o2manyfish
o2manyfish
90 Day Update Since Disaster Struck ---
Well today, June 17 is 90 days since the Salifert Flatworm Exit nuked my fish and this nightmare episode in my reefing career began. All the tanks are still up and running - 560g Display, (2) 180g frag tanks, 90g anemone tank. After the die off of all the coral the algae growth took off. Chaeto in the frag tanks took off in the spring sunlight and was growing the equivalent of 4 5g buckets a week between the 2 tanks. The tanks themselves were just filled with brown grunge algae. Each frag tank has about a half dozen assorted fish that survived. I added some snails and about a dozen mollies to each frag tank. Over the past month the chaeto growth has slowed to nil and the algae growth in the frag tanks has gone from brown to green.
In the display tank the coraline is growing all across the rock. There are about 20 fish that survived in the 560g. I moved the Imperator and Rabbi Tang from the frag tank to the 560g to have something swimming around for the last few months. Also threw in a Black and White heniochus that was in the old sump for aptasia control. I have really enjoyed the heniochus in the tank, but don't think I will risk it when we start adding corals again. Initially the rocks in the 560g all were covered in brown shag crap looking algae, and the glass was going full cloudy in 24 hours. Now after 3 months the rock is either clean or coraline covered. The glass takes about 4 days to get cloudy - but it's brown algae on the glass not green.
Once the sump arrives and the rock from the 560g gets moved into the sump. Then I will individually drain the frag tanks and bleach clean them and give them each a 'fresh start'.
We ordered a new 270g Fiberglass sump to replace the 340g glass sump that blew a seam outside. We had tried ordering it through a vendor from AES / Aquatic Eco Systems / Pentair out of Florida. After 4 weeks of them dickering around (with the vendor) confirming the sump was in stock and available I finally got fed up and just ordered it myself directly off their website (AES).
They gave me a shipping quote and said delivery would be in 2-4 weeks. After 2 weeks I hadn't heard anything. 2 emails a week and finally after 5.5 weeks they crated up the sump and sent me a Tracking number. They told me it had shipped out a week ago today. But after checking the tracking number everyday - there was no information. Turns out that AES had blatantly mis-informed me (Interpret that wording any way you like). And when they said that the crate had been picked up and shipped they really meant - One day it will be picked up and shipped and it's not actually on a truck.
So after a bit of frustration I can say that I now have tracking information that shows the sump is on it's way to Los Angeles.
Not having the sump has delayed the breaking down of the 560g. It's also forced me to patiently wait and not start collecting fish or corals yet.
Next weekend, June 26th we will be building the steel stand on site on my back patio. Stand will be constructed of 2x4 and 3x3 1/8" steel. We will Herculiner the stand.
We've also made some plans for above the new tank. I ordered a motorized lift for the light rack. I picked what I think is a clean looking unit from a company called Auxx-Lift. Auxx Lift. Another item which should have been shipped a few weeks ago and I have yet to get a tracking number.
I ordered it without the rack shown in the photos cause I wanted to build my own. Last night with the help of my friend, Tim Kelly, we put together the order for the light rack from 8020.net for a T-slot 4 rail rack to hold the lighting.
Lighting is not finalized yet. I was hoping, without letting the wife (very very supportive wife) know to replace my XR30 Gen3 Pro with Gen 5s - But of course they just came out with the Gen 6. I was speculating to need 15 or 18 lights. Not an un-noticeable charge on the credit card.
A phone call to Jake Adams over at Reefbuilders to discuss the new Gen 6's and he convinced me I would only need 12 of the new Gen 6s to cover the 10'x4' foot print. But Jake is also really pushing for me to not get 12 XR30s and instead get 24 XR15s for better light coverage.
I like the idea of 24 spots of light over the tank. I don't like the idea of 2x as much equipment and electrical to keep clean and organized.
So that's the update for now. Hope to start updating this thread more frequently as things start to happen / change / evolve. Hopefully next weekend you get to see me doing some welding on my stand.
