Neo's 180g tank and build thread

[Neogenesis]

Hey everyone,

I'm not sure why I never started a build thread on here, so I thought it was time. 

I started with a 46g bowfront with a 55g sump as my first tank.  The sump sat on the other side of the wall, which made it nice as I could keep a fairly larger volume of water.  The larger tank bug soon bit and found my current 180g tank and stand for $400.  I spent a good deal of time stripping and refinishing the stand, which I'm glad I did as it turned out great.  I't plumbed into a 125g sump and I'm using a Reef Octopus recirculation skimmer. A Reeflo Barracuda is used for the return and powering other accessories. I'll let the pictures speak for the rest.

Tank after being refinished


I picked up this RO/DI for $75


Plumbing the tank through the floor, through the wall, and then into the basement.



Preparing for the sump


Skimmer Stand


Everything coming together


Comparing PC light to a single LED light that I made


Tank with 2 LED fixtures


Tank shaping up


I eventually tried to switch to a smaller pump to save on electricity, however the Reeflo Barracuda hybrid didn't stand up to the test.


After nearly a year it was time to build out a frag tank system.  Here is the start with one of my helpers


Starting to take shape


Done...just need to finish the plumbing


And a current FTS


That's pretty much it, we are up to date, just trying to figure out the cause of my cyano outbreak and the best way to beat it.

[lazylivin]

That is a sweet setup. Looks like you got plenty of room for expansion. Nice job and the Carpet Nem is sweet!

[Seano Hermano]

Awesome.

That's a big carpet 'nem. 18-24" across? 

[Seano Hermano]

The tank stand looks great, btw. 

[Neogenesis]

Ya the nem is around 18"+ depending on the day.  I can't get the damn thing to stay in one spot for long, so it my not be in my tank too much longer.

Here is where it has put itself for the moment.........way up in the corner of the tank, right where I like to sit in my chair and look down the length of the tank.

[micki]

Wow looks great! 

[slandis3]

Nice looking setup.

[HUNGER]

tank looks great

[Neogenesis]

Thanks for the comments everyone.  The tank really has come together nice in the little over a year that it's been running.  Here's a pic of the nem when it's nearly fully open.  As you can see it's quite a large one.  The hammer to the left of it was well over the size of a softball.

Now....who knows the most about cyano here, and why I'm having such a bad outbreak?  I realize it's bacterial related, nitrates and phosphates aren't supposed to be feeding it, but what could have caused the problem?    Last check put my water specs right where they need to be, Alk was a little low, but that was checking with a Hanna meter so accuracy is really unknown.  I upped flow to no effect, my chaeto is growing like crazy, 0 nitrates, RO water checks good with a very low TDS number.  I'm just stumped.  Part of my philosophy when running a tank is not to just throw chemicals in your tank to bandaid your problems, rather fix the problem to relieve the symptoms that your seeing.  BTW the cyano outbreak was just starting in that pic, you can see a little on the sand.  It's much worse now.  I'll post up some better pics tonight.

So...thoughts on how to rectify the situation???

[Todd W.]

There are many solid reasons that cyanobacteria will grow in a tank, and several theories.  I took a quick look and one of the theories is slime from critters in the tank.  Seeing as how large your anemone is, do you see much slime coming off of it? 

Is there any correlation to the location of the cyanobacteria and your anemone?

[Neogenesis]

I don't see much slime come of the nem at all, if any.  I feed sparingly, and have backed off the amount I was feeding the fish as well.  The Cyano is the length of the tank, and seems to be along the front glass more than in the back where the flow is lower.

[lazylivin]

Solution is easy. Add chemiclean and it will be gone in three days.  Follow the directions!

[Neogenesis]

Solution is easy. Add chemiclean and it will be gone in three days.  Follow the directions!

Does anyone know what sparks a cyano outbreak?  I would like to fix that problem before I have to keep dumping chemicals into my tank to take care of it.

[HUNGER]

i do know if u add more flow it will help remove it to

[Neogenesis]

I had tried it, had the flow increased for about a week until a I found a leak in one of my overflow boxes.  Waiting on parts to fix it, so in the meantime I've had to back my flow off as I've only got one box running.  Maybe I'll kill the wave makers so I get a more linear flow through the tank and it's not going dead and restarting the other direction every few minutes.  I wonder if that'll help.

[Wall_Tank]

I had tried it, had the flow increased for about a week until a I found a leak in one of my overflow boxes.  Waiting on parts to fix it, so in the meantime I've had to back my flow off as I've only got one box running.  Maybe I'll kill the wave makers so I get a more linear flow through the tank and it's not going dead and restarting the other direction every few minutes.  I wonder if that'll help.

More flow than just turning up your return pump.   Like upgrading from Maxijets to Vortechs.    What are your wavemakers?

[HUNGER]

like walltank said add more power heads to that tank ether with vortechs or korilals

[Neogenesis]

For flow I'm running 2 K4's, which help circulate the rear of the tank, and for the wave makers I'm running the JBJ powerheads, rated at 1200gph.  They are stong enough to alter the flow in the tank.  Remember that I'm running a Reeflo Barracuda "4600gph" which is only running at about 50% regularly.  I opened that up to around 75% which didn't affect the cyano.  Do you thing 2000gph to 3000gph isn't enough flow?  There are 4 return into the tank that mix and make the flow turbulent.

