thrillreefer's 29 gal resuscitation (pics)

[thrillreefer]

Hello fellow Reefcentralites,

Please join me as I document my struggles to transform my ailing box of rocks into a reef that I can be proud of. Feel free to watch, laugh and learn along with me.

I've been in this hobby for a few years now, and while I have enjoyed myself immensely, I've never had a reef that I felt was a real success. That (, I hope) is about to change. Previous problems have stemmed from lack of knowledge, lapses in diligence (!) and poor tank planning. So, I have decided to combat all three causes of failure with the power of this site. Come help me spend my time and money, slap my wrist if needed and enjoy the ride. I just might share the glory when I win TOTM :smokin:

Some background: I started working in a SW LFS in high school, and of course soon wanted my own reef. So my dad and I spent one new year's eve building an 80 gal acrylic tank for my bedroom. I've been hooked ever since, and I probably poured half of my earnings from the LFS into that tank: MH, sea swirls, skimmers that I immediately took apart to "improve" and never again got to work. I decided that reefing was all about tinkering, and I never looked back.

I'm proud to say that since that first reef, I have had in my possession an unbroken string of reef tanks (if you count the year and a half that my mom topped off a tank of LR nearly devoid of anything else). I eventually brought most of the contents of the 80 gallon to college on subsequent flights between Seattle and Boston, usually in tupperware in my backpack. I actually still have a few corals that I picked up while working at the LFS: neon green sinularia, galaxea, yellow scroll, etc. They are tough to kill, yes, but I feel pretty good about keeping them alive through 6+ years of boom and bust reefkeeping. Long story short, I have now graduated and am living in more permanent housing, and it is time to get this reefkeeping thing under control.

So, the current sorry state of affairs: I had everything in a 29 gal AGA tank until 3 days ago, when I moved it to a 29 acrylic SeaClear. I was confused about the sudden growth of hair algae in the tank, until I took out all the rocks and found this just in the sand:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3430.jpg
Not only was my cleanup crew not eating the HA, the majority had died and were now fueling its growth with their decay. All inhabitants of the tank sat in buckets overnight while I readied the new tank. The opening in the new tank was too small to fit some of the larger pieces of LR, so I routed the opening larger, leaving about 1.25 inches on the front and sides. I drilled holes for two 3/4 inch bulkeads in the top rear corners, and a 1" bulkhead in the center top. This larger bulkhead, for the drain, I surrounded with a tiny DIY overflow, just 3" long, 2" front to back and about 6" high, glued to the back wall around the bulkhead (which now cannot be removed):
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3434.jpg

I stupidly decided that this would work for a closed loop, returning via a SCWD to the two top corner bulkheads, but as you can clearly understand, it just sucked air with the water and created nothing but bubbles. So, I did what any reefer would do, and sacrificed a bucket for a makeshift sump:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3442.jpghttp://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3451.jpg

I fired up the pump, and the SCWD is working well, but the overflow is just a naked bulkhead inside the box, and is operating at a volume somewhere between very loud and obnoxiously loud. I wish I could play the newbie card here, but I just have to step back and accept that my initial design was poor.
To get an idea of the magnitude of the problem here, take a look inside the overflow and sump while the return pump is operating.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3449.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3433.jpg

Pretty idiotically designed, although the surface is well skimmed, and there is certainly adequate oxygen exchange. Additional problems/setbacks include the following. During the move, I killed half of my fish in the tank (a green chromis, the yellow watchman remains alive and well), my green sinularia (which I've had for 6-7 yrs)was neglected under a rock for an extra day, and began to rot, dropping arms and gunk into the water when I finally rescued it. I noticed what I believe to be RTN on one of my acro frags (how nice), and I have a moderate to heavy infestation of redbugs on my smooth-skinned acros. I tested the SG today (albeit with a swing-arm hydrometer) and it came in at a cool 1.027, temps dropped possibly as low as 70F during the overnight bucket stay while moving, and I've notice some of my mushrooms melting. The tank has a nice colony of hair algae, valonia is rampant, and I estimate that 80% of my snails and hermits died during the month since I bought them.

I sure hope this is rock bottom.

[thrillreefer]

Installing a durso on the overflow seems like a good place to start. However, this is complicated by the fact that my overflow box is just 2 inches front to back, which makes installing an elbow impossible. I believe that I can make a modified intake out of a 1" mpt X slip adapter, gluing a piece of acrylic over the slip end and then drilling a 1 inch hole in one side that will point down when screwed in. The air intake for the durso can be created outside the tank using an elbow off of the bulkhead and drilling a small hole for the air intake. I've never made one of these before, but it looks pretty straightforward. I also have the added incentive that even a poorly operating durso will be at least an order of magnitude better than my current configuration. The finished product should look something like this (yay MS paint)
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/dursomod.jpg

[mikellini]

Good idea! I thought of the elbow until I realized there wouldn't be enough room... Even if it all works out as planned, there still may be some noise coming from the overflow, depending on how much of a drop it is to the hole you drilled.

