300 Gallon Disaster Reboot

[Sascha D.]

13 minutes ago, Dogfish said:

A coupla options. Maybe do a "Word Press" site. Kinda blogish. There are also a ton of web site templates out there that people have designed. All free and mod-able, if ya kinda know what you are doing. Search for ones that are "adaptive" or "responsive" . Ya want it to look good on pads, phones and computers, even if they are using a windoze browser.

I'm currently using Blogger, but it's difficult to use and doesn't have a quality app. I didn't really think the name through and the corresponding domain name is taken. 

[+Dogfish]

7 minutes ago, Sascha D. said:

I'm currently using Blogger, but it's difficult to use and doesn't have a quality app. I didn't really think the name through and the corresponding domain name is taken. 

Blogger is a google thing and i don't think they really care. Good luck in your search. Any questions just ask.

[FarmerTy]

Man... I’ve shared the new found QT experience over the last year and a half.

Very similar experience! I started in 2010 and never QT’d fish or coral. Until after my Brook fiasco last year. Since then, I’ve had Brook once, Velvet twice, and ich always. This is from Live Aquaria, and Sea Dwelling, so no one is immune.

I’ve ditched pretty much all of the crazy medications I was reccomended by several other fish stores and pretty much only use CP, Copper Power, Prazipro, Metroplex, Furan 2, and Kanaplex now. Reef2Reef has been a great go to for QT info and troubleshooting!


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Add Ruby Reef Rally(acriflivine) and that's literally what I keep in my arsenal at all times.

[Sascha D.]

On 12/25/2017 at 9:52 AM, FarmerTy said:

On 12/24/2017 at 8:52 AM, Juiceman said:

Man... I’ve shared the new found QT experience over the last year and a half.

Very similar experience! I started in 2010 and never QT’d fish or coral. Until after my Brook fiasco last year. Since then, I’ve had Brook once, Velvet twice, and ich always. This is from Live Aquaria, and Sea Dwelling, so no one is immune.

I’ve ditched pretty much all of the crazy medications I was reccomended by several other fish stores and pretty much only use CP, Copper Power, Prazipro, Metroplex, Furan 2, and Kanaplex now. Reef2Reef has been a great go to for QT info and troubleshooting!


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Add Ruby Reef Rally(acriflivine) and that's literally what I keep in my arsenal at all times.

I've never heard of it, but the website says it's reef safe and cures Brooklynella and Velvet. Add some Prazipro and the cocktail should take care everything that I want to avoid! Fungal and bacterial infections aren't very common in marine fish and those can easily be treated if they pop up. Have you used it to cure any infections or are you using them proactively?

[FarmerTy]

I've never heard of it, but the website says it's reef safe and cures Brooklynella and Velvet. Add some Prazipro and the cocktail should take care everything that I want to avoid! Fungal and bacterial infections aren't very common in marine fish and those can easily be treated if they pop up. Have you used it to cure any infections or are you using them proactively?

I wouldn't use it in my reef tank. I'd take the fish out to treat them but i mainly use it as a 1.5hr bath to help alleviate symptoms of velvet once diagnosed to possibly help save the fish.

Prazipro is reef safe though. I've used it before and it'll blow up your skimmer for a week and may kill some feather dusters but that's it.

[Sascha D.]

25 minutes ago, FarmerTy said:

I wouldn't use it in my reef tank. I'd take the fish out to treat them but i mainly use it as a 1.5hr bath to help alleviate symptoms of velvet once diagnosed to possibly help save the fish.

Prazipro is reef safe though. I've used it before and it'll blow up your skimmer for a week and may kill some feather dusters but that's it.

If it's safer and easier to use than copper, then it might be worth it to use in a quarantine tank as a preventative treatment. It may be necessary to treat the fish in QT and put the display through a fallow period to ensure the fish are parasite free after the velvet outbreak earlier this year. I'm 90% certain that I have Ich in the main display and that's a separate treatment. On the other hand, none of the fish have shown symptoms and I may be chasing ghosts. 

