High Tide Aquatics

Alex’s IM 150 EXT

Alexander1312 said:
Great picture. That makes me believe not all hope is lost - difference between the 200 and 220 should not matter given your larger tank size. Thank you for sharing your settings, this is helpful comparison. Just to continue to level set: What are your average nutrients levels at the moment - since you are no longer adding LC, are you using anything else to keep them at that level?

Again, I would buy that oversized argument if nutrients were much lower for me than they are. I know quite a lot of folks are able to bottom out nutrients were skimmers are truly oversized (specifically nitrates) - I am far away from this problem.
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My nitrates right now are holding steady at 7-9 and my phosphates pretty steady right around .07

I am no longer dosing LC or doing anything for phosphate control at all. I dose 15ml of vodka daily - though I don't think this has a big impact on nitrates in my case, my corals seem happier so I've let it continue.

I got my nitrates down via a series of really big water changes, and they've simply stayed down. Perhaps this is related to the vodka dosing but not sure. I still feed very heavily, although since getting my 2nd plank feeder I feed more dry food and less frozen.

Daily:
1 sheet of nori
12 total minutes of Plank #1 (freeze dried mysis)
1 total minute of Plank #2 (Several types of pellets including TDO)
2-3 big healthy squirts of a frozen mix, typically Rod/LRS/homemade

I've got 7 tangs, a rabbitfish, and about 15 other medium/small fish.

I heard in a podcast somewhere that skimmers don't really pull nutrients out of the water - they pull fish poop and other particulate out of the water before it decomposes into nutrients. So perhaps you should think about it this way.
 
derek_SR said:
I heard in a podcast somewhere that skimmers don't really pull nutrients out of the water - they pull fish poop and other particulate out of the water before it decomposes into nutrients. So perhaps you should think about it this way.
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Maybe your low return pump turnover is not getting the fish poop and particulate to the skimmer in time and it's just decomposing in the display area before it can get skimmed out? Could explain the wet skim with high nutrients?
 
derek_SR said:
My nitrates right now are holding steady at 7-9 and my phosphates pretty steady right around .07

I am no longer dosing LC or doing anything for phosphate control at all. I dose 15ml of vodka daily - though I don't think this has a big impact on nitrates in my case, my corals seem happier so I've let it continue.

I got my nitrates down via a series of really big water changes, and they've simply stayed down. Perhaps this is related to the vodka dosing but not sure. I still feed very heavily, although since getting my 2nd plank feeder I feed more dry food and less frozen.
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Vodka/carbon dosing should keep both nitrates and phosphates down. 15 ml does not seem to be an insignificant amount but I have not looked up how this equates to Elimi NP.

Daily:
1 sheet of nori
12 total minutes of Plank #1 (freeze dried mysis)
1 total minute of Plank #2 (Several types of pellets including TDO)
2-3 big healthy squirts of a frozen mix, typically Rod/LRS/homemade

[/QUOTE]
Biggest surprise was that you only feed one (1)! sheet of nori while having 7 tangs and a rabbit. I have two sheets with two tangs and the fox face.

I've got 7 tangs, a rabbitfish, and about 15 other medium/small fish.

I heard in a podcast somewhere that skimmers don't really pull nutrients out of the water - they pull fish poop and other particulate out of the water before it decomposes into nutrients. So perhaps you should think about it this way.

[/QUOTE]
Particulate matter, yes, which is why it seems more effective against nitrate than phosphate.
 
that ain't no chocolate donut!!
 

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derek_SR said:
Perhaps you DO need just need a fancier skimmer ;)
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That's what I am talking about :).

Seriously, though, I think the solution is the opposite: a less fancy skimmer could be the solution. I am waiting for a part to run the DELTEC 1000 with ozone. Once this arrives, I will swap the skimmers and see if I can dial this one in better.

The main difference between the Reef Octopus and this DELTEC is that the DELTEC fits exactly my tank (SPS dominated, water volume etc), as DELTEC does not overstate capacity and strongly advises against a larger skimmer for this amount of water even with a high biolad - it is also quite a bit cheaper than the Reef Octopus. The Reef Octopus I have is made for a larger tank than my tank, although the heavy bioload is for 200 gallons, so I am not too far off. However, the definition of heavy bioload is probably not what I have.

In summary, the Reef Octopus is probably a good skimmer, but potentially not for my tank. Let's see how the DELTEC does.
 
Kensington Reefer said:
Won’t be much difference...

This is a euroreef rs-250 body with a red dragon something
It’s very overkill for the 150ish gallon system
But the clowns are well fed
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Wow I have one of those skimmers not sure if it's that same size etc. But definitely looks identical to brand and type. It’s big and old school lol. So I know who to ask for how to advice if I decide to use it.on the 210. Not fully sure it could actually fit inside the sump in the the stand yet given the height of it.
 
MichaelB said:
Wow I have one of those skimmers not sure if it's that same size etc. But definitely looks identical to brand and type. It’s big and old school lol. So I know who to ask for how to advice if I decide to use it.on the 210. Not fully sure it could actually fit inside the sump in the the stand yet given the height of it.
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It won’t
Or if it does fit under the tank, you won’t be able to get the cup off to clean it
 
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