New 125 On The Block - Watch The Process! *Pictures Inside*

Hey, Great Job, I;m just in the middle of finishing my 125 too.

Not *** nice as yours though (I'm too broke to afford LR right now):(..

But I;ve been running it skimmer less for a 3 weeks and am just about to embark on a DIY 5' Counter-current skimmer, very much liek the one you have there. How is it working now with the tank stocked? lots of good skimmate? What kind of pump do you have running it? pressure and flow rate??

Keep up the good work, I'll post my pics in a little while too

Will
 
j0tca: It definately appears that u had an extra "s" :p I am no longer using the DIY skimmer, since it wasn't working that great. I think the problem was not a strong enough air pump. I am now using a My Reef Creations skimmer, which is pulling out alot of gunk. Good luck on your tank, and thanks for the comments!
 
i have the same problem with my tank when you look through the side it has a green tint.i never really had a huge hair algae outbreak,and whatever algae that grows the tangs eat up right away.i too also run carbon.not sure how to get rid of the green tint to the water?
 
From what I'm told, some of the green tint is due to the glass. I read that "sapphire" glass is the only one that is truly clear...and also very $$$$ :eek1:
 
I recently got two mini sea hares from blowfish - they have been in the tank for a couple of weeks and frankly I do not think you should count on them as a solution - in my observation they may be better than a couple of snails and yesterday they were stripping coraline algae off my algae magnet (unless they were chewing off something other than this and I can't tell the diff) - I would get a large hare - this is the one everyone marvels at to rid the tank of algaes in days flat.

TJcop said:
Well, I ordered some of the mini sea-monsters from BlowfishAquatics, and a queen conch to clean up the sand. It seems the water is clearing up since the carbon had been running for the last 24 hours. I also grabbed as much algea by hand this morning, so things are looking up!
Click to expand...
 
Hmm, too bad the DIY skimmer didn't work well. I think I'm going to go for it anyway though :P, can't back away from a project. The pump I'm going to be using is this one, I hope it's enough. Otherwise I may get a few smaller pumps, each driving an airstone or two. I hear the key to these is as many bubbles as possible.
 
The biggest drawback to airstone skimmers is having to change the airstones every 2-4 weeks, which gets pricey...

But they really do produce the finest and greatest bubbles. Needlewheel skimmers come close, but I still remember how wonderful those airstone driven counter current skimmers were from a few years ago... Great skimmate, dark and sludgy as all heck....
 
Most skimmer "experts" will tell you this if you press them (or if they are honest), j0tca, but because they have fallen out of favor for more high tech designs with less maintance hassles, the airstone skimmer seem almost forgotten. But they really work!

I remember mine was a Sanders and it was one their biggestââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âlike 3' tall with a 6" tube. It was trimmed in green and looked awesome. It was VERY expensive in 1992, like $600...! I also used a STRONG air pump on it, like a Dynmaster two piston job. Hobbyest level pumps just did not cut it, even the so called BIG ones. It was a LOUD pump, but boy it pushed air into that sucker like crazy...

You can still find them here:

http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/6551/cid/1773

Remember to change the airstones very oftenââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âthey don't last long at all... I used to use those German limstone ones, and they were GREAT...
 
Good luck with your skimmer j0tca! My sea monsters should be arriving tomorrow morning. Pics will follow!
 
Nope, I just used a circular saw. I used my right angle straight edge to make some nice solid lines, then cut the sections out by hand. Not too hard at all.
 
New stuff

New stuff

Here's a few pics of new arrivals, and some not so new.

First off, acclimating the new guys from BlowfishAquatics. Everything was packaged great and arrived alive.
12511.jpg


Here's the brain under the actinics. I'm having a problem with it, so check out this thread here
12512.jpg


Lenny the Blenny hanging out on some zoos. What a character!:lol:
12513.jpg


My very elusive Citron Goby. Only comes out at night. Weird.
12514.jpg


One of the Sea Monsters doing its thang :eek1:
12515.jpg
 
TJ,

I would really recommend that you put a temporary moratorium on the addition of any new livestock. The sea hares are really just a stop-gap solution that don't really adress the underlying problem - your bioload is increasing at a higher rate than your bacterial colonies can bear.

Go easy on the food for a couple weeks, no new additions for a couple weeks, and just when you think it's time again, wait another week or two.

I don't mean to come off as haughty or arrogant. I had a very similar experience in my 7, although on a much smaller scale. It took me leaving it alone for almost two months for most of the kinks to be worked out. Now I'm enjoying a very pleasant tank ( http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33817 ).

Are you still testing your water? What are your tests coming out to? What sort of skimmate are you pulling?
 
ReeferMonkey: I appreciate the advice, but if you are refering to the algae, it seems to be under control now. The water is clear and no new outbreaks of algae...just cleaning up what is there. Some of it is even going away on its own. I've also been told that this is normal for the first 3-4 months.
As far as my tests:
ammo - 0
trite - 0
trate - 0 (or at least undetectable by my test kits)
calc - 420-440
pH - 8.0 (want it higher)
alk - 140

As far as skimmate, it has significantly slowed down. I am still pulling stuff, but it takes quite some time for any significant amount. I'd say about 1-2cps of really nasty stuff over a week period. Otherwise, everything else seems to be in check.
 
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