The Puffer Forum

Yes, a DSB should not be disturbed, so maybe with the grouper, a remote DSB is warranted.
http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic20039-13-1.aspx?

http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic24535-13-1.aspx

beachbum wrote:1) Some issues arose and he left (along with a lion fish and a protein skimmer)

So basically you are running the tank now without a skimmer?

What I would do for sure.
First thing would be to do water changes. As per above instructions.
Then get a skimmer and plug it in.
Remove crushed coral and replace with sand. (or keep the tank bare bottom)

Additional measure:
Remote DSB (will take time to establish).
Refugium with macro-algae. (uptake of excess nutrients is very quick and no establishing time)
If nitrates are still un-manageable, install a sulfur denitrator.

Sulfur denitrator? OK, you got me there.

It's also called a denitrifier, not sure why because it gets rid of nitrates.

" The DeNITRIFIER is a specially designed filter that works by creating anaerobic (low oxygen) conditions inside the unit. By creating this environment, natural bacteria within the unit will break down the nitrate as water is passed through the filter. As water is trickled through the filter, nitrate is removed from the water and the water is returned to your aquarium. This a completely safe and natural method of nitrate removal. "

Quoted from: http://www.midwestaquatic.com/PRODUCTS/denitrifier.htm

They use large scale ones in some public aquariums.

All very good ideas... Thanks a bunch!

The remote DSB seems pretty ground breaking after reading about it. Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit but that seems to have a huge impact (once ready). My only issue is applying this. Would be lovely to have sitting in the sump itself where the Protein skimmer used to be.... Again, not sure how to apply it.


Edit: And yes, the Protein Skimmer was taken out of the tank about a month(?) ago..

you can also make your own De-Nitrator... see here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthrea ... did=470701

spoot wrote:

beachbum wrote:1) Some issues arose and he left (along with a lion fish and a protein skimmer)

So basically you are running the tank now without a skimmer?

What I would do for sure.
First thing would be to do water changes. As per above instructions.
Then get a skimmer and plug it in.
Remove crushed coral and replace with sand. (or keep the tank bare bottom)

Additional measure:
Remote DSB (will take time to establish).
Refugium with macro-algae. (uptake of excess nutrients is very quick and no establishing time)
If nitrates are still un-manageable, install a sulfur denitrator.

Besides water changes, this (remove CC and add sand) will be the first thing I do to help the situation. (Planning of DIY Skimmer as well) However, is it any problem at all to do this (and adding sand) while keeping the fish in there? I will most likely move the Grouper to another tank and start the process of a DSB.

Other than there being a lot of action & foggyness from the sand, it shouldn't hurt the fish to stay in there or to move them during the substrate change.

A note about the two part liquid nitrate test kits:
The second bottle has instructions to shake well for a while before using it, and this is a very important step to carry out each and every time you test. Just a little shake isn't enough, you need to actually keep it going for at least half a minute. The reason is because one of the compounds that reacts with the nitrates to show the color is insoluble. If you shake not at all, or shake poorly, the test kit will read very low nitrates early in the life of the bottle, read more or less accurately for a bit in the middle, then quickly start reading way way higher than the actual level. However, if you test the kit as has been done by using it on water with no nitrates or very very very close to none, it will still read zero, and seem to be good.