I'm back! Back in the saddle again!
I'M BACK!!!
Sorry I didn't keep up on the thread. Typical mid-life"¦second back surgery, layoffs after ~no revenue growth, kids in high school, coaching BBall, terrifying my girls' new boyfriends. All the reasons we escape into our tanks in the first place.
Now two major changes have occurred in the build parameters. First, I nixed the 150 tall intended for the family room as an SPS tank because I just can't handle the physical work of setup and maintenance (even just cleaning another tank's glass). My last back surgery was amazing but not THAT amazing.
Second, I discovered Craigslist. What a great way to unload a lot of the old equipment in favor of some new toys. I am a techie geek so new shiny things distract me"¦
So now the build is being adjusted for maximum macro waste removal and a softies/LPS/fish setup. Don't get me wrong, SPS tanks can blow your mind but I love fish first and corals second. There, I said it. Confession made. With that disclaimer, here are some of the basics.
Still using a 90 gallon sump (basement), a 120 gallon refugium (stacked over the sump) and a 92 gallon corner display tank. Some fauna changes and equipment changes got made:
(1) The boring"¦150 gallon tank #1 became a F/W tank for my polypterus ornatipinnus (10 years old) with 12 giant danios, 5 wide bar blue hook myleus schomburgkiis, 6 electric blue peacocks, 6 cobalt blue zebras, 4 clown loaches, a redfin blackspot (L-091) plecostomus, a polka dot cactus plecostomus, a gold nugget (L-177) plecostomus, a redtail leopard (L-007) plecostomusa, and a brown hoplo catfish. With all white sand and a black backdrop, it makes a great entrance into my fish cave.
(2) Continuing the boring"¦150 gallon tank #2 was resealed and became a F/W tank for my my platinum polypterus senegalus (1 yo) with 6 red hook silver dollars, 12 red-spotted gold severums, 2 red-shouldered severums, a redtailed shark, a white seam synodontis, an armoured catfish, a royal sunshine (L-253) plecostomus, a gold nugget (L-81) stardust plecostomus, and a galaxy (L-007) plecostomus. With all black sand and a black backdrop, it finishes the the "œroom" by separating the fish cave from the main basement.
(3) The last boring"¦90 gallon tank became a brackish tank for my gymnothorax tile, figure 8 puffers, and many, many lyretail dalmation mollies. With mixed black and white arogonite, it looks great as an island in the middle of the fish cave.
Why bother with the boring? Because these projects gave me a reason for mass water changes. For this S/W project, the new saltwater and T/O water manifold is now plumbed into the house septic. This allows direct dumping of waste water making my 60 gallon water changes a snap. It also saves on energy because I don't pump it to the sump pump just to pump it to the septic. It goes straight to septic.
I added two quick connects at either end of the fish cave and joined them with the waste line. Now I can use a trash can with a powerful sump pump and 1 ¼" hose to pump waste water from any siphoning in the room. (The check valves have sometimes drip under the pressure of one side being pumped into. I will have to augment them with ball valves. Lowes"¦)
