Bertie
Reefing newb
I have been posting about my beta version CPR reactor in another thread, where I've explained filling it with T.L.F. de-nitrating pellets, but now I'd like to share with y'all the story of the interaction of that reactor with the Tunze skimmer that had been my only filtration previously. (Except for the live rocks & sand.)
When I put in the reactor, the skimmer, (which had been limping along for 3 months,) suddenly became a juggernaut of a skimmer, removing lots of tannish scum water in good consistancy foam. It could be that what I was seeing was nothing more than shreds of biopellets going into the skimmer, but it went along with a nearly magical adjustment of my test results. Immeasureable nitrates & phosphates, good stability in salinity, calcium and dKH. And the water sparkled as it never had before. I put in a large acro - always a risky bet - mis-estimated the PAR or something, and it went into shock and died within a week. This was a big error on my part, but the two part filtration took care of it and nothing disturbed the health of the tank as a whole. Test reading showed minimal effect.
Nanos are such quirky creatures, especially when dedicated to SPS corals, that I am very gratified to have discovered this system, where the two parts become a larger whole. Together the Tunze skimmer and the CPR reactor fill a sump pocket about 2" by 7" by 11". This was the refugium in the original Oceanic Biocube. It has reduced my tinkering time to a daily 15 minutes - to adjust the skimmer and add RO water - plus a once-weekly reactor screen rinsing and a water change, which I can skip if my schedule makes it necessary.
I spent 6 months obsessively nudging the tank around. Now i can give that energy to other things: like taking walks or learning Polish. (f'r example). And my tank is blossoming.
I know that as a newbie (though with roots in the hobby 30 years old) I needed a lot of that obsessive attention getting up to speed. But a lot of it was wasted trying to keep my tank clean, which I accomplished with massive water changes.
Right now I'm a very happy camper. Errh . . . reefer. I hope my Tale of Two Gizmos will help other ambitious nano reefers to avoid the worst of my obsession days!
Happy reefing!:D
When I put in the reactor, the skimmer, (which had been limping along for 3 months,) suddenly became a juggernaut of a skimmer, removing lots of tannish scum water in good consistancy foam. It could be that what I was seeing was nothing more than shreds of biopellets going into the skimmer, but it went along with a nearly magical adjustment of my test results. Immeasureable nitrates & phosphates, good stability in salinity, calcium and dKH. And the water sparkled as it never had before. I put in a large acro - always a risky bet - mis-estimated the PAR or something, and it went into shock and died within a week. This was a big error on my part, but the two part filtration took care of it and nothing disturbed the health of the tank as a whole. Test reading showed minimal effect.
Nanos are such quirky creatures, especially when dedicated to SPS corals, that I am very gratified to have discovered this system, where the two parts become a larger whole. Together the Tunze skimmer and the CPR reactor fill a sump pocket about 2" by 7" by 11". This was the refugium in the original Oceanic Biocube. It has reduced my tinkering time to a daily 15 minutes - to adjust the skimmer and add RO water - plus a once-weekly reactor screen rinsing and a water change, which I can skip if my schedule makes it necessary.
I spent 6 months obsessively nudging the tank around. Now i can give that energy to other things: like taking walks or learning Polish. (f'r example). And my tank is blossoming.
I know that as a newbie (though with roots in the hobby 30 years old) I needed a lot of that obsessive attention getting up to speed. But a lot of it was wasted trying to keep my tank clean, which I accomplished with massive water changes.
Right now I'm a very happy camper. Errh . . . reefer. I hope my Tale of Two Gizmos will help other ambitious nano reefers to avoid the worst of my obsession days!
Happy reefing!:D