Look on the bright side. No leaks! lol

[thrillreefer]

Right, it may not be completely whisper quiet, but the drop is about 2 inches or less. I can certainly handle a little soothing trickle. My only real concern is that the intake in the overflow box may still suck some air if I just drill a hole in the fitting without extending the sides downward. Guess I'll just have to try out a few different mods and hope one works. Good thing tomorrow is a day off.

[mikellini]

you could stop the overflow for a bit and drill out the hole so you could fit a 1" elbow into it (and seal with silicone), that would make it a little more like a real durso. Don't know how much room you have behind the tank for drilling though... maybe a dremel?

[Canadian]

Can't you just stop the return pump, remove the plumbing to the bulkhead, unscrew your bulkhead, install a street 90 into the bulkhead (which should have less than 2" of throw once installed in the bulkhead), re-install the bulkhead with the street 90 already installed, then reconnect the plumbing and fire it all back up?

[puckbs]

if the bulkhead is threaded...you could also cut off most of the threads, you only need one or two to catch and hold it in place, i've had to do that before.....but two inches..man that's tight

[thrillreefer]

Because the overflow box is so tiny, I can't take the bulkhead out (at least without cutting off most of the threads). I will probably have to cut the threads to fit the tee for the durso behind the tank, but I need to leave enough to cement in a bit of 1" PVC to attach the tee. So I came up with another solution. I cut a 1" PVC male adapter, removed some of the threads and cut some acrylic scraps to build a makeshift elbow.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3465.jpg

I used gel superglue to attach everything, and the DIY fitting was strong enough to hold up to sanding and shaping with a file. I leak tested it, and here it is ready to screw into the overflow:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3470.jpg

Screwing the thing in will be fairly difficult, since I have so little room to maneuver and can't get more than a finger or two inside the box. I bought PVC and fittings, so I should be able to make the rest of the durso once I get this guy in.

[mikellini]

lookin good

[puckbs]

nice work...

[thrillreefer]

After leak testing the fitting I built, I maneuvered it into place in the overflow box, only to find that the threads on the inside of the bulkhead are larger than 1" (which surprised me since 1" PVC fits into the slip fitting on the other side). Anyway, this turned out to be beneficial, because I think screwing this fitting into the threads in such a small space would have been tough. With the intake on my new fitting pointed downward, I fired up the pump. Of course, the fitting sucked a lot of air, though it was a small improvement over the naked bulkhead.

I had planned to unscrew the fpt x hose barb elbow that is currently attached to the outside of the drain bulkhead in order to attach a 1" PVC tee for the air intake on the durso, but I decided to just drill a hole in my new fitting and attach airline tubing for the air intake as a quick test. The water level in the overflow box kept see-sawing, so I removed the fitting and drilled a hole to install a second piece of airline tubing. When the water level continued to see-saw, I went back to the durso website http://www.dursostandpipes.com/ and discovered that an oscillating water level in the overflow box is usually due to excess back pressure in the drain (caused by the drain outlet being too far submerged in the sump) rather than by an incorrectly sized air intake on the durso. I raised the drain hose to the surface of my "sump" and reinstalled the fitting. This time, the water level held steady, and the loud slurping sound was replaced by a noise like someone sucking the last of their drink through a drinking straw.

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3474.jpg

The water splashing into the overflow has an audible trickle to it, but this was diminished somewhat with filter floss. I estimate that I reduced the overall volume by about 80%, and the grating, annoying quality of the noise by about 90%. It's not completely quiet, but at least I can watch TV without turning off the return pump.

[mikellini]

You'll likely improve a little more on the noise if you do go ahead and put a tee on the outside for the durso. Really, if done right, you should hear more from the hum of the pump than from the overflow. Good job so far and good critical thinking!

[Canadian]

Good work! In that last pic I can see how small the overlfow actually is - I didn't realize it was that tiny. Great DIY problem solving.

[thrillreefer]

The overflow was actually a DIY skimmer box that I had put together to fit around a tiny powerhead which dishcarged out a small hole in the side (now covered). The box originally had 4 sides and was just clipped to the side of the tank at the correct height. It worked, but only when the water level in the tank was close to the bottom of the teeth. Otherwise, too much water came in below the surface and slicks developed. Probably would have worked over a larger range of water depths with a larger pump, but I switched over to this new acrylic tank to fix water flow issues.

The tiny overflow (2 x 3 inches) is handling the flow from my Rio 2100 return pump at a little over 3 ft of head: the flow is about 400 gph, factoring about 90 % efficiency through the SCWD. Water depth is an inch above the bottom of the overflow's teeth, which leaves me about 1/2 inch of teeth and 1/4 inch above the overflow for a failsafe should the teeth clog. If the DIY elbow clogs...then I'm in trouble. So this configuration probably will not be permanent.

