Initial planning stages for tank and fish room
- Thread starter Bilk
- Start date
Bilk
New member
Seems the system is just over a year old as I started to add livestock the first week of December 2014. It's had some ups and downs and some errors on my part have contributed to the downs which resulted in the loss of corals along the way, but I'm pretty happy how things are progressing at this point.
Some changes that have been made during the last year are in lighting, a change of skimmer and supplementation. I had been using 2 part for most of this past year, but a few months ago I switched to kalkwasser and am happy I did. The tank is dosed each hour via a GHL dosing pump. This seems to have helped stabilize PH a bit. There are no real lows during the night - the range over a 24hr period is 8.15 to 8.35. I think that's pretty reasonable. Prior to switching, the PH would drop to 8 and sometimes below.
I also switched to dosing VSV vs just vinegar, and based on testing and appearances, this is working out much better. PO4 is near the undetectable range using a Hanna ULR and NO3 is pretty stable at 1 - 2 ppm. I'm not at all unhappy with that. Though there's still room for improvement, the corals have colored up reasonably well.
Most of the corals are mariculture. I know there's some who do not believe these to be viable, but so far I'm having pretty good success with them. I also have a few that were fragged from RC member tanks and they're doing fine too.
Over the past few days, including earlier today, I was busy mounting the many corals that I neglectfully left sitting on the sand bed or perched on rocks. Not a good idea at all. A few have been damaged from falling over, falling onto another coral or were buried in sand, causing the loss of polyps and flesh. Not a good thing. So the last few days were well spent rearranging things and getting my coral house in order.
Here's a video of how things look today. Some of the LPS don't appear happy, but they're doing fine. I probably should have waited longer and allowed them to open up before shooting the video, but well ............
<iframe width="853" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/9LN5m0qk6xQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Oh I just wanted to add, I'm really happy with the health of the fish. They're all plump and looking very colorful. An, knock on wood, there have been no losses I'm looking to add a few wrasses, since they're lacking in presence in my tank.
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Some changes that have been made during the last year are in lighting, a change of skimmer and supplementation. I had been using 2 part for most of this past year, but a few months ago I switched to kalkwasser and am happy I did. The tank is dosed each hour via a GHL dosing pump. This seems to have helped stabilize PH a bit. There are no real lows during the night - the range over a 24hr period is 8.15 to 8.35. I think that's pretty reasonable. Prior to switching, the PH would drop to 8 and sometimes below.
I also switched to dosing VSV vs just vinegar, and based on testing and appearances, this is working out much better. PO4 is near the undetectable range using a Hanna ULR and NO3 is pretty stable at 1 - 2 ppm. I'm not at all unhappy with that. Though there's still room for improvement, the corals have colored up reasonably well.
Most of the corals are mariculture. I know there's some who do not believe these to be viable, but so far I'm having pretty good success with them. I also have a few that were fragged from RC member tanks and they're doing fine too.
Over the past few days, including earlier today, I was busy mounting the many corals that I neglectfully left sitting on the sand bed or perched on rocks. Not a good idea at all. A few have been damaged from falling over, falling onto another coral or were buried in sand, causing the loss of polyps and flesh. Not a good thing. So the last few days were well spent rearranging things and getting my coral house in order.
Here's a video of how things look today. Some of the LPS don't appear happy, but they're doing fine. I probably should have waited longer and allowed them to open up before shooting the video, but well ............
<iframe width="853" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/9LN5m0qk6xQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Oh I just wanted to add, I'm really happy with the health of the fish. They're all plump and looking very colorful. An, knock on wood, there have been no losses
I'm looking to add a few wrasses, since they're lacking in presence in my tank....................
Bilk
New member
Yeah the Goldflake has grown and become a model citizen - at least for now. Hope he stays that way :spin1:
I'm thinking two or three wrasses would round things out.
Bilk
New member
That's what I'm hoping for. I don't want to be sticking my hands in there messing things up. I just want to keep the glass clean, keep that parameters stable, add a small fish here or there and sit back and watch it grow out. Not sure how spectacular it will look, but I'll let Mother Nature take care of that.
Bilk
New member
Here's a FTS Luke
I'm considering the new Maxspect Gyre to replace the Vortechs and the Tunze. I've read some of the reviews and comments so far, but if anyone has anything esle to offer, please do. I figure I'd use one on each end. Should look much better and I really hate cleaning the Tunzes. I'll also be adding diffusers to the return outlets. I didn't like the way the Loc-Line protruded so far into the tank. No one has ventured down the returns, but it's better to be safe.
