Poll: How often do you syphon your BB?

CyanoMagnet · 06/26/2008, 12:13 AM

I have heard some people syphon their BB every 6-8 months!
How about you?

pledosophy · 06/26/2008, 12:38 AM

Once a week at least.

Todd March · 06/26/2008, 01:05 AM

On my last tank, BB (Faux sand bed actually) I siphoned on every water change. The return blew across the back of the rocks, at the bottom, so that the detritus would collect in the front. On every weekly water change (5 gallons) I would siphon what I could with a 1/2" hose...

victor_c3 · 06/26/2008, 04:21 AM

I siphon mine at least once a week when I do a water change.

For the last several months I've been battling hair algae I found that I would manually remove all the algae I could 2-3 times a week. While I had my hands in the tank, I would siphon whatever I could reach (which was usually quite a bit). Now that I'm actually making progress against hair algae, I only get to it about once a week.

TomRep · 06/26/2008, 05:40 AM

once per week for me as well

King-Kong · 06/26/2008, 06:36 AM

Never.

jbeltmann · 06/26/2008, 07:20 AM

KK, would you attribute never siphoning to having a rdsb?

Flatlander · 06/26/2008, 07:28 AM

Once a week when I do a 5g water change. Or sometimes, even a couple times/week if little piles have collected.

Only takes a min.

King-Kong · 06/26/2008, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jbeltmann
KK, would you attribute never siphoning to having a rdsb?

No -- the two are mutually exclusive.

I never siphon because there is nothing to siphon.

I have no settled areas of detritus.

miniwhinny · 06/26/2008, 07:47 AM

Once a week and inbetween if anything has collected. I LOVE BB.

CyanoMagnet · 06/26/2008, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by King-Kong
No -- the two are mutually exclusive.

I never siphon because there is nothing to siphon.

I have no settled areas of detritus.

Amazing. How is this possible?

King-Kong · 06/26/2008, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by CyanoMagnet
Amazing. How is this possible?

You saw the pic of my tank.

It's effective flow relative to the placement of rocks. The best method is to just test many configurations of pump location and rock placement.

Sketching it out wont answer the questions..

You need to see how the flow patterns will interact with the rocks.

If I didnt have a tang I could get away with less flow, too. His turds are really huge and solid, though, and require a lot of flow to keep up in the current until they can get broken up.

Tang Salad · 06/26/2008, 08:42 AM

I don't get it. I thought the whole point of BB was that you wouldn't have detritus settling anywhere.

I have a SSB and tons (100X) of flow. No detritus gathers anywhere, so I never need to siphon anything. I'd guess that those who need to siphon their BBs once a week do not have enough flow to take advantage of the BB....just my .02.

silvers · 06/26/2008, 08:53 AM

I might siphon once eavey 4-6mo I have one very small place I get detritus. I have alot of flow. and I have to agree that if you have to siphon once a week you are not utilizing a BB system eaverything should stay suspended in the water colum until filter socks or skimmer can get it out.

CyanoMagnet · 06/26/2008, 10:31 AM

Tang Salad and silvers, thank you for replies.

kingkong attributed his success (in not having to syphon) to having minimal liverock. Could I say you two employ the same method, which is little liverock and strategic flow?

I would love to see some pictures of your pump layouts. I saw king kongs, it was very innovative.

Flatlander · 06/26/2008, 04:25 PM

C.mon you guys. You cant tell me how much flow any certain tank requires. Of course it depends on rockwork but certain corals cant handle all that flow.

Perhaps some bb aquarists have soft corals or fleshy lps, that can only handle so much. Mines sps but my rock structure, {designed for the fish I keep}, does create some small piles, which are easily handled.

I have a lot of current in mine or at least it appears so to all of my corals. When the correct time, such as when all the frags grow and current is impeded, I will increase it.

Why do a lot of aquarists running bare, require a sand in a bucket type filter to reduce nitrates?

CyanoMagnet · 06/27/2008, 07:51 PM

I guess I should also ask how often guys with SPS dominated tanks with 1-1 ratio of liverock to gallons siphon their waters.

This realy what it comes down to I guess.

CyanoMagnet · 06/28/2008, 08:54 PM

Bump.

FranktheTankTx · 06/28/2008, 09:22 PM

I'm really looking forward to my BB tank.

I have limo tinted the 2 sides of my 36g corner... and now I'm limo tinting the bottom as well. I wanted a dark tinted bottom glass for BB.

I have 2 - K3's on opposite corners aimed directly at one another with a 300gph return & 100gph HOB refugium... all adding up to 2100 gph flow. Should equal 57x flow for a zoo, clam, & acropora tank.

