine, but I am unfamiliar with the term in this context.

Same here. You've got quite the set-up going! Curious also about the brining process. I'm not doing water changes on a regular basis and have therefore started the Reef Moonshiners method which has received excellent reviews.

 

[FishTruck]

I am quite interested in this dialysis process. The short version is fine, but I am unfamiliar with the term in this context.

Same here. You've got quite the set-up going! Curious also about the brining process. I'm not doing water changes on a regular basis and have therefore started the Reef Moonshiners method which has received excellent reviews.

LOL, OK. Pictured is the Seavisions system, but, you could DIY a dialysis setup pretty easily.

Using a human dialysis membrane, you run tank water where the blood would go... and RO/DI water where the dialysate would go, each driven with a peristaltic pump. Both can run at the same rate, of say 60 ml per minute. A little back pressure is added to the product line. Phophates, Nitrates, heavy metals, will get pushed from the sea water into the RO water - which goes into the sewer with the rest of your RO rejection. You also lose salt. So, what goes back in the tank is purified saltwater with a much lower salinity than you want.

A third pump will add brine (saturated saltwater) to make up for this loss, while simultaneously supplementing all of you lost trace elements.

That's the concept. The seavisions system adds some automation to the process (it will adjust the brine dosing based on conductivity of the sump and handle your RO makeup) in a very compact unit. It allows the equivalent of a tiny water change each day. Theoretically, takes up less space and uses less salt, and eliminates the need to mix saltwater to the proper salinity - when compared to a standard automatic water change system.

 

[McPuff]

Very cool, thanks!

 

[FishTruck]

One of the pros and cons of the dialyseas system is that the RO topoff is integrated. While, it automatically handles top off too, if the system is taken off line, now you have a more urgent problem than water changes. Unfortunately, the conductivity controller went caput - and this model is no longer in production. Gerrry from Seavisions offerred to fix it - if I sent it to him. But... that takes my system offline. Right now... I just programmed it to run the brine whenever the dialysis process is going. The SG drifts by .0005 every 7 days. So, I have to turn the brine on and off every two weeks to keep things stable - which is actually easier than calibrating and cleaning the conductivity probe. So, I am happy to leave it as it is.

 

[ScottB]

One of the pros and cons of the dialyseas system is that the RO topoff is integrated. While, it automatically handles top off too, if the system is taken off line, now you have a more urgent problem than water changes. Unfortunately, the conductivity controller went caput - and this model is no longer in production. Gerrry from Seavisions offerred to fix it - if I sent it to him. But... that takes my system offline. Right now... I just programmed it to run the brine whenever the dialysis process is going. The SG drifts by .0005 every 7 days. So, I have to turn the brine on and off every two weeks to keep things stable - which is actually easier than calibrating and cleaning the conductivity probe. So, I am happy to leave it as it is.

That is as interesting as I thought it would be.

So the dialysis membrane removes some salt, and the RO must also remove some, right? So there must be a programmed backwash on each membrane. If not wouldn't it become clogged and damaged? I don't backwash my membrane nearly as often as I should. (In fact I just set a timer and am going to do so right now...)

 

[FishTruck]

That is as interesting as I thought it would be.

So the dialysis membrane removes some salt, and the RO must also remove some, right? So there must be a programmed backwash on each membrane. If not wouldn't it become clogged and damaged? I don't backwash my membrane nearly as often as I should. (In fact I just set a timer and am going to do so right now...)

Huh... never thought of that! There is no flush process for the dialysis membrane - it lasts 6 to 12 months. I bet that could be extended if there was a flushing mechanism. I'll add that feature to my upgrade plans! I thought my media got ruined once by dialysate accidentally flowing backwards into my DI can, so I put a one way valve to protect it. I also currently do not have a flush valve for my RO DI.

I plan to separate the RO/DI topoff and feed functions (in the DIY system I am considering) by having a reservoir between them. Two pumps would independently top off the tank or feed the dialysis system from the reservoir. The current system feeds either the topoff or the membrane using the booster pump / house-water pressure and solenoids.

 

[FishTruck]

Update - some bumps in the road.

My Goldflake angel had been flashing and acting strange for weeks. Then... my blue cheek trigger got a coudy eye. Then... the Goldflake got a cloudy eye. I decided they had flukes (could not catch them to dip and verify). I treated the tank with prazipro and the Goldflake's eye cleared up and his flashing behavior resolved. The trigger's eye is irreparably damaged, but, she is swimming around, eating, and still not taking any crap from the tangs.

