340 Gallon Mixed Reef

ok thank you for the advice so is 12 hrs blue led 7 hrs white led and 6 hrs t5 coral plus? also i have turned the lights off for the next week
 
I would leave the lights off during cycle, they are just helping fuel your cycle. Phosphates is extremely high. The happy range is less than .02. Phosphate is a fertilizer when it comes to algae, you will go through a lot of GFO

Yes the lights are helping fuel the cycle. Personally IDK about turning them off, leaving them in a normal cycle will help spawn the diatoms and they will recede at lights out. Otherwise waiting until it cycles will cause a larger bloom when they come on. At least they can be seen, now, and appropriate action can be started or prepared for.

The good and the bad are going to appear in the tank. The phosphates are a bit high, to say the least.

From the look, so far, you are doing good and cycling right along.

How are YOU acclimating to the light change and making sure the other equipment is working correctly?
 
Tank is doing great brown diatoms are almost gone I brought the gfo reactor online and have changed 2 x already and have done a 50 gallon water change starting to get strands of green hair algae now lights are 11 hrs blue led 7 hrs white led and 6 hrs t5 tank is starting to come along phosphates are under 2.3 as of yesterday I have a 3 in juvenile tang in qt for the last week eating great and very active almost ready to introduce him into the big tank skimmer is doing awesome lost of nasty stuff coming out temp stays between 77.2 at night and 78.5 during day so far so good :dance:
 
Very nice.. I look forward to seeing more pictures and updates.

How is the ammonia doing?
 
Ammonia is zero nitrites are zero and nitrates are very low using sulfate test kit for nitrates fish will be in the big tank tomorrow
 
Woke up to a small dollar size puddle on the floor under the sump looks like the slow leak is coming from the bulkheads in the sumps return compartment should be an easy fix right wrong! I plugged the bulkhead holes because I'm running an internal pump and the previous owner put on about 2 lbs of plumbers puddly to the outside of the bulkhead obviously he had a leak and figured this would fix it. The tanks been running for a month and just started leaking last night I've tried before tank was set up to remove the two bulkheads and add new ones but with all my might and a huge wrench I couldn't break the bulkheads loose not sure why so I leak tested the sump for 2 days and zero leaks.

I think my only option other than buying a new sump which is not an option right now is to get some aquarium safe silicone and go on the inside part of the bulkheads and run a few beads around everything let it dry and maybe run a bead or two more since the outside of the bulkhead is surrounded by the plumbers puddly not much I can do there this will be a long process as the tank is running and all equipment is in sump so I need to drain the return compartment dry it out and hopefully block the pin size hole some where
 
Yes, I was thinking silicone, too. Make sure you clean all surfaces really well to remove any grease or oil. I would bathe the outside putty with silicone as well.

The other choice besides replacing the whole sump would be to CAREFULLY cut the existing bulkheads out, seal the existing holes with a flat piece of acrylic, and then cut new holes for new bulkheads.

Dave.M
 
I run an internal pump so I don't need the bulkheads I just plunged them when I got the sump I plan on turning off the return pump draining all the water out of the return compartment then shop vacing anything else out then using a blow dryer to dry it out and silicone every crack crease and crevise blow dry then add additional layers with blow drying in between if this doesn't fix it then I'll have to try and rip the old bulkheads off by cutting them which will not be easy at all so hopefully by tonight I'll post an update
 
Little update currently have 3 fish 5 turbo snails and 20 crabs

Juvenile naso tang
2.5" yellow tand and
Geometric Pygmy hawkfish

All is going great everything is looking good water parameters are looking good and stable fish are eating and happy

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well its been a while since i have posted an update i am currently in the process of switching out my led fixtures to an ati 6x80w fixture along with my 2 ati 80 watt bulbs i am currently running with reflectors and off of a work horse ballast this will give me 8 80w ati bulbs 4 ati blue plus 2 ati coral plus and 2 ati aquablue special i will keep sps in the top 18-20 inches of the tank and hope to keep my big clam happy on the sand bed he is open and loving the off brand leds i have on the tank now. I will post pictures this week of the progress of the tank and also with the new lights.

Current stock list:
pygme hawk fish
yellow tang
naso tang
hippo tang
pink tail trigger
flame angel
orange and pink anthias

all is well and everything is progressing nicely
 
Ya I faced the leak about. Months ago a littlePVC cement and some silicone did the trick has been dry since
 
Nice to see the update too.

Any new pictures? OOps... you just said later this week... LOL
 
ya once i can get the new ati fixture hung ill snap some pics off the tank and corals ive added over the past 2 months
 
pictures as promised not sure what type of anthias i have but i love it and it is happy and healthy tank is comming along and i can say that the 8 80w ati bulbs are definatly brighter than the 3 led fixtures i had hope this starts some good coraline growth also ati bulbs are as follows open to suggestions 2 ati coral plus 2 ati aqua blue special and 4 ati blue plus corals already seem fuller and happier after 24 hrs also dont mind the crappy digital camera pics

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a november update our little girl has arrived me and the wife are so excited and loving the early stages of parenthood. The tank has seen a couple changes in the past month i no longer am running leds i am back to ati 8x80 t5 and everything is loving them currently running 4 blue plus 2 aquablue special and 2 coral plus. Also the pink tail trigger is gone he was much larger than the rest of m fish and was picking on my fish and would eat anything i put in the tank and it was very hard to feed the rest of the fish. I added a small 3 in clown tang and a small 1.5 in snowflake clown all corals and fish are doing very well good coloration on corals and fish are all eating flake brine mysis nori and romain lettuce current stock list is as follows:

clown tang
naso tang
hippo tang
yellow tang
hawkfish
anthias
snowflake clown
flame angle

Looking for other suggestions on fish with personality and good color eventually would like to have 20 fish in the 340


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