Caribbean Biotope Seagrass Tank
- Thread starter Michael Hoaster
- Start date
I haven't seriously thought about it, but I guess I would anchor it to the fake wall, over the deep sand bed. Again, with my closed hood, it's likely a moot point. Fun to think about though…
karimwassef
Active member
Slow painful recovery - like physical therapy for corals. Some do better than others but it hard damage. Mangroves can be zip tied high and love halides.
Have you made any headway fixing the problems that caused your incident?
karimwassef
Active member
Yeah. It was all manageable, just a perfect storm of bad events while I travel.
One week since the Chemi-clean treatment. Cyanobacteria has NOT returned. Green algae and diatoms have returned, and I'm OK with that. My snails and mollies are all happily and continuously consuming it.
I received 10 lbs farmed live rock from GulfLiveRock.com today. It's the smallest quantity I've been able to find online. I'm hoping to increase biodiversity at the lower end of the food web, as well as get some sponge material and other 'hitchers'.
I also found a product that might solve my micro bubble issue. It's called 'Rescue Tape'. It's a silicone, self-fusing stretch tape. You wrap it tightly around plumbing leaks to seal them. I'll give it a go and let you all know.
I received 10 lbs farmed live rock from GulfLiveRock.com today. It's the smallest quantity I've been able to find online. I'm hoping to increase biodiversity at the lower end of the food web, as well as get some sponge material and other 'hitchers'.
I also found a product that might solve my micro bubble issue. It's called 'Rescue Tape'. It's a silicone, self-fusing stretch tape. You wrap it tightly around plumbing leaks to seal them. I'll give it a go and let you all know.
karimwassef
Active member
How does the gulf rock look?
The rock is colorful! Coralline algae, some orange encrusting sponge, a small halimeda, and a lot of unknowns!
Getting the liverock in my tank, will hopefully 'fill in the puzzle'. Having a diverse cast of detrivores and filter feeders is what I'm going for. More diversity-more stability. As alive as my tank is now, it's just to going to explode with new life going forward! And, there will be some die-off. So, at first, the uncured rock will be a burden on the biological filter. When it's cured, it will add to it's capacity.
Since it is only ten pounds, I decided to get it all in the tank quickly, and try to salvage the maximum amount of life. I had planned to cure any live rock externally, but I've got to keep it low key with the wife, so this works.
Since it is only ten pounds, I decided to get it all in the tank quickly, and try to salvage the maximum amount of life. I had planned to cure any live rock externally, but I've got to keep it low key with the wife, so this works.
Both!
I wanted to clarify my plumbing issue with a quick sketch.
The leak is at the threaded/teflon-taped upstream junction of the ball valve. Bad place to get a leak…
The leak is at the threaded/teflon-taped upstream junction of the ball valve. Bad place to get a leak…
karimwassef
Active member
Just goop it. It's a silicone adhesive.
Or you can use underwater putty. You'll love the ability to unscrew it, but should be ok.
Or you can use underwater putty. You'll love the ability to unscrew it, but should be ok.
Silicone was the first thing I tried. With this tape you get the silicone plus the wrapping and tightening, so I'm hopeful.
karimwassef
Active member
Why didn't the silicone work? I've used the silicone tape. It's ok but it won't work over an irregular surface. I used it to seal my skimmer main cylinder.
I think it failed because the water kept dripping through. The pump was off, so there was positive pressure. With the pump on, it's a suction, taking in air.
The tape seems to have worked. We'll see in the morning.
The tape seems to have worked. We'll see in the morning.
karimwassef
Active member
I would apply it while the pump is on. The vacuum would hold the thick silicone but it's too thick to suck it in. I would also wrap the silicone tape around the silicone adhesive.
I wish I had. And, the tape didn't work…
So! I'm going to try 'capping' the bulkhead upstream, so I can pull the ball valve, clean it and start over. Yay!
I'll let you know…
So! I'm going to try 'capping' the bulkhead upstream, so I can pull the ball valve, clean it and start over. Yay!
I'll let you know…
It Worked!
It Worked!
I was able to seal off the bulkhead inside the tank with a home-made plug. So I disassembled my plumbing and cleaned up and re-taped the threads. I think I found the source of the trouble. A phosphate media bag and a clothes pin were clogging up the works! I had noticed decreased flow before, but thought it was the pump.
Now the flow is huge! I arranged my live rocks at the base of the roots, to take advantage of the strong current flowing out of that end of the tank. I think I'm going to have sponges!
It Worked!
I was able to seal off the bulkhead inside the tank with a home-made plug. So I disassembled my plumbing and cleaned up and re-taped the threads. I think I found the source of the trouble. A phosphate media bag and a clothes pin were clogging up the works! I had noticed decreased flow before, but thought it was the pump.
Now the flow is huge! I arranged my live rocks at the base of the roots, to take advantage of the strong current flowing out of that end of the tank. I think I'm going to have sponges!
