BRS160 Update 4: Triton Method, here we come! | BRStv

[SlvrZ]

haha yup, I was telling my buddy that you could see the joy being sucked out as he was listing all the gear that was having to be removed or modified lol! the gear junkie in me knows that pain all too well

 

[KurtH]

I have been planning a tank for about 6 months and now I am putting it hold a bit. I would much rather start with the system than convert. I am planning to run a mixed tank with mostly LPS so it will be interesting.

 

[bif24701]

wondering if an ATS would be considered a source of macro algaes for the triton method? think it would?

I don't see why you couldn't

 

[bif24701]

I'm really happy to see you @Ryanbrs to do this. Excited to see how it turns out. This very well could be the next big evolution in reefing.

I am a very big believer in larger refugiums, there is almost no downside and so many benefits.

Ok so I redid my 40 breeder refugium. Been running for several months now.

This was taken just after set up.

It is fed from my return manifold, ~300-500gph.

My display remains clean although I feed a huge amount.

I have a CBB that I know enjoys the millions of pods that are produced from this fuge.

I love Kessil products and that fuge light is super overkill! I love that! Interested in how well it performs.

I use only Kalk so using the Triton wouldn't work for me. How can I ensure that my cheato will grow well? Is there a Triton product that I can use to assist the cheato. When I change my water more than every 4 weeks cyano and dinos grow in the display, not much but it's there. Going 4 weeks or more between WC's means my display looks great and I believe my corals do better also but my cheato doesn't grow as well. I've started to add Seachem Iron but not sure that will be enough. So far so good. I plan to go three weeks and see how the cheato does with the addition of Fe.

 

[George Lopez]

If i could afford it id be all in. Question... you are running 1600gph through the fuge? I'm setting up a 90 and was told to slow the flow down because id be running anout 1000 gph through it so i was thinking of possibly having to relocate it to slow the flow.

 

[bif24701]

Got Pods?

 

[ChromaticCorals]

Awesome to see this. In the process of setting up a 80 gallon and it's hard to find the right sump for the triton method. Might just have to go custom if I can't wait for the trigger systems version.

 

[Scott.h]

Crossing my fingers for us both : )

You'll be happy. And happy not to have to remember which blue bottles on which day. Promise.

I seriously wanter the basement with nothing to screw with. You can only dump the skimmer cup so many times in a week.

 

[Barrett]

What salt mix do you use on the BRS160 @randyBRS

 

[bif24701]

What salt mix do you use on the BRS160 @randyBRS

I think they have said they use HW Reefer on all tanks in the office. @randyBRS, is that true?

 

[Roggio]

Now that this method is getting a lot of attention it would be interesting to see what samples from different parts of the oceans contain such as the Red Sea, GBR, and Caledonia. We put so much work into matching the light and flow conditions; why not trace elements?

 

[JamesP]

One thing I'm trying to wrap my head around is what is really so new about the idea of running a decent sized refugium and supplementing what is missing after testing? It doesn't seem like a "new method" at all, but just the older more natural way coming back in style again. The only thing different is it has got a company's name branded on it now. The only thing new is the ability to pay someone else to test for you.

Couldn't you have just left everything how it was and just stopped water changes as it stood? You traded one set of element supplements for another, switched to a different method of nutrient control, and are now sending off water samples vs doing more basic home tests. It seems as if you could have just stopped water changes and been fine as it was and still do Triton testing if it made you feel better.

 

[Antics]

One thing I'm trying to wrap my head around is what is really so new about the idea of running a decent sized refugium and supplementing what is missing after testing? It doesn't seem like a "new method" at all, but just the older more natural way coming back in style again. The only thing different is it has got a company's name branded on it now. The only thing new is the ability to pay someone else to test for you.

Couldn't you have just left everything how it was and just stopped water changes as it stood? You traded one set of element supplements for another, switched to a different method of nutrient control, and are now sending off water samples vs doing more basic home tests. It seems as if you could have just stopped water changes and been fine as it was and still do Triton testing if it made you feel better.

Maybe the information wasn't conveyed correctly due to many viewers not understanding how Triton is supposed to work, but my take on Ryan's list of changes to the tank all stemmed from minimum/recommended requirements for the Triton method to work. Eliminating water changes was just one part of a multi-part conversion.

