Addiction wins, 450 gallon system begins

[Hop]

The keyscritters showed up just in time today. FedEx was... Uh let's say dragging their rear bumper I had just enough time to get the snails and crabs acclimated and I'm trying to get the brittle stars acclimated as I get ready for work.

Everything looked really good and I am totally impressed at this point! I would have snapped some pictures, but there just wasn't time

 

[melev]

That thread of mine has pictures, and I imagine it was the same type of packaging for you.

 

[Hop]

That thread of mine has pictures, and I imagine it was the same type of packaging for you.

Actually it was identical... I'm assuming that your snails were a tad on the brighter side though. Six hours later there are still about 50 ceriths still in the jars and 100% of the astreas are still in their respective jar. Occasionally I think one picks the short straw and is sent on recon near the rim, but quickly hightails it back to the depths and safety of the jar. Maybe when the lights go out they will make a break for it

 

[melev]

Yes, at night they will exit. I'm pretty sure most snails are nocturnal, as mine never travel all that much during the day time, but at night the glass is covered by them.

Can you describe how you acclimated them? I was really surprised by the method Keys Critters recommended, and others may not be aware of their procedure.

 

[Hop]

Yes, at night they will exit. I'm pretty sure most snails are nocturnal, as mine never travel all that much during the day time, but at night the glass is covered by them.

Can you describe how you acclimated them? I was really surprised by the method Keys Critters recommended, and others may not be aware of their procedure.

I think mine are just "challenged" mentally. About 30% have moved on, the rest are all stuck together and no one is going to give an inch. I wound up, helping some of them out of their jar today.

As far as acclimation, I got this from Keyscritters about a day before they shipped:

All inverts are acclimated to 1.025 @ 78F.
We pack and ship inverts dry. Before you receive your shipment have a container ready with "old" salt water (this can be out of your current system) that is adjusted to 1.025 @ 78F and well aerated. That is a measure of specific gravity and the measurement is temperature dependent.
Float the bags in this water for aprox 15-20 min to adjust for temperature, then just open the bags, rinse in aged water, and release the inverts into the container.
Proceed with any other acclimation after that if your system is of a different specific gravity and temperature.

So I did a 5-gallon water change the night before the delivery and kept the changed 5 gallons. I adjusted the changed water to exactly 1.025 and left a powerhead in it over night, with the heater set at 78. When the package arrived, I took all the bags and floated them in the bucket and in the fuge. After about 15 minutes, I opened the snail bags and added water, then poured the water and snails into glass jars. Since my tank was barely off the 1.025 mark, I then put the jars in the tank. Apparently the astreas are so excited about their new real estate; they have claimed the jar as their home. I think they are having their own little snail survivor going on and only after a snail is voted off the jar, do they venture into the dangerous openness of the tank.

The crabs and stars were shipped in water and I followed the normal drip acclimation method for these guys.

 

[melev]

When they say to "rinse with aged water" they literally mean some tank water. And rinsing them off is literally that. Rinse away any waste, and introduce the snails into the tank.

I liked that acclimation procedure.

 

[jgsensor]

Hop

I also have a 375gal tank and was thinking about changing my sump/ refug system a bit. Unfortunately, I don't have the luck to have a fish room so equipment is stuffed under the tank and the wife is getting tired of the noise. I was wondering how you like the sump from MRC. Was that a custom order? Also, what type of pumps are you using and how quiet are they? Sorry I don't have any experience with external pumps. So far I have always ran internal pumps and I would like to get away from the noise and heat they create.

 

[Hop]

Melev: Ooops, I should have added the part about the rinse cycle. I've been up for over 36 hours and still have till 2pm today before my head hits the pillow.... Sleeeeeeepy I am...

jgsensor: I like the sump, but I have a bit too much flow going through it right now... I was able to get the sump itself almost completely quiet just playing with the drains and their length. It was not a custom order, it was actually their standard reef sump, I drilled all the holes etc.
As far as pumps go I'm running a barracuda for the return (a little loud, but for the GPH and power I can't complain), a Dart for the closed loop (very quiet, have to make sure it's running at times) and a Blueline for the skimmer (also pretty quiet, but louder than the dart). I do have a Gen-x as a back up, but it's louder than the barracuda. Rumor is these are supposed to be quiet, but I have a lemon

 

[jnarowe]

jgsensor: why don't you build your own sump? So many reefers are shelling out the cash for something they have lying around the house already. These manufactured sumps are quite expensive when you are experimenting with noise, pumps, plumbing etc.

