Water change- I think I have been doing it waaaaaaaaay wrong

Nanoprincess

Nanoprincess

Member
Was I suppose to be sucking up the water from the back refugium area too?
I haven't the past few times. But for almost 8 months I would suck up the water from the refugium ( nuvo tank has built in area where it houses my pump, filters, heater, etc). I always drained it back their because so much gunk is back there. Then suck out water from main tank too
Is that not what Iam to do???

It dawned on me everyone keeps cheato and such in there, I don't yet, but gonna get me some. Isn't the refugium area then where all the pods would be housed if I put cheato in there?

Was I suppose to be draining out the back refugium area and wiping it all down???

Don't laugh at me if I was way off base, I mean it's so funky back there. Funky things growing back there.

Please let me know more and thank you

Carol
 
zchauvin

zchauvin

Active Member
No need to do all that, just take water out the display area.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
In my NanoCube (which sounds similar in design to your tank) I always remove my WC water from the back area. This is sort of the "low point" in your system and indeed where a lot of the "junk" collects. By removing it from your system you're making things a lot easier on your filtration and possibly keeping Nitrates at bay.

YMMV :)
 
Nanoprincess

Nanoprincess

Member
Ahhhhhh haaaa.. So I was doing it right..or should I say not wrong. I started thinking maybe I was messing with good stuff back their too. But then I was like...their too much funky gunk settled at the bottom back there. Okay my fears have been rested that I wasn't stirring up dangers to my tank.

Thanks friends
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Just remember if you cram that area full of Chaeto it will act like a sponge and trap that same GUNK instead of letting you remove it from your system. I don't know that such a small amount of Chaeto in a confined space is really worth the effort or the potential down-falls associated with it. Chaeto is a good nutrient up-take mechanism in regards to some other Macro Algae but what people don't understand is even in the best set-up it's a very SLOW process. It takes a good amount of MacroAlgae in proportion to tank volume to really be very beneficial to any great degree.
 
Nanoprincess

Nanoprincess

Member
So no cheato then..cool makes my life easier

So peeps don't have cheato in their tanks. I get soooo confused lol

Or your saying they do but they have it their big size sumps! Due to cheato amount and water volume
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
I've done it all ways listed above... and honestly I feel like a small handfull of Chaeto in a small back chamber is a waste of time. Here is why I think that way (and remember it's just MY thought process so it's not the golden rule).

A) Chaeto has a slow uptake of nutrients in comparison to our systems. It takes a LOT of Chaeto in optimum conditions to even offset a small amount of waste etc.

B) In order to be most efficient Chaeto needs to be free moving and "rolling". Anything less is cutting down it's efficiency greatly. If it's in a tight space it can't grow like it needs to (growth is HOW the nutrients are taken up from the water) and will literally die on the underside for lack of light.

C) Because it will literally trap detritus and other "gunk" it's potentially over taxing your filtration system. Without the "gunk" being trapped you remove it from your system before it has to be completely broken down. When stuck in the Chaeto it has to be broken down by the system.

For the record I like Chaeto and will have it in my next system. The flip side is the refugium will be in correct proportion to the rest of the tank and allow for correct light, flow, and movement of the Chaeto so it is more likely to work in a more efficient manner. I've had it in a small back chamber, soap dish, and then in my refugium and by far it did the best in a large external refugium.

YMMV :)
 
ddelozier

ddelozier

Well-Known Member
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RS Ambassador
in a nano system, chaeto is worse than useless. Trap gunk, wont grow right, wont do what its supposed to do. In such a system, water changes are far and away the more efficient system for keeping nutrients from building up. In my systems(where i can), i try and remove water from the overflows. besides just removing water, i suck all the gunk that builds up on the bottom, so it doesnt break down IN My tank. Overflows are great traps for that sorta junk, but also great places to add anything you need from slow drip fresh water, manual doses of traces etc. gets mixed up really well.
 
Willie McDaries

Willie McDaries

Well-Known Member
any time you are removing detritus,it is beneficial to your tank,regardless of where it is,it needs removed...

chaeto,if set up properly,is an awesome nutrient export system,at least it has been for my tank,but you have to continually prune it for it to work properly(I remove about 5 gallons a month and toss it in the yard :D ),it also needs to be supplied with as clean a water as possible to keep out the detritus,a good method would be to have it fed from the skimmer output,directly from the tank drain is not good unless you have an area for the nasties to settle before they get to the chaeto,it will trap ever speck of sand or whatever that moves near it LOL and like Al said,it needs to be where it can spin so the complete ball gets light...

here's my old chaeto factory :D

[video=youtube;0swLeG-NsLg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0swLeG-NsLg&feature=plcp[/video]
 
Willie McDaries

Willie McDaries

Well-Known Member
Funlad3 said:
How on earth did you get it to spin like that?
Click to expand...

CoralVue Dual Propeller Power Head 202B.......3000gph :D

CV3345-2.jpg


in a 20g tank :lol:
 
Willie McDaries

Willie McDaries

Well-Known Member
Ben,it really doesn't need that much flow but that is what I had handy at the time and it worked so well,I'm still using it,just not in the 20g no more,I now have a semi-clear plastic tote that fit perfectly down inside 1 half of the 90g tank,I drilled the tote so water could flow out of it but still keep the chaeto inside,the prop pump is mounted on 1 side of the plastic tote and blowing water beneath the chaeto to make it spin,I Teed off my return pump to feed the chaeto section and the water flows from it back out into the 90g where I have a few frags,then out the overflow of the 90g back to the sump...I'm also using a 250w 10k halide bulb over the chaeto,also big time overkill but it's growing like a weed :lol:
 
Willie McDaries

Willie McDaries

Well-Known Member
Funlad3 said:
I think I need to hunt down an extra powerhead....
Click to expand...

just about anything with a couple hundred gph will work,it doesn't have to spin like that just so it is turning...when mine gets so big it will no longer turn,the halide kinda bakes the top section where it has grown out of the water
 
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