Cabo's BC29 to Reefer 170 Migration and Tank Build

[Cabo2008]

Ok, so over the past couple of weeks, the cyano I thought I'd gotten rid of (phosphates were leaching from some premade frag rocks I picked up) came back with a vengeance.

I thought it was because I stopped running as much GFO, but let's be honest, that just fixes the symptom, not the cause. So I started checking everything and finally tested the RO/DI water straight from the filter........well that was it! I generally check it every couple of months and was only a month in from the last test. Now it's pumping out "fresh" water with a .25 phosphate level.........grrrrrrr.

So I just ordered new filters and have decided to test more often and I really should keep an extra set of filters on hand. Sigh!

 

[timfederwitz]

Cabo, great meeting you today at MACNA! I'll be following along on this thread, and I may eventually reach out to you on your BC29 sump/overflow at some point. Will also have to check out your build thread on the BC29.

 

[soulpatch]

Ditto Cabo. Great meeting you today.

Next year I say we plan out the weekend and do MACNA right. I don't want to miss other speakers and need more time to catch some deals.

 

[timfederwitz]

Ditto Cabo. Great meeting you today.

Next year I say we plan out the weekend and do MACNA right. I don't want to miss other speakers and need more time to catch some deals.

I heard it's probably going to be on the other side of the country"¦ but no real idea.

 

[soulpatch]

San Diego. I'm game...

 

[timfederwitz]

Not sure I'll be able to justify THAT one with the wife, but we'll see.

 

[soulpatch]

Flight and hotel less then your apex

 

[timfederwitz]

LOL, remember, it only cost me $25 in raffle tickets.

 

[soulpatch]

but you save $775 - whatever our lunch and drinks were. So even at $700 we can get flight and hotel for the show...


I am pretty sure Reefapalooza is staying on the East coast. They had a better raffle but MACNA has a much better show floor with product and vendors. I will do both again next year.


We might have to have a move soulpatch into his new tank BBQ should I ever get the darn thing!!! Perhaps in it we can do a small frag swap. There are a few of us locally or at least within a reasonable drive so we can set something up. I might not have a ton to frag but am always willing to swap a piece or two with others...

 

[ReefWreak]

Guess here was my fill in on how MACNA went and compared to RAP! Yeah SD is far, but there's always RAP... See you folks there next year?

 

[Cabo2008]

Been a little disconnected since MACNA with work and getting ready for vacation.

I'll probably go next year.......San Deigo is fun.

This week I'm just focusing on getting as much diving and snorkeling in while here in Aruba.

 

[timfederwitz]

Been a little disconnected since MACNA with work and getting ready for vacation.

I'll probably go next year.......San Deigo is fun.

This week I'm just focusing on getting as much diving and snorkeling in while here in Aruba.

Nice!

 

[Cabo2008]

Well, got back from vacation last night (2 hours late due to an in flight medical emergency which required us to divert to Punta Cana to get the passenger to a hospital).

So after an interesting flight back, I immediately checked on my tank, and my skimmer was sitting there "dead". I checked my Apex real quick to verify I had the outlet "on" (I checked it every day while away, so I didn't think I missed it, but you never know). It was good. So after a bunch of testing I pulled the skimmer, gave the pump a vinegar bath (it was due, it's been running for about 2 months) and cleaned the impeller and motor/pump housing.

Everything looked good, but there was a little build up, so I thought that might be binding the impeller. After re-assembly, powered it back up an nothing!......still dead. So I emailed both Skimz and Aquacave to see if I can get a new pump under warranty.

In the mean time, as I'm not one to sit around an wait while an important part of my filtration is down, I checked all the local LFS's to see if anyone had a skimmer I could pick up as a backup......nothing. So I ordered an SCA-302 for delivery Tuesday. Depending on how well it works out, it may become my primary and once I get the Skimz fixed, it might be my backup.

 

[Cabo2008]

Oh, and since I haven't posted any updated pics recently, here's how the "tenants" are doing:

From the looks of things, the acans are happier with the skimmer being offline for a week.....hmmmmm.

 

[ReefWreak]

Lookin good, sorry for the troubles with the skimmer!

Honestly, even with my SPS, I've started switching my skimmer to only run at night to keep pH up. During the day I leave the skimmer off since I don't need the elevated pH, and it allows for a bit more nutrients in the tank to color up the acros.

You're probably starting to reach the point where you have your tank under control and you can start backing off a bit on trying to reach zero nitrate and phosphate and find the real comfort zone of your tank. When you're new the hobby, the goal is zero nitrate and zero phosphate to limit algae growth. Once your tank matures, people usually try to just keep nitrate below 20, as having some nitrate (at least with SPS, but I'm sure with other corals as well) promotes more vivid coloration in corals.

Good luck with the skimmer repairs.

 

[Cabo2008]

Thanks, looks like Aquacave is going to replace the pump and/or controller. I have to send both back so they can test. I do think it's about time for me to start leaving a bit more nutrients in the water, I just have to figure out if I want to shut the skimmer down for part of the day, change my water change frequency, or something else.

In the meantime, the SCA-302 arrived and I've got it up and running. It's got a arger footprint than the SN123 did, so had to rearrange some stuff in the sump.

So I guess we'll see how this goes.

 

[ReefWreak]

I didn't realize you were running the marinepure ceramic balls too. Those will do plenty to reduce your nitrates in your tank (I think; I don't usually trust media, but that brand in particular, though usually the bigger blocks, have been gaining a lot of traction recently as being quite good for accelerating the ammonia to nitrite to nitrate cycle).

Good luck with the skimmer swap outs and stuff.

 

[Cabo2008]

Yeah, I used to run a couple of the larger bricks in my BC29 before moving to the reefer. They seemed to help a little I guess, but I really liked them for being a "safe haven" for pods to hide in.......I'm certain that's not what they're really for, but it worked for me.

In this tank, I figured I'd add 2 quarts of them to help with nitrates and if pods make a home there too again, it's all the better.

 

[soulpatch]

Oh, and since I haven't posted any updated pics recently, here's how the "tenants" are doing:

From the looks of things, the acans are happier with the skimmer being offline for a week.....hmmmmm.

Hey Cabo when you are ready to frag I want a piece of the rainbow in the first pic which is second from the top right. In the second pic I would want the guy square in the middle.

For my acans they also LOVE some dirty water. So once or twice a week I will way overfeed and turn off the skimmer for an hour while also raising my cup. That way I am still picking up organics but at a much lower rate while still supplying air into the water column. I find reef frenzy is a favorite of theirs as well as everything else in my tank so I go a bit heavy on that. The night before a water change I will also add in some PE Mysis shrimp to reef frenzy which they go wild for. This serious overfeeding polutes the water some though and will need to have a change the next day else nitrates and phosphates start to spike even with my reactor.

 

[Cabo2008]

I gotcha covered bro.

I'm going to test out an ATI 6x24W T5 fixture for the next few weeks or so to see how the acans react. I picked one up for a good price from the local reef club today, so I'll set it up over the weekend.

I really could save a lot of dough if I'd quite "testing" everything under the sun!