jenjen's upgrade to 180gal
- Thread starter jenjen
- Start date
jenjen
New member
Well, the shrimp showed up... they hadn't yet by bedtime but they're in there as of this morning.
Today we get all the 'under the tank' stuff hooked up & operational. Everything works, and not a SINGLE leak in the plumbing! Just our Coralife Stupid-Skimmer we're having trouble with, but a new skimmer is on it's way anyhow so I'm not too worried.
The new returns don't skim the surface of the water, and while there appears to be lots of flow in the tank, the surface isn't 'choppy' like it was in the other tank. I'm going to mess with the direction of the powerheads this evening and see if I can get them just right.
I'll post some pics this evening, once the water clears a little from today's excitement - the refugium created quite the sand storm when we first fired up the pumps.
Today we get all the 'under the tank' stuff hooked up & operational. Everything works, and not a SINGLE leak in the plumbing! Just our Coralife Stupid-Skimmer we're having trouble with, but a new skimmer is on it's way anyhow so I'm not too worried.
The new returns don't skim the surface of the water, and while there appears to be lots of flow in the tank, the surface isn't 'choppy' like it was in the other tank. I'm going to mess with the direction of the powerheads this evening and see if I can get them just right.
I'll post some pics this evening, once the water clears a little from today's excitement - the refugium created quite the sand storm when we first fired up the pumps.
jenjen
New member
Water parameters as of right now:
SG 1.024
ammonia 0
nitrate 10
pH 7.9
dKH 10
calcium 380
temp 79
I've checked the water twice a day since we set up the 180gal, and these parameters are consistent. Ammonia has been zero the whole time, and nitrate has stayed at ten.
The temp is a bit of a concern - I don't have a heater on and the MH's aren't on yet. Last night it topped out at 84. We'll be installing a fan over the sump which should help, but I'll be monitoring the daily swing for the next little bit.
I think I'll keep testing the water twice a day for a week, then move to daily, then weekly which was my normal schedule with the 90gal. I couldn't get the skimmer going so I gave up - should be fine to run skimmer-less for a week until the Vertex arrives.
On to making water to 1/2 fill the 90gal, which will be used for QT. Just waiting for a PBT to come in at J&L's.
SG 1.024
ammonia 0
nitrate 10
pH 7.9
dKH 10
calcium 380
temp 79
I've checked the water twice a day since we set up the 180gal, and these parameters are consistent. Ammonia has been zero the whole time, and nitrate has stayed at ten.
The temp is a bit of a concern - I don't have a heater on and the MH's aren't on yet. Last night it topped out at 84. We'll be installing a fan over the sump which should help, but I'll be monitoring the daily swing for the next little bit.
I think I'll keep testing the water twice a day for a week, then move to daily, then weekly which was my normal schedule with the 90gal. I couldn't get the skimmer going so I gave up - should be fine to run skimmer-less for a week until the Vertex arrives.
On to making water to 1/2 fill the 90gal, which will be used for QT. Just waiting for a PBT to come in at J&L's.
jenjen
New member
Re: cograts
Re: cograts
Thank you!
What an awesome idea for a honeymoon. We only have 4 days immediately after the wedding, so we're planning on Vegas (maybe I can check out some of those 'Vegas reefs'!). But we're planning for a real honeymoon in January - definitely will look into somewhere we can snorkel!
And thanks for the compliment on the stand & canopy - it's what made me choose the setup. I'm really pleased with it so far, except that it's a tight fit under the stand. I'll definitely need to watch equipment height for this setup. Hope the new skimmer fits!
Re: cograts
Thank you!
What an awesome idea for a honeymoon. We only have 4 days immediately after the wedding, so we're planning on Vegas (maybe I can check out some of those 'Vegas reefs'!). But we're planning for a real honeymoon in January - definitely will look into somewhere we can snorkel!
And thanks for the compliment on the stand & canopy - it's what made me choose the setup. I'm really pleased with it so far, except that it's a tight fit under the stand. I'll definitely need to watch equipment height for this setup. Hope the new skimmer fits!
jenjen
New member
No, it hit 84 at the end of the day yesterday - the MH's had been on all day. Overnight it dropped to 79. My fiance was messing around with the sump yesterday & I think he overheated the water he added, so I'm not sure the starting point was 'normal' before the halides came on yesterday.
