Journal Inert Sand Trials || 150x60x60cm, 140gal, Horizontal Reactor + Blasting Sand Journal

[BenB]

I'm trying not to hijack your journal and make it about me, so I'm going to make short replies and hopefully get my journal updated soon.

I don't see these macro levels as "so high" anymore!

Yeah, but as someone who is trying to do everything to get those plants growing healthy and just can't get rid of the cyano and diatoms, I'm leaning more on what Dennis has been describing lately of a modest nutrient rich fert regimen but not excessive.

For dosing 30ppm NO3 weekly, at 3ppm NO3 consumption per day, with a 70% weekly WC, I get this in my nutrient calculator:

I ran my previous regimen through your calculator right after you posted it, and much of my graph was above the 40 off the chart. So I felt I was dosing a bit much.

Hope this makes sense!

It definitely does. Just a bit frustrated with my ever persistent algae friends/fiends. It does better after a water change, but then comes back.

 

[GreggZ]

I try to thing of dosing in terms of weekly total IN RESPECT TO weekly water change %. Without the context of what your weekly water change % is, ppms don't tell you anything (credit to @Burr740 for teaching me that!).

This is an excellent point that few take the time to understand.

When someone says they dose 30pp NO3 per week, that can mean a LOT of things.

There is a simple formula to calculate the maximum level of accumulated nutrients in the water column.

Nutrients dosed between water changes divided by the water change percentage.

So when someone is dosing 30 ppm NO3 here are calculations based on the weekly water change percentage.

30 ppm with 25% water change = 30/.25 = 120 ppm NO3
30 ppm with 50% water change = 30/.5 = 60 ppm NO3
30 ppm with 75% water change = 30/.75 = 40 ppm NO3

The number represents the maximum accumulated value without assuming any uptake by plants or nutrients created by fish waste/feeding. In a tank with heavy plant mass and no livestock the number will be lower. In a tank with light plant mass and lot's of livestock it could be higher. Those are the nuances that vary a lot from tank to tank.

So as you said the greater point is that when someone says they dose 30 ppm per week between water changes, just because you copy that dosing does not mean that your levels will be the same.

In fact they could be wildly different based on water change percentage, water change frequency, plant mass and livestock load.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Day 10 update: diatoms, diatoms, diatoms (and I'm not worried)​

I'm used to a 4-week dark start with Aquasoil to help with ammonia release. How crazy is it for a tank to cycle this fast?? With this tank, It really cycled in less than 10 days, meaning if I dose 2ppm ammonia, it's at 0ppm within 24 hours and no nitrite either. Not saying it's COMPLETELY better than using aquasoil, but there certainly are some undeniable advantages of inert substrates.

I also believe this has to do with running a temporary heater at max strength and the insane flow rate this tank/filter setup has going.

Side view:

Plants all have new leaves already



Rotala has tons of new growth, and the light is high enough that stems are starting to lie flat and "creep" with new growth.



All crypts have new, more "bronze" leaves. If someone tells you "crypts only feed from their roots!" send them this post!



S repens covered in diatoms and a bit of GSA, but also lots of new growth.



AR Mini is going off, algae-free. So is the Rotala Bonsai to my surprise.



Full tank shot before maintenance. Freshly cut/powerwashed wood is releasing tannins which dye the water brown. Can't wait for that to stop and get that chefs kiss clear water again.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Day 12 update: More diatoms, all of my buce MELT, and 3 new "Peppermint Bristlenose Plecos L181"​

I had a TON of buces I put in this tank that all suddenly melted. Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Nitrate ~15ppm, fish happy as can be, yet they still melt. I really do believe now that buces just prefer a biologically mature/stable tank. Just because your nitrate cycle is finished, doesn't mean the tank has a stable microbiome, and that will kill/upset certain plants.

Take Dennis Wong's advice, wait to plant Buces until 1-2 months later.

Anyway, fish are all back in the tank after being in the holding tank! ~20+ White Clouds, ~20+ Kyathit Danios, 5 Panda Garras, 4 Juli Corydoras, a few otos, 20-ish neocaridina shrimp, and now 3 L181 Peppermint Plecos!

I loved the driftwood-cleaning abilities of my previous bristlenose plecos, but I fell in love with these guys:


What an absolute beauty



Pleco next to some seriously melted bucephalandra. I took the rhizomes out, cleaned ALL melted leaves, and placed the rhizomes back freshly cleaned off.
Hopefully they will grow new leaves over time!



Photos don't do these guys justice



That tail tho



Grasses are all putting out new growth and runners. Neon green blades are new, old grasses are decaying slowly.


See the new algae-free runners! After these pics, I gave the grass a serious haircut, removing the originally planted blades and promoting new growth now that the roots are established and sending runners. VERY cool to watch hairgrass spread into a carpet in completely inert sand without soil or root tabs.


