CyclistMT's 150 Gal Plywood and Glass Build Log
- Thread starter CyclistMT
- Start date
Tang Salad
Algae skeptic
Cool tank and very humorous post, thanks!
Nano Chris
Active member
Looks good, keep up the good work!
CyclistMT
More Idiot Than Savant
Well, I feared it might take me From Here to Eternity to update this log. However, I'm here now so we can continue our decent 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in to the Abyss. (You didn't really think I was going to stick with the music theme did you?) 
Working 9 to 5 has been crazy so I haven't had a chance to spend a lot of time on the forums and it looks like I missed a post or two here. My sincerest apologies. The good news is that I haven't been idle regarding the tank. I have been doing a little work on it and have some new toys.
First, my front trim is complete.
You will notice a unique feature I built into my access lid, a roman shade. While not Gladiator approved it serves a very useful purpose. You see, my tank is in my theater room and is directly opposite my TV. Since I have children, I have left the screen shield in place to protect the lenticular screen on the TV. Unfortunately this shield reflects all light sources in front of it. A tank with nearly 800 watts of light on it is going to qualify as a light source. But look!
I drop the shade and the environment is transformed into something suitable for watching movies again. Ain't I clever? Ok, The Manhattan Project it isn't but I thought it was a pretty cool idea.
I got a Snapper and did end up going with an Oceans Motions Squirt for my closed loop.
As I stated before, I originally wanted a couple of motorized ball valves for my surge devices and closed loop but those ball valves proved to be too cost prohibitive. I figured I might be able to accomplish the same thing using the Squirt and a timer. Time will tell as I need to find a timer with a resolution down to a second. I'm hoping the Aquacontroller Jr. I'm planning on can do that.
I have gotten tired very quickly of opening a valve to top off my sump. I know, how lazy can I possibly be right? Well, it's actually a safety factor as it's only a matter of time before I forget my valve is open and overflow the sump. I almost did it a couple of times anyway. This was also one of those jobs I hated with my previous tank, topping off. I would always forget to do it on a regular schedule and the pump would end up sucking air. Automating this would make the tank much more enjoyable to me. Enter the auto top off switch.
Since I have the surge devices, the level in my sump fluctuates by as much as 6 inches at a time. I purchased a latching relay system so that the flow wouldn't shut off as soon as the surge refilled the sump. My set up should allow the RO/DI to stay on for a least a minute or two (maybe more, I haven¡¦t timed it yet). That should help with TDS creep too. I also have a secondary shut off switch at the top should the primary fail. Just an added measure of safety. I plan on incorporating Kalkwasser into this set up somehow but I haven't decided if I¡¦m going to use a standing reservoir or a reactor yet.
Well, I've got to go give my Little Mermaid a bath so I'm going to leave you with this Cliffhanger like any good movie destined for a sequel. While not exactly Point Break, my surge devices are working like a charm, but I'll save that for another post.
Working 9 to 5 has been crazy so I haven't had a chance to spend a lot of time on the forums and it looks like I missed a post or two here. My sincerest apologies. The good news is that I haven't been idle regarding the tank. I have been doing a little work on it and have some new toys.
First, my front trim is complete.
You will notice a unique feature I built into my access lid, a roman shade. While not Gladiator approved it serves a very useful purpose. You see, my tank is in my theater room and is directly opposite my TV. Since I have children, I have left the screen shield in place to protect the lenticular screen on the TV. Unfortunately this shield reflects all light sources in front of it. A tank with nearly 800 watts of light on it is going to qualify as a light source. But look!
I drop the shade and the environment is transformed into something suitable for watching movies again. Ain't I clever? Ok, The Manhattan Project it isn't but I thought it was a pretty cool idea.
I got a Snapper and did end up going with an Oceans Motions Squirt for my closed loop.
As I stated before, I originally wanted a couple of motorized ball valves for my surge devices and closed loop but those ball valves proved to be too cost prohibitive. I figured I might be able to accomplish the same thing using the Squirt and a timer. Time will tell as I need to find a timer with a resolution down to a second. I'm hoping the Aquacontroller Jr. I'm planning on can do that.
I have gotten tired very quickly of opening a valve to top off my sump. I know, how lazy can I possibly be right? Well, it's actually a safety factor as it's only a matter of time before I forget my valve is open and overflow the sump. I almost did it a couple of times anyway. This was also one of those jobs I hated with my previous tank, topping off. I would always forget to do it on a regular schedule and the pump would end up sucking air. Automating this would make the tank much more enjoyable to me. Enter the auto top off switch.
Since I have the surge devices, the level in my sump fluctuates by as much as 6 inches at a time. I purchased a latching relay system so that the flow wouldn't shut off as soon as the surge refilled the sump. My set up should allow the RO/DI to stay on for a least a minute or two (maybe more, I haven¡¦t timed it yet). That should help with TDS creep too. I also have a secondary shut off switch at the top should the primary fail. Just an added measure of safety. I plan on incorporating Kalkwasser into this set up somehow but I haven't decided if I¡¦m going to use a standing reservoir or a reactor yet.
Well, I've got to go give my Little Mermaid a bath so I'm going to leave you with this Cliffhanger like any good movie destined for a sequel. While not exactly Point Break, my surge devices are working like a charm, but I'll save that for another post.
chris wright
In Memoriam
Looking real good CyclistMT. Im going to follow your tank build to see what you do next.
CyclistMT
More Idiot Than Savant
And on this day Poseidon said "Let the seas surge to and fro!" He looked upon the frothing waves and saw that it was good, very good.
Ah, surge. The reef keepers' Holy Grail. What drives us to attempt to recreate this complex process of water movement? Does the tank seem more "real¨ if the animals are swaying back and forth or do we do it because we think it's the most beneficial type of flow for them? I must admit, my reason for doing it is likely the former but I'm not above using the later as justification.
There seem to be as many ways of creating surge as there are names for them.
CSD (Carlson Surge Device)
RCSD (Reverse Carlson Surge Device)
Borneman Surge Device
Dump Buckets
Etc.
And that doesn't take into account things such as the Tunze Wavebox or Oloid devices and anything else someone can dream up to create back and forth water movement.
As always, I'm not only here to pontificate but hopefully to educate as well. Here are a few threads for reference on surge devices.
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/surge_device.html
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=4116486
http://www.aquatouch.com/surge_b.htm
http://web.archive.org/web/20050711221839/http://www.planet-reef.com/surge1.htm
http://www.petsforum.com/cis-fishnet/seascope/00SS1705.htm
These are just a few I had handy. A quick Google search will reveal many, many more links for your browsing pleasure.
