the 1700g stingray reef

[jnarowe]

mudzilla is a good one! I wonder if we could figure out a name that includes volcano? 'cause that is how it operates.:D

[gooch]

I think teh big ugly is marketable. Keep it.

[Energy]

I second Big ugly. Two to two boys.

[got2lb]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6681808#post6681808 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gooch
I think teh big ugly is marketable. Keep it.

That's kind of what I was thinking!

I LIKE IT! :cool:

[spazz]

well it does produce some ugly looking skimmate. :lol:

[blide]

OMG! It's Frankenskimmer!

Take the top and you could have a nice nude foam party! (Ask your wife she might go for it... You never know)

[Energy]

Let me think- Hey Honey want to roll around in the waste products produced by my aquarium? Doesn't quite sound right.

[jnarowe]

it only has to sound good to you...LOL...I am going to pay for writing that.

[spazz]

i told you this thread would get off subject if i posted pics of the big ugly here energy. :lol: :lol: :lol: anyways i just took a trip to go look at a small piece of equiptment that will let me build some bigger parts for that ugly mother. im hoping to get a cnc router in the next month or so. then i can build what i want with out having to pay $150 an hour to have some one else make it for me.

[dgasmd]

Maybe I missed it here, but is the skimmer being force fed air by the air pump or is it just drawing it on its own?

[spazz]

yes its being force fed from the sweetwater pump. you just cant see it in the pic. its up above the skimmer cup on a small shelf. :D

[Energy]

I need your opinions. Since starting up the big skimmer Iv'e had a few colonies RTN. A couple of things are going on. The water is getting cleaner than it has ever been since inception. The Big Ugly produces anywhere from 12-16 cups of tea colored skimmate a day. This is quite a bit more than my other skimmer. I'm wondering if the rapid removal of the excess nutrients could be causing a few colonies to RTN? Iv'e read of similar things happening using ZeoVit in established tanks. I'm going to let it run it's course for the next week or so to see if it stabilizes.

[Kent E]

I can't imagine water being too clean.

[spazz]

o man you didnt say anything about that when we talked on the phone. how bad is the RTNing on those corals? is it little spots or large sections? and are they the ones that are higher up in the tank? they could be bleaching too. i have never heard of that happening to corals from a skimmer being hooked up to the system.

im also supprised that the big ugly is not putting out more skimmate than that. you had posted earler that it was around 8 cups every 2 hrs. now its only 12-16 cups a day. thats way too low for that size skimmer. it should put out alot more skimmate than that. and be alot darker skimmate than green tea. i will have to think on that.

[trodder]

Stan, it can definately be a possibility.... Think of going from 250 wtt MH bulbs over say a 30 gallon tank then the next day switching over to brand new 400w mh bulbs. The light intensity change could definately be a factor. Granted it is almost impossible to have "toooooooo clean" of water however the rapid change can create a shock to the corals, thus creating the RTN issue you are seeming to have... that is not say that is for sure the problem however it may be suspect.

[trodder]

Stan, I have a nice hot pink carnation that has been alive and well in my tnak for a few months... I got from Jerry while it was still bagged up and it seems to be doing great. I know they don't ship for SH*T so that could be part of the problem... if you want i could try to cut you a small piece and we can see what happens. I add some micro-vert crap once a week to once every two weeks and that helps sustain it I think, since it is non-photosynthetic, however just do to the size of your tank I doubt you would need to add anything to feed them.

[nbd13]

Energy- Look up Tanu on here, when he got his Bubble King, he had the same problem you have. He actually was adding NO3 back to his tank, even tried to dump some skimmate back into his tank....

there is a thread over on the "z" board also about it, if you cant find it on here I can send you a PM with a link t the other forum.

HTH

Nick

[jnarowe]

probably shock from sudden exposure to more light. maybe raise the lamps a bit until they recover?

16 cups of tea per day? That sounds good to me! Can you dry it up a bit?

[RGibson]

Nick were can i fine the Z board?

[Travis]

Energy, that is a very likely possibility and I've heard of the same scenario several times where someone has gone from no skimmer or an undersized skimmer to one that is significantly more efficient. IMO, I don't think the water is getting that much more clear per se. Albeit, the reduction in organics is clearing up the water to an extent, but I don't think it is enough to cause bleaching, and bleaching is not what you are describing anyways. I feel there is a sudden drastic change in NO3 and PO4 levels. The zooxanthellae in the corals rely very much on these levels remaining somewhat stable as the coral regulates the zooxanthellae density in its tissue based on the nutrient levels. A sudden reduction in these levels means the corals have to make sudden changes in how much zooxanthellae they are housing because there is no longer enough "food" to feed all of the zooxanthellae. Some corals can make the change quickly, but it may be too stressful on others and they they can succumb to infection or necrosis. This is what happens when people start ZEOvit. The method is extremely efficient at reducing NO3 and PO4. It needs to be done very gradually so the corals can adapt their zooxanthellae densities to the new environment. This is all my "theory" as to what is going on anyways. It could be something totally different.

I would consider running the new skimmer on a timer so it is on for maybe half of the day and off for half of the day, slowly increasing the "on" time over a couple weeks until it is on 24/7. I am also suprised that the skimmer is only pulling about a gallon of wet skimmate per day.

RGibson, RC mods don't allow the posting of links to other boards. The address to that board is the "Z" word followd by .com.

[trodder]

Travis, actually it pulls out about 6 gallons a day. It pulls roughly 8 cups every two hours, which means 16 cups every four hours. That means 1 gallon every four hours. And there are 6 4 hour time block in a 24 day... so that makes 6 gallons + or -

[trodder]

althoug after reading through the page again I noticed that Stan said 12-16 cups.... Then I saw Spazz's comments after and those were my sediments exactly.

[Energy]

Thanks everyone. I definately think the water is "cleaning" up considerably. The skimmate color is actually quite a bit darker now than when I was getting 8 cups in 2 hours. The sludge is building more spazz so don't panic on the production. The skimmer is still rocking and rolling! I agree with you guys on the change in water parameters. I'm sure the corals slowly got used to the build up of organics and once the water starting to be stripped of these-WHAMMO. Another point- I just changed the bulbs on my 240 watt U.V light. The old crystal quartz tubes where caked with sediment and probably did absolutely zero. Now with a monster skimmer and 240 watts of mega clear U.V sterilization it just equals to much of a change to soon. It also means I'll have room for a few new corals- so it's not all bad. Trodder whenever that carnation frags itself I would love to trade, Thanks. Iv'e been looking for some tank raised non-photo corals and they are few and far between.

[jnarowe]

now you tell us about the UV...:D Too much change at one time. Naughty, naughty!

[JnS]

Energy- I might have found your wrasse you were looking for....I will let you know when I get the pics.

tank is looking nice! how is that little echino doing?

[dgasmd]

I guess I'll be voice of disagreement here. I doubt it has anything to do with the skimmer itself taking out more stuff. I don't buy into the theory of too much and too soon good water killed the coral". That is a personal opinion anyway. This is likely coincidental. I seriously doubt the UV had anything to do with it either.

I am glad to see the skimmer is performing so well. How is your old one producing skimmate now? Still at the same rate? Is it slowing down?

[spazz]

im wondering if it would pay to pull one skimmer or the other off line for a few days to see if it helps the corals recover some. i agree it might have been way too much with all the changes to the system. the uv being a big change and the skimmer on top of that. i guess i need to reasearch that no3 no4 threoy some more.
thanks travis for that info.

[Travis]

Energy, which corals have you lost? Hopefully not any of your large colonies or rare pieces. I will try to bring a couple frags with me the next time I head up that way.

[Kent E]

What about contaminants introduced accidently?

[Lunchbucket]

crap that sucks man. what corals did you loose? i hope nothing big or rare!

Lunchbucket

[trodder]

well I know this is a stupid question but has everything that started to RTN completely die??? I kow for the most part that once it starts it usually does not stop... however I know there are a few taht have gotten lucky in that department...

[simonmr]

I have had 2 corals RTN and then stop so it is possiable not to lose whole colony and you can frag the good part just in case

[zemuron114]

energy

how the new fishes doing??

[Energy]

JNS- If you got my fish "the Choats wrasse" you'll be my newest hero. The echino is great. Travis and Lunch - The coral's I lost were frags given to me by Derek and Capman from the club. They were pretty nice especially the bright yellow milli, but that's the way it goes. Kent E - as far as contaminants- well anything is possible. We have been doing some construction so there is sheetrock dust floating around the house every now and then. But the corals survived a complete demolition of the basement walls and being buried under mounds of dust with little problems when they were in the basement. It would have to be a chemical introduced by some other means which could always happen when I'm not around. Zemuron114 The fish you sent me were awesome with great packaging. Thanks again. I picked up a new dendronepthyia which seems to be doing O.K so far. It's probably to early to tell if it's going to make it but it's a beatiful non-photosynthetic coral that have a low survival rate. It's perfect for under the ledges where I hung it upside down to mimic a reef cave. So far I have fed it some chromaplex to which it seems to respond.

[massman]

Energy,
I catch choats wrasse by the dozens. How many do you want me to send:D

[Energy]

Massman- Don't tease me. If you can really get them that would be awesome! How about anampses feminisus? I think there from your neck of the woods as well.