Some melted-ass buce. Again, I removed this clump, rinsed and cut ALL dead and dying leaves, and put the leafless rhizomes back. Fingers crossed!

If I didn't make this clear, I'm not really worried about any of this. It's all just symptoms of a brand new immature tank. The diatoms in particular will not last, especially with the fish and algae eaters I have in here.



Anubias nana throwing FIVE brand new healthy neon-green leaves. I'll cut the older algae-covered leaves after this pic.


Blyxa japonica with tons of new growth. It's literally bent sideways from the flow across the tank, and yet... it loves it? Almost all algae-free, bent in the flow, sending new growth. What a plant. I'll use it in every scape forever! And doing great without aquasoil.




Rotala indica really hitting a stride now.



Under high light, the rotala indica is creeping horizontally away from where it was planted. I left plenty of room around it for this exact reason!



Penthorum sedoides chugging along. All new growth. The strand of diatom algae is on the wood, not the plants. Removed it during the next WC.



Hygrophila corymbosa 'compact' on the left is algae-free for some reason. S repens has diatoms, as does the untrimmed hairgrass. AR mini is all new growth, algae-free too. Sorry to keep typing that, but it's for my records as to what plants do well during this type of startup.



Looking alright! Time to trim the old grass, remove hair/diatom algae if I can, trim any unhealthy leaves, and do the weekly 70% WC.

And time to add the fish! Sorry I didn't catch that on photo for this post.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Day 15, first major pearling and a few quick videos​

Really clear water, tannins slowing down


Some nice pearling finally happening on the Rotala indica!



Short front video



Short side video



We are so back! Thanks for reading!

 

[BenB]

Is that an Oase skimmer in the top right corner?
I have an Eheim. It works great, but would like to try something different. I'm not sure what the difference is between the two or how the Oase works. Mine has filter sponges that are ridiculous expensive. About $7 for 2 little sponges, and I go through one around every 2 weeks. I started making my own. It's a pain but worth the savings. Also the output of my skimmer is a bit stronger than I'd like.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Is that an Oase skimmer in the top right corner?

Yes! Oase CrystalSkim 350. After trying all the brands I could find (eheim, sicce, UNS, ADA Vuppa II) I really like this one the most. I've been using it on this tank since it's inception!

I also don't replace the sponge inside, I just aggressively smash it around in some tap water until it's clean. The same sponge has been inside this skimmer since May of last year, I think.

The flow is downward and spread out, though, so it's not idea for shallow tanks. You can get 3D printed parts to change it to be directional flow instead.

 

[SkaleyAquatics]

I absolutely love your journal entries. These are laid out so well.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Thanks Skaley!

 

[Phish Tank]

Those are some sweet looking plecos, lucky little guys have such an awesome looking tank to live in.

 

[BenB]

Yes! Oase CrystalSkim 350. After trying all the brands I could find (eheim, sicce, UNS, ADA Vuppa II) I really like this one the most. I've been using it on this tank since it's inception!

I also don't replace the sponge inside, I just aggressively smash it around in some tap water until it's clean. The same sponge has been inside this skimmer since May of last year, I think.

The flow is downward and spread out, though, so it's not idea for shallow tanks. You can get 3D printed parts to change it to be directional flow instead.

I was looking at pics online. There is sort of a pre-filter on top so that the big stuff doesn't go in and the internal sponge has a much larger pore size. I'm sure your sponge doesn't get clogged as easily. They don't even sell replacement sponges. I might have to switch to this sometime. Replacing these sponges all the time is a pain.

 

[techman81]

I was looking at pics online. There is sort of a pre-filter on top so that the big stuff doesn't go in and the internal sponge has a much larger pore size. I'm sure your sponge doesn't get clogged as easily. They don't even sell replacement sponges. I might have to switch to this sometime. Replacing these sponges all the time is a pain.

They do sell the sponges but like Rocco, I just rinse mine off.

 

[gnatster]

I was looking at pics online. There is sort of a pre-filter on top so that the big stuff doesn't go in and the internal sponge has a much larger pore size. I'm sure your sponge doesn't get clogged as easily. They don't even sell replacement sponges. I might have to switch to this sometime. Replacing these sponges all the time is a pain.

The sponge is somewhat porous. Small pellets go through. It's fun to watch the fish swim in the current and grab the tiny pellets that go through.

They do sell replacement filters. Costs about the same as the Eheim per unit. CrystalSkim 350 Sponge | OASE North America
The picture is horrible. It's a cylinder-shaped sponge.

 

[BenB]

They do sell the sponges but like Rocco, I just rinse mine off.

They do sell replacement filters. Costs about the same as the Eheim per unit. CrystalSkim 350 Sponge | OASE North America

I looked a couple times and couldn't find that. At least there are options for it. I'm definitely interested in trying it now.

 

[Sb1415]

I looked a couple times and couldn't find that. At least there are options for it. I'm definitely interested in trying it now.

