4' X 4' tank
- Thread starter SoFloReefer
- Start date
SoFloReefer
New member
Thanks everyone. I can post some more pics. Im making a move toward have mostly Ricordia and maybe some zoanthids and Palythoas. Even though I have success with SPS I don't enjoy keeping them enough to justify the maintenance.
BigTuna321
New member
very nice frag tank!
90VFRfighter
New member
thats awsome dude
Photo_John
New member
sorry to hear that you are moving away from sps, they are my personal favorite. However, the thread was interesting and fun to read...keep it going!
freetareef
New member
great job!!! really enjoyed reading your progress!! i love the dsb, cheato and mangroves!!!!! thats what i am striving for in my dt. just need some mangroves!!!
adamblackburn22
New member
Update?
SoFloReefer
New member
Hey I lost interest in the tank for a while because I didn't have the time to work on it but I've been doing alot of work on it recently. The whole system turned out to be incredibly stable as the only maintenance I was doing for a while was topping off the water with RO/DI. I totally stopped dosing anything and changing the filter socks for probably close to a year 
. Its a testament to the resilience of corals and this system that it never crashed, my fish are healthy, and most of the coral survived. Anyways I decided that I either need to keep the system in tip top shape or get rid of it. So I've been doing a few hours of maintenance and upgrades everyday. I basically eradicated a bubble algae outbreak. Everything looks good now but within a few weeks I think the coral will really make a come back. I'll post some pics soon.
. Its a testament to the resilience of corals and this system that it never crashed, my fish are healthy, and most of the coral survived. Anyways I decided that I either need to keep the system in tip top shape or get rid of it. So I've been doing a few hours of maintenance and upgrades everyday. I basically eradicated a bubble algae outbreak. Everything looks good now but within a few weeks I think the coral will really make a come back. I'll post some pics soon.
100%hydrophylic
New member
you could always just send all your frags to me :thumbsup:
that way you dont have to do all that monotonous upkeep, hey ill even pay for shipping!
lol. thats a really cool frag tank. did the thing with the skull ever work out?
SoFloReefer
New member
I never ended up using it. Its just sitting on a shelf. The flow in the tank is so much that the skull would actually get blown around if it was top heavy with an acro.
SoFloReefer
New member
So When I tested my water parameters on 5/25/2010 they where 1020 PPM Magnesium, Salinity 1.020 SG, Alkalinity 5 dKH, 360 PPM Calcium. I've been dosing chemicals once and twice a day since to slowly get my levels back up. I tested two days ago and my salinity is 1.022, 1200 PPM Mag, Calcium 440 PPM, Alk 9 dKH. I've been topping off my evap with sea water to bring my salinity up to 1.025. Its so humid here in summer that I have very little evaporation so its taking a while. Anyways here are some pics I just took.
I added this timed power strip to turn on several powerheads after lights go out.
This is the map of the power heads in the tank. T and B denote top in bottom (above or below egg crate). I run 1, 2, and 3 nonstop and 4,5,6,7 after lights go out. The calmer water lets more light past the surface and the soft corals seem to open more.
Ill shoot some shots during the day.
My 1/2 HP chiller. If anyone knows how to service these let me know.
Skimmer seems to be helping keep algae off the tank walls. I used to run this on my 46 gallon so obviously it is small for this tank. The tank has ran fine without a skimmer so far so I figured it can only help.
The mangroves are doing ok. They were really doing well for a while but when I stopped dosing Magnesium and spraying the leaves regularly they took a hit. Probably half died. They are doing much better now.
These rocks used to be covered in coraline algae when they where in my 46 gallon.
These pumps are incredible. All I do is make sure obstructions stay out of the intake and keep it clean of salt creep with a small coat of oil and it runs strong.
I added this timed power strip to turn on several powerheads after lights go out.
This is the map of the power heads in the tank. T and B denote top in bottom (above or below egg crate). I run 1, 2, and 3 nonstop and 4,5,6,7 after lights go out. The calmer water lets more light past the surface and the soft corals seem to open more.