[trodder]

hmmmm if he can really get them and ship them.... maybe a little group order on that :D

[Energy]

Updates- I've put in a thousand snails, a thousand hermits and three hundred emerald crabs to control the hair alage. It's finally manageable but not shrinking. Spazz's skimmer is kicking butt and taking names. It actually pulls out chunks of floating hair algae. The stuff collects on the riser cone. I'm thinking of getting some urchins but hate the idea of having the acrylic surface scratched. I was also debating on rainford gobies but they seem pretty small to be effective. I might cut back on feeding the tangs but I hate to do that and end up underfeeding the other fish. Any suggestions on good algae eaters? BTW I'm still doing the search for the Choats leopard wrasse. So if anybody knows where to get one it would be much appreciated. I might be able to work something out with massman but just in case It's always good to have a back up option.

[gooch]

Energy,

Have you put in any Mexican Turbo's? I always had awesome results with them. They are bigger(about golf ball sized) but one of them does about four times the work of an astrea turbo snail.

I have to get a few for my tank soon. I kinda wait until I have a problem before I get them as they are such good eaters they end up starving themselves if they do not have enough to eat. I doubt that will be a problem in your tank. Or mine if I ever get it set up.

I am leary of the urchins myself.

[smoney]

Hey energy, I wouldnt put in any urchins, they are major bulldozers and they will probably scratch the acryllic.

[cmondo]

Energy have you looked into sea hares at all? They work really well for the algae.

[NexDog]

Better to fix the cause rather than the symptoms. If I had a headache due to an impending anneurism, I don't think aspirin would help me. ;)

[honey]

NRG (Energy :D ) , I missed the cause of your hair algae outbreak? if you have an additional skimmer now, and it is a monster skimmer as well, what changed in the system lately that you have so much hair algae now? did you change the feeding regime? water changes are less?
Where are all the nutrientes for the algae coming from, since you didn't have hair algae before? or what made the situation worse, if you already had some before, but not out of control?
Thanks,

Hon

[dgasmd]

Dude, I am telling you. I hate to be the voice of disagreement here, but trust me on this one when I say URCHINS! You can add 6 thousand snails and crabs there and it will not go away. Being there and done that. They are very inefficinet scavengers, however, they do have their place and function. Getting rid of hair algae is not one. You may even regreat tremendously adding that many, if any, emerald crabs. They will grow large enough eventually to eat fish regularly and some corals too.

Just like not all fish and corals are the same, neither are urchins. I would not add any diadema (long spine) urchins as they are likely not to eat the hair algae, and even worse if it is bryopsis. The only ones I would recommend are the Tripneustes gratilla and the Mespilia globulus. Neither will bother your acrylic, especially if there is plenty to eat elsewhere. This is an exagerated misconception as there are many in RC. Try it and if you see any minor damage they are extremely easy to take out as opposed to the emerald crabs you just added. I have 8 of these in my tank and I am yet to see one in the glass once. They will mow your tank in no time. Also, I would second the mexican turbo snails for other algae like the red velvety algae that coats rocks. These snail are much more effective than the trochus, but they are by far the worst when it come to knoching down loose corals and such. If you glue your corals down like I do, then that should not be an issue at all.

Your new and more efficient skimmer will eventually catch up with the levels of nutrients in your tank. ALso, some form of PO4 remover will be very welcomed if you do not use one already. Water changes will also help, but they together are not going to make the algae you have there disappear completely as there will always be new introduction of nutrients with fish feedings and feces. You first need to get rid of it as you also clean the water as much as you can to prevent it from recurring, which may happen later down the road anyways as they do in any active ecosystem. Manual removal is also another important, as I am sure you know, aspect of complete erradication. Hope that helps some.

[asnatlas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6837366#post6837366 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dgasmd
The only ones I would recommend are the Tripneustes gratilla and the Mespilia globulus.

Also, I would second the mexican turbo snails for other algae like the red velvety algae that coats rocks.

dgasmd, where is a good place to get the urchins you listed above as well as the Mexican turbo snails...

[dgasmd]

liveaquaria ususally has them.

[jnarowe]

Energy, did you change lamps? Maybe missing a fish? I can't imagine that changing a skimmer would cause a nutrient spike. Is your RO/DI system running properly?

The best way I have found to combat nuisance algae (and I have FW Panted tanks) is to give a 1 hour light break in the middle of the day. I call it a Siesta! I may have already posted this here but it bears repeating. Algae are very simple organisms that take a long time to ramp up photosynthesis. Plants start to repirate very quickly but not algae. If you interupt the light period, it will have a major effect on algae.

I run my planted tanks with a siesta as a regular SOP. Even with that, when I change lamps I need to lower the photo period to avoid a bloom. Of course you have a lot of bio-mass in your tank so there are other issues as well. I can't remember what your sand bed is like if you have one at all, but if you do, it may be time to change out the sand.

I am late to the game but want to offer suggestions just in case you haven't thought of them already. A small reminder: When you remove large amounts of algae, that does not solve the problem. In fact it can boomerang on you because then the nutrients will build up and you can get an even worse bloom. Be very careful about using animals to solve algae problems. You may get a sense of victory as they mow down the alga,e but it could easily turn into a nightmare of repetative unstable water conditions.

[asnatlas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6837739#post6837739 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
Energy, did you change lamps?

He did add quite a bit of T5s ??

[jnarowe]

Adding light is always a possible algae bloom IMO so I do it very carefully, but the algae really is a canary in the coal mine deal. Blooms tell you that the nutrients are too high so it still goes back to water quality. If there were no nitrates and phosphates, then the algae couldn't bloom. It goes back to the original "canary" which was a RTN coral I believe. Some corals are extremely sensitive to nutrient levels and let you know right away.

It's imposible to armchair quarterback it though. You have to go through the step-by-step analysis of the water starting at the source and ending at the bloom.

[dgasmd]

I may be wrong, but I think the algae he is refering to is algae he had before the T5 and new skimmer. Also, the new skimmer is working much better than the previous one, so in time that will catch up with the system a bit more.

[Kent E]

Sea hare! My sister had a hair algae tank, thats was the inhabitant because it took over so much and choked everything out. This ugly creature ate it ALL! You could support a few in that sized tank, they are ugly but so much so that they are actually cute and a wonderful addition to the tank at that.

[Travis]

I know Energy had a few sea hares in the tank already when I was up there this past fall.

Energy, it sounds like you are getting some good suggestions. IME, I have found that snails don't really do much damage to hair algae. I remember reading that once the hair algae gets longer than 1/8" or 1/4" (can't remember which one for sure), snails can no longer (or it becomes very difficult for them) eat it. I don't particularly care for emeralds becuase I've had experiences with them eating my sps polyps. I've also found that they are very difficult to remove from an established tank. I too am wary about the urchins but it sounds like others have had great experiences with them. Maybe it would be worth a try to get just a couple to start with and see if they go onto the acrylic. It would probably help to make sure you keep the acrylic nice and clean so there is no reason for them to go on it.

The best combater of hair algae that I've had is a yellow tang. I've kept many different tangs and this is the only one I've ever had that ate hair algae. Unfortunately, it only ate it for the first couple weeks before it learned that nori and frozen food was going to be provided on the daily menu.:( Now it won't touch it. I also don't like the idea of feeding less to the tank to try to encourage the herbivorous fish to eat the algae. I've experimented with this in the past and it did help but I also ended up with tangs that had to be removed from the tank because they ended up aquiring a taste for sps polyps.:( This included a sailfin tang, powder blue tang, and a foxface rabbitfish.

I like the philosophy of treating the symptom rather than applying a band-aid. But I have found that sometimes no matter what you do, you will still have some nuisance algae. But it should definitely be confined to small areas and controllable if all possible nutrient sinks have been addressed. I remember when I saw your tank that I noticed a lot of detritus accumulation back behind your rocks. I wonder if this could possibly be causing a pool of nutrients that are feeding the algae. Maybe sticking a stream or 2 back behind those rocks would help keep the detritus from settling back there. But I also remember that you were wanting to get some good cryptic sponge growth back there and didn't want too much flow.

One thing about hair algae is that it traps detritus from the water and then that detritus breaks down inside the algae strands and becomes a food source where the algae can immediatley absorb the nutrients. One of the best things that can be done is manual removal and daily blasting of the algae to blow out the detritus. But that is easy for me to say because I don't have a 1700 gallon system to work with.

I'm sure you will figure something out. I agree with what others are saying about the skimmer. It should slowly catch up with your nutrient load and will at least keep the algae in check rather than letting it take off.

[asnatlas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6839116#post6839116 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Travis
I like the philosophy of treating the symptom rather than applying a band-aid. But I have found that sometimes no matter what you do, you will still have some nuisance algae. But it should definitely be confined to small areas and controllable if all possible nutrient sinks have been addressed.

He could always try cooking all of his LR :D LOL, sorry I had to say it...

