JCole's box of rocks

Impressive

Yeah, I am pretty excited about this one. They are shipping it out today and hopefully, I will have it up and running on the existing system this weekend. I will post some videos once I get it up and running.
 
BioReactor arrived on Saturday. Installed and media is now tumbling after breaking in. I think the pump is too much for it. I ordered a smaller pump to try out. The thing is a beast though. I had them customize the pellets with Black/White/Blue. What can I say, I am still an Orlando Magic fan at heart....

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BioReactor arrived on Saturday. Installed and media is now tumbling after breaking in. I think the pump is too much for it. I ordered a smaller pump to try out. The thing is a beast though. I had them customize the pellets with Black/White/Blue. What can I say, I am still an Orlando Magic fan at heart....

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Interesting take on a fluidized bed filter. Shouldn't be as able to go anoxic in a power failure as the sand versions.
 
Interesting take on a fluidized bed filter. Shouldn't be as able to go anoxic in a power failure as the sand versions.

My thoughts as well. I am going to get a battery back up for my air pump for that reason. Looking forward to seeing how this thing works. Should be a nice addition to aid the nitrogen cycle.
 
I am currently curing about 300lbs of dry rock in my 300 gallon sump. I have dumped a lot of bacteria including live mud and sand from IPSF and Aquabiomics. Hoping that will help jump start the diversity. I have another 120lbs of dry rock I need to wash up and start cooking. I plan to order some more as well. If I go all new dry rock then I think I will order more of the Live Mud and Sand to mix in with my sand when I start up the system.

I would only bleach the existing rock. All corals will either go into my existing sump/frag tank or it will go to other hobbyists for the future.

So much to kick around right now. Part of me wants to combine the system to get some stability right out of the gate and part of me wants to start fresh without introducing anything from the old system.
You might consider a bit of fresh from the ocean bottom diver harvested live sand for your new system to add some diverse microorganisms.
 
Following! I'm actually planning the same thing have a current 150g and getting estimates for a 300g peninsula. I was going back and forth on the sump whether to invest more money into a ~100g plus sump or just pick up a rubber contain that'll hold more volume. You might have sold me on the rubbermaid!

I'm going to PM you on the pricing from the manufacturer. Curious on their competiveness.
 
Following! I'm actually planning the same thing have a current 150g and getting estimates for a 300g peninsula. I was going back and forth on the sump whether to invest more money into a ~100g plus sump or just pick up a rubber contain that'll hold more volume. You might have sold me on the rubbermaid!

I'm going to PM you on the pricing from the manufacturer. Curious on their competiveness.

Awesome! I just PM'd you the info.

Also, so far I love the Rubbermaid stock tanks. I have the 100 gallon currently on my existing tank and the 300 gallon is curing my rocks for the peninsula tank. The extra room is great!
 
Well everyone it has been fun, but I won't be sending pretty coral pictures for a little while. After a lot of thought, I have decided to do a full reset on my existing system. Things just haven't been right since my first crash and even though corals have looked good, they just haven't done anything other than look pretty. A couple of months ago a lot of my pieces started to lose their color and then some started to turn pale(I will post pictures later). Something happened to the system and my nutrients started to climb and they are now at the highest they have ever been. NO3 is around 75ppm and PO4 is around .25ppm. I know that might not be a big number for some but that is extremely high for my tank.

The baffling thing is why are they like this? I can only assume that something is wrong with my Biome and nitrogen filter. I have been dosing ALOT of MB7 over the last two months. Installed a huge Bashea BIO-Reactor and carbon dosing for over a month and they haven't budged. Not to mention my Chaeto is growing like gangbusters. Just doesn't make sense why they are not coming down.

I have a new 480 peninsula that should be here within a month and honestly, I have lost my drive because of everything that is happening. I spend a lot of time with the tank instead of my family and this situation has stressed me out during work. I feel a full reset, even though it sucks to say, is what is needed. I can start fresh and take it slow to make it right.

Ok, enough of the sob story. :) The new tank will be here shortly and I will be posting some pictures and updates very soon of the new system.

Here's to the next chapter.
 
Well everyone it has been fun, but I won't be sending pretty coral pictures for a little while. After a lot of thought, I have decided to do a full reset on my existing system. Things just haven't been right since my first crash and even though corals have looked good, they just haven't done anything other than look pretty. A couple of months ago a lot of my pieces started to lose their color and then some started to turn pale(I will post pictures later). Something happened to the system and my nutrients started to climb and they are now at the highest they have ever been. NO3 is around 75ppm and PO4 is around .25ppm. I know that might not be a big number for some but that is extremely high for my tank.

The baffling thing is why are they like this? I can only assume that something is wrong with my Biome and nitrogen filter. I have been dosing ALOT of MB7 over the last two months. Installed a huge Bashea BIO-Reactor and carbon dosing for over a month and they haven't budged. Not to mention my Chaeto is growing like gangbusters. Just doesn't make sense why they are not coming down.

I have a new 480 peninsula that should be here within a month and honestly, I have lost my drive because of everything that is happening. I spend a lot of time with the tank instead of my family and this situation has stressed me out during work. I feel a full reset, even though it sucks to say, is what is needed. I can start fresh and take it slow to make it right.

Ok, enough of the sob story. :) The new tank will be here shortly and I will be posting some pictures and updates very soon of the new system.

Here's to the next chapter.
Fluidized beds were notorious nitrate factories. Perhaps the Bashea has the same issue. A month of carbon dosing maybe isn't long enough? It's been years since I tried that, so I don't remember when it actually kicked in... Sad to hear you are stressed, that's definitely not the purpose of this hobby.
 
Fluidized beds were notorious nitrate factories. Perhaps the Bashea has the same issue. A month of carbon dosing maybe isn't long enough? It's been years since I tried that, so I don't remember when it actually kicked in... Sad to hear you are stressed, that's definitely not the purpose of this hobby.

I really hope the Bashsea isn't counterproductive as it wasn't cheap. My NO3 was high before I added it so I don't think that is it. Carbon dosing usually takes up to 3 months but I would think I should see a little dent by now especially since I have been dosing a bunch of MB7 over the last couple of months. This is why I think something is going on that has affected the biome.

It is stressful to have something go wrong that I cannot seem to fix. It is what it is though. I am going to give all of my Acro's to a local reefer in an attempt that he can nurse them back to their original glory. I will hopefully get them back one day.

I think once they are out and the old tank is moved to the garage then I will be able to take a breath of fresh air. It has been stressful thinking about the new system and how I am going to move all the livestock, etc. Without that worry then it will be a weight lifted.
 
Sucks to hear but this hobby definitely shouldn’t be stressful. Definitely keep us posted
 
Sucks to hear but this hobby definitely shouldn’t be stressful. Definitely keep us posted

I am a perfectionist and this is one of the worst hobbyists for a perfectionist. :) I am not stressed to the point of not enjoying the hobby but it will become a major issue when I am trying to install the new system. It will be good to work with a clean slate.
 
Update: Builder reached out this morning. The tank is done and they are shipping today or tomorrow. Should be in my area mid-next week so maybe a Friday delivery. So much still to do. Getting real over here.
 
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