Some thoughts on flow, filtration, & maintenance......

aztec reef

aztec reef

Active Member
Originally Posted by reefkprZ
he is saying to glue it down by putting a layer of sand on the silicone when the silicone isnt cured, no sandstorms it'll be held down by the silicone.
Now I get it. But i was hoping to get an answer from him. since he never answer the Question where i said , Or let it dry WITH THE SILICON.
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
he said in post 8 to put it on the silicone then let it dry the question was already answered before you asked it, if you had understood what he was saying. I was just trying to clarify information that was there, its not my fault you didnt understand his post, I was just trying to help.
 
tx reef

tx reef

Active Member
I see what you were asking now....

The sand would be on top of the silicon, kind of "glued" down.
 
anubisxero

anubisxero

Member

Originally Posted by TX Reef
Why do tanks always seem to get hair algae (or other nuisance algae) and cyanobacteria outbreaks? I believe it is because of improperly maintained sandbeds and inadequate flow over sand and rocks.
Flow: People will readily tell you that you need so many gallons per hour of flow in your tank. What never seems to get talked about is where that flow should be directed. Just because all your corals are waving aroud oh so beautifully doesn't mean that your flow is directed in the right way. Powerheads should be positioned so that they keep detritus suspended and not allow large amounts to be pushed in to one area. This causes a huge nutrient sink that will eventually grow hair algae and/or cyano. Also, if your powerheads tend to push detritus to where it will settle behind rocks at the back of the tank, it will just continue to collect and then you know what can and will happen. Simply put, flow in your tank should be designed to keep detritus suspended as much as possible and at the very least not cause detritus to collect heavily in only a few areas.
Filtration: I know that not everyone can have an overflow or drilled tank (be it money or no space under tank, etc....). I would strongly suggest the use of either a sump with a good protein skimmer that is overrated for your tank or a refugium with macro algae, sand, more rock, etc...along with skimmer. Having a hang on back overflow or built in overflow allows suspended detritus to be removed quicker and taken to a skimmer and, if desired, macro algae. These filtration setups also add more water volume to your system which means more stability. I am not a fan of hang on back filters or canister filters, not because they are ineffective (they do work as they are supposed to if properly maintained) but because the intake on these filters is small. The do not have the capability to suck in detritus effectively, leaving much more to sit on the sand bed, behind rocks, or on top of rocks. I know that the purpose of having a sand bed is to break this stuff down, but when it all collects in just a few spots, how can the sand bed be effective?Just something to think about.
Maintenance: Rocks should be blown off at the very least twice a month. Detritus builds up on rock surfaces and makes a nice home for hair algae and cyano. It doesn't take much time to take a powerhead and blow off rocks while getting ready to do a water change. I would also recommend siphoning areas that have visible collections of detritus on the sand. Sumps and refugiums should be siphoned regularly to remove collections of detritus, also. HOB filters and canisters should be cleaned regularly and filter media changed regularly. When I had a canister I did this once a month.
I would also like to mention that excess water changes will not really (in most cases) help with getting rid of cyano and hair algae. Excess nutrients in the water do help it grow, but the nutrient sink at the base of where it is growing is the real culprit. Removal of the nutrient source where it is growing will stop it dead in its tracks. If you have a patch of hair algae, pull it off and then use a powerhead to blow off the section of rock it was attached to. You will be amazed at the amount of crap that comes off.
Anyway, I just had a large white chocolate mocha and needed to do something. I have to get back to work now.....


very interesting. gives one something to really think about. on a lighter note, white chocolate mocha's are by far my favorite caffeinated drink. most excellent.

Jason
 
aztec reef

aztec reef

Active Member
sorry man, i'm not trying to make an argument here, I'm making it easier for the newbies..I'm trying to make it productive..
So back to topic:
So that little sand is gonna be the only thing laying on the botton.
Which your gonna be able to touch a little right? And nothing else is gonna be there. What about when you start growing coraline or some algea. and you wanna scrape it off wouldn't you scrape the sand off as well?
Or you don't think that would be a problem?
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
Originally Posted by Aztec Reef
"Not understanding it" and asking to Define your self is two different things.
. But thanks for the help

 
tx reef

tx reef

Active Member
Originally Posted by Aztec Reef
sorry man, i'm not trying to make an argument here, I'm making it easier for the newbies..I'm trying to make it productive..
So back to topic:
So that little sand is gonna be the only thing laying on the botton.
Which your gonna be able to touch a little right? And nothing else is gonna be there. What about when you start growing coraline or some algea. and you wanna scrape it off wouldn't you scrape the sand off as well?
Or you don't think that would be a problem?


Didn't think about coralline, but if it grows over that, then I guess it would be fine...
The light sprinkle of sand will be on top of the star board...
 
tx reef

tx reef

Active Member
Originally Posted by trainfever
Sounds good but I think it would piss my 2 Engineer Gobies off.


Probably would....
 
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