[spazz]

well in my opinion the skimmer is still the problem. big ugly is doing a good job but not good enough yet. the effecinety of the skimmer is not high enough to do a proper job on a system that size. once we can get the skimmer performing right and get a direct feed line off the tank to the skimmer i think the performance will increase enough to lower the nutrient load down. we are feeding big ugly with a feed pump from the sump. that water is mixing with the clean water that is already in the sump. we need a supply of water that is not mixing with the clean water. in talking with energy he has commented in the past about making changes to the overflows. i have thought this over for a while now. i think a couple of channel overflows should be added between the 4 overflows. that would increase surface skimming and give more flow to the boxes. the big problem there is cleaning the teeth on them. the design of the tank wouldnt allow him to have axcess to the channles for cleaning. im not sure how else he could get better surface skimming from the tank.
one thing i also noticed was a low nitrate level in the tank. we tested it before we hooked up big ugly. it was suprisingly almost zero. so that makes me wonder if there is a p04 problem some how. i agree that you cant cure the problem if you dont cure the source to the problem. but that is complicated also. we are not sure what the ture source of the problem is. right now its a gussing game in a sence.
the new skimmer we are going to build for the tank is still a little ways off but the snales and emeralds my help to control the problem until we can get the new skimmer built and running on the system.

i know alot of you might not agree with energy putting emerald crabs in the tank. they can pick at corals. but you have to consider a couple of things here. 1. the size of the system. and 2. i think he is more into the fish than the corals. he has the most awesome variety of fish you could ever find in a reef tank. but to make the fish feel at home they need a reef setting. if you consider the orange spotted file fish he has in the tank. most guys like me that are sps freaks wouldnt even consider a fish like that. but he has one. and its fat as a cow eating sps pylops. but the corals dont seem affected by him what so ever. its the same with the emeralds. they may pick here and there but the system is so massive that they can support them with out any major dammage to the corals. he trully owns a piece of the ocean. we have reef tanks, he has an intire reef ecosystem. so our thoughts dont always agree with what he is doing but you have to think out of the tank and into the ecosystem. :lol:

[gooch]

Didn't he use a fiberglass resin/paint to hide the tubing?

If I recall a buddy of mine once used a fiberglass epoxy to coat his plywood sump and he ended up with all kinds of problems. When he went to a stock tank the problems disappeared. Unfortunately he is no longer in the hobby and I have lost comunication with him.

When I had read that he started having hair issues my first thought was of my buddies system. I hope that is not the problem. But at this point it might be something to think about.

I also agree that if detritus is accumulating under the rocks some flow may need to be added to the system.

[smoney]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6837366#post6837366 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dgasmd
Dude, I am telling you. I hate to be the voice of disagreement here, but trust me on this one when I say URCHINS!.....

I am just saying that they are bulldozer, I think they would be affective, but not worth it at this point. He added a huge cleaner crew and the emeralds especially will take care of the hair algae. Im not sure, but I think they would scratch the glass with their beak like teeth.


It would be better to invest in like 5-10 sea hares, that would be the best thing to do.

[Travis]

Is the previous skimmer still running on the tank along with the Big Ugly? If so, I think I remember reading that you guys turned the 03 off to that skimmer to get an accurate comparison of how each skimmer was performing. Might want to turn the 03 back on. I'm sure this has already been covered but I just wanted to throw it out there cuz sometimes its the little things that get overlooked.

[Energy]

I believe the source of the hair algae is excess detritus accumulation. As I placed the rock work I had an "open" theme in mind. As the corals grew I addded more rock and eventually closed down the open areas. I'm going through the rock and once again opening it up. I am also doing more storms to keep the dead areas in suspension and I have aimed a tunze directly behind the rocks. I have also scrubbed some rocks to help jump start the cleaning process. I know the skimmer is making a major impact since my glass cleaning is down to once a week or so. I was cleaning the glass every two to three days so I know the nutrients are being used up. I also changed my crytpic sponge refugium in a spaghetti algae refugium. I think the chaeto sucks up a lot more nutrients than the sponges. I will probably add some mexican turbos to really keep the rocks clean and probably a dozen or so bristle stars to keep things stirred up in back. I'll also look into those urchins. Those are the short spined variety? I have used the sea hares in the past but I don't like the toxins they release when they die. Thanks for the suggetsions everyone.

[spazz]

travis. i think the ozone is still running on the smaller skimmer. i didnt want him to shut that off because it might be pulling stuff out of the water that cant be skimmed off by big ugly. the next skimmer will have a dedicated ozone port for direct injection into the main pump. i have to check on seals for it though i think the dart pumps use buna orings. and they dont fair so well with ozone.

[jnarowe]

There is an article (http://www.hawkfish.org/snailman/diysprinkler.htm) about modifying a sprinkler head to deal with detritus behind the rock and it may be something you would like. I haven't done it just because of the fear-factor of having a mechanism so deep in the tank, but it does look fairly simple to execute.

[melev]

Energy, I have had a large Diadema urchin that I recently had to pull out of my system because it is now causing too much destruction to SPS pieces. However, it will eat GHA and bryopsis, and because of the way it hovers and lowers down to feed, it rarely knocked over anything in the tank. Only the stuff that was balanced precariously ended up falling over.

As it travelled the sand, it walks on its spines like little stilts, and would pick up this and that gently, pick it clean and lower it back down. It would travel over a patch of zoos and those didn't even bother closing up. It grew from a tiny little guy to a semi-decent monster.

When I got it (note the aiptasia to the right for a size comparison):
http://melevsreef.com/id/diadema.jpg

and now, surprisingly posing in front of the same zoos:
http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/06/02/urchin.jpg

The shorter spined urchins are true bulldozers knocking over anything in their path, and the one I had loved coralline (the diadema does as well) and would chew a star pattern into the acrylic overflow. It was banished into my son's 29g and does no harm but that tank is LR, clownfish, and LTA and an eel.

Here it is:
http://melevsreef.com/id/urchin.jpg

I think you've gotten pretty good advice so far. If you have quite a bit of GHA now, it could be binding up the nitrate and phosphate giving you low readings, but manually picking it off (rinsing your hand each time to avoid releasing any into the system to land elsewhere is ideal) in a typical tank. In your tank, you need a fish or several fishes that eat it. Tangs and foxface are known to eat it.

Hope you can get it under control before it starts strangling some of your beautiful SPS pieces.

[Energy]

It's more or less under control but it's still present in large quantites. With the massive clean-up crew I don't think it will spread much. Some of the rocks I can't really remove so I'm hoping they will attack those and eliminate the stuff. Big ugly is helping keep it under control and once the new skimmer is done I'm sure that will make a world of difference. I am also figuring out easy ways to get more flow behind the rock work. That article on the sprinkler head is pretty cool. Iv'e noticed that it doesn't come back onto the rocks once they are scrubbed cleaned. The problem is the rest of the rocks can't really be removed to easily.

[dgasmd]

Both of the urchins I see in the picture melev posted are not the ones I am suggesting. As a matter of fact, I would not recommend those to anyone with an acrylic tank for the same reasons touched on before. These are the oens I was refering to.

Pincushion Urchin, Blue Tuxedo (Mespilia globulus)

http://a1272.g.akamai.net/7/1272/1121/20050608145334/www.liveaquaria.com/images/products/bigimage/lg_79336.jpg

Pincushion Urchin, Hairy Colored (Tripneustes gratilla)

http://a1272.g.akamai.net/7/1272/1121/20040331211138/www.liveaquaria.com/images/products/large/pw79323pincushion_hairy.jpg

[jnarowe]

Yeah the Blue Tux is great but it is my understanding that they don't live long. Any comment on that?

[dgasmd]

I've had my original one for about 9 months now. Can't tell you past that.

[Energy]

Last night two of the writers for The Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine stopped by. James Fatherree "The Reefer" columnist was in town to do some lectures and he stopped by with Randy Carey who writes special features for the magazine. I thought they might take a few pictures and check out the tank for a little while to kill some time. I guess they ended up taking about 200-300 pictures between them. They hung out for about three hours before they had to go to do another presentation. James mentioned he might talk to the magazine about writing an article on the tank. I think that would be an awesome way to get more info out to the general public on large reef aquariums and mini ecosystems. I don't know if it will actually happen or not but we'll see. All in all it was pretty fun having those guys stop by.

[NexDog]

Well, I hope they do publish something as it's definitely well deserved. :)

[jnarowe]

Tank celebrity...:D

[melev]

How could they not write about it?! Youv'e got an amazing setup with a lot of attention to detail - especially in your desire to care for a stingray, something most don't give a lot of thought to. Congrats in advance!

[Travis]

Congrats Energy. Your tank is awesome enough that it should have its own magazine with monthly updates in each issue.:)

[jgsensor]

I have had 3 pencil urchins in my tank now for about 6 months with no problems. I originally bought them to try and control a hydroid infestation (no luck), but they have turned into a good clean up crew. They have never ventured onto the acrylic only stick to the rock rock. As far as I can tell the have not bothered any other inhabitants and have only had an occassional rock fall, but like was said before, those were usually placed a bit hairy to start with.

[Carman34L]

Well, looks like I will have to renew my subscription to TFH. That is awsome, I had a chance to talk with James, I would have to say he knows his stuff. He spoke at a local club meeting about clams and it was very informative. James has a new book coming out this summer about clams and their captivity.