Thoughts?

[Neogenesis]

Just 2 pics of what I'm dealing with.

[HUNGER]

try and move the power heads to where the cyno is growing alot of time thats the dead spot of no water flow

[Wall_Tank]

For flow I'm running 2 K4's, which help circulate the rear of the tank, and for the wave makers I'm running the JBJ powerheads, rated at 1200gph.  They are stong enough to alter the flow in the tank.  Remember that I'm running a Reeflo Barracuda "4600gph" which is only running at about 50% regularly.  I opened that up to around 75% which didn't affect the cyano.  Do you thing 2000gph to 3000gph isn't enough flow?  There are 4 return into the tank that mix and make the flow turbulent.

Thoughts?

That sounds like enough flow.   It could have been triggered by anything, something like a snail dying can do it.    I would just do what lazy suggested, or just syphon it out for a few days, and it should clear up.

[Todd W.]

+1 on siphoning it out.  I lost a couple pounds of sand doing so but took care of the problem.

[Reefpete]

That sounds like enough flow.   It could have been triggered by anything, something like a snail dying can do it.    I would just do what lazy suggested, or just syphon it out for a few days, and it should clear up.

+1

How are your return nozzles configured? I couldn't tell in the pictures. Even with the putrid bacteria outbreak, You still have an amazing looking tank/setup! 

[Neogenesis]

Thanks Reef,

There are 4 nozzles are evenly spread across the back of the tank, pointing toward the front, but they criss cross and are at different elevations.  I get a strong flow across the front glass, and throughout the entire tank to be honest.  I have a hard time keeping my sand in place.

[Reefpete]

Thanks Reef,

The nozzles are evenly spread across the back of the tank, pointing toward the front, but they criss cross and are at different elevations.  I get a strong flow across the front glass, and throughout the entire tank to be honest.  I have a hard time keeping my sand in place.

Okay rules out that possibility.

[lazylivin]

Does anyone know what sparks a cyano outbreak?  I would like to fix that problem before I have to keep dumping chemicals into my tank to take care of it.

Yes, first it is good to understand what it is and what it feeds on. Cynao as you know is bacteria. There are litteraly billions upon billions of cultures of bacteria in your tank. Some good some bad. The good bacteria such as  Paracoccus or Pseudomonas feed on organics (nutrients) and break them down to nitrates. The bad such as cynao is photosynthetic and can thrive in ultra low nutrient systems. Becasue of this they can early on especially in new systems or carbon dosed system propagate extremly fast and before the good stuff gets hold. Or in established systems when the good bacteria is crashing or unable to keep up with the bioload. Once cynao is established it can reek havoc on other bacteria and due to it's toxicity make you and your coral/fish sick. Boyd Chemiclean is formulated to only target Cyanobacteria and will not affect the other bacteria strains in your tank like algacides or erythromycin does. If used in accordance with the instructions it is very effective. The quicker you get it out of there the better.

[Neogenesis]

Looks I need to order up some ChemiClean then.  Do you know if any place local near the swap carries it?  I know for sure I won't find it around this area.

[lazylivin]

Your local Jacks may have it or will order it. I don't know of any reef stores close to Urbana.
You can also get it from here Premimum here

[rosebud161616]

That nem is really awesome and massive! Now where are the clowns to host in it!

I agree with Lazy on this one. Chemiclean is awesome, but I have always seemed to need to do double dosing in the past making it a 6 day treatment. Each tank is different, so just a heads up that that may be in order. If you end up ordering it, I would order enough to be able to dose twice just in case.

I also like to dose quite a bit of bacteria after I'm done with the chemiclean to try to out compete the cyano and stop it from coming back. I'm a huge fan of Prodibio BioDigest. They package the bacteria in small glass vials with nitrogen gas so the bacteria have something to feed on while bottled. If you do end up ordering the chemiclean from premium, they also sell the biodigest. You should be an overnight ship from Premium with normal UPS ground shipping, also!

[Reefpete]

That nem is really awesome and massive! Now where are the clowns to host in it!

I agree with Lazy on this one. Chemiclean is awesome, but I have always seemed to need to do double dosing in the past making it a 6 day treatment. Each tank is different, so just a heads up that that may be in order. If you end up ordering it, I would order enough to be able to dose twice just in case.

I also like to dose quite a bit of bacteria after I'm done with the chemiclean to try to out compete the cyano and stop it from coming back. I'm a huge fan of Prodibio BioDigest. They package the bacteria in small glass vials with nitrogen gas so the bacteria have something to feed on while bottled. If you do end up ordering the chemiclean from premium, they also sell the biodigest. You should be an overnight ship from Premium with normal UPS ground shipping, also!

Great information! Thank you!

[Neogenesis]

I have a set of picassos in a grow out tank.....however a local LFS gave me some bad information on some chromis.....and I've got a pair of killers in the tank.  I'm having trouble catching them.....but as soon as they are out.......my clown get to play in the carpet. 