[thrillreefer]

4 days post set-up on the tank, snapped a few pics before lights out

FTS
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3475.jpg

L/R sides
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3477.jpghttp://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3479.jpg

I'm fairly happy with the aquascaping, although some of the tonga branch rock near the top will be rearranged to add a little more height to the rockwork. Also, I need some black PVC or Loc-line stat.

the one remaining fish: yellow watchman
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3461.jpg

[mikellini]

You should look into making the PVC returns black, They kinda stick out like a sore thumb. Looking good other than that!

Still running with the bucket sump?

[thrillreefer]

Yeah they do. The irony is that I switched from my 29 gal glass tank so that I could get the large RIO powerhead out of the tank and have a cleaner look; right now, with the overflow and the large PVC fittings, the tank has far more noticable equipment than it did with the dark grey PH hidden behind the rocks with a small nozzle sticking out to direct flow.

Flow in this tank is far better, though it is not reaching all the way to the corners or to the bottom with the current fittings. Also, the water level has been slowly rising in the display, and today increased more than 1/4 inch from morning until I got home from work around 8. Because there is so much flow for this size OF box, the filter floss I jammed in there to reduce noise from water rushing in had already started to clog and restrict flow somewhat (after ~5 days). Admittedly, I kicked up more detritus than usual in setting up and rearranging rocks, but this seems pretty excessive.

It looks like I will have to make it a priority to change the overflow. Two ideas come to mind: and external overflow box, or removing the box and using a elbow with a short standpipe off of the existing bulkhead in the back wall. The external box carries a higher chance of success, but requires more work, especially in routing an opening in the back wall of the tank.

An elbow off of the bulkhead would be quite a bit easier, but I have some doubts as to whether I could make this quiet by using a Stockman or inverted stockman (what is that called again?) I rarely see anyone using just a bulkhead in the back wall with a pipe leading to the surface, so there must be a few reasons why this is not a good choice. It might be hard to control noise, or might be more fragile a setup than most people want to risk.

[puckbs]

as for the pvc, you could have it stop above the water line and then feed loc-line down below the waterline....

or.....spray paint it with krylon fusion

or....look for black pvc online, unfortunately i don't have any sites for you to check out but i know its out there

[puckbs]

lookin at it again, you could just get a black threaded reducer bushing and go straight to loc-line... www.modularhose.com

[unda_da_see]

I bought a 29 seaclear about a year ago, which i haven't set up yet, but the bracing is a thick clear center brace. did yours come with the bracing all around the rim? i actually like mine but am now wondering if i got an older tank and hoping the brace is sufficent.

[puckbs]

i had a 29 seaclear and cut out the whole back part so i could fit HOB and a skimmer on the back, no ill effects

[thrillreefer]

My SeaClear (which had a tag saying it was manufactured earlier this year) came with a rim of 2" on the front, 3" on the sides, and then a second opening (for HOB filter, I assume) at the back that started about 1/4 inch from the back wall and was around 1.5-2" wide, leaving a strip the length of the tank another 1.5-2" wide.

This is much clearer:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/tanktop.jpg

Pretty annoyingly small main opening, if you ask me, since some of my rocks wouldn't have even fit through the opening at all. So I took a router to it, leaving about 1.25 inches on the front and sides, and leaving the back alone. I would have designed the top with 1-1.5 inches around the whole thing, but in hindsight I am glad there is the opening that comes right to the back wall, because this is the only way I am able to use my goofy little overflow at all.

I've never used loc-lines, how do they connect? Do they use a male thread to attach to the bulkhead? Also, do they give good flow coverage for much of the tank, or just a strong flow directed into a small stream? They seem to have a pretty small opening.

[puckbs]

check out www.modularhose.com you will see they have spreaders or splitters, you can do all sorts of stuff with them, not to mention you can jam a hydor flow into the 1/2"

[thrillreefer]

puckbs: great link, I had no idea there were so many choices of loc-line fittings, Ys, nozzles, etc. I think I will go with some of these, since they aren't very expensive either. Do you have experience using loclines? I have 3/4" ID bulkheads (threaded), so I guess I would go for the 3/4" loc lines as well, or maybe use a Y and then reduce down to 1/2 for each branch of the Y

[puckbs]

I use loc line for everything....lol....i have 3/4 split to 1/2 Y ....that is the way i would go.

The only thing with the loc line is that they are a bear to get apart...lol...but other than that, they're great, and neat and clean too.

[thrillreefer]

So, plan ahead and get it right the first time? when has that ever worked in a reef tank?

[Jester]

even when I plan ahead, I still need more stuff or better equipment.. or more frags... heheheee... its like an addiction..

[thrillreefer]

When I shopped around to buy my current tank (actually the 29 AGA that this current tank replaced), I searched high and low for a stock stand set with a canopy that was tall enough to house halides (i.e.12 inches tall). I don't know if there is a source for these besides the exorbitant though high quality, custom builders, but I didn't find one.

So I built my own. I went for solid 1x12 red oak, and chose a minwax wood finish that would give my canopy a color that was a close match to my stand.

