Nobby's S-650

[mr_tap_water]

Maybe you could drill a small hole in the cupboard and Feed The air intake tube through it so it gets to sucking more fresh air, if it does concern you.


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[SPR]

Nobby - have you taken the plastic cover film off the top of the NYOS skimmer to reveal the 2 air outlets ?

I say this because been there done that lol!!!

 

[Nobbygas]

Nobby - have you taken the plastic cover film off the top of the NYOS skimmer to reveal the 2 air outlets ?

I say this because been there done that lol!!!

Ha, ha.....yep I have done that.

 

[Whitey1973]

Has your sump water level raised up, that would cause the level in the skimmer to rise and maybe cause your problem??


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[Nobbygas]

Has your sump water level raised up, that would cause the level in the skimmer to rise and maybe cause your problem??


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No, the water levels are good. It literally happened after I opened the doors and removed the overflow jug I use. It must have been the inrush of fresh cooler air.....but christ, did it erupt !

 

[Nobbygas]

NOPOX......I've been using it for six day now. First thing I noticed is a slime-like substance in the Sump. The filter socks gum up and overflow very quickly, and when I take them out there is not much gunk on the filter wool, but the sock itself is slimy to touch and needs washing off under the tap!

I've bought the Red Sea No3/Po4 Algae Control test kit to get accurate test measurements as the standard tests (Salifert) seem to be just 'ball park' figures. Using the Salifert Phos test kit I always got a reading of 'zero', now with the Red Sea kit I can actually see a reading, and therefore I have some measurement to use.
I'm currently dosing 18ml a day of NOPOX as my Nitrate reading is 0.5 ppm.

....Meanwhile, a Torch has bit the dust....or should I say dissolved into a brown blob.

 

[SPR]

You haven't read the instructions have you Nobby!!! The slime is bacteria flocks and it's a nasty slimy stuff (mainly in the sump) and the coral has probably been eaten by the billions of bacteria your feeding.

YOU NEED TO TURN DOWN THE DOSE NOW as your massively overdosing.

Let's assume you have 600 litres maximum after displacement. If your nitrates are 0.5ppm the dosages is between 1-2ml per 100 litres depending on accelerated growth or enhanced Colouration. That means between 6-12ml Maximum. I'm only dosing 16ml and my nitrates just over 10. I spoke to Red Sea about going higher and tried 18-24ml for a few days and things including slime happen so back to 16ml and that's in my tank.

I would say knock back to 4ml and then 'slowly' increase to maybe 6ml depending on your Nitrate reading. Phosphate is also relevant but depends on the level.

 

[Nobbygas]

Initially, my Nitrates were above 0.5, hence the 18ml (3ml per 100 litres). I will dial it down for tomorrow's dose.

 

[SPR]

Initially, my Nitrates were above 0.5, hence the 18ml (3ml per 100 litres). I will dial it down for tomorrow's dose.

0.5 or 5ppm? If it's 5ppm it's maybe 6 x 3 = 18 Max. If it's 0.5 it's 6 x 1 = 6ml Max.

On the displacement I always air on the cautious side so work on between 500-550 litres to start and then go up but I have a lot of rock

Have a look on pages 10-11 of the instructions and it will tell you the correct dosage depending on what your aiming at.

 

[Nobbygas]

Apologies. I wasn't very clear. It was 0.5 ppm when I did the diluted test (1 ml tank water in 15ml RO). This equates to 8ppm, so therefore 3ml x 6 = 18ml?

 

[SPR]

Apologies. I wasn't very clear. It was 0.5 ppm when I did the diluted test (1 ml tank water in 15ml RO). This equates to 8ppm, so therefore 3ml x 6 = 18ml?

Ok and sorry if I made you jump with my bold text! At least it got your attention!

If it's 8ppm then from 'my experience' for what it's worth, I would start at 10ml per day and then slowly increase week by week until the Nitrate level gets to were you want it. It all depends on how much actual water you have after displacement. For most of the time I was dosing around 12ml per day.

