captbunzo's 47g tank log

[captbunzo]

I have some GFO in there. Over lunch I am going to add some polyfilter and change in fresh carbon & GFO.

I also am wondering if it might not be a good idea to move the eel to another system (maybe my LFS or something) until I get things cleaned up. The same goes, perhaps, for some of my corals.

Does that sound like a good idea?

[divecj5]

Man...sorry to hear that Paul. That really stinks about the hawkfish and sorry to hear that the eel doesn't look so hot as well. Hopefully the waterchange helped out a bit and everything will look a little better when you get home (at least I'm crossing my fingers).

Since you know that I'm still a newbie on these things and ask you all sorts of questions, I can't comment on what to do although changing the carbon and GFO sounds like a good idea to me.

Hopefully we hear some good news when you get home

Adam

[Divetime]

Paul can you add some live food for the eel. I use to go by the bait & tackle shop to pick up a dozen or so live shrimp. I didn't have a snowflake but a green eel and it grew like wildfire...He also ate everything in the tank.

[OUBrook]

Man, I'm sorry that's happened... I can't really think of any advice, just sympathy..

[captbunzo]

Well, I appreciate that too!

The good news of my lunch visit to the tank is that the eel looks better. The bad news is that there are a number of corals that look horrible.

And the good news about the plan is that a friend from my LFS (Tim for those that have been down here) is going to help me out. We are going to bag up ALL of my livestock this evening for a move to his system. And we are going to do about a 25g water change.

So that makes me feel a lot better. And this all allows me to empathize with those who have had something like this happen....

[dugg]

We need to determine what exactly melted off of that light if we can, so we know what we're dealing with. Was it reflective material for the light? If so, it should be a mixture of silver and brass, with lord only knows what as a bonding agent. Maybe call or email the manufacturer. I would think though, if you get fresh carbon and GFO in there, it should get most of it pretty quick. I would report this to the manufacturer anyway, just so they may make this not a problem in the future, by using something that doesn't melt in saltwater. May not hurt to vacume the rocks incase some of it has just dropped down there and is melting slowly.

[captbunzo]

Well, it was a cheap moonlight and I had it precariously balanced on the tank frame. It was stupid. Even when Brook & Chris were here earlier in the week I knocked it in in front of them.

Oh well, we live and learn.

I am not sure what it was that came off. Basically, it was standard plastic that had sort of that paint on chrome shiny kind of stuff on it. And basically the shiny part dissolved off.

[dugg]

LOL, i just watched an episode of How it's made last weekend on mirrors. That chrome stuff was silver and brass.

The not so funny part is that brass contains copper i believe. If you can find a test kit for copper it might not hurt to check, but i believe there are too many types of copper to have to test for so a test kit may not tell you anything. We will all keep our fingers crossed that you don't have copper in there.

I think i may be inclined to take the whole system down and clean the rocks and disspose of the sand if it were me. I know that's a lot of work, and some money, but may save the rock if there is copper contamination. I would see if i could get a response from the manufacturer first though, it may not have copper at all.

[captbunzo]

I agree that this is a serious problem, Dugg. My first plan is going to be to first remove all of the livestock that I can tonight and do the water change.

As for the future plan...

SAND: I might change out the sand as I really haven't liked the color of my pavestone anyhow. The bags I got seem to have a LOT of black colored stuff, which is sloppy looking. And I am a perfectionist, so it bugs me a lot.

ROCK: As for the rock, I don't think I can bare to get rid of it - I just love my pillar too much! I think I will just have to accept the fact that I need to keep on top of my carbon & GFO, changing them about twice as frequently as normal. And I think I might run polyfilter for a couple months or so, and then maybe once a week every month for the next 6 or so. I might also look into other chemical filtration media - I have heard that chemi-pure is decent for purifying these sorts of toxins as well.

Oh well, guess I am sort of starting over. At least I will likely keep my corals alive, and maybe the eel. That would be a nice consolation prize.

