Stardate - 2010/06/03
First off folks, this is my first post, and my main tank follows the "laws of nature" which is:
The strong shall survive!!! (why can't we buy snakeheads anymore!!!???!!!)
My nitrates, in both of my tanks, are so high that they are "unmeasurable" with the standard API test kit. I have a 20 gallon tank and a 265 gallon tank. Both are freshwater. Both are somewhat overstocked with -- you know -- "killers". To add insult to self-inflicted injury, the 20 gallon tank employs an old-fashioned (don't laugh too hard) under-gravel filter that I am he$$-bent on keeping in service.
I bought the 265 gallon tank 11 years ago (right after the birth of my beloved daughter) and the 20 gallon tank about 4 years ago. The 20 gallon tank serves the purposes of:
1) Emergency "hospital" tank -- though I have yet to actually use it for this purpose.
2) Protection tank -- this is where I will house fish that are not yet big enough to survive in "Da Hood" (which is my nickname for the 265 gallon tank).
3) Feeder platy tank -- 'nuff said.
The undergravel filter in the 20 gallon tank is because I am too through with my feeders ending up in a canister or HOB. I am determined to make this work!!! The constant water changes, however, are unbearable. I have no ammonia or nitrite, but, those nitrates are out of control!!!
Here is my full filtration setup (yes, I am a filter-junkie) - including my "easy as pie DIY denitrator":
265 gallon (Da Hood):
Two Eheim 2260 using Efimech, Efisubstrat, and Efifix
One Fluval 405 using Efimech, Efisubstrat, and BioMax
One Fluval 405 using Efimech, Efisubstrat, and Tank Clear (http://hiq-usa.com/default.asp) - The "Tank Clear" will probably not do anything in this setup
One Fluval FX5 using Efimech, Efisubstrat, and BioMax
One Eheim 2228 Professional using Efisubstrat, "Tank Clear" and Seachem's "de nitrate" -- This filter "IS" my "easy as pie DIY denitrator" for "Da Hood"
Two Emperor Aquatics 40-watt UV filters on the outtake of my Eheim 2260 filters
20 gallon (Suburbia):
Undergravel filter using "Tank Clear" in one lift tube and Seachems' "de nitrate" in the other lift tube - powered by Tom Aquatics "Drive Power 40" powerheads (40 gallons per hour)
Rena Smartfilter 30 using nothing but "Tank Clear"
I am still in the upper stratosphere where nitrates are concerned, but, I just started my project less than two weeks ago. Here, I will detail the "simpler than simple" effort that I have put into effect.
Eheim 2228:
1) Home depot 12 foot hoses - they have both the widths of hoses required for the Eheim 2228 -- in clear, non-kink, wire-meshed styles. Eheim hoses could have been used, but in "my" situation, they eventually bend at the connection point. You'll need at least 12 feet for both intake and outtake. More if you'd like. I may elongate this at some point in the future, but for now, I need to wait for things to take effect.
2) Fill the intake hose with Efisubstrat (this, I admit, was "a pain in the ***" for me). With a 12 foot intake hose filled with Efisubstrat, this will "slow the "gph flow" down to approximately 15 gallons per hour. Seachem (and their competitors - HiQ for one -- makers of "Tank Clear") almost universally state that a gph flow of less than 50 gph "IS REQUIRED" for their nitrate-removing media to work according to spec. I guess you could use Seachem Matrix for this as another way around the 50 gph requirement, but why? This implementation will not exceed Seachems' guidance on a 50 gph ceiling. Again, I am sharing what I have done as opposed to speculation on my part.
3) Take about 6 inches of "foam" (I just cut some from some pre-used Fluval 404 foam I had laying around) and stuff it into the intake tube right before the water enters the canister. This is to make sure that the Efimech, in the intake hose, cannot enter into the 2228 and damage this (for many of us) "expensive", but, "superatively-engineered" filter. "DO NOT TRY TO STUFF AS MUCH FOAM AS POSSIBLE" into the intake tube. Like Bryll Cream, "A Little Dab ull Do Ya"!!! You could also use a "pre-filter proper", but, I don't like bulky, out-of-place, ugly (to me) things in my tank. This is merely a matter of personal preference. Thinking further about this, it is probable that both methods should be used, but again, I just "hate" those "out-of-place" pre-filters!!!