Putting the finish on the canopy doors:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3484.jpg

That was a couple of days ago; today I put on the first coat of helmsman spar varnish to protect the wood. Its used for outdoor furniture and the like, so it should protect well. Two more coats of varnish, then I have to attach the doors and the top from my existing (stock) canopy. The reason for the new canopy, obviously is to add a halide to the setup. I have a 250w retrofit with an Icecap MH ballast, and I believe a 20K radium bulb. I also have an Icecap 660 VHO ballast that I'll use for two 24 inch VHO bulbs. Currently, I'm running a URI actinic white in the front, and URI actinic in back. I like the color, so I think I will keep this configuration on the new canopy. So that brings it up to 400 W total for about 12 watts per gallon. Still thinking about the photoperiod, maybe 10-12 h with the VHOs and 4-6 h with the halide later in the day so they will be on when I get home from work.

[thrillreefer]

Finally finished my new canopy today. I'd forgotten how much I love the look of halides!

I used the top from my existing canopy and screwed that to the top of the new one after staining and 3 coats of spar varnish. I'm using a 250w halide and two 24" 75w VHOs on here, both off of icecap ballasts. Since the ballasts don't run very hot, I felt safe screwing them directly to the canopy. I'll watch for any overheating, but I expect it will be fine.

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3487.jpg http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3491.jpg http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3496.jpg

Finally, I attached the doors and plugged everything in. Here you can see how I attached a small vertical block to one of the doors so that the canopy matches the stand but I still retain full access to the front of the canopy.

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3504.jpg http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3501.jpg http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3505.jpg

I've had all the bulbs running for about 5 hours now, and all of the livestock is noticeably more fully expanded than yesterday. I'll be on the lookout for heating issues, and I still have to decide on the photoperiod for the bulbs, but it looks like the canopy switch was a success.

[thrillreefer]

It's been a long week, but I got around to taking some pics. I have an acro that was given to me as a tricolor that went brown when it was shaded in a friend's tank. I've noticed that it really seems to color up at the growth tips, and gets more colorful under high light. Duh. Pretty standard, but I wanted to document growth and color change from the 250w 20K halide that I just added. We'll call this the "before picture"
Left: VHOs only (actinic + actinic/white), Right: VHOs plus halide

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3509.jpg http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3511.jpg

Hopefully in a month I will be able to look back and sactually, these aren't that small) ee some significant growth and color...

Also note the wash of bubbles in the second picture, a symptom of my overflow/sump troubles. I've been thinking and researching the new overflow and sump design. Nothing concluded yet, but I'll try to post my thoughts on that soon. Do bubbles/microbubbles cause any harm to the inhabitants, or are they just annoying and unsightly? Any dangers if I let the problem go awhile?

[thrillreefer]

After spending too much on dry supplements over the years, I recently switched over to a DIY two-part very similar to one Randy Holmes-Farley recommends in his article, An Improved Two-Part, Do-It-Yourelf Calcium and Alkalinity System (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php). I based mine off of recipe 1 (which uses sodium carbonate instead of sodium bicarbonate for the alkalinity part to bolster pH) and part 3A for the magnesium supplement. Since I have access to lab-grade chemicals, I used these to make my solutions. Also, in science we work in moles, not parts per million, so I modified the recipes given in the article by scaling them to easy molarities:

part 1: 1 Molar calcium chloride (CaCl2) + 0.037M potassium chlroide (KCl)
part 2: 2 M sodium carbonate (Na2CO3)
part 3A (5x concentration): 0.633 M magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) + 1.04M magnesium chloride (MgCl2)

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3512.jpg

I generally try to add 5ml per day of parts 1 and 2, so that means 1ml per day of part 3A. I usually forget for a few days, so I just add about 15, 15, and 3ml whenever I remember. I've had better results with the DIY 3 part, mostly because making it forced me to research reef chemistry and come to a better understanding of calcification chemistry.

One slight problem I've encountered, which I've noticed is worst when I've waited a long time between dosing, is that when I add the sodium carbonate, I get precipitation immediately of what is probably calcium carbonate:

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3513.jpg http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3514.jpg http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3515.jpg

Never seems to harm any inhabitants, even when it accumulates on top of corals. The precipitate forms soft, snow flakes which dissipate after a couple of minutes. They must look and feel like food particles, because my fish hunt them as voraciously as they do frozen mysis. My hairy mushrooms get fooled as well, and usually one or more of them will close up as if capturing food. Pretty funny, but so far no ill effects.

[thrillreefer]

I took a subway ride to my nearest decent fish store today. I saw that they had some nice macroalgae cheap. I grabbed one of those small floating breeder traps for livebearers (cost $4.99) and some algae, including chaeto, a couple caulerpa species, maybe some others. Stuck the algae in and pushed the trap to the back and voila, refugium and algae chamber installed.

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3517.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3521.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3520.jpg

You can see the hair algae that is already starting to grow on my PVC return in the 2nd pic. Definitely one of the big reasons for algae is to compete with hair algae for nutrients and hopefully starve it away. Also, I'm going out of town for over two weeks soon, so the pods this supplies should augment freeze dried/flake from the autofeeder.

