65 gallon tank

[MichaelB]

I would always test Nitrates in combination with Phosphate and decide next steps based on the combined results.

Water changes are an effective way to reduce nitrate (and phosphate) - and reduced feeding.

Carbon dosing for combined nitrate and phosphate reductions is my preference as the other methods have side effects - except zeolithe.

For carbon dosing I would use ElimiNP from Tropic marin as this can be dialed in best.

Edit: Nitrates above 20 mg/l require treatment from my perspective. My target is below 10 mg/l.

I know next to nothing about carbon dosing, so it's not something I would be confident in or even consider trying in a tank with my precious fish unless I actually knew what I was doing. I have watched a few random videos about it yet they didn't make me any more informed. All the different videos had different methods and different suggestions than the others ones leaving me even more confused as to who to actually listen to. So I never gave it any serious consideration.

At some point, I may try it if I ever get to a level of understanding that would let me be confident in trying it on one of my tanks.

 

[Alexander1312]

I know next to nothing about carbon dosing, so it's not something I would be confident in or even consider trying in a tank with my precious fish unless I actually knew what I was doing. I have watched a few random videos about it yet they didn't make me any more informed. All the different videos had different methods and different suggestions than the others ones leaving me even more confused as to who to actually listen to. So I never gave it any serious consideration.

At some point, I may try it if I ever get to a level of understanding that would let me be confident in trying it on one of my tanks.

Not rocket science and it has instructions (which is why I would not do vodka dosing).

Edit: But not to use when your phosphates are low.

 

[richiev]

If you're seeing weirdness in your tank, and your Nitrates are high, that seems like a perfect situation to make sure you're on your water change game. Worst case you bring your N down to a level you're happier with. I wouldn't reduce feeding based on your previous statements about having been on the low end of feeding. Double check that you're measuring P right. Definitely possible to have high N and low P, but also possible to misread.

Did you say you were using carbon (activated charcoal kind, not carbon dosing)? I thought yes, but can't find it in at least the recent page. If you are using carbon or GFO or ..., are you using a reactor? I had issues in my main display with euphyllia that I eventually tracked down to having too high flow through my reactor. I personally wouldn't go down the carbon dosing route at this state. Water changes can start to add up in cost, but they're relatively easy and have numerous random benefits. Especially if you're having higher than you desire nutrients, you could effectively switch to continual water changes and stop dosing other things.

 

[MichaelB]

If you're seeing weirdness in your tank, and your Nitrates are high, that seems like a perfect situation to make sure you're on your water change game. Worst case you bring your N down to a level you're happier with. I wouldn't reduce feeding based on your previous statements about having been on the low end of feeding. Double check that you're measuring P right. Definitely possible to have high N and low P, but also possible to misread.

Did you say you were using carbon (activated charcoal kind, not carbon dosing)? I thought yes, but can't find it in at least the recent page. If you are using carbon or GFO or ..., are you using a reactor? I had issues in my main display with euphyllia that I eventually tracked down to having too high flow through my reactor. I personally wouldn't go down the carbon dosing route at this state. Water changes can start to add up in cost, but they're relatively easy and have numerous random benefits. Especially if you're having higher than you desire nutrients, you could effectively switch to continual water changes and stop dosing other things.

I haven't dosed anything at all in this tank, I do AFR in my other main 32biocube.

I don't do any carbon dosing, any additives, or any gfo in this tank. In my other main tank I use Rowaphos, carbon, and sometimes chemipure or purigen.

When I said carbon, basically I used one of these bags under the drain so water passes through it into the sump. Nothing else at all beyond that picture for this tank. No reactors only a protein skimmer.

 

[tribbitt]

I know next to nothing about carbon dosing, so it's not something I would be confident in or even consider trying in a tank with my precious fish unless I actually knew what I was doing. I have watched a few random videos about it yet they didn't make me any more informed. All the different videos had different methods and different suggestions than the others ones leaving me even more confused as to who to actually listen to. So I never gave it any serious consideration.

At some point, I may try it if I ever get to a level of understanding that would let me be confident in trying it on one of my tanks.

I have a bottle of vinegar I can give you to start trying carbon dosing. I dosed by hand for months, use a syringe and follow a chart. RHF says you can probably be even more aggressive with ramping up the dose than recommended so I feel it's pretty safe. Just monitor nitrates, check daily if you can.

The idea is, you add organic carbons (think simple sugars and the like) for bacteria to eat. These bacteria also happen to eat nitrate. So, you add carbon for the bacteria to eat, they also eat the nitrate, sequestering the nitrogen into their cells, and then you skim them out (removing the nitrate and organic carbon into your skimmer collection cup).