[FarmerTy]

If it's safer and easier to use than copper, then it might be worth it to use in a quarantine tank as a preventative treatment. It may be necessary to treat the fish in QT and put the display through a fallow period to ensure the fish are parasite free after the velvet outbreak earlier this year. I'm 90% certain that I have Ich in the main display and that's a separate treatment. On the other hand, none of the fish have shown symptoms and I may be chasing ghosts. 

I don't personally use it for treatment of velvet, ich, or brooklynella. I use it to help with immediate relief of velvet symptoms to increase survival rates of fish infected. It also helps fight bacterial infections as you will have many open wounds from heavy velvet or ich infestations.

My preferred treatment is chloroquine phosphate for ich, velvet, and brooklynella and for fish sensitive to it such as wrasses and hippo tangs, I use copperpower for those during QT.

[Sascha D.]

What we need to get this build started is a good old fashioned To Do List! 

• Overflow - It seems like a shame to replace the calfo overflow, but I really hate it. First, the manufacturer drilled the holes for the drain lines in the very middle of the tank, which means the ends of the 86" overflow don't drain properly. Detritus and uneaten food accumulate in the overflow box and I have to clean it manually. Second, the canopy and 30" depth of the tank make it very difficult to catch fish out of the overflow box. Even though I only have a few fish, I have to catch them out of the box 2-3 times a week!  I've decided to replace the overflow with a smaller horizontal overflow. I'm going to have the box made out of acrylic to save time and because it will be very difficult to silicone it to the back of the aquarium.
• Stand - I'm stuck with this stand unless I feel like breaking down the entire aquarium and starting over. I'll have to admit that it does sound pretty appealing right now! To make this thing work for me I'll have add hinges to the doors, drill some vent holes, and add some fans. My wife has also requested that I stain it to match our cappuccino kitchen cabinets. It's probably the wrong time to mention that I don't like the color. Yeah, definitely the wrong time for a surprise!

• Equipment - Now is a good time to decide what equipment I'll use with the new set up and replace some of the older stuff. 
• Aquascape - I plan on completely renovating the live rock in the tank. There is plenty of room to place corals, but it's just not a good use of space. I'll gain 5" of tank once I remove the overflow and I bet I could do a better job aquascaping this thing!
• Livestock - We're fish nerds and we love everything in the ocean! The problem is that not everything wants plays nice and live in a box. Now is the perfect time to really sit down and decide the direction that I'm going to go in. That means picking my must-have items and building a reef around those things that make me happy. It also means selling corals and fish that don't fit into my new plan. That will be the hard part...

I think that about covers it! Talking is the easy part, now I have to find some time and pretend to know what I'm doing! 

[Sascha D.]

Last month I began contact companies to build the new overflow. The main concern that I had was having an overflow built that would exactly match the existing holes drilled into the aquarium. If one couldn't be found then I would have to silicone in an overflow cover, which would be cheaper and easier but take more time. I first contacted Reef Savvy and found out that the Ghost Overflow cannot be customized and they would not send me one without the holes already drilled. Next up was Synergy Reef, who never responded to my emails. After that I came into contact with Glass Holes and we exchanged emails for a few weeks. The owner was very responsive, but his answers to my basic questions didn't leave me with enough confidence that he could build the overflow to my specifications. This leads me to Modular Marine. I had never heard of this company before, but I found them on Ebay and they were willing to build the custom box to my specifications for a reasonable price. 

The box came in well packaged and exact to my specifications. It measures 42 x 5 x 6 and will replace the 86" box that is currently in the aquarium. I plan to put 2,000 - 3,000 gph through the box using a BeanAnimal style overflow.

 

One feature that Modular Marine advertises is the sloping design of the wier teeth. It's intended to reduce noise caused by the water overflowing into the box. I've had this problem before and I wouldn't mind a little less waterfall. 

 

I really wanted an overflow lid to cut down on the time I spend catching fish out of the overflow. Since this box is solid, it would be near impossible to see what I'm doing with a net. This lid insets within the box to help secure it in place. 

[Jimbo662]

wow...that's very cool!

[Sascha D.]