The problems common to almost all surge devices are bubbles, noise, bubbles, salt creep, bubbles, mechanical failure, bubbles, and oh, did I mention bubbles? Many of the pictures and videos I¡¦ve seen on surge devices have had an ungodly amount of bubbles associated with them. Now, this isn't necessarily harmful to the animals in the tank (ever seen the underside of crashing waves?) but to many it's not aesthetically appealing. The eye of the beholder and all that...
Noise and bubbles were my biggest concerns as well and I did experiment with an internal CSD which is basically a bell and siphon concept but I didn't take it too far because I didn't feel I could eliminate enough bubbles that way. Instead I opted to go with the Borneman flapper design but I was still worried about how to minimize the bubbles and quite frankly the toilet flushing noise. Well, as I was browsing the plumbing aisle at my local Home Depot, I happened across this:
And what he saw was good, very good. (Queue breaking clouds, rays of sunshine, and angelic music.)
Well, maybe not the Holy Grail but I had a suspicion that this type of flush valve would be the key to minimizing bubbles and noise and I was right, but more on that later. The rest of the device is basically a vessel of your choosing (I chose plastic storage bins) and the various fittings to facilitate the transfer of water.
Next step was to figure out how to make the valve go up and down. Obviously some sort of flotation device was required and airplane seat cushions were not going to cut it. I experimented with lots of silicone and lots of ping-pong balls (yes, I said ping-pong balls) and suffice it to say, that didn’t work out very well. I ended up using (surprise!) plastic toilet tank balls. I attached them to the flush valve with plastic chain, plastic machine screws, plastic washers, and plastic wing nuts. It may not be very pretty but it’s functional. It does take two balls to overcome the suction generated between the flush valve and the rubber washer. Ok, that’s about enough snickering from you in the back. This is a serious scientific discussion not health class. I don’t care what you think this looks like.
One thing I did learn with my experiments is that is takes a good GPH flow to over come the hold of the rubber seal. Too slow and the float valve will raise off the seal just enough to allow the water to trickle through at the same flow rate it’s coming in and not release the entire surge. I don’t have an exact calculation of what the flow should be but as an example, I’m feeding my surge with a Sequence Dart run through an Ocean Motions Squirt and if I had much less flow, these devices would not operate properly. YMMV.
Finally, a 2†FPT PVC will thread directly onto this flush valve and that’s what I have running to 2†bulkheads on my tank. I do not have additional directional outputs on the bulkheads because I have found that by doing so, the bubbles are more noticeable. I have bubbles at the beginning of a surge but they quickly dissipate by running the bulkheads unobstructed. Honestly, I think the reason I have any bubbles at all is because I placed the bottom of the flush valve higher then the water level in the tank so after the surge ends, air is trapped in the plumbing. Air does not enter the outflow of the valve as the surge starts and I don’t believe its being drawn in from the overflow tube. I truly believe that if I have drilled the bulkhead holes lower in the tank so the bottom of the flush valve was under the water level, bubbles would be nearly non existent. This is the most bubbles that my surge generates as it is.
As for noise, there is a wooooooosh of water but not a flushing sound and there is a slight thud as the flush valve closes. Since my tank and surge devices are behind a wall, it’s not that distracting to me. Again, YMMV.
I do plan on replacing the container on the right in the picture as I have found that it’s not quite tall enough and the lip of the container allows splashed water to seep out causing dripping and salt creep. The container on the left does not do this.
One other thing, the bubbles from the surge do burst at the surface and cause salt creep around the tank. I keep it in check by keeping it clean and if you decide to do this, unless you have lids on your tank, it’s something you’ll have to live with.
Well, that's about it for now so if you have any questions let me know. And for pity's sake you can quit laughing at the picture of the flush valve and toliet balls. :hmm2:
Ah, surge. The reef keepers' Holy Grail. What drives us to attempt to recreate this complex process of water movement? Does the tank seem more "real¨ if the animals are swaying back and forth or do we do it because we think it's the most beneficial type of flow for them? I must admit, my reason for doing it is likely the former but I'm not above using the later as justification.
There seem to be as many ways of creating surge as there are names for them.
CSD (Carlson Surge Device)
RCSD (Reverse Carlson Surge Device)
Borneman Surge Device
Dump Buckets
Etc.
And that doesn't take into account things such as the Tunze Wavebox or Oloid devices and anything else someone can dream up to create back and forth water movement.
As always, I'm not only here to pontificate but hopefully to educate as well. Here are a few threads for reference on surge devices.
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/surge_device.html
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=4116486
http://www.aquatouch.com/surge_b.htm
http://web.archive.org/web/20050711221839/http://www.planet-reef.com/surge1.htm
http://www.petsforum.com/cis-fishnet/seascope/00SS1705.htm
These are just a few I had handy. A quick Google search will reveal many, many more links for your browsing pleasure.
The problems common to almost all surge devices are bubbles, noise, bubbles, salt creep, bubbles, mechanical failure, bubbles, and oh, did I mention bubbles? Many of the pictures and videos I¡¦ve seen on surge devices have had an ungodly amount of bubbles associated with them. Now, this isn't necessarily harmful to the animals in the tank (ever seen the underside of crashing waves?) but to many it's not aesthetically appealing. The eye of the beholder and all that...
Noise and bubbles were my biggest concerns as well and I did experiment with an internal CSD which is basically a bell and siphon concept but I didn't take it too far because I didn't feel I could eliminate enough bubbles that way. Instead I opted to go with the Borneman flapper design but I was still worried about how to minimize the bubbles and quite frankly the toilet flushing noise. Well, as I was browsing the plumbing aisle at my local Home Depot, I happened across this:
And what he saw was good, very good. (Queue breaking clouds, rays of sunshine, and angelic music.)
Well, maybe not the Holy Grail but I had a suspicion that this type of flush valve would be the key to minimizing bubbles and noise and I was right, but more on that later. The rest of the device is basically a vessel of your choosing (I chose plastic storage bins) and the various fittings to facilitate the transfer of water.
Next step was to figure out how to make the valve go up and down. Obviously some sort of flotation device was required and airplane seat cushions were not going to cut it. I experimented with lots of silicone and lots of ping-pong balls (yes, I said ping-pong balls) and suffice it to say, that didn’t work out very well. I ended up using (surprise!) plastic toilet tank balls. I attached them to the flush valve with plastic chain, plastic machine screws, plastic washers, and plastic wing nuts. It may not be very pretty but it’s functional. It does take two balls to overcome the suction generated between the flush valve and the rubber washer. Ok, that’s about enough snickering from you in the back. This is a serious scientific discussion not health class. I don’t care what you think this looks like.
