Ivan's terribly slow 225 build
- Thread starter IvanTheTerrible
- Start date
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
Not going to LEAR. My tank is still pretty new and I don't want to add a bunch of corals just yet. I will likely be going next year.
- Ivan
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
Good news/bad news
Let's start with the good. I got a call at work today from my daughter (no school today) saying "Dad all of your new fish are dead and one of there is only one clownfish". I just laughed because my kids love to call me with stuff like that and try to get a reaction out of me. Eventually, I realized she wasn't joking about the missing clownfish. I told her to double check the tank again to make sure he wasn't just hiding. She said he wasn't in there and he's missing. So, I tell her to look in the sump. To my surprise she didn't ask what a sump was and reported that he's not in there. Maybe all of those fish lessons are paying off. :lol2: Next, I told her to look in the overflow. I can barely see into the overflow when I'm standing on the ground, so she had to get a stool. The next thing I hear is her squealing and saying "I found him!! There he is!! I found him!!" That was quickly followed up with a "can I catch him?". I was planning to just leave him there until I got home, but figured why not. So, I can hear her trying to catch him and laughing as he escapes. Next, she asked if she could use a net (we normally catch our fish with our hands to avoid injuring them). I said sure, told her I would help and to get ready. I logged into Apex and turned off the return pump. Again I hear her squeal and laugh since she wasn't expecting it and the system is now making a lot of noise as the siphon broke and air rushed through the lines. Somehow she missed him and he slipped back into the internal box. I turned the pump back on and it flushed him back into the external box where she netted him. She asked where to put him and I said the refugium. She wasn't sure what that was so I described it. I also pointed out that the sump sections are labeled with a sharpie. So she put him in the refugium and gave him a few pellets as a reward for being bad. :hmm5: He hasn't been getting much to eat lately since the female has been rather hostile. I'm not sure what's up with that. They have the whole tank to themselves but rarely venture out from their corner (typical clowns). Even when food is flying around the tank, they don't venture out to get it. During feeding time, the female keeps him in the bottom half of the tank while she stays up top and eats the food before it can sink down to him. So, we took this opportunity to give him a couple of good meals. I transferred him back to the DT tonight and purposefully put him in the side of the tank opposite of her. It took about 15 minutes but they finally figured out that they were in the same tank again. They're both hanging out in "their corner" again.
Now for the bad. It turns out one of the cardinals was really dead. My daughter asked if she could fish him out and I agreed. This was a much bigger step for her, since touching anything dead is "super gross". I had to run to a meeting, so I couldn't stay on the phone for the whole thing. I trusted that she could get it out and asked her to put a small amount of Prime (about 1/4 of a capful) in the water when she was done. I met them for dinner after work and when I got home two more cardinals were dead. I also found the airline floating on the surface instead of being captured under the PVC elbow. Worst case, they would have been without the airline for ~3.5 hours. I'm no fish expert but to me, it doesn't seem like they should have died that quickly if lack of surface agitation was the only problem. They are in about 6 or 7 gallons of water. I don't know. I'm just sad that the fish are gone. I have no idea why the fish died. All four looked good last night. I made sure my daughter didn't think it was somehow her fault. I also took the opportunity to explain gas exchange and surface agitation to all of my family. They all learned something, so at least some good came out of this bad.
- Ivan
Let's start with the good. I got a call at work today from my daughter (no school today) saying "Dad all of your new fish are dead and one of there is only one clownfish". I just laughed because my kids love to call me with stuff like that and try to get a reaction out of me. Eventually, I realized she wasn't joking about the missing clownfish. I told her to double check the tank again to make sure he wasn't just hiding. She said he wasn't in there and he's missing. So, I tell her to look in the sump. To my surprise she didn't ask what a sump was and reported that he's not in there. Maybe all of those fish lessons are paying off. :lol2: Next, I told her to look in the overflow. I can barely see into the overflow when I'm standing on the ground, so she had to get a stool. The next thing I hear is her squealing and saying "I found him!! There he is!! I found him!!" That was quickly followed up with a "can I catch him?". I was planning to just leave him there until I got home, but figured why not. So, I can hear her trying to catch him and laughing as he escapes. Next, she asked if she could use a net (we normally catch our fish with our hands to avoid injuring them). I said sure, told her I would help and to get ready. I logged into Apex and turned off the return pump. Again I hear her squeal and laugh since she wasn't expecting it and the system is now making a lot of noise as the siphon broke and air rushed through the lines. Somehow she missed him and he slipped back into the internal box. I turned the pump back on and it flushed him back into the external box where she netted him. She asked where to put him and I said the refugium. She wasn't sure what that was so I described it. I also pointed out that the sump sections are labeled with a sharpie. So she put him in the refugium and gave him a few pellets as a reward for being bad. :hmm5: He hasn't been getting much to eat lately since the female has been rather hostile. I'm not sure what's up with that. They have the whole tank to themselves but rarely venture out from their corner (typical clowns). Even when food is flying around the tank, they don't venture out to get it. During feeding time, the female keeps him in the bottom half of the tank while she stays up top and eats the food before it can sink down to him. So, we took this opportunity to give him a couple of good meals. I transferred him back to the DT tonight and purposefully put him in the side of the tank opposite of her. It took about 15 minutes but they finally figured out that they were in the same tank again. They're both hanging out in "their corner" again.