[slandis3]

Are you saying the chromis are killers? I have 3 in my tank (started with 10 ) and they are well behaved.

[HUNGER]

ya i never had a bad chromis

[Neogenesis]

Wow.....it's way too often that this hobby leaves me scratching my head.  So...the tank has been growing algae on the glass so rapidly it's not even funny and I've been trying to figure out what was causing my cyano outbreak.  I finally spend a hour last night and cleaned all the glass, which was horrible BTW. Tank was looking good again except for the cyano. I wake up this morning, glance at the tank and can't see any nasties on the sand.  I flipped on the lights and to my surprise very little to no cyano.  WTF?  I have no idea what could have caused this.  There have been a few changes in the last 2 days....but I can't see any of them being drastic enough to cause this.

#1 Furnace is finally up and running again.  Can't see this as the cause as I've been fighting this for a few weeks now, basically since the weather changed.  It started when I had a functioning furnace.
#2 Cleaned the skimmer, it's not producing any more than it ever has...so can't see anything here causing it.
#3 Cleaned the glass....yes it was nasty and I threw a lot of green stuff into the water, but can't see that being responsible for clearing my cyano.


Thoughts?

[HUNGER]

it could just have been a cycle

[Neogenesis]

possibly....but what would have triggered a cycle I don't know.   I've been holding back buying or changing things, unless it was from the nem moving and disturbing the sand bed.  Plus I never saw anything in the water chemistry that would point to a cycle.  It's left me scratching my head for sure.

[rosebud161616]

What's this tank's birthday? I know we went through something very similar. We're normally so carefully to keep the nutrients as close to 0 as possible when starting a tank build to avoid as many of the algae cycles as possible. Our tank build ended up being a bit more rushed than usual and we ended up with a pretty nasty cyano outbreak. We did many water changes and ruled just about everything out. Finally we went to the store and bought chemi-clean. We had yet to dose, woke up a couple of days later and the cyano was gone.

The only thing we can think of is that we started dosing purple up. I'm not normally a huge fan of the stuff but got a free bottle in a give a way at a local swap meet. So maybe our calc/alk params were slightly off, or maybe the increased coraline growth some how starved the cyano? Or maybe it was just a cycle that finished up.

It's weird how stuff like this happens in our hobby. Just be happy that it's gone!

[Neogenesis]

The tank is just under a year, however 1/2 of the rock is about 2 years old.

[rosebud161616]

That's pretty old for it to be just a cycle...

How about your RO filters? When was the last time you changed them? It's possible that the water quality in your area has changed with the changing seasons and maybe the RO filters are producing better water even with older filters ?

[Neogenesis]

changed first two filters, 10 micron and 5 micron a few months ago and the dual carbon blocks are still good.  TDS is showing between 0 and 2.

Last set of tests....if the hanna checkers are reliable, showed my alk being a little low and calcium a little high,  but regular tests showed no ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate.

[Ashlar]

Sometimes there are 'cycles' in your tank that aren't related to something you test.

Dinoflagellates, green algae, cyano, coraline.. all seem to come and go in the first year of a tank for a lot of people.. it's like a stop light.. green (algae), yellow (dino's), red (cyano)..

Sometimes it's waves of critters that swell and recede- bristleworms, collonista snails, vermetid snails, spirbotid worms, astrea stars, stomatella snails, ball anemones, scypha sponges..

Doesn't necessarily mean that you need to do something to fix it- a lot of times it's just a natural cycle of one thing taking advantage of conditions, and it resolves itself over time. As long as you're keeping up with maintenance- good water change size / frequency, carbon/gfo changing, enough flow in the tank, harvesting macroalgae (if you have a fuge).. it'll usually go away on its own.

There's a lot more that we don't know about this hobby than what we do.

[Neogenesis]

Very true.   I'm happy to see it leave and hopefully not return!!!!!  If things stay good I need to decide whether to keep the carpet or find it a new home.  I'm getting tired of dealing with it.

[Ashlar]

That's a tough one. I love anemones, but without building a separate 'island' for them to *hopefully* stay on, I won't do it again.

[Neogenesis]

Wow....it's been a long time since I've updated this thread....I think it's time to liven it back up.  A lot has happened since I last posted....I'll just shoot off the top of my head everything I can think of.

Added a second carpet nem.....6 months later removed both of them.  Decided they were not for me.  It was cool to watch the clowns live in them, but a dedicated tank would be needed next time.

Started acquiring coral to stock the tank....wife was complaining it looked empty. 

I always enjoy frag swaps......till then.  Some $#%^&@#^@%# seller though they would include bryopsis on their frags as a freebie.

That is the story of the next 6 months.  My battle to rid my system of bryopsis.

I was lucky and it was contained to my 2 frag tanks, but in the end lost a good deal of frags as they could not be save.  Also killed a handfull due to high Mag which didn't seem to work for me.

Ended up tearing down both frag tanks, sterilizing them, and rebooting them for a fresh start.  I am now luckily 100% bryopsis free!!!!