Also, did quick Ca/Alk tests (AP test kits, colormetric so not the greatest): 380-400ppm Ca, 11dKH. Seems fine, I might up the ratio of Ca for a few days to push it up. I know 400+ is the goal for Ca, what about KH?

[martinphillip03]

Maybe you are adding to much at once. Try breaking it down. One dose an hour for 3 hours, instead of three all at once. . Also do you know how quickly your reef uses these supplements?

Marty


I generally try to add 5ml per day of parts 1 and 2, so that means 1ml per day of part 3A. I usually forget for a few days, so I just add about 15, 15, and 3ml whenever I remember. I've had better results with the DIY 3 part, mostly because making it forced me to research reef chemistry and come to a better understanding of calcification chemistry.

One slight problem I've encountered, which I've noticed is worst when I've waited a long time between dosing, is that when I add the sodium carbonate, I get precipitation immediately of what is probably calcium carbonate:

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3513.jpg http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3514.jpg http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3515.jpg

Never seems to harm any inhabitants, even when it accumulates on top of corals. The precipitate forms soft, snow flakes which dissipate after a couple of minutes. They must look and feel like food particles, because my fish hunt them as voraciously as they do frozen mysis. My hairy mushrooms get fooled as well, and usually one or more of them will close up as if capturing food. Pretty funny, but so far no ill effects. [/B][/QUOTE]

[thrillreefer]

I have a feeling you're right about the dosage amounts on the precipitation issue, though I still seem to get some precipitation even with 5ml doses. I have no idea yet how much calcification actually consumes in the tank. Is is possible to figure this out without very accurate test kits? I'm currently using the AP calcium kit which has a resolution of 20ppm and the AP Alk kit that has a resolution of 1 dKH.

[thrillreefer]

I was thinking about the floating pod farm I just set up: there were a bunch of the small, red bristleworms in the macro that I picked up since it was sitting on the substrate. What do these guys eat? I thought I remember that they are detritivores, but will they start to consume 'pods if confined in a small space with no substrate and little detritus to eat? Am I just setting up a bristleworm culture here?

[thrillreefer]

In preparation for my two week trip starting next weekend, I put together a quick auto top-off so that the tank won't run dry. It was fairly quick and easy using the float valve that I got with my RODI a couple years ago. (This hobby teaches you to never throw anything away.) I used a piece of 1/8" plex, attached a leg so that it can't move and stick the float valve to the side of my sump (bucket) and attached the float valve and supply hose. The other end goes to a 4 gal plastic container.

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3525.jpg http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3527.jpg http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3528.jpg

As an added bonus, the divider in the sump has drastically reduced the amount of bubbles returned to the tank. Stay tuned, new corals tomorrow 9-10 frags, $5 each. Even though I'm out of town for a couple weeks soon, I couldn't pass up those prices. Mostly zoas and montiporas. Hopefully pics tomorrow

[thrillreefer]

Well, I'm on vacation and the tank is on it's own for 2 weeks. I never got a chance to take pics of my new frags, but I snagged some nice zoanthids (pink, lime green, dark green palythoas, some others), idaho grape monti cap and a german blue polyps digi. All were looking good when I left, except the orange zoanthids had not opened up.

While I'm away in seattle, I'll be designing a sump and cutting acrylic for it and my new overflow. I also am on the market for a skimmer, since I will have room for it in the new sump. The sump dimensions will be 15L x 11W x 14-15 high, so around 10 gallons full. Its the largest sump I can fit inside the stand while also being able to store buckets on the other side of the stand. I want to have a section for the drain from the tank that has space for my skimmer, an algae filter section in the middle and then the return pump will be on the opposite side from the drain/skimmer section. I need some suggestions for how to baffle the sump so that I won't get microbubbles in the tank. post Pics of your own sump setup and tell me how it has worked.

I haven't bought or used a skimmer in years, and I have no idea which to choose. The choices seem to have exploded in number in the past 5 years. I've seen the Odyssea PL75 skimmer (http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=245) mentioned in a couple of other nano build threads. What have experiences with this guy been like? The stock pump that comes with it seems pretty weak, like it might need a needle-wheel modded maxijet or it's own needle wheel mod to be effective. Anyone have experience with this guy?

[thrillreefer]

I searched for some info on the Odyssea skimmers to see what kind of feedback they were getting, and I found this monster thread that includes at least a few people's experience setting them up and getting them to work: Cheap skimmers thread (http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1048116&perpage=25&pagenumber=1)

It's long, and I'm only a few pages in, but I think it will definitely help me pick an inexpensive skimmer that works for nano tanks. Check it out, looks good

[thrillreefer]

So my GF headed home before I did, and we placed an order at saltwaterfish.com before we left for delivery this saturday. Critters I can look forward to when I return include: tiny (>3/4 inch) hippo tang, occelaris clown (aquacultured), cleaner shrimp, a generic feather duster, blueleg hermits, orange linkia and a free rusty clown goby.