To add the crystal skim comes with adjustable flow rate and at the lowest setting, does fine in my 60x40x40 tank.

 

[techman81]

You may have discussed it in a journal for your previous build in this tank, but can you provide some detail on your ATO setup?

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

You may have discussed it in a journal for your previous build in this tank, but can you provide some detail on your ATO setup?

Yes! I love answering questions like this.

Here's a diagram:




In the basement:

• The RO system in the basement uses a permeate pump to massively reduce ratio pure:wastewater (I get about 1:1 if the room is heated from the boiler)
• I use a 20-gal pressurized storage tank. It puts out very low pressure, which is perfect for this scenario to prevent catastrophic fails -- and provides our house with drinking/cooking/pure water! An inline post-filter removes any weird taste from the storage tank.

In the stand:

• I run the RO line in from the post-filter to a leak protection valve that sits next to the ATO reservoir. If water leaks onto this valve, a clever mechanism cuts off the RO supply to the stand completely, preventing flooding.
• I drilled a 10-gal acrylic ATO reservoir to receive the Aquatic Life float valve. These are the best float valves out there, I trust them to prevent a flood in my house even while traveling for extended periods! Adjustable too.
• In the tank, I have an Oase Optimax 560 pump that pumps out to the tank.
• The Oase ATO pump is controlled with a GHL Profilux 4 and Powerbar combo. Would also trust with my life, used in professional reef display tanks such as city aquariums, etc.

At the aquarium:

• I use TWO independent GHL Float Valves, which I manually check every week during WC. Have had literally ZERO issues with them, ever, and will always trust them more than optical switches which I've tried and had fail in both directions before. They are held with a 3D printed bracket I made.
• The actual ATO water line just meets an extra 16/22mm lily pipe. I use the smaller/shorter return pipe, with the filter screen from the intake pipe, as a "baffle" to slow the water speed and strength down while entering the tank as to not disturb the substrate/plants/fish.

How it's programmed:

GHL is extremely difficult to understand/program at first, but once you get it it becomes bulletproof.

1. I program it so If only ONE of the switches floats up, the ATO pump is turned off.
2. I define a period of time that I want to allow the float switches to act as ATO switches. (7:00am to 7:10am)
3. Then, I tell the computer to turn on the ATO pump outlet IF, between 7 to 7:10am, both of the float switches are lowered in the water.
4. I also set a backup, where if the pump is turned on for more than 5 minutes (all the time it takes to top off usually), an audible alarm is triggered, the pump is shut off, and I get a notification.

Redundancies upon redundancies! I do NOT want to flood my house (like I did that one time.. or that other time...) ever again.

Lots of testing has gone into this system, but it has now been running solid with zero maintenance for a year.

Let me know what questions you have!

 

[techman81]

I use TWO independent GHL Float Valves, which I manually check every week during WC. Have had literally ZERO issues with them, ever, and will always trust them more than optical switches which I've tried and had fail in both directions before. They are held with a 3D printed bracket I made.

And this is really the info I was wanting because I've read about many others that have had optical switch failures and was wondering if it was mostly just saltwater tank owners. I'm looking into the switches you call out.

The Profilux sounds nice but not sure I need that much automation. I can whip up a simple circuit to go between the switch and pump ac outlet. I might keep an eye out for a used Profilux though. Also not concerned as much with redundancy since I will probably only do this for tanks I set up in the basement which when remodeled, will have just a bare painted floor or a poured epoxy floor so leaks/overflows won't be as bad. I also don't plan to go as far as to connect the ATO tank directly to the RO system but I do like the idea. I don't use my RODI for whole house water. It's dedicated to just the RO storage system for the aquariums.

As always, a great detailed answer. Thanks so much.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Day 38: Diatoms gone, plants filling in​

Plants have grown quite a bit!


Inert sand, no aquasoil or root tabs. Just water column dosing. Looking pretty much just as good as the previous version!



Monte Carlo finally established and growing in on the driftwood.



Rotala rotundifolia, anubias nana, crypt wendtii bronze, staurogyne repens, blyxa japonica, schismatoglottis pretoi, AR mini, Rotala 'bonsai'



Some green hair algae on the plants, not sure why. Got some Buces planted into the holes I drilled in the driftwood.



Love to see dwarf hairgrass filling out in pure sand. Behind the log is Pentorum sedoides, some green hair algae too



Just some classic plants. AR mini, S repens, Rotala Bonsai, Blyxa Japonica, Dwarf Hairgrass Mini


Plants are pearling, water is crystal clear. Algae feels residual, not increasing.




Thanks for reading! LMK if you have any questions!

 

[DutchMuch]

I'm always so jealous of these larger tanks that have a bulk amount of S. Repens, it looks so beautiful in a generous quantity.

Great update, and i really appreciate the photos... Love the scape!