Then my sister decides to tear down her 180g system, and gave me whatever I wanted out of the system.  Frag tanks packed to the max, DT packed to the max, wow it got full fast.  I also took in her Niger Trigger, Blue Jaw trigger, Yellow Tang, Blue Hippo Tang, and Bullseye Mandarin.  That was added to my pair of Bellus Angels, Starry Blenny, Maldives Lyretail Anthias 1M 2 F. 

I of course saw a small bloom as my bio load shot through the roof, but things returned to normal quickly and kept in check for a month or so but then started downhill.

I fought this for a month or 2, couldn't figure out what the cause was.  I lost the Niger Trigger, Female Bellus and the 2 Female Anthias.  Trigger and Anthias just disappeared, and the Female Bellus jumped.  Water specs were perfect, couldn't find anything wrong.  I was desperate as the snotty stuff in my tank was smothering coral, diatoms were heavy, and cyano was setting in.  I tried chemi-clean, didn't help a thing, so I started looking further. Started running GFO....no help.  Argh.  Water of the RO/DI was reading about 7, which isn't perfect but I didn't expect to cause these types of issues.  Again out of desperation I changed all filters and DI to see what happens.  Amazingly things starting looking better in within 3 weeks nearly all the crud in my tank was gone.  It was all tied to my RO/DI system.  Now the tank is crystal clean...nothing growing on the rocks.

So that bring me to today.  I just fragged up a TON of stuff as the local LFS was looking for some nicer coral, and got a fair amount of store credit......which quickly burned a hole in my pocket.  So I brought home the following stock.

Purple Tang - Check!!!!
Sunburst Anthias - Check!!!!
Copperband which already eats mysis - Check!!!
Pink wall Hammer - Check!!!!
Funcky read and blue chalice - Check!!!
Hawaiian Palys - Check!!!!

Very soon I be fragging up most of my chalices and offering them up for sale.

As of tonight, I decided it was time to take action as I haven't bought the dosing pumps for my Reef Angel yet.  I wouldn't have the time to mod the code as I want it anyway.  So I made a quick and dirty 5 gallon dripper.  I've got some brightwell ALK 8.3 buffer I'm using to drip.  Starting off at 8 drips per minute to see what happens.  I really had no idea where to start as the instructions only had a recipe in 8 oz increments....and if I matched those I got some unreal numbers.  10 teaspoons in 4 gallons, 8 drips per minute, lets see what happens.

And now some pics:  which are being randomly picked

[Neogenesis]

and I now just realized how cruddy that FTS was.  I'll get a better one soon.

[Twizted1]

Looks good.

[chromiumlux]

Looks great Neo! I am down for a frag of that Mars Man chalice when you cut it.

[Neogenesis]

I will be cutting everything hopefully this week......if my schedule work out.  We are moving right from youth football into your hockey.  Never been down this path with the kids.....should be fun!!!  Your marked for one of those frags Andy.  I've got a handful of others as well.....most which came from you.  I need to get pics of all of them as I forget the names of a lot of them.

[Neogenesis]

A little bad news....the purple tang doesn't seem to be welcome in the tank.  He came up with 3 big nips out of his dorsal fin, so I fished him out last night after the lights went out.  He's now living comfortable in my 40g frag tank.  He's still healthy and eating....so he'll be just fine.

On another note, I had yet another frag fest tonight.  Created a little over 50 new frags, containing leptastria, montipora, and chalices.  They will be healed and ready for sale/trade soon.

[Twizted1]

Sorry to hear that he didn't fit in.

[Neogenesis]

thought I would share the new piece I picked up today.

[Neogenesis]

My chalice addiction keep on growing....check out this new piece I pulled in yesterday.

[HUNGER]

very nice

[Neogenesis]

Thanks....I need to try and get a better pic of the pink and black chalice....but I've been busy fitting a new hood to my tank, and now I'm tackling getting my tank params under control.  Gotta get a dosing regiment rigured out and then get my pumps up and going.

[Neogenesis]

Well....I'm still working out doses and schedule for my new dosing regiment......but I'm getting there.

Thought I would share what I picked up tonight.


unnamed yellow/orange chalice



Red Fromia reef safe starfish

[Ashlar]

Very nice. I hope you have good luck with that fromia!

[chromiumlux]

Nice finds!

[Neogenesis]

Andy....did you still want a frag of the Alien Eye I have?

[Neogenesis]

warning....this is not a happy post.

/rant on/

There are days when I really hate this hobby, and today is one of them.  I've been working a lot of long hours this week, being in IT at a University, when the students leave it's balls to the wall to get things done, so I've really only glanced at the tank this week.  So I came home with a few new fish today, 2 firefish for my daughter, and a yoshi goby and his shrimp pal.  As I'm getting things ready for acclimation, I notice some of the corals don't look that great.  No biggie I think, they all have their off days.  I haven't looked higher in the tank at this point.  An hour and half goes by, I'm ready to put fish in.  As I drop the first fish in I see it, my gorgeous teal trumpet coral colony, around 50+ heads, mostly dead.  Blasto looks bad, gold tipped torch looks bad, birdsnest looks bad, prism favia looks bad.  WTF is going on?   So I take a head count on fish, sure enough my Maldives Lyretail Anthias is missing.   Grrrrrr.........    So I'm thinking mini cycle or somthing as I didn't see him dead so he was left in the tank.  Water tests reveal nothing as all are at 0.