One thing I did learn with my experiments is that is takes a good GPH flow to over come the hold of the rubber seal. Too slow and the float valve will raise off the seal just enough to allow the water to trickle through at the same flow rate it’s coming in and not release the entire surge. I don’t have an exact calculation of what the flow should be but as an example, I’m feeding my surge with a Sequence Dart run through an Ocean Motions Squirt and if I had much less flow, these devices would not operate properly. YMMV.
Finally, a 2†FPT PVC will thread directly onto this flush valve and that’s what I have running to 2†bulkheads on my tank. I do not have additional directional outputs on the bulkheads because I have found that by doing so, the bubbles are more noticeable. I have bubbles at the beginning of a surge but they quickly dissipate by running the bulkheads unobstructed. Honestly, I think the reason I have any bubbles at all is because I placed the bottom of the flush valve higher then the water level in the tank so after the surge ends, air is trapped in the plumbing. Air does not enter the outflow of the valve as the surge starts and I don’t believe its being drawn in from the overflow tube. I truly believe that if I have drilled the bulkhead holes lower in the tank so the bottom of the flush valve was under the water level, bubbles would be nearly non existent. This is the most bubbles that my surge generates as it is.
As for noise, there is a wooooooosh of water but not a flushing sound and there is a slight thud as the flush valve closes. Since my tank and surge devices are behind a wall, it’s not that distracting to me. Again, YMMV.
I do plan on replacing the container on the right in the picture as I have found that it’s not quite tall enough and the lip of the container allows splashed water to seep out causing dripping and salt creep. The container on the left does not do this.
One other thing, the bubbles from the surge do burst at the surface and cause salt creep around the tank. I keep it in check by keeping it clean and if you decide to do this, unless you have lids on your tank, it’s something you’ll have to live with.
Well, that's about it for now so if you have any questions let me know. And for pity's sake you can quit laughing at the picture of the flush valve and toliet balls. :hmm2:
CyclistMT
More Idiot Than Savant
It's alive! It's alive!
The tank is starting to look a bit like Frankenstein (that's fronk-un-steen for all you Gene Wilder fans) but that's not what I'm talking about. There is actually life in the tank.
Around February I got a few pieces of Tonga rubble from my LFS to help seed the tank with bacteria and hopefully innoculate it with coralline algae. Well, no coralline yet but I haven't been dosing calcium either. Diatom algae did start to grow and my sand was getting a bit wonky (that's a real word right?) with nothing to stir it up.
In April I decided to get some things to help clean up around the tank and ended up with a few cerith and nassarius snails, a serpent star, a cleaner shrimp, a pistol shrimp, and a yellow watchman goby. I wasn't planning on getting any fish right away but the pistol shrimp was available and I thought the best chance of pairing them up was to get them together.
So put on your best boots and hat and say howdy (I am from Montana after all) to the new additions.
Meet Louie, Jacques long lost brother.
And intruducing the dymanic duo, the best of buds, the only ones of their kind (in my tank that is)........
Tobi the Gobi and Pete the Pistol Shrimp!
(And the crowd goes wild!)
Tobi was very skinny when I got him and about half the size he is now but he started eating flake food right away (thankfully) and is fat and sassy as you can see.
Unfortunately I'm still a long ways away from coral. And that's OK because maybe I can get through all the nasty algae cycles without impacting any critters. You can see a bit of green in the previous post and it looks like that might be on it's way out. I also want to get all of my equipment in place before I put anything in but that purchase is going to have to wait until March 08 (bonus time baby!)
I'll probably add more clean up critters in the mean time and I still have my light rack to build as well as figure out what I'm going to do for Kalk dosing.
I still have to vent my fish closet to pull out the humidity and help cool it down. When the AC isn't on, my tank is running 82 degrees without a heater now that I have a Velocity pump on it and I still plan on putting another one on. All of my equipment is in the fish closest with the tank so there really isn't anywhere for the warm air to go. The plan is to run a vent through the wall in the closet to a Panasonic inline fan and then to the outside. I will attach this to a humidistat and I think I'll be able to pull the temp in the room down enough so that the water temp will come down too, hopefully. The good news is that when the AC is on in the house, tank temps are below 80 degrees so I think I have a good shot at it.
The tank is starting to look a bit like Frankenstein (that's fronk-un-steen for all you Gene Wilder fans) but that's not what I'm talking about. There is actually life in the tank.
Around February I got a few pieces of Tonga rubble from my LFS to help seed the tank with bacteria and hopefully innoculate it with coralline algae. Well, no coralline yet but I haven't been dosing calcium either. Diatom algae did start to grow and my sand was getting a bit wonky (that's a real word right?) with nothing to stir it up.
In April I decided to get some things to help clean up around the tank and ended up with a few cerith and nassarius snails, a serpent star, a cleaner shrimp, a pistol shrimp, and a yellow watchman goby. I wasn't planning on getting any fish right away but the pistol shrimp was available and I thought the best chance of pairing them up was to get them together.
So put on your best boots and hat and say howdy (I am from Montana after all) to the new additions.
Meet Louie, Jacques long lost brother.
And intruducing the dymanic duo, the best of buds, the only ones of their kind (in my tank that is)........
Tobi the Gobi and Pete the Pistol Shrimp!
(And the crowd goes wild!)
Tobi was very skinny when I got him and about half the size he is now but he started eating flake food right away (thankfully) and is fat and sassy as you can see.
Unfortunately I'm still a long ways away from coral. And that's OK because maybe I can get through all the nasty algae cycles without impacting any critters. You can see a bit of green in the previous post and it looks like that might be on it's way out. I also want to get all of my equipment in place before I put anything in but that purchase is going to have to wait until March 08 (bonus time baby!)
I'll probably add more clean up critters in the mean time and I still have my light rack to build as well as figure out what I'm going to do for Kalk dosing.
I still have to vent my fish closet to pull out the humidity and help cool it down. When the AC isn't on, my tank is running 82 degrees without a heater now that I have a Velocity pump on it and I still plan on putting another one on. All of my equipment is in the fish closest with the tank so there really isn't anywhere for the warm air to go. The plan is to run a vent through the wall in the closet to a Panasonic inline fan and then to the outside. I will attach this to a humidistat and I think I'll be able to pull the temp in the room down enough so that the water temp will come down too, hopefully. The good news is that when the AC is on in the house, tank temps are below 80 degrees so I think I have a good shot at it.
thrillreefer
New member
Maybe you mentioned this earlier...Are those rocks Aragocrete or some other cement-based homemade rocks?
