The dreaded dinos???

[reeferfoxx]

PO4 literally needs CaCO3 surface area to bond to. Sand has more surface area than a similar volume of rock, so....

Check out what's labelled "Table 2.01" in this blog:
http://blog.brightagrotech.com/biological-surface-area-in-aquaponics/

It's a table that compares the surface area of some common substrates, including medium sand and 4" rocks.

According to that table:

• sand has about 270 square feet of surface area per cubic foot.
• rock has about 12 square feet of surface area per cubic foot.

Ok, I get this. What I don't get is what makes a 1" sand bed different from a 4" sand bed? More surface area. So if adding GFO removes PO4 faster from rocks because of the lack of surface area compared to sand, wouldn't it just take longer? At the same time, limiting the redfield ratio, limiting the production of beneficial bacteria, limiting nutrient reduction and fueling cyano?

 

[mcarroll]

Basically, if performing the carbon dosing and upping nitrate dosing with wet(maybe) skimming and weekly removal/water changes, that would drive nutrients to zero and starve cyano?

I think it's hard to form hypothetical strategies against cyano – maybe the ultimate competitor.

Yes I think that would be one good approach, but it's hard to say what the confidence level would be in a given scenario.

 

[reeferfoxx]

I think it's hard to form hypothetical strategies against cyano – maybe the ultimate competitor.

Yes I think that would be one good approach, but it's hard to say what the confidence level would be in a given scenario.

When I thought about dosing nitrates, I remember saltyfilm suggest no carbons, aminos and something else. Vitamin C, maybe? Anyway, I went ahead and did some research on the effects of dosing nitrates during cyano blooms. Or elevating nitrates during cyano outbreaks. I came across this site http://wateralchemy.blogspot.com/2012/04/cyano-tips-for-control-and-erradication.html

I had initially wrote this site off as another basic list of light reduction, wc, less feeding, vacuum/siphon, yada yada yada. Instead they spoke about my thought of increasing nitrates.

 

[mcarroll]

It's probably being too cerebral about it, but I've really been trying to think about Redfield and all this from the standpoint of encouraging the competition rather than fighting against the cyano. I don't think we can take cyano down one vs one. Fix what's broken. Restore the balance. Get the competition booming. We need lots of help.

 

[reeferfoxx]

It's probably being too cerebral about it, but I've really been trying to think about Redfield and all this from the standpoint of encouraging the competition rather than fighting against the cyano. I don't think we can take cyano down one vs one. Fix what's broken. Restore the balance. Get the competition booming. We need lots of help.

Yes! Exactly!

 

[reeferfoxx]

I know it has nothing to do with carbon dosing but I am running a carbon reactor as well. Should I leave that going during all this?

Not sure it would have an effect either/or. The carbon reactor just removes in coloring in the water.

 

[mcarroll]

I've actually been dumping small portions of foreign detritus and sand from a couple friends' tanks into mine in hopes of getting microbial diversity up in my system..

 

[reeferfoxx]

I've actually been dumping small portions of foreign detritus and sand from a couple friends' tanks into mine in hopes of getting microbial diversity up in my system..

How's that working?

I thought about doing that from my other tank. But theres just too many things I don't want in that tank lol. I do grab the spaghetti worms when I see them. Adding some pods this weekend as I think i nuked any population once with h2o2 method of removing cyano.

 

[Thor2j]

When I did my water change today, I vacuum into a bucket and dump into a brute container. After, I pump water out into sink. At bottom of container was the sand and a lot of brown water at very bottom. I put that under the microscope and it looked like very dense chain mail.

 

[mcarroll]

Hard to tell.....no miracles so far. Everything in the tank that I want to favor still looks healthier since I began dosing nitrates, but he chrysophytes (or whatever) are still around too.....just less of them, and less vigorous. Seems like the clean up crew is making progress, but it's slow. (I'm only using black Cerith snails for the time being.)

 

[mcarroll]

When I did my water change today, I vacuum into a bucket and dump into a brute container. After, I pump water out into sink. At bottom of container was the sand and a lot of brown water at very bottom. I put that under the microscope and it looked like very dense chain mail.

Wow. I need to get a scope. May have to go for one of those $99 options.

 

[Reefer1978]

Wow. I need to get a scope. May have to go for one of those $99 options.

I'd get a better computer camera. Got the 99 package, USB camera is trash.

 

[mcarroll]

Hm....better than nothing? (Even $99 will be a stretch unless I put it off til tax return season.) I might have to get one of those iphone microscope mountsif nothing on-hand works out:
Like any of these...http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...nt.TRS1&_nkw=iphone+microscope+mount&_sacat=0 Around $10 or less is seems, if they're at least worthy of entry-level performance.

I take pics through my spectrometer by holding my phone in one hand and aiming the spectrometer with the other – PITA– one of those gizmos has to be better than that.

 

[Reefer1978]

Hm....better than nothing? (Even $99 will be a stretch unless I put it off til tax return season.) I might have to get one of those iphone microscope mountsif nothing on-hand works out:
Like any of these...http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...nt.TRS1&_nkw=iphone+microscope+mount&_sacat=0 Around $10 or less is seems, if they're at least worthy of entry-level performance.

I take pics through my spectrometer by holding my phone in one hand and aiming the spectrometer with the other – PITA– one of those gizmos has to be better than that.

I'd say then get a $60 scope and add a camera to it later.

 

[mcarroll]

Good idea!

 

[Thor2j]

Tested PO4 this afternoon. Back at 0. 48hrs with no GFO.

 

[mik]

You were supposed to keep everything dark for 3 to 4 days a little bag of chemi pure Elite rowa phos

 

[Thor2j]

You were supposed to keep everything dark for 3 to 4 days a little bag of chemi pure Elite rowa phos

I kept dark for 3 days already and running gfo reactor. Never been thrilled with Rowa.
Came back in 4 days

Took gfo offline.

.

Going plan B.

 

[smh254]

Check out this guys
Vibrant Liquid Aquarium Cleaner * Discussion Thread
https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php...-Aquarium-Cleaner-*-Discussion-Thread.271428/

 

[reeferfoxx]

Check out this guys
Vibrant Liquid Aquarium Cleaner * Discussion Thread
https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php?threads/Vibrant-Liquid-Aquarium-Cleaner-*-Discussion-Thread.271428/

I've seen this a few times. Sounds like a miracle in a bottle?