Help with new 125 gallon build

[SimonSKL]

I wonder if some of the fish that you couldn't find jumped out of the tank and landed somewhere you can't see.

 

[tassod]

I've looked real hard everywhere outside the tank...its a possibility but a very remote one and i keep the top covered with egg crate most of the time and during the night. My friends are beginning to call my tank the Bermuda triangle.

 

[tassod]

Any problems with your fish Simon? I know you had some ICK on your Hippo tang early on, have you added any new fish at all?

 

[SimonSKL]

I did lose a blue chromis which jumped out of the tank for unknown reason. Other than that all my fish are doing fine. I have not added any new fish. The ick problem with the blue tang never came back. Other than the persistant cyano problem everything is doing well in my tank.

 

[tassod]

your fish have probably developed an immunity to the ick as it will always be in the tank unless you remove them all so it can no longer have a host. I'm guessing if you were to add any new fish, I think the Ick may return on the newcomer. Good to hear all is going well, as for the cyano, not quite sure what else i could suggest for that.

 

[tassod]

Simon,

Got a question on cycling...i dont remember but how long does it take usually from the initial ammonia spike for a new tank for the ammonia to start coming down and then nitrite to start going up? I put a raw piece of fish in the tank and got a spike of about 2-4 ppm on ammonia and now i've been waiting for almost a week for it to come down. Nitrite is still pretty much zero.

 

[SimonSKL]

Simon,

Got a question on cycling...i dont remember but how long does it take usually from the initial ammonia spike for a new tank for the ammonia to start coming down and then nitrite to start going up? I put a raw piece of fish in the tank and got a spike of about 2-4 ppm on ammonia and now i've been waiting for almost a week for it to come down. Nitrite is still pretty much zero.

Tasso, I think the duration of cycling varies from tank to tank depending on size of tank and amount of live rocks and sands in the tank. Nitrite is the byproduct of NH3. You may not see nitrite until the bacteria start breaking down NH3. How much live rocks and sands do you have in the QT?

 

[tassod]

its a bare tank, no sand or rock. I'm using an aquaclear 110 HOB filter and I filled it to the max with ceramic rings to colonize good bacteria. I'm also running a HOB skimmer and a reactor for carbon. its a 75g tank. Also using a koralia 1500 power head and a 150w heater.

 

[SimonSKL]

I never had a QT tank so I am not qualified to give advice on it. But if your QT tank is bare tank with no sand and rock why would you need to cycle the tank?

 

[tassod]

This tank will be holding the rest of my surviving fish for a minimum of 3 months and probably longer until my DT completes its fallow cycle to get rid of whatever parasite is in there. I'm also going to keep it running permanently with a couple of fish to keep the cycle going. I want it to be cycled so I don't have to do daily water changes to keep NH3 at bay. Non cycled QT tanks are very hard on the hobbyist because you would probably need to do a minimum of a 30% water change daily on it. If its cycled, would be like just having a second tank running with weekly or bi-weekly changes only.

Hopefully within next week and a half i should start seeing NH3 to start coming down, i guess I'm just impatient which is a no no in this hobby.

 

[tassod]

For just cleaning you only need to remove the 4 hex screws and take the cover off. However if you need to remove or replace the impeller assembly, you will need to unscrew the big silver screw (use a quarter) and then use a wooden dowel to gently tap the assemby until it separates from the motor housing. The little screw inside, I believe, is to further disassemble the impeller assembly. I have tried to loosen up that screw without any success as I was afraid I might break it since it is made of ceramic. I think the most I could do is to remove the impeller assembly from the motor housing in case I need to replace it.

When I bought the backup pump it came with two extra impeller assemblies. However only one of them has the ceramic shaft. This is the impeller assembly.


The little screw in this impeller assembly is stainless steel but the newer one are made of ceramic. I don't see any need to further disassemble this if I just need to replace the entire assembly.

Hey Simon,

I've decided to clean my main BH1450. I removed it and replaced it with my backup which is working flawlessly so now i can take my time to clean the main pump. It was getting hot to the touch so i figured its time to clean. I took off the cover and here is what it looks like:





Do i only need to clean the impleler in the first picture? if so, do i just soak the entire thing overnight?

 

[SimonSKL]

Tasso, I haven't been on RC for a few days and didn't see your post. I only soaked the stainless steel assembly. I noticed the back screw is still attached in your picture. Did you loosen that up before removing the SS assembly?

When I took mine apart, I loosen and removed the back screw and then use a 3/4" wooden dowel to punch out the assembly.

 

[tassod]

Hey Simon, good to hear from you. I did not need to punch it out, i basically removed the 4 hex screws and pulled the cover off. So you are saying i just need to soak the stainless assembly like in my first picture and your second picture. That sounds easy enough.

 

[tassod]

Simon, i'm going to start a new build thread soon once my new tank comes in. I decided to sell the one I bought used and order a custom new acrylic. The dimensions are going to be 72"L X 32"W X 24"H and I'm going to have a custom internal coast to coast overflow installed. Right now, i'm looking to see what kind of return pump i should use. What would you recommend for a system this size? I've been looking at the Reeflo Baraccuda or Dart series pumps...i see there is also a BH2700 now as well. Also wondering if I could possibly use my 2 BH1450's in some way...one for each return? Let me know what you think.