Frag Tank Hiatt Style

I have started 2 tanks now using the Hiatt System of filtration. My corals are now growing and I am ready to try my hand at fragging and propagating corals. The Hiatt System has generated a lot of criticism because it claims a 0 or 1 day cycle, doesn't depend on live rock or sand (although they are a plus) and claims to aerobically convert ammonia, nitrites and nitrates into free nitrogen. It also claims to be able to biologically remove phosphates from the water column and does not require a protein skimmer. I am not a biologist so I don't know how it does it I only know it seems to work. If you want to know more visit http://www.majesticreefs.com.

So back to my latest project. The Frag Tank.

Progress Report

 thats a nice divider i'm in. i want to know how your pluming works out i want to try something kind of like that  on a tank i'm building can't wait for more

Fine tuning the filters today. I filled the center chamber with 20 lbs of PH adjustment rock then filled the tank with fresh water. The filter kept up fine while the tank was full but when I dropped the water level a little the filter couldn't keep up with the return pumps. I removed the teeth from the overflow to allow more water into the filter box which did help some. Next I lowered the baffle from the center chamber to the return chamber and that improved things a lot. After testing the filter at various water levels and playing with restriction to the intake to simulate a dirty mechanical foam filter I am now satisfied that the filter system will work properly.

Thanks Chad,

Looks Great man!

Edited by Chad - August 18 2009 at 9:05pm

Learned a lesson about adding corals too soon. While the Hiatt system will cycle the tank almost immediately it does not create the nutrients found in an established tank. This is fine for fish as they don't rely on the micro-plankton and other goodies growing in the water as the corals do. After a few days the corals were not looking their best so I put them back in my display. The Macro Algae and Clean Up Crew are doing fine however. Fortunately the corals perked right back up upon returning to the display I'll give the tank a little more time to mature before placing corals back in the tank.

Case study:

We recently have to deal with a customer that setup a brand new 100 gallon saltwater fish only tank that use the Hiatt Filtration system. The tank was setup correctly completed with the Red Torpedo filter to hold the Tri-Base carbon. The tank was cycle in 24 hours and two fish was added the same day and four more the next day. The customer choose to put the pH rock at the bottom of the tank as part of his gravel. Every thing was fine until 4 more fish was added the next day. Within 3 hours of adding the 4 new fish, the water begin to cloud and fish show sign of stress and dying. Within an hour after the cloudy began, all the fish were dead! A full water test was conducted and everything check out fine, no ammonia, no nitrate except one thing, the pH has fallen to from 8.0 to 7.4 in matter of 3 hours.

After a careful investigation to the cause of the problem, it was determent the customer did not have the full amount of pH rock that is required for his tank. He has put in about half what is required, the pH never went above 8.0 and when more fish were added, the bacteria when in to overdrive, release huge amount of acid and because there wasn't enough pH rock in the system to buffer, the pH drop so fast the fish simply could not cope with the stress and die.

After all the dead fish were remove, the very next day the water is crystal clear again and the pH have rise back up to 8.0. The customer added two small fish this time waited and watch the pH closely for 24 hours, the water remain crystal clear and the pH is holding at 8.0. Since then he has added required amount of pH rock to his tank and the pH is now stable at 8.6 even with 20 fish in the tank.

I hope everyone that read this understand the importance of using pH rock to buffer your pH, it is simple, inexpensive, safe and labor free way to buffer your pH and Calcium 24/7. If you choose not to use the pH rock or does not have the full require amount for your tank, please make sure you watch your pH closely and have other pH buffer product on hand. Do not add too many fish to fast, remember the more fish you add, the more bacteria you'll have. The more bacteria you have more acid will be release by the bacteria, like all living things, bacteria need to eat, and when they eat they poop just like you and me. There will be billions of the bacteria in your filter and it does add up.

Ok now that I am done being amused.... I find it really sad that no one spoke up about this. I mean how many animals have needlessly died due to this scam? 

Edited by Fishbot - August 18 2009 at 4:42am

This is also great: