Reef_Engineer's 300G System Build

[NeverlosT]

Oh quick tidbit for those on this journey with me. Initially I ran Carbon and at times GFO in that BRS reactor in sump area.

• I did not see benefit from running carbon (water was not yellow or smelly) so might run in future but not worth it with my low bioload and WC schedule right now
• Running GFO in the reactor was too harsh. It bottomed out my Phosphate (and likely ripped out a bunch of trace elements too, it strips the water)
• Keep in mind that WWC suggests if using GFO to just put it in a filter sock and stick it in the sump for more gentle removal of phosphate. Or go with lanthanum chloride to control the removal rate more precisely.

My nutrients are typically ~15ppm Nitrate, and ~0.05ppm Phosphate. I like having some nutrients for color.

ALK has been around 8 - 8.25 dKh
Mag 1350ppm - 1390ppm
CA just above 400ppm

Other cool thing: On the aussie live rock I bought, there was apparently a dead fungia plate... that started churning out babies... so now on the liverock I have several baby fungia plates that have grown from the size of a pin-head to anywhere from 1/4" to 1/2" across. Very fun to watch.

The tank has SO many pods. I can't wait to get a mandarin or wrasses in here to feast on em.

 

[NeverlosT]

Everything is looking great! Let me know how you like the TM balling 3 part. I currently use aqua forest but if there was a more cost-efficient 3-p version with excellent results then I'd be willing to swap. I prefer 3 part systems over 2 or all for reef.

Steve to be honest i planned to use it but then started experimenting with my calcium reactor and now ai have a boatload of it with no plan to use it. Ill give you a deal if you are interested, I’ve heard that it is great.

Here’s a current system pic, frags growing. My monti cap is angry and I have no idea why, all acros/millis are thrilled. Even the speciosa is happy, so i am just staying the course.

 

[Kymot]

@NeverlosT tank looks awesome, on pods do you dose it in the new tank? I’m setting up a new tank but need to do a tank transfer and i have a fat mandarin that I’m worried on having enough pods for him continue to chow down. Do you dose phyto to keep it going in the new tank?
Also question on the aussie live rock, where do you purchase it from?

 

[Kens Bees]

Small updates:
- did citric acid soak of returns, ptobes, and vortech wet ends
- activated the calcium reactor, more to come on that!
- i now have a ton of tropic marin 3 part if someone uses it…
- fish all doing great, sps coloring up and basing out. Keeping a list of frags I am still hunting down.
- working on adding wrasses to the tank next. Going slow, so far DT is pretty drama free, I do feed a lot.

@Kens Bees the clowns are all still doing awesome and loving their anemone which is now quite big. They have grown a lot!

I’ll snag some updated pics for this thread later on.

Need pics! I miss that tank full of babies, a lot!

 

[NeverlosT]

@NeverlosT tank looks awesome, on pods do you dose it in the new tank? I’m setting up a new tank but need to do a tank transfer and i have a fat mandarin that I’m worried on having enough pods for him continue to chow down. Do you dose phyto to keep it going in the new tank?
Also question on the aussie live rock, where do you purchase it from?

Hey there, I dosed pods initially and seeded with some local live rock. The Pod population is crazy now, its like an ant farm in there when the lights go out or when food hits the bottom. I have bought phyto from some group members in the past but have not dosed any for ages. I suppose I just feed a lot of frozen and they like the scraps.

I bought the aussie rock from tank stop in CA. It was like $25/lb and I bought 10 lbs and what showed up was 9lbs or rock and 1 lb of water (which also is apparently $25/lb, we went back and forth on that since I ordered 10lbs of rock and got 9...). The rock is great for biodiversity, but that is a double edged sword. Also on the rock came vermetids, aptasia, corals, featherdusters, tons of coralline, little clams, bigger worms, weird algaes, etc. So it is great for seeding a tank, but be prepared for unwanted hitchhikers. I'd get it from one of the forum sponsors here if I were to do it again.

 

[NeverlosT]

Need pics! I miss that tank full of babies, a lot!

I'll try to take a short vid or at least some pics today. They roam the entire 300g tank but when scared all head back to their big, glowing anemone.

My kids ate all of your honey and are already talking about how "we need to go visit that man to get more honey" hah! Your product is addictive!

 

[SteveDola]

if you do want to sell the product...lmk. you have my number.

Keep going on this amazing build!

 

[Reefried]

Oh quick tidbit for those on this journey with me. Initially I ran Carbon and at times GFO in that BRS reactor in sump area.