Dosing with vodka tends to encourage cyanobacteria growth more, vinegar is easier to manage + less cyano. The pH drop isn't that big either despite it being, yknow, vinegar. Quick note, carbon dosing directly increases your DOCs which new research suggests may slightly inhibit certain corals' growth. RB has a great article on it. So weigh the benefit of nitrate reduction against the increased DOC.

I recommend you retest your phosphates, btw. Whatever it is, test again and make decision based on the current number.

 

[Arvin R]

I don't have one.

You'll want Hanna HR Nitrate if you get a Nitrate tester. The low range is not useful for us and is a pain to do all the steps in the test kit properly.

 

[MichaelB]

I have a bottle of vinegar I can give you to start trying carbon dosing. I dosed by hand for months, use a syringe and follow a chart. RHF says you can probably be even more aggressive with ramping up the dose than recommended so I feel it's pretty safe. Just monitor nitrates, check daily if you can.

The idea is, you add organic carbons (think simple sugars and the like) for bacteria to eat. These bacteria also happen to eat nitrate. So, you add carbon for the bacteria to eat, they also eat the nitrate, sequestering the nitrogen into their cells, and then you skim them out (removing the nitrate and organic carbon into your skimmer collection cup).

Dosing with vodka tends to encourage cyanobacteria growth more, vinegar is easier to manage + less cyano. The pH drop isn't that big either despite it being, yknow, vinegar. Quick note, carbon dosing directly increases your DOCs which new research suggests may slightly inhibit certain corals' growth. RB has a great article on it. So weigh the benefit of nitrate reduction against the increased DOC.

I recommend you retest your phosphates, btw. Whatever it is, test again and make decision based on the current number.

This would be my last option, if things were dying I would be trying to play superhero. I'm thinking this crappy rock is probably a issue. It's 100% water proof and absorbs nothing. So limits bacteria places to grow. The one peice of rock in the tank thats not that stuff looks crystal clear like rock in main tank. The fake rocks has algae on it though not bad. Daily I get pretty bad film alage on all sides of glass, wipe it away zero effort. I do the whole tank in less than a 2 minutes. Than it comes back the next day. Nems are also on the rock that isn’t the fake rock.

 

[Srt4eric]

How much water are you changing and how often?

 

[MichaelB]

You'll want Hanna HR Nitrate if you get a Nitrate tester. The low range is not useful for us and is a pain to do all the steps in the test kit properly.

I will look at getting one next week. This salifert was cheap and I figured right away better than not having one at all.

These color charts do suck lol.

 

[MichaelB]

How much water are you changing and how often?

5 gallons a week. It sucks up probably 10 gallons a week of rodi for ato if that matters at all.

 

[Srt4eric]

5 gallons a week. It sucks up probably 10 gallons a week of rodi for ato if that matters at all.

How many gallons would you say is in the sump? 5 gallons a week is less than 10%. I'd up it to 20% a week for a while and I bet all your problems go away.

We need to get your rodi system up and running.

 

[richiev]

Your rock isn't likely to cause coral issues. I wouldn't rush to change that. I'd just do what Eric said and do a bit more water changes. I can't remember if you're buying your rodi water from Neptune or somewhere, but make sure whatever water you're getting is clean.

Unless things are dying I wouldn't start doing all the things; just do the one time stuff like some more tests and water changes.

 

[MichaelB]

How many gallons would you say is in the sump? 5 gallons a week is less than 10%. I'd up it to 20% a week for a while and I bet all your problems go away.

We need to get your rodi system up and running.

I have the system up running, I don't have the storage capacity between the 3 ato reservoirs I have to top off with rodi, and water changes, to store and mix enough water for larger water changes. (I need to find something larger than the 10 gallon brute I I have the rodi being stored in. I would also need something larger than the 5 gallon buckets I use to mix saltwater)

So it's running just not very efficient on the storage side of the equation.

It's a 15 gallon sump I think, water at half way point so totally system is under 75 gallon.

 

[MichaelB]

Your rock isn't likely to cause coral issues. I wouldn't rush to change that. I'd just do what Eric said and do a bit more water changes. I can't remember if you're buying your rodi water from Neptune or somewhere, but make sure whatever water you're getting is clean.

Unless things are dying I wouldn't start doing all the things; just do the one time stuff like some more tests and water changes.

I've been making my own rodi water for the last month and a half. I only buy 5 gallons of natural enhanced saltwater from Neptunes for the water change on my 32biocube.

The other two tanks I use reef crystals I have less than half a bucket left so the salt type may change depending on price of whats available at the time I need more salt.

I'm also not in a rush to do anything drastic. The rocks were on my list to swap out for a while now.

