This is harder than it looks
This is harder than it looks
Someone asked how my tank is doing so time for an update...
It's coming... I am taking it pretty slow but I had some headaches.
I decided to go with just over 800 watts of T5 lighting (16 bulbs in there)
I had to take back one of my T5 ballasts. It burned out after the first day.
Another one of my T5 lights doesn't seem to want to come on all the time and I'm not sure why yet. I'm not sure but it might be overheating and then shutting down. Then again it might be a loose wire. My GFCI seems to be tripping daily too after I hooked up my lights and skimmer a couple days agao and I'm not sure why.
The schedule 40 1" bulkheads for my overflow that the tank came with have been a pain in the butt. I never have been able to stop them from leaking. I have everything plumbed with PVC and I think the vibration from the water running through the drains and the pump pumping rattles the fittings just enough to cause them to leak. I measured the hole and it was exactly 1 7/8". I found the same bulkheads on the internet and the hole size recommended was 1 3/4". Most schedule 80 bulkheads were listed as 2" holes. Anyway I found a web site that had 1" schedule 80 bulkheads listed as 1 7/8". I e-mailed them and asked if it was correct since they are the only place that seems to sell these. They insisted that it was correct so I ordered some and we'll see when they get here. I am also going to change to flexible hose underneath the tank to eliminate any vibration getting back to the bulkheads. If they don't fit... well I'll just have to make them fit.
The leaks are really slow and result in saltcreep more than anything but it still makes me feel less than satisfied with the tank. Lately I have noticed salt and discoloration on the wood of the stand right in the center. It doesn't really feel wet but I know it can't be good. There may be some mold too, I'm not really sure. I don't know how the water is getting there other than maybe running from the leaking overflow plumbing but there is no sign of water damage the whole way until it gets to the center. It is right over my sump too so maybe it is from saltspray coming off the sump. I'm not really sure. The wood still feels solid and hard but I know I have to do something pretty quickly. I never used anything to treat the plywood... I didn't think it would really be getting wet.
It has been a fairly frustrating experience so far.
Here is a picture of the water damage. It is so strange because of the pattern of the damage. You can see it is a little ways away from the overflow plumbing that is leaking a little. I am not sure why the water damage would be in a perfect circle with a dry middle, away from anything that can leak. I drilled a hole in the damaged area (I circled it on the picture) to see what the wood was like and the sawdust was dry. The wood was hard and just from how it drilled, I never would have known there was a problem if the visual signs weren't there.
So I sanded the area down (about 30 seconds worth of sanding by hand - without a sander) and it now looks like this...
It seems to me like the water is coming from underneath the plywood and not the top of the plywood... it just doesn't make sense to me.
I just went and checked it and the GFCI was tripped again. It wasn't doing this before I added the skimmer and lights. I have 2 GFCI circuits on the tank. This one has half the lights, the skimmer, a fan that blows across the sump and a 2100 GPH pump. The other one has the other half of lights, a 2100 GPH pump and the sumps return pump (950 gph Mag 9.5). I just unplugged the fan to see if it will trip still. It wasn't tripping with the fan until I put the skimmer on.
The skimmer is a ASM G-3 and I couldn't be happier with it. I read a few posts where people said the collection cup was thin plastic but it looks fine to me. Euroreefs are probably thicker but for what I saved... it is fine. Produced nasty skimate.
Friends bought a house that had a tank in it and they decided they didn't want it so I got a bunch of aiptaisa infested rock
I can deal with the aiptaisa with a little Joe's Juice and some time. I have already eliminated hundreds of them which is about 75% of them. I need to get in there and get the rest. I put a couple peppermint shrimp in there (even though I really didn't want any shrimp - I figured I could put up with 2 in a 210)
Also with the rock came some 6 year old fish. A yellow tang, a tomatoe clown and about 6 different damsels. Okay it isn't exactly my choice of fish. I decided to keep the tang and the tomatoe clown and one white black striped damsel. All the rest went to the LFS. The only reason I kept the damsel is he was very timid. I watched the other tank for a while and he hid in the rock all the time. I kind of felt sorry for him. In the new tank he hid for the first week but now he is coming out more now that all the other damsels are gone... I'll give them a chance. But once I start adding live stock, if any of them act up, they will be gone too.
Here is a new full tank shot (you can see the tang on the left)
So I still have some things to iron out but I think it is getting better.