Next... after cleaning up from the Prazi pro - I got a cyano outbreak (which happened the last time I used that stuff three years ago). I just knocked that back with chemi-clean after I got tired of vacuuming it up every day.

Today.. the tank looks like it is back on track.

 

[FishTruck]

Also, I upgraded my Manta Ray pump to a Tiger Shark. This should have increased the tank turnover through the sump by 2 or 3 x per hour. My water is still not that clear, with SO MUCH detritus constantly blowing around. I also changed by UV bulb. The result is that the water is somewhat clearer... and my fishroom and the room next to it are unacceptably noisy.

The noise is partly from the reeflo pump... but mostly from the vibration going through the outlet pipe. I tried putting a rubber connecter which did an amazing job of quieting things down. But... it was immediately bulging. I have at least 20 feet of head pressure, and those things are only designed to take 10 feet - so I had to go back to hard plumbing.

At this point - if I can't find a piece of soft plumbing that can take 10 psi or more... I might have to bite the bullet and look into an Abyzz pump.

I also lost one of my favorite colonies - don't know why. I do have frags as backups.

I did pick up a male female pair of Naso Tangs, which are just a pleasure to watch. So.... overall I have made SOME progress.

 

[Dcal]

Also, I upgraded my Manta Ray pump to a Tiger Shark. This should have increased the tank turnover through the sump by 2 or 3 x per hour. My water is still not that clear, with SO MUCH detritus constantly blowing around. I also changed by UV bulb. The result is that the water is somewhat clearer... and my fishroom and the room next to it are unacceptably noisy.

The noise is partly from the reeflo pump... but mostly from the vibration going through the outlet pipe. I tried putting a rubber connecter which did an amazing job of quieting things down. But... it was immediately bulging. I have at least 20 feet of head pressure, and those things are only designed to take 10 feet - so I had to go back to hard plumbing.

At this point - if I can't find a piece of soft plumbing that can take 10 psi or more... I might have to bite the bullet and look into an Abyzz pump.

I also lost one of my favorite colonies - don't know why. I do have frags as backups.

I did pick up a male female pair of Naso Tangs, which are just a pleasure to watch. So.... overall I have made SOME progress.

Pictures! I love pairs

 

[ScottB]

Also, I upgraded my Manta Ray pump to a Tiger Shark. This should have increased the tank turnover through the sump by 2 or 3 x per hour. My water is still not that clear, with SO MUCH detritus constantly blowing around. I also changed by UV bulb. The result is that the water is somewhat clearer... and my fishroom and the room next to it are unacceptably noisy.

The noise is partly from the reeflo pump... but mostly from the vibration going through the outlet pipe. I tried putting a rubber connecter which did an amazing job of quieting things down. But... it was immediately bulging. I have at least 20 feet of head pressure, and those things are only designed to take 10 feet - so I had to go back to hard plumbing.

At this point - if I can't find a piece of soft plumbing that can take 10 psi or more... I might have to bite the bullet and look into an Abyzz pump.

I also lost one of my favorite colonies - don't know why. I do have frags as backups.

I did pick up a male female pair of Naso Tangs, which are just a pleasure to watch. So.... overall I have made SOME progress.

An Abyzz would certainly be nice to own. Have you tried using a piece of silicone radiator hose? Just a thought.

 

[FishTruck]

An Abyzz would certainly be nice to own. Have you tried using a piece of silicone radiator hose? Just a thought.

Worth a try. So far... flexible hoses are either too soft to handle the pressure, or so stiff that they vibrate just like PVC.

 

[FishTruck]

I had this piece of silicone tubing to try, rated to 43 psi. It actually did a great deal to quiet things down. I may eventually get an abyzz, but no pressing need now.

 

[FishTruck]

Here is the Naso Pair.

 

[Pscha4]

Update - some bumps in the road.

My Goldflake angel had been flashing and acting strange for weeks. Then... my blue cheek trigger got a coudy eye. Then... the Goldflake got a cloudy eye. I decided they had flukes (could not catch them to dip and verify). I treated the tank with prazipro and the Goldflake's eye cleared up and his flashing behavior resolved. The trigger's eye is irreparably damaged, but, she is swimming around, eating, and still not taking any crap from the tangs.

Next... after cleaning up from the Prazi pro - I got a cyano outbreak (which happened the last time I used that stuff three years ago). I just knocked that back with chemi-clean after I got tired of vacuuming it up every day.

Today.. the tank looks like it is back on track.

 

[Pscha4]

love your build thread...... so impressive! Can you tell me, did you experience any negative side effects with corals and live rock from dosing Prazipro in the DT? I’ve been tempted to do that when I have troubles catching a fish but have been warned by others not to.