yup this power head looked good on paper but in a tank, no way what a gimmickreeferwanabe said:
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Useless and marginal products I have purchased over the years
- Thread starter DaveK
- Start date
Yankees9191 said:
You had to go and say that didnt you? Just as I was thinking of looking for one for my 55.
SirFragalot said:
turn the 55 into a sump and get a 75 display ;D
Lets see, the coralife, prizm, and aqua c...the aqua c worked well but i had to keep replacing parts on it.
Next up...the octopus bh100f...we'll see
Next up...the octopus bh100f...we'll see
pgordemer said:
Pardon my ignorance, but I'm new to the hobby and just started a 75g tank with something similar to This crushed coral. Is there something wrong with using this as a substrate that I'm not aware of?
Here's an actual shot of it:
I can't see your picture at work, but coarse substrates will tend trap food and detritus particles that would otherwise be removed by your skimmer and overflow. These particles when decomposing become an additional source of nitrates.
Most reefers avoid this type of substrate and use fine grain sands, which also provides more surface area for beneficial bacteria to grow on. Some reefers (he shudders to say it) even keep tanks without any substrate exposing their tank's bare bottoms for all to gawk at!
I'm an oldtimer who has used crushed coral and it can work if you use a very shallow bed which you vacuum frequently, or the best choice run an undergravel filter, preferably with a reverse flow.
Most reefers avoid this type of substrate and use fine grain sands, which also provides more surface area for beneficial bacteria to grow on. Some reefers (he shudders to say it) even keep tanks without any substrate exposing their tank's bare bottoms for all to gawk at!
I'm an oldtimer who has used crushed coral and it can work if you use a very shallow bed which you vacuum frequently, or the best choice run an undergravel filter, preferably with a reverse flow.
Ahh, that makes sense. Considering I already have about 4" of that stuff in my tank, do you think I should take some out?
Would it also help to just get a sea cucumber and/or some other sand sifting creatures?
For now I guess I'll just keep an eye on it and siphon it clean often.
Thanks for the reply blange.
Would it also help to just get a sea cucumber and/or some other sand sifting creatures?
For now I guess I'll just keep an eye on it and siphon it clean often.
Thanks for the reply blange.
TanksNStuff said:
Your welcome!
Most sandsifting creatures won't sift coarse substates. A cucumber actually ingests the sand and passes it through it's digestive system. Not a fun process with crushed bits of coral and shells with sharp raggedy edges!
If you want to stick with it, I would reduce the dpth to no more than 2 inches and pinky swear to clean it on a weekly basis. ;D
You can also take a couple of inches out, add back some fine grained argonite sand and mix them together. The chunkier bits will help stabilize the finer stuff and keep from moving around so much. Gobies will also use it to fortify their burrows.
Thanks guys! I think I should probably just take most of it out now and replace with fine sand. I like the look of this stuff over sand, but I'd rather eliminate a future problem now while the tank is fairly empty and the job will be easier to do.
I have to say the Visitherm Skimmer was and is Horrible.
Damn.. I have a Huge List.
Ebay Brand 200mghr All in one O3 generator. Its white. Its Loud. I use to bang mine twice to get it started. Lasted. 30 Days.
Oceanic Nano Skimmer . I don't know how this thing is supposed to actually function. You can't replace the airstone without "breaking and regluing the chamber and its too short to do anything with. I used it on a JBJ 12 Gallon Nano Cube and it just filled up with water took up a lot of space and really wasnt that adjustable.
CPR Overfows. I used mine with a aqualifter pump that died and had to be replaced every 1.5 to 3 months. The Overflow clogged often and it was a every 3 day maintenance to clean it. When I went on vacation I would stop the siphon Turn off my Sump because I know I would come back to a flood.
Aqualifter pump. These seem to be hit or miss. At about 10 to 15 bucks a pop its not bad but I wouldn't reccomend using it as a Auto-Topoff pump.
Odyssea Light fixtures. They really are great fixtures BUT you must change the ballasts and bulbs and your set.