Ill shoot some shots during the day.
My 1/2 HP chiller. If anyone knows how to service these let me know.
Skimmer seems to be helping keep algae off the tank walls. I used to run this on my 46 gallon so obviously it is small for this tank. The tank has ran fine without a skimmer so far so I figured it can only help.
The mangroves are doing ok. They were really doing well for a while but when I stopped dosing Magnesium and spraying the leaves regularly they took a hit. Probably half died. They are doing much better now.
These rocks used to be covered in coraline algae when they where in my 46 gallon.
These pumps are incredible. All I do is make sure obstructions stay out of the intake and keep it clean of salt creep with a small coat of oil and it runs strong.
SoFloReefer
New member
So I've been working hard at eliminating bubble algae and AEFW:uzi:. I have some Revive on the way and I'm going start dips and quarantine. So far If been blasting the corals with a turkey baster to knock those suckers off. It seems to keep them under control.
Here is some other stuff I ordered over the weekend that will be here soon:
Titanium grounding probe (I had a Koralia leak a good bit of current)
Hanna Phosphate colorimeter (so I will know how much GFO to run)
Small mesh filter sock to run carbon in (from water leaving my skimmer)
pH Pen (so I can start monitoring and work on stabilizing pH)
60 Ceramic large Frag plugs
400w Icecap 10k bulb
2 39w Geisemann 6k T5s (for over my mangroves and chaeto)
1 gallon Mag Cloride
Dual Inline TDS meter (to check my RO/DI water)
Im hoping all the hard work and new equipment will make all the coral thrive. I can already see the coral coloring back up. Ill post more pics soon.
Here is some other stuff I ordered over the weekend that will be here soon:
Titanium grounding probe (I had a Koralia leak a good bit of current)
Hanna Phosphate colorimeter (so I will know how much GFO to run)
Small mesh filter sock to run carbon in (from water leaving my skimmer)
pH Pen (so I can start monitoring and work on stabilizing pH)
60 Ceramic large Frag plugs
400w Icecap 10k bulb
2 39w Geisemann 6k T5s (for over my mangroves and chaeto)
1 gallon Mag Cloride
Dual Inline TDS meter (to check my RO/DI water)
Im hoping all the hard work and new equipment will make all the coral thrive. I can already see the coral coloring back up. Ill post more pics soon.
polywise
OLD SCHOOL-ish
sofloreefer,
good units. I have 2 of the 1hp's for my system. I have had them for many years. The for lack of the right word - radiators need to be kept clean. I have replaced the fan motors due to use. I also interrupted the temp signal with a relay to get better tighter control of temp swings using a signal from a controller. 1 unit was enough to control my system, one was for back up. If you think you need a recharge, you will need to have a AC guy cut open the sysem to put in connectors, as the original builds do not have them
good units. I have 2 of the 1hp's for my system. I have had them for many years. The for lack of the right word - radiators need to be kept clean. I have replaced the fan motors due to use. I also interrupted the temp signal with a relay to get better tighter control of temp swings using a signal from a controller. 1 unit was enough to control my system, one was for back up. If you think you need a recharge, you will need to have a AC guy cut open the sysem to put in connectors, as the original builds do not have them
SoFloReefer
New member
I was thinking of bypassing the temp sensor and running the unit off of a Ranco single stage to get better accuracy and reliability. Was it hard to replace the fan unit? Also how to you keep your unit clean?
SoFloReefer
New member
I turned off the pumps so the surface was calm.
SoFloReefer
New member
This is starting to color back up
A few on my Recordia Florida
AEFW did a job on this colony
These frags were done about a week ago. The AEFW will be killed as soon as my Revive arrives.
This guy has been really healthy
polywise
OLD SCHOOL-ish
sofloreefer,
it is easy to swap out, the DC fan motor. You have to take the housing off, and then dismantle the support that he motor is mounted to, then remove the fan blade.
