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Thread: How I manage water quality....

  1. #31
    Registered Member Chad Hughes's Avatar
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    Default Re: How I manage water quality....

    Quote Originally Posted by shawnhu View Post
    Chad is probably all tucked in bed, so I'll see if I can help answer.

    The Ozone reactor is for breaking organics down, mainly TDS. Bacteria is killed via the UV steralizer, two seperate things. I don't beleive O3 can kill bacteria(just guessing here).

    The overflow can be achieved in two ways(at least). One is to drill to allow pumped water to flow down into the sump, and the other is to have a box, hanging off the tank drilled, and have that flow down into the sump. You would need an additional "U" flipped upside down in order to achieve that, and would require "priming" each time your water level falls below the tube.

    Hope this helps.
    Good call Shawn! Yes, I was definately asleep. LOL! What were you doing up? LOL!

    Best wishes!
    Chad Hughes

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  2. #32
    Registered Member Chad Hughes's Avatar
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    Default Re: How I manage water quality....

    Quote Originally Posted by shawnhu View Post
    Chad,

    My city water's report for 2008 is out, and it's even lower than the year before. Now my GH is 19ppm and TDS is at 48. KH is something like 12ppm.

    http://nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/wsstate07.pdf

    How's that for managing water quality?!
    You need to start breeding discus! LOL! You definately have the water! How often does that report come out? The ranges are very curious. I'm going to assume that they sample water throughout the year and then compile the data. Looks like you have a period of snow melt (low everything) then you have a period of ground water utilization (everything is elevated). Regardless, it seems that everything stays pretty good for breeding!

    Best wishes!
    Chad Hughes

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  3. #33
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    Default Re: How I manage water quality....

    Quote Originally Posted by avionics30 View Post
    You need to start breeding discus! LOL! You definately have the water! How often does that report come out? The ranges are very curious. I'm going to assume that they sample water throughout the year and then compile the data. Looks like you have a period of snow melt (low everything) then you have a period of ground water utilization (everything is elevated). Regardless, it seems that everything stays pretty good for breeding!

    Best wishes!
    You hit it on the nail Chad. Water that we utilize is routed from hundreds of miles. They come from the northern part of NY, and there is a considerable amount of snow. During the summer, I would assume that water utilization is at it's worse, as most fire hydrants would be open and depleting this water source. NYC is a very non-efficient city. All that Discus-perfect water, going to waste down the drain(literally).

    Shawn

    P.S. I think two of the 9 I have in my 46G is starting to show signs of pairing off. Not that I know what those signs are.. but they attack everyone else, but each other. I'm sure that's a good sign!

  4. #34
    Registered Member Chad Hughes's Avatar
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    Default Re: How I manage water quality....

    Quote Originally Posted by shawnhu View Post
    I think two of the 9 I have in my 46G is starting to show signs of pairing off. Not that I know what those signs are.. but they attack everyone else, but each other. I'm sure that's a good sign!
    It starts with two....

    Let the shimmy begin!
    Chad Hughes

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  5. #35
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    Default Re: How I manage water quality....

    Chad

    Thank you very much for the explanation. You must think I am stupid, but here in Belgium you can't find anyone to tell you about the best way of growing and breeding discus. You just get answers like: "O it's simple, just add soft water and the fish will do the rest themselves". So this is a great place for me to learn things. When I started with fishkeeping you only had a small box in the corner of you tank, filled with cotton wool. That was back in the dark ages. Hopefully this way my couples will start breeding in the near future and I will be able to raise the fry.

    Mary

  6. #36
    Registered Member Chad Hughes's Avatar
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    Default Re: How I manage water quality....

    Mary,

    I am not a big fan of imposing judgement on someone based on a question. When in doubt, ask. That's what I do. I'd rather be sure than make a mistake. I thought your question was very valid!

    Best wishes!
    Chad Hughes

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  7. #37
    Registered Member calihawker's Avatar
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    Default Re: How I manage water quality....

    Quote Originally Posted by Marywouters View Post
    Chad

    Thank you very much for the explanation. You must think I am stupid, but here in Belgium you can't find anyone to tell you about the best way of growing and breeding discus. You just get answers like: "O it's simple, just add soft water and the fish will do the rest themselves". So this is a great place for me to learn things. When I started with fishkeeping you only had a small box in the corner of you tank, filled with cotton wool. That was back in the dark ages. Hopefully this way my couples will start breeding in the near future and I will be able to raise the fry.

    Mary

    Not just in Belgium Mary.

  8. #38
    Registered Member Arkangel77's Avatar
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    Default Re: How I manage water quality....

    Good stuff here! I got a few Questions.

    What Kinda skimmer do you use for the reactor and what pump do you use for the skimmer? I guess it seems you don't use a ozone controller - do you fear an overdose of ozone? I looked into this a while back but never found anyone with actual experence to pull from so a tabled it for a while. I am very motivated to try something like this. My Primary and only filter is a LARGE wet/dry filter for my 180 with just a few plaints. I use to run REEF systems years back and I loved what Ozone did for those systems. Thanks in advance.

    Arkangel77

  9. #39
    Registered Member Chad Hughes's Avatar
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    Default Re: How I manage water quality....

    Arkangel,

    I picked up a cheap, no-name skimmer off Ebay for about $40. I sjust wanted something to mix the O3 with the water. I do not use a controller. Early on in my setup I took ORP readings to see where I would be with timed O3 injection. I established a good plant with those readings and have stuck with it. I haven't had any issues. Maybe one day I'll take the plunge and go controlled.

    This tank is extremely stable and the discus are doing very well and showing excellent growth. I am very happy with the results. HTH!

    Best wishes!
    Chad Hughes

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  10. #40
    Registered Member Arkangel77's Avatar
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    Default Re: How I manage water quality....

    Well let me ask you this. What Ozone generator are you using and what size tank is this set up on? I may start to collect parts very soon.

    Thanks, Arkangel77

  11. #41
    Registered Member Chad Hughes's Avatar
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    Default Re: How I manage water quality....

    Quote Originally Posted by Arkangel77 View Post
    Well let me ask you this. What Ozone generator are you using and what size tank is this set up on? I may start to collect parts very soon.

    Thanks, Arkangel77
    I use a Supreme Aqua (OZ-150) by Aquatek of California. I have it set up on a 110 tall tank. Nearly all of the supplies for this setup can be found on Ebay for a fraction of retial cost. You'll just have to hunt!

    Best wishes!
    Chad Hughes

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  12. #42
    Registered Member Arkangel77's Avatar
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    Default Re: How I manage water quality....

    I am always on Ebay so that is not an issue for me. That's one of the first places I go to look for stuff. I was just wondering about the size of the generator vs the size of the tank.

    Thanks, Arkangel77

  13. #43
    Registered Member Chad Hughes's Avatar
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    Default Re: How I manage water quality....

    I use a 150 mg/hr unit and I have it set to 75 mg/hr. It's completely adjustable. It's really not so much the size of the tank that has to be taken in to consideration. You have to identify bioload as well. Obviously the higher the population in the tank, the higher the DOCs. The manufacturer may have suggestions for the use of the particular unit as well. HTH!

    Best wishes!
    Chad Hughes

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  14. #44
    Registered Member Arkangel77's Avatar
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    Default Re: How I manage water quality....

    Thanks for the Info - Its great to have your expereance as a resorce.

    Arkangel77

  15. #45
    Registered Member Chad Hughes's Avatar
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    Default Re: How I manage water quality....

    You bet! Let me know if you have any questions along the way. It's not too difficult to get started.

    Best wishes!
    Chad Hughes

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