Need Opinions

[redfishbluefish]

So here’s my latest lame-brained idea…..get rid of my refugium! I’ve recently started biopellets which will now handle all my nitrates and phosphates….some say too well. So with nitrates and phosphates taken care of, why do I need a refugium filled with chaetomorpha. Actually my chaeto has been doing very poorly, probably because of the weak LED I have over the refugium.


So my thought was to clean out the refugium, buy a decent LED light fixture, and use that space as a frag tank. What do you think? Am I nuts? I already have a nano powerhead in there.



EDIT TO ADD:

Here’s what the sump looks like right now…..sock and skimmer on the left / return section in the middle (with biopellet reactor feeding back into the skimmer pickup / refugium on the right. It’s a 40B sump and the DT is 90 gallons.

 

[downbeach]

I took my fuge off line when I started to use bio-pellets. The reactor should be kept in the dark.

 

[redfishbluefish]

........The reactor should be kept in the dark.

Now how do I do that? maybe make a sleeve that fits over the reactor. But then I won't be able to see the beads swirling round and round.

 

[Hockeynut]

What about pods and other critters? No place for them to live? Also do you have deep sand?
I would worry about having your reactor go down. A least something growing wont disappear in a moment.
Maybe I'm crazy but balancing a whole tank on a single contraption seems to be dangerous to me. I know the rock in your tank should keep things stable, but imo I would try an experiment like that on a much smaller scale.
Maybe that should be your next challenge.. Start a smaller tank maybe a 20gal and run it only using a skimmer, power head and a bio pellet reactor.

 

[MatteZ]

[/URL][/IMG]

I cut a little trash can in half. I still need to fit it better and cut out the pvc line that goes to the skimmer. I am just too lazy to do it right now.

 

[Hockeynut]

Wow Paul do you have enough room in there if the power goes out. Seems like the water level is really high and you could overflow. I'm sure it doesn't but man that seems like a little bit of tank left

 

[redfishbluefish]

Wow Paul do you have enough room in there if the power goes out. Seems like the water level is really high and you could overflow. I'm sure it doesn't but man that seems like a little bit of tank left

Gee wiz, I sure hope it doesn’t overflow!



I get this all the time!


If you set up siphon breaks, sump flow-back is easily calculated. The sump was built to handle the back-flow:


Pumps On…note pink arrow (it might be purple…I’m color blind), marks water level in return section:

Pumps Off….again pink (or purple) arrow marks water level:

 

[redfishbluefish]

[/URL][/IMG]

I cut a little trash can in half. I still need to fit it better and cut out the pvc line that goes to the skimmer. I am just too lazy to do it right now.

Matt, thanks for the heads up on your trash bin idea for blocking the light. I’ve got to kick around some ideas on how to block mine. I’m thinking more of a sleeve….but what material can take the saltwater?

 

[jgraz]

If your not opposed to then paint it. Tape off a line so that you can still monitor flow and pellet lvl.

On to the fuge. I shut mine down leaving only rock. I pulled the sand and macro. I've since put it back online but have had minimal growth in the macro department. I was also contemplating making mine a frag tank as well, but changed my mind when I could find a suitable light.

 

[MatteZ]

I wanted to make a sleeve or a box of some sort out of black acrylic but then I saw the price of that stuff! I had an extra trash can at work some cut it and used that.

 

[Zippy69]

What's wrong with a black garden drain pipe or just plain old PVC pipe that meets the diameter requirements?

 

[redfishbluefish]

With Jim telling me I’ve got to keep my biopellets in the dark, and Zippy suggesting drain pipe, I made a trip to HD and brought home ten feet of drain pipe. I went with the triple wall four inch pipe that has a black center portion and a white covering. It’s made of HDPE (high density polyethylene) that I know is reef safe.

Unfortunately this just can’t be slid over the reactor because the reactor has a collar on the top and bottom of the clear cylinder section. So I cut a wopping 9 9/16 inches off this ten foot length and then sliced it open:

After opening up the pipe, I found that the white plastic cover was easily removed by giving it a pull. I could have left it on, but I didn’t. This was placed around the clear tube of the reactor and held in place with a zip tie.

So my bacteria now have the privacy they need to multiply.



Matt since you have the same reactor and I have more than nine feet of pipe left, I cut you one as well. Let me know if you’re up this way or are attending one of the meetings and I throw it in my car. This offer is for anyone else that needs a little four inch drain pipe.

 

[jgraz]

As usual nice job on the DIY.

 

[Zippy69]

How do you know when it's time to add more pellets? Do you. Teak the zip tie every so often for a peak or can you see through the crack left if more pellets needed?

 

[redfishbluefish]

How do you know when it's time to add more pellets? Do you. Teak the zip tie every so often for a peak or can you see through the crack left if more pellets needed?

HEY, YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SUGGESTED DRAIN PIPE!


I’m still mulling that over in my head. I have nine-plus feet of drain pipe to work with. I’m thinking of a slip kind of window to check in on the pellets.

I’m also thinking that I don’t need to check them that frequently. So even if it’s zip tied, every three months or so I can check on it.

 

[Zippy69]

I like the window idea. Super glue some tracks and have a slide across window. It would look like how Scottie the engineer in Star Trek used to look at the dilithium crystals in the original series.

 

[MatteZ]

I would love to replace my half of a trash can. I hope to be going to the meeting next month. that looks really nice!

With Jim telling me I’ve got to keep my biopellets in the dark, and Zippy suggesting drain pipe, I made a trip to HD and brought home ten feet of drain pipe. I went with the triple wall four inch pipe that has a black center portion and a white covering. It’s made of HDPE (high density polyethylene) that I know is reef safe.

Unfortunately this just can’t be slid over the reactor because the reactor has a collar on the top and bottom of the clear cylinder section. So I cut a wopping 9 9/16 inches off this ten foot length and then sliced it open:

After opening up the pipe, I found that the white plastic cover was easily removed by giving it a pull. I could have left it on, but I didn’t. This was placed around the clear tube of the reactor and held in place with a zip tie.

So my bacteria now have the privacy they need to multiply.



Matt since you have the same reactor and I have more than nine feet of pipe left, I cut you one as well. Let me know if you’re up this way or are attending one of the meetings and I throw it in my car. This offer is for anyone else that needs a little four inch drain pipe.

 

[greybolt03]

I took my fuge off line when I started to use bio-pellets. The reactor should be kept in the dark.

This is the first time I am hearing that the reactor needs to be in the dark?

Paul will it fit around the BRS reactors if so ill take a piece..

 

[downbeach]

Some info here:

http://reefbuilders.com/2010/10/19/bulk-reef-supply-releases-bio-pellets-cheap/

 

[ecam]

Paul, Great idea on the hose... it beats my setup .... (wrapped in a towel) ... but its cheap.... LOL