Energy, I am not suprised that they were there that long. I am suprised that every time I am over you do not have to carry me out screaming like a little kid ;)

[Lunchbucket]

Energy - CONGRATS BUDDY! i hope they do write about it. if they do you better sign my copy buddy.

hey you gonna be around on the 11th? i might be coming to town with a buddy who has to pick up some stuff from ReefMania. i'll pm you here

Lunchbucket

[hahnmeister]

bryopsis is usually due to phosphates (perhaps an extra large GEO phosban reactor is in order), but can also be an indication of a shift in the lighting spectrum. Are your bulbs close to change time? Thats when algae always starts to pop up in my reefs...when its time to change the bulbs. Then, within a week of me putting new bulbs in...it all goes away.

[Energy]

I broke down and finally put 500 large mexican turbo snails in the system. Some of these things were the size of golf balls! It's an amazing view at night. It's like another world. The aquarium is canvased with a huge clean-up crew. 300 emeralds, one thousand hermits, one thousand margarita snails and 500 mexican turbos. I'm also doing a lot of storms to keep the detritus in suspension and changing out my ro/di filters more often to keep the phosphate in control. I 'll also be adding more phos-ban to eliminate any free stuff that hasn't bonded to a surface.

[jnarowe]

All-out assault! :D

[hahnmeister]

The stingray must be in heaven!!! All those crunchy little treats for him to suck down!!!

[asnatlas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6894137#post6894137 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Energy
I broke down and finally put 500 large mexican turbo snails in the system. Some of these things were the size of golf balls! It's an amazing view at night. It's like another world. The aquarium is canvased with a huge clean-up crew. 300 emeralds, one thousand hermits, one thousand margarita snails and 500 mexican turbos. I'm also doing a lot of storms to keep the detritus in suspension and changing out my ro/di filters more often to keep the phosphate in control. I 'll also be adding more phos-ban to eliminate any free stuff that hasn't bonded to a surface.

HOLY CRAP !!!!!

You have 2500+ snails and 300+ crabs :eek2: :eek1:

Did you count them all to make sure you didn't get shorted :p

[Energy]

Yeah I started counting last Tuesday and I'm almost finished! The stingray only eats silversides that have been vitamin and garlic soaked. I have more problems with the wrasses and the copperband butterfly picking on the snails than I do the stingray!

[maxxII]

LOL.....to have that problem....

The CBB and the Wrasses picking on your clean up crew more that your blue spotted stingray....sigh.

Nick

[jnarowe]

Hey Energy!

Stupid Question number 346: How did you hold down your foam rock structures when you installed them? Did you wait and use live rock or did you fasten them to the bottom? As you know that stuff is really boyant but I was thinking that just using rock to hold it down could cause problems later if I need to move or remove a rock!

[asnatlas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6903908#post6903908 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
Hey Energy!

Stupid Question number 346: How did you hold down your foam rock structures when you installed them? Did you wait and use live rock or did you fasten them to the bottom? As you know that stuff is really boyant but I was thinking that just using rock to hold it down could cause problems later if I need to move or remove a rock!

If I rem right he just used live rock... It was talked about earlier in the thread, not sure what page :(

[jnarowe]

So then one day I decide to move that rock, and the underlying structure rockets to the surface? That sounds like fun!! :D

[Carman34L]

There is no moving just one rock in this tank, to do so would be two hours of work to remove all coral then, mabye with a crowbar you might get the rock up.

[Energy]

Stupid question number 346. Boyance is definately a problem I addressed early on. The entire structure is siliconed to the bottom of the aquarium. It will stay in place without any rock. I did have one island pop up and free float when I was still curing the epoxy in the tank. Drained it, resiliconed and filled away. At that time it was no big deal. Now it would be impossible. Anything decides to free float it will stay that way. BTW I love stupid questions- (There easier to answer!) Carman- actually the entire rock work comes apart fairly easy since most of it sits on PVC shelves. In fact within the last 2 weeks I've taken almost a hundred pounds of live rock out of the main display to "open up" the structure and create better flow behind the reef wall. The shelves are great that way. No rods or dowels to mess with and a little more flexibility on rock movement and stability.

[asnatlas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6908776#post6908776 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Energy
The entire structure is siliconed to the bottom of the aquarium.

DOH... Guess my memory is not as good as I was thinking :rolleyes:

[jnarowe]

OK...well there is no way in hell I am going to drain my tank to glue them down!

I need a new plan...I wonder if aquarium epoxy like Deltec AquaScape would work if I applied it to the bottom edges of the crates and weighed them down with rocks until it cured?

Any suggestion??

[hahnmeister]

Um...but wait. Silicone will release over time unless you are using glass pipe... Silicone will stick when you first use it, but over time is seperates from plastic...

FWIW, I would just fill the pipes with sand/gravel/aragacrete if I were doing it. Silicone will fail over time.

[Energy]

I guess I have something to look forward to!

[jnarowe]

I thought about filling PVC with sand to hold it down, but I would have to attach the PVC to my crates somehow as well. I have thought about just using zip ties, but I am fairly sure that they will break down from UV under the lamps right?

[Lunchbucket]

dang that would suck if it does let go!!

Lunchbucket

[Kent E]

How boyant is it? Wouldn't a few rocks do?

[hahnmeister]

I was thinking 'cinder blocks' myself with all that space.

[GOLDRAM]

Awesome Baby Awesome

[jnarowe]

Kent E EXTREMELY boyant. Obsurdly boyant. I have a milk crate that I foamed on just 3 sides and I can barely get it to the bottom with just arm strength.

A large rock would be the minimum...cinderblock? Wouldn't that leach something into the system?

[THE GIMP]

Would it be possible to add sand and smaller bits of rock as you are creating the foam dealio? Add a layer of foam, then a layer of rock and sand, them more foam? It could add weight if not completely keep it submerged. I have yet to work with the foam stuff, so I have no idea.

As far as connecting PVC legs to racks, could you integrate the PVC legs and racks (PVC legs attached to PVC cross members) connected to shelves with zip ties, and then foaming the entire structure to protect from UV as well as hide it? Could you also hollow the foam structure out to detract from the buoyancy?
Nice idea with the milk crate, btw.

[jnarowe]

Well not many people have room for milk crates in their tank but it seemed to be a logical solution for me. As far as layering the foam and rock, that really wouldn't work IMO because the foam cannot be disturbed while curing or it will collapse. It would be imposible to layer enough rock and sand anyway to overcome the boyancy I am sure.

Hollowing the foam I think would be too difficult as well. The object is to create a non-uniform layer on which to attach sand, but being just a layer there really isn't enough depth to be hollowed out.

Keep in mind I am merely commenting on how my foam work is done, and I don't know if Energy has used different methods.

[hahnmeister]

I wouldnt worry about the UV. The UV that makes plastic degrade is filtered in the forst few inches of seawater...

The cinderblocks? I have seen them used in african cichlid tanks. They prolly do contain some fly ash, but they are dry cured for a long time. They arent that much different than using aragacrete. In a system as large as Energy's, I doubt that the small amount that would be needed would be of great impact.

[jnarowe]

That's good to know about the UV. Makes me feel better about using the foam in the first place! I figured there would be some sort of cement contamination but I don't know anything about cinder blocks.

[Carman34L]

Well if someone was making a new tank, couldn't you just use weld-on and glue some acrylic loop holes on the bottom to use zip ties to keep stuff on the bottom? does weld-on cure under water?

[jnarowe]

that's a brilliant idea...my next tank...:D

[hahnmeister]

That is a good idea...you could buy those little acrylic cubes, drill a hole in them, and weldon-3 them to the bottom of the acrylic when the tank is dry. Disadvantages? Well, working on the sandbed migt be tricky with all those little cubes in the way...kinda like trying to use a snow-plow on a gravel road. Placement might also be tricky since you would be mounting the cubes when the tank is dry and have to guess where to put them. The 'weighted' idea makes moving pieces and such much easier to do later on.

Perhaps just making large ceramic/aragacrete base rocks to weigh the PVC down at the base is a good idea.

[jnarowe]

got a link on aragacrete rock making?

[RedEyeReef]

http://www.garf.org/

Left column, look for "how to pages" and "Aragocrete"

[jnarowe]

Thanks! :)

[Energy]

I used very little foam. I only applied it to the vertical posts, horizontal shelf edges and other areas that I could not hide with rock. My structure will probably stay in place from the weight of the rock alone. The two islands which have more foam and less rock will definately float - but oh well that's life. I wouldn't use the foam for solid pieces of rock just because of the bouyancy problem. If your in the initial design stages still just limit the amount of foam since it is extremely bouyant.

[jnarowe]

yeah I did about the same thing. just on the edges that could be seen from the viewing room. I'll figure it out I am sure and I think the issue of boyancy is not a deal killer for me. The benefits out-weigh the negatives. I am really happy with the foam in my FW Planted tank. It makes the tank look much better and I believe aids in filtration much like any surface would. It really blends the rock, structures, and plants together well.