Part two of the story.   It seems my blue jaw trigger didn't like my new inhabitants and has finished off both firefish, the goby and I'm assuming his shrimp friend as none can be found.  My wife saw him eat at least one.  Mo***r F****r!!!!!!!!!!!!    As soon as I can catch that fish he's gone. 

So friggin' ticked off right now.  Sry.....needed to vent.

/rant off/


So....water changes galore tonight and through Christmas to try and get things back on track.

[Steve]

What about alk, mag, cal and ph. I know that when my mag levels are low or my alk is outta whack it seems to have a very unhealthy effect on the corals. My nephew had the same experience with a trigger, didn't bother the corals but ate everything else it could get in it's mouth.

[Neogenesis]

Well...things continue to go downhill.  I had the LFS double check all my specs....and they came up with the same results.  water quality besides low ALK seems to be right on.  Things continue to die, I've started relocating coral in hopes of saving the stuff that looks bad.  What's really confusing is that some of it doesn't even look effected.   Zoas, Euphyllia, most of my SPS, and even most of my chalice,  it all looks good.  But the carpet lobo, torch, blasto, favia, all looked bad.  1 chalice and both colonies of trumpet coral, and a fungia are completely dead.

I'm just so lost as to what it could be it's killing me.  I'm going to double check all water params tonight as well as do another 40g water change. I'm doing about 40g daily.   I've checked for voltage multiple times over, added a grounding probe today, I don't even know where else to look.

If anyone has any thoughts, please let me hear them.  I'm lost as to where to look next

What a fun Christmas I'm having huh?

[Twizted1]

That is odd. I would think your sps would be the 1st to go. Your ph good? Anyone spray any air freshener or anything like that near the tank? Anyway anything else could be in your water? Something that may not be detectable with your tests? Any wood fall in the tank?  Just throwing some things out there. You would know before I. 

[Neogenesis]

Well....I'm still losing coral even with all the water changes, threw in a poly filter to see what it would catch....no luck.  My blue bayou chalice is now gone, as well as 2 papa smurf chalices, and a unknown red chalice.   Grrr........

I think I may have found the problem, it's the only thing that makes sense, and that a 4 volt leak into the tank.  It's unfortunately tied to my return pump, which I don't have a spare and can't find just anywhere.  With my remote sump, I'm running a Reeflo barracuda, and the moment I unplug it, my voltage in the tank goes from v volts to milivolts.  Is 4 volts enough to cause massive coral die off likk I'm seeing?  If the answer is yes, then I'm hunting for an new pump, which I'm sure no one local carries, and them I'm a week out on getting one.3

If the answer is no, then I'm about to sell it all as I can't make heads or tails of the problem at this point.  It's so damn frustrating on watching it all die, and then those whom you thought you could trust banking corals put them in a dumb spot only to get them stung and die.

Very frustrating..............

Thoughts?

[Twizted1]

I'm not sure of the answer. But I have a dart you could use until you can get a replacement pump, if needed. To me 4 volts continuos thru out the tank seems like a lot.

[Steve]

Sorry to hear about your troubles, I must admit I have had several this is it moments in this hobby. If you find the problem and decide to stay in the hobby if there is anything I have that you want to replace let me know, I'll help you out.

[lazylivin]

4 volts is not much and wouldn't cause these issues. Put in a grounding probe to take care of the problem.

[Neogenesis]

I put in a grounding problem, 4 volts still remained, yes house is grounded, but have not had the house ground tested yet.    Thanks for the offer twisted, I was able to locate a temp pump closer, thanks to aquaculture underground, as I didn't really want to drive down to you with this weather coming in.  I guess I'll keep up with water changes, and see how the tank does now.  I do think something is wrong with the barracuda, as it wasn't pumping near as much water as this little danner hy-drive.  I'll tear the reeflo apart soon.

On a side note, I was able to relocate some of the corals, however most of what was already showing signs of stress damage has died, and the rest of my really nice stuff got relocated today.


Scott

[itsalifestyle]

Well good luck sounds like you have a mess on your hands

[Neogenesis]

That sir....I do.  Fingers crossed that this shapes things up....but who knows anymore.  It's weeks like the last one when I really hate this hobby.

[lazylivin]

I hope you find the problem, many of us have had the mysterious coral losses like you are having now. It sucks to not know what to do to correct the problem. I feel the pain.

[Neogenesis]

Well....this evening looked a bit better.   My Aussie Gold Tip Torch is pretty telling when something is wrong in the tank, and it was looking a little better tonight.  Fingers crossed I don't find any more death in the morning.

[Neogenesis]

I'm happy to report that the tank is now voltage free, and everything is looking better.  I've not had one death after replacing my Reeflo Barracuda with a temp pump.  It was definitely leaking 4 volts in the system.  I'm just glad this ordeal is over and I can start replacing the coral I've lost.