Also, now that I have the stands almost complete for the 25g secondary display tank and the 29g sump, and that our COMAS group buy of haitian lettuce rock is about to come in, I might just go ahead and cure the new rock in the full system. That would make it easier to do water changes while curing, etc. That might be bad on the current rock, however. That also might be bad on the new rock as the old rock still has more of the toxins in it.

So I suppose I should just setup the 29 & 25 together (for curing some of that rock) and then plumb them into the 47g tank after 3-4 weeks when thiings have stabilized a little with the main tank.

Hmmmnnn................

[dugg]

Yeah, i deffinately wouldn't mix the new rock in until you find out just what you have in the old stuff. I didn't mean to discard the rock, just wash it real good before it is saturated with whatever the shiney stuff is. You may find when you remove the rock, that the silver stuff is in a slow melting lump caught under the rock, kind of like my blue goo episode. I'm just thankful mine wasn't a metal contamination, although i still have not figured out what that stuff was.

I does sound like this stuff actually dissolved into the water collum, but you never know, it may have just released from the light and fallen to the bottom. The time it has taken to effect the corals makes me think it may still be melting slowly though.

[captbunzo]

Nope, it had to dissolve. It was behind an acrylic cover on the front of the moonlight. But I will be moving the 47g tank from my old to my new apartment soon, so I will check everything thoroughly then....

[captbunzo]

Ha! I forgot to mention the OTHER big thing going on right now.

I have had some real hastles with the nasty, icky lady who is in charge of my apartment complex down here in Dallas. Well, that came to a head today when she told me that I couldn't setup the additional parts of my tank system (25g & 29g tanks). But worse then that, she lied & was rude & nasty & was just has been acting wrong.

So I decided to move out.

I get the keys to the new place on Monday and will have them both from then until the end of the month. So I guess that works well with the timing of this tank catastrophe.

[VCoo71]

a GFO is only going to remove phosphates and silicates i would think your best bet would be a large water change and polyfilter or you might even look for a seachem product called cuprisorb as it will remove heavy metals

JMO
charlie

[captbunzo]

Originally posted by VCoo71
A GFO is only going to remove phosphates and silicates...

I am no chemist, but I do not believe that is correct. So I did a search and ran across a couple of useful references. According to Randy Holmes-Farley in the article listed below GFO is also known to bind to sulfate, chloride, calcium, magnesium, trace metals, and organics. I did not, however, find any reference to GFO media binding to copper.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-11/rhf/index.php

I have the polyfilter in there right now, which should help with the copper. We also did a big water change and pulled out all the livestock. I might do some research on copper binding agents and see what the best options are for such a beast. It would certainly be easy enough to throw something else into one of my two phosban reactors on the system (see next post).

Thanks for the tips!

[captbunzo]

First, for anyone curious or who asked (I think someone did), here is a link to a thread with some updated pictures of my 55g tank in Ardmore.

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...33#post8478833

And an update on the situation.....

Well, I dropped by the fish store, talked with Tim a bit (who is the friend that was coming by later to help with the fish tank), and decided to get some more chemical filtration media. I picked up another phosban reactor and some Chemi-Pure (which I have heard good things about).

Back at the apartment, I have Phosban Reactor #1 with new Carbon & GFO media as well as added the polyfilter rolled up and placed above that. I added Phosban Reactor #2 with the Chemi-Pure in it to the system. It was actually fun plumbing them together so that they were being powered by a single powerhead.

Phosban reactors rock for simple canister filter type action. So cheap, flexible, no silly bells and whistles.

And then we (ok, Tim did most of the work) did about a 17 gallon water change (probably 40-45%) and then proceeded to bag up all the corals and then the eel. Tim took about two-thirds of them back to his place and I brought the rest up to my house in Ardmore. I took the Ricordia, my new Clam, the Galaxea archelia (poor corals, these had the worst RTN) and a couple of zoa frags (including the blues, Professor Z).

