The BRS 160: 10 Weeks of the Triton Method | BRStv Investigates

[randyBRS]

How often are you having to trim back the Cheato and how significant a trimming is it?

I'll usually pull a couple of handfuls out every couple of months or so. It's really not a significant amount nor a very specific schedule as the Chaeto seems to take care of itself without much intervention needed.

 

[Monkeynaut]

I'll usually pull a couple of handfuls out every couple of months or so. It's really not a significant amount nor a very specific schedule as the Chaeto seems to take care of itself without much intervention needed.

Do you have a picture of the cheato compartment as it looks now?
My cheato will grow until it is so packed full that it starts dying back significantly at the surface. Then I begin seeing nutrient levels rise. So I have to trim it back 1 time a month pretty heavily. I am thinking the difference must be my corals only uptake 8ml of the core 7 solutions right now. So the 160 corals help the Cheato out more than mine

 

[randyBRS]

Do you have a picture of the cheato compartment as it looks now?
My cheato will grow until it is so packed full that it starts dying back significantly at the surface. Then I begin seeing nutrient levels rise. So I have to trim it back 1 time a month pretty heavily. I am thinking the difference must be my corals only uptake 8ml of the core 7 solutions right now. So the 160 corals help the Cheato out more than mine

No recent pictures, but if you can picture the entire fuge chamber from the episode where we expanded it just full from front to back and top to bottom with a mass of chaeto, that's what it looks like.

 

[Monkeynaut]

No recent pictures, but if you can picture the entire fuge chamber from the episode where we expanded it just full from front to back and top to bottom with a mass of chaeto, that's what it looks like.

Thanks, that is what I wanted to know... I wish my cheato still worked like yours does when it is packed like that. Maybe I need to reduce the photoperiod like you did when it gets full like that. You reduced period because of the nutrients being low or because the cheato started having issues?

 

[MR.FEESH]

I'm curious whether there are any commercial alternatives (like Trion) to the traditional water-change reef keeping method that are adaptable or generally suitable for nano-tanks. The comical example I have in mind which may or may not be applicable for reef keeping methods like these, but an example I'm sure I'm not the only one to have encountered is this:

When I had my last tank, a 6 gallon nano cube, a well-intentioned but otherwise unknowing family member got me a basic elements dosing kit for a birthday or holiday or something. I never ended up using any of it but I distinctly remember reading the back of one of the many bottles included only to see something along the lines of (and I'm paraphrasing here) "1 drop per 20 gallons". My total tank volume at the time was 6 gallons and the total volume of my water change bucket was 5 gallons. Without ill-dosing my tank I had no real way of arriving at a method of accurately parsing-out a quarter of a drop of the dosing solution. Same with trying to come up with a way of collecting 20 gallons of tank-water to which I could add this element to bring it back up to level that would have compared with 20 gallons of freshly mixed water-change water, never mind that I had no way of even holding 20 gallons of anything at that time. I could have gambled but chose not to for obvious reasons.

While this anecdote relates only to one element of reef water, methods like the Triton account for the overall general and perpetual livelihood of this prospective tank, so I can't be 'estimating' for years on end because the methods' measurement standards are designed for tanks with much larger volumes. These methods don't impact only one element like the bottle I read from this story, but rather the entire livelihood of the tank on which its being used.

Knowing that there are alternative, commercial reef keeping methods out there and many folks in the hobby who employ them do not have teeny tiny tanks-- are there any methods that are more adaptable for the nano tank size than others that I can look into? Or are regular water changes the only tried-and-true method of sustaining nano reefs because systems like Triton are not accurately calibrated to be applied to such small volumes of water?

Thanks for reading!

 

[randyBRS]

Thanks, that is what I wanted to know... I wish my cheato still worked like yours does when it is packed like that. Maybe I need to reduce the photoperiod like you did when it gets full like that. You reduced period because of the nutrients being low or because the cheato started having issues?

We reduced the photo period as the refugium was very effective and we wanted to attempt raising nutrients. The chaeto hasn't changed.

 

[randyBRS]

