Tom's Growout Closet
Monday, November 19, 2012 11:29 PM
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I am looking for some suggestions on my grow system and area. Currently I have two 40 breeders and a 30 gallon tied together with a 40 breeder sump. There is a Skimz SM162 skimmer, live rock and a fuge in the sump. The 30 gallon is also filled with Chaeto. On this system I vodka dose and do 30% water changes weekly. Currently I am trying out an updraft algae turf scrubber but it is not working out too well. Also on the top rack I have four 10 gallon tanks that each have 2 sponge filters per tank. I use a jehmco air pump to supply air to the room. These tanks get 50% water changes every 5 days or so. These tanks are not currently tied to the main system. Overall I seem to be struggling with keeping my nitrates down. I have been thinking about either drilling the 10's and adding them to the main system or moving the 30 gallon down a shelf and go with black round tubs instead. I have been thinking about adding a bio pellet reactor to help with the nitrates. Currently I am raising clownfish but am working with royal grammas and bangais. Would you suggest tying the 10's or black round tubs to the rest of the grow out system? Any suggestions on how to deal with the nitrates and what do you consider to be an acceptable amount? The left side of the closet. Right side of the closet Thanks for your inputs
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Re:Tom's Growout Closet
Tuesday, November 20, 2012 12:02 AM
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Tom, My initial concern with your system being in a closet was humidity but it looks like you have a dehumidifier in the 2nd pic? With the amount of water changes you shouldn't be having nitrate problems. Are you sure your test is accurate? Personally, I never test for nitrates. They will always be higher in a breeding system due to the amount of feeding we have to do. I wouldn't plumb your systems into a larger one. Higher water volume is appealing but the chances of having a system-wide problem (disease, etc) scares me more than a water quality problem. BRT's VS traditional tanks: BRT's are great but they take up more space and it looks like you're a bit spatially challenged, like me. 20G tanks work just fine for most grow-out applications. When you get into more challenging species you may need to re-think that. Hope that helps.
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Re:Tom's Growout Closet
Tuesday, November 20, 2012 2:00 AM
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If you're only doing clownfish Tom I'm not sure you have any real benefit / need for BRTs. Won't need them for Banggais either. Royal Grammas? Maybe there you might see some benefit??? I'm kinda with Tal there on the Nitrates...maybe check your test. I've seen old tests go out of date and give false high readings. Get a second opinion.
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Re:Tom's Growout Closet
Tuesday, November 20, 2012 10:54 AM
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Thanks guys, There is a dehumidifier in the closet and I keep glass tops on all the tanks. I will check into another test kit. The test kit I have now is an API that is about 3 months old.
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Re:Tom's Growout Closet
Tuesday, November 20, 2012 1:21 PM
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API was the one I had go bad on me...check the expiration date.
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Re:Tom's Growout Closet
Wednesday, November 21, 2012 12:28 AM
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Sweet setup! I love the closet. Nitrates below about 160 on an API test kit (I hope my memory is right on that one) for a GO, and 40 on a BroodStock are ideal IMO.
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