I've left the heater unplugged for now & will monitor the temp swing throughout the day. If it gets too high I'll do a water change with colder water to bring the overall temp down & then monitor it. I'm really hoping to not have to put a fan in the canopy, but we'll see.
jenjen
New member
Finally managed to get a few pics... I won't bother you with the ongoing camera saga!
FTS:
From the right:
Meet the Boys:
Lu (yellow tang)
Grapes (kole tang)
Fat B***ard (foxface)
Meet the Littles:
Crusty (false perc)
Moe (sixline wrasse)
There's also a lyretail anthias & a bi-colour blennie (neither have names yet), but they're scaredy cats and wouldn't come out to get their photo taken.
Everyone's settling in & happy, and ready for their dinner!
FTS:
From the right:
Meet the Boys:
Lu (yellow tang)
Grapes (kole tang)
Fat B***ard (foxface)
Meet the Littles:
Crusty (false perc)
Moe (sixline wrasse)
There's also a lyretail anthias & a bi-colour blennie (neither have names yet), but they're scaredy cats and wouldn't come out to get their photo taken.
Everyone's settling in & happy, and ready for their dinner!
every thing looks good , i love your fish they all look healthy . i expecially like the brown tang with the horizontal lines . is that a kole tang? my reef tank is going on 9 months i still dont have any fish due to an ich situation , but i have a bunch of corals and inverts which i enjoy . i would like to stock my fish similir to what you have . i would love to have a purple tang but what the little i have read about them they are more agressive than the others . the one other fish i want is a lawnmower blenny . looks really nice keep up the good work and keep the pics coming.
jenjen
New member
Thanks! Yes that's a Kole tang. He's a fantastic fish, a real personality. Though he is named 'Grapes' because he's a sourpuss - not sure if they all are, but he is one grumpy boy.
Don't get discouraged with the frustration of ich. Don't skimp on the down time for your tank, and make sure to QT all new arrivals & you'll have fish in there in no time!
What kind of corals do you have? I'm an LPS lover, but my fiance is insisting on some SPS in the new tank.
Don't get discouraged with the frustration of ich. Don't skimp on the down time for your tank, and make sure to QT all new arrivals & you'll have fish in there in no time!
What kind of corals do you have? I'm an LPS lover, but my fiance is insisting on some SPS in the new tank.
jenjen
New member
I left the fan on over the sump all night (6in fan pointing down on the water) and the temp is at 77 this morning - it was 84 last night when the MH's went out. I'm going to leave it be for today & see what happens, with the fan on all day.
We did have temp issues with the 90gal as well and ended up installing a fan in the hood. But it was very noisy, so I'm really trying to avoid that this time around since the tank is in our family/TV room.
I think if the fan over the sump doesn't work we'll install an inline fan and put it in the spare room, which the tank backs onto. I keep trying to get that as a fish room anyway, so maybe this is a blessing in disguise.
Just did the water tests, and everything is still looking the same:
sg 1.024
ammonia 0
nitrate 10
pH 7.9
dKH 10
calcium 380
Should have the QT ready to go by this evening. Time for a trip down to J&L I think.
We did have temp issues with the 90gal as well and ended up installing a fan in the hood. But it was very noisy, so I'm really trying to avoid that this time around since the tank is in our family/TV room.
I think if the fan over the sump doesn't work we'll install an inline fan and put it in the spare room, which the tank backs onto. I keep trying to get that as a fish room anyway, so maybe this is a blessing in disguise.
Just did the water tests, and everything is still looking the same:
sg 1.024
ammonia 0
nitrate 10
pH 7.9
dKH 10
calcium 380
Should have the QT ready to go by this evening. Time for a trip down to J&L I think.
jenjen
New member
Water tests are the same today as they were yesterday which is nice to see. There is a bit of diatoms starting to show up on the base rock & in some areas of the sand. I'm going to leave it a few days to see where it focusses & then try and redirect the flow a bit.
The QT is all ready to go, and parameters are:
sg 1.025
temp 78
ammonia 0
nitrate 10
I'll do one more water change on QT before the weekend, then I think we're ready for a fish. I'm planning to pick up a couple of shrimp & hermit crabs for the DT this weekend as well.
So far so good...
The QT is all ready to go, and parameters are:
sg 1.025
temp 78
ammonia 0
nitrate 10
I'll do one more water change on QT before the weekend, then I think we're ready for a fish. I'm planning to pick up a couple of shrimp & hermit crabs for the DT this weekend as well.
So far so good...
