Sotm?

[moosejac]

Has there ever been a Sump of the Month award given? I had a chance to stop by 3D-Reef's house the other day, and his system is incredible! Here are some pic's of his refugium...

[Grunt]

Lol! I think I would vote for him. Thats a nice looking tank, I wouldn't mind having that for a main tank tbh. My wife was more infatuated with your basset picture then the tank. lol
Cheers

[graveyardworm]

I had no idea. He's got my vote. I'd also like to hear more about his set up, lighting, dosing, etc..

[Samala]

This is really an exceptional tank. You certainly get my vote for TOTM, forget SOTM. RC just voted in a nano tank this month, maybe in a year or so, we'll have a lagoon system featured as well.

>Sarah

[3D-Reef]

Thanks for the vote!!

The lights are on about 15hrs,Reverse day light;
2-40w NO 6500K,
1-40w NO 03, on with DT
2-65w PC 50/50
1-175 MH 4500-5500K? (just a cheap $25 bulb)

Dosing;other than Ca,Alk,Mg
10ml Fe/ week
5ml Sr/week
2 drops lugals/week

N03 stays at 5ppm as long as I don't pull over 3 lbs /week.
Po4 ~.015 ppm

[graveyardworm]

Did the Thallasia grow all like that and fill in, or is that how it was planted. Mine is just starting to spread, and seems like it will take forever.

edit: My Gawd this site has gotten slow. Anyway, Moosejac we havent seen any of your stuff for awhile.

[3D-Reef]

I would say about 50/50, planted/new growth.These pic's are about 2 weeks old,and I have about 5-7 new "sprouts"(?) that can be seen in front.I have to harvest some caulerpa tomorrow before I can see whats in the back.

I need to hurry up and get My C02 rigged up and going.I think that the Ph is being driven up at night,causing a build up of CaCo3 on the fronds.

[Samala]

I would be really interested to see what impact carbon dosing of any kind would have on this system.

Are you sure it is some sort of CaCO3 on the leaves? The number one problem with long term culture of Thalassia seems to be the eventual takeover of the leaves by coralline algaes. The affected leaves usually die and are replaced, but it can be a problem.

I am really very impressed with the success you and David are having with Thalassia. It almost makes me want to make a third attempt.

>Sarah

[graveyardworm]

Originally posted by 3D-Reef
Thanks for the vote!!

The lights are on about 15hrs,Reverse day light;
2-40w NO 6500K,
1-40w NO 03, on with DT
2-65w PC 50/50
1-175 MH 4500-5500K? (just a cheap $25 bulb)

Dosing;other than Ca,Alk,Mg
10ml Fe/ week
5ml Sr/week
2 drops lugals/week

N03 stays at 5ppm as long as I don't pull over 3 lbs /week.
Po4 ~.015 ppm

5ml Sr per week, whats Sr? Did you mean Si?

[Samala]

Sr is Strontium.

>Sarah

[graveyardworm]

Now I'm curious why dosing strontium? Any particular benefits to the seagrass.

[moosejac]

Originally posted by graveyardworm
Anyway, Moosejac we havent seen any of your stuff for awhile.

It pains me to think about my tank...or what is left of it. I really think Clay has it right with the grass being tied to another area with a high bioload. My tank, when I was totally on top of everything did great, but if I slipped up even a bit with NO3 or Fe dosing, things just went to crap, as in dino's and red slime. With his system, he has a somewhat steady dose of NO3 because of feeding his fish, and things seem to be much more stable.
His system has given me ideas...I do have a 210 that has been sitting around for awhile, and I think a tank that size devoted strictly to jawfish and grass could be pretty cool...

I'll keep you posted...

[graveyardworm]

Interesting point, my seagrass tank is more or less a support tank for a much larger system, rather than a stand alone tank. Perhaps that the key to long term success for this particular seagrass.

[3D-Reef]

Originally posted by Samala
I would be really interested to see what impact carbon dosing of any kind would have on this system.

Are you sure it is some sort of CaCO3 on the leaves? The number one problem with long term culture of Thalassia seems to be the eventual takeover of the leaves by coralline algaes. The affected leaves usually die and are replaced, but it can be a problem.

I am really very impressed with the success you and David are having with Thalassia. It almost makes me want to make a third attempt.

>Sarah

I think it's CaC03,no color to it,hard white film.If you bend the fronds it chips/flakes off.It's really bad if I dose kalk.
The caulerpa I have is a real fast growing nummularia,it can grow up to 4"/strand in 24hrs.Thats why I thought the Ph is being driven up at night.Getting up at 2:30 am to check Ph probably ain't gonna happen
I've been running My tank stats at;
Ca 380-400ppm
Alk 8 Kh
Mg 1350ppm
If I try to keep it[Kh&Ca] higher,the problem just gets worse. So I think C02 should help keep the Ph in check overnight.

The Sr doesn't benifit the sea grass that I know of,however I have been buying SPS lately,and when Ca is low,corals will use Sr instead.

[sunfishh]

Awesome looking sump

[Samala]

Very interesting. Definitely attempt to check the pH, even if you can catch it just before the lights click on in the morning, that might tell you something about how it is fluctuating throughout the photoperiod.

>Sarah

[3D-Reef]

The Ph stays ~8.0 through out the day.Late one evening,about 11:00 I checked it and it was 8.2.Thats with the DT lights off.I may just need to pull out a little more caulerapa than I have been.

[3D-Reef]

I finally have My C02 rigged up to start dosing,so which would be better? Make a Ca reactor,and run the affluent thru the sump? Or mist it with a PH?

[3D-Reef]

My tank has had a good spring spurt,so I thought I'd give you an up date.

[graveyardworm]

Everything looks great. I guess the CO2 is helping.

[3D-Reef]

Well...The check valve I got was defective,I couldn't get anything to go through it,so I'm ordering a check valve/bubble counter tonight.I should have it by Friday,then I can play around with C02.

[graveyardworm]

So no CO2? I wish my Thallasia would put on some growth like that.

[3D-Reef]

I think Plantbrains idea about the microbubbles maybe key here,I don't worry about them in the fuge,just in the DT. My intrest in Co2 is to see if it will help keep the film off the grass blades.

Is it possible to have too much light for turtle grass? I know the one study said that the grasses can grow with Co2 under lower light,but what does it do under intense light?IMO I would think that it would do better.I guess I'll find out starting this weekend.Untill I get My Ca reactor built I'm going to try misting and see what happens.

[3D-Reef]

Well,I'm going to have to clear out some of this grass so I can see into My fuge again.So I thought I 'd post some pic's before I tear into it.


Moosejac has been patiently waiting for Me to bring some in.Last week He gave Me a starter of star grass.It seams to be doing good.It's green at least. I'd post a pic of it,but it's really hard to see,if you don't know where to look.

I tried the C02 mist at a real low level,so low I couldn't tell with a pH test kit.After about 4 days,a couple of monti's in the DT bailed out.So I stopped doing that.The bottled C02 must be more potent than the DIY stuff.

I have noticed that it seams to grow better under the 175 MH in the middle,and across the front.Which has 2- 6500 GE NO's 40w and one 03 atinic.But in the back corners that has 65 w PC lights,50/50,they don't seam to grow as well.

[graveyardworm]

My Gawd! That growth is insane. My Thallasia has sent up a whopping 1 new shoot in the last 6 months. I'm in the process of reorganizing my tanks, and when done the lagoon tank will have MH lighting over it. Hopefully thats the trick cause I have plenty of excess nutrients and it doesnt seem to be doing a damn thing for it.