Fishdad's Reef Setup
- Thread starter FishDad
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Here's a question for you guys...
Why has my skimmer stopped producing skimmate? It used to really put out some funk but now nearly nothing. I adjusted the water level higher and still nothing. Could my water be that clean? I am also running bio pellets, gfo and carbon if that makes a difference. Its not clogged in or out. Its not dirty from what I can see. I'm wondering if the size of my bio load and light feeding is the cause.
Why has my skimmer stopped producing skimmate? It used to really put out some funk but now nearly nothing. I adjusted the water level higher and still nothing. Could my water be that clean? I am also running bio pellets, gfo and carbon if that makes a difference. Its not clogged in or out. Its not dirty from what I can see. I'm wondering if the size of my bio load and light feeding is the cause.
Yeah it runs all the time. I did find some anecdotal evidence of problems with water being too clean when running GFO, Carbon and Biopellets. My bio pellet reactor feed directly into the skimmer there by skimming out the anaerobic that consumes the nitrates allowing for more fresh anaerobic to grow. I guess the problem can be that the gfo and carbon, when used in a low bioload situation can consume all the organics in the water column and leave virtually zero nitrates behind to be consumed by the anaerobic. Thus nothing to skim. That's my theory anyway.
On the other hand I read about many people who never had issues. I'll tell you what though, I haven't had to clean the glass in over a week, its crystal.
On the other hand I read about many people who never had issues. I'll tell you what though, I haven't had to clean the glass in over a week, its crystal.
So my LFS gave me a TDS meter for Christmas. That was pretty kickin' since I was getting ready to buy one my self. I'm worried my ro filters might be running their course. Turns out my RO water is checking in at 1ppm. In contrast my tap water is 145. Just for fun I measured my freshwater tanks and my kids' 55g is 197 and my wife's 30 gallon is 205.
I also replaced the micro and carbon filters on the ro/di unit with the hopes of extending the membrane life.
I thought that was interesting info to share.
I also replaced the micro and carbon filters on the ro/di unit with the hopes of extending the membrane life.
I thought that was interesting info to share.
Those membranes aren't cheap right? I haven't looked into them yet since I don't think I need one for a little while. There is the RO membrane which I think is the expensive one, then there is the DI filter media which is the greenish granules. Not sure how much the DI is either but the carbon and micro ran me $15 for the two.
If my water was that high in TDS I would definitely drink RO/DI water. I just read that in the UK 500 is typical tap water levels. If I ever go over seas I'm taking my TDS meter with me.
If my water was that high in TDS I would definitely drink RO/DI water. I just read that in the UK 500 is typical tap water levels. If I ever go over seas I'm taking my TDS meter with me.
I gotcha, that's not that bad. I've read that people can keep there membranes for years as long that they change out the first two. I wonder if that 1ppm is a true reading also. The filters are as old as this thread, so three months. The DI hasn't changed color yet and I read some things by people who claim to know a thing or two about this, that 0ppm water can easily pick up 1ppm from a combination of air born particles, loose particles from the filters from start up or residue from the container it self.
That brown algae issue hasn't been getting better. I think it may be getting slowly worse. I also am on the verge of re-diagnosing it as dinoflagellates. It regrows very fast after I syphon it out, like a matter of minutes. The parts that get heavy accumulation seam to get dense, almost jelly-like, though not yet the towering snot bubbles that are attributed to dino. The one thing that is keeping me from confirming this diagnosis is the fact that my snails are voracious eaters of this stuff, which normally is supposed to kill anything that tries to eat it. So I'm a little stumped. As for treatment most people seam to have success with 3-4 days of total darkness.
Anyone here have experience with Dinos?
Anyone here have experience with Dinos?