My girlfriend will have to receive the order, and I walked her through drip acclimation so that she will be able to take care of that when the order arrives. Should be cool to start filling the tank up, its pretty sparse on movement at the moment

[thrillreefer]

I arrived home to find a tiny hippo tang and an occelaris clown waiting for me. The blue tang is the size and shape of a quarter, but it eats voraciously: frozen mysis, freeze dried plankton, crumbled spirulina flakes. I have been trying to feed at least twice a day, and today I think I pushed 4 feedings. The tang is a bit thinner than I would like, so I ordered some brine shrimp eggs and selcon to enrich the newly hatched brine so that I can get some really high quality nutrition in him. I also ordered some formula two flakes to include a good amount of vegetable matter (since it is a surgeon, after all). Check out the size of this guy!
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3588.jpg

The blue tang and clown seem to be making friends, though the tang seems to be getting along just as well with its own reflection... http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3572.jpg

[unda_da_see]

the blue looks emaciated, bad.

[thrillreefer]

yeah, that was my assessment too. I've been pumping him full of as many small feedings as I can, though I can really only feed from about 5PM until 1AM since I work all day. Luckily, the fish is taking all manner of frozen and prepared foods, and I have some new foods on the way. Newly hatched brine plus selcon and formula two flakes is what I came up with for rehabilitation foods. Any suggestions for how to feed all day while I am out? I was thinking maybe a breeding trap with live brine or other foods in it so that they would slowly leak out all day and give the fish something to pick at. I could use some expert advice!

[mathias999us]

Just found this thread, and read through it.

HAHA, I was busting up reading through your problems with the overflow. Sorry to take pleasure in your pain, but that type of a situation is all too familiar to me from my first tank. Thanks for sharing.

Great job on the custom canopy too. The only thing I don't like about it is that you have so much ambient light leaking out of the doors, and out the top. But, the craftsmanship and design looks great, and it matched the original stand well.

I agree, that tang is riding a razor's edge right now... hope it works out.

Looks like things are shaping up and your bad luck is turning around - good job. Post some more pics! :)

[thrillreefer]

No apologies necessary, I'll be laughing along with you...as soon as I get the overflow problems fixed. I have 3/8th acrylic cut to size and routed for both the new sump and a new overflow box, this time 6 x 3.5 and 8 inches tall and attached to the outside back of the tank. I also brought my dremel back with me from my parent's house so I will be able to slot up the back wall for this new overflow. I just need to get some free time in order to take care of these projects.

I agree with you about the tang. I feel that if I can get him to hang on until saturday, he will have a better chance since by then I should be able to hatch some brine and pump them full of selcon. I'm crossing my fingers, because the tang is already showing a good personality: out in the open, interacting with me and other fish and eating well. So we'll see. As for pics, I need to finish scraping algae and then take some to show the nice growth I got while I was away for 2 weeks. The corals are responding very well to the new lighting. Stay tuned

[thrillreefer]

My marinedepot shipment including brine shrimp eggs and loc-line arrives tomorrow, so I put together a quick DIY hatchery. It cost nothing and took about 10 minutes to make:
Cut up to 1L bottles, drill the cap and attach the hose. The hose even loops through a hole in the top to prevent backflow.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3603.jpg http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3610.jpg


Tang update: I've been feeding every hour or so since I got home from work, just a tiny amount of minced plankton or frozen mysis. The tang eats his fill each time, and seems more active today. Dorsal fin is still frayed, as it was upon arrival, but is not getting worse. I'm usually against naming fish on the principle that they cannot be petted and are therefore not pets, but I have dubbed the blue tang "Chubs"

[mathias999us]

Hehe, hopefully he'll live up to his name. Is he bulking up at all?

[thrillreefer]

Might be too soon to tell, but I noticed a bit more of a rounded belly, at least during feeding time last night. I think I will continue to feed every 1-2 hours whenever I am around and the lights are on. He was noticeably less lethargic yesterday, so that's positive.

[unda_da_see]

when i first got my six line, his belly expanded big time, which i thought was weird but he was just piggin out. i hope the blue makes it. don't overfeed your tank though!!!!! give a hoot ..... don't pollute.

[thrillreefer]

My shipment arrived today, so I set up a batch of brine shrimp eggs for hatching. IN the meantime, I fed Selcon-enriched Formula II flakes about 4-5 times in 1-1.5 hour intervals. I'm not adding much food at a time, but I may be overfeeding the tank as unda_da_see mentioned. Right now though, my primary concern is nursing Chubs back to health and it seems to be working. I notice a definite plumping of the belly region, and he looks less distended after a feeding now. Loc-line arrived as well, so that should be replacing the hideous pvc claws this weekend.

[mathias999us]

Cool, glad to hear chubs seems to be improving. Send some pics of the locline when it's installed.

[thrillreefer]

Well, I got the loc-line into the configuration I want it, but I ran into two problems. The first is that I used a "double nipple" fitting screwed into one of my bulkheads for the PVC fittings. (This is basically two sets of male threads attached end to end.) Anyway, it is stuck. And since it is up near the top corner of the tank and the only thing to grab is literally threads, I'm having trouble removing it. I don't have a vise-grips or I would try those, though I'm not even sure they would fit.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3613.jpg http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3622.jpg

I could sand two flat faces into opposite sides of the threads with a dremel and then use a wrench, but that is more work than I had time to do this weekend, not to mention a mess.