The first thing that I had to do was drain about 100 gallons from the display to uncover the overflow holes in the back. Let me tell you, it was one of the hardest things I've ever done! Glass Holes really put that thing on there and I was really starting to wonder if I could get it off. It took about 3 hours to remove the glass and another 2 hours to remove all of the silicone. Boy did it stink! It smelled like some really thick skimmate! 

 

Finally, onto the box! The overflow box came in undrilled so that I could match it exactly to the existing holes. I affixed it to the back glass, made sure it was level, and then marked my holes. I used a 2.5" hole saw to drill out the 1.5" bulkheads. 

 

The eurobracing is installed below the rim of the aquarium and occupies approximately 0.5" from the top. I installed the box as high as I could leaving room to remove the lid when necessary. I reused most of the previous plumbing but I may decide to replace it with flexible PVC. The rigid plumbing is difficult to use in this application because the drain holes are directly above the stand header. Because of this I had to slant the lines about 45 degrees and that causes the water to trickle within the pipes. I'm hoping that using flexible PVC in the future will eliminate the water sound and make the drain quieter. I'm not sure if it will make a difference, but it may be worth a try. 

[Sascha D.]

16 minutes ago, Jimbo662 said:

wow...that's very cool!

Do you mean my fire extinguisher? Yeah, all of the cool people have one! Being prepared is in style right now. When Hurricane Harvey was coming to Texas, someone asked me if I had enough drinking water to last three days. I said, yeah I've got about 100 gallons of filtered water in the garage. Do you know, she looked at me like I was straight up out of my mind? Some people!

[Juiceman]

Not sure if it helps but I used 1.5” pool tubing from Leslie’s with a 1.5” barb adapter from Lowe’s. Worked great and was very easy and quiet.






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[Sascha D.]

10 hours ago, Juiceman said:

Not sure if it helps but I used 1.5” pool tubing from Leslie’s with a 1.5” barb adapter from Lowe’s. Worked great and was very easy and quiet.
 

That does help! I was looking for that, but the home improvement stores didn't have 1.5" lines. They have flexible PVC on the HD website for about $60 for a 25' roll, but I really don't need that much. The inside of the corrugated line is smooth right?

[Juiceman]

That does help! I was looking for that, but the home improvement stores didn't have 1.5" lines. They have flexible PVC on the HD website for about $60 for a 25' roll, but I really don't need that much. The inside of the corrugated line is smooth right?

Smoothish, it’s still a little ridgy, just not as ridgy as the outside. I have a little extra from when I had the tub plumbed in if you want to see it in person with how I did it.

And you’ll still have to buy a roll of the tubing from Leslie’s, way more than I needed, can’t remember how much it was.

I just know that it was super easy to work with and flex PVC at 1.5” is a PITA!!!


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[Sascha D.]

I'll have to check it out and see how rigid it is. One problem that I may have is keeping it in place. My sump is open on the drain side and doesn't have connectors for the lines. Since it has three lines, it may be possible to connect them together so that all lines drop in the same place. That would also make it easier to use one sock when I need one.

[Sascha D.]

Speaking of sumps...

 

The other day I decided to move the sump about 2" to make room for a dosing reservoir later down the line. It was time for a water change anyway, so I drained the sump, went to the end, and pulled! The whole piece that I was hold onto with both hands snapped and I fell right on my keister! This is my first acrylic sump and I was definitely not expecting it to break. The next day I went to Regal Plastics to pick up some cement and a patch. They were really great! If they still have a minimum purchase amount, then no one mentioned it to me. It's my first time doing this kind of work and it turned out just fine. I cemented the cracked piece back into the original place, waited for it to dry, and then cemented the patch on the inside of the sump. I water tested by filling the sump all the way to the top, much higher than the operating level. It's been a few days and everything is still holding. In the future I may replace this sump with a DIY glass sump and external refugium. The person who built this sump didn't know what they were doing and put the baffles in the wrong place. 

[Sascha D.]

Now that the new overflow is installed, it's time to consider the equipment for the new tank. I've decided to keep my return pump and protein skimmer. They've served me well over the last two years. 

