anit77
Active Member
I set up a large system in the fall of 2020, the total system volume is approx. 660 gallons. As a lot of plans go, sometimes life gets in the way. Through the tail end of covid work got really busy and in the fall off 2022 I had to have major surgery. Then my mom moved closer to me and helping her took a decent amount of time. Since it started running it's been a giant FOWLR and had minimal maintenance done to it. I'd have periods where I'd get some things done and others where I thought about selling everything. Flash forward to the end of this summer and I started putting more effort in and trying to get it ready for coral. I never tested the nutrients, just dosing bacteria and cleaning of everything. I've done several large water changes as well, most well over a hundred gallons. Things are looking much better but there's still a good bit of cyano on the rocks and now dino's on the sand.
Last Sunday I decided to test for nitrate and phosphate. The NO3 was 48 and the PO4 errored out on the ULR tester. Last night I diluted a sample and got 0.57 with 1ml of tank water to 9ml of RO. So, 5.7ppm. I shudder to think of where it was before I started cleaning. Removing several hundred pounds of rock is not an option for me and at the same time I'm scared about dosing lanthanum with quite a few tangs, including a couple of sailfins. So, I've been trying to devise a way I can get this done without any major disruption to the display and this is what I've come up with.
I'm fortunate that the sump is not under the tank, it's in another room on a slightly elevated stand. I'd like to put a Brute can next to the sump, fill it with saltwater and run water from the sump through it. If I equalize the water height between the can and the sump and run a hose or some PVC from the sump, as I pump water back to the sump, water should return to the can from the sump and try to stay equalized, kind of like a like a big overflow box. I can set a pump in a 5 to 10 micron sock and pump the water out through a makeshift filter using a 0.35 micron sediment filter and then through ROX8 carbon. With a powerhead in the Brute, I can hook all the pumps up to an Apex and cycle the timings of how everything runs and dose the lanthanum at intervals, allowing it to settle before the return pump sends the filtered water back to the sump. Lather, rinse and repeat.
This is the sediment filter I've bought.
If this works, I'd look for 3 weeks to a month to get the PO4 down to a stable place so that my DIY ATS can manage the load while I carbon dose and continue to do my cleaning. I already have almost everything I need to set this up just looking for some reinforcement that what I've devised is a good path forward and that the plan is sound. If anyone has any thoughts or pointers I'd love to get your input.
Last Sunday I decided to test for nitrate and phosphate. The NO3 was 48 and the PO4 errored out on the ULR tester. Last night I diluted a sample and got 0.57 with 1ml of tank water to 9ml of RO. So, 5.7ppm. I shudder to think of where it was before I started cleaning. Removing several hundred pounds of rock is not an option for me and at the same time I'm scared about dosing lanthanum with quite a few tangs, including a couple of sailfins. So, I've been trying to devise a way I can get this done without any major disruption to the display and this is what I've come up with.
I'm fortunate that the sump is not under the tank, it's in another room on a slightly elevated stand. I'd like to put a Brute can next to the sump, fill it with saltwater and run water from the sump through it. If I equalize the water height between the can and the sump and run a hose or some PVC from the sump, as I pump water back to the sump, water should return to the can from the sump and try to stay equalized, kind of like a like a big overflow box. I can set a pump in a 5 to 10 micron sock and pump the water out through a makeshift filter using a 0.35 micron sediment filter and then through ROX8 carbon. With a powerhead in the Brute, I can hook all the pumps up to an Apex and cycle the timings of how everything runs and dose the lanthanum at intervals, allowing it to settle before the return pump sends the filtered water back to the sump. Lather, rinse and repeat.
This is the sediment filter I've bought.
If this works, I'd look for 3 weeks to a month to get the PO4 down to a stable place so that my DIY ATS can manage the load while I carbon dose and continue to do my cleaning. I already have almost everything I need to set this up just looking for some reinforcement that what I've devised is a good path forward and that the plan is sound. If anyone has any thoughts or pointers I'd love to get your input.