• I did not see benefit from running carbon (water was not yellow or smelly) so might run in future but not worth it with my low bioload and WC schedule right now
• Running GFO in the reactor was too harsh. It bottomed out my Phosphate (and likely ripped out a bunch of trace elements too, it strips the water)
• Keep in mind that WWC suggests if using GFO to just put it in a filter sock and stick it in the sump for more gentle removal of phosphate. Or go with lanthanum chloride to control the removal rate more precisely.

My nutrients are typically ~15ppm Nitrate, and ~0.05ppm Phosphate. I like having some nutrients for color.

ALK has been around 8 - 8.25 dKh
Mag 1350ppm - 1390ppm
CA just above 400ppm

Other cool thing: On the aussie live rock I bought, there was apparently a dead fungia plate... that started churning out babies... so now on the liverock I have several baby fungia plates that have grown from the size of a pin-head to anywhere from 1/4" to 1/2" across. Very fun to watch.

The tank has SO many pods. I can't wait to get a mandarin or wrasses in here to feast on em.

I think you made a good choice in removing carbon and GFO. I believe in only running carbon for certain things and during certain times. Never all the time. I also would almost never run GFO. Actually I would never run it. Phosphate is much easier to lower than nitrate, as it is almost entirely dependent on food and similar additives. People tend to get scared and go down “rock leeching phosphate” rabbit holes because they do not understand what is actually happening. They do 30% water changes expecting to see 30% pO4 reductions, which happens right away but then the rocks and tank settle back into the pO4 equilibrium it was in beforehand with numbers retuning to where they were pre water changes within 24 hours. All while still feeding the same, the they go crazy with GFO and other phosphate reducing additives only to set their tank back farther.

 

[FishieBusiness]

I think you made a good choice in removing carbon and GFO. I believe in only running carbon for certain things and during certain times. Never all the time. I also would almost never run GFO. Actually I would never run it. Phosphate is much easier to lower than nitrate, as it is almost entirely dependent on food and similar additives. People tend to get scared and go down “rock leeching phosphate” rabbit holes because they do not understand what is actually happening. They do 30% water changes expecting to see 30% pO4 reductions, which happens right away but then the rocks and tank settle back into the pO4 equilibrium it was in beforehand with numbers retuning to where they were pre water changes within 24 hours. All while still feeding the same, the they go crazy with GFO and other phosphate reducing additives only to set their tank back farther.

SO are you saying that you don't think that certain types rock can leach phosphates? I'm very curious about this, Keith @ReefBum has commented that he believes that it happened to one of his tanks.

 

[NeverlosT]

I think keith was referring to "real reef" rock, which is concrete, and not an old coral skeleton like Marco Rocks. I will say that I think you can soak a lot of nutrients into rock or sand, and it can take time to drag out (I do this when cooking rock prior to adding to a new system).

My situation is like Reefried says, easy to control the phosphate and nitrate with normal water changes and managing my feeding. In fact if anything my phosphate trends too low and I have to add phosphate heavy food or dose NeoPhos.

 

[NeverlosT]

A Few Frag shots on a Sunday. I need to get my lighting/camera figured out to take photos of corals further from the glass.

No Name Reef Exclusive Millie, I like it a lot, the polyp/skin contrast is epic in person.

This one is Sanjays "Leprechaun's Beard" thanks to @ReefBum !

@Gardiner gave me this one... TSA Fruity Pebbles. Excited to watch it grow.

This is Cherry Bomb Tenuis. I can't wait for it to become a colony, gets great blue skin and red polyps.

 

[EddieG]

Fantastic build thread!!

 

[NeverlosT]

Fantastic build thread!!

Thanks Eddie! I will share a cool update on the Calcium Reactor shortly. Right now it is just a matter of stability, feeding the fish, and slowly gathering the corals I like.

Hoping to add some wrasses in coming weeks.

 

[FishieBusiness]

Thanks Eddie! I will share a cool update on the Calcium Reactor shortly. Right now it is just a matter of stability, feeding the fish, and slowly gathering the corals I like.

Hoping to add some wrasses in coming weeks.

What type of wrasse are you thing about?

 

[Reefried]

No, I am saying that almost all man made rock will leach phosphate. However the way it happens is not what most people think of it. The original dry rock is not typically full of phosphate, there may be some, but it is not that the rock is full of it and it just releases into the tank and causes phosphate to rise. What happens is that dry rock essentially forms a small layer of calcium phosphate, pulling some pO4 from the water column to form this layer. Then when people use phosphate reduction methods they typically see a drop in their level temporarily, then the layer on the rocks will release some into the water column getting back to the natural equilibrium. The layer on the rocks and the phosphate in the water column want to be naturally balanced. This swing and balance thing happens until the rock is covered with other things prohibiting it, like coraline, green algae, corals etc.

