Now or never…my 140 gallon DSA rebuild

[T Diddy]

The good news is that I got my water change procedure dialed in so that I can flip a switch on a pump and turn a couple of valves, and not have to babysit…all I have to do is listen from the next room for when the pump starts sucking air.
The bad news is that I don’t have to babysit until I hear the pump sucking air.

I just spent a long time rewiring my new LED driver and rearranging a couple of corals that were unhappy with flow, as well as gluing some frags to permanent homes. I also had to repair some mithrax avalanche damage.

Anyway, I finished off my evening with a standard water change, only to come back and find that the tank looks like I poured a gallon of milk in it! No idea what happened here, unless I accidentally emptied my ATO with kalkwasser into the water change can for some reason. I honestly don’t remember what I did to cause this to happen.
I just added a fresh micron sock to the sump, and have fingers and toes crossed. Hopefully everything is still alive in the morning. Next time I’ll check the water in the trash can before I flip the switch

 

[T Diddy]

Good morning from T Diddy’s reef! The sun is rising, and the water is clear!

 

[griss]

The good news is that I got my water change procedure dialed in so that I can flip a switch on a pump and turn a couple of valves, and not have to babysit…all I have to do is listen from the next room for when the pump starts sucking air.
The bad news is that I don’t have to babysit until I hear the pump sucking air.

I just spent a long time rewiring my new LED driver and rearranging a couple of corals that were unhappy with flow, as well as gluing some frags to permanent homes. I also had to repair some mithrax avalanche damage.

Anyway, I finished off my evening with a standard water change, only to come back and find that the tank looks like I poured a gallon of milk in it! No idea what happened here, unless I accidentally emptied my ATO with kalkwasser into the water change can for some reason. I honestly don’t remember what I did to cause this to happen.
I just added a fresh micron sock to the sump, and have fingers and toes crossed. Hopefully everything is still alive in the morning. Next time I’ll check the water in the trash can before I flip the switch

Oh man, any spike in Alk or pH?

 

[griss]

Good morning from T Diddy’s reef! The sun is rising, and the water is clear!

Awesome, I was posting at the same time you were.

 

[T Diddy]

Oh man, any spike in Alk or pH?

They’re currently looking like 8.3 and 8.4, respectively

 

[T Diddy]

Saw this little guy cruising around cleaning the glass. I have no idea what it looks like from above.

 

[griss]

Looks like a nudibranch of some sort. I know there are some Caulerpa eating Nudis that are native to the Caribbean.

 

[kharmaguru]

Saw this little guy cruising around cleaning the glass. I have no idea what it looks like from above.

need a top view for sure.

 

[T Diddy]

Maybe it’ll turn up again in a better location for a topside picture. I’m just happy to see all the pods on the glass…maybe I should get a mandarin

 

[T Diddy]

I thought I had enough experience under my belt to avoid rookie mistakes, but I stand corrected. My wife got me a hygger pump for Christmas, and I was planning on adding a second one to sync with the first to create a more natural, dynamic wave action in the aquarium.
Before the second pump arrived, I moved the original one to the other side of the tank in an effort to see what the opposing flow would look like. As it turns out, I had to return the second pump…it was the right box, but the pump inside was the wrong model, and clearly used (actually had coralline algae on it). Someone tried to pull a fast one and get a free upgrade, apparently.
Anyway, I returned the used pump and ordered another a few days later. A week went by between moving my original pump and receiving the new (new) pump. I had already set the controller to operate 2 pumps as master and slave…but the working “slave” didn’t show up until a week after.
So basically, I accidentally turned my normally turbulent system into a staggered on/off system. Without the second pump running, the tank essentially just sat stagnant for ten minutes waiting on the signal to start up again.
Thanks to my super duper ATO, I decided to take it easy for a couple of days after chemo this week. When I went upstairs to check on the aquarium, I was greeted by a bunch of bryopsis and a couple of my favorite Acropora had been suffocated. I feel like an idiot, and now I have a nearly out of control hair algae problem

 

[griss]

Damn, where did you buy the pump?