I'm considering the new Maxspect Gyre to replace the Vortechs and the Tunze. I've read some of the reviews and comments so far, but if anyone has anything esle to offer, please do. I figure I'd use one on each end. Should look much better and I really hate cleaning the Tunzes. I'll also be adding diffusers to the return outlets. I didn't like the way the Loc-Line protruded so far into the tank. No one has ventured down the returns, but it's better to be safe.
ridetheducati
20 and Over Club
If you hate cleaning the Tunzes, wait until you have to clean a Gyre. Spare parts are provided in case you break or loose a few items.
Bilk
New member
Do you have any experience you can share? I haven't seen one other than online. I do see they have a spare parts section for them on CoralVue. Are the components that delicate?
What I don't like isn't necessarily the Tunze. It's the Tunze connected to the SeaSweep. Don't get me wrong, the SS is wonderful at creating random flow. The two of them have done a great job. The issue is the power cable for the Tunze is threaded thru the SS, making the job a PITA. The whole assemble needs to be removed. If I could just pul the powerhead, that would make the process much easier.
ridetheducati
20 and Over Club
I was visiting a LFS and the owner tried to sell me a Gyre. He attempted to show its capabilities, but the pump was failing with the red ring of death (ROD). He kept wiggling the wire to fix the error, after some manipulation it worked. I asked him how difficult is it to clean. To my surprise, he pulled the pump and began disassembling. He seemed very familiar with the process, but there were a couple parts that had to fit a certain way or the pump would cease if not done properly. Total time may have been less than 5 minutes. Compared to Tunze, the Gyre has a lot of parts.
The experience reminded me of an used car salesmen trying to sell a car that had a bad battery and front left tire was flat.
I did not see enough to bench my Tunzes.
The experience reminded me of an used car salesmen trying to sell a car that had a bad battery and front left tire was flat.
I did not see enough to bench my Tunzes.
Bilk
New member
Yeah I can see there are a lot of small pieces. Mine arrived today. I have to say, it moves a whole ton of water :bigeyes: I had it a few inches from the surface, set on pulse, and it made waves that were breaking enough to surf on LOL Still playing around with it. May need a second to fully take advantage of their capabilities. There are quite a few ways it can be configured. After running it for a few minutes, a whole ton of junk became dislodged and skimmer off thru the overflow. Guess we'll have to see what issues it will have down the road.
On another note, I have a new tank resident and he wasn't shy about being photographed.
Just a few more pics for posterity.
Anyone know what species this is? Been in the tank a few months and doing well. Just not sure what it is. In the sellers pic it was red and the reason why I liked it. It arrived brown and has now turned a silvery turquoise. It's been growing rather fast too.
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trueblackpercula
New member
The tank is amazing and can't wait to see it again.
Bilk
New member
So I was playing around with the Maxspect Gyre today. Wanted to see what type of wave it could generate. I got a surprise response from the fish.
Instead of milling about the corals and rocks or begging at the glass for food when I was filming, they just hung in the water column and looked like they were enjoying the swaying the wave provided. I didn't really expect this. They do seem to be reacting to this in a positive way.
Well here's the video. Let me know your thoughts, good or bad :uhoh2: *Oh watch it in HD. Not sure why it doesn't link in that format.
<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ES5qU66WaI8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
PS Not sure whether I should be concerned about structural safety with this wave action. Nothing but the water is moving, but I'm also not sure tanks are designed for this. Have to do a little research and of course I'm looking for input here. Oh and you get to see the Goldflake nipping my corals :furious:
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Instead of milling about the corals and rocks or begging at the glass for food when I was filming, they just hung in the water column and looked like they were enjoying the swaying the wave provided. I didn't really expect this. They do seem to be reacting to this in a positive way.
Well here's the video. Let me know your thoughts, good or bad :uhoh2: *Oh watch it in HD. Not sure why it doesn't link in that format.
<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ES5qU66WaI8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
PS Not sure whether I should be concerned about structural safety with this wave action. Nothing but the water is moving, but I'm also not sure tanks are designed for this. Have to do a little research and of course I'm looking for input here. Oh and you get to see the Goldflake nipping my corals :furious:
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