Dutch Me Baby
- Thread starter guppyganker
- Start date
Yes actually, I don't have a bit of stunting atm. The only issue I do have is GDA. But nothing that a daily wipe cant handle.
https://goo.gl/photos/1i7ioMCH1nD3RqVTA
Been a while since I gave an update. Well, things are going quite well with the tank. I've kept the same dosing regimen. Other than putting a splitter on the Ma957 and dealing with a floating needle valve everything seems to be going gang busters. I will upload more pics once the site stops giving me an upload error.
A few observations;
1: the rotala maka red is doing much better now that Ive stopped triple dosing ei (with csm dosed to 1.5ppm fe
)
2: with the same plant mass as before and less dosing Im no longer bottoming out on nitrates. Don't ask I don't know, I'm even using the same nitrate test so it wasn't that. Removing media from the sump made no change so I added it back and again no change.
3: im not going to dirt the 75, the farm tank worked out but it gets a little messy considering I pull or plant something almost daily.
4: I finally got my ph pen and tested my offgassing. I don't have the numbers in front of me right now (will do a full write up). But I did notice that 3 hours after co2 off Im still at least .5ph down. So my sump is not offgassing the ludicrous amounts of co2 like I thought.
5: that means I need to look into better diffusion (I knew it but wanted to blame other things)
Been a while since I gave an update. Well, things are going quite well with the tank. I've kept the same dosing regimen. Other than putting a splitter on the Ma957 and dealing with a floating needle valve everything seems to be going gang busters. I will upload more pics once the site stops giving me an upload error.
A few observations;
1: the rotala maka red is doing much better now that Ive stopped triple dosing ei (with csm dosed to 1.5ppm fe
)2: with the same plant mass as before and less dosing Im no longer bottoming out on nitrates. Don't ask I don't know, I'm even using the same nitrate test so it wasn't that. Removing media from the sump made no change so I added it back and again no change.
3: im not going to dirt the 75, the farm tank worked out but it gets a little messy considering I pull or plant something almost daily.
4: I finally got my ph pen and tested my offgassing. I don't have the numbers in front of me right now (will do a full write up). But I did notice that 3 hours after co2 off Im still at least .5ph down. So my sump is not offgassing the ludicrous amounts of co2 like I thought.
5: that means I need to look into better diffusion (I knew it but wanted to blame other things)
Ive got needle valves on my mind today and need some help but lets start with some tank pics.
NEEDLE VALVES:
The needle valve on the milwuakee ma957 got the job done but lacks fine control at the high flow rates im using. I recently decided to inject the farm tanks and a 29gal moss tank and bought a cheapo splitter with cheapo needle valves. They float, algea happens, things aren't happy. I have a few questions so ill just throw them out there.
Im running 40psi working pressure same as when I was just running the 75gal with the rex. Now I have the rex and 2 diffusers connected to the regulator. Even with separate needle valves am I going to endlessly fiddle with co2 considering the rex has no back pressure and the diffusers have a ton? Am I better off running the diffusers on their own tank/reg (would have to be CHEAP). Im ok with fiddling to get it set as long as my bps stays steady.
What the heck is the fitting size between the solenoid and the needle valve on the milwuakee ma957? 1/4npt was too big.
I also need some help picking a needle valve. The splitter I want from diyc02regulator has 3 smc as1200 and for the price seems to be a good option. Im looking to stability not ease of setup. What my question is, are the 1000 series able to accurately meter when my bps is higher than I can count for the rex? then like 1bps for the diffusers? Or would I be better off with the 2000 series for the rex and some 1000series on their own reg for the diffusers? I assume with any splitter I would want 3 of the same needle valve.
The following graphs show l/min I have no clue what l/min im trying to inject (do yall know this for your tanks?) Anyway here is the comparison for the 1000 and 2000 series needle valves.
DIFFUSION:
Im currently running a 24X2 rex hooked up to my return pump (Jeabo dct12000). Its just too much flow for the rex, I would like to turn it up but cannot without rendering the rex ineffective. So I have a plan I would like to run by you all.
I have a rio plus 600 venturi pump. I was thinking about running co2 into the pump (has an airline fitting) then connect the pump to an ista max mix large then feed that either into the return pump by setting the discharge close to the jaebos intake or just after the return pump with a fitting on the hose. Either way it would still go through the rex and pump through the spray bar that delivers flow nice and evenly throughout the tank. Im assuming either way I do it I would get better diffusion than the rex alone. I may be looking to remove the rex but even with the headloss of the rex and an overkill submerged spraybar I have more available flow than the tank can handle.