Bryopsis is no longer an unbeatable foe it was years ago. We’ve found Flucon will wipe it out.

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[T Diddy]

Damn, where did you buy the pump?

Bryopsis is no longer an unbeatable foe it was years ago. We’ve found Flucon will wipe it out.

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Amazon

 

[griss]

Amazon

Ugh, you’d think they had better quality control.

 

[T Diddy]

Ugh, you’d think they had better quality control.

I know…how hard would it be to look inside the box and make sure that the contents are as described. There was another company a couple of years ago that literally sent me an empty box…couldn’t believe it, and they had a hard time believing it as well.

 

[Reefing102]

Dang that sucks to hear. Keep that head though. You can get through this.

 

[T Diddy]

Dang that sucks to hear. Keep that head though. You can get through this.

I did a lot of manual cleaning, but this stuff is everywhere…my lfs had a lawnmower blenny, so I brought him home. He got straight to work, and has great personality. The fluconazole that griss mentioned will be a last resort. I really don’t like the idea of medicating a reef aquarium, but we’ll see how it goes. Losing the acros really hurt my feelings.

 

[griss]

I did a lot of manual cleaning, but this stuff is everywhere…my lfs had a lawnmower blenny, so I brought him home. He got straight to work, and has great personality. The fluconazole that griss mentioned will be a last resort. I really don’t like the idea of medicating a reef aquarium, but we’ll see how it goes. Losing the acros really hurt my feelings.

Many moons ago, when we were moving to our current house, I took down my 200 gallon at the old house and transferred all my livestock into a 300 gallon Rubbermaid at the new house. The plan (which eventually came to fruition) was to upgrade to a 450 from Envision Acrylics. I had the livestock in the Rubbermaid for almost a year. The night before Father's day, I went downstairs to feed the fish and everything was fine. On Father's day, we had family over so I didn't check the tank until that evening. When I did, I found that sometime between the night before and when I checked, a breaker had tripped. No lights, no return pump, no heaters. The circulation pumps were working however but, it was not enough. I ended up filling a 30 gallon trashcan with Acro skeletons so, I feel your pain

Re: Fluconazole, fast forward many years to my previous 40 breeder I had a horrible outbreak of Bryopsis. I tried everything...manual removal, reducing nutrients, biological control but simply could not get rid of it. The Flucon made quick work of the stuff though.

 

[T Diddy]

Many moons ago, when we were moving to our current house, I took down my 200 gallon at the old house and transferred all my livestock into a 300 gallon Rubbermaid at the new house. The plan (which eventually came to fruition) was to upgrade to a 450 from Envision Acrylics. I had the livestock in the Rubbermaid for almost a year. The night before Father's day, I went downstairs to feed the fish and everything was fine. On Father's day, we had family over so I didn't check the tank until that evening. When I did, I found that sometime between the night before and when I checked, a breaker had tripped. No lights, no return pump, no heaters. The circulation pumps were working however but, it was not enough. I ended up filling a 30 gallon trashcan with Acro skeletons so, I feel your pain

Re: Fluconazole, fast forward many years to my previous 40 breeder I had a horrible outbreak of Bryopsis. I tried everything...manual removal, reducing nutrients, biological control but simply could not get rid of it. The Flucon made quick work of the stuff though.

Oh man, that sounds terrible. My little disaster pales in comparison. I just remembered that my “daisy cutter” bryopsis destroyer from years ago was a sea hare, not a cucumber. The Flucon is certainly something I’m considering, but I’ll probably give it a week just to see how it goes.

 

[Dr. Reef]

Just a little help if I can provide. I have wholesaler accounts all over the net. If someone needs any equipment check with me. I can likely save you money. I don't carry any equipment in our warehouse but can drop ship for cheaper as you would pay full retail vs wholesale for me.

 

[T Diddy]

Spanish dancer?? I found this in the middle of the night…cruising dangerously close to my powerhead hidden in the rock wall. Then I saw it cruising the glass this morning. It’s really funny…I got that KP rock literally two months ago, and I’m still finding new stuff