What age are your test kits? They are only good for a year after being opened, so your numbers may not be accurate. Please read this article: http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.p...-Water-Quality That can be a good skimmer if you keep the cloverleaf injector clear of any shells (stomatella, limpets).
for the last year only water changes and not as often as should have been. but for the last three months, I added a phosban reactor. Nitrates are 0. phosphates are approaching 0 but are difficult to tell as the colors on the test kit are so close it is hard to tell the difference. I was considering purchasing a Hanna checker that has a digital readout. I also recently changed the way the skimmer is working. it was pulling and dispensing the water from the same area of the sump. I just drilled the wall of the sump and plumbed in the skimmer (EV-240) so it resides outside of the sump and now the water pulls from the prior chamber and returns the water to the return area of the sump. it has now been running this way for about three weeks, and I am starting to see some new growth on some sps corals that had been not doing well. so maybe this is a sign that things are beginning to look up.
What methods of Nitrate/phosphate reduction are you using now, or for the last year?
It's a cheap single phase AC motor without any starting coil or circuiting. So they run backwards just as well as forwards. Just depends on the position it stops in whether it starts forward or backwards.
Although I know this doesn't help with your specific pumps, if you want a cheaper alternative to Vortechs or Tunzes, you could try the 12v Koralias with a Hydor wave maker. Those pumps are supposed to be designed to work with a wave maker type device. The price for those is still fairly steep though. Blakew
While I understand that $70 may not be pocket change, the Koralia pumps are far "cheaper" than any other version of "reliable" controllable alternating speed pump...there is a reason that they don't cost as much. It is a known problem with these pumps, even the "supposedly controllable" evolution version. As with anything, you can find reviews and some people who say they work fine, but by far most of reviews I read when researching them suggested that they (1) sometimes don't restart (mine don't restart all the time) and (2) restart backward quite often (mine does). After having one, I'm sold on the idea that even at $285 for the smallest vortech, it's worth it to have a reliable pump that does exactly what it's advertised to do. YMMV, but unfortunately I don't know of a "fix" for either of these problems. Have you tried contacting Hydor? Blakew
Originally Posted by Midnight In all seriousness, I think Koralia has a fix for that. I thought they corrected the problem, it could be that you got a pump that has been on a shelf for awhile. So try contacting Koralia. I think it has to do with the fact that the motor is an AC motor instead of a DC one. Interesting. I have two that are doing this. they ran fine before.
In all seriousness, I think Koralia has a fix for that. I thought they corrected the problem, it could be that you got a pump that has been on a shelf for awhile. So try contacting Koralia. I think it has to do with the fact that the motor is an AC motor instead of a DC one.
Originally Posted by Alaska_Phil Not weird at all. Most of them do that. The fix I found is to stick your finger in there to stop the propellor, then when you release it, it will usually run forward. And you'll have to check them every time they stop or restart. I appreciate your reply but I would not call that a fix at all. this is what I have been doing however when you have them on an alternating power system to help randomize waterflow they come on and off many times an hour so this is just not feasible. i also would not call them cheap at 70$ bucks each. I do suppose that in comparison to Vortechs they are cheap.
Yes, very common with the korcheapos...Incidentally I don't have that problem with the Vortechs, They just seem to leave your wallet flat. I guess they help with posture in that sense.
Yep, what Phil said. In my experience the MaxiJets restart backwards about 1/2 the time as well. Only thing I've found to get the MJ's to go forward is to restart them (sometimes multiple times) until they run forward. Don't know what causes the MJ's and Koralia's to start backwards. Never had a problem with the AquaRio or MagDrive pumps.? Blakew
Not weird at all. Most of them do that. The fix I found is to stick your finger in there to stop the propellor, then when you release it, it will usually run forward. And you'll have to check them every time they stop or restart.
Short answer is that it's an easily removed screen with high light and water flow that grows algae faster than your display. Once a week you remove and clean half of it. There's a couple of us on this site that use them. Here's a web site dedicated to them http://www.algaescrubber.net/forums/ Edit: Here's a photo of mine from before it got a good coat of algae on it. You can see the full construction photo's in my album if you go to my profile.
what is an algae scrubber? Originally Posted by Alaska_Phil Do you have any nitrate or phosphate removal system? For example macro algae in your sump, bio pellets, vodka dosing or (my favorite) an Algae scrubber?