• Return Pump: Jebao DCT 12000
• Protein Skimmer: Aquamaxx EM-500 rated 700g light and 350 heavy bioload

I've had a biopellet reactor installed on this aquarium since day one. The idea was that I would have a high bioload and the reactor takes several weeks to come online. The problem was that my bioload wasn't high enough after the chemical incident and I had a hard time keeping my nitrates above zero. I've had the most success in the hobby while using a refugium and I'm going to convert the second section of the sump to a refugium. It's approximately 19.5 x 23.5 x 10.5 and holds roughly 21 gallons. The 8' stand is long enough that I may install two 100ish gallon sumps below the aquarium: one for the equipment and another for a gigantic refugium. 

Over the last four years I had been using reactors to replace water changes to some mixed success. It can be difficult to calculate how much GFO is needed to reduce PO4 without reducing it too fast and shocking the corals. I've decided to sell my media reactor and go back to monthly water changes to help control NO3 and PO4 levels. I may run a small amount of activated carbon if I notice the water discolor or develop an odor. 

• BP Reactor: Reef Dynamics Recirculating (remove, but keep on standby)
• Media Reactor: None

Calcium reactors are amazing and I've had great success using my reactor for the past four years. However, I'm not attentive enough or disciplined in my testing. There have been times when the CO2 expires and I may not notice for a week or more depending on the timing of my tests. There have also been times when the effluent has clogged and no dosing was done to the aquarium. I've decided to sell my reactor and go back to saturated top-off water and dose as needed on a weekly basis. 

• Calcium: A.E. Tech ETSS 400 Calcium Reactor (remove and sell)

Lastly, the circulation pumps need to be replaced after the Jebao Crossflow debacle. I'm currently using three $15 Ebay pumps. They're working surprisingly well, but the hard start scares the fish and I'm unable to use a feed mode. One of the reasons I've changed the overflow is to move the circulation pumps to the back wall and free up side tank viewing. I'll need four smaller pumps plus the two return nozzles to cover the whole area. I'll need to research some pumps, but I believe I'll go back to Hydor Koralia Evolution 1500's. They're on sale for $27 each at DFS and they're strong enough to provide flow without blowing the sand around. It's not a great rendition, but here is roughly where I'm planning to place the pumps and the direction they will flow in. 

 

[Juiceman]

I don’t like korelias, but that’s me. I’d spend a little more and get Tunze or similar.



I have 2 of these along with my vortechs, they push A lot of water!


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[Juiceman]

I'll have to check it out and see how rigid it is. One problem that I may have is keeping it in place. My sump is open on the drain side and doesn't have connectors for the lines. Since it has three lines, it may be possible to connect them together so that all lines drop in the same place. That would also make it easier to use one sock when I need one.

I used these PVC clamps, work like a champ!






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[Sascha D.]

Tunze is a great brand. I have a Tunze circulation pump that's going on five years and working perfectly. I think it's a 6150? I lost the magnet but I still use it to keep my saltwater mixed in the barrel. I've been keeping 50g of mixed saltwater on hand nearly all of the time and it comes in handy. I do need to find another heater though. It's been so cold the water in the garage is only 50-60 degrees.

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[FarmerTy]

Tunze is a great brand. I have a Tunze circulation pump that's going on five years and working perfectly. I think it's a 6150? I lost the magnet but I still use it to keep my saltwater mixed in the barrel. I've been keeping 50g of mixed saltwater on hand nearly all of the time and it comes in handy. I do need to find another heater though. It's been so cold the water in the garage is only 50-60 degrees.

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Hit up Roger at Tunze and I'll bet you he'll just give you a new magnet. He's off Braker and I-35.

[Sascha D.]

2 hours ago, FarmerTy said:

2 hours ago, Sascha D. said:

Tunze is a great brand. I have a Tunze circulation pump that's going on five years and working perfectly. I think it's a 6150? I lost the magnet but I still use it to keep my saltwater mixed in the barrel. I've been keeping 50g of mixed saltwater on hand nearly all of the time and it comes in handy. I do need to find another heater though. It's been so cold the water in the garage is only 50-60 degrees.

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Hit up Roger at Tunze and I'll bet you he'll just give you a new magnet. He's off Braker and I-35.