4) The Efisubstrat in the 12 foot intake hose should deplete the oxygen from the slow-flowing water before it reaches the 2228 canister!!! This is vital to this setup. If you need to amplify the amount of oxygen-depletion in your setup, you can increase the length of the tubing and use even more Efisubstrat. Just confirm your resultant gph is not lower than you are comfortable with. This is one of those things where "your mileage will vary".
5) In "my" 2228, I have the bottom two media trays populated with "Tank Clear" (though I may eventually replace this with Seachem "de nitrate") and the top tray populated with Seachem "de nitrate".
* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *
That's all folks!!! No drilling. No plumbing. No sumps. No sugar. No methanol. No alcohol. No deni-balls. No continuous "buying of ""media-related STUFF""". I am confident that this is going to work and work beautifully!!! Yesterday, I did a 25% water change on "Da Hood" and piped the output, through the Eheim 2228 "easy as pie DIY denitrator", into two 32 gallon rubber maid garbage cans. It took just over four and one half hours to fill both of them, so, I am moving about 14 gph.
Oxygen-depletion. No drilling. No plumbing. Off-the-shelf components. What more could I ask for (other than for it to work). I don't have a digital camera, but, will (in the coming weeks) find a way to post pictures.
Note #1: I used an Eheim 2228 because that is what my LFS recommended / sold to me, 11 years ago when I bought my tank, but, this could/should probably work with "most" canister filters. As for readings at the start of this experiment, look back through this post. I have stated that they are immeasurable!!! Based on all of the research I have done, I am not expecting anything of significance for about the next 2 to 4 months.
Note #2: I do not work for Seachem, Eheim, HiQ, or any other company associated with "our hobby".
Note #3: I "will" post weekly updates so that any of you who wish to follow my attempt at "nitrate control" can assess the merits of my project. This approach, IMHO, is extremely simplistic, does not require exotic measures, and is easily reproducible. I still plan to have a regular water change schedule, but, I plan for it to be "because I felt like it was time" as opposed to "I had better do this before my fish -- some of them expensive -- start to die"!!!
The killers, who are really the star of this story, are:
Da Hood:
1 silver arrowana
10 convicts (4 pink and the rest, traditional -- all pro-creating like crazy -- small, but, vicious!!!)
6 red-spotted gold severums (what a beautiful fish)
3 red-shoulder severums (this is all that is left out of the original 6)
12 jack dempseys (race between them, the arrowana, and silver dollars for my "favorite" fish)
2 jaguar cichlids - both males? (F'ing oscar killers!!!)
4 midas cichlids (relatively new)
8 silver dollars (the worlds' coolest fish!!!)
4 texas cichlids (two of them pro-creating like crazy)
1 eclipse catfish - don't know if he is still alive
1 gibbeceps pleco
Suburbia:
8 spotted silver dollars (peacefull??? -- my F'ing ***)
1 bristle nose pleco
6 electric blue jack dempseys (finally keeping these alive!!!)
4 green terrors
1 red oscars
13 "feeder" platties - (These won't introduce "diseases" into my 265 gallon -- expensive as he$$ to medicate -- show piece -- of a tank". Although I can't prove it, I think some feeders from my LFS is what "did in" my red shoulder severums. Despite the +$200 if spent on medications (remember, 265 gallon tank), I still could not save the ones that died)
Died:
2 gaucho pikes -- don't know why. I successfully maintained pikes before!!!
1 eclipse catfish -- jumped out of tank??? Haven't found him -- but, I am lazy
1 ornate bichir -- don't know why
5 Red shoulder severums -- disease??? -- poor water quality??? -- four year old stresscoat (which is what I really think)???
2 "regular" oscars -- killer jaguar cichlids got 'em
1 red oscar -- killer jaguar cichlids
1 red oscar -- killer jaguar cichlids
2 electric blue dempseys -- nitrates???
Note #4 (and final note)"
I am using the Seachem Prime and Stability on the 20 gallon tank to (hopefully) expedite the proliferation of the anaerobic bacteria. I am not using Stability on the 265 gallon, yet, because I am afraid to turn off my UV filters .
