Chemiclean - First Time User - My Experience - Page 2

JayinToronto · 09/12/2019, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DDon

I went with the AquaUV as well, they are good units. As far as sizing, the 57 watt may not be enough on your size tank for dinos. I started with a 57 watt unit on my 240 then later 270 gallon tank and I was not successful. I ended up purchasing the 114 watt unit and was successful with that. This was just my personal experience, but have read similar accounts. In my case Prorocentrum was not the dominant species though, they were third after Coolia and Osreopsis.

Yea, I thought I might be under sizing it a bit. Fortunately I found a great deal on a Lifeguard ProMax high output 90 watt (one of my LFS just plumbed 5 into there store display and had 2 left over). Will plumb it into my system tomorrow. Still looking at DC pumps. I can get Syncra SCD 9.0 right away. Any of the other high output DC pumps I'll have to wait a few weeks to get. Not a lot of reviews out there on these.

JayinToronto · 09/16/2019, 02:47 PM

I’ve plumbed in my 90watt UV sterilizer. The main return pump to which this is attached is running at a flow rate of 600 gph. I also have my 36watt turbo twist running parallel with another smaller return pump with an output of 300 gph. This should turn my system over just over 2x/hour.

With my dosing seachem phosphate and nitrate I’ve overshot my values a bit. Nitrate is reading 10 (goal 5-10) and Phosphate is reading 1 last night (goal 0.1-0.2). I’ve thus taken a day off dosing and will check again tomorrow. This is really the first day that I all of my processes are in place. Will report back with results.

DDon · 09/21/2019, 12:02 PM

How are things coming along?

JayinToronto · 09/24/2019, 06:17 PM

It's been one week since I've had my UV sterilizers going and my phosphate and nitrates up. Overall things are going well. There are definitely signs that my clean up crew is starting to win! (I have a strong fleet of mexican turbo snails and a ton of hermits). There are still sheets of dinos all over the tank, but there are also now some bare areas on the rocks. However, my sand is as bad as ever.

My regular chemistry has been a bit out of whack. Suddenly my alk shot way up (dkh 13) and my magnesium is running a bit low (1275). Have been correcting slowly over the week.

My phosphates and nitrates are stable. I got one of the Hanna phosphate testers to get a more precise reading. It read .24 and .25 yesterday and today respectively. I haven't added any phosphate in 3 days but am still feeding frozen foods and nori about double what I did pre-dino.

I've kept my cheato going and continue with fresh water rinses every couple of days. Dino's really do love the cheato though and there is always a new patch on it daily.

Livestock and corals seem to be doing ok. The only major casualty I've had is my giant clam. Not surprised given all the toxins that were in the water, but very sad as I've had him for about 6 years.

Going to stay the course for now as it seems to be heading in the right direction.

JayinToronto · 09/24/2019, 09:20 PM

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

JayinToronto · 10/14/2019, 08:24 PM

Update:
1 month since I corrected my phosphate and nitrate deficiencies and got my UV up and running properly. Overall things have greatly improved. There are only a few small patches of dinoflagellates on the rocks. The two problem areas are my chaeto bed and my sand. There hasn't been any improvment in those two areas at all. I've been rinsing my cheato in fresh water every couple days, but within 48h the dinos cover it completely. So today I decided to throw it out. It was a tough decision but I think overall it's for the best, at least right now. I am concerned about it not being there for nitrate/phosphate transport, but I will continue to monitor my nitrate and phosphate level daily and adjust dosing/feeding as necessary. My phosphate has been stable around 0.2 and my nitrate has been stable between 5 and 10 (that's as close as I can estimate using the Salifert kit). With regards to the sand, I just can't bring myself to remove it. I love how it looks and I love all the critters that live in it. Plus my Diamond Goby is one of my favourite fish and he would be very unhappy in a glass bottom aquarium. So I'm just going to ride it out for a while longer.

I've also finally stabilized my other chemistry. Alk is sitting stable at 10.5, Calcium at 480 and Mg at 1330. Was it ever a rollercoaster with those over the last month. I've finally had 7 straight days of stability.

All in all I'm very happy with the progress and will continue to update as things go along.

JayinToronto · 02/14/2021, 12:42 AM

Just wanted to give an update.

I've been Dino free for some time now. Which is such a huge win. My biggest ongoing problem is with nutrient and phosphate levels. I'm finding that without using any rowaphos as well as trying to maintain a 0.1 phosphate level that I'm constantly fighting with red slime and some other algae. Though a welcome trade to the Dino hell I was going through. I seem to yoyo between 0.1 and 0.2 on the phosphates. In my sump I can't grow chaeto as it just gets overwhelmed with slime (hair algae) so I just let that grow and use that as my sump nutrient export. I also skim a lot harder than I used to as I'm trying to optimize my skimmer for nutrient export. Outside of my plates, my sis corals aren't happy and growth of anything except some nuisance polyps seems to be a struggle with this higher nutrient situation.

but fish are all happy and thriving.

Going to send a water sample off to triton to be tested. I've heard that when recovering from a large Dino problem trace elements can be way off. I'm curious what it come back like.

