my ray tank started producing very low levels of nitrites why??
- Thread starter calgaryflames
- Start date
Another thing I have read that with too MUCH flow, you could be setting your BB up for failure. I saw you said the current was pretty high, but I don't know exactly how the flow is in your filters. Just a side thought.
Glad you are going to hook up a sump for socks been thinking about it and i think a build up of organics makes most sense..But maybe still slow down your drip and see what kind of reaction you get after the sump has been running a week or two .....personaly i feel after you explaned more of what was going on i really think it's the mechanical but who knows for sure trial and error you'll find that tanks sweet spot just takes time ...
Redesign the filtration.
You're going to be hard pressed to find another serious raykeeper out there that hasn't turned to bio reactors yet.
Use crazy turnover through several grades of mechanical in a sump and use a second pump with a reduced flowrate through a reactor.
Use the search function and you'll find inadequate mechanical filtrastion has plagued MANY ray keepers here. Reactors offer so many advantages over other means it's not even worth arguing.
BUT all the bio in the world isn't gonna help if it's choked off by insufficient mechanical.
Planning new filtration is one of the funnest parts of the hobby...
Also.... When in doubt change em out. Any signs of trouble and I'd be looking at the age of the carbon filters on the drip. Most of the times they're cheap enough to change just as a precautionary measure.
You're going to be hard pressed to find another serious raykeeper out there that hasn't turned to bio reactors yet.
Use crazy turnover through several grades of mechanical in a sump and use a second pump with a reduced flowrate through a reactor.
Use the search function and you'll find inadequate mechanical filtrastion has plagued MANY ray keepers here. Reactors offer so many advantages over other means it's not even worth arguing.
BUT all the bio in the world isn't gonna help if it's choked off by insufficient mechanical.Planning new filtration is one of the funnest parts of the hobby...
Also.... When in doubt change em out. Any signs of trouble and I'd be looking at the age of the carbon filters on the drip. Most of the times they're cheap enough to change just as a precautionary measure.
I am going to hook up a shallow but about 50-60 gallon sump i have and use two socks I'n the first chamber than the rest will be filled with some sort of media.I'n your guys opinion i would like to hear what the best media you think is.i like ceramic rings but have herd the eheim pebbles are much better.also herd lava rock is better and cheaper.
Nitrite is at zero again just tested.so i am almost 100% sold on the idea it was waste build up/ shrimp shells and the big water change i did.still this tells me i should add the sump
Kaldness for sure if you can get your baffles to get them to churn well with the water flow and notget stuck in the return ..Simple way is with a coarse sponge or like junkie says the Reactor is the way for sure it would be worth your while for sure .... Very simple and Crazy effective...
I guess I just assume that Kaldness is used in a reactor.....
If you tried to use that media in a sump I would think you'd loose efficiency as there would be only a fraction of the contact time it would get in a reactor. It needs to boil. Can't achieve that in a windy 75 gpm sump.
Just do some research on the way these things work and you'll understand the advantages.
This is supposed to be better then any other bio. You can listen to all the opinions being tossed around as far as what to use for media or you can just take a look around and see what all the die hard ray keepers are using.
Get some K1 and thier "chips", some plastic 55 gallon drums and whip yourself up a pair. Shouldn't need more then one but 2 is better then 1 right?
Don't sell yourself short in the sock dept. I'd go with at least 4 sock. Of 2 different grades. (8 total or 4 double sewn).
Just my .02. BUT I fought filter issues for a couple years before I decided to take a drastic step into what I think is the right direction.
If you tried to use that media in a sump I would think you'd loose efficiency as there would be only a fraction of the contact time it would get in a reactor. It needs to boil. Can't achieve that in a windy 75 gpm sump.
Just do some research on the way these things work and you'll understand the advantages.
This is supposed to be better then any other bio. You can listen to all the opinions being tossed around as far as what to use for media or you can just take a look around and see what all the die hard ray keepers are using.
Get some K1 and thier "chips", some plastic 55 gallon drums and whip yourself up a pair. Shouldn't need more then one but 2 is better then 1 right?
Don't sell yourself short in the sock dept. I'd go with at least 4 sock. Of 2 different grades. (8 total or 4 double sewn).
Just my .02. BUT I fought filter issues for a couple years before I decided to take a drastic step into what I think is the right direction.
