Some observations 2 months on with the HOG2
Just a few observations on my HOG 2 after running it for 2 months in the sump of my reef tank. The HOG is powered my a TetraTec APS300 pushing out 3 ltrs per min of air. I feel this is the minimum you need to power the HOG2. I am waiting for the more powerful TetraTec APS400 to arrive which puts out 4 itrs per hour as with the APS300 I have to tilt the HOG slightly to get the air to the far end slit in the airline. Hopefully when the APS400 I can keep the HOG completely vertical as there is hardly any room in the ideal place to house my HOG in the sump.
Firstly I did some water tests yesterday. I used Salifert test kits.
Phosphate 0 reading
Nitrate at or below 5ppm.
No issues with PH.
Now I have to say I run a Deltec FR-509 reactor with pellets and have done for well before I introduced the HOG2 and the results are similar running the HOG in conjunction with the Deltec. I also run a Deltec SC1350 skimmer.
I also run an Oxydator "A" in my tank and a Maxspect Gyre 150 provides strong water movement in the tank.
It took a month to get GHA growing in the HOG after I went through the green/black slime phase. No real surprise as I already had low nutrients before the HOG.e of GHA
I have cleaned the HOG twice of GHA the second time was today. There was not a lot of GHA in the HOG and got little more than an egg cup full. I didn't clean it complexly however just used a took brush to remove the amount I did.
I also get algae growth on the glass the HOG is attached too which is to be expected and I clean this as often as I remember too and which i should do more often as it takes little time, in fact the whole maintenance thing takes little time so there is really no excuse.
The air slots do get a little blocked with calcium deposits but a soak to a few mins in white vinegar and squeezing the airline removed the calc build up. I wonder if silicone airline maybe better used as it squeezes more easily to break up hard calc deposits? I know some DIYers have used a long airstone to provide an even rain of bubbles over the scrubber surface, do these work better but even they would need cleaning or replacing from time to time I would guess.
I found the air from the HOG quite noisy as my tank is in my living room. Others have also commented on this. However after some experimentation I have completely silenced it (see my post on the subject for further information on how I did it).
The only real issue I have with algae is some low growing dwarf blade Caulerpa, not sure of the species. To date there has been no noticeable reduction in it's growth and it continues to be a pest to my corals esp SPS as it gets in and among the branches of many.
Maybe I should turn off my pellet reactor which I think I would do before turning off my skimmer. Any thoughts on this?