I will Also probably will get some filter socks, I tried the filter pads a d floss but they suck. i haven't been using anything other than the skimmer due to low p04. I will also try to test all the numbers again tomorrow, I haven't checked them for a week and a half.

 

[Srt4eric]

I have the system up running, I don't have the storage capacity between the 3 ato reservoirs I have to top off with rodi, and water changes, to store and mix enough water for larger water changes. (I need to find something larger than the 10 gallon brute I I have the rodi being stored in. I would also need something larger than the 5 gallon buckets I use to mix saltwater)

So it's running just not very efficient on the storage side of the equation.

It's a 15 gallon sump I think, water at half way point so totally system is under 75 gallon.

I have a 15 gallon water container you can have. I know space is an issue so I won't even offer you any of the 55 gallon drums I have... unless you want one.

 

[MichaelB]

I have a 15 gallon water container you can have. I know space is an issue so I won't even offer you any of the 55 gallon drums I have... unless you want one.

The 15 gallon one would definitely help to mix more saltwater at a time.

I could put drums in my garage, but the rodi filter is in my kitchen, so it would take some know how on how to get water from the unit to garage without manually doing it a bucket at a time. In a perfect world if i could store alot more rodi water that would cover my needs for atos plus the water needed to make saltwater.

Right now 10 gallon brute fills up, that the max I have until I remove the water before it can make more.

 

[MarcosDelgado0]

The 15 gallon one would definitely help to mix more saltwater at a time.

I could put drums in my garage, but the rodi filter is in my kitchen, so it would take some know how on how to get water from the unit to garage without manually doing it a bucket at a time. In a perfect world if i could store alot more rodi water that would cover my needs for atos plus the water needed to make saltwater.

Right now 10 gallon brute fills up, thats wbat I have until I remove the water before it can make more.

How far is your kitchen from your garage? My RODI is under kitchen sink and the container is in my room so I just bought 50ft tube of RO tubing and then cut off the excess. It’s connected to my brute with an auto shutoff valve. The brute will shut off once it’s full but the actual rodi won’t, I think it’s because the water is traveling far so it doesn’t create enough pressure to trigger the auto shut off once the RODI unit

 

[MichaelB]

How far is your kitchen from your garage? My RODI is under kitchen sink and the container is in my room so I just bought 50ft tube of RO tubing and then cut off the excess. It’s connected to my brute with an auto shutoff valve. The brute will shut off once it’s full but the actual rodi won’t, I think it’s because the water is traveling far so it doesn’t create enough pressure to trigger the auto shut off once the RODI unit

I would guess around 50 feet.

I have a bathroom 4 feet from the garage but it would be a headache for me to try to Tap into that plumbing. I already had the kitchen set up from my washer and dryer modifications. So it was
fairly easy for my limited plumbing know how. I also have a hall closest right behind the same bathroom that could also fit a barrel and possibly the whole rodi system. But trying to make that happen is well beyond my abilities. So I tried to keep things simple as possible for me though not ideal.

System needs to be near a drain, I have the kitchen, and bathroom my garage though large has no drains. Frankly I don't know what’s possible. Yet space isn’t a real issue for me. With the exception of not wanting a barrel in my kitchen

 

[MarcosDelgado0]

I would guess around 50 feet.

I have a bathroom 4 feet from the garage but it would be a headache for me to try to Tap into that plumbing. I already had the kitchen set up from my washer and dryer modifications. So it was
fairly easy for my limited plumbing know how. I also have a hall closest right behind the same bathroom that could also fit a barrel and possibly the whole rodi system. But trying to make that happen is well beyond my abilities. So I tried to keep things simple as possible for me though not ideal.

System needs to be near a drain, I have the kitchen, and bathroom my garage though large has no drains. Frankly I don't know what’s possible. Yet space isn’t a real issue for me.

I’m not sure how your plumbing is set up but I just used one of these and setup my rodi pretty easy under the sink. I didn’t set mine up for the longest time because our faucet is kinda weird so none of the adapters worked until someone told me about this fitting and it was really easy to install

 

[MichaelB]

I’m not sure how your plumbing is set up but I just used one of these and setup my rodi pretty easy under the sink. I didn’t set mine up for the longest time because our faucet is kinda weird so none of the adapters worked until someone told me about this fitting and it was really easy to install

I have splitters under my kitchen sink, off the hot and cold water coming from the wall that goes to washing machine and faucet. I added a extra spliter directly behind the washing machine on the cold line for the rodi intake. The drain is just shoved into the top of one of the sides of my sink same as the drain for the washing machine.

The rodi system it's self i have sitting inside a plastic container on a cart next to the sink.