Now....if anyone has a Papa Smurf Chalice available I would be interested.  And I can't remember who bought my Blue Bayou frag, but once it gets large enough I would like to get a piece of it back as well.  I lost much more than that, but that is where I'm going to start.

[Steve]

Hey Scott, I have a small piece of the Papa Smurf, I got mine from rayviv, pretty sure he has some frags and he is alot closer to you.

[lazylivin]

That is good you got the problem fixed. It sucks when things die. If you get down this way I could donate a few frags to get you going again.

[Neogenesis]

Lazy, thanks for the offer, but I'll pass  My tank was packed, and I mean packed with coral.  I lost maybe about a 1/3rd of it, and there is still a lot left in my frag tank as well.  There are just a few select pieces I lost that I would like to get back.  Luckily all my high end chalices made it except the two I listed above.  I've got most out in a local reefers tank until i get the new pump in as I'm afraid the tank may cycle after the electrocution.  In a week or two when I know for sure what's going to happen I'll being them all back in.

Scott

[itsalifestyle]

This is why I love this group everyone is interested in helping others out glad your on the up swing of things I have a papa smurf not really ready to frag but I'm sure I could cut you a few eyes by spring swap

[Neogenesis]

Would be appreciated.  I'm sure we could work out a trade....I've got some really nice pieces growing out.

[itsalifestyle]

Sounds good don't let me forget

[Myreef55]

Glad you got it figured out!

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2

[Mussin]

Good to hear..

[buk]

great to hear you got it all figured out but i would look into your grounding issue also. have you checked the probe you used? many that i've had over the years come with the bare minimum gauge wire and can very easily be broken.

[Neogenesis]

Time for a update:

The tank has been doing well since the little electricity issue.  There has been zero death since the day I switched off the Reeflo pump, which still amazes me that only 4 volts can fry that much stuff come from a EXTERNAL PUMP!!!  I wasn't crazy about laying out nearly $400 for a new return pump, so I started looking around and Dave at AquaCulture Underground hooked me up with a individual that had a nearly new Blueline 70 pump  for sale.  I got it for $100, and it's should be plenty to do the job.  I then finally took the time to program my dosing pumps into my Reef Angel, and boy have they made configuring that thing easier than ever, and upon taking a closer look my heater was no longer up to the task as I only run a single 300watt unit during the summer months.  So I dropped my second 300w heater in and while it help the tank steady, upon closer inspection one heater was nearly on ALL the time.  It's impossible to get them to run in synch or even close to it.  So I ordered up a new digital Finnex controller and titanium heating element, 800w should do the trick.  The heater runs a LOT less now and the tank is always within a .5 of a degree.  My next purchase is most likely going to be a pair for Vertech MP40's, as I'm trying to eliminate putting electricity near water as much as possible.  When done, I want nothing but the return pump and heaters touching water.  Wanna help me afford them....I've got frags for sale!!!!!   lol

So things are going well, corals are growing well, I can't wait for the swaps to get here as my frag tanks are getting full again.  Gotta love that Gryphon frag saw I picked up.

Pics of my new toys:

[Myreef55]

Nice! Good to here things are doing well again!

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2

[lazylivin]

I am so glad things are good now. Surprised as well that 4 volts did that to your corals but good to know and I will be monitoring my tanks voltage more often. I run finnex and love it.

[Neogenesis]

I wish someone made an alarm that would alert if any voltage was found in the tank.  I'd drop $100 on one tomorrow.  Also picked up a toxic orange fungia tonight with bright green tentacles.  Will post pics once it settles in and opens up.

On the vortech note....  who runs them and your thoughts?  Pros and Cons?

[Wall_Tank]

I love my vortechs.

Pros,
-takes up little space in your tank,
-no heat in the tank......meaning no calcium buildup in the pump. 
-fully controllable, syncable with multiple pumps.
-battery backup capability

cons
- you can't aim the pump flow
- requires maintenance of the main bearing.
- pricey


I'm sure we could build a detector with some transistors.   What kind of alarm would you want.

[Neogenesis]

let me ask you this, is not aiming them an issue?  I'm not positive on how they pump.  When thinking of my Koralia's compared to my ocean streams, they are completely different animals.  Are the Vortechs a very pointed flow or more broad?

Could you also explain the bearing maintenance?

Price I can save some on as I can get a pair at cost brand new, however it's still pricey.

[Boonjob]

One flaw I found with the vortech in my design was that it wouldn't fit where I wanted it to go... My tank was pre established and to put in a vortech I would have had to move the tank from the wall so that it couls fit in between the tank and the wall, So it limited where I could put it in the tank. I would also love to run one on my bio cube, but that means I would have to run it on one of the 3 viewable sides, as I ideally would want it on the back panel, but can't put it there as the internal filtration is behind the back wall, so its not a dry side.

Not a major gripe, but something you may have to think about.

[Wall_Tank]

Vortech is a broad flow pump.....just like the tunze streams.

