question for lfs operators

how do lfs maintain low nitrate levels? i feel that if all they do is wc then they will go broke from cost of salt mix. there has to be some other way.
for the people that has experience with maintaining multiple tanks, please share your techniques and equipment used to monitor and maintain nitrate and other water param levels. i am very interested in the process on the business side that is used. i would like to apply it to my home personal use, so no worries about giving away any trade secrets! i promise ;D

 

On the smaller systems....a waterchange. It just was bigger than most people at home are used to.

On the wall systems, my sumps were 600 gallons each and filled with LR and LS. Even having that, I still needed big water changes.

 

This is off-topic but is funny. I was in a panic because I couldn't find Cherokee (a Chocolate lab). The all of the sudden there was brown dog hairs in all of the tanks in system one.

She was just swimming happily in the sump.

 

that is funny!! sounds just like what would happen to me.
so, you are saying basically that wc was all that you did to maintain nitrates? no denitrator or anything like that?

 

inwall75 that must of been some sump...lol Now as far is the LFS, I don't think of any special secrets! must tanks hold fish, inverts or corals. they aren't display tanks, so there isn't many obstacles when it comes to cleaning them. and most times the lights only come on during business hours. I have seen lf's that their tanks look worst than any body's I've ever seen, and even cyano bacteria.

 

yep

Yep, it was deep. It was cold too.

R34dawn, I really love how you've never once seen the store that I ran yet you feel you have the right to trash it.

 

Did I miss where it was your particular store that was being trashed?

 

No you didn't......

 

well im not an owner but i have seen my lfs system. and on the 2 250gal acro only tanks. they just run po4 reactors, octo skimmer on the one and some other beast of a skimmer on the other not sure what it was maybe a 3-4 ft asm. some rock in a average size sump, and a large(huge) size aragonite gravel in the tank, i think they clean it with vacs and do wkly water changes. as well as 2 mp40s and a sea swirl.lol

they do let some nice size fish swim around in it too, plus there hands in it all day. there colors are those you expect from ora corals, very intense. kinda a bumber when u bring em home cause there water quality is so good u cant compete and will most likely get a lil color change.


ive recently taken the wkly gravel cleaning root and has made a huge diff.

flow flow flow the more flow you get in the tank the more you water quality will increase is what i find to be the best solution.IMO. i run about 70X my display . thats flow in the display tank.(not to the sump). like i said be for i started a new gravel cleaning routine. using a larger grain sand that does not get kicked up with the turbulent flow. only enough to cover the bottom glass. only do a 5 gal change, in my 60 gal display,80 gal system,

this it how it goes, turn pumps off, dust off rocks( so it all falls to the bottom) then vac the gravel as much as i can get in 5 gal. done.

fyi, i run a octo- 150


hope that helps a lil. lol i was without internet service for a while, so been waiting to post something.