UV Intank Sterilizer 55w. Useless Bulky UGLY POS Ever. I use the pump and Sterilizer in a 20Gallon Hospital/Quarantine tank.
Various No/Name Mag Floats. I tried all kinds and they sucked. Buy a legit mag float or take the plunge and splurge on a algae free pirhanna or hammerhead. Its the last mag float you will buy and it looks great while attached to your Display tank.
Dragon Wrasse. a 2 Inch wrasse re-arranged my live rock and corals relentlessly
Sand Sifting Flathead Goby. They clean sand good. They clean sand...TOO good. I now know why even with a diatom filter, filter bags and a canister filter i could never get clear water. It was him.
hmm..
Various Stupid Plastic Tongs
Target Feeding extended Dropper for feeding corals. a 65c Turkey baster worked 100000000X better.
Swing Arms
Power Compact lighting
Algae Free Holders ( Personal dislike b/c the powerheads are slid on not very tightly and its hard to move powerheads around without one falling off into the sand and going on a rampage breaking stuff)
Ebay Brand 200mghr All in one O3 generator. Its white. Its Loud. I use to bang mine twice to get it started. Lasted. 30 Days.
Oceanic Nano Skimmer . I don't know how this thing is supposed to actually function. You can't replace the airstone without "breaking and regluing the chamber and its too short to do anything with. I used it on a JBJ 12 Gallon Nano Cube and it just filled up with water took up a lot of space and really wasnt that adjustable.
CPR Overfows. I used mine with a aqualifter pump that died and had to be replaced every 1.5 to 3 months. The Overflow clogged often and it was a every 3 day maintenance to clean it. When I went on vacation I would stop the siphon Turn off my Sump because I know I would come back to a flood.
Aqualifter pump. These seem to be hit or miss. At about 10 to 15 bucks a pop its not bad but I wouldn't reccomend using it as a Auto-Topoff pump.
Odyssea Light fixtures. They really are great fixtures BUT you must change the ballasts and bulbs and your set.
UV Intank Sterilizer 55w. Useless Bulky UGLY POS Ever. I use the pump and Sterilizer in a 20Gallon Hospital/Quarantine tank.
Various No/Name Mag Floats. I tried all kinds and they sucked. Buy a legit mag float or take the plunge and splurge on a algae free pirhanna or hammerhead. Its the last mag float you will buy and it looks great while attached to your Display tank.
Dragon Wrasse. a 2 Inch wrasse re-arranged my live rock and corals relentlessly
Sand Sifting Flathead Goby. They clean sand good. They clean sand...TOO good. I now know why even with a diatom filter, filter bags and a canister filter i could never get clear water. It was him.
hmm..
Various Stupid Plastic Tongs
Target Feeding extended Dropper for feeding corals. a 65c Turkey baster worked 100000000X better.
Swing Arms
Power Compact lighting
Algae Free Holders ( Personal dislike b/c the powerheads are slid on not very tightly and its hard to move powerheads around without one falling off into the sand and going on a rampage breaking stuff)
my turn:
skimmers
seaclown skimmer - worthless
red sea prizm dlx skimmer - worthless
aquac remora pro - decent but new technology out
random equipment
odyssey t5 fixture - ok since i changed out the bulbs which were 20/per almost the cost of the fixture.
k2 solutions moonlights - awesome shimmer effects but the display picture and the actual item are definitely false promotion
jebo dual fans - i knew i should have just went with azoo fans. no price difference
API test kit - i hate having to decipher hidden color codes. READ BETWEEN THE LINES
skimmers
seaclown skimmer - worthless
red sea prizm dlx skimmer - worthless
aquac remora pro - decent but new technology out
random equipment
odyssey t5 fixture - ok since i changed out the bulbs which were 20/per almost the cost of the fixture.
k2 solutions moonlights - awesome shimmer effects but the display picture and the actual item are definitely false promotion
jebo dual fans - i knew i should have just went with azoo fans. no price difference
API test kit - i hate having to decipher hidden color codes. READ BETWEEN THE LINES