A Reef Tank in the Desert - +/- 1,400 gallon system

[danfeig]

Panic!!!

Panic!!!

So here I am 7,500 miles from my aquarium and I get a text message from my house sitter.

"The Fish Room has water all over the floor and I don't know where it came from. I have to leave in 10 minutes, what do I do?"

I immediately called Joe from Simply Elegant Aquatics and he is on his way to the house. I am praying that it is just a broken RO line or a leak in my mixing tank.

When I called her back to make arrangements for Joe, she also informed me that the room felt like she was in "the jersey shore", warm and humid. This is after the new mini-split a/c system was to have been completed when I left . I called the a/c guys and they are going to be back out this afternoon.

Not sure what else can go wrong. I am just keeping my fingers crossed. With the money I am spending on my cell phone charges, I probably could have purchased a pair of black long nose tangs.

 

[hobbzz]

Sorry to hear the bad news.

 

[BigOldReef]

Dan,

Now what would you do with a pair of Black tangs in Israel

I'm sure it's a simple fix of something that was not tightened or glued during your installation, and the guys will quickly identify it, fix it, and then 48 hours later remember to leave you a message as to not to worry.

Last week I was sitting in trial, and watching my webcam when the main circulation pump shutoff. I was just sitting there for hours watching the tank sit with the water level down about 3". Then the lights turned on, as they should, and all the corals in the top portion of the tank were sticking out of the water. I was able to shut the lights down with my Apex (from court).

Got home to find a GFI failed, which they do. Fortunately no losses. But I am very familiar with that helpless feeling.

Enjoy your vacation, they'll fix it !!!


D

 

[S14Swap240sx]

oh jeez.. what a shame. when i set up my tank at the office i lost sleep the first couple of weeks over potential leaks all over the wood floors and waiting room.

keep us updated!

 

[Dazed1]

Ouch. That has got to hurt. Good luck! Time to install a remote camera, on floor water sensors, etc in the build.

 

[danfeig]

Things are GOOD!

Things are GOOD!

Things are good!

Sorry I couldn't respond a little earlier. It is 10 hours later here and we were all in bed when I heard the news.

The water was coming from a crack in one of the canister filters that was going to filled with Carbon and was temporarily being used just to clean out any misc. garbage in the tank. Joe removed it and will have it replaced.

The a/c never reset when the power went out (monsoons have started early this year) and my housekeeper didn't know.

I had a few pictures taken of the tank and a/c unit and will post later. Thanks for all the concern!

 

[TheFishTeen]

Great news.

 

[jjk_reef00]

I'm glad everything is ok. I've stopped using canister filters because I had one leak about 6 months ago on a qt I had up. I now use hang on the back filters, and they are easier to clean and maintain.

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

Glad you had someone who alerted you. All you have to do now is give her a crash course in reef keeping and all she has to do is tell you how she fixed it.

 

[danfeig]

A few new Pics

A few new Pics

Well, no pics were sent to me of the water on the floor of the fish room, but they did send me some pics of the mini-split A/C unit and one of the tank.

The cost of the A/C unit really surprised me.

Initially I was quoted $2,900 installed. The fish room is only +/- 250 sq. ft. After discussions with my a/c contractors, we found a solution. We had the same a/c unit bought down in Puerto Penasco, Mexico (Rocky Point) and I ended up saving $1,400!!! Rocky Point is a four and a half hour drive from Tucson and we always seem to have friends going back and forth.

It is the same identical unit, however, the temperature setting is in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. Big deal. And the instruction manual is in Spanish vs. English. I am sure that i will be able to download the manual in English. Apparently in Mexico, there are no tariffs on shipments from Japan. I wonder if I can't buy other marine equipment in the future at such a savings.

After seeing the attached picture, I see that I need to have the A/C contractor return to the house...

[/IMG]

It looks like they got a little lazy and mounted the electrical box on the outside of the drywall vs. above it.

It also appears that they didn't paint or touch up after they did the work. No big deal. I still owe them a few dollars. I am sure that they will make it look good.

[/IMG]

I have been told that three of the 10 Blue/Green Chromis didn't seem to make it and only one of the Melanarus Wrasses have been seen. I am hoping the other is just shy or hiding in the rocks or overflow box.

My house sitter did send me a pic to show me that the few fish I placed into the tank were all swimming happily. It does make me feel good seeing this from 7,500 miles away.

[/IMG]

 

[danfeig]

Sorry to hear the bad news.

oh jeez.. what a shame. when i set up my tank at the office i lost sleep the first couple of weeks over potential leaks all over the wood floors and waiting room.

keep us updated!

Great news.