First off folks, this is my first post, and my main tank follows the "laws of nature" which is:
The strong shall survive!!! (why can't we buy snakeheads anymore!!!???!!!)
My nitrates, in both of my tanks, are so high that they are "unmeasurable" with the standard API test kit. I have a 20 gallon tank and a 265 gallon tank. Both are freshwater. Both are somewhat overstocked with -- you know -- "killers". To add insult to self-inflicted injury, the 20 gallon tank employs an old-fashioned (don't laugh too hard) under-gravel filter that I am he$$-bent on keeping in service.
I bought the 265 gallon tank 11 years ago (right after the birth of my beloved daughter) and the 20 gallon tank about 4 years ago. The 20 gallon tank serves the purposes of:
1) Emergency "hospital" tank -- though I have yet to actually use it for this purpose.
2) Protection tank -- this is where I will house fish that are not yet big enough to survive in "Da Hood" (which is my nickname for the 265 gallon tank).
3) Feeder platy tank -- 'nuff said.
The undergravel filter in the 20 gallon tank is because I am too through with my feeders ending up in a canister or HOB. I am determined to make this work!!! The constant water changes, however, are unbearable. I have no ammonia or nitrite, but, those nitrates are out of control!!!
Here is my full filtration setup (yes, I am a filter-junkie) - including my "easy as pie DIY denitrator":
265 gallon (Da Hood):
Two Eheim 2260 using Efimech, Efisubstrat, and Efifix
One Fluval 405 using Efimech, Efisubstrat, and BioMax
One Fluval 405 using Efimech, Efisubstrat, and Tank Clear (http://hiq-usa.com/default.asp) - The "Tank Clear" will probably not do anything in this setup
One Fluval FX5 using Efimech, Efisubstrat, and BioMax
One Eheim 2228 Professional using Efisubstrat, "Tank Clear" and Seachem's "de nitrate" -- This filter "IS" my "easy as pie DIY denitrator" for "Da Hood"
Two Emperor Aquatics 40-watt UV filters on the outtake of my Eheim 2260 filters
20 gallon (Suburbia):
Undergravel filter using "Tank Clear" in one lift tube and Seachems' "de nitrate" in the other lift tube - powered by Tom Aquatics "Drive Power 40" powerheads (40 gallons per hour)
Rena Smartfilter 30 using nothing but "Tank Clear"
I am still in the upper stratosphere where nitrates are concerned, but, I just started my project less than two weeks ago. Here, I will detail the "simpler than simple" effort that I have put into effect.
Eheim 2228:
1) Home depot 12 foot hoses - they have both the widths of hoses required for the Eheim 2228 -- in clear, non-kink, wire-meshed styles. Eheim hoses could have been used, but in "my" situation, they eventually bend at the connection point. You'll need at least 12 feet for both intake and outtake. More if you'd like. I may elongate this at some point in the future, but for now, I need to wait for things to take effect.
2) Fill the intake hose with Efisubstrat (this, I admit, was "a pain in the ***" for me). With a 12 foot intake hose filled with Efisubstrat, this will "slow the "gph flow" down to approximately 15 gallons per hour. Seachem (and their competitors - HiQ for one -- makers of "Tank Clear") almost universally state that a gph flow of less than 50 gph "IS REQUIRED" for their nitrate-removing media to work according to spec. I guess you could use Seachem Matrix for this as another way around the 50 gph requirement, but why? This implementation will not exceed Seachems' guidance on a 50 gph ceiling. Again, I am sharing what I have done as opposed to speculation on my part.
3) Take about 6 inches of "foam" (I just cut some from some pre-used Fluval 404 foam I had laying around) and stuff it into the intake tube right before the water enters the canister. This is to make sure that the Efimech, in the intake hose, cannot enter into the 2228 and damage this (for many of us) "expensive", but, "superatively-engineered" filter. "DO NOT TRY TO STUFF AS MUCH FOAM AS POSSIBLE" into the intake tube. Like Bryll Cream, "A Little Dab ull Do Ya"!!! You could also use a "pre-filter proper", but, I don't like bulky, out-of-place, ugly (to me) things in my tank. This is merely a matter of personal preference. Thinking further about this, it is probable that both methods should be used, but again, I just "hate" those "out-of-place" pre-filters!!!