Lots of questions and as RAJMK can tell you, even with the best advice ill probably still just go with what I think I want lol.
ps: yes I should spend a couple hundred on a nice dual stage and another couple hundred on needle valves but im a broke ass.
NEEDLE VALVES:
The needle valve on the milwuakee ma957 got the job done but lacks fine control at the high flow rates im using. I recently decided to inject the farm tanks and a 29gal moss tank and bought a cheapo splitter with cheapo needle valves. They float, algea happens, things aren't happy. I have a few questions so ill just throw them out there.
Im running 40psi working pressure same as when I was just running the 75gal with the rex. Now I have the rex and 2 diffusers connected to the regulator. Even with separate needle valves am I going to endlessly fiddle with co2 considering the rex has no back pressure and the diffusers have a ton? Am I better off running the diffusers on their own tank/reg (would have to be CHEAP). Im ok with fiddling to get it set as long as my bps stays steady.
What the heck is the fitting size between the solenoid and the needle valve on the milwuakee ma957? 1/4npt was too big.
I also need some help picking a needle valve. The splitter I want from diyc02regulator has 3 smc as1200 and for the price seems to be a good option. Im looking to stability not ease of setup. What my question is, are the 1000 series able to accurately meter when my bps is higher than I can count for the rex? then like 1bps for the diffusers? Or would I be better off with the 2000 series for the rex and some 1000series on their own reg for the diffusers? I assume with any splitter I would want 3 of the same needle valve.
The following graphs show l/min I have no clue what l/min im trying to inject (do yall know this for your tanks?) Anyway here is the comparison for the 1000 and 2000 series needle valves.
DIFFUSION:
Im currently running a 24X2 rex hooked up to my return pump (Jeabo dct12000). Its just too much flow for the rex, I would like to turn it up but cannot without rendering the rex ineffective. So I have a plan I would like to run by you all.
I have a rio plus 600 venturi pump. I was thinking about running co2 into the pump (has an airline fitting) then connect the pump to an ista max mix large then feed that either into the return pump by setting the discharge close to the jaebos intake or just after the return pump with a fitting on the hose. Either way it would still go through the rex and pump through the spray bar that delivers flow nice and evenly throughout the tank. Im assuming either way I do it I would get better diffusion than the rex alone. I may be looking to remove the rex but even with the headloss of the rex and an overkill submerged spraybar I have more available flow than the tank can handle.
Lots of questions and as RAJMK can tell you, even with the best advice ill probably still just go with what I think I want lol.
ps: yes I should spend a couple hundred on a nice dual stage and another couple hundred on needle valves but im a broke ass.
I don't know Jack sht about co2 stuff but I will say this...
Tank looks friggin awesome
Love the low water pic
Dale.
Tank looks friggin awesome
Love the low water pic
Dale.
Need only tiny hints of micros for proper nitrogen use. But micros are still at nose-bleed levels. They are neither significantly reduced nor limiting. So nitrate uptake data is unrelated (independent of micros) or incorrectly measured. There is no way in hell this tank was going thru 15 ppm nitrates in a day like mentioned in an earlier post. My guess is that the test kit is off. But the tap water is to die for - a couple of 90% back to back water changes will fix everything. With MTS, the tank doesn't need even 10% of the traces that's being dumped in.
A follow up on the l/min comment
I'm certainly not above believing my tests where off. I will say the tds in the tank certainly corresponded with the fert loading. Just not the nitrate test. Tho I'm getting pink readings now with the same 2 tests. Who knows either way it's no longer and issue.
Currently dosing 7.5ppm a day nitrates. Csmb dosed to .25fe daily. It's funny. I always followed nilocg dosing. Which is .5fe from csmb. So yeah I'm still dosing plenty of micros.
The farm tank has the mts. I decided against it with in the 75.
And thanks for the compliments guys. I'm pretty happy with it. Just need to fix this floaty needle valve.
I'm certainly not above believing my tests where off. I will say the tds in the tank certainly corresponded with the fert loading. Just not the nitrate test. Tho I'm getting pink readings now with the same 2 tests. Who knows either way it's no longer and issue.
Currently dosing 7.5ppm a day nitrates. Csmb dosed to .25fe daily. It's funny. I always followed nilocg dosing. Which is .5fe from csmb. So yeah I'm still dosing plenty of micros.
The farm tank has the mts. I decided against it with in the 75.
And thanks for the compliments guys. I'm pretty happy with it. Just need to fix this floaty needle valve.
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I may wish that these were the 2000 series smc, considering im dumping so much co2 in the 75, but come Friday im hoping to have better diffusion.
Been a while! Been a busy month but never too busy to mess with the tank, just too busy to post about it. Lets start with some tanks shots.
