JaysLittleOcean Piece of the Reef.

[JaysLittleOcean]

Water Parameters for the Past Week.

So I have started keeping a log of my water parameters and also have decided to not add any additional livestock or corals to my main display aquarium because it would be more beneficially for me to start another aquarium specifically for the purpose of quarantine and eventually fragging. But please see below for my water parameters.

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

An Outcome I Wasn't Expecting.

So I took some time to sit in front of my aquarium as things has been running quite nicely and I really haven't done anything except a water change recently and all my parameters looks great. My wife comes down stairs and asks me what's wrong? I say nothing. She says common you have that look when your not fully satisfied with something. I replied that I love tinkering with the aquarium, its like a constantly changing puzzle. But this puzzle is almost complete and.... She stops me and says you want a bigger aquarium. I said yes this aquarium is beautiful but its not my dream aquarium. I was hoping for something around the 500 - 700 gallon display with maybe 1,000 gallons total system size and something I built from the ground up. But I also don't want to tear this one down just yet because it has so much potential. She said, why don't you do both. Plan for the 1,000 gallon plus system. Take your time, and make it exactly the way you want and play with this one in the time being. I love this woman and this is one of the many reasons I married her. So this aquarium build will continue but I am also going to mix in plans for a 1,000 gallon system!

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

Well let me start right off at saying I have never done this before and I could purchase an aquarium manufactured by a professional aquarium company but I don't want to do that. I want to build everything from scratch and have the pleasure (or misery if it bursts a seem) of saying that this was something I built from the ground up. So with that being said who on within the community has every built an aquarium? I have always preferred glass aquariums but in this case I am also considering acrylic. Any thoughts or suggestions. I'm looking to go 60 inches wide x 60 inches deep x 24 inches tall. That should give me roughly 374 gallons in the display alone.


Full Thread Can Be Found Below:
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum...uild-my-first-large-aquarium.html#post1621160

 

[reefiness]

Psh... What's with the tiny numbers for new tank dimensions. You should do 120*60*30 that will get you a 935 gallon display if my calculations are correct.

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

I only have soo much free space. LOL. Actually that is just one size I am considering.

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

Water Qiality Test from the Past Week.

Below are the water quality measurements from the last week.

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

Just Some Fish.

Here are some photographs of my happy fish.

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

Pink Maroon and Green Coralline Algae Woo Hoo!

So within a few weeks I noticed a very significant drop in the calcium levels within my water. The readings were almost 60 ppm apart. Well most of my rock are covered in spots of green, ,maroon and pink coralline algae that seems to be developing at an extremely fast rate. I mean its literally over all the rocks. All I can say is I'm happy! I took one photograph with the flash... you can see the corallin algae more like that.

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

My Nitrates Not Going Down.

Over the past few water test I notice that my nitrates have been a steady 10. This I might be able to contribute to the daily feedings of a whole cube of Frozen Mysis and the filter socks catching all that food when some of it goes down the overflow. I'm also not a huge believer in massive water changes. So I decided to give Deltec's NFP509 Nitrate Filter a try. The premise is simple. What full of Nitrate and Phosphate is slowly run through the Deltec NFP509 Nitrate Filter. This slow flow creates an area of very low oxygen which provide a place for the anaerobic bacteria that feed on the Nitrate and Phopsphate to populate. Combine that with a carbon food source (Vodka) and out comes nitrate free water. I just started the process to begin the population anaerobic bacteria growth. So the main feed pump has been turned off and only the re-circulating pump is running. I will also be providing the bacteria with the food a mixture of 8 oz RO/DI water and 2 oz of vodka injected into the reactor with 4 ml twice per day for the next few days. So I will keep everyone posted on how this goes.

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

View The Original Thread Here: http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/equipment/183390-deltec-nfp509-nitrate-filter-review.html


I began the process of bringing the anaerobic bacteria culture online as directed in the Deltec Manual. The Deltec NFP509 Nitrate Filter feed pump was to be turned off for a period of 3 days to isolate the water within the reaction chamber from the rest of the system. The internal re-circulation pump is still functional but this process allows the oxygen within the water to decrease and provide the ideal environment for the bacteria to grow. I was originally using the Deltec Peristaltic Pump to feed the reactor, but soon discovered that I could not not control the level of flow and determined that to be a huge problem. I also was not able to locate another aquarium grade peristaltic pump that could meet the future demands on the flow of water through the Deltec NFP509 Nitrate Filter due to the tubing on the injection port. Well sometimes you just have to go back to simple. I decided to pick up a Tom's Aqualifter Diaphragm dosing pump and using a control valve I'm able to regulate the proper flow of aquarium water thought the filter. Note, that the tubing on included on the Deltec aquarium water feed port is slightly larger than standard airline tubing which gave me a nice surprise and dosed my 3 day oxygen deprived water with tons of air and left my with a nice cleanup because the check valve I used to initially feed the pump just fell out. I solved this problem by removing the tubing that came with the Deltec NFP509 Nitrate Filter and heated up some regular airline tubing and connecting it that way. The fit is tight and it definitely wont come off again without a fight.