4) The Efisubstrat in the 12 foot intake hose should deplete the oxygen from the slow-flowing water before it reaches the 2228 canister!!! This is vital to this setup. If you need to amplify the amount of oxygen-depletion in your setup, you can increase the length of the tubing and use even more Efisubstrat. Just confirm your resultant gph is not lower than you are comfortable with. This is one of those things where "your mileage will vary".
5) In "my" 2228, I have the bottom two media trays populated with "Tank Clear" (though I may eventually replace this with Seachem "de nitrate") and the top tray populated with Seachem "de nitrate".
* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *
That's all folks!!! No drilling. No plumbing. No sumps. No sugar. No methanol. No alcohol. No deni-balls. No continuous "buying of ""media-related STUFF""". I am confident that this is going to work and work beautifully!!! Yesterday, I did a 25% water change on "Da Hood" and piped the output, through the Eheim 2228 "easy as pie DIY denitrator", into two 32 gallon rubber maid garbage cans. It took just over four and one half hours to fill both of them, so, I am moving about 14 gph.
Oxygen-depletion. No drilling. No plumbing. Off-the-shelf components. What more could I ask for (other than for it to work). I don't have a digital camera, but, will (in the coming weeks) find a way to post pictures.
Note #1: I used an Eheim 2228 because that is what my LFS recommended / sold to me, 11 years ago when I bought my tank, but, this could/should probably work with "most" canister filters. As for readings at the start of this experiment, look back through this post. I have stated that they are immeasurable!!! Based on all of the research I have done, I am not expecting anything of significance for about the next 2 to 4 months.
Note #2: I do not work for Seachem, Eheim, HiQ, or any other company associated with "our hobby".
Note #3: I "will" post weekly updates so that any of you who wish to follow my attempt at "nitrate control" can assess the merits of my project. This approach, IMHO, is extremely simplistic, does not require exotic measures, and is easily reproducible. I still plan to have a regular water change schedule, but, I plan for it to be "because I felt like it was time" as opposed to "I had better do this before my fish -- some of them expensive -- start to die"!!!
The killers, who are really the star of this story, are:
Da Hood:
1 silver arrowana
10 convicts (4 pink and the rest, traditional -- all pro-creating like crazy -- small, but, vicious!!!)
6 red-spotted gold severums (what a beautiful fish)
3 red-shoulder severums (this is all that is left out of the original 6)
12 jack dempseys (race between them, the arrowana, and silver dollars for my "favorite" fish)
2 jaguar cichlids - both males? (F'ing oscar killers!!!)
4 midas cichlids (relatively new)
8 silver dollars (the worlds' coolest fish!!!)
4 texas cichlids (two of them pro-creating like crazy)
1 eclipse catfish - don't know if he is still alive
1 gibbeceps pleco
Suburbia:
8 spotted silver dollars (peacefull??? -- my F'ing ***)
1 bristle nose pleco
6 electric blue jack dempseys (finally keeping these alive!!!)
4 green terrors
1 red oscars
13 "feeder" platties - (These won't introduce "diseases" into my 265 gallon -- expensive as he$$ to medicate -- show piece -- of a tank". Although I can't prove it, I think some feeders from my LFS is what "did in" my red shoulder severums. Despite the +$200 if spent on medications (remember, 265 gallon tank), I still could not save the ones that died)
Died:
2 gaucho pikes -- don't know why. I successfully maintained pikes before!!!
1 eclipse catfish -- jumped out of tank??? Haven't found him -- but, I am lazy
1 ornate bichir -- don't know why
5 Red shoulder severums -- disease??? -- poor water quality??? -- four year old stresscoat (which is what I really think)???
2 "regular" oscars -- killer jaguar cichlids got 'em
1 red oscar -- killer jaguar cichlids
1 red oscar -- killer jaguar cichlids
2 electric blue dempseys -- nitrates???
Note #4 (and final note)"
I am using the Seachem Prime and Stability on the 20 gallon tank to (hopefully) expedite the proliferation of the anaerobic bacteria. I am not using Stability on the 265 gallon, yet, because I am afraid to turn off my UV filters .
