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tprize

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Everything posted by tprize

  1. Over the last couple weeks, my tank went from my best tank ever, to looking like death. Any advice as to what to do would be helpful, I can test params tomorrow morning. you can see before and now. I’ve never been so disheartened in my reefing life. the walls sand pumps all live rock just covered in this algae, and it grows inches a days.
  2. So the next step was aquascaping. Before even deciding on equipment, I take the time to create my scape. Originally I was looking at using the Marco rock like in my previous tank. I am very glad I did not. I went with the new Tropic Eden Morroca dry rock. It has made a massive difference in the early time of the tank. Normally I would be fine with the year of tan dry rock, but you no longer need to. So I got 15 pounds of the rock and went to work trying various layouts. Don’t be scared if the price per pound, if this is a tank you are staring from scratch, this stuff light, easy to stack, has tons of caves for fish, and gorgeous in person. My brand new tank looks like it’s been up for years just because of this rock. I finally landed on a layout and grabbed a bag of dry CaribSea Special grade. You will notice a theme “Dry” everything for the tank. I was trying a new cycling technique which I will cover in the next post
  3. Well I would normally start a build thread before my tank is fully up and running, but in anticipation of the Frag Swap, I may have hit the fast forward button to get ahead. I will still try to cover most of what I have done, my process what has worked and not worked, and everything in between. To start out with let’s talk tank. I was not planning on doing a tank for a long time, but the dark Indiana winters+ being WFH again for who knows how long, made me realize how much a tank can help someone. From the sound of water, to the sun replicating lights, a tank can really be a piece of therapy, and adds some much needed brightness to a winter home. I was looking at doing a Red Sea reefer XL200, but could not find all the plumbing in stock(stock valve is problematic), and with supply chain issues, I decided to build a tank based on what was available, that still fit my needs. I wanted a smaller tank(space limited) that I could do LPS and SPS in, with a few nice fish. I went by Modern Aquatix just to take a look and see if my youngest (4) had any interest in reef aquariums, and low and behold he had a 25g Innovative Marine Lagoon tank and APS stand in stock. I was torn thinking this tank might be too small, but based on the actual footprint, it had the same room coral wise, and was much cheaper overall allowing me to spend on the rest of the equipment. So here is my new tank.
  4. Have the lights come in? I’m excited to see the transformation, hopefully you can do a before and after.
  5. I did not realize that, looks like I’ll have to get a membership next month.
  6. I’ve never tested par in any of my reef tanks before, but I’ve been reading a lot about it’s importance recently. Is it worth the $40-$50 to rent one?
  7. Well I may have skipped the build thread so I just got the equipment and got the tank cycling. The hope is to have the tank in a good place by April 2nd. Heard there was some event I should join. Now that it’s cycling I’ll do a post build recap. Does anyone know the best way to upload photos to display? If I try to use my iPhone it says attachment to large.
  8. Thanks everyone, the cycle has started, I went with the new tropic Eden dry rock, and if you have not seen it, it’s incredible.
  9. So I am looking at doing dry sand and dry rock in my new tank, and there are tons of companies that offer “Quick cycles/ bacteria strains. Any experience with some of the big ones: Polyplab Genesis Brightwell Aquatics Microbactor Dr Tims one and only live bacteria Fritz Tyme turbo start Lif Bio Fil or any of the other 900 options. Also any good guides on cycling in a modern reef world.
  10. You can also consider the flip side a Kessil a500x / T5 combo
  11. Well the break is over. Bought a tank this week, I’m thinking of doing a build thread if anyone would be interested.
  12. Well, I wanted to do an update, sorry it has taken so long. First of all, my tank is just ugly right now, I guess that's the price you pay for having dead rock and ensuring you have not contracted any bad stuff with your live rock. I have added some new equipment, First, I am running Premium Aquatic Carbon in my new Nyos Torq 1.o Secondly, I was having an issue with the built in ATO, where the float would become submerged, when I would use feed mode on the pump. This meant salt was encrusting the needle, and then it would fail. So I got a new Auto Aqua Top off unit, to replace the stock unit. The only complaint I have about the Red sea, is I wish they had some more water capacity in the top off container.