CyclistMT
More Idiot Than Savant
(Insert heavy sarcasm) Well, looky here! It’s been barely a month since my last update and I’m at it again! The progress I’ve made is simply amazing isn’t it?
In all seriousness not much has changed in the tank since I’m not ready for corals until I get all of my equipment. I might put some mushrooms in there between now and then, we’ll see. With all this waiting though it does give me a chance to preplan every next step and complete them without being rushed.
I had an old Icecap ballast and four old actinics laying around so I thought it would be nice to get them on the tank just so it feels like I’m progressing. However, I thought if I’m going to do that, I might as well make the light rack I’m going to need so all I have to do is put in new bulbs when the time is right. The problem is that I kept vacillating back and forth between Lumen Max, Lumenarc III, and Lumenarc Minis. I had to make that decision before I could make a rack. I finally decided that I’m going with three Lumenarc Minis which should provide great coverage across the whole tank and will allow me to put my four actinics in the front and back of them. Here is a pic of the light rack with my old crappy MH attached to the sliding board. Yes, I promise this MH will go away eventually! You will see the rack is suspended with a bike hoist system so I can raise a lower the rack by a few inches at least. It should come in handy when acclimating new corals. The bike hoist is attached to a board that slides on heavy duty drawer glides attached to the ceiling so that I can slide the whole unit out for easy access for bulb changes.
I’ve done a little…
......................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
We interrupt this post to bring you breaking news from the EAC network.
Now, here is Katie Coral...
“Pete the Pistol Shrimp is missing. Several Cerith witnesses say they saw Pete doing his usual daily burrow cleaning when all of a sudden the entrance collapsed on him. His buddy Tobi, frantic, dashed around the tank asking anybody for help. The Nassarius Rescue Team was quickly dispatched to Pete’s last known location. They have been searching for hours at this point and have uncovered nearly all of Pete’s tunnels but have failed to locate Pete himselfâ€Â
The leader of the Nassarius team had this to say, “It’s like he just up and disappeared. We’ve searched everywhere but all we’ve found is the weird serpent star guy hanging around.â€Â
When asked for comment, Inspector Louie said, “We haven’t ruled anything out. We don’t suspect foul play at this time but we will be questioning the starfish. I just feel so sorry for the goby. He seems lost without Pete.â€Â
“EAC was unable to reach Tobi for comment at this time. He does appear to be very distraught over this whole ordeal. We’ll keep you posted as this distressing story progresses. For the EAC network, I’m Katie Coral.â€Â
We now return you to your regularly scheduled post…
......................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
….rearranging of the aquascape and here are a couple of pics with the actinics on. You'll also see I've made some DIY eductors which can be found in this thread:
DIY Eductors
Well, that’s about it for now. I’m waiting on a Aqualifter this week so I can get my kalk dosing going. I thought I’d start some low level dosing to try and jump start the coralline.
Gotta run, my wife says the Tang Police are at the door. I’m not sure what they could possibly want as I don’t even have a tang in my tank. Where is Pete by the way? I haven’t seen him for a while…
In all seriousness not much has changed in the tank since I’m not ready for corals until I get all of my equipment. I might put some mushrooms in there between now and then, we’ll see. With all this waiting though it does give me a chance to preplan every next step and complete them without being rushed.
I had an old Icecap ballast and four old actinics laying around so I thought it would be nice to get them on the tank just so it feels like I’m progressing. However, I thought if I’m going to do that, I might as well make the light rack I’m going to need so all I have to do is put in new bulbs when the time is right. The problem is that I kept vacillating back and forth between Lumen Max, Lumenarc III, and Lumenarc Minis. I had to make that decision before I could make a rack. I finally decided that I’m going with three Lumenarc Minis which should provide great coverage across the whole tank and will allow me to put my four actinics in the front and back of them. Here is a pic of the light rack with my old crappy MH attached to the sliding board. Yes, I promise this MH will go away eventually! You will see the rack is suspended with a bike hoist system so I can raise a lower the rack by a few inches at least. It should come in handy when acclimating new corals. The bike hoist is attached to a board that slides on heavy duty drawer glides attached to the ceiling so that I can slide the whole unit out for easy access for bulb changes.
I’ve done a little…
......................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
We interrupt this post to bring you breaking news from the EAC network.
Now, here is Katie Coral...
“Pete the Pistol Shrimp is missing. Several Cerith witnesses say they saw Pete doing his usual daily burrow cleaning when all of a sudden the entrance collapsed on him. His buddy Tobi, frantic, dashed around the tank asking anybody for help. The Nassarius Rescue Team was quickly dispatched to Pete’s last known location. They have been searching for hours at this point and have uncovered nearly all of Pete’s tunnels but have failed to locate Pete himselfâ€Â
The leader of the Nassarius team had this to say, “It’s like he just up and disappeared. We’ve searched everywhere but all we’ve found is the weird serpent star guy hanging around.â€Â
When asked for comment, Inspector Louie said, “We haven’t ruled anything out. We don’t suspect foul play at this time but we will be questioning the starfish. I just feel so sorry for the goby. He seems lost without Pete.â€Â
“EAC was unable to reach Tobi for comment at this time. He does appear to be very distraught over this whole ordeal. We’ll keep you posted as this distressing story progresses. For the EAC network, I’m Katie Coral.â€Â
We now return you to your regularly scheduled post…
......................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
….rearranging of the aquascape and here are a couple of pics with the actinics on. You'll also see I've made some DIY eductors which can be found in this thread:
DIY Eductors
Well, that’s about it for now. I’m waiting on a Aqualifter this week so I can get my kalk dosing going. I thought I’d start some low level dosing to try and jump start the coralline.
Gotta run, my wife says the Tang Police are at the door. I’m not sure what they could possibly want as I don’t even have a tang in my tank. Where is Pete by the way? I haven’t seen him for a while…
crvz
Team RC
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10408866#post10408866 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CyclistMT
The progress I’ve made is simply amazing isn’t it?
But progress is still progress! I don't have the patience for slow-poking, but it definitely has its merits. Thanks for the update!
don't tell them, but I think I'll end up with 5 or 6 tangs in my 150. Shh! Good luck finding Pete.
CyclistMT
More Idiot Than Savant
Pete Is Alive! Pete Is Alive!
