150gal Tank Rehab

[Miles]

Here is a quick modification I made last night that I really love. I took my Kindle Fire off my tank once my first born could walk because he started messing with it. Mounting it above my desk makes it really easy to monitor at a glance.

I decided to do this because the display on my Apex Jr went out a couple weeks ago and Neptune Systems wanted to charge me between $35-70 to fix it. Mounting the Kindle Fire where it is at, I can have another tab open in the browser for the Jr. I might pick another fire up if I even see a good deal and have it serve as a display for the Jr.




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[Miles]

Got my Ca Reacotor tuned properly... i think.... (constant stream of effluent out at a pH of 7.3).

I decided that I was goign to add some more flow to the tank and hook up the Jebao WP-40s tha tI originally bought for this tank but then replaced with the MP-40s. Discovered that the rubber mounts on them had began to dry rot from sitting in storage. Had to order another set for each pump for $15 each from Fish Street. Without the new mounts, the flow from the powerheads was enough to just blow the whole thing off the mount.




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[Miles]

Added a Neptune DOS a couple weeks ago setup as an ATO. Currently changing 3 gallons a day. Since setting that up and getting the Ca Reactor dialed in I am seeing awesome results. See the pics below









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[Gary]

I have had two display failures on my Apex as well. I really like the Kindle Fire idea. We can never have enough toys!
I do the auto water change as well but only 10% per week. I may need to increase the amount. I'm not using the DOS but I'm considering buy one. Are you happy with the unit and the setup? 
Thanks,
Gary

[Miles]

With 3 gallons a day, I'm getting about 10% a week.  The DOS is pretty cool, I'm very happy with it, but it was a little confusing to setup. The instructions for AWC (shown below) are helpful, but they neglect to point out that the pump on the right side actually runs in reverse of when it is used for dosing. This is confusing because the arrows on it that are labeled as "IN" and "OUT" are opposite of what is in the diagram. And when press the prime button on the unit it causes the pump to move in the forward direction. Other than that little hangup, i twas pretty easy to setup, it didn't come with nearly enough tubing though, luckily I had some RO tubing laying around that fit.




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[Gary]

Thanks for the information! I would have thought Neptune would have fixed that. Rotating the pumps in the same direction would have been simpler. I'm going to pick one up at the next sale. I use RO line for my AWC. I think it is considerably tougher.  Menards has 100 feet for $7 which makes it very affordable.

[Miles]

Finally got the email from BRS the other day that they have a Trident for me. It was delivered yesterday, won't have it up and running until the weekend though, too much going on. I'm extremely lazy when it comes to doing water tests so this should really help out. I did do a test about a week ago for the first time in a couple months and nothing seemed to be much out of wack, so I thnk I have the Ca Reactor tuned pretty well. 

I think I'm going to start unloading some of the miscellaneous equipment I have laying around (will probably eventually post them in classifieds), but if anyone sees this here first you could get a sweet deal. I've got two 75gallon tanks that I will just give away, one is undrilled and the other has a coast to coast overflow with three drain lines (bean animal?). Both tanks have sat empty for several years so they probably need resealed which is why I'm willing to give them away. The undrilled one comes with an overflow box and a  fancy PetsMart stand  (which doesn't really have much room for a sump), the other one comes with a DIY wood stand that needs an outer skin but is built high to accommodate a larger skimmer and allows for a good viewing angle when standing.

We are talking about finishing our basement and these are just taking up too much space and I have no real plans for them, so if you are interested, let me know. I'm not in a huge rush to get rid of them so eventually when I get some time I'll post them in classifieds with some pics.

[Gary]

Miles I would like to have the undrilled 75 and stand. Thanks, gary

[Miles]

After mostly taking a break for a few years... I'm back.

Since having kids, I've pretty much just had the tank on cruise control. And COVID didnt really help things.

My brother is just starting to get in the hobby, and that has reignited my interest... and opened my wallet. I ended up spending some money during the BRS Black Friday sale and bought some Gyre pumps and some other miscellaneous supplies.

Today I cleaned my Ca Reactor and added media for the first time. I had to look up when I purchased it because I was kind of amazed. I placed the order at BRS on 11/20/18... so I probably got it all up and running sometime in December of 2018. So I have been running it for 3 years without any issues. I got the CO2 tank refilled last spring, but that is it. I typically run it with a pretty high pH... like 7.3 which is why the media and CO2 have lasted so long, but it has made a huge difference when it comes to keeping Ca and Alk levels in check.

Other news... my female Black Darwin Clown passed away last November. I have been able to trace her age back to at least 12. I had her for 9 years, and the previous owner had her for 3, and he is unsure how old she was when he picked her up.

[Miles]

Before:


After:



Current Pic:



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[Gary]

Welcome back! Yes, kids take priority and an inordinate amount of time and money. Reefing does take a lot time and in most cases money, but kids dwarf that. Your Calcium Reactor has done well.  Club activity level has been low but things go on auto pilot for most people during the summers. Sorry to hear about the clown. 12 years is very respectable.
Gary

[Miles]

Not sure if I consider this impressive or not... but this is 3 years of growth with me do literally nothing but cleaning the glass

December 31, 2018


December 4, 2021



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[Gary]

Looks good to me. If i ignored my tank it would be covered in algae!

[Miles]

Looks good to me. If i ignored my tank it would be covered in algae!

Seriously...I have no idea why I didn't end up with some sort of hair algae explosion. I have battled hair algae off and on for years. I have some in the system, in some of the 10gal tanks in the basement, but none in the display.