[Lord Voldemort]

Abosolutely Astonishing :eek2: :eek1: :eek2:

[Alaskan Reefer]

Amazing. Looks like I need to start planning for the next tank. My LFS has one of those blue spotted stingrays in right now and I've been wondering what kind of system realistically handles one. I only hope my next tank is 1/4 the size of this one...

Am I the only one who thinks that "knit pick" is the proper spelling?

LOL

[rgj01]

Am I the only one who thinks that "knit pick" is the proper spelling?

Yes :)

It should be 'nit pick', as in to pick off a nit.

From dictionary.com:

nit, n:
The egg or young of a parasitic insect, such as a louse.

[Carman34L]

Anyone have any updated photos?

[Carman34L]

Triple post

[Carman34L]

Triple POst

[JnS]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7128264#post7128264 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Carman34L
Anyone have any updated photos? And Energy how are those Bali Monsters' working out?

he does not have the bali monsters yet.......soon......

[Carman34L]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7128278#post7128278 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JnS
he does not have the bali monsters yet.......soon......

T. Mike said he has them already?

[spazz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7128340#post7128340 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Carman34L
T. Mike said he has them already?

i will be going over there on friday night. i will post pics of the tank on sunday. it will be interesting to see the growth in the tank after 2 months have gone by. the last time i was there was to help hook up the big ugly.

[Carman34L]

Yeah I will be there as well, I will be bringing my camera.

[Travis]

Please take lots of pics for us, guys.:D I love seeing pics of Energy's tank. But nothing beats seeing it in person.:)

[melev]

One day I want to be rich enough to simply travel to various spots in the US, like once a month. Fly up to MN and visit a few tanks, then to CA the next month and see a few, then WA, etc.

That would be so cool.

[trodder]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7128419#post7128419 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by spazz
i will be going over there on friday night. i will post pics of the tank on sunday. it will be interesting to see the growth in the tank after 2 months have gone by. the last time i was there was to help hook up the big ugly.


I wish I was going :(

But I didn't get no fancy pantsy invite :D I would be taking pics like a mad man....

[jfw60]

Is there enough open sand cover on the floor of the aquarium to accomodate the stingrays?

[Carman34L]

more than enough.

[Energy]

Trodder your invited. Nothing fancy about this invite but your more than welcome to come.

[Carman34L]

Well I just got home and figured I would Post some pictures, I am sure there will be others posting some pics. Thank you very much for having us over Energy, it was alot of fun hanging out and talking with you and Eric Borneman. Well enough talk here are the pics:

tank shot:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/Carman34L/DSC01161.jpg

Big Ugly doing its thing:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/Carman34L/DSC01175.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/Carman34L/DSC01200.jpg


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/Carman34L/DSC01203.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/Carman34L/DSC01205.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/Carman34L/DSC01199.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/Carman34L/DSC01178.jpg

[Carman34L]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/Carman34L/DSC01169.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/Carman34L/DSC01164.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/Carman34L/DSC01168.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/Carman34L/DSC01159.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/Carman34L/DSC01157.jpg

And finally, my dorky butt & Eric Borneman
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/Carman34L/DSC01207.jpg

[jnarowe]

Mind boggling! Great pics and thanks. It's good to see examples of what I strive for. Those stags are sweet.

[hahnmeister]

Nice pics Carman34L. I dont mean to be critical, but cropping your photos would improve them even more. I dont need to see the rips in your jeans, or the edge of the tank at the bottom when that resolution could be used for more eye-candy-corals (you and Borneman excluded).

For those of us who couldnt be there...I wonder...what did Borneman have to say?

[Carman34L]

I didnt feel like cropping them, I usually do but I was holding my son and was kinda doing it one handed. I cant really speak for Eric, but the smile on his face should tell you something.

[melev]

Awesome. Thanks for sharing.

I saw a huge Dendronephthya?! I didn't see the Stingray, but may have missed it. Thanks for the images.

[Lordhelmet]

i love the updates for this thread. Simply amazing!

[jgsensor]

That tank is absolutely disgusting! Is there such a disease as reefer envy?

[dgasmd]

Looks like the algae issues he was having a while back have considerably receided. Looks good.

[Carman34L]

Yeah the Hair Algea is 100x better than it was a month ago, Spazz made him a huge media reactor and Energy has been running a ton of RowaPhos. It has cleaned up a ton of the hair algea, but has taken it toll on the coral. But I think it will be up to its beutifull colors in no time.

[spazz]

i agree that the tank is looking better and better every day. i asked eric what his first impression of the tank was. he said he was just blown away by the amount of fish and the different speices that are in the tank. he was amazed to see some of the fish in there that most people cant keep or wont keep. i think he was really impressed with the file fish. its a cow now. one of these days that fish will explode from the inside out. thats one of my favorite fish in that tank. it was neat to see the way he has trained the blue spot to protect its food source when he feeds him. i will post pics of energy feeding the sitng ray. he uses a tube and the sting ray lays on top of the end of the tube and gets everything that is fed to him. none of the other fish get any of that food. its neat to see. the minute he smells food he races the that side of the tank and is waiting for the tube to show up for his feeding time. smart fish! in a very short time this tank will be ready for tank of the month in my opinion. i know energy has plans for some equiptment changes. the first item is the skimmer.

[NexDog]

More pics please. :D

That's one big tank and I've followed this thread from day one. I think the tank was setup last July or August? If so, that's an outstanding stocking frenzy that Energy has embarked upon. That only must be near 10 grand.

[melev]

Is it being published in a magazine soon? I remember it being mentioned a few weeks ago, but don't remember the name of the publication.

[Carman34L]

James Fatheree was talking about doing an article on the tank. It will be published in TFH. Not a word on if it is a for sure thing, or when. I am sure you will hear if it is a for sure thing, and when.

[melev]

Thanks!

[nbd13]

Anymore pics from the recent trip over to his house?

thanks

Nick

[nbd13]

sorry doubble post.

Nick

[Nefarious77]

That is an absolutely beautiful tank!

[Energy]

Hi, Guys and Gals- Nice Pics Carmen, Some day you'll have to teach me your secret.
In Mid March Spazz built a reverse flow reactor to run Rowaphos. Simply put that stuff is amazing. Within 3 weeks my out of control algae problem shrank to about 20% of it's full glory(trust me it was bad). The downfall was that the rapid removal of the phosphate hit some of the corals pretty hard. I learned to be careful with that stuff. After seeing how effective Rowaphos is it will be a permenant part of my tank set-up from now on. I'm looking forward to watching the color come back to some of my corals wich browned out from the high phosphate levels. Some day I would like to be Tank of the Month- That would be an immense honor. Until the tank colors up and gets to a point where I am somewhat satisfied I don't think it makes the grade. My other tanks had better color and polyp extension then this one (yet). When everything gets to an equilibrium than I would like to share it with the rest of the world.
Melev- That is a huge Dendronepthyia.

[jnarowe]

Energy,

I am using Rowaphos as part of my system startup, but just have it in a bag on the end of one of my overflow lines. can you post a pic of the reactor Scott built or is that proprietary? I am looking at building a reactor or two for calcium, carbon, and rowaphos in the near future. I might even buy one from him if it is cost effective. Rowaphos is really agood product but it ain't cheap!

[NexDog]

What was your phosphate level when you started using Rowa?

[jnarowe]

zero.

[NexDog]

I meant Energy... :D

[nbd13]

Energy- Would you care to go into detail on how you got the stringray to feed from the tube?

thanks

Nick

[spazz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7161238#post7161238 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
Energy,

I am using Rowaphos as part of my system startup, but just have it in a bag on the end of one of my overflow lines. can you post a pic of the reactor Scott built or is that proprietary? I am looking at building a reactor or two for calcium, carbon, and rowaphos in the near future. I might even buy one from him if it is cost effective. Rowaphos is really agood product but it ain't cheap!

the first reactor i built for the rowaphos was a flow through design. but they dont work as well as a prwered recirculating rowaphos reactor does. so his reactor will be modified to be recircualting. that will fluidize the media and keep it from clumping up and being less effective in his system. once we get a better version made i can post some pics of it .

[jnarowe]

Thanks Scott. I realize I am not getting optimal efficiency out of my Rowaphos but I figured having it in the system during startup would be helpful and it seems that has proven to be true. I look forward to seeing your reactor.

[nhreef]

wow. It took me 2 days to reed everything here! Let me just say once again WOW. i have learned more in this one thread, then in most of the other threads i have ever read. energy that is one amazing tank. everytime i see the pictures a say to myself, i've been on dives with views like that, and then the ray floats by and I say yep, i've been on dives like that and i expect a loggerhead to float by next, or to see the tail of a nurse sticking out from one of your rock structures. simply amazing. the foam/epoxy trick will definaltly be a tool for my tanks to come. some one else was using the epoxy and sand to cread a faux sand bed the combo of these 2 techniques send visions of wonderful things to my head. thank you so much for the inspiration, although i'm not to sure my wife thanks you. you have indeed built a tank of incredible beauty and an ecosystem of unparalled complexity i look forward to watching as this tank progresses through it's life, and live vicariously through you till i myself can attempt such a feat.
thanks again energy and all who have help in documenting the birth of this world, and to get all this done while another life was brewing , you wife must be as crazy as you
:)
congrats on the little reefer as well
superalatives aside, anychance we will soon see the picts of the assembling, especially the foam islands i am looking forward with baited breath to see these
thanks againg and enjoy
jon

[nhreef]

dbl post

[nhreef]

triple post
jon

[melev]

nhreef,

[welcome]

[welcome]

[welcome]

:lol: Seriously though, you picked a great thread to learn from.