The slime should start to recede once you drop the dose back and it also helps if you have surface flow/ripples in the sump by some means. I have Rhowaphos outlet pipe.

 

[Nobbygas]

Just before I left home for work today, I noticed that one of the rear circulation pumps has stopped. I tried a technical reset (switch off switch on) but that had no effect. I'll have to take it out over the weekend, give it a good clean, and see what happens.

 

[SPR]

Just before I left home for work today, I noticed that one of the rear circulation pumps has stopped. I tried a technical reset (switch off switch on) but that had no effect. I'll have to take it out over the weekend, give it a good clean, and see what happens.

I had one do this and after contacting my Red Sea Samaritan KD, who I have on speedial, he said when was the last time you cleaned it......... obviously I lied but said I'll try that first !! Lol

They are very easy to clean, as is the main pump. I did all 4 in one go (seperately though one at a time) one afternoon. I soaked each for 30 mins in strong citric acid and they came up like new. You can get some special cleaner called ezeclean which I have but haven't used yet.

You've hopefully got a bit of sand/debris or something stopping the impeller turning. Mine wouldn't start after I switched off and then wouldn't switch back on. Worked after cleaning.

 

[Nobbygas]

I did clean them after about three months of running, but as you say, something could have got in there to clog the impeller. I usually just use white vinegar for cleaning equipment.
I use the Aquarimate App for my tank. It's not free, but it is cheap. One of it's uses is to notify me when I need to do maintenance tasks, like cleaning the pumps or the weir combs etc. I think I have set the circulation pumps to be cleaned every six months, so it's not yet time for that notification, but I'll clean that pump now.

 

[Nobbygas]

So, the pump was cleaned and started working again ! Problem solved.
My Nitrates are coming down. The last test showed them to be around 7ppm. The coral frags are starting to look better as well.
I've added a smallish Blue Tang and an Orange Spotted Goby to the tank. I also put an RBTA in the tank, and it promptly disappeared under a rock and into a cave. I'm now moving the rocks very slightly to encourage it to come out so I can at least see it !
This morning I was alerted to something in the tank by Mini Me MKII. He said one of the fish was damaged, and he was right. It was one of the Blue Chromis, and it looks as though something has taken a big bite from it, on the back just before the tailfin starts. I'll have to keep my eye on her.

Shaun - One question. You still run Rhowaphos in a reactor while dosing NOPOX?

 

[SPR]

Yes I still run Rhowaphos with NoPox. It's keeps the phosphate locked down at around 0.03 or lower. Now it's at that level i change it about once a month or when the reactor starts clogging from debris in the sump. I feed the FR509 Deltec reactor from the old C Skim pipe.

I would probably run with just NoPox and keep an eye on phosphate levels unless they are already above 0.03 ish but if they are I wouldn't hesitate to use or recommend Rhowaphos

 

[emvanburen]

How much NOPOX are you dosing and where have your nitrates ended up? I'm showing near zero nitrate which makes me reluctant to dose much nopox against the phosphate ...


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[Nobbygas]

My Nitrate has fallen from 30ppm to 7ppm. I'm currently dosing at the 2ml per 100l level, so assuming I have something like 550 to 600 litres of actual water (after displacement) I'm dosing a total of 11ml of NOPOX. I've stopped the Rowophos Reactor at the moment, as the NOPOX instructions say to remove any other Phosphate reducer.
I'm due to do my next water test tomorrow morning.

 

[Nobbygas]

I'm winning the Nitrate war. They are now down to 3ppm and dropping. Phosphate is 0.02ppm. I have some very small spots of Dinos, but that isn't a worry at the moment.
NOPOX dosing is now reduced to the 1ml per 100l level.

However, I'm still not happy with the corals. They really are struggling.

 

[SPR]

Try increasing the flow were the Dinos are - when I had them they got worse and worse once they started.

Eventually I did a 3 day blackout and increased flow and that was that.

I also got some Dino X but never used it.