The second problem stems from the fact that I am using a branched fitting on one of the returns. The bulkhead is so close to the wall and the tank top that I will not be able to screw in the branched loc-line; I'll have to screw in the straight part and then snap on the Y. Much easier to do with the top off, so I'm waiting to do it all at once.

[thrillreefer]

I was productive over the weekend, though. I got the welding finished on my two acrylic projects: outside tank overflow and the new sump. Check 'em out:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3621.jpg

I couldn't believe how sharp freshly routed acrylic can be! I cut myself twice putting the sump together, so I'm going to hold off on installing it until I can take off those nasty edges with a quick file job. On the sump, the larger side is where the drain comes in, and this leaves room for a skimmer (to be purchased soon). The smaller side is for my return pump and a nice lawn of chaeto, probably resting on some eggrcrate lighting grid above the pump. How does it look?

Oh and here's an FTS I took tonight. I think I need a better camera or maybe some training, but you get the idea.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3624.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3628.jpg http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3626.jpg
Check out that red macroalgae (right pic). It just appeared while I was out of town. I haven't added live rock in about a year, so this was unexpected. Colors are really starting to come back after about 4 weeks under 20K halides.

[mathias999us]

Nice work on the acrylic! Looks sharp ;) (in the good way). Have you water tested yet?

I must say, your tank is really looking like it's on the road to recovery - looks pretty nice.

For the threaded nipple problem, believe it or not, that's a pretty common problem with sprinkler systems as well ;). Have you considered using a riser-removal tool? I had to hunt to find a pic of one:
http://reticonline.com.au/cw135/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=169_170&products_id=587

You can usually pick these up from your local home improvement store for about $5.... should do the trick for you I think.

Keep up the good work!

[mathias999us]

Also, how's chubs?

[thrillreefer]

mathias999us, thanks for the heads up on that tool. I haven't tried manhandling it with a pair of pliers yet, but if that doesn't do the job, I will definitely go grab one of these. Good find. I plan on putting in the sump tonight, after I finish filing the edges. No water test yet, but I'm pretty confident it will hold, since I can see that all of the seams are hole-free. Some air bubbles, but nothing I can't live with. That's why I love acrylic, no mysteries there. And since I went with the 3/8ths material, the sump feels pretty bombproof.

Chubs continues to improve. I finally got some brine shrimp hatched and enriched with selcon, so I fed with those yesterday. All of the fish went into a frenzy, as expected. I took some pics yesterday but forgot to upload them. should be up tonight.

[thrillreefer]

So I got the sump in last night, and it rocks! My goals were to increase the sump capacity (now 9-10 gal), separate drain and return pump chambers to reduce microbubbles and most importantly, have the sump fit in the stand and still allow bucket storage as well. All these were successful, and as a side effect, the noise from my overflow somehow decreased about 75%. It's now so quiet that I almost don't need to add my new overflow box and gurgle buster. Pretty cool. It must have something to do with lower/optimal backpressure in the drain hose. It is now about 2-3 inches below the surface, and totally unobstructed. Quite a nice change from that idiotic bucket sump with the drain outlet smashed up against the wall of the bucket.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3451.jpg ---------> http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3647.jpg http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3648.jpg

[thrillreefer]

As promised, new pictures of chubs. As a squirrelly little toddler of a fish, he hates to hold still for photos, so I had to resort to the flash. It turns out that the camera flash scares the fish, but at least it doesn't wash out colors like it does for coral (must be due to the fact that they have reflective pigments rather than fluorescent ones like in corals). I bet it would be cool to rig up an actinic flash to use for reef pictures...

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3643.jpg http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/thrillreefer/IMG_3641.jpg

As you can see from the profile shot, chubs' sunken belly is gone and his fins have noticeably recovered. My girlfriend thinks I'm crazy, but I could swear this fish has grown since we got him!

I'm beginning to agree with those who claim aquacultured fish don't have the brains/instincts of wild ones. While my clown looks good and is fairly friendly, it has shown no interest in hosting either the green sinularia which looks superficially like an anemone, or the large frilly mushrooms that are ballooning in size under the halide. Is there any hope?

[Bernie21]

I have like 3 hammers, 2 torches, 1 frogspawn, and my tank raised aquacultered, yadda, yaada clowns wont go near any of them!! So Im leaning to NO!!

[Bernie21]

Oh, sorry, NICE TANK, glad to see it getting better!!

[thrillreefer]

Thanks for the kind words, and I'm jealous. I love those Euphyllias, they add so much color and movement. I've been trying to get one for less than the insane prices they charge at the stores, but no luck yet.