[spazz]

I hate to say it but this is energys busy season with his work, so it might be a while before he reads your post. in the summers he works 12-14 hr a days some times. and posting here is not a priority. I will be going over there some time this weekend and will see if I can get a few pics to post from him. no guarantees though. we have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it.

[melev]

Looking forward to your pictures as always. Including what the Big Ugly has been doing as well as the new skimmer you're going to make for him.

[NexDog]

One word - VIDEO.

Please. :D

[spazz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7270934#post7270934 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NexDog
One word - VIDEO.

Please. :D

i will see if that is posable. i dont know if i can get a video over to my computer or not. i dont have a digital camcorder.

[NexDog]

Someone lend spazz a digital camcorder. :D

[nhreef]

Does your digital camera have Video in it?? Most do, it's small, but effective. Also, someone else mentioned it before, but a tank that big deserves a camera box/viewing box. A small plexigals box withan open top you can place in the top of the tank to view down into the tank. I'de bring my UW camera but I'm a ways away :) Steve Wiess using something similar to view his tank when doing maintenance
<A href="http://oregonreef.com/images/photos/p_105_l.jpg">As seen here </A>
Opens up a whole new world of views. How are things coming on your new Skimmer spazz?
I take it Energy is in the Construction business, I guess it makes a project like this a little easier Weiss is also in Construction. What great fruits of there Labor we get to view :)
Looking forward to your post Spazz

Jon

[nhreef]

And thanks for the Welcome melev

[Energy]

I do excavation,demolition and retaining walls. The season has just begun so I don't have much spare time. Sorry if I miss any ones questions. My phosphate levels before the rowaphos were just plain higher. Not trying to be stupid but I don't recall the actual number. NHReef thanks for the compliments but most of all I'm glad you learned something. Thats what Reefcentral and Boards just like it are all about. My tank is just another way to skin a cat. Progress report- The hair algae is almost totally gone thanks to the rowaphos, but it has and is still taking a toll on some corals. The colors are really starting to come through as well. Time will tell where things go.

[nhreef]

The tank is still young, I'm sure in time with such a large system, things will settle into a beautiful tank. Good luck to ya

[Aussie Koi]

18 hours, two battery recharges and I am here at last.
Guys thanks for a great thread and Energy Brilliant Tank you should be proud!
Regards
Tim
Australia

[jnarowe]

It's amazing the HA has such an impact on corals. I have lost a few small sps to it as well. I would think with all the toxicity that exists in various corals that they could kill algae too!!

[argo]

It's not HA that impacts corals to a greater degree - it's the media used to remove or control HA like PhosGuard or Phosban or RowaPhos. Hopefully that Big Ugly with Spazz' upcoming mods will put Energy's tank into equilibrium and require less of the phosphate removers - in no time his corals will make a comeback to their original splendor.

[spazz]

well i just got back from energys house. WOW is all i can say. the rowphos kicked the crap out of the alage that was in the tank. that stuff is worth every red cent energy paid for it. the corals did suffer a little bit but not bad at all im my opinion. the system will recover in no time. the new ca reactor is installed and running. it seems to be runing just the way it was designed to run. i checked the efflutent before leaving and its pushing 750 ppm calcium to the tank at a flow rate of god only knows, but alot. ha ha ha. it has a 3/8" hose running almost wide open flow to the tank. his calcium level in the system is right at 425 so we will see if the 1 reactor can handle the requirments of the system instead of 2 reactors. here is some pics from tonight. there are some awesome fish in that tank but this is just a sample of them and a few neat corals too. enjoy!
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/1e853f82.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/d9c041ef.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/newreactor60.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/newreactor59.jpg

[spazz]

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/newreactor54.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/newreactor51.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/newreactor50.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/newreactor46.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/newreactor40.jpg

[spazz]

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/newreactor35.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/newreactor34.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/newreactor27.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/89b86dcd.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/53573974.jpg

[spazz]

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/8dce4f1c.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/3e29045d.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/88d19720.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/78192881.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/8615fa35.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/f8386d34.jpg

[spazz]

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/7462f0e7.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/energysreef17.jpg

[smjtkj]

Corals look great!

Mike

[jun41]

I love those clowns and that filefish.

Excellent

[spazz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7280640#post7280640 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by smjtkj
Corals look great!

Mike

yep ther comming back and looking good. the rock is sompletly clean of any hair alage. its almost like magic. it was getting pretty bad for a while. but the rowphos wiped out the problem in a month. he did loose a couple of colonies but not real bad.

[spazz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7280696#post7280696 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jun41
I love those clowns and that filefish.

Excellent

i had to take pics of those. there awesome! you will never se a file fish that fat in a fish tank. lol its a porker.

[NexDog]

Is this a Dendrophelia (or however you spell it):

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/newreactor40.jpg

Tank is awesome as always. :)

[Bebo77]

nexdog... i see those at the wholesellers all the time but i hear that they are hard to care for....

[NexDog]

Yah, I have one but seems to be doing semi-okay. Sometimes it's leant over and sometimes it's blossoming.

[melev]

Scott, thanks for all the pictures.

It looks like the Calcium Reactor does have a CO2 tank behind it. Weren't you planning on making one that didn't need C02?

While looking at the corals, I tried to judge their sizes based on what else is nearby. Are those snails the large Mexican Turbos that are nearly golf ball sized? Lots of gorgeous pieces, lots of color - wish I was closer!

What is the green coral on the right side of the first picture? Clowns may be hosting in it. It appears to be a favia perhaps, but it is super furry.

[spazz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7281050#post7281050 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Scott, thanks for all the pictures.

It looks like the Calcium Reactor does have a CO2 tank behind it. Weren't you planning on making one that didn't need C02?

While looking at the corals, I tried to judge their sizes based on what else is nearby. Are those snails the large Mexican Turbos that are nearly golf ball sized? Lots of gorgeous pieces, lots of color - wish I was closer!

What is the green coral on the right side of the first picture? Clowns may be hosting in it. It appears to be a favia perhaps, but it is super furry.

I discussed the new ca reactor design with energy and he didn't want to try it on such a large system with out any pryer testing on a smaller system. once I get my reactor up and running and test it for a few months then he might convert over to the new system. this reactor will convert over to the new system real easy.
yes there are Mexican turbos in the tank. and yes those corals are huge. I think energy has had some of these corals for over 6 years or more. there is a table acro that took over 3 years to grow to that size. its about the size of a coffee cup saucer. that coral is in the 3rd post down 1st pic in the center of the pic.
its funny the clowns are hosting is star pylops. thats not a favia.

[spazz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7280920#post7280920 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NexDog
Is this a Dendrophelia (or however you spell it):

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/newreactor40.jpg

Tank is awesome as always. :)
i think they call them a colt coral. there very hadt to keep in a tank. he had 6 or 8 of them in there. they are non photosenthitic corals. so they can be placed it total darkness and be just fine. but there is not alot known about these corals and most of them die in smaller systems. i think energys system is just so big and stable so there is no swings of any kind. but i might be wrong too. not real sure. all i do know is that they are some of the most beautiful corals out there. if i could have any sucess with them i would convert to a softy tank. the color is unreal. the pics dont do those corals any justice.

[asnatlas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7281229#post7281229 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by spazz
i think they call them a colt coral. there very hadt to keep in a tank.

It's not a Colt coral as they are very easy and are a good recommendation for beginners and do require some light, and not very colorful...

[got2lb]

I believe it's Dendronepthya not a dendrophilia. It's also called a Red carnation coral.

http://www.reefermadness.us/Dendronepthya_sp.htm

[rufio173]

They are also filter feeders and must either be fed directly or there must be a large amount of particulate food floating in the water column. :)

[spazz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7281848#post7281848 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by asnatlas
It's not a Colt coral as they are very easy and are a good recommendation for beginners and do require some light, and not very colorful...

yep thats what it is. i had a brain fart again! got2lg is right its a carnation coral.my bad:lol::lol: :lol: :lol:

[Lunchbucket]

can't wait to find out how that reactor works for Energy!

Lunchbucket

[ksarauer]

Energy - Awesome creation! :thumbsup: I think you should open a Bed and Breakfast, log home, fireplace, stone work, and 1/2 of the ocean all at once. :)

It looks like the rowaphos took a toll on the clowns. :rollface:

I would love to see this in person :D

[P-91]

THis thing is crazy! Awesome!

[spazz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7286219#post7286219 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Lunchbucket
can't wait to find out how that reactor works for Energy!