Once I see the flow in action... I will determine if I want to add a Tunze nanostream 6025 (660gph) in the back corner for flow on the bottom glass. That would increase turnover rate from 57x to 77x. I just want to see how things look with the current set up first.

By the way... I know the tint is a little more expensive, but it looks great! I recommend it!

06/26/2008, 12:13 AM	#1
CyanoMagnet Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Brooklyn ,NY Posts: 1,272	Poll: How often do you syphon your BB? I have heard some people syphon their BB every 6-8 months! How about you? __________________ Salifert - - - - - - Phosphates ud, ud Nitrates .0xxxppm, Alk 9dkh Calcium 445ppm mag 1380 PH 7.7-8.0 Salinity, 1.026 11/27/2008 Current Tank Info: 72 g bf,15g sump->16g qt,10g refugium w/ DSB and cheato (lots), T5 lighting 6x54watt (2x10k,2xab,blue act,super act),korallin 1501 ca reactor,sulfur denitrator(korallin),bullet 1 skimmer,phosban reactor(running carbon atm),2xtunze1500gph,3xkoralin

06/26/2008, 12:38 AM	#2
pledosophy Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Beaverton Posts: 5,290	Once a week at least. __________________ 120g mixed reef 90g QT

06/26/2008, 01:05 AM	#3
Todd March Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Santa Monica, CA Posts: 3,684	On my last tank, BB (Faux sand bed actually) I siphoned on every water change. The return blew across the back of the rocks, at the bottom, so that the detritus would collect in the front. On every weekly water change (5 gallons) I would siphon what I could with a 1/2" hose... __________________ My hobby? I glue animals to rocks... Current Tank Info: Rimless Starfire 85g SPS (36" x 26" x 21"): ATI Powermodule 10 x 39W, ATB Small Cone, RK2, Vortech MP40W, 6025 Stream modded, MAG 9.5 return, Balling

06/26/2008, 05:40 AM	#5
TomRep Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Fleetwood, PA 19522 Posts: 1,219	once per week for me as well __________________ "I got me a big wave, ride me a big wave, got me a big..WAVE!" Ed Vedder It's a reef thing, you wouldn't understand! Current Tank Info: 50 breeder w/o sump mixed reef, sps dominant. NEP T5 fixture with no stock bulbs, Bermuda Rogue HOB skimmer, canister filter, DIY hang on fuge, 2x modded MJ400's, Tunze Osmolator ATO, Randy's 2 part dosed with and Aquamedic twin

06/26/2008, 07:28 AM	#8
Flatlander Premium Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: BC, Canada Posts: 2,886	Once a week when I do a 5g water change. Or sometimes, even a couple times/week if little piles have collected. Only takes a min. __________________ Doug TOTM April 2001 Current Tank Info: 50g sumpless sps tank..Evergrow 2081 led..Apex control..Tunze 9012 skimmer..Tunze calcium reactor..Tunze kalk reactor..2 rw8,s..1 MP40..1 Hydor Korillia 1200gph..Tunze ATO..all propagated sps frags

06/26/2008, 04:21 AM	#4
victor_c3 Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: New York Posts: 513	I siphon mine at least once a week when I do a water change. For the last several months I've been battling hair algae I found that I would manually remove all the algae I could 2-3 times a week. While I had my hands in the tank, I would siphon whatever I could reach (which was usually quite a bit). Now that I'm actually making progress against hair algae, I only get to it about once a week.

06/26/2008, 06:36 AM	#6
King-Kong Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Gainesville, FL Posts: 2,346	Never.

06/26/2008, 07:20 AM	#7
jbeltmann Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: oconomowoc. wi Posts: 287	KK, would you attribute never siphoning to having a rdsb?

06/26/2008, 07:47 AM	#10
miniwhinny Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 816	Once a week and inbetween if anything has collected. I LOVE BB.

06/26/2008, 08:42 AM	#13
Tang Salad Algae skeptic Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: 78702 Posts: 3,098	I don't get it. I thought the whole point of BB was that you wouldn't have detritus settling anywhere. I have a SSB and tons (100X) of flow. No detritus gathers anywhere, so I never need to siphon anything. I'd guess that those who need to siphon their BBs once a week do not have enough flow to take advantage of the BB....just my .02. __________________ Your algae is not special. Current Tank Info: TBD ADA 120-P SPS NLPS

06/26/2008, 08:53 AM	#14
silvers Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Ga Posts: 356	I might siphon once eavey 4-6mo I have one very small place I get detritus. I have alot of flow. and I have to agree that if you have to siphon once a week you are not utilizing a BB system eaverything should stay suspended in the water colum until filter socks or skimmer can get it out. __________________ Lord knows Im weak wont somebody get me off this reef-Sublime Current Tank Info: 120g