I can't say I'm really that sad if it doesn't host. In my last tank, I had a beautiful goldstripe maroon clown that wouldn't go farther than a few inches from its home in the RBTA. It's interesting to observe the behavior, but after a while I just wanted him to go exploring and add a little movement and comedy to the tank. Chubs and the clown seem to be hanging out a lot, so maybe it will help the little guy's rehabilitation...

[mathias999us]

Great work thrillreefer! This tank is really coming along. That's good news about the hippo too - I agree, I think he's still on the skinny side, but looking better. Do you still plan to put your new overflow on, even though the noise died down just with the new sump? Also, did you decide on a skimmer yet?

[thrillreefer]

I still plan to add the new overflow. While the noise is better, it isn't still completely silent, and I'm confident I can improve on this with the new overflow and gurgle buster. In addition, the current overflow is just laughably small and impossible to do any work in without two pairs of pliers. But at least it takes some pressure off so that I can take my time and maybe design a jig for the dremel to cut slots for the weir on the overflow. I'm hesitant to just rip off the existing box and start chopping into the back wall of my tank without a good plan, since I don't plan on draining it more than 1/3 of the way down.

As for the skimmer, I'm still really leaning towards the
Odyssea PL75 (http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=245) since I've read at least decent reviews and the price is unbeatable. I made sure that the right (drain) side of my sump is large enough to hold this guy, although it will be tight. I think I'm going to order it soon, now that I have a place to put it. Loc-line is going in soon, most likely this weekend. Still planning the chaeto/mixed macro chamber in the sump, probably above the return pump but separated well so I don't clog up the SCWD. The water turnover in the left sump chamber above the pump is low, but I'm not sure whether that is ideal for algal filtration.

As for the tang, I will continue to feed 3-4 tiny feedings per day between the time I get home and 1AM when the lights go off or I go to bed. I agree he's still a bit thin, but no longer dangerously so.

[ExarKun]

Hi thrillreefer,

Just got done reading through your thread. Tank looks real good, nice work.

You mentioned you took the T to a LFS. I am also from the Boston area and I wanted to get your opinion on the LFS in the area. I have been to 3 so far, Lovely Pets in Quincy, Tropical Fish in Natick, and Skiptons in Dorchester. Have you been to any of these? Are there any others around?

So far I think I like Skiptons the best as far as service but getting there can be a pain since its on the other side of town and they are only open till 5. I end up having to go there on Saturdays. I do drive right by Tropical Pets on my way home from work, but I'm not a huge fan of that store.

Anywho as far as your skimmer choice goes the price looks great! I don't have any experience with it myself, I use an Aqua C Remora HOB and I love it. The price is quite a bit higher though. I'd def like to know your results with the PL75.

[thrillreefer]

ExarKun: Glad you like the tank, I'm definitely starting to like how it looks. Still evolving, but that's most of the fun. As for fish stores, I haven't found any closer than Lovely, though I don't think it's that great. The main guy working there is a good guy, and he knows a lot, so I don't mind going in there. They seem to have good fish and some corals, but the corals are way overpriced. I go there for food and occasional supplies. The store I mentioned going to was Tropic Isle Aquarium (http://tropicisleaquarium.reachlocal.com/coupon/?scid=583292&cid=131892&tc=08011121274869095&kw=4880650:2197&dynamic_proxy=1&primary_serv=tropicisleaquarium.reachlocal.net&se_refer=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.google.com%252Fsearch%253Fhl%253Den%2526q%253Dsaltwater%252Bfish%252 Breef%252Bboston%2526btnG%253DGoogle%252BSearch) out in Framingham. It took me almost two hours each way because I had to take the commuter rail and then walk a couple miles (should have brought my bike). That store is excellent though, you should go if you haven't checked it out. It's out in the 'burbs where they can afford the space for a nice big showroom. They had a great selection of fish that all looked healthy, and some nice corals and a few clams. Decent prices, especially on the fish, I thought. It was worth my two hours, so if you can drive out there it would totally be worth it.

I think my favorite store in the area is down south by providence. I think they somehow don't have a website (or I can't find it) but it is either Rumford Aquarium in E. Providence or Sea Creature Aquarium north of Providence. I'm pretty sure it's the second one.

IF you ever go up north, there's one I went to up in NH by White River Junction at the VT border. Surprisingly nice, but I can't remember the name. Kinda far anyway.

By the way, have you checked out the Boston Reefer Societey? (http://bostonreefers.org/index.php) If not, check it out, the forums are decent although they don't get the amount of participation as RC. Some of the reefers on the site have incredible tanks, and I've gotten some nice frags for very cheap.

I'm torn on the skimmer. If I get one, I'll get that one since it's cheap and I wouldn't feel to foolish if I wrecked it by modding the heck out of it. On the other hand, I haven't run a skimmer in years (and never for long) and I haven't missed it. I am considering just growing a whole bunch of chaeto and caulerpa in the right side of my sump, rather than getting a skimmer that I might have to constantly have to adjust and mess with. The algal filtration appeals to my biologist's aesthetic. But on that hand's other hand, I haven't really loved how my tank looked and had excellent coral growth, and this might be attributable to me not running a skimmer for all this time...