So thanks to the efforts of so many great people, myself and many others had the opportunity to bask in the collective wisdom of some of the greatest marine aquarists and scientists alive today!
So what did I learn? Well, I went to all but one speaker session and want to share what I heard, mostly so I can come back here and read it as it starts to seep out the gaps in my brain. ;D
But first a warning to noobs and reefers I may have debated with in the past! With the exception of switching all lighting to VHO's, I have statements from real life reef professionals backing up most of what I practice with my own tanks, so I won't go quietly into the night.
So lets start with a topic that is sure to generate a lot of creative discussions, dissolved organic carbon.
Ken Feldman a reef aquarist and professor of chemistry at Penn State is doing some great work on DOC's and in particular, working on methods of quantifying skimmer performance.
Here are some of the key points that I took away:
1) Not all DOC's are capable of being removed by skimming, probably less then half.
2) 2/3 of the material removed by a skimmer isn't even organic
3) GAC, granulated activated carbon, can remove more DOC's than skimming.
4) All skimmers perform about the same at removing dissolved organic carbon.
5) Proper biological filtration and water changes have the greatest impact on reducing the level of DOCs.
6) Spikes in DOC after feeding are quickly removed with good biological filtration.
So let me see..... : Do we know anyone who uses cheap, undersized skimmers; feeds heavily; runs carbon 24x7 and likes to do weekly water changes??
I will add that Bob Fenner does not see a lot of benefit in continuous carbon use.
Let the creative exchange of ideas now begin!
So what did I learn? Well, I went to all but one speaker session and want to share what I heard, mostly so I can come back here and read it as it starts to seep out the gaps in my brain. ;D
But first a warning to noobs and reefers I may have debated with in the past! With the exception of switching all lighting to VHO's, I have statements from real life reef professionals backing up most of what I practice with my own tanks, so I won't go quietly into the night.
So lets start with a topic that is sure to generate a lot of creative discussions, dissolved organic carbon.
Ken Feldman a reef aquarist and professor of chemistry at Penn State is doing some great work on DOC's and in particular, working on methods of quantifying skimmer performance.
Here are some of the key points that I took away:
1) Not all DOC's are capable of being removed by skimming, probably less then half.
2) 2/3 of the material removed by a skimmer isn't even organic
3) GAC, granulated activated carbon, can remove more DOC's than skimming.
4) All skimmers perform about the same at removing dissolved organic carbon.
5) Proper biological filtration and water changes have the greatest impact on reducing the level of DOCs.
6) Spikes in DOC after feeding are quickly removed with good biological filtration.
So let me see..... :
Do we know anyone who uses cheap, undersized skimmers; feeds heavily; runs carbon 24x7 and likes to do weekly water changes??I will add that Bob Fenner does not see a lot of benefit in continuous carbon use.
Let the creative exchange of ideas now begin!