[

Deltec has a few different methods in which the Deltec NFP509 Nitrate Filter can be operated. I was originally going with the manual method where I would be responsible for not only dosing the Nitrate Fluid (1 Part Vodka, 3 Parts RO/DI Water) twice a day but also manually adjusting the flow of aquarium water into and out of the reaction chamber. This was done using a standard syringe and it was time consuming. Every morning and every evening I would measure the fluid out, inject the fluid, clean the syringe,put the nitrate fluid away and close up the stand. So with the fact that I work about 20 hours a day most days I needed a better option. So I went with the recommended semi-automatic method where the fluid is feed into the reactor using a dosing pump. I didn't own a dosing pump ad there were many on the market to choose from. So I did some research and visited a local reef ship in Connecticut and purchased the Jebao DP-4 Automatic Doser for this purpose. Now I normally go for the best money can buy. But in all honesty I also don't like throwing away money for no reason as well. And I couldn't pass up the great reviews and accuracy that this dosing system received. So far I have not been disappointed with it and I will create another post to review it alone. Deltec Recommends that the doses in manual mode be administered twice a day. but now with an auto dosing system in semi-automatic mode if is recommended to spread the dosing amount per day within 4 doses for a more stable environment for the bacteria. I am now currently dosing 2 ml of Nitrate Fluid every 6 hours for a total of 8 ml of Nitrate Fluid a day and I couldn't have done it without my doser!

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

View The Original Thread Here: http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/...er-review.html


A day has passed since I started the feed pump to the reactor and allowed the effluent from the Deltec NFP509 Nitrate Filter to flow back into the aquarium at a rate of 1 drip every 3 seconds. I used my nitrate liquid test kit to measure both the levels of nitrate from the effluent and the water from the display. Honestly I was shocked to see that the Effluent was the brightest yellow I have every tested. The display obviously still shows nitrates being detected at 10 ppm. Unfortunately, this is attributed to the fact that I added a Tiger Tail Cucumber to my aquarium and died after acclimation. I however was only able to removed half of the body. The other half is wedged inside the base of the rocks. But back to the main topic. The Deltec NFP509 Nitrate Filter works... and works well! I am also monitoring the reactor with my Neptune Systems Apex Controller. As long as my ORP level reads 0 then were good to go!

 

[oh207]

Good write up. Thanks for sharing.

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

Good write up. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you and yiur welcome. I figure the more I share the more the community of reef keepers can benefit. I personally hate looking at a product and not finding enough useful information and real world experiences to allow for a good decision to be made of wether or not the item can work for your specific needs.

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

I know it has been a few weeks since I have been able to post something. But I just wanted to ensure everyone that the aquarium is doing well. Here is a tank shot during the evening hours of the reef.

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

View The Original Thread Here: http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum...p509-nitrate-filter-review-2.html#post1625268


So one of the key components required to run the Deltec NFP509 Nitrate Filter properly is the Nitrate Fluid. What is this magic fluid? Its just a simple mixture of 1 part Vokda (not flavored Vokda, I used Smirnoff) and 3 parts purified water, preferably RO/DI water. Feed the Nitrate Fluid into the reactor starting at 4 ml twice a day either manually being injected using the included syringe or via a dosing pump if you prefer to go automated and the anaerobic bacteria inside the reactor will love you! And in return you will get nitrate free water (once the bacterial population is large enough). But you will need a storage container to keep your mixed fluid. I didn't go the route of having a fancy dosing vessel. My wife is into canning so I liberated one of her Ball Mason Jars and used that to mix and store my nitrate fluid.

A simple Ball Mason Jar for mixing and storing my Nitrate Fluid.

3 parts of RO/DI water.

1 part of Smirnoff Vokda added to the 3 parts RO/DI Water.

Mix it up and you have your Nitrate Fluid.




I initially was manually injecting the Nitrate Fluid into the reactor once at morning and once at night. I work pretty much most of the day. So this began to be a little troublesome to me. So I decided to setup my reactor in the semi-automatic method and use a doser to inject the nitrate fluid for me. I drilled a hole through the Ball Mason Jar lid large enough to put silicon airline tubing through and purchased a doser to do the job for me. I now have more precise control than I could every have done myself and I inject 1 ml of Nitrate Fluid 4 times per day. The doses area spread out more frequently in smaller amounts to provide for a more stable bacterial colony.

 

[duromega]

Nice camera

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

Nice camera

Thank you.

 

[wheights]

How is this tank doing today?