• BRS is removed the filter sock area from the sump so they have have the larger/required size refugium for the necessary macro algae.
• BRS removed the Roller mat because it would interfere with how clean the water became.
  
• BRS installed a new pump in order to meet the required demand of a 10x turnover on the aquarium

All of these steps are necessary to give this method a fair shake. BRS already made it very clear in previous videos that Zeovit was great. They liked the growth and how the tank was coming together just fine. They're trying out Triton both to have a documented journey for viewers/customers and also just to enjoy the experimentation aspect of the hobby many reefers enjoy. I'm not sure if Triton is better than Zeo for growth or even cost. Even if you rule out the cost of salt for water changes and the zeo additives, BRS just put a very expensive light and pump into the Triton method/conversion which will certainly be a negative in terms or cost/savings going forward.

 

[Tojo]

Will be following thread with great intrest as I'm thinking of going over to the triton method

 

[bif24701]

One thing I'm trying to wrap my head around is what is really so new about the idea of running a decent sized refugium and supplementing what is missing after testing? It doesn't seem like a "new method" at all, but just the older more natural way coming back in style again. The only thing different is it has got a company's name branded on it now. The only thing new is the ability to pay someone else to test for you.

Couldn't you have just left everything how it was and just stopped water changes as it stood? You traded one set of element supplements for another, switched to a different method of nutrient control, and are now sending off water samples vs doing more basic home tests. It seems as if you could have just stopped water changes and been fine as it was and still do Triton testing if it made you feel better.

ICP testing is the difference, along with a full line of supplements and/or specific instructions to make corrections.

With the ICP testing it is now possible to know far more about what is going on in your system than ever before and gives the hobby a way to get far deeper into what's going on in our little glass boxes. Before Triton in California the hobby had no easy access to this type of in-depth analysts of water chemistry. As this system goes along it could potentially bring to light things we can not even conceive right now. Hobby grade tests do not exists for many things that can be tested in ICP or they are inaccurate to make intelligent decisions. One member has been able to use the testing to analyze aquarium salts for comparison. It's a simple yet detailed system that has specific goals. Rather than dosing magic potions where ingredients may not be known or adding elements were depletion/accumulation can not be determined we can make far more intelligent choices.

 

[Tim Olson]

Great idea ... I'm really looking forward to the journey.

I'd love to go Triton, but I have no space for a fuge in the stand. So I'll have to install an external fuge that plumbed to the sump.

How big did you say the fuge needed to be? Was it 20%?

BTW, here's my sump as it looked yesterday. I currently use a lot of silicone tubing, since I have to move stuff around a lot for regular maintenance.

 

[jasonamyers]

This is exciting. I've been trying to decide on what to dose in my tank, and triton has been looking pretty awesome. I really need to change a bit of plumbing so I can get rid of some extra bends in it to get that turn over. Also, I'm using a H80 over my refuge and I'm loving it!

 

[Ryanbrs Verified Sponsor]

I think they have said they use HW Reefer on all tanks in the office. @randyBRS, is that true?

The studio water system got changed over to Red Sea blue bucket for BRSTV investigates because HW contains some amino acids. That's great for a standard tank but for experiments I thought we should avoid that kind of thing. BRS160 is in the studio so for convenience we use the same water.

 

[JamesP]

I have an external refugium that's about 10 gallons in my total 150 gallon system volume. I'm dosing vodka as my primary nutrient control and trying to balance the dose so my fuge has enough remaining nutrients to thrive. I'm also dosing iron daily i know chaeto loves the stuff. As long as I don't starve the algae, i have a pretty solid nutrient control method as is.

Is it safe to say, I can experiment with zero water changes with this setup as well and just do triton tests every so often? I'm using brs 2 part and brs mag as well as brightwell iron. I'm considering changing to the triton 4 part, but not the other nutrient control method, but the regular pure triton version since I do have a smaller fuge. I'm assuming the only difference between the triton and other methods of triton supplements is elevated iron and refugium friendly elements. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

[ReeferToad]

All righty y'all....this has to stop. LOL! After buying BRS two-part dosing system, CO2 scrubber, bio-pellet reactor, etc.... Now y'all want me to take all that stuff out, hack up my sump, and try something new.... Actually, I'm excited to see how this works for you guys. I can convert my 300g mixed reef to this Triton system and use the leftovers (everything listed previously) on a spare 120g I have sitting around. Keep up the excellent, educational videos.