“This is Katie Coral with a breaking story from EAC News. Miraculously Pete the Pistol Shrimp has been found alive! Just moments ago we received word from Inspector Louie that Pete is alive and well if not a bit shaken from his ordeal. The Inspector said that his top men, The Tang Police, had been assigned to the case as a last resort and they pulled through. Tobi was overjoyed when he heard the news and has been reunited….â€Â
“Wait….Ladies and Gentlemen, EAC has just received audio tapes from the Tang Police raid on the tank owner’s residence. We are going to attempt to pipe this in over the air right now. Parents, we don’t yet know what these tapes contain so you may want to have your children leave the room. We’re ready? Ok, here we go folks.â€Â
..........................................................................................
>Tang Police- “Please open the door ma’am, we need to speak to your husband.â€Â
>Female voice- “Ok, just a minute, I’ll go get him. What’s this all about?â€Â
>Tang Police- “Please hurry ma’am.
>CyclistMT- “What’s this all about?â€Â
>Tang Police- “Sir, are you aware your pistol shrimp has been missing for several hours?â€Â
>CyclistMT- “Well, I…â€Â
>Tang Police- “May we come in and search the premises sir?â€Â
>CyclistMT- “Now just a minute! What’s this all about?â€Â
>Tang Police- “Listen punk! We’re here on a rescue operation and we can only pray we’re not too late! Now, are you going to let us in or are we going to let ourselves in?!â€Â
>CyclistMT- “Well, I suppose…â€Â
>Tang Police- “For your sake I hope he’s still alive and we better not find any tangs in too small of a tank! You feeling lucky punk? Well, do ya?â€Â
>CyclistMT- “……â€Â
Muffled voice- “Sarge! Down here! In the basement, we’ve found a sump!â€Â
>Tang Police- “When was the last time you looked in your sump sir?â€Â
>CyclistMT- “Well, it’s on a reverse light cycle so I’m usually in bed when the lights in there are on.â€Â
>Tang Police- “For heaven’s sake man, get them on now! We have no time to lose!â€Â
>Tang Police- “There he is sarge under that rock in the sump! He’s alive!â€Â
>Tang Police- “Good work men! Another disaster averted! Sir, I suggest you find a net and get him back into the main tank. There’s a goby in there waiting to see his shrimp. I better not have to come back here again, and remember, if you have to ask if your tank is big enough for a tang, it’s too small!â€Â
>CyclistMT- “……â€Â
..........................................................................................
“Katie Coral again here folks. We now have a reporter at the scene and Pete has agreed to tell us a bit about his ordeal.â€Â
“Hi this is Brent Mussel and I have Pete here with me. Pete, tell us what happened. Where have you been?â€Â
“Well Brent, I was working on one of my tunnels when this rouge current swept in. It pushed me back into the tunnel and blew me out the other side. I couldn’t get free from the current and I could see I was headed to the overflow. There was nothing I could do so I just tucked in and went for a ride. Let me tell you, that was one wild ride! I no sooner hit the overflow when I was sucked in the drain and engulfed in darkness. Twisting and tumbling I had no idea which way was up and even when I was spat out and could feel sand beneath my feet again I had no idea where I was. I don’t know how long I was there, hours or days. In that kind of total darkness you lose all sense of time. Finally the lights came on and after some thrashing about I was caught in a net! I thought I was a goner for sure! But then I found I was being lowered into familiar surroundings and once I saw Tobi, I knew everything was going to be alright!â€Â
“Wow, that’s quite a story. This is Brent Mussel for EAC News. Back to you Katie.â€Â
“Thanks Brent. All of us here are thrilled that Tobi and Pete have been reunited and this disastrous situation has come to a positive close. For EAC News, I’m Katie Coral.â€Â
“This is Katie Coral with a breaking story from EAC News. Miraculously Pete the Pistol Shrimp has been found alive! Just moments ago we received word from Inspector Louie that Pete is alive and well if not a bit shaken from his ordeal. The Inspector said that his top men, The Tang Police, had been assigned to the case as a last resort and they pulled through. Tobi was overjoyed when he heard the news and has been reunited….â€Â
“Wait….Ladies and Gentlemen, EAC has just received audio tapes from the Tang Police raid on the tank owner’s residence. We are going to attempt to pipe this in over the air right now. Parents, we don’t yet know what these tapes contain so you may want to have your children leave the room. We’re ready? Ok, here we go folks.â€Â
..........................................................................................
>Tang Police- “Please open the door ma’am, we need to speak to your husband.â€Â
>Female voice- “Ok, just a minute, I’ll go get him. What’s this all about?â€Â
>Tang Police- “Please hurry ma’am.
>CyclistMT- “What’s this all about?â€Â
>Tang Police- “Sir, are you aware your pistol shrimp has been missing for several hours?â€Â
>CyclistMT- “Well, I…â€Â
>Tang Police- “May we come in and search the premises sir?â€Â
>CyclistMT- “Now just a minute! What’s this all about?â€Â
>Tang Police- “Listen punk! We’re here on a rescue operation and we can only pray we’re not too late! Now, are you going to let us in or are we going to let ourselves in?!â€Â
>CyclistMT- “Well, I suppose…â€Â
>Tang Police- “For your sake I hope he’s still alive and we better not find any tangs in too small of a tank! You feeling lucky punk? Well, do ya?â€Â
>CyclistMT- “……â€Â
Muffled voice- “Sarge! Down here! In the basement, we’ve found a sump!â€Â
>Tang Police- “When was the last time you looked in your sump sir?â€Â
>CyclistMT- “Well, it’s on a reverse light cycle so I’m usually in bed when the lights in there are on.â€Â
>Tang Police- “For heaven’s sake man, get them on now! We have no time to lose!â€Â
>Tang Police- “There he is sarge under that rock in the sump! He’s alive!â€Â
>Tang Police- “Good work men! Another disaster averted! Sir, I suggest you find a net and get him back into the main tank. There’s a goby in there waiting to see his shrimp. I better not have to come back here again, and remember, if you have to ask if your tank is big enough for a tang, it’s too small!â€Â
>CyclistMT- “……â€Â
..........................................................................................
“Katie Coral again here folks. We now have a reporter at the scene and Pete has agreed to tell us a bit about his ordeal.â€Â
“Hi this is Brent Mussel and I have Pete here with me. Pete, tell us what happened. Where have you been?â€Â
“Well Brent, I was working on one of my tunnels when this rouge current swept in. It pushed me back into the tunnel and blew me out the other side. I couldn’t get free from the current and I could see I was headed to the overflow. There was nothing I could do so I just tucked in and went for a ride. Let me tell you, that was one wild ride! I no sooner hit the overflow when I was sucked in the drain and engulfed in darkness. Twisting and tumbling I had no idea which way was up and even when I was spat out and could feel sand beneath my feet again I had no idea where I was. I don’t know how long I was there, hours or days. In that kind of total darkness you lose all sense of time. Finally the lights came on and after some thrashing about I was caught in a net! I thought I was a goner for sure! But then I found I was being lowered into familiar surroundings and once I saw Tobi, I knew everything was going to be alright!â€Â
“Wow, that’s quite a story. This is Brent Mussel for EAC News. Back to you Katie.â€Â
“Thanks Brent. All of us here are thrilled that Tobi and Pete have been reunited and this disastrous situation has come to a positive close. For EAC News, I’m Katie Coral.â€Â
CyclistMT
More Idiot Than Savant
The good, the bad, and the ugly...