-J

09/16/2019, 02:47 PM	#27
JayinToronto Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Toronto Posts: 72	I’ve plumbed in my 90watt UV sterilizer. The main return pump to which this is attached is running at a flow rate of 600 gph. I also have my 36watt turbo twist running parallel with another smaller return pump with an output of 300 gph. This should turn my system over just over 2x/hour. With my dosing seachem phosphate and nitrate I’ve overshot my values a bit. Nitrate is reading 10 (goal 5-10) and Phosphate is reading 1 last night (goal 0.1-0.2). I’ve thus taken a day off dosing and will check again tomorrow. This is really the first day that I all of my processes are in place. Will report back with results. __________________ Jay Current Tank Info: 400g DT, 150g refugium/sump, 5 Orphek V4 LEDs, Deltec protein skimmer, 8 ecotech MP40s, phosphate reactor, charcoal reactor, Apex controller, 2 part dosing.

09/24/2019, 06:17 PM	#29
JayinToronto Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Toronto Posts: 72	It's been one week since I've had my UV sterilizers going and my phosphate and nitrates up. Overall things are going well. There are definitely signs that my clean up crew is starting to win! (I have a strong fleet of mexican turbo snails and a ton of hermits). There are still sheets of dinos all over the tank, but there are also now some bare areas on the rocks. However, my sand is as bad as ever. My regular chemistry has been a bit out of whack. Suddenly my alk shot way up (dkh 13) and my magnesium is running a bit low (1275). Have been correcting slowly over the week. My phosphates and nitrates are stable. I got one of the Hanna phosphate testers to get a more precise reading. It read .24 and .25 yesterday and today respectively. I haven't added any phosphate in 3 days but am still feeding frozen foods and nori about double what I did pre-dino. I've kept my cheato going and continue with fresh water rinses every couple of days. Dino's really do love the cheato though and there is always a new patch on it daily. Livestock and corals seem to be doing ok. The only major casualty I've had is my giant clam. Not surprised given all the toxins that were in the water, but very sad as I've had him for about 6 years. Going to stay the course for now as it seems to be heading in the right direction. __________________ Jay Current Tank Info: 400g DT, 150g refugium/sump, 5 Orphek V4 LEDs, Deltec protein skimmer, 8 ecotech MP40s, phosphate reactor, charcoal reactor, Apex controller, 2 part dosing.

09/24/2019, 09:20 PM	#30
JayinToronto Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Toronto Posts: 72	Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ Jay Current Tank Info: 400g DT, 150g refugium/sump, 5 Orphek V4 LEDs, Deltec protein skimmer, 8 ecotech MP40s, phosphate reactor, charcoal reactor, Apex controller, 2 part dosing.

10/14/2019, 08:24 PM	#31
JayinToronto Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Toronto Posts: 72	Update: 1 month since I corrected my phosphate and nitrate deficiencies and got my UV up and running properly. Overall things have greatly improved. There are only a few small patches of dinoflagellates on the rocks. The two problem areas are my chaeto bed and my sand. There hasn't been any improvment in those two areas at all. I've been rinsing my cheato in fresh water every couple days, but within 48h the dinos cover it completely. So today I decided to throw it out. It was a tough decision but I think overall it's for the best, at least right now. I am concerned about it not being there for nitrate/phosphate transport, but I will continue to monitor my nitrate and phosphate level daily and adjust dosing/feeding as necessary. My phosphate has been stable around 0.2 and my nitrate has been stable between 5 and 10 (that's as close as I can estimate using the Salifert kit). With regards to the sand, I just can't bring myself to remove it. I love how it looks and I love all the critters that live in it. Plus my Diamond Goby is one of my favourite fish and he would be very unhappy in a glass bottom aquarium. So I'm just going to ride it out for a while longer. I've also finally stabilized my other chemistry. Alk is sitting stable at 10.5, Calcium at 480 and Mg at 1330. Was it ever a rollercoaster with those over the last month. I've finally had 7 straight days of stability. All in all I'm very happy with the progress and will continue to update as things go along. __________________ Jay Current Tank Info: 400g DT, 150g refugium/sump, 5 Orphek V4 LEDs, Deltec protein skimmer, 8 ecotech MP40s, phosphate reactor, charcoal reactor, Apex controller, 2 part dosing.

02/14/2021, 12:42 AM	#32
JayinToronto Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Toronto Posts: 72	Just wanted to give an update. I've been Dino free for some time now. Which is such a huge win. My biggest ongoing problem is with nutrient and phosphate levels. I'm finding that without using any rowaphos as well as trying to maintain a 0.1 phosphate level that I'm constantly fighting with red slime and some other algae. Though a welcome trade to the Dino hell I was going through. I seem to yoyo between 0.1 and 0.2 on the phosphates. In my sump I can't grow chaeto as it just gets overwhelmed with slime (hair algae) so I just let that grow and use that as my sump nutrient export. I also skim a lot harder than I used to as I'm trying to optimize my skimmer for nutrient export. Outside of my plates, my sis corals aren't happy and growth of anything except some nuisance polyps seems to be a struggle with this higher nutrient situation. but fish are all happy and thriving. Going to send a water sample off to triton to be tested. I've heard that when recovering from a large Dino problem trace elements can be way off. I'm curious what it come back like. -J __________________ Jay Current Tank Info: 400g DT, 150g refugium/sump, 5 Orphek V4 LEDs, Deltec protein skimmer, 8 ecotech MP40s, phosphate reactor, charcoal reactor, Apex controller, 2 part dosing.

09/21/2019, 12:02 PM	#28
DDon Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Brentwood,CA Posts: 776	How are things coming along?