And so the tank is now empty except for rock. Sooner or later we will get all of the sand out of there (maybe when it moves to my new apartment).

[divecj5]

Man....sorry to hear that all this is happening at the same time as the lady from your old apartment decided to rear her ugly head I guess like you said though, it might just work out for the best (well not the best but you know) since you will be moving now.

Keep us posted how the corals are doing, moving, and how the critters are making it.

Best of luck Paul

Adam

[captbunzo]

Ok, here is a pic or 2 I should have posted a week ago... Almost, at least... But first, the normal link to my photo set for this tank on flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/captbun...7594261988730/



This is the tank before a 50% water change and the addition of polyfilter and chemipure, and the switching out of my carbon & phosban.



And this is a pic of the good friend of mine that I have made at my LFS (he works there, nice guy, Tim) who helped me out with this all. I had minor surgery a week ahead of this tank crisis and was not supposed to be lifting heavy objects, etc.

Thank you a MILLION, Tim. You are awesome...

[captbunzo]

And here are some current updates. I have a good bit of my move made to my new apartment. AND, extremely exciting, I have finished my stands!!!

Except I now need to make a small update to one stand based on where I want to put one of these tanks in the new apartment.



This picture shows the 25g secondary display tank sitting on it's newly completed (doors mounted, magnetic clasps installed) stand. When I took this picture, I was standing in the living room of my new apartment looking toward the dining room type area. The 25g tank stand is going to be setup as a sort of divider tank between these 2 rooms of the apartment.



Here you can see the stand from the front. Where I am taking the picture from there will be a futon. On the "backside", there will be a small oval dining table. Therefore, the "back" of the stand will now be exposed to the world. And I, unfortunately, did not put a full back on the stand.

So I am going to be cutting a piece of plywood to fit the open space, staining it, dyeing it, and polycrylicing it. Then I will nail it in place. Hopefully I can make it look really good and get it done in less then a week. I'll take the stand with me home this weekend so I can just cut and fit the plywood with my tablesaw (heck yeah).



Now imagine where I was standing when I took the first picture in this post. And imagine I rotate clockwise 90 degrees. That puts me pointing toward another corner of the living room. In this corner, I will be placing the 47g primary display tank facing diagonally out from the corner. And directly to the right of that tank will be the 29g display sump, which can be seen in this picture.



You might notice that this tank is directly in front of a window. Usually this would be a no-no in most reefing setups due to concerns with algae, etc. HOWEVER, I hope to use sunlight coming through this window to naturally light Chaeto and Mangroves growing in this sump. We'll have to see how that goes.

With the lovely big size of this window, I only wish that this 29g tank was a 55g tank and that lovely stand I built was a FOR a 55g tank. Oh well, 29g should work fine...



These pictures just show some detail of the tank. Notice the flush fitting of the doors of this stand all the way to the left and right. I REALLY like this fitting. I don't know if this is the best design, but it sure worked out well....



And, lastly, a dorky picture of a magnetic clasp. Yes, I really am posting a picture of a magnetic clasp in my tank thread. This is one of those clasps that springs a door open when you press it, if that makes any sense. This allows the doors to be knobless.

And that's all she wrote for tonight, folks. No more pics for now.

[captbunzo]

But I WILL post a few more details in written word, not quite the thousands of words shown in the picture above.

Ok, so the plan. I am going to get the rest of my apartment stuff moved in over the next week. However, for the stuff you care about, the fish tank.

1. This weekend I will be bringing the 25g tank stand home so that I can cut a piece of plywood for a back panel. Hopefully I will have enough time as well to at least start the first step or even two of the finishing process. This finishing will continue over the next week at my old apartment (so I don't have to stink up my new one, muwhahaha ).

2. I am also thinking about putting a bulkhead in the back of the 29g fish tank (sump) so that I can route the output of my return pump out the back of the tank and then snake it low behind the back of the tank so that it will not block light from entering the tank, etc. I will have to think that over a bit.