Now for the bad. It turns out one of the cardinals was really dead. My daughter asked if she could fish him out and I agreed. This was a much bigger step for her, since touching anything dead is "super gross". I had to run to a meeting, so I couldn't stay on the phone for the whole thing. I trusted that she could get it out and asked her to put a small amount of Prime (about 1/4 of a capful) in the water when she was done. I met them for dinner after work and when I got home two more cardinals were dead. I also found the airline floating on the surface instead of being captured under the PVC elbow. Worst case, they would have been without the airline for ~3.5 hours. I'm no fish expert but to me, it doesn't seem like they should have died that quickly if lack of surface agitation was the only problem. They are in about 6 or 7 gallons of water. I don't know. I'm just sad that the fish are gone. I have no idea why the fish died. All four looked good last night. I made sure my daughter didn't think it was somehow her fault. I also took the opportunity to explain gas exchange and surface agitation to all of my family. They all learned something, so at least some good came out of this bad.
- Ivan
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
Ok. Some more good news. For the first time today I spotted copepods in the DT. I knew they would show up eventually, I'm just glad to see them. Also, much to my surprise I the frogspawn that's been sitting in the QT since the kalk overdose is showing signs of life. I actually meant to throw it out the other day and forgot to grab it when I had my hand in the tank. It wasn't a lot of flesh, but there was definitely some growth. Since I'm not running the ATO anymore (topping off by hand), the alk/cal in that tank could take some serious swings. So, I moved it to the DT where things should be more stable. It would be nice if it recovered. I also have the world's smallest bubble coral frag (also recovered from the QT). If it were any smaller it wouldn't be visible with the naked eye. If that thing makes it, it will be a miracle.
- Ivan
- Ivan
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
Much to my surprise, my new pump arrived from Danner yesterday. I guess it won't be backordered until the end of the month. :lol2: I'm still debating whether I want to use it or switch to a Vectra M1. I'm really leaning towards the Vectra because it is SO quiet. But, the Mag 24 was so simple and efficient. No controllers to worry about and essentially all of the heat generated by the pump went into the water, meaning my heaters ran less. But, it SO loud compared to the Vectra I have now. Any thoughts or opinions?
I'd also like to hear any opinions about why my cardinals died. There are no wrong answers and I'll never truly know, but I would like to hear what you folks think (assuming someone actually reads this). Thanks.
- Ivan
I'd also like to hear any opinions about why my cardinals died. There are no wrong answers and I'll never truly know, but I would like to hear what you folks think (assuming someone actually reads this). Thanks.
- Ivan
I read this. (LOL)
I have the L1. It is in the sump (well two of them are that is.) The controller once setup with min and max flow, is then done. No more touching it. Mine have been running two months now, almost non stop. Yes they are quiet, compared to the 2x DC12000 I had in there. The controller is not warm so yes all the pump heat will be in the tank, but I would think maybe less heat than the MAG, but I have never owned a MAG.
On the cardinals, I can not say. How old were they? Did the pope call them up? Even though you say it was only 3.5 hours, the O2 drops significantly with normal fish life, and the lack of agitation did not help any other exchange at the water line. What size tank/container were they in? Was the prime old or mixed? Had it separated and maybe it needed mixing?
I have the L1. It is in the sump (well two of them are that is.) The controller once setup with min and max flow, is then done. No more touching it. Mine have been running two months now, almost non stop. Yes they are quiet, compared to the 2x DC12000 I had in there. The controller is not warm so yes all the pump heat will be in the tank, but I would think maybe less heat than the MAG, but I have never owned a MAG.
