Last Ditch effort before remodel!

I have a 30 gallon plexiglass Hex refugium sitting next to the DT ( 90 gallons ) ...I have been tring to make it a fuge for a few weeks now. Plants keep dying and now I guessing Diatoms are taking over .....I have Chaeto and Culupera inside....first ball of cheato died ....and now second is dying ...almost all the calupera is dead or dying. I started with smaller 15 watt PC lights 6500 k...water depth is about 17 inches with 2 " sand bed

I know its a lighting issue ....I then went to a single 25 watt PC with 120 output..5500k....nothing....now added a second clipon.. 25 watt 120 output 5500k...and still nothing. Brown is covering the side / bottom and copepods ...and spreading into DT....I put a sock on the return to DT to try and limit the spread. approximately 40-50 gallon per hr flow back into DT It is fed by gravity from the DT return and then gravity down to sump. I have a MJ 1200 in the Hex to create circulation which is restricted down a bit ( not full on )

Here are what I think are my options....get better lighting to reach the lower levels and plants .....meaning a Halide ??? but at the required spectrum will be hard ......or.... relocate the bulkheads and lower the water level and install the clipons down inside the tank ??? The opening to the top of the tank is only about 16 inches long by 4 inches wide.

My gut tells me to scrap the HEX and find an acrylic 20 gallon and start over....I have several Glass tanks that could work....but not sure how to get the water back out of a glass and gravity flow back to the sump with limited flow? Thats why i have stayed with the acrylic ideas.

Any thoughts ??

Almost forgot .....If I leave the lights on for 24/7 the plants seem to do a little better ...if I go to reverse lighting...they do alot worse in a few days ...very obvious difference. Which I feel tells me it the lighting

 

I am having problems with my fuge as well. I will keep an eye on the thread. But dude....can you send me a pic of your set up. I want to see this.....plumbing included. Thanks man. John.

 

Here is some current photos.....you can see the lights ....foil is to block the lighting hangin down below the bottom of the holder and getting blinded when walking in room...the MJ 1200 intake is inside the square DIY screen to keep from clogging....the two pipes behind are gravity fed in w/ check valve from main DT and gravity fed back out to Sump below DT. lots of pods on walls... from tiggerpods i planted a few weeks ago. The plants you see in the fuge now were put in 3 days ago..and they are going down hill....both in color and appearence, The tube on the MJ1200 is a DIY extension to better contol the flow of circulation....keeping it lower on the sand the white elbow ontop is the line in from DT

I also have a 55 gallon plexiglass fuge in the garage that is connected to a 125 DT..and sump set up that is currently beginning it first cycle...similar design...but I have a 36" coralife dual 96watt PC 6500 bulbs that will light it. Should be no issues there. It is currently empty ( water / rock / sand only ) as its was just turned online about 10 days ago.

 

bump

 

How are you??--dont give up hope---There is one thing that bothers me just a little bit, and that is the fact that you have diatoms in the fuge. How old is the system as a whole??--How old is the fuge?? Did you just add it? Usually diatoms show up at the end of a cycle or if there are silicates, phosphates, or too much lighting. Do you use ro/di water or tap?? If there is any ammonia or nitrite plants will die. Let me know and I will try to help. I added my fuge after about 4 mo. and never saw diatoms..Also your flow is way too fast--should be 1/10th of your DT 9gph. Just some thoughts.

 

Not that I'm an expert Van... My fuge water level is 15" with 5" of sand. I saw a lot of very shallow fuges and figured I would have mine deeper for volume.

I have a 65 watt PC flood on mine. I have wondered if my water level is too deep. Red slime on bottom, caulerpa growing like crazy on top. I don't think it is bad enough to change, but have my suspicions. I would like a 100 watt flood for mine.

I have some saw blade that reached the light pretty fast. Growing well. Some on bottom is covered in red slime. The grape on bottom is not growing near as fast or healthy. Have not lost it yet.

I would say your suspicion of watts and depth are right.

 

the system as a whole is little over 2 months old I had diatoms in main after 2 weeks after start up...very light dusting and CUC cleaned it up quick Fuge is about 1 month old...started as tap / well water...no po4 in well water ( well is 760 feet deep ) ....main tank has been clean with a small amount of cyno in one corner...not wet hairy cyno...more dry powery red....some green residue on rocks off and on.... I'm sure the diatoms are from the 24/7 lights....it started after I added the second set of lights and 24/7 lighting.....if I lower the time on the lights ...they show a obvious lack of life .....brown tips white decay......

water as of tonight is ammonia 0 nitrites 0 nitrates 10 salinity 1.025 temp 77.5 calcium 400-420 ish alk 10 PO4 .03 I have phosphate reactor also running ..last few weeks first install .....I am expecting PO4 to rise as the plants are dying . I put a sock on the fuge return to the main to try and keep from spreading to the main tank to bad.....main lights are on 10 hrs atenic 8 hrs white

I am wanting to do a W/C but am holding off to decide if going to change the fuge around. Last W/C was 2 weeks ago, 20% and I used DI water only..as this is my new filtration system ...ATO is now DI water.

I use the verbage Diatoms lightly only because it looks and acts like them...light brown...dusty, easy to wipe off....maybe its just brown algae?

 

Powerman....mine is 16 inches water...then 2 inches sand....long way down!!! I looked at the incadesent flood lights ...but could not find the right spectrum?? 1700-2700 was the best i could find ??

I am learning that wattage is more important then spectrium.

My total is two 27 watt PC at 5500k and I have seen a difference in 1 bulb in comparison to two bulbs ...but still not enough to maintain healthy plants ....but the diatoms / or whatever is coming to life !

 

Well, spectrum is important but if they're not getting sufficient light then the spectrum doesn't matter. no light is no light, doesn't matter what spectrum. If you keep adding those smaller lights to it though, that doesn't improve the lights ability to penetrate to the bottom. Just food for thought. I love the look though. I've always wanted to have my fuge as a sort of second display. You can keep some cool stuff in there, like a mantis or something.

 

6500K, 65 watt CF flood at Home Depot. Saw some 100 watt CFs, but wrong temp. I will try to find one when I replace this one.

I suppose this might seem silly. You could always use a bit of egg crate to raise up your macro. Big balls of cheato do the same floating on top of the water. Say mid point. Don't know what you are trying to achieve with aesthetics.