I'm curious whether there are any commercial alternatives (like Trion) to the traditional water-change reef keeping method that are adaptable or generally suitable for nano-tanks. The comical example I have in mind which may or may not be applicable for reef keeping methods like these, but an example I'm sure I'm not the only one to have encountered is this:
When I had my last tank, a 6 gallon nano cube, a well-intentioned but otherwise unknowing family member got me a basic elements dosing kit for a birthday or holiday or something. I never ended up using any of it but I distinctly remember reading the back of one of the many bottles included only to see something along the lines of (and I'm paraphrasing here) "1 drop per 20 gallons". My total tank volume at the time was 6 gallons and the total volume of my water change bucket was 5 gallons. Without ill-dosing my tank I had no real way of arriving at a method of accurately parsing-out a quarter of a drop of the dosing solution. Same with trying to come up with a way of collecting 20 gallons of tank-water to which I could add this element to bring it back up to level that would have compared with 20 gallons of freshly mixed water-change water, never mind that I had no way of even holding 20 gallons of anything at that time. I could have gambled but chose not to for obvious reasons.
While this anecdote relates only to one element of reef water, methods like the Triton account for the overall general and perpetual livelihood of this prospective tank, so I can't be 'estimating' for years on end because the methods' measurement standards are designed for tanks with much larger volumes. These methods don't impact only one element like the bottle I read from this story, but rather the entire livelihood of the tank on which its being used.
Knowing that there are alternative, commercial reef keeping methods out there and many folks in the hobby who employ them do not have teeny tiny tanks-- are there any methods that are more adaptable for the nano tank size than others that I can look into? Or are regular water changes the only tried-and-true method of sustaining nano reefs because systems like Triton are not accurately calibrated to be applied to such small volumes of water?
Thanks for reading!

I think for very small tanks like yours, the most common and likely most effective way to supplement major/minor/trace elements is simply through water changes. Attempting to accurately "micro-dose" is likely much more difficult to do correctly than relying on a quality saltmix to replenish them for you. However, if you have a higher demand for major elements (Alk/Ca/Mg) outside of a direct water change schedule you could supplement for them specifically. Ultimately, uptake in those smaller water volumes isn't quite as dramatic as much larger systems and you'll likely find success with a solid maintenance schedule.

 

[Trevor40]

Any updates on how Nitrate dosing has gone?

 

[Joe Grubbs]

Do you have a picture of the cheato compartment as it looks now?
My cheato will grow until it is so packed full that it starts dying back significantly at the surface. Then I begin seeing nutrient levels rise. So I have to trim it back 1 time a month pretty heavily. I am thinking the difference must be my corals only uptake 8ml of the core 7 solutions right now. So the 160 corals help the Cheato out more than mine

I have the same experience with my cheato, I find it necessary to cut it back every 2-4 weeks to minimize what is dying out on top. If I don't keep the cheato trimmed my nitrates jump from 4-8 to over 32 ppm 'almost overnight'.

We feed heavily for both the corals and fish.

 

[Monkeynaut]

Any updates on how Nitrate dosing has gone?

Also, any chance you will be doing an ICP test for your Nitrate supplement vs stump remover?

 

[Viner87]

We need a utube video update [emoji1317]

 

[randyBRS]

Any updates on how Nitrate dosing has gone?

I test every Friday with our HACH DR3900 and still haven't seen a change in Phosphates nor Nitrates. PO4 is still around 0.15ppm while Nitrates are undetectable. Ryan and I discussed doubling the dose, which is what I'll likely do after this week's results. (Slow changes. )

 

[Monkeynaut]

I test every Friday with our HACH DR3900 and still haven't seen a change in Phosphates nor Nitrates. PO4 is still around 0.15ppm while Nitrates are undetectable. Ryan and I discussed doubling the dose, which is what I'll likely do after this week's results. (Slow changes. [emoji6] )

Any obvious changes to algaes/bacterias(cyano) in the tank or overall alk uptake?

 

[wake122]

I may have missed it (this thread is getting quite long) but do you use/can you use a UV Sterilizer with this or is it not really needed &/or will it mess up this method?

 

[Reefer Miles]

Bump. I too would like to know whether you still use the UV sterilizer.

 

[randyBRS]

I may have missed it (this thread is getting quite long) but do you use/can you use a UV Sterilizer with this or is it not really needed &/or will it mess up this method?

Bump. I too would like to know whether you still use the UV sterilizer.

If you're following the actual Triton Method, then you won't use a UV Sterilizer as it is not a part of the Method. We haven't used the UV sterilizer on the BRS160 since we did the initial episode that showed it getting plumbed into the system. It is there and hooked up if we feel it necessary to use, but it is not in operation.

 

[JMetaxas]

Does the BRS 160 still have some Red Cyano issues?

 

[randyBRS]

Does the BRS 160 still have some Red Cyano issues?

There is still some in there, but we're also slowly taking the sand out and changing over to a WWC/BRS Hybrid System along with our current BRStv series. I imagine that this increase in flow and loss of sand will help rid the tank of the cyano.

 

[Trevor40]

I test every Friday with our HACH DR3900 and still haven't seen a change in Phosphates nor Nitrates. PO4 is still around 0.15ppm while Nitrates are undetectable. Ryan and I discussed doubling the dose, which is what I'll likely do after this week's results. (Slow changes. )

What is making you feel like you need to dose Nitrates? It seems like you are feeding a lot and the coral coloration seems on point.

 

[randyBRS]

What is making you feel like you need to dose Nitrates? It seems like you are feeding a lot and the coral coloration seems on point.

In this more recent update to the BRS160, Ryan explains his thoughts on dosing nitrates.