On the cardinals, I can not say. How old were they? Did the pope call them up? Even though you say it was only 3.5 hours, the O2 drops significantly with normal fish life, and the lack of agitation did not help any other exchange at the water line. What size tank/container were they in? Was the prime old or mixed? Had it separated and maybe it needed mixing?
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
Lost the last cardinal today. They were about 1 inch (not including fins) maybe a little bigger, so they weren't old. Certainly not old enough to die of old age. They were in about 6 or 7 gallons of water. The one that dies today was in about 5 gallons of water. I'm not sure how old the Prime is, but I always shake it up very well. It is no more than 2 years old. When I do TTM, I always put Prime in the water from day 1. I use Prazi during transfers 2 and 4 (days 4-6 and 9-12). I also did a freshwater dip of the cardinal during the transfer (old water -> FW dip -> new water). Before I make a transfer, I match temp/salinity. I also let the new water agitate for ~6 hours before the transfer to be sure the Prime/Prazi is mixed well and everything is stable before the transfer. I always feed pretty heavy, especially on days 1-3 since the fish are stressed and don't always eat the first time it is offered.
Whatever killed the fish, I don't feel like there is much more I could have done for this last one. I think I'll stick to buying fish from the LFS or online from now on.
I'm leaning towards the Vectra for the skimmer. I really enjoy having a quiet basement and really don't want a loud pump ruining the only place in my house where I can hide.
I did install the wifi analyzer app. The signal strength looked good and I didn't see any obvious issues with my wifi. However, I did notice that there are a lot of other networks, some of which are pretty strong. I'm starting to think that the adapter was just randomly switching networks, which cause the Apex to disconnect. Regardless, the problem is solved now.
- Ivan
Glad it is solved for the wifi.
Just because it sees other homes, it cant connect unless you tell it to. It is possible the router was switching frequencies(channels) due to other traffic and the game adapter did not re-connect quick enough.
When I set up a network (friends/family) I scan where I am setting things up and see what else might bother it. Then I go in and setup the frequency(channel) manually to one that is not used as heavily. Just because something is there though does not mean you can not connect to yours. It takes something pushing a lot of data to bump other things off that frequency. Some wifi setups may switch channels automatically, with the one I setup sometimes those items will skip/change away from it.
Think of it like a 14 lane highway. Everyone can use it. If the first lane gets too much traffic in it, then it would be better to switch lanes. Way too much traffic on one lane causes others to get lower/no movement. A autoswitching would just change lanes on its own and the device would see it somewhere else and go to that same one.
Now that is just for 2.5gighz. Moving the the 5g frequency gives you more lanes, you just suffer from not being able to be as far away.
Just because it sees other homes, it cant connect unless you tell it to. It is possible the router was switching frequencies(channels) due to other traffic and the game adapter did not re-connect quick enough.
When I set up a network (friends/family) I scan where I am setting things up and see what else might bother it. Then I go in and setup the frequency(channel) manually to one that is not used as heavily. Just because something is there though does not mean you can not connect to yours. It takes something pushing a lot of data to bump other things off that frequency. Some wifi setups may switch channels automatically, with the one I setup sometimes those items will skip/change away from it.
Think of it like a 14 lane highway. Everyone can use it. If the first lane gets too much traffic in it, then it would be better to switch lanes. Way too much traffic on one lane causes others to get lower/no movement. A autoswitching would just change lanes on its own and the device would see it somewhere else and go to that same one.
Now that is just for 2.5gighz. Moving the the 5g frequency gives you more lanes, you just suffer from not being able to be as far away.
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
On my router the 5 GHz is set for a specific channel but the 2.5 GHz is set to auto. Should I set them both to a specific channel?
- Ivan
Well 2.5 is good for outside the house and the 5g is real good for inside.
The wifi analyzer will let you see what is out there. Hard to say. If the others are far enough away I would static the 5g and auto the 2.5. That way if the 2.5 bleeds into the house it can adjust.
Also are the two named the same? I have seen people put 2.5 or 5.0 after it. Name them the same. That way your phone/device has one name and one password. It can determine which freq to use and switch to which ever is better signal.
The wifi analyzer will let you see what is out there. Hard to say. If the others are far enough away I would static the 5g and auto the 2.5. That way if the 2.5 bleeds into the house it can adjust.
Also are the two named the same? I have seen people put 2.5 or 5.0 after it. Name them the same. That way your phone/device has one name and one password. It can determine which freq to use and switch to which ever is better signal.
