DB junkie;5126110; said:
Prove to me you know what you're doing with them and there may be some floating around.
I haven't kept all the rays I own under my roof for years. I have most of them at my place but I also have some with a good buddy.
All I ask is that they are taken care of by the same standards they are now.
They've begun showing signs of regular breeding so I'm sure there will be some around by the time you get that monster built.
You should probobly start a new post and share your algae findings with us. IF you want to test this out real world I have systems right now that make plenty of waste. I could use some ideas......
I know I'm all ears on this algae scrubber bit or whatever form it comes in. I think I can close the chapter on bio for my system, think I'm set there. Mechanical will be no big deal to upgrade as I left room to play around. However, the veggie filter/scrubber is nothing more then a clean slate right now. I have to move bio towers to open up some room but that should free up at least a 150 gallon rubbermaid to devote strickly to nitrate removal by any green means necassary.
My intentions are to give them the best possible place I can provide for life. I would also be proving to myself that I know what I am doing since I have never kept rays. I honestly have no doubt I can provide them a great home. But I do want to know all I can before I take that responsibility.
I plan to setup this large tank and experiment with the system before adding any rays. I am not going to experiment with the rays. I will admit that putting the rays in the tank will be a bit different due to there bio load but I will be assuring the tank can handle the expected load the rays will deliver first. I have no doubt in the bio filter I will be building for it and I will be doing regular water changes even with the algae filter in place. I will just have to determine how often after determining the load/filter balance.
I am more than confident in my bio filter systems but I am always learning more. I always build my own bio filters because... well, I just can't buy one to my liking.
I would be more than happy to help you build a green filter for your tank/s. I am trying to spread the word, so other will experiment them selves. Only problem with spreading the word to the ray community is the fact I don't have any rays and we all know rays put a different load on any given filter system, so my experience in limited.
One good thing about experimenting with a plant filter is that it is not the only part to the filter system and it has not effect on the bio filter so you don't have to rely on it, in that if it is not big enough or doing it's job, you simply go about normal water changes to keep nitrates down. If the plant filter is working you can lessen the need for such frequent/large water changes.
My thoughts on my big tank is to use a drip system but only as much as is required to keep all the water in "perfect" condition. I like drips because I think they provide a great means of keeping the tank "consistent". Depending on the water source (it will be after I move so my water source will be changing) I may use a R/O to control TDS if needed. Where I am at now, I think an R/O unit would be very beneficial possibly needed to keep TDS in a comfortable range for rays.
I will give you a PM so we can discus further.