Lunchbucket

well i got mixed news tonight on the reactor. the bad news it it hat to come off line due to a leak in the seam right at the bottom of the main tube on the reactor. so it has to come back to the shop and be fixed. the good news is that to should have no problem keeping up to the demand of his tank. right after i installed the reacotr i tested the calium level in the tank. it was at 425 ppm. tonight just after the reactor was taken off line energy had checked the calcium again. it was at 500. it jumped 75 ppm over night. so this reactor will have to be monitored real close so he dont over dose the tank. but it will keep up to the demand of the tank with out a problem. now i just have to fix the oops and get it back on line. he has his old reactro back up and running but im not sure if that will keep up. he had 2 reactors on line before and he never had his calcium very high. so its mixed reactoins right now. its still not a long term test of the design so w will have to see. the big thing is the co2 usage. he would have to refill his 20 lbs tanks every 2 months. im hoping this reactor wont need that much co2. the reactor was spitting out 750 ppm calcium out of the 3/8 hose in a stream. it was pretty much running wide open. when its back up and running it will need to be throttled back alot. but thats good. it will just purr along and keep the corals happy.

[dgasmd]

JUst as a suggestion, I hope you have the effluent running through some PO4 removing media. You and I are using the same media and I can tell you the effluent is loaded in PO4. I run my effuent stream through a small container with phosban and it has worked like a charm. The media won't clump up either due to the low pH. Just a suggestion as it is easier to remove it there than let the tank get exposed to it while the PO4 reactor sucks it up.

[Draggie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7288594#post7288594 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dgasmd
JUst as a suggestion, I hope you have the effluent running through some PO4 removing media. You and I are using the same media and I can tell you the effluent is loaded in PO4. I run my effuent stream through a small container with phosban and it has worked like a charm.

Dgasmd, if running a dual chamber CA rx do you think filling the top third of the second chamber with PO4 remover will work and do the same thing instead of having an effulent bucket ?

[dgasmd]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7289065#post7289065 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Draggie
Dgasmd, if running a dual chamber CA rx do you think filling the top third of the second chamber with PO4 remover will work and do the same thing instead of having an effulent bucket ?

I WOULD NOT , and I repeat, I WOULD NOT recommend doing that at all. I have no idea the kinds of ill effects one can get from degrading the media there so much with the errosion of the recirculating water. I have done it witht he effluent drip container successfully for a number of years now without any noticeable issues I can attribute to it, so that is the only thing I could recommend based on personal experience only.

[dgasmd]

Here is a picture of my little container. It was built originally by someone here in RC that I can't remember the name, but I know he does not do them anymore. It is quite simple actually.

http://www.dgasmd.org/750g%20tank/GEO%20reactors/effluent-reactor.jpg

The effluent enters the top at the white hose barb and goes down a tub in the middle where a pH probe sits to measure effluent pH. The media sits in a little plate (gray colored) and the effluent has to go through it on the way up and out the gray colored spout on the side. Sort of like a fluidized reactor, but the effluent would have to be like a garden hose rate for it to make it fluidize.:lol: :lol: :lol:

[NexDog]

They are sweet. Someone should start making them again. :)

[jnarowe]

Looks like you have a nice sized junk yard there! :lol:

Can you post more angles of that "fluidizer"? I wonder where that gray perforated plate came from?

[dgasmd]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7289242#post7289242 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
I wonder where that gray perforated plate came from?

Looks liek a piece of plastic he just cut and drilled to fit. Nothing fancy really. It used to have a little piece of green padding at the bottom to prevent the media from going through the holes, but I took it off because I found it compltely unnecessary and something that would plug at some point when I was not paying attention.

If you want anything else about this thing, just email me instead as I don't want to derail Energy/spazz's thread any further.

[iantoh]

Is this a Dendrophelia (or however you spell it):
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/1700gallon%20stingray%20reef/newreactor40.jpg

hi there nexdog,

i think thats a Scleronephthya sp. as the spicules seem quite apparent.
a gorgeous specimen, though terribly difficult to keep.


energy... Hi. i know everyones said this countless times over, but lovely, lovely set up! truly gorgeous. i especially like the snowflake clowns. theyre cute, very much like the white caps, but so terribly expensive!!

cant wait for several months to pass to view your system in its full totm glory!

cheers,
ian

[Energy]

Dgasmd- Derail away- that's a great idea. I might set-up my reactor on the refugium where I have the effluent pumped into. Currently my chaeto gets first crack at the phosphate and excess CO-2. Then it drains into the main sump to get processed by the po reactor.

[spazz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7291179#post7291179 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Energy
Dgasmd- Derail away- that's a great idea. I might set-up my reactor on the refugium where I have the effluent pumped into. Currently my chaeto gets first crack at the phosphate and excess CO-2. Then it drains into the main sump to get processed by the po reactor.

ok i will figure out a way to add that in there. ha ha ha
not real hard to do.

[jnarowe]

Hmmm...good idea to feed the effluent into the fuge. I have read about some people feeding the Ca effluent through their skimmers to blow off the excess CO2 as well.

I wonder if running Ca effluent as well as ozone through a skimmer would work out OK?

[Energy]

Why not? I used to run the effluent through the skimmer to eat up excess CO-2 but then switched to pumping it into my refugium to supercharge the Chaeto. The refugium then dumps into the main sump so just the movement of the water helps to off-gas a little extra CO-2 .

[dgasmd]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7291179#post7291179 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Energy
Currently my chaeto gets first crack at the phosphate and excess CO-2. Then it drains into the main sump to get processed by the po reactor.

Actually, macroalgae uses very little to no PO4, but it does get supercharged with the extra CO2 as a carbon source. So, putting your effluent into the refugium is a good thing, especially if you run your refugium 24/7. Macro is exceedingly good at absorbing nitrates mostly, but extremely poor at doing much of anything with PO4. Even if you run your effluent through one of these things, I would still have it come into the refugium as you are doing. You get the best of both worlds.

The only reason I can think of to not run your effluent into the skimmer is because the extremely high DKH and Ca, in contact with a warm pump, is a perfect receipe for Ca deposits on your pump's impeller assembly. Depending on the type of pump you run, this may increase significantly the wear of the impeller assembly and may increase th frequency at which you get it all out for a good vinegar dip and scrub.

[jnarowe]

Good point about the pump and I am using a Sequence 4200 so it would take a lot to mess that up! I just don't like having to mess with it and shut everything down to do it.

[asnatlas]

Effluent with Phosphate reading 2.0 (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=717552)

[melev]

The only drawback I've come across having the effluent drain into the refugium is the water in my fuge moves slowly. So the calcium levels ar quite high in that compartment, rather than flowing directly into my reef where I really need it most.

[jnarowe]

Good point. I think I will have mine go into my skimmer and then be dispersed throughout the system. That will give a good mixing in 50g while off-gassing the CO2. I am going to have to run a little more flow than most reactors I see and I think the skimmer provides an extra measure of safety. That may prove to increase pump maintainance a bit and go through more magnet cleaner pads but I think it will be worth it in terms of reef health.

[Lunchbucket]

podcast??? it's been so long ago i heard one i can't remember what they are

Lunchbucket

[melev]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7320379#post7320379 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Lunchbucket
podcast??? it's been so long ago i heard one i can't remember what they are

Lunchbucket

Me either! :mad:

[dgasmd]

OK, I guess we did a great job at derailing the thread. Maybe we can now get back to the original subject of it.

[Scottkelly911]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7321521#post7321521 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dgasmd
OK, I guess we did a great job at derailing the thread. Maybe we can now get back to the original subject of it.
that would require new pics, so let's see some new pics of this beautiful system :D

[aynoT79]

WOW NICEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! :)

[Lunchbucket]

there is a subject?? thought this was random thoughts in Marc's world

Lunchbucket

[dgasmd]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Energy]

Check this out- I put two new liters of Rowaphos into my reactor and within 2 hours my ORP reading jumped 30 points. Spazz was over at the time and can verify this. I then turned the reactor way back to avoid any rapid changes and it continued to climb another 15 points overnight to hit 430. I then turned the reactor off and the ORP began to fall down to about 417. So for fun I turned it back on and the ORP went back up. It got to a point for about a week I could set my ORP with my Phoshate reactor. Now my ORP is steady in the Mid 380-390's with the reactor running at about 1/2 capacity. Has anyone out there seen a similar reaction or have any insight?

[Energy]

BTW any one know how's those stars got by the thread marker? I just noticed them a while back and forgot to ask.

[jnarowe]

I have had a similar experience with RowaPhos in that when I change it out I get an ORP spike. Although I have read several articles on ORP, I honestly still do not understand it or how to use that number to help me manage my reef. There's probably quite a few threads about it I bet.

[crab0000]

The starts got by the thread because somebody clicked the "Rate this thread" option to the right of the "forum jump" menu. HTH
Steve

[kochu]

I would love to know the thickness of the front pane. I am planning a mega tank and is collecting material
The problem is to plan the whole thing properly. :(

[jnarowe]

kochu

[welcome]
[welcome]
[welcome]

[Energy]

The Tank sides are made out of 1.25 acrylic-The top and bottom is 3/4 inch acrylic. Thanks Crab000 for the stars heads up. Any one else get an ORP spike from Rowphos? The more I turn it up the higher the orp goes and vica versa. Could it be possible to use the ORP reading as a judgement of the exhaustion of the rowaphos.- I.E if when I turn up the reactor the ORP stays the same indicate exhaustion of the media.

[spazz]

that is a very interesting keep us posted with your updates on that one.