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
That's how I had it set up - 5 static and 2 auto. I had the 2 and 5 after the names, but I can change that. My 5GHz is pretty strong. It works everywhere in the house except inside the fish room and works outside really well. So the 2 GHz doesn't get used much, just a couple of older devices that don't support 5 GHz. I'm not sure how to judge if others are "far enough" away. I'll take a screen shot of the wifi analyzer later and text it to you.
Maybe I'll get this network set up properly and get a fancy webcam that anyone can control. :lolspin: Seriously, thanks for all of the help.
- Ivan
Maybe I'll get this network set up properly and get a fancy webcam that anyone can control. :lolspin: Seriously, thanks for all of the help.
- Ivan
One t hing people dont realize is that the wifi is on different channels. So setting the same SSID and same P/W on them both does not interfere with each other. When a device in the living room is using the 5g, and walks outside where it can only see the 2.5g it auto switches and you dont know it changed. Other wise somepeople have to disconnect and reconnect to the other one.
I know someone that set the kids devices to the 2.5 g and their own to the 5g. (different naming on the SSID) Well their internet pipe was fine so they didn't have a reason to segregate them. Once we reconfigured the router they were all happy, because they could be in the back yard and have good signal and not realize the switch happened.
I know someone that set the kids devices to the 2.5 g and their own to the 5g. (different naming on the SSID) Well their internet pipe was fine so they didn't have a reason to segregate them. Once we reconfigured the router they were all happy, because they could be in the back yard and have good signal and not realize the switch happened.
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
Ok, new topic but I need help again. I woke up this morning at 5:!5 to get ready for work. Before jumping in the shower, I checked my phone - 3 messages from Apex!! I figured this couldn't be good and hoped for the best as I checked to see what was wrong. The Apex was alarming on low pH, which was surprising because I couldn't think of anything that would cause the pH to drop and it's been pretty steady at about 8.0 lately (very low bioload so not much to cause fluctuations). I checked the other parameters and everything looked fine, but the pH looked like it fell off a cliff! The reading dropped from 7.96 to 6.55 in 5 minutes.
I went down to the fish room to see if I could determine the cause. Everything looked normal (except a clown in the overflow :angryfire. I gave the probe holder a good shake in case a bubble was caught in the probe and causing issues. I got the clown back into the tank and went to work. During the course of the day, the pH slowly rose but didn't recover to its previous value.
The drop at the very end of the first image is where I fed the fish when I got home from work. The probe is a BRS double junction probe that was purchased in mid-January, so it is only about a month old. The only maintenance I did yesterday was filling the ATO container. The same ATO water would have been automatically added during the day, so I don't think the RODI is the problem but I'm not ruling anything out at this time. I haven't had a chance to check pH with a test kit, but I'll do that later tonight. Based on the other readings and the fact that the fish are still alive, I don't think the pH reading is accurate. Other than a bad probe, any ideas on what could have caused this??
- Ivan
I went down to the fish room to see if I could determine the cause. Everything looked normal (except a clown in the overflow :angryfire
. I gave the probe holder a good shake in case a bubble was caught in the probe and causing issues. I got the clown back into the tank and went to work. During the course of the day, the pH slowly rose but didn't recover to its previous value.
The drop at the very end of the first image is where I fed the fish when I got home from work. The probe is a BRS double junction probe that was purchased in mid-January, so it is only about a month old. The only maintenance I did yesterday was filling the ATO container. The same ATO water would have been automatically added during the day, so I don't think the RODI is the problem but I'm not ruling anything out at this time. I haven't had a chance to check pH with a test kit, but I'll do that later tonight. Based on the other readings and the fact that the fish are still alive, I don't think the pH reading is accurate. Other than a bad probe, any ideas on what could have caused this??
- Ivan
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
I checked pH with a Red Sea test kit. It's a little expired (I think that's like being a little pregnant :lol2 but I think it's OK. The pH was rarely used, so it has been sealed for most of its life. Anyway, it gave a pH reading of 8.2 so I'm suspecting the probe is bad.
- Ivan
but I think it's OK. The pH was rarely used, so it has been sealed for most of its life. Anyway, it gave a pH reading of 8.2 so I'm suspecting the probe is bad. - Ivan
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
I calibrated it when I installed it about a month ago. Calibration went as expected. All readings have been 8.20-7.95 until yesterday. Yesterday it dropped to 7.90 but then recovered to about 8.0. Then around 2AM it took the sudden dive.
- Ivan
- Ivan
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
I saw that in your thread. My probes are similar - they give bad readings when they pump goes into feed mode and the water level rises in the sump. I'll try to get a picture of the probes in tbe sump tonight.
- Ivan
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