Try installing a plastic storage bin like a Rubbermaid that fits into your space and carries enough volume. You can get more than one to try out different configurations and toss the ones that don't work out. With a Rubbermaid you can cut the top to fit and reduce sound as well as evaporation.

One trick I learned on RC is to have the sump incoming water to enter into a bucket that is resting on the bottom and the rim is below the surface of the sump water. In that way you can encourage bubbles to immediately rise to the surface and out of the water column. Also, the bucket will trap any large items and creatures that get sucked into the sump and save them from shredding in the return pump. It is also a good place to put a sock or media. For a very low price, you solve various issues by experimentation, then if you feel the need (and we all do) you can by the correctly designed sump.

Noise is a tricky issue because it actually travels through hard materials quite well. Much of your sound problem is actually cracks in the stand (between it and the wall, door), direct sound wave contact with the outside surface (transmitted through the wood) and no insulation.

If you have the dough, try marine engine room insulation inside the stand. If you need help with that, PM me. In my fish room, I am installing a second wall to disconect the inside sheet rock from the outside sheet rock. This cuts down the sound transfer dramatically. The walls will be 8" thick with insulation, ceiling is 12" thick stuffed with insulation. There will be no noise transfer. I am even using an exterior metal door with the usual insulation around the door etc. Duct work is installed inside the room rather than in the ceiling.

Most people don't have the luxury of a tank room, but the lessons are still valid for in-stand installations. With my 70 FW planted in-stand tank system, the only noise you can hear is the tiny fans on the CF lamp fixture. It is virtually a silent tank and that goes a long way with the wife!--J

 

[ohioreef]

jnarowe,

Wow!! You've really got things planned out well!! I am so envious of anyone that is able to have a sump/tank room.

 

[jnarowe]

Gary,

No matter how much you plan something out, there are always snags. It's like buying a yacht in the sense that there is always someone with a bigger yacht. By the time your boat is built, someone else is building a bigger one.

Quick pic: Pony wall framed in.

 

[jgsensor]

hop - thanks for the info. I have gotten items from Andy before and he makes awesome stuff.

jn - Rubbermaid bins won't work for me, not enough room under the tank. I am planning on a sump connected to a refug. Just in the planning stages now and now hurry since my current setup works well just noisy. I may yet build my own acrilyc sump, but I am still researching options at the moment. I do have 1/2" of insulfoam on the buttom of my stand that the sumps and refug sit on and I'm planning on insulating the rest of the stand with it.

 

[jnarowe]

when I have searched for the "right size" plastic bins, at times it has been frustratiing but I usually find one that will work. They are in every large store like drug stores, Ikea, hardware stores, Costco, etc. so I just keep the measurements on my PDA and that seems to work. As far as fitting under a stand, that is indeed more difficult. There is plenty of help on RC for working with acrylic and a wide variety of costs between suppliers. I think it is a good way to go, and that's why I recommended using Rubbermaids as test bins to find the right funtionality (is that a real word?) before getting into building an acrylic version. It can be a real bummer to screw up with expensive materials and have to start over.

Locally I get my acrylic from Interstate because their price is close to half what other suppliers charge.--J

 

[Hop]

jgsensor: No problem, hope it helps!

jnarowe: Progress is looking good over there on the expert forum


Well tonight is the night that I have waited for... Six weeks of quarantine is up and I am carefully matching temps etc... In a few hours I will be beginning the acclimation process and moving the tang and foxface into the tank. Kind of exciting that I won't have to go through a couple of doors to see them anymore

 

[jnarowe]

that foxface will crap it's pants when it gets into that big tank! Can you post a picture of the brown tail for us?

 

[Hop]

LOL. Yeah I will. I was going to get them in after lights out to decrease stress... So I'll see if I can get some pics tomorrow when they are a bit more settled in and the lights are on!

 

[Hop]

Apparently moving the twins was a success. I drip acclimated them for three hours and release the two. The foxface has been hiding, but he does this when it's dark... It did however only take 3.5 minutes for the tang to start grazing under the moon lights!

Hopefully they like their new home after getting them out of their flat in the garage

 

[NexDog]

Haven't seen a pic since page 24 so I have no idea what you talking about.

 

[Hop]

ROFL... I know, I know... Too much work and now that I'm on nights, there is like zero ambient light in the tank at 2 am to take a pic.
Otherwise everything looks like this...

Heck the other week I got stuck awake for over 42 hours strait... Bad for the mojo!
I'll try to get some pics of my "eyesore" tomorrow sometime...

 

[NexDog]

I'll be nipping at your heels in a few weeks so get reefing!