Look at page 6 of the manual for an exploded view of the pump.

http://ecotechmarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/FULLMANUAL_Revision1.11.pdf

They sell a repair kit, which is probably a 2-3 year replacement.

http://ecotechmarine.com/parts-store/#MP40

[Neogenesis]

Thanks Wall_Tank.  I think I'm going to spring for a pair.....I hope I don't regret this.  I'm nervous dropping this kind of money on anything.

The new fungia is doing good, it fed itself already tonight.  I got food to it's outer body.  It grabbed it and held on to it the whole way to it's mouth, didn't even have to cover it.  So I'm hopeful that this one has a very good chance to survive.

And if anyone knows, if your mama clown looks very very fat through the abdomen, I presume she's holding eggs, but how long before they actually lay?  I haven't noticed her having a fat abdomen until tonight.  I'm very excited as are the kids as I didn't think they were even old enough to lay.

[rickwebste]

Nice

[Neogenesis]

OK.....well I did it, I splurged and  bought a pair of MP 40's.  My first impressions were not that great.  I honestly expected to see a $400+ dollar power head to be packed a little nicer.  And to be honest the wet side felt a little cheap compared to other pumps I've worked with.  Oh well, I've gone this far I might as well install them.  This is where it peaked my interest a bit.  These things move HUGE amounts of water.  To match my water movement from before, I'm on the 2nd or 3rd lowest setting there is.  If I turn them all the way up it would be a sandstorm in no time.  So I start playing with the controllers, and for some reason I couldn't get them to sync with each other to start with.  Around the 5th try, doing the exact same steps they are now synced, which it pretty darn cool.  Now I just need to decide what mode I want to run in.

So, I'm still on the fence overall with them, but I'm glad to remove the chance of leaking electricity into the tank through power heads again.

Other news with the tank, I finally got my Blue Jaw Trigger out, he liked escargo and other inverts too much, and I need to get my aptasia problem taken care of.  So peppermints are next to go in, and possibly a nudibranch or two.

[Mussin]

Nice!!   Id love to get a pair of MP10's,


Jeremy

[Neogenesis]

The vortechs are nice for sure!!!

So...the peppermints are not working fast enough for my liking....so I broke out the aiptasia wand tonight and took care of all those little buggers that I could reach.  Took care of at least all the large ones, so hopefully the shrimp will take care of the small ones.

I also finally installed my replacement return pump over the weekend.  I do know I'll never be running a Reeflo pump again.  The new one is smaller, quieter, uses less electricity, and moves the same amount of water....and is cheaper to boot. Don't get the wrong the Reeflo is a good pump, but I won't be running them any longer. 

I'm glad to finally have the tank and all components running top notch again.  Now to get these dang dosers figured out as the one isn't kicking on right.  Time to get on the support forums to get it straightened out.

[Wall_Tank]

Do you have the Power data to share?

[Myreef55]

What kind is the new return pump?

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2

[Neogenesis]

I replaced my Reeflo Barracuda with a Blueline 70.

Hmmm....how to best word this.  The Reeflo Barracuda is rated for more flow, less head......    The Blueline is rated for less flow more head, but at 1/2 the wattage of the Reeflo.  What I've found is that both pumps provide the same amount of flow in my setup, so overall that makes the Blueline cheaper to run.  I know this as my overflows are tuned to run xxx gallons per hour quietly, and after swapping pumps, I had to reduce the flow nearly the exact same amount for both pumps.  So what the Reeflo loses to head pressure, the Blueline pushed through with no loss of flow.  And just for reference, I guesstimate my head pressure to be around 13 ft.

Pump Specs:

Reeflo Barracuda
4,500 gph
shut off head of 18 feet
maximum wattage of 325/ 2 amps.

Blueline 70

1750 gph
shut off head of 39 feet
maximum wattage of 150

[Wall_Tank]

I replaced my Reeflo Barracuda with a Blueline 70.

Hmmm....how to best word this.  The Reeflo Barracuda is rated for more flow, less head......

well said.

I was wondering if you had actual current draw on the pumps.   Or tested with a kil-a-watt. 

[Neogenesis]

I don't.  It's one of those thing I keep meaning to buy.....but other things always take precedence.

If the Reeflo is repairable, it's easily swapped back in, it could be easily tested.

[Neogenesis]

ok...time for a photo bomb update of my DT!!!!  A lot of these I will have frags available from or the colony is for sale.  There is also lots more in my 60g worth of frag tanks!!

Hollywood Stunner Chalice


Miami Hurricane


Gold Tip Torch - this entire thing is for sale.





Toxic Waste Fungia, Orange Fungia, and can't remember the name of this chalice




Meteor Shower Cyphastria


Hammer Colony


Bam Bam's


Ora Green Birdsnest


New piece i just picked up....a little bit bleached but healthy


Prizm Favia, Purple Deaths, Nuclear Greens - This entire rock is for sale


Couple Random Chalices


And finally a random shot

[lazylivin]

Everything looks good despite the voltage issue you had. Purple Deaths a little browned out but they look healthy and will come back. Is the Toxic Waste Fungia going to be up for sale? If so interested.