From Randy Holmes-Farley:


“Bare calcium carbonate surfaces bind many things from seawater, including phosphate.

If other things are in between the seawater and the calcium carbonate (such as coralline algae, green algae, bacteria, encrusting corals, etc.) then the phosphate cannot as readily exchange and those underlying surfaces are less or not involved in binding and release.

While not exactly technically correct, think of phosphate binding to calcium carbonate as forming a very thin layer of calcium phosphate.

That surface phosphate is in and on/off equilibrium between being attached and being in the water. The more phosphate in the water, the more will be bound.

New bare calcium carbonate can act as a sink for phosphate until that equilibrium is reached. At that point, the only new binding that takes place is when the concentration rises.”

 

[NeverlosT]

What type of wrasse are you thing about?

I used to ALWAYS have a potters wrasse in my reef (my last name is Potter), but now with HI closed down, that just is not feasible. So likely a pair of blue star leopards? Or perhaps a pair of Moyers? Then I think a Radiant is always attractive and productive.

 

[FishieBusiness]

I used to ALWAYS have a potters wrasse in my reef (my last name is Potter), but now with HI closed down, that just is not feasible. So likely a pair of blue star leopards? Or perhaps a pair of Moyers? Then I think a Radiant is always attractive and productive.

I love blue star leopards!!!!!!! The coloring on the females is beautiful!! I had a small group of females with a male in my last system.

 

[FishieBusiness]

No, I am saying that almost all man made rock will leach phosphate. However the way it happens is not what most people think of it. The original dry rock is not typically full of phosphate, there may be some, but it is not that the rock is full of it and it just releases into the tank and causes phosphate to rise. What happens is that dry rock essentially forms a small layer of calcium phosphate, pulling some pO4 from the water column to form this layer. Then when people use phosphate reduction methods they typically see a drop in their level temporarily, then the layer on the rocks will release some into the water column getting back to the natural equilibrium. The layer on the rocks and the phosphate in the water column want to be naturally balanced. This swing and balance thing happens until the rock is covered with other things prohibiting it, like coraline, green algae, corals etc.

From Randy Holmes-Farley:


“Bare calcium carbonate surfaces bind many things from seawater, including phosphate.

If other things are in between the seawater and the calcium carbonate (such as coralline algae, green algae, bacteria, encrusting corals, etc.) then the phosphate cannot as readily exchange and those underlying surfaces are less or not involved in binding and release.

While not exactly technically correct, think of phosphate binding to calcium carbonate as forming a very thin layer of calcium phosphate.

That surface phosphate is in and on/off equilibrium between being attached and being in the water. The more phosphate in the water, the more will be bound.

New bare calcium carbonate can act as a sink for phosphate until that equilibrium is reached. At that point, the only new binding that takes place is when the concentration rises.”

Thanks for the explanation and information. This is something that I didn't completely understand.

 

[NeverlosT]

Has anyone seen this??? @dz6t

Got icp back, high in silicone and bromine as well as low in iron, manganese, and iodine. Suggested i change out di resin since RO/DI water tested was also high in silicone and zinc.

I swapped sediment, carbon and cto plus cartridges. I hadnt thought to swap di resin yet because tds was still zero on output and the resin only looked half-color-changed (so half spent).

However, the color changing part of the resin was completely changed and it had stratified, so non color changing on top, color changing on bottom, making it LOOK half spent. Like this:

All three mixed bed cartridges were NO LONGER mixed bed at all. It was anion then cation.

I replaced the resin in all three and packed it well. Going to run some cuprisorb to remove the zinc from my ato reservoir and new salt water reservoir and do some WCs to sort out the DT. Maybe dose some iodide.

I guess ill just have to watch the resin for indications that it is perfectly half color changed, meaning its all used up. Weird.

New resin so you can see how it looks when “mixed”.

Oh and shut the water off before you open your ro/di system unless you want a shower.

 

[NeverlosT]

Other than that, ive been raising my phosphates. Goal is 0.05-0.15 ppm phosphate and 5-15ppm nitrate. Trying to aim for the 50:1 nitrogen: Phosphorus ratio found in coral tissue as referenced by Delbeek.
NO3/PO4*1.53 = X where X is your N: P ratio. Apparently one might aim for 50-200 but outside of that can get risky.

Worth a shot!

Video im referencing (thanks Andy @jonesboy6 )

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