06/26/2008, 10:31 AM	#15
CyanoMagnet Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Brooklyn ,NY Posts: 1,272	Tang Salad and silvers, thank you for replies. kingkong attributed his success (in not having to syphon) to having minimal liverock. Could I say you two employ the same method, which is little liverock and strategic flow? I would love to see some pictures of your pump layouts. I saw king kongs, it was very innovative. __________________ Salifert - - - - - - Phosphates ud, ud Nitrates .0xxxppm, Alk 9dkh Calcium 445ppm mag 1380 PH 7.7-8.0 Salinity, 1.026 11/27/2008 Current Tank Info: 72 g bf,15g sump->16g qt,10g refugium w/ DSB and cheato (lots), T5 lighting 6x54watt (2x10k,2xab,blue act,super act),korallin 1501 ca reactor,sulfur denitrator(korallin),bullet 1 skimmer,phosban reactor(running carbon atm),2xtunze1500gph,3xkoralin

06/26/2008, 04:25 PM	#16
Flatlander Premium Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: BC, Canada Posts: 2,886	C.mon you guys. You cant tell me how much flow any certain tank requires. Of course it depends on rockwork but certain corals cant handle all that flow. Perhaps some bb aquarists have soft corals or fleshy lps, that can only handle so much. Mines sps but my rock structure, {designed for the fish I keep}, does create some small piles, which are easily handled. I have a lot of current in mine or at least it appears so to all of my corals. When the correct time, such as when all the frags grow and current is impeded, I will increase it. Why do a lot of aquarists running bare, require a sand in a bucket type filter to reduce nitrates? __________________ Doug TOTM April 2001 Current Tank Info: 50g sumpless sps tank..Evergrow 2081 led..Apex control..Tunze 9012 skimmer..Tunze calcium reactor..Tunze kalk reactor..2 rw8,s..1 MP40..1 Hydor Korillia 1200gph..Tunze ATO..all propagated sps frags

06/27/2008, 07:51 PM	#17
CyanoMagnet Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Brooklyn ,NY Posts: 1,272	I guess I should also ask how often guys with SPS dominated tanks with 1-1 ratio of liverock to gallons siphon their waters. This realy what it comes down to I guess. __________________ Salifert - - - - - - Phosphates ud, ud Nitrates .0xxxppm, Alk 9dkh Calcium 445ppm mag 1380 PH 7.7-8.0 Salinity, 1.026 11/27/2008 Current Tank Info: 72 g bf,15g sump->16g qt,10g refugium w/ DSB and cheato (lots), T5 lighting 6x54watt (2x10k,2xab,blue act,super act),korallin 1501 ca reactor,sulfur denitrator(korallin),bullet 1 skimmer,phosban reactor(running carbon atm),2xtunze1500gph,3xkoralin

06/28/2008, 08:54 PM	#18
CyanoMagnet Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Brooklyn ,NY Posts: 1,272	Bump. __________________ Salifert - - - - - - Phosphates ud, ud Nitrates .0xxxppm, Alk 9dkh Calcium 445ppm mag 1380 PH 7.7-8.0 Salinity, 1.026 11/27/2008 Current Tank Info: 72 g bf,15g sump->16g qt,10g refugium w/ DSB and cheato (lots), T5 lighting 6x54watt (2x10k,2xab,blue act,super act),korallin 1501 ca reactor,sulfur denitrator(korallin),bullet 1 skimmer,phosban reactor(running carbon atm),2xtunze1500gph,3xkoralin

06/28/2008, 09:22 PM	#19
FranktheTankTx Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 2,306	I'm really looking forward to my BB tank. I have limo tinted the 2 sides of my 36g corner... and now I'm limo tinting the bottom as well. I wanted a dark tinted bottom glass for BB. I have 2 - K3's on opposite corners aimed directly at one another with a 300gph return & 100gph HOB refugium... all adding up to 2100 gph flow. Should equal 57x flow for a zoo, clam, & acropora tank. Once I see the flow in action... I will determine if I want to add a Tunze nanostream 6025 (660gph) in the back corner for flow on the bottom glass. That would increase turnover rate from 57x to 77x. I just want to see how things look with the current set up first. By the way... I know the tint is a little more expensive, but it looks great! I recommend it! __________________ Frank the Tank "What, I thought we were in the trust tree... in the nest? Are we not?" Current Tank Info: Custom Rimless 60g (30.5"x24.5"x18.5")