The only real maintenance a refugium needs is to remove some of the macro algae occasionally. That's how the nutrients are actually removed from the system. The water changes marc recommends will get your nitrates down, but you still need some way to keep them down. That means keeping up with regular large water changes, or having some way to remove them continously.
Do a 50% water change and your nitrates will be 20ppm the next day. Every time you do a 50% water change, you'll cut the nitrates in half. It's a lot of work, but it works. Vodka takes time - 12 weeks minimum. For my established reef, and because I was following the recipe to the letter, it took exactly 7 months until the nitrates came crashing down. I was very patient - and annoyed - but it does work. For PO4, I'd use Phosphate Control. Dose it at night and skim the system & run the filter sock. By morning, PO4 will be 0. For lights, there are a ton of options out there.
Ok, update. I bought a new test kit and it looks like my PO4 and NO3 are way off the chart. I am surprised as I thought the refugium was supposed to help prevent this. I have started the vodka dosing regeme as of yesterday and will let you know how it goes over the next few weeks. my nitrate is about 40ppm and the phosphate is about 1.0ppm I know way to high! gees I thought I was doing a good job gees! is there any kind of maintenance I should do for the refugium? I did not use filter socks for the last nine months. I just started last month, but the input for the refugium does not have a sock on it so the detritus probably collects in the sand a lot. I may not have a good design of my sump. I designed it myself but I never did it before. I will put together a drawing of it to upload. pictures would be had to get in that it is under my tank. it is about 88 gallons total. thanks for all the input, and I guess I need to order some new lights. anyone have a good resource for lights? I currently have 250w MH 20K x 4 and 4 T5 actinic powerglo 54W. I would like to go to 400W or to LED's but both prospects will require some significant cash. -Steven Originally Posted by melev I would check your newly mixed saltwater (and your RO water) for nitrate and phosphate. It could be that with every water change, you are adding fuel for the plants to grow. How long are your lights on each day? Is sunlight hitting the tank even for a brief period? This is your 9th month with those bulbs, so they are getting close to needing to be replaced. PO4 measurements: 0 is great. 5ppm is horrible. The difference in the test kit will be clear to dark blue (Salifert) and very easy to spot. Now if you mean .03 or .25ppm, I could see how it would be hard to judge. It is best to look at your test kits under daylight conditions, but not in direct sunlight. Just ambient bright daylight. The goal for most of us is .03ppm - it is possible to get a zero reading and have lots of algae that binds up the stuff leaving it undetectable. If you rip out a bunch, then test the next day you'll usually get a decent reading. Pictures, please.
Did you verify that all three heaters are in fact working? Warm to the touch? Indicator light on? With the room dipping down to 65F at night, 3w per gallon isn't enough to keep the tank at 79F. And when your home reaches 80F, it is too hot for the tank. Are you cooling the tank down? Do you use cooling fans? Are these fans running all the time, or only during the 80F period of the day? Do you have heaters trying to heat a tank that you are cooling off with fans at the same time? If the heaters are set to match the current tank temperature of 79F (the light isn't on, but if you nudged the dial slightly the light comes on and feels warm to the touch in about 60 seconds), it is set correctly. If the tank drops below 79F, the lights on all three will come on and they will warm up the water. They should turn off when the tank is 79F. Do not believe the numbers on the heater - trust your thermometer and the indicator lights on the heaters to tell you want is going on.
I would check your newly mixed saltwater (and your RO water) for nitrate and phosphate. It could be that with every water change, you are adding fuel for the plants to grow. How long are your lights on each day? Is sunlight hitting the tank even for a brief period? This is your 9th month with those bulbs, so they are getting close to needing to be replaced. PO4 measurements: 0 is great. 5ppm is horrible. The difference in the test kit will be clear to dark blue (Salifert) and very easy to spot. Now if you mean .03 or .25ppm, I could see how it would be hard to judge. It is best to look at your test kits under daylight conditions, but not in direct sunlight. Just ambient bright daylight. The goal for most of us is .03ppm - it is possible to get a zero reading and have lots of algae that binds up the stuff leaving it undetectable. If you rip out a bunch, then test the next day you'll usually get a decent reading. Pictures, please.
Do you have any nitrate or phosphate removal system? For example macro algae in your sump, bio pellets, vodka dosing or (my favorite) an Algae scrubber?
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