My plan of a 125 gallon build
- Thread starter SimonSKL
- Start date
SimonSKL
New member
That depends on your protein skimmer. Most protein skimmers work optimally in depth of 9-11in of water. The height of the primary partiition should give you the depth allowing optimal performance for your brand of protein skimmer. The other partitions can just be 1" above the water level.
Because you may change protein skimmer in the future so I went with 11". You can always pop up a protein skimmer if the water is too deep but you can't raise the water level once the partitions are set.
SimonSKL
New member
The problem that I have with acrylic is not the initial work in restoring it. It is how to keep it from being scratch-free after that. You will have to be extra careful with moving rocks and corals around and must have the right tools to clean the acrylic surface. If the scratches are inside, the only way to get rid of them is to empty the tank first which to me is impossible except in a tear down.
SimonSKL
New member
Neglected UV Sterilizer Maintenance
Neglected UV Sterilizer Maintenance
I let my UV sterilizer run too long (over a year) without cleanning it. This is what it looks like today.:bigeyes:
The neck is encrusted with salt to about 2" in dia and the quartz tube is completely covered by calcium buildup. Talk about an inefficient UV sterilizer!
Running under hot water dissolved all the salt but the calcium build up needs more work.
Muriatic acid works great with calcium build up. A 5-min soak in ~5% MA completely removed the calcium build up.
It is as good as new:bounce3:
Neglected UV Sterilizer Maintenance
I let my UV sterilizer run too long (over a year) without cleanning it. This is what it looks like today.:bigeyes:
The neck is encrusted with salt to about 2" in dia and the quartz tube is completely covered by calcium buildup. Talk about an inefficient UV sterilizer!
Running under hot water dissolved all the salt but the calcium build up needs more work.
Muriatic acid works great with calcium build up. A 5-min soak in ~5% MA completely removed the calcium build up.
It is as good as new:bounce3:
SimonSKL
New member
Tasso, I have been fighting the cyano problem for months. While it doesn't get any worse but it isn't getting better either. I siphon them out each time I change water but they keep coming back. I tried lights out but they still come back. It did suffocate some of my corals near the bottom. I am running out of ideas also.
I just use a regular gravel vac as most of the cyano are on the sand bed.
I just use a regular gravel vac as most of the cyano are on the sand bed.
tassod
New member
Have you looked at your fuge? Mine was full of cyano so I cleaned that all up as well. I got myself a bucket head vac from home depot and its great for sucking up all the detritus in the sump. What are you nitrate levels? It may be worth considering carbon dosing which i am looking into.
Viperboy213
New member
Simon,
Just finished reading through your thread and it was very informative. I will put it to good use when I start my in-wall 125g setup here soon. Thanks!
Just finished reading through your thread and it was very informative. I will put it to good use when I start my in-wall 125g setup here soon. Thanks!
tassod
New member
Simon, not sure if you are still fighting cyano but I believe I may have found my culprit. There has been another member that i have been following his thread regarding his cyano issues and how he has been carbon dosing to fight them. Turns out his issues were all from bad RO water! So I decided to check my RO reservoir as well and behold I measured 91ppm of TDS in RO water! My inline TDS meter on my BRS unit all this time has been telling me that it is 0 but I borrowed a friend's TDS meter and it stated otherwise. You may want to check that out in your case also..just sharing what I have found for me and it may help you as well.
SimonSKL
New member
Viperboy, Thanks for the compliment! Good luck with your build and make sure to post some pictures.
Tasso, I tested the RO water this morning with a different TDS meter and it showed 001 while my inline TDS showed 000. I don't think my cyano problem was caused by bad RO water. Anyway thanks for looking out for me. Because of my cyano problem I did lose some coral colonies: a big red birdnest near the top on the left side of my tank, a purple montipora dig on the right side, and a brain coral. The most severe cyano problem is my sand bed which I started siphoning out the sand once a week and rinse out in fresh water. So far it is getting better but still not where I want to be at. Here is my latest tank photo.
Tasso, I tested the RO water this morning with a different TDS meter and it showed 001 while my inline TDS showed 000. I don't think my cyano problem was caused by bad RO water. Anyway thanks for looking out for me. Because of my cyano problem I did lose some coral colonies: a big red birdnest near the top on the left side of my tank, a purple montipora dig on the right side, and a brain coral. The most severe cyano problem is my sand bed which I started siphoning out the sand once a week and rinse out in fresh water. So far it is getting better but still not where I want to be at. Here is my latest tank photo.
tassod
New member
The tank is still looking great Simon, sorry about the corals you lost. My new tank is almost ready and I should be getting it soon. I decided to sell the one i bought from craigslist and I ordered a new custom acrylic tank from Anthony at Nano Sea Creations. Dimensions are 72x32x24 with a coast to coast internal overflow for a bean animal drain.