Hobbzz, S14Swap240sx, FishTeen...

Thank you for your concern. I am glad that it was only something minor!

 

[danfeig]

Dan,

Now what would you do with a pair of Black tangs in Israel

I'm sure it's a simple fix of something that was not tightened or glued during your installation, and the guys will quickly identify it, fix it, and then 48 hours later remember to leave you a message as to not to worry.

Last week I was sitting in trial, and watching my webcam when the main circulation pump shutoff. I was just sitting there for hours watching the tank sit with the water level down about 3". Then the lights turned on, as they should, and all the corals in the top portion of the tank were sticking out of the water. I was able to shut the lights down with my Apex (from court).

Got home to find a GFI failed, which they do. Fortunately no losses. But I am very familiar with that helpless feeling.

Enjoy your vacation, they'll fix it !!!


D

Thanks Dave!

Yeah...I hate that feeling. I am just glad that everything is okay...

Now I have to ask you... what do you do in court each day that allows you to monitor your tanks...Judge, Lawyer, Clerk, Bailiff, Stenographer????

The Black Tangs are on my second introduction list.

The vacation for the next 10 days gets kinda rigid. The rest of my family: parents, siblings, niece and nephew are all joining us to get on a tour. I am not sure how well my wife and kids will handle the tour part since we're so used to traveling ourselves. We will see...

Thanks for the concern and trying to console my worries!!!

 

[danfeig]

Ouch. That has got to hurt. Good luck! Time to install a remote camera, on floor water sensors, etc in the build.

Dazed1, Thank you for your concern!

You are 110% correct. As a matter of fact, I am going to order from Digital Aquatics floor water sensors for my ReefKeeper Elite.

I have been looking for the right cameras to add as well.

 

[BigOldReef]

Dan,

I'm a litigation consultant specializing in juror education. I'm only busy in court when my client/side has their turn in front of the judge/jury. When not our turn, I have to keep myself entertained, sometimes for entire days. So that's when I catch up on big tank build threads and sit watch and stare at the tank via webcam.

Of course, with a 54x zoom I constantly see corals that have fallen over, watch my snails push corals onto one another, watch fish pick on each other --- all while not being able to do anything about it. Somedays I have to make a 'to do' list for when I get home of all the things I see go on during the day.

 

[danfeig]

I'm glad everything is ok. I've stopped using canister filters because I had one leak about 6 months ago on a qt I had up. I now use hang on the back filters, and they are easier to clean and maintain.

I have never had an issue with them in the past.

One was going to be used when I converted a tank to a QT. I was going to run Carbon in the other. Presently, I was just running them to clean things up a little.

I am either going have to try a different brand or consider running Carbon in a large GEO reactor.

Thanks!

 

[danfeig]

Glad you had someone who alerted you. All you have to do now is give her a crash course in reef keeping and all she has to do is tell you how she fixed it.

Thanks Wayne. I am lucky to have someone staying at the Casa. Actually, I can't not afford to have someone stay there.

Cudos to my fish guys. They were there within an hour of calling them.

I need to order some floor sensors immediately!!

 

[techreef]

danfeig, when you were discussing the A/C unit with your contractor, did you or they get into how it would hold up long-term in a salt air environment? Will the guts of the mini-split corrode? It seems like a great professional solution to the fish room air quality...

 

[bugs713]

Dump the House Sitter and get a Reef Keeper...

I just installed RKE's on my 55 and 185 and really like them.
I will also be installing water sensors monitored by the RKE's for email alerts when I'm not there. Backup redundancies help me sleep better.

The build is coming along nicely!
:beer:

 

[danfeig]

Dump the House Sitter and get a Reef Keeper...

I just installed RKE's on my 55 and 185 and really like them.
I will also be installing water sensors monitored by the RKE's for email alerts when I'm not there. Backup redundancies help me sleep better.

The build is coming along nicely!
:beer:

Hey Bugs!

Good to hear from you. I have the ReefKeeper Elite. The problem though is that it is currently hooked up to my 150 that I will be dismantling in August. I will be buying the water sensors for it!!!

Glad to see that you are still following along!

 

[danfeig]

danfeig, when you were discussing the A/C unit with your contractor, did you or they get into how it would hold up long-term in a salt air environment? Will the guts of the mini-split corrode? It seems like a great professional solution to the fish room air quality...

I am not the slightest bit concerned. These are the same units that we find in many of the condo's on the beach in Rocky Point. The cost of a good chiller is now avoided and it should also take care of the humidity problem.

If the humidity issue isn't completely solved, I will make a trip to Costco and purchase a small dehumidifier. I know my LFS uses two in an 1,800 SF store.