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Mark Peterson 
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 Topic: Drains, vacuuming and birds??
Posted: August 10 2016 at 9:08am |
Okay, today, for some reason, I'm full of questions. Question #1 Which drain methods are most effective in different situations? gravity vs. siphon vs. whatever?
Question #2 Why doesn't the hobby, in general, espouse gravel vacuuming the LS? Is "dirtier" sand really a more effective biological filter as I often say or is there another, better reason? Or does it matter?
Question #3 Why are birds(or fish) not the dominant form of life on earth? Why us and not them?
I don't know the answers. I'm hoping for discussion to help me find the answers.
Aloha, Mark  |
Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks:www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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1stupidpunk
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Posted: August 10 2016 at 10:21am |
My thoughts... For the first 2 questions I think its very situational to how the tank is setup. I always prefer gravity to a full siphon. It requires very little to setup and is has much less tendency to fail. Siphon drains can be setup to be completely silent but usually req a constant water level and watchful eye to ensure you don't flood your house. As for vacuuming the sandbed... If you have a very deep sandbed I would never vacuum it. Let the sandbed work for you and let the anaerobic bacteria do its job. If you have a shallow sandbed (like I do) I prefer to vacuum it just for to clean visual appeal seeing as how you wont have nearly as much bacteria. Why aren't birds and fish the dominant species? Because they're just to delicious.
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Krazie4Acans
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Posted: August 10 2016 at 10:38am |
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Answer #1
Gravity will always be noisy and cannot produce the flow amounts that siphon does. Siphon also helps prevent build up in plumbing like you see in gravity setups. All siphon methods being used in tanks today are not full flow siphon. While they are a true siphon (meaning no air is introduced into the plumbing) there is always a flow control valve as well as an emergency drain for when that snail decides to go down the plumbing.
I would never run ANY siphon setup without an emergency backup drain of some kind. It will flood without it. Not if but when. With an emergency drain it will not flood but it will get noisy which is a great alarm that something is amiss.
Answer #2
Personal preference and beyond that I have no real reason. It's just more work and my systems have quite a lot of flow that helps prevent anything from settling on the sand to begin with. Generally not much to vacuum from my sand.
Answer #3
Humans are great predators and everything tastes like chicken.
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My ocean. 90g (yup, won it!), 40g, 28g, & 10g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water Tank Thread:
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Reefer4Ever
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Posted: August 10 2016 at 12:14pm |
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Did someone say food!
Drops the mic and walks away.
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90 gal reef w/refugium
24 gal softie tank
11 gal nano anemone tank
5 gal fresh water
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Krazie4Acans
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Posted: August 10 2016 at 12:45pm |
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It's Mic drop. Nothing else just Mic drop. Giggle
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My ocean. 90g (yup, won it!), 40g, 28g, & 10g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water Tank Thread:
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Reefer4Ever
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Posted: August 10 2016 at 3:37pm |
Always a critic. I knew what I was typing to just bother you clearly I win. 
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90 gal reef w/refugium
24 gal softie tank
11 gal nano anemone tank
5 gal fresh water
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Hogie
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Posted: August 10 2016 at 4:05pm |
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Oh geez, I can't believe I read all the comments all the way through..."What a senseless waste of human life." (bonus point if you know what the quote is from)
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Krazie4Acans
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Posted: August 10 2016 at 4:08pm |
 Hogie wrote:
Oh geez, I can't believe I read all the comments all the way through..."What a senseless waste of human life." (bonus point if you know what the quote is from) |
Monte Pythons Flying Circus. What do I win? Now answer the questions in the OP and stop derailing the thread. 
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My ocean. 90g (yup, won it!), 40g, 28g, & 10g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water Tank Thread:
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