I recently found a sale at petco for Fluval stratum, 8.8lb bags for $13.98, its not my favorite substrate but at that price I decided to buy 3 bags and add it to the 75. Ive cut my dosing yet again, pretty standard ei macros and csmb dosed to .2 fe every other day. So ive basically cut dosing in half. Everthing is super happy at the moment. I should knock on wood but every plant in this tank is nice n clean.
Big things are coming however, even though it may happen slowly. Ive got the wife convinced into letting me convert the garage into a fish room! For now ill just be moving what I have down there, next big move will be a couple sumped high tech 40breeders for farm tanks. Then we will see where to go from there. Hopefully I wont get too much into shrimp...
I recently found a sale at petco for Fluval stratum, 8.8lb bags for $13.98, its not my favorite substrate but at that price I decided to buy 3 bags and add it to the 75. Ive cut my dosing yet again, pretty standard ei macros and csmb dosed to .2 fe every other day. So ive basically cut dosing in half. Everthing is super happy at the moment. I should knock on wood but every plant in this tank is nice n clean.
Big things are coming however, even though it may happen slowly. Ive got the wife convinced into letting me convert the garage into a fish room! For now ill just be moving what I have down there, next big move will be a couple sumped high tech 40breeders for farm tanks. Then we will see where to go from there. Hopefully I wont get too much into shrimp...
Looking good. Im still amazed that anything is even alive with all those micros!
Did you ever sort the reactor for better diffusion? In my experience a 24x2 cannot handle this level of flow. a 24x3 would do much better.
For an added bonus fill it half way up with bio balls or ceramic rings. It'll cut the flow down slightly, not as much as you'd expect though.
Another thing that will help if you have some flow to spare, is adding a cut off valve after the reactor, a $5 pvc ball valve from lowes, etc. Close it down slightly, say 25-30%, This will create back pressure inside the reactor. CO2 dissolves much faster and more fully under pressure. Doesnt take much to make a big difference.
Here's mine for the 120 gal. The main pipe is 24x3". You can see the cut off valve near the top of the return line.
Did you ever sort the reactor for better diffusion? In my experience a 24x2 cannot handle this level of flow. a 24x3 would do much better.
For an added bonus fill it half way up with bio balls or ceramic rings. It'll cut the flow down slightly, not as much as you'd expect though.
Another thing that will help if you have some flow to spare, is adding a cut off valve after the reactor, a $5 pvc ball valve from lowes, etc. Close it down slightly, say 25-30%, This will create back pressure inside the reactor. CO2 dissolves much faster and more fully under pressure. Doesnt take much to make a big difference.
Here's mine for the 120 gal. The main pipe is 24x3". You can see the cut off valve near the top of the return line.
I like that setup. I decided to go a little different rout. Im feeding co2 into a skimmer pump that feeds an ista max mix large. Then I feed that into the return pump with the rex still attached. I haven't done any hardcore testing yet, but the ph drop happens much quicker and the first time since ive had a sump I was able to notice some fish stress and still use less bps than I was before. So im doing something right.
I do have a ball valve after the rex, I shoulda thought about closing it a bit. Ive got plenty of headroom with the pump. Though this way I can mess with the output and not worry so much about the co2.
I do have a ball valve after the rex, I shoulda thought about closing it a bit. Ive got plenty of headroom with the pump. Though this way I can mess with the output and not worry so much about the co2.
Would that reactor be mounted with the 90 elbow at the bottom, with vertical orientation? Do you get gas buildup with that setup? Does it self clear?
I like that setup. I decided to go a little different rout. Im feeding co2 into a skimmer pump that feeds an ista max mix large. Then I feed that into the return pump with the rex still attached. I haven't done any hardcore testing yet, but the ph drop happens much quicker and the first time since ive had a sump I was able to notice some fish stress and still use less bps than I was before. So im doing something right.
I do have a ball valve after the rex, I shoulda thought about closing it a bit. Ive got plenty of headroom with the pump. Though this way I can mess with the output and not worry so much about the co2.
Well I mean, that has to be good.
Yeah, mounted vertically with the 90 degree elbow on the bottom.
Probably gets a small gas pocket later in the day, because the last couple of hours there starts to be a slight trickle noise. Not much, you have get up close to hear it. It goes away about an hour after the CO2 shuts off. Obviously I cant see inside what is going on but it doesnt seem to be too signigficant
I've got this beast torn down. Substrates in buckets. Plants are floating in the farm tank with the bio media, filters and sponge filters running. I've divided the fish a bit into other tanks. Now I'm left with the decision between getting laid and moving the tank in the morning. Or moving the tank now. I'm not sure I could swing both
Livestock plants and bb will be fine either way
Livestock plants and bb will be fine either way