Shrimpie Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 I also love the HMF because you can hide the heater, and other media, I use Purigen behind it. Tell me - is there a benefit to using ceramic rings over purigen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted June 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 Dendrobatez is correct. They are bio rings. I think the bio rings have more surface area for bacteria to colonize on. I believe Purigen is most effective when water is flowing through it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpie Posted June 13, 2015 Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 I usually place the purigen underneath the intake tube behind the HMF so the water has to go through it before it goes through the intake tube. So far it's worked pretty good. Keeps the water crystal clear and the bag gets good and brown. Now if the bio rings serve a different purpose, I have plenty of room behind the HMF to toss in a bag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted June 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 It can't hurt to add more surface area for bacteria to grow on. Here's where I got them http://www.ebay.com/itm/281579510884?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpie Posted June 13, 2015 Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 Thanks Andy - How often do you change them out? Or do you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted June 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 I just leave the rings. The only thing I'll rinse is the sponge and that's only if the flow is slowing way down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiumanfu Posted June 13, 2015 Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 How do you rinse the sponge without releasing the substrate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted June 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 Sorry. I spaced ou! I was thinking about the sponges on an HOB filter. Lol! That would be disasterous rinsing the hmf. Sorry for any confusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted June 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 I have seen where some people have silliconed a piece of plexi to seperate the sponge from the substrate. If you set it up like that I guess you'd be able to rinse the HMF if you needed to. I'm expecting my substrate to run out of buffering capabilities before I'll ever need to rinse that sponge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted June 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 Slowly but surely Shrimpmaster and Dendrobatez 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenteam Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 All 10g? KlimparOn 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted June 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 I'm not quite sure what else I want to put on the rack. I'm thinking about getting one 40g and maybe 2 more 20's and a couple more 10's. I'm thinking about doing the 40g a med light planted tank and one of the 20's for a high light tank for rare plants. Something like that. The next $1 a gallon sale isn't until August so I have time to think about it. Shrimpie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 I'm reading you went with the The Beamworks Plant Bright LED lights? One per shelf? How much did it cost you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted June 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 They were about 70. a piece. A bit pricey but I'll be saving a bit of money in the long run at .50W per led Dimensions - 59.50” x 5.00” x 1.00” Brackets add 0.65" in height Includes 120 LEDs 5600 Lumen Super energy efficient .50 watt LEDs 120x 6500K LEDs Slim and contemporary light design 2 mode on / off function for day and night use Mode 1 turns on all LEDs Mode 2 turns on 8 LEDs only Extendable bracket - 60" - 64" max extend Extendable bracket - 150 - 160 cm max extend Splash guard 110V - 220V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 I like the concept. I've had bad luck with some LED lights though with sections burning out. I use 54w per shelf right now by using florescent bulbs in the generic hoods on my tenners. Problem is, I get hair algae galore because even at 9w per florescent, the light is still too high. The raised LED would stop that, but that means I'd have to spend $$$ to get glass tops to keep evap to a min.. Decisions, decisions.... Amyers22 and mayphly 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted June 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 Managed to get six tanks up and cycling yesterday. Amyers22, RyeGuy411, Soothing Shrimp and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETAquarium Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 Very Nice my friend! Best thing about HMF, camouflage! Amyers22, mayphly and rodbigelow 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiumanfu Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 So jealous right now. shrimpfreak, Shrimpie and mayphly 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted July 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2015 It's been 20 days since i started cycling the first 6 tanks. one of the tanks is already showing 0ppm ammonia. I still need to test for nitrate. I'm betting that nitrate will read zero. This week I'll slowly be replacing the water to bring the PH down and to make sure the tank is running stable before adding any shrimp. Today I also ordered 6 more HMF filters from Swiss Tropicals for the 6 10g's that are now also sittng on the rack. I also added a 40B tank which will be mostly for rare plant species. Here's my log for anyone who's interested in reading it TANK CYCLE START JUNE 14, 2015 6-14-15 Add Old Sea Mud, Bacter AE, and Magic Powder to bottom of tank Add Amazonia substrate Install HMF. Place biorings and heater behind HMF Fill tanks with tap water 6-15-15 100% water change 6-16-15 100% water change 6-18-15 Tanks 1-3 drain water 100%. Add SL Magic Powder to top of substrate and add 100ml Purify. Cover top of substrate with tap water (w/ Prime) Tanks 4-6 complete 50% water change. Turn on heater to 85 and add plants 6-19-15 Tanks 1-3 fill with 100% conditioned tap water. Turn on heater & add plants. Add buffer 6-20-15 Add minerals to raise TDS to 130 and GH 5. Add Bacter AE to tanks 4-6 6-21-15 25% water change. Adjust TDS and GH. Add buffer 6-24-15 Add buffer PH between 6.8-7.0 6-28-15 25% water change. Add buffer to tanks 1-6. PH 6.8-7.0 7-1-15 Added Bacter AE to all tanks 7-3-15 25% water change tanks 1-6. Test for ammonia. Tank #6 is showing 0ppm. Test Tank #6 again. Add 3.0ml of Purify to all tanks. Add Magic Powder to all tanks. Add almond leaves to all tanks. Adjust heater in Tank #6 to 72 Also, all tanks were seeded with muck from sponges from other tanks around 6-19. I wish I knew from which tanks I seeded tank #6 with. Shrimpie, rodbigelow, TheGardenofEder and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jadenlea Posted July 4, 2015 Report Share Posted July 4, 2015 So cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETAquarium Posted July 4, 2015 Report Share Posted July 4, 2015 Great update and rundown! Thanks Andy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted July 4, 2015 Report Share Posted July 4, 2015 FABULOUS chart! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted July 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 2 more tanks are done cycling today. So, I introduced a tester shrimp into one of them (tank #5). Yesterday I introduced 12 shrimp into tank #6. Total of 13 shrimp in this tank now. They all appear to be doing well grazing around and doing shrimp stuff. Also, there's alot of good bug activity going on in these tanks. I'm feeling pretty good about it. These shrimp that I'm adding are all part of my pinto project. Greenteam, Soothing Shrimp and Shrimpie 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyeGuy411 Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 The buce clump looks awesome Andy! mayphly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted August 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2015 So far these are all project tanks! [emoji1]I got room for 4 more. I decided to go with all 10g tanks. Shrimpie, Shrimpmaster, Shrimp Life and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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