3. Next Monday evening, hopefully, I'll be moving the 47g tank over with the help of a friend. At this time, Tim (the helper above) and I plan to do a 100% water change. I'll also be removing all the old sand and replacing it with a mix of some southdown and some aragonite (of some sort).

4. Next priority is doing a little silicone work in the 29g and 25g tanks. This is related to resealing an internal overflow in the 25g tank and installing partitions, etc, in the 29g refugium. I need to get this done ASAP so that the silicone will have time to cure. I really should have done this already.

5. Then I need to rehang the metal halide light over the 47g tank. This isn't a HUGE priority as the tank is without any real livestock. However, I would like this to get back on soon so that the tank starts to establish a normal equilibrium.

6. And from there, things probably move to the plumbing of the tanks all up. Now, a fun part of this is that the 25g tank is going to be located about 10 feet away from main tank and the 29g sump.However, I think I can easily plumb things back and forth behind a futon that is going to sit there. Fun fun. And then there is always the normal bits of plumbing, etc.

7. Probably during the week after next, Thanksgiving week, I will be likely ready (hopefully) to pour water into the 25g and 29g tanks and turn them all on. That will be an exciting, and hopefully dry, moment.

[pwhitby]

looks pretty slick.

P.

[divecj5]

Thanks for the update Paul. I missed your call on Friday although I tried to call back. Looks like things went great with the move and things are moving right along. The stands look great and it really looks like the time and energy you put into them really paid off. They look awesome.


Sounds like you have a nice plan set out for yourself and it sounds like a lot of work Should make for a busy couple weeks. Keep us updated on how things are coming along.


Adam

[captbunzo]

Woohoo - a REAL update finally...... A friend from work volunteered to help me move the tank over yesterday and I jumped at the occasion. Otherwise, it was going to be next Tuesday with another friend. So here are some updated pics.

Here is the tank immediately after being brought over to the new apartment and setup. In the process of moving the tank, we got rid of all the old sand and did about a 50% water change. At this point, I am confident that the tank is in good shape and is ready for action - ok maybe in a couple weeks or so....



And here, just about 18 hours later.... The water is running through 2 phosban reactors that are plumbed in sequence, powered by a single maxijet 600 which has been squeezed way down with a ball valve.

Anyhow, the first contains phosban (1/4 cup) and carbon (3/4 - 1 cup), then a layer of a fine filter floss (added to remove dust from water), and then some fresh polyfilter. The second reactor contains some chemi-pure.



I have had carbon and phosban and polyfilter and chemi-pure running on this tank for several weeks now. Honestly, I have been AMAZED at how clear the water is. I think I might have to use polyfilter and chemi-pure more regularly down the road. That has been nice.

Anyhow, enjoy the pics.

Next week I will be working on getting the Metal Halide bulb mounted above it (slightly modified version of what I did last time, using the pulley system again but this time with no drilling of walls or ceilings). And I need to finish a little siliconing of stuff into the other tanks (simple work).

And I need to buy the futon that is going to sit between display tanks 1 & 2. And then I will plumb the system all together. Woohoo!

We'll see how much I get accomplished next week with Thanksgiving visit of my wife and kids down there planned..... But I REALLY hope to have the whole system all plumbed up and running by the end of the following week.

[dustin Combs]

Looks great cap!!!

[divecj5]

Looking great Paul and looks like you had quite the productive weekend for sure . The tank looks incredibly clear for just being moved and looks like the chemi-pure and everything else has really helped to clear things up nicely.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all turns out....as I'm sure you are as well.

So can chemi-pure be run just phosban and carbon in the reactor or does it have to be in a media bag or something? Just curious.

Looks great man.

Adam

[djc1026]

Chemi Pure comes in it's own bag and is meant to take the place of carbon. It ascribes to the theory of promoting ionization for overall aquarium health and is suppose to last longer than carbon.

Dave