[Neogenesis]

That unfortunately is one that is not.  I've only had it for a few weeks, post issue.   It took a while to find a good healthy specimen,  it's healthy and eating readily.  He's a keeper, for now anyway.

[lazylivin]

It is a awesome coral.

[itsalifestyle]

Any new updates ?

[Travis8896]

Is the gold torch still for sale? Price?

[Neogenesis]

Gold Torch has been gone for quite a while.

[Neogenesis]

Well....I thought I would share my 2 latest finds.....which I'm pretty happy with.  I'll do a full update soon with the ups and down of my tank.

[Steve]

Nice Scott, that blenny is sweet! I have had one for about a year now, I have been training it to eat from a turkey baster. Gorgeous coloration.

[itsalifestyle]

Looks great Scott 

[Mussin]

Still lookin good

[lazylivin]

That is a sweet blenney, never seen one like that before. What is it and where can I get one?

[Steve]

That is a sweet blenney, never seen one like that before. What is it and where can I get one?

Pretty sure that is a Red Scooter Blenny.

[Neogenesis]

That is not a regular red scooter that I'm aware of.  I'll do a bit of research and see if I can come up with a name.  Changing Tide Aquatics still has one in if you want one.

[Travis8896]

The real question is price lol.

[Steve]

I have seen them with alot of variations. Some with more red that others. 2 things for sure, very unique pattern and awesome looking fish.

[Bucknutz]

Isn't it the Ruby Red Dragonet?

[Neogenesis]

I think Jesse is right.  $60 I think is what he had on them.  Came in a few days ago.

[Neogenesis]

And here is some background

http://reefbuilders.com/2013/04/19/rubyb-red-dragonet-simultaneous-worldwide-splash/

[Steve]

Great find!

[Neogenesis]

Well....I lost the Red Headed Dragonette, he's seems to have disappeared.

[Bucknutz]

Well....I lost the Red Headed Dragonette, he's seems to have disappeared.

Those guys were pretty small. I bet he is still in there somewhere.

[Neogenesis]

Haven't seen him since the night I put him in, so I'm guessing he's gone.  They are too active to stay hidden that long.

[Neogenesis]

Picture update time!!!!   I didn't take pics of the few corals that are still struggling.....but they are starting to come around.

[Neogenesis]

The two chalices I posted pics of are for sale.  They are the only 2 that were undamaged from my tank issues.  If anyone is interested, PM me.  I would rather see them in someone else's tank before rather than risk damage them.

And I will be making another trip or two to Wright State University in the next week or two, so we could meet while I'm down there.  It would have to be during the day though.

[itsalifestyle]

looks great scott pm sent

[lazylivin]

I agree it looks great, everything saved is bouncing back. Coral color looks good.  How is your new blenny doing?

[Neogenesis]

I think I Lost the Red Headed Dragonette.  Haven't seen him since the night he went in the tank.  I'm a bit surprised too, as he was immediately grazing and looking for food

[Neogenesis]

PM's answered


And the coral never really lost much color, they just wouldn't fully open.....and all water tests were dead on.  The one test I'm missing is phosphate, but since I started running GFO again a week ago, those things that weren't looking good are starting to perk up.  Fingers crossed that's all it is.

[Twizted1]

Everything look great.

[BuckeyeFan]

Looks Great !

[Neogenesis]

Thanks Guys.

Black and Pink Chalice is spoken for.
Red Aspera Chalice is still available.

[JayMc]

Great build!  Way to stick with it.  I know there have been times when I just wanted to fill the tank with bullet holes 

[Neogenesis]

Thanks!!!  I've been doing that for months now,sticking with it,  damn near shut it down once or twice.  I'm at that finicky 4 to 5 year period where a lot of tanks run into problems, and I've had my fare share.  It's made me rethink some design choices, look at my dosing, and husbandry.  I've also realized that I've made some really dumb decisions recently and I won't be doing that again. The last thing I want to do for now is mod a different pump into my skimmer, but that will take some time as those pumps are not cheap.

Long story short I've found the very expensive side of keeping a reef tank recently.  lol

[Neogenesis]

Well.....I finally came across one of favorite fish again, and decided to give it a try.  The last one went carpet surfing and that was before I had the hood built for the tank, so I'm hoping this one will stay in.  I absolutely love the Blue Spotted Jaws, and this one settled in the corner of the tank right where my recliner sits, so I can see him all the time.

Here's a link for a short vid I took.

[BuckeyeFan]

Well.....I finally came across one of favorite fish again, and decided to give it a try.  The last one went carpet surfing and that was before I had the hood built for the tank, so I'm hoping this one will stay in.  I absolutely love the Blue Spotted Jaws, and this one settled in the corner of the tank right where my recliner sits, so I can see him all the time.

Here's a link for a short vid I took.

very cool, where did you pick him up at ? If I may ask ...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Neogenesis]

Changing Tide Aquatics

[lazylivin]

Looks like it took up resident in the front of tank. That is nice

[Neogenesis]

Right in the front corner where my recliner sits.  It couldn't have happened any better.

-Scott