The good- Things are progressing with the tank. I've acquired some more livestock, a new light, and made some minor changes to the aquascape that I think really nailed it.
The livestock- I couldn't stand it anymore, not having any corals in the tank. So I started looking around the web to see what there was to see. In late July, I happened upon Pacific East Aquaculture having a grab bag-o-frags sale. I thought hmm, I'll get a couple of these and end up with some softies, shrooms, LPS and maybe a couple of SPS to test out. I also got a pair of Solomon Island true percs. This was my first order from Pacific East and I am thoroughly impressed. Everything arrived in good condition and they even made a follow up call to check on how everything arrived. VERY good service. Unfortunately, I miscalculated on the corals (please see "The bad" for an explanation). Sorry for the bad pick of the clowns. I can't seem to get a good picture of these two.
Because of what happened with the corals (as explained below) I was prompted to get at least one new light. I finally settled on the Lumenarc Mini and the Iwasaki 175W 15K bulb. I'm still using my magnetic ballast but it will be eventually replaced with an electronic.
The light- Lumenarc mini, "The good" Fantastic light spread! Everyone says this but I simply was not prepared for how good it could be. If I was planning on only keeping softies and LPS, I'm convinced one 175W would be enough over my tank. My plan is to go with three but I might start with two and see how it goes. Shimmer lines are amazing with this reflector. The Iwasaki combined with VHO actinics is hands down the best look to my eyes. The "Not so good"I'm glad I got the "Stealth" version because the reflector is encased in a sturdy shell. If I had bought the raw reflector, I would have been disappointed in the construction quality as it is very thin metal. It would be very easy to bend or crush. Perhaps the raw reflectors are made from thicker material, I don't know. I'm just glad mine is in a sturdy shell.
The aquascape- With just a bit of additional rearranging, I feel like the aquascape is really dialed in. I really like the more open feel and the slope to draw the eye upwards. Now I just need to get some corals to fill it in. Here is a before and after shot of the original aquascape/old light and new aquascape/new light.
The bad- I blew it on the corals. I ordered three grab bag-o-frags for a total of eighteen pieces never thinking that they might all end up being SPS. Guess what? Yes, that's exactly what happened. It's totally my fault as I did not specify or even ask the question. I was willing to take the chance on a couple of SPS but I know my tank is not ready to blindly throw a bunch in. Unfortunately, that's what I had to do. At least it gave me an excuse to purchase the new light. I didn't get the new light until about five weeks after I got the coral though. Amazingly a few of them did color up in that time and seem to be doing well. Not amazingly, I've had some attrition. I've been testing and most parameters seemed fairly stable but due to some inattention on my part pH has had some swings. I did lose a couple right away to RTN (no surprise) but the others seemed to stabilize. During the five weeks I've lost a couple of additional ones and have had to get out the super glue in attempts to stop RTN or STN and have had to frag a little. I'm still holding steady with thirteen of the original eighteen and I'm hopeful now that I have the new light. Although stability may still be in question somewhat and I don't have any phosphate export other then my old Oceanic 6 skimmer which is limited at best. I see more purchases in the near future¡K.
The ugly- I seem to be having a new algae cycle. I'm not sure what exactly precipitated it as it came on quite suddenly but I have a few suspects. It's a bit odd too as I haven¡¦t encountered anything quite like it before. It has some hair algae tendencies but it's very short and brown. Really more fuzzy then hairy. It's not out of control by any means but it is more then I would like to see so I'm keeping a close eye on it. Prior to this I had a brief green algae cycle but it has been gone for several weeks. Perhaps it's just bad timing and it's one of the natural cycles my tank is going through in its first year, although there may be other factors in play too. I believe my old halide bulb may have had a significant spectral shift over the past few weeks. That alone is not enough to have brought on the algae but it could have contributed. I also was prompted to start using Reef Plus from Seachem based on an amino acid thread I read. I was dosing at much lower levels then recommended but I'm sure it was still contributing to the nutrient load. I was hoping it would help with the SPS until suitable lighting could be obtained. Finally, I broke down and bought some Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime as I ran out of kalk powder and needed some right away to keep my kalk drip going. I've read some comments that others have experienced an increase in phosphates from using Mrs. Wages. However, I know several people seem to use it with success. Perhaps they have better phosphate export then others. The bottom line is it's clear that I need additional nutrient export so a new skimmer is high on my list of priorities. But I can't rush out and buy one. I may have to get some cheato going very soon to help out though.
Well, that's about it for now. Just wanted to give a little update on what's been happening with the tank.
The good- Things are progressing with the tank. I've acquired some more livestock, a new light, and made some minor changes to the aquascape that I think really nailed it.
The livestock- I couldn't stand it anymore, not having any corals in the tank. So I started looking around the web to see what there was to see. In late July, I happened upon Pacific East Aquaculture having a grab bag-o-frags sale. I thought hmm, I'll get a couple of these and end up with some softies, shrooms, LPS and maybe a couple of SPS to test out. I also got a pair of Solomon Island true percs. This was my first order from Pacific East and I am thoroughly impressed. Everything arrived in good condition and they even made a follow up call to check on how everything arrived. VERY good service. Unfortunately, I miscalculated on the corals (please see "The bad" for an explanation). Sorry for the bad pick of the clowns. I can't seem to get a good picture of these two.
Because of what happened with the corals (as explained below) I was prompted to get at least one new light. I finally settled on the Lumenarc Mini and the Iwasaki 175W 15K bulb. I'm still using my magnetic ballast but it will be eventually replaced with an electronic.
The light- Lumenarc mini, "The good" Fantastic light spread! Everyone says this but I simply was not prepared for how good it could be. If I was planning on only keeping softies and LPS, I'm convinced one 175W would be enough over my tank. My plan is to go with three but I might start with two and see how it goes. Shimmer lines are amazing with this reflector. The Iwasaki combined with VHO actinics is hands down the best look to my eyes. The "Not so good"I'm glad I got the "Stealth" version because the reflector is encased in a sturdy shell. If I had bought the raw reflector, I would have been disappointed in the construction quality as it is very thin metal. It would be very easy to bend or crush. Perhaps the raw reflectors are made from thicker material, I don't know. I'm just glad mine is in a sturdy shell.
