Lance's 225 gal tank

reefermadness · #1 06-22-2011, 12:42 AM

That is good news....but can I share my experience. I test much less (once a month) than I used to and my numbers can get pretty out of wack in that time frame (I shoot for 8dkh and 400ppm calcium). Its not unusual to see alk at 6dkh or calcium at 350ppm by the end of the month (keep having to increase the dosages).....corals have never been happier though. Im sure if it went on beyond this point I would have a problem but my tank has never been happier. Also note that the decrease in alk and calcium happens very slowly over the month...no drastic changes.

I guess my point in all this is maybe chasing that magic number every week doesn't really help (although I'm sure keeping the numbers good and stable can't hurt).

Lance · #2 06-22-2011, 04:26 PM

The biggest surprise was the low readings for nitrate and phosphates in the big tank after 5 weeks without a water change. I have quite a few big fish in this tank.

kien · #3 06-22-2011, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lance

The biggest surprise was the low readings for nitrate and phosphates in the big tank after 5 weeks without a water change. I have quite a few big fish in this tank.

Don't you run bioPellets on this tank?

Lance · #4 06-22-2011, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kien

Don't you run bioPellets on this tank?

Yup. But I feed a lot and if I don't do a 10% water change every 2nd week the nitrates would start to climb. Not sure what happened here but I'm going to try reducing water changes to monthly and see how it goes.

Greenmaster · #5 06-22-2011, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lance

Yup. But I feed a lot and if I don't do a 10% water change every 2nd week the nitrates would start to climb. Not sure what happened here but I'm going to try reducing water changes to monthly and see how it goes.

It could be that because the denitrifying bacteria only replicates once every 5-10 hours that it takes a few weeks for them to catch up to your demand, but now that it's there it should be okay.

Lance · #6 06-27-2011, 08:49 PM

Noticed this morning the skimmer wasn't performing properly. Usually a sign of a dirty Beckett. Pulled the Beckett apart and found a snail lodged inside. Is there anywhere snails cannot get into?

fishytime · #7 06-27-2011, 09:20 PM

Murphy's law huh?.... Where there's a will there's a way