Phosban question

[reefgirl78]

Hi guys,

I took your advise and got the phosban for my "little fishes 150" phoshate reactor and not sure how to use it. It is VERY fine and so I put some in the mesh bag it came with but it pushes that center pipe to the side so I can only put so much in. I was hella worried about it getting back into the tank so I bought lots of replacement foam black disks and I have 4 total. 4 ontop of the bottom disk and 2 ontop of the mesh bag. What do you all do. Any pictures for referance?

Thanks,
Alison

 

[spongebob lover]

ohh doodette, you don't use the baggy for the reactor .
what you do is you set up the reactor like it says in the intructions then, you put the pipe, i found it very easy if you put the tape to cover the tube, then you dump the media in the reactor (not with the baggie), Krish gave me a good idea (if you ever wanna run carbon you can use that baggie for it otherwise just keep it somewhere), then just put the top.
don't forget to put a little bit of RO water in the reactor before you close it, then you just let your reactor run in a bucket with RO water to make sure you get rid of the dust.

 

[spongebob lover]

here you go incase you didn't have them :

http://www.twolittlefishies.com/documents/1145648192.pdf

 

[reefgirl78]

Thank you soooo much! I was scared of doing that but now I know what to do. It just wouldn't clear and it was a HUGE messy fiasco lastnight. How much should I use do you think? Should I just use for 300 gal's for my 120 gal for dosage? Also do I really need to scrub the rocks and also should I step up the water changes and to what percentage?

Thanks,
Alison

 

[spongebob lover]

Thank you soooo much! I was scared of doing that but now I know what to do

hehe i was the same when i was starting to use the reactor .. i even read the intructions twice .
hmm i don't knwo how much algae you got in there but a good tooth brushing is never a bad idea .
I'd use whatever the amount it says in the container for your tank ... that's what i did with mine and like Krish told me.... is never to much .... otherwise you can blame it on him :lol: .
how many gals are you doing per week?

 

[Detri]

Thank you soooo much! I was scared of doing that but now I know what to do. It just wouldn't clear and it was a HUGE messy fiasco lastnight. How much should I use do you think? Should I just use for 300 gal's for my 120 gal for dosage? Also do I really need to scrub the rocks and also should I step up the water changes and to what percentage?

Thanks,
Alison

I personally would start with only 25% of the recommended full dose and acclimate your tank to it. You livestock is used to the perameters that you currently have in your tank. You don't want to shock them with change. Then add 25% of the recommended dose each week until you are at the full dose.

When you are running the media just have the crystals dancing at the top of the surface. It doesn't need to be turbulent in the chamber.

Waves at Gabby...Hey how are ya?

 

[spongebob lover]

Waves at Gabby...Hey how are ya?

HI DOOD !!! for a moment i thought i beaver got you and wasn't letting you get away .
i'm fine, how are you dood !!!

 

[Detri]

No beavers where I am...I was conered by a rabid Moose.

Doing great Gabby, thanks for asking.

 

[spongebob lover]

No beavers where I am...I was conered by a rabid Moose.

Doing great Gabby, thanks for asking.

LMBO!! :lol:

 

[reefgirl78]

Thanks guys!

The whole phosphate reactor thing is new and a little scary. Hey Ditri-what did you mean about the crystals dancing? What do you mean?

As far as water changes I am doing only 15% every 2 weeks. I can step it up but just need to know where I should go to get ahold of the hairline? It isn't growing very fast but I want to get it 100% out! I have a 120 fully stocked reef.

Also when should I probably scrub the rock? Give it a few weeks or do it now?

Then when the hairline is gone what should I taper to with water changes?

Thanks,
Alison

 

[reefgirl78]

Also I know you're gonna scream but I have a whole new question now that I have some pros helpin-

Sump-
I Never asked anyone about that yet and that might be part of the problem and I just don't know. My setup came with a sump with about 30 lbs of liverock only and no sand and no lights and not separated. What should I change. I don't want lights unless they are low voltage due to electricity cost. Should I do the sand and rock or baffles and separate or what? Keep in mind I have a monstor skimmer in there that takes up room, but I can change the position.

Keep in mind I jumped from a 60 gal reef with pc's and hang on the back filters to my 120 with plumbing up the ying yang and a sump and all sorts of questions but OH MY GOD DOES IT MAINTAIN A HELL OF A LOT BETTER than my 60 gal.

It's amazing how much a size change and lights will do. I started 8 years ago with a 30 gal reef then a 60 gal reef now 4 months I've had my 120 used stocked reef setup.

It's amazing now I can actually buy a coral and it lives!

Thanks in advance,
Alison

 

[Detri]

I would just do your normal 10% water changes...the Phosban Reactor will take out the Phosphate for you. Unless you have Nitrates causing the Algae growth. Then do 20% everyother day until you get it to a respectible level.

Scrubbing the rock is the fastest way to get rid of it, temporarily. You need to find out what is causing it. May just be stray sunlight coming in the window. I am still having the same problem...I found out, that around 2pm to 4pm daily the sun shines right in my window and into my tank. In the summer it is later like 6PM to 7 or 8 PM. Since i have been keeping the blinds closed the growth has stopped. Now I can work on getting rid of it.

What I mean by dancing is...when you pump the water into the chamber. You need to adjust the valve to allow the water to flow through with enough water to make the surface of the media in the reactor dance slightly. You will know what I mean when you start using it. It will be more like a sand storm in the chamber at full them settle as you decrease the amount of water flowing through the chamber.

 

[spongebob lover]

how much are you feeding ? it all depends on how heavy is your feeding hehe if you're feeding to much then you definetly need to make your water changes to a 20%... but if you're not and you don't have to many fishes then just do your 15 and keep checking your water parameters to make sure everything is in line.

the scrubing on the rocks (you probably want something bigger than a toothbrush since your tank is bigger .... but tooth brushes are perfection ) you wanna do it when you're doing your water change the first time, scrub them good and yes it gets rid of it temporarily but looks better .

About the media... yes you want it to the point like if it was simmering water... you don't want it jumping all over just a little tiny bit .

About the sump ... it sounds more like a refugium .....if you're gonna keep the refugium... then i wouldn't go putting sand ( at least i wouldn't ) it just to much mess to me but some people like it.
having a little sort of refugium is good to help get rid of the phosphates (to me is plenty with the reactor ) but you do need light for it so the chaeto or whatever you wanna keep in there (make sure it's not caulerpa) grows, Luke one time told me that the cost for the lights is about 20 bucks at home depot but i can't tell you what kind ... i think Don or someone would know more about that stuff as i forgot what kind they were .
you did a huge jump from a 60 to a 120 ..... good job and don't forget to post some pictures .