The aquascape- With just a bit of additional rearranging, I feel like the aquascape is really dialed in. I really like the more open feel and the slope to draw the eye upwards. Now I just need to get some corals to fill it in. Here is a before and after shot of the original aquascape/old light and new aquascape/new light.
The bad- I blew it on the corals. I ordered three grab bag-o-frags for a total of eighteen pieces never thinking that they might all end up being SPS. Guess what? Yes, that's exactly what happened. It's totally my fault as I did not specify or even ask the question. I was willing to take the chance on a couple of SPS but I know my tank is not ready to blindly throw a bunch in. Unfortunately, that's what I had to do. At least it gave me an excuse to purchase the new light.
I didn't get the new light until about five weeks after I got the coral though. Amazingly a few of them did color up in that time and seem to be doing well. Not amazingly, I've had some attrition. I've been testing and most parameters seemed fairly stable but due to some inattention on my part pH has had some swings. I did lose a couple right away to RTN (no surprise) but the others seemed to stabilize. During the five weeks I've lost a couple of additional ones and have had to get out the super glue in attempts to stop RTN or STN and have had to frag a little. I'm still holding steady with thirteen of the original eighteen and I'm hopeful now that I have the new light. Although stability may still be in question somewhat and I don't have any phosphate export other then my old Oceanic 6 skimmer which is limited at best. I see more purchases in the near future¡K.The ugly- I seem to be having a new algae cycle. I'm not sure what exactly precipitated it as it came on quite suddenly but I have a few suspects. It's a bit odd too as I haven¡¦t encountered anything quite like it before. It has some hair algae tendencies but it's very short and brown. Really more fuzzy then hairy. It's not out of control by any means but it is more then I would like to see so I'm keeping a close eye on it. Prior to this I had a brief green algae cycle but it has been gone for several weeks. Perhaps it's just bad timing and it's one of the natural cycles my tank is going through in its first year, although there may be other factors in play too. I believe my old halide bulb may have had a significant spectral shift over the past few weeks. That alone is not enough to have brought on the algae but it could have contributed. I also was prompted to start using Reef Plus from Seachem based on an amino acid thread I read. I was dosing at much lower levels then recommended but I'm sure it was still contributing to the nutrient load. I was hoping it would help with the SPS until suitable lighting could be obtained. Finally, I broke down and bought some Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime as I ran out of kalk powder and needed some right away to keep my kalk drip going. I've read some comments that others have experienced an increase in phosphates from using Mrs. Wages. However, I know several people seem to use it with success. Perhaps they have better phosphate export then others. The bottom line is it's clear that I need additional nutrient export so a new skimmer is high on my list of priorities. But I can't rush out and buy one. I may have to get some cheato going very soon to help out though.
Well, that's about it for now. Just wanted to give a little update on what's been happening with the tank.
CyclistMT
More Idiot Than Savant
Well, I’m long overdue for an update and a lot of things have happened in the tank. For better or worse this tank is evolving in directions that I didn’t intend for it. I have come to realize that I’m OK with that. Originally I had planned just about every aspect of this tank that I could. I had laid out how my aquascape should look on paper before I even started making rock, I had planned for very peaceful and small fishes, I had planned on getting only the clean up crew for inhabitants until I had all of my equipment purchased, and so on and so on. I had planned for a final destination and tried to account for each part of the journey. What I have determined is that this tank should be a constant source of discovery, a journey without end. Perhaps that’s a justification of the choices I’ve made but I feel like I’m having a lot more fun with the tank after coming upon this realization.
I’m down to 7 of my original 18 SPS frags. While I thought my ALK was stable when I got the corals I found over the course of a few weeks it was actually bouncing around quite a bit. It has been as high as 12 and as low as 8 dKH. I don’t believe I had my kalkwasser top off dialed in properly but now that I do dKH has been steady at 10 for several weeks. Calcium is consistently 440-450 and I’ve been dosing magnesium to get it up to 1300+. I’ve also started running phosphate remover and carbon. This seems to have paid off as the remaining SPS have been having good polyp extension and appear to be starting to put down new growth. I don’t think they’ll really take off until I get I get another Lumenarc. Of course the ones that survived weren’t the most colorful and they’ve even browned out some likely due to elevated phosphate levels.
I’m still fighting the weird hair algae so I decided to get a tang for the tank. Doing lots of research I settled on a Chocolate tang as they stay small (relative to other tang sizes) and have a peaceful demeanor. In a fit of impulse buying, I actually ended up with an Acanthurus tristis. This is the Eibli mimic and is of similar adult size to Acanthurus pyroferus.
He was skittish at first (and still is a bit) but has always eaten, with gusto, any kind of food I put in the tank. I figured he would still fit in my “peaceful fish†plan. Unfortunately I think he may be bullying any fish he sees as a threat to his natural food supply. Although I’ve never seen him overtly chase or clearly harass anyone else I’m not convinced he’s completely peaceful. My female clown used to peck at the algae more to get at the small copepods grazing on the algae then the algae itself. She turned up dead in early October for no explicable reason. She showed no sings if disease or stress before I found her dead on the bottom of the tank. The male is doing fine and never picks at the algae. While I can’t prove it, I suspect the tang of harassing her that day to the point of heart attack or possible caused internal injuries. Of course it could have been a multitude of other things that cause the death but there are other instances of strange happenings that lead me to believe the tang might be involved.
When I put the tang in Tobi (my YWG) was naturally wary due to the size of the tang compared to him. After a few days though he was out and about but hanging close to his shimp’s borough. When the tang swam by Tobi would dart out of sight but would quickly return. After a while Tobi became braver and would remain at the entrance but stay exposed. After watching this for a while I noticed the tang would lunge at Tobi once in a while causing him to hide for a couple of minutes. I realized that Tobi occasionally picked at the rocks for food, not at the algae, but just looking for food particles. Perhaps the tang saw this as competition. I didn’t think much about it because Tobi seemed quite fast enough to get out of the tang’s way and could get to a place the tang couldn’t follow. That is until I found Tobi in the sump for the first time.
I suspect the tang was able to chase Tobi out of his borough and into the overflow. Tobi always hangs around the bottom of the tank. He never comes off the bottom by more then 6 inches so I found it hard to believe there would be any other reason to find him in the sump. I put Tobi back in the tank but haven’t seen him since then (more on that in the next post).