For cleaning -take the housing off , and use compressed air to blow the unit of. You should do this every 6 monts or so depending on the air quality in the room it is being used in. A cleaner unit will run less...
Use the power 120v from your Ranco, to control a relay. when not powered,
it interrupeted the temp wire via the relay. Make sure that your chiller is set a degree or so below your control point, so it will actualy work when you energize the relay, and the chiller will turn off if actual temp gets too low (if relay sticks on). Then only issue is if the relay fails and does not turn on. then what? I used this configuation for at least 5 years without fail...
it is easy to swap out, the DC fan motor. You have to take the housing off, and then dismantle the support that he motor is mounted to, then remove the fan blade.
For cleaning -take the housing off , and use compressed air to blow the unit of. You should do this every 6 monts or so depending on the air quality in the room it is being used in. A cleaner unit will run less...
Use the power 120v from your Ranco, to control a relay. when not powered,
it interrupeted the temp wire via the relay. Make sure that your chiller is set a degree or so below your control point, so it will actualy work when you energize the relay, and the chiller will turn off if actual temp gets too low (if relay sticks on). Then only issue is if the relay fails and does not turn on. then what? I used this configuation for at least 5 years without fail...
SoFloReefer
New member
I swapped out my 20k Radium for a 10k Ice cap bulb. At First the tank looked yellow but I think I'm getting used to it and it looks more white to me now. I cut back the halide hours from 8 to 4 hours and I'm going to increase the period 30 minutes each day until I hit 8 hours. I don't want to shock and potentially bleach my corals with the big par increase. I also swapped out the T5 bulbs over my sump for 2 39watt 6k ones. They look good.
I received my Revive coral dip and Hanna phosphate colorimeter from Marine Depot today. This is my first test:
I was kind of unhappy to find out that the colorimeter only comes with 6 reagent packs. I need to order 25 more for $9 if I want to do more than 5 more tests in the near future. Anyways my chaeto is very healthy and I have barely any new algae growing on the sides of the tank. This tells me that the chaeto is out competing nuisance algae for phosphates and the available phosphates in the water is low (<=.04 PPM).
I also dipped all of my SPS this afternoon in ReVive. I used 8 cap-fulls to 1.5 gallons tank water. I saw one LARGE 1/4" AEFW floating around. My new tiny six line wrasse was also hiding in the live rock that is the base to my Millipora colony and went in the dip with the coral. :worried:I saw it when it darted out and started freaking out. I grabbed it with my hand as fast as I could and placed it back in the tank. It was probably in the revive water for about a minute. I know I probably stressed the hell out of the little guy but I'm hoping that Revive isn't toxic to fish and that he makes it through this. This is actually my second six line in the tank (strange story behind that) but both get along and I'm hoping they pair up.
I received my Revive coral dip and Hanna phosphate colorimeter from Marine Depot today. This is my first test:
I was kind of unhappy to find out that the colorimeter only comes with 6 reagent packs. I need to order 25 more for $9 if I want to do more than 5 more tests in the near future. Anyways my chaeto is very healthy and I have barely any new algae growing on the sides of the tank. This tells me that the chaeto is out competing nuisance algae for phosphates and the available phosphates in the water is low (<=.04 PPM).
I also dipped all of my SPS this afternoon in ReVive. I used 8 cap-fulls to 1.5 gallons tank water. I saw one LARGE 1/4" AEFW floating around. My new tiny six line wrasse was also hiding in the live rock that is the base to my Millipora colony and went in the dip with the coral. :worried:I saw it when it darted out and started freaking out. I grabbed it with my hand as fast as I could and placed it back in the tank. It was probably in the revive water for about a minute. I know I probably stressed the hell out of the little guy but I'm hoping that Revive isn't toxic to fish and that he makes it through this. This is actually my second six line in the tank (strange story behind that) but both get along and I'm hoping they pair up.
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