Dave B
Well today, June 17 is 90 days since the Salifert Flatworm Exit nuked my fish and this nightmare episode in my reefing career began. All the tanks are still up and running - 560g Display, (2) 180g frag tanks, 90g anemone tank. After the die off of all the coral the algae growth took off. Chaeto in the frag tanks took off in the spring sunlight and was growing the equivalent of 4 5g buckets a week between the 2 tanks. The tanks themselves were just filled with brown grunge algae. Each frag tank has about a half dozen assorted fish that survived. I added some snails and about a dozen mollies to each frag tank. Over the past month the chaeto growth has slowed to nil and the algae growth in the frag tanks has gone from brown to green.
In the display tank the coraline is growing all across the rock. There are about 20 fish that survived in the 560g. I moved the Imperator and Rabbi Tang from the frag tank to the 560g to have something swimming around for the last few months. Also threw in a Black and White heniochus that was in the old sump for aptasia control. I have really enjoyed the heniochus in the tank, but don't think I will risk it when we start adding corals again. Initially the rocks in the 560g all were covered in brown shag crap looking algae, and the glass was going full cloudy in 24 hours. Now after 3 months the rock is either clean or coraline covered. The glass takes about 4 days to get cloudy - but it's brown algae on the glass not green.
Once the sump arrives and the rock from the 560g gets moved into the sump. Then I will individually drain the frag tanks and bleach clean them and give them each a 'fresh start'.
We ordered a new 270g Fiberglass sump to replace the 340g glass sump that blew a seam outside. We had tried ordering it through a vendor from AES / Aquatic Eco Systems / Pentair out of Florida. After 4 weeks of them dickering around (with the vendor) confirming the sump was in stock and available I finally got fed up and just ordered it myself directly off their website (AES).
They gave me a shipping quote and said delivery would be in 2-4 weeks. After 2 weeks I hadn't heard anything. 2 emails a week and finally after 5.5 weeks they crated up the sump and sent me a Tracking number. They told me it had shipped out a week ago today. But after checking the tracking number everyday - there was no information. Turns out that AES had blatantly mis-informed me (Interpret that wording any way you like). And when they said that the crate had been picked up and shipped they really meant - One day it will be picked up and shipped and it's not actually on a truck.
So after a bit of frustration I can say that I now have tracking information that shows the sump is on it's way to Los Angeles.
Not having the sump has delayed the breaking down of the 560g. It's also forced me to patiently wait and not start collecting fish or corals yet.
Next weekend, June 26th we will be building the steel stand on site on my back patio. Stand will be constructed of 2x4 and 3x3 1/8" steel. We will Herculiner the stand.
We've also made some plans for above the new tank. I ordered a motorized lift for the light rack. I picked what I think is a clean looking unit from a company called Auxx-Lift. Auxx Lift. Another item which should have been shipped a few weeks ago and I have yet to get a tracking number.
I ordered it without the rack shown in the photos cause I wanted to build my own. Last night with the help of my friend, Tim Kelly, we put together the order for the light rack from 8020.net for a T-slot 4 rail rack to hold the lighting.
Lighting is not finalized yet. I was hoping, without letting the wife (very very supportive wife) know to replace my XR30 Gen3 Pro with Gen 5s - But of course they just came out with the Gen 6. I was speculating to need 15 or 18 lights. Not an un-noticeable charge on the credit card.
A phone call to Jake Adams over at Reefbuilders to discuss the new Gen 6's and he convinced me I would only need 12 of the new Gen 6s to cover the 10'x4' foot print. But Jake is also really pushing for me to not get 12 XR30s and instead get 24 XR15s for better light coverage.
I like the idea of 24 spots of light over the tank. I don't like the idea of 2x as much equipment and electrical to keep clean and organized.
So that's the update for now. Hope to start updating this thread more frequently as things start to happen / change / evolve. Hopefully next weekend you get to see me doing some welding on my stand.
Dave B