About the time I put Tobi back in, my cleaner shrimp went missing. I was so worried about finding Tobi, I didn’t notice when he was first gone. He also likes to pick at the algae probably for copepods as well. As funny as it sounds, I do suspect the tang might have something to do with that disappearance as well.
At the same time I got the tang I picked up this Lobo and hairy mushrooms. The Lobo was in my LFS display for several months and had good color there but I knew it would really light up in my tank under the Iwasaki and actinics. I was right! The mushrooms have some really nice purple ends on them that I can’t seem to get to show up well in a pic.
The tang was helping with the algae situation but it just wasn’t going away as fast as I would like. I don’t believe I have to much nutrient import but I know I don’t have enough export so it was time to get some Cheato. It’s not as efficient as a better skimmer but I had planned on adding Cheato to my fuge anyway and it was a lot more affordable then a new skimmer. A fellow RC’er on the “Livestock For Sale†forum had a great deal going for a quart size bag of Cheato and a Kenya Tree frag, $20 shipped. Since he was in Iowa I asked if he thought the Kenya Tree would make it to MT being in the mail for two days. He offered two Kenya (in case one didn’t make it) and the Cheato for $25 shipped so I said heck yeah! He shipped First Class instead of Priority so the arrived in about three days instead. I acclimated carefully and both Kenyas are doing well. They’re a very tough soft coral.
In October I also added a bunch more snails. Nassarius, Astrea, and Ceriths to be exact. The Astrea and additional Ceriths are definitely making an impact on the algae. It’s slowing going away and I’m confident it will eventually be gone as long as I stay on task with everything. I needed my sand stirrers hence the Nassarius. I’ll probably end up with several more before I’m done.
Well this post has gotten a bit longer then I intended it to so I’ll leave it at that for now. I do have further updates and more about my ongoing fish saga but I’ll save that for the next post. Here’s a teaser though…Tobi is alive.
I’m down to 7 of my original 18 SPS frags. While I thought my ALK was stable when I got the corals I found over the course of a few weeks it was actually bouncing around quite a bit. It has been as high as 12 and as low as 8 dKH. I don’t believe I had my kalkwasser top off dialed in properly but now that I do dKH has been steady at 10 for several weeks. Calcium is consistently 440-450 and I’ve been dosing magnesium to get it up to 1300+. I’ve also started running phosphate remover and carbon. This seems to have paid off as the remaining SPS have been having good polyp extension and appear to be starting to put down new growth. I don’t think they’ll really take off until I get I get another Lumenarc. Of course the ones that survived weren’t the most colorful and they’ve even browned out some likely due to elevated phosphate levels.
I’m still fighting the weird hair algae so I decided to get a tang for the tank. Doing lots of research I settled on a Chocolate tang as they stay small (relative to other tang sizes) and have a peaceful demeanor. In a fit of impulse buying, I actually ended up with an Acanthurus tristis. This is the Eibli mimic and is of similar adult size to Acanthurus pyroferus.
He was skittish at first (and still is a bit) but has always eaten, with gusto, any kind of food I put in the tank. I figured he would still fit in my “peaceful fish†plan. Unfortunately I think he may be bullying any fish he sees as a threat to his natural food supply. Although I’ve never seen him overtly chase or clearly harass anyone else I’m not convinced he’s completely peaceful. My female clown used to peck at the algae more to get at the small copepods grazing on the algae then the algae itself. She turned up dead in early October for no explicable reason. She showed no sings if disease or stress before I found her dead on the bottom of the tank. The male is doing fine and never picks at the algae. While I can’t prove it, I suspect the tang of harassing her that day to the point of heart attack or possible caused internal injuries. Of course it could have been a multitude of other things that cause the death but there are other instances of strange happenings that lead me to believe the tang might be involved.
When I put the tang in Tobi (my YWG) was naturally wary due to the size of the tang compared to him. After a few days though he was out and about but hanging close to his shimp’s borough. When the tang swam by Tobi would dart out of sight but would quickly return. After a while Tobi became braver and would remain at the entrance but stay exposed. After watching this for a while I noticed the tang would lunge at Tobi once in a while causing him to hide for a couple of minutes. I realized that Tobi occasionally picked at the rocks for food, not at the algae, but just looking for food particles. Perhaps the tang saw this as competition. I didn’t think much about it because Tobi seemed quite fast enough to get out of the tang’s way and could get to a place the tang couldn’t follow. That is until I found Tobi in the sump for the first time.
I suspect the tang was able to chase Tobi out of his borough and into the overflow. Tobi always hangs around the bottom of the tank. He never comes off the bottom by more then 6 inches so I found it hard to believe there would be any other reason to find him in the sump. I put Tobi back in the tank but haven’t seen him since then (more on that in the next post).
About the time I put Tobi back in, my cleaner shrimp went missing. I was so worried about finding Tobi, I didn’t notice when he was first gone. He also likes to pick at the algae probably for copepods as well. As funny as it sounds, I do suspect the tang might have something to do with that disappearance as well.
At the same time I got the tang I picked up this Lobo and hairy mushrooms. The Lobo was in my LFS display for several months and had good color there but I knew it would really light up in my tank under the Iwasaki and actinics. I was right! The mushrooms have some really nice purple ends on them that I can’t seem to get to show up well in a pic.
The tang was helping with the algae situation but it just wasn’t going away as fast as I would like. I don’t believe I have to much nutrient import but I know I don’t have enough export so it was time to get some Cheato. It’s not as efficient as a better skimmer but I had planned on adding Cheato to my fuge anyway and it was a lot more affordable then a new skimmer. A fellow RC’er on the “Livestock For Sale†forum had a great deal going for a quart size bag of Cheato and a Kenya Tree frag, $20 shipped. Since he was in Iowa I asked if he thought the Kenya Tree would make it to MT being in the mail for two days. He offered two Kenya (in case one didn’t make it) and the Cheato for $25 shipped so I said heck yeah! He shipped First Class instead of Priority so the arrived in about three days instead. I acclimated carefully and both Kenyas are doing well. They’re a very tough soft coral.
In October I also added a bunch more snails. Nassarius, Astrea, and Ceriths to be exact. The Astrea and additional Ceriths are definitely making an impact on the algae. It’s slowing going away and I’m confident it will eventually be gone as long as I stay on task with everything. I needed my sand stirrers hence the Nassarius. I’ll probably end up with several more before I’m done.
Well this post has gotten a bit longer then I intended it to so I’ll leave it at that for now. I do have further updates and more about my ongoing fish saga but I’ll save that for the next post. Here’s a teaser though…Tobi is alive.