[dgasmd]

I never noticed this. However, I have my pH and ORP probes in holders getting water from the Carbon and PO4 removing reactors. I should be able to tell, but I never really pay attention to it. My orp admittedly has been all over the place from the begining. I always wondered if it is because I never calibrated the probe with the stuff they have in the aquacontroller manual. I can't find that stuff anywhere.

[spazz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7334944#post7334944 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dgasmd
My orp admittedly has been all over the place from the begining. I always wondered if it is because I never calibrated the probe with the stuff they have in the aquacontroller manual. I can't find that stuff anywhere.

its quentedyne. i guess you need a permit to get it or something like that. the average person cant get ahold of it.

[dgasmd]

I know. It is retarded this is the only way to calibrate these probes on the aquacontroller. You can use a 1:7 bleech to RO/DI water to make a 700 mV solution, but one cannot calibrate the probe well on the aquacontroller because you ahve other procedures to do as well. I just left it be, which really irritates me.

[jnarowe]

Funny we have these things we can't really use to their potential. I am still confused that there are no decent Ca probes to hook into the ACIII Pro. Seems like a waste!

check out my latest
graph (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=829918&perpage=25&pagenumber=6) which shows when I calibrated my probes...

[otterpop510]

great thread.. read through quite a bit.. beautiful reef tank.. would be great to see more pics (can't get enough..)

[Travis]

Any info on how big ugly is doing or any info on the skimmer that is going to be replacing big ugly?

BTW, I did get to see the Dart NW made by Sequence at IMAC. I think they will be releasing it in the next couple months. Not sure how it compares to spazz's or Bill's NW's. They had it hooked up to a 20 gallon tank and it did fill it nice and thick with very small bubbles.

[RedEyeReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7334547#post7334547 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Energy
The Tank sides are made out of 1.25 acrylic-The top and bottom is 3/4 inch acrylic. Thanks Crab000 for the stars heads up. Any one else get an ORP spike from Rowphos? The more I turn it up the higher the orp goes and vica versa. Could it be possible to use the ORP reading as a judgement of the exhaustion of the rowaphos.- I.E if when I turn up the reactor the ORP stays the same indicate exhaustion of the media.

Energy, sweet system.

What is your target ORP reading and what benefits do you see in your reef with higher reading?

[Lunchbucket]

Travis - were are the pics!!

Lunchbucket

[crab0000]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7334547#post7334547 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Energy
The Tank sides are made out of 1.25 acrylic-The top and bottom is 3/4 inch acrylic. Thanks Crab000 for the stars heads up. Any one else get an ORP spike from Rowphos? The more I turn it up the higher the orp goes and vica versa. Could it be possible to use the ORP reading as a judgement of the exhaustion of the rowaphos.- I.E if when I turn up the reactor the ORP stays the same indicate exhaustion of the media.
No problem! Gald I could contribute something:D

[Energy]

My ORP is currently in the low 400's which is exactly where I want it. As the ORP increased I noticed I had to clean the tank walls alot less and my algae problem subsided. I use it as a daily measure for the tank conditions. That is the first thing I look at to monitor the tanks health. After you get used to reading it - it works great to tell what's happening before you see it in the tank. Travis- Spazz is the only one that truly knows of the progress on the next generation big ugly. The original is plugging away fabulously! I can't wait to see the next one. That skimmer saved the day more than once. When my turbo snail population died it literally blew the top off the skimmer! I had to hold it down with a can of Rowaphos.

[dgasmd]

Any updates?

[reefnewbie54321]

Started reading at 1:00, 8 and 1/2 hours later I finally finish ..... I had browsed at the pictures before and this tank just blew me away but I finally had the time to read the entire thing and it was well worth it. I know its been mentioned before but its truly amazing that you are keeping fish that people wouldn't even think about keeping in a reef. The filefish blew me away and a Blue Spotted Ray in a reef???WOW

How long have you had your Dendronepnthya, any signs of it starting to wilt or disinigrate? Do you still have it? There is someone using a product that produces artificial coral mucus that has been successful with these corals for more than a year ... I think since your system is so big and the coral population is so large there is enough mucus to keep this coral happy.

[reefnewbie54321]

sorry triple post

[reefnewbie54321]

sorry triple post

[Energy]

Reef newbie The dendro's have been there for a few months. I keep them at the bottom. There definately hit or miss as to there success. I think the stingray keeps them fed by suspending the detritus from the bottom at night. Not sure if this is the key to there survival so far. I have had a few that didn't make it but I also have a few that are fine. DGASMD- Updates- The algaes all gone but I'm noticing some tissue recession on the LPS and SPS. I'm thinking this might have something to do with the current Rowaphos use. After starting the product their has been a dramatic increase in water clarity and lack of algae of any sort. I'm thinking the lack of phosphates is affecting the symbiotic zooxanthalea (sp?) in the corals creating the tissue loss.

[jnarowe]

I'm thinking the lack of phosphates is affecting the symbiotic zooxanthalea (sp?) in the corals creating the tissue loss.


Say it ain't so! All the literature I have read tells me that low phosphate is vital to coral health. I guess if the level drops off dramtically then other organisms that rely on the phosphate & nitrate might suffer, and they may perish causing more toxins to be released. Was there a problem with any of your clams?

It may be like what happens when you remove a whole bunch of algae at the same time and that frees up phosphates and nitrates and then an even worse algae bloom occurs.

[Energy]

Well I don't think the rowaphos would be freeing any phosphate up since it removes it. Algae of any sort need a certain amount of phosphate to survive. If the symbiotic algae become accustomed to an elevated phosphate level and then that phosphate level is dramatically reduced I could see where that would lead to health problems for the corals. I know of many documented cases of STN on SPS when Rowphos is introduced and I had the same thing happen. I just haven't heard of this happening to LPS but logically it should follow that it could be a possibility.

[jnarowe]

Wow, very interesting. Certainly makes me even more careful to do things very slowly. My surprise in your case is that you are dealing with even more water than me and for the Rowaphos to have had that dramatic an affect, you must have used quite a bit of it right? It seems that these swings would be fairly mitigated in a system of your size and I know mine has been forgiving because of it's volume.

What do you think about my idea of organisms relying on Rowaphos perishing and adding toxins to the water? Or what about the algae die-off itself? Could that have spiked the nitrates enough to damage the corals?

[melev]

Energy, any news on Scott's new skimmer for your tank?

[Lunchbucket]

interesting on your thoughts for the Rowa. some have seen not so great results w/ using Rowa but i think they we due to changing parameters quickly.

i'm w/ melev...we want to see that skimmer.....but i think scott isn't done w/ it. melev you following scotts thread on the tiny might pump NW?

Lunchbucket

[melev]

I was until it stopped being posted to. Does he have another one?

[Travis]

That is interesting about the ROWA. I've been running 1200 grams of Phosban in my 280 for the last few weeks in a large fluidized reactor and have seen no negative results whatsoever. I'm running quite a bit of flow through it too, probably around 175-200gph. What I did notice is that it pulled my tank down from .34 PO4 to .02 PO4 in 3 days. My PO4 was pretty high as I had been out of town for a week and left the skimmer running too dry and it didn't collect anything and my tank sitter way overfed the tank. Now my PO4 stays down around .03-.05 even despite feeding the tank extra heavily.

One reason that I may not have noticed any problems with the corals is because they had just been added back to the tank when I started the Phosban after they had been in quarantine for 4 weeks being treated for AEFW's. So maybe they were able to tolerate the change in PO4 levels because they were adapting to new water parameters altogether. The results may have been different had the corals been in the display all along and were used to that water.

[Lunchbucket]

melev - he has been posting to it...you have a different one subscribed to? the old one?

Travis - nice to see you are back using PO4 media. i was wondering when you were going to have to come back to using it. glad it is going good for you w/ no problems...that is the LAST thing you need

Lunchbucket

[juke]

can't find the words........

[shells]

OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is my dream tank!!!!

what an awsome tank. but i dont think any words will do it
justice!!!

cant wait for more pics!!!

thank ya thank ya thank ya!!

dont ya just love this hobby!!! heheeeeeeeeee

[zemuron114]

energy -
more potters on the way. I went 30 for 30 the other day! Gotta love the nice weather :)
I'll be in touch.

Z

[shells]

Hey Energy!!
i had a few question for ya, and i dont know if they have
been addressed before, (I havent finished reading this thread
hehe) my first question, is where have you gotten
your fish and corals from? they are all beauful.

also, would you explain the planning and use for your
sponge tank?? i've heard of it once before, but really dont
know anything about it.

thanks
Shellie

[Energy]

The sponge tank has been disassembled. I didn't find it as effective as a Chaeto based refugium for nutrient removal. The main display is still set up to foster the growth of sponges so That's where any sponge filtration will take place. As far as fish and corals go I purchase them from many sources as the rare and show pieces become available.

[CW from the OC]

On the Rowaphos problems, I've heard about some people having RTN/STN problems if they use the full amount initially.

It seems best to use a small amount at first and ramp it up over a month or two.

C Dub

[JohnL]

This thread was automatically split due to performance issues. You can find the rest of the thread here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=861003