  13. Well, here is my newest update, the return pump is now dead silent, so that is good news. I added a Coral Beauty to the tank as my first fish. Tank is doing well, but I do have a good hardy Diatom build up.
  14. I’ll send the unit back, and get a replacement then.
  15. I have a Simplicity 1600 DC pump, and having never had a sump before I’m not sure if this much noise is normal. Simplicity offered to exchange it for me, but before I buy a second pump and pay for shipping this one back, I wanted some other opinions on if this sounds louder then normal. It’s not like a pump sound I am used to, it’s like a constant Hrtz hum that can be heard through the room. Video linked below. https://photos.app.goo.gl/Mz9pd5vGf5DUqD2r9
  16. Well the Diatoms are coming, so glad to see the next stage of the tank is evolving.
  17. So now the worst part of a build waiting, here is the rest of my equipment list, any help thinking through what I will need next would be nice. The Neotherm, and PMUP are on back order, but I have ordered them.
  18. Well my return pump is making a high pitches noise that can be heard throughout the room. Simplicity has been incredible, they sent out some new parts to try, and when that did not work, they are sending out a new body. Incredible customer service. Stinks I go the one bad egg, but with customer service like this that’s ok.
  19. @MrsBugmaster I think your recommendation to avoid a mandarin, is smart, I think a Midas Benny would be a good replacement. Because the Midas is yellow, I’ve swapped the goby.
  20. Absolutely will have a pistol shrimp, i am torn between more little fish, so it feels full, or one larger fish like an angel.
  21. @PaulS.46122 looks like the answer is buy zebra stripped Dartfish. People say the Firefish do well short term but will become aggressive with each other long term. Revised list:
  22. I made a little water change station over in the DIY forums as part of the build, but wanted to keep it separate since it's a bit of a mini project in the tank build, take a look.
  23. So I am in the middle of a new tank build, but this I feel like needed it's own post. I wanted to build a super cheap way to make top off water and RO/ for water changes automatically. So First the list of materials 1 x 1/4" T fitting 2 x 1/4" Shut off valves 2 x Adjustable float valves 3 feet of 1/4 tubing 1 x MJ1200 pump 1 x 1/2" union 1 x 1/2" shut off valve 3 feet of 1/2 tubing 2 x 5 gallon buckets So the first step was to use a punch and a small drill bit to drill a pilot hole, then drill a final 1/2" holes into each bucket and install the float switch. Now I did the first non reinforced area from the top for my holes, because this puts the float valve in a very sturdy position, that won't flex or bow. Now because the bottom bucket will have a lid, and a bucket with 5 gallons on top of it, you have to be able to get water out. So in one of the buckets, create a second 1/2 hole in the exact opposite side of the bucket. The easiest way to do this, is to use the handle for alignment. Next install the 1/2" union onto the Maxijet 1200, then put the Maxijet into the bottom bucket, and run a couple of feet of hose to it through the second hole. Now since we are going to put a second bucket on top, we will need to trim the lid, so that it seals nicely on the bucket. Put the lid on, take an exact o knife and mark the area you need to cut and cut. You will need to trim for the cord, the 1/2" tube, and the float valve, but the lid will fit nice and tight. This is your clean RO bucket, whenever I need water, I put the hose into the container of your choice, plug it in fill, then unplug. The 1/2" shut off valve will stop the siphon, so you won't suck the entire 5 gallons of water onto your floor. Now to feed these two, you will need a T valve, and a couple of shut off valves. Simply install these, so they line up with the two buckets. Then simply install the RO into the back of the buckets and your done. My bottom bucket will supply me with top off and RO water, while my top bucket I can take the lid off of, put a heater and a mixing pump in, toss salt in, and then use a utility pump to put it into a portable 5 gallon bucket. Then wipe the bucket out, and let it refill with fresh RO for the next water change.
  24. Yes, once parameters are stable I’ll run pods only for a few weeks, feed them phyto and let the population explode. Also I like the mixed idea will they all school mixed?
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