No kidding? I didn't know we had a local distribution center. It looks like a pretty unassuming place in the middle of a neighborhood on Google Maps. I'll have to give them a ring after the holidays and everything gets back to normal. Thanks for the tip!

[FarmerTy]

No kidding? I didn't know we had a local distribution center. It looks like a pretty unassuming place in the middle of a neighborhood on Google Maps. I'll have to give them a ring after the holidays and everything gets back to normal. Thanks for the tip!

That's for the nation! They do repairs there too so we just got lucky its in Austin.

[Sascha D.]

When someone walks up to an aquarium, they always notice the fish first. Maybe that's because they don't expect to see live corals. It might also be because they don't know what they're looking at to begin with. To me fish have always been the main attraction and corals are more like living decorations. However, I'm at the point in the hobby where a FOWLR could never make me happy. This is where the trade-off has been the hardest for me. I want to keep cool fish, but I also want to keep my favorite corals. This seems like the best place to start planning livestock.

I bought an aquarium this big specifically to keep the fish that got me into the hobby; the Emperor Angelfish. The problem is that it may or may not eat my favorite coral Euphyllia. I hope to keep both, but I may end up choosing one over the other in the end. Reviews have been mixed and there's really no way to find out until the fish starts to change into the adult coloration. That's the time where they are looking for nutrients to help them develop and they start to taste everything. The third must have is my wife's favorite fish. The Naso Tang is the first fish that she was able to recognize and she's been in love ever since. Luckily, most of my current livestock with fit in with these three cornerstones - at least until the angel starts changing.

Here's a list of my current fish and when I acquired them. I haven't kept damselfish since I first started in the hobby and I've been running a bit of an experiment to see how they would react in a large aquarium. I researched the different species and chose species that people have reported keeping in groups successfully. The idea is that they will have much less aggression when there is enough space for each one to carve out a territory. For the most part, the different species only pay attention to conspecifics and leave everything else alone. The Springer's sometimes stick together in a pack, but the others only come together when it's feeding time. I plan to keep all of the fish listed below except the Azure Damselfish which will be sold to make room for more Springer's Damselfish. The Pink Smith Damselfish were an interesting addition and haven't caused any problems so I'll keep them.  

• One Spot Foxface (Siganus unimaculatus) 5/16
• Melanurus Wrasse - Male (Halichoeres melanurus) 5/16
• Pink Smith Damselfish (Pomacentrus smithi) x2 1/17
• Dusky Wrasse (Halichoeres annularis) 1/17
• Azure Damselfish  (Chrysiptera hemicyanea) x2 2/17 (sell)
• Red-Lined Wrasse (Halichoeres biocellatus) 3/17
• Springer's Damselfish (Chrysiptera springeri) x2 4/17
• Emperor Angelfish - Africa (Pomacanthus imperator) 8/17
• Oscellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris ) x2 11/17
• Yellow Tang - Hawaii (Zebrasoma flavescens) 12/17
• Naso Tang (Naso lituratus) 12/17 (QT)
• Yellow Eye Kole Tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus) 12/17 (QT)

Future fish additions.

• Oscellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris ) x4 - I think it would make a good display to have 6+ clowns of the same species. Gotta have Nemo!
• Christmas Wrasse (Halichoeres claudia) 
• Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) - Undecided. I might take a chance or wait until I see one on DD. 
• Convict Tang (Acanthurus triostegus) - I've wanted one since I saw them in Hawaii and it completes my Hawaii tang collection. Maybe I'll think about a Chevron too!
• Springer's Damselfish (Chrysiptera springeri) x5

Emperor Angelfish - Little baby has already doubled in size. I got him from someone on Facebook and he was no bigger than a quarter four months ago!

One Spot Foxface - Biggest fish in my tank at around 6" and almost full grown

Red Lined Wrasse - Not a very well known wrasse but I love him. I've never seen one locally. Quite elusive, it took me 10-20 tries to get this shot. I believe it's a female, bout 4"

Azure Damselfish - Defends their territory, but not overly aggressive. I have two that will need new homes. You can see my Christmas Lights are still on in January!

Yellow Tang - I got him with a little HLLE but he's eating and doing well so far. About 3"

Oscellar Clownfish - about 1"