Perry's 120 Gallon Reef

[glaukos]

That's a nice plan(regarding the tank) perry and an awesome way to deal with misfortunes(reagarding the job etc) in general:beer:

Agree with mark,hope your tank will eventually make you rid of that nasty habit

Are you planning to stay BB or you'll put sand back in the future?

 

[reefmutt]

Perry, sorry to hear about life and reef troubles.
You have a good plan and a good attitude!
Good luck on both fronts and keep us posted.

 

[afernandez]

Sorry for your losses perry. A few couple of weeks back I when threw some mistery Stn on a few frags on the frag rack, crazy thing is my mother colony's where and still are unaffected . Talk about a weird vibes somthing is in the air ..

I think you took a page off mike's book :reading:
"don't worry be happy way of life" :spin3:

That's a nice plan(regarding the tank) perry and an awesome way to deal with misfortunes(reagarding the job etc) in general:beer:

That's the mikes way of dealing with stuff sit back and :beer:

 

[plyle02]

Hmmm

Good luck kicking that bad habit!

Thanks Mark, yes that habit is no bueno!

That's a nice plan(regarding the tank) perry and an awesome way to deal with misfortunes(reagarding the job etc) in general:beer:

Agree with mark,hope your tank will eventually make you rid of that nasty habit

Are you planning to stay BB or you'll put sand back in the future?

Thanks Mike! As far as bb goes, I will wait and see, maybe a coarser grade down the road, but I want to ensure long term health for corals and fish, this may be an easier more trouble free approach

Perry, sorry to hear about life and reef troubles.
You have a good plan and a good attitude!
Good luck on both fronts and keep us posted.

Thanks Matt!

Sorry for your losses perry. A few couple of weeks back I when threw some mistery Stn on a few frags on the frag rack, crazy thing is my mother colony's where and still are unaffected . Talk about a weird vibes somthing is in the air ..

I think you took a page off mike's book :reading:
"don't worry be happy way of life" :spin3:

That's a nice plan(regarding the tank) perry and an awesome way to deal with misfortunes(reagarding the job etc) in general:beer:

That's the mikes way of dealing with stuff sit back and :beer:

Thanks Arlin, this fish issue goes back a ways, so I am looking to NOT stock any fish until I am complete with some changes. Yes, that time of year where the heaters come on after being dormant, water dips a bit in temp, maybe these changes bring on chemistry changes and the corals and fish don't always take to the changes, or just a mystery

 

[plyle02]

Solution 1 complete:

Spent the entire day taking everything out of the sump and giving the equipment a thorough cleaning. The sump and equipment was gunked up really bad. I tried to completely remove my sump, but could not due to lack of space to pull free, so I went to HD and got a wet/dry bucket top vac. For $21.97, surprised I did not purchase one of these years ago. The vac sucked water, algae, detritus, stars, sponge, coraline, all sorts of stuff out, leaving me with a sparkling clean sump. My chaeto is in the center of sump, tumbling like it should. I also added some phosban gfo to the mix, 1/2 recommended for system requirements. I also replaced 15 gallons of fresh new saltwater, so hopefully I will see alage decline. I almost have 15 more gallons of fresh saltwater mixed, today will be about sandbed removal. This should be fun

 

[markalot]

The buckethead is awesome, better than some of the more expensive shop vacs.

 

[glaukos]

Agree with mark!
Very curious to see how things will go/change now that the sump is clean.

Keep us posted perry:beer:

 

[plyle02]

Thanks Mike and Mark, I plan to do the sump cleaning thing about every 4-6 months, moving forward that is

Update on Solution 2:

So the sandbed and the rack in the bottom corner of my tank removed. I had to break off multiple frags of seasons greeting monti as it encrusted all over the rack. There was detritus and sand still in that location. I am 80% sand bed removed at this point, I will be completing this step tomorrow. The removal was quite easy, I simply siphoned 1/2" tube into a filter sock in the sump, the pumps and skimmer still running. This worked nicely as the sand siphoned out did not create a detritus storm, and the tank clouded up for only a short period of time. When I siphoned the sand into the sock, as it filled, I removed it, and any displacement of water was brought back to normal level in the sump with fresh salt water. I would then take the sock outside and rinse it out with a hose, then air dry, then repeated the process. The time to re-clean the sock allowed the tank to clear, and the process was repeated until my current status of 80%. I also rescaped.

Thoughts:

After solution 1 was completed, I waited a couple of days to address the 2nd solution. My observance was that the white slime virtually went away, only slight residual leftovers. The cyano seems to be breaking as well. After almost completing solution 2, I am noticing that the cyano is nearly gone after 1 day of sand removal and additional hair is breaking within the tank. The system is the cleanest I have seen in awhile. And like every time I have removed the sand, I always swear I will never return to sand after I see the foul dirtiness that comes out. The tank is likely going to remain BB and all inverts and fish added from this point forward will not require sand. That is it for now, I will update with a few pics tomorrow after things are settled a bit

 

[glaukos]

Thanks for sharing facts and thoughts perry:beer:

Have done almost the same so many times(sahin was ready to put cuffs on me-not in a sexy way-in order to keep me away from the tank ) and i had the same observations:thumbsup:

How did your skimmer react to the sand removal?

Sand is not yet out of your mind for good buddy,trust me
When i have sand i want to take it out and when the tank is BB i catch my self thinking how much better the tank would look with "something" white

Glad to read your update and even happier to see you happy with your tank again:beer:
I loooove rescapes perry,can't wait to see your changes!

 

[joshky]

Sorry about the job Perry. It sounds like your tank has been having some growing pains, hopefully your changes work out for you. Get us some updated photos when you can!

 

[plyle02]

Thanks Josh and Mike!
I have plenty to keep me busy, I just purchased a 48x24x12" 60 gallon frag tank, and a new to me powermodule 8x54 watt t5 unit. I will be quiet for awhile, I have so much to do Hope everyone has a great holiday season, and new year too!

 

[glaukos]

Wishes right back at you perry:beer:

Nice purchases!
When you will have time again we would love to see them in action!
Have a nice time until then

 

[cham]

Thanks Josh and Mike!
I have plenty to keep me busy, I just purchased a 48x24x12" 60 gallon frag tank, and a new to me powermodule 8x54 watt t5 unit. I will be quiet for awhile, I have so much to do Hope everyone has a great holiday season, and new year too!

LOOK AT YOU!!! LOL

Outta work? Ok, sure let's grab a PM and frag tank. :lmao:


You're my hero Perry, some days I'm so sick of corporate BS and I think of you. You're the inspiration for the rats still stuck in the race:thumbsup:

:insertofficespacegif:

 

[Lilmatty5dimes]

Sorry to hear about the job. That sucks about losing it this time of year.
Oh man how did I not know about this. I remember your tank when you got all that stuff from inklucker(not sure if that's his actually SN) your tank is awesome. Great sps collection you ever her your stuff back from Jeff?
Are you still using the geismann fixture in your sump? Those are some sick fixture.
You beat me to the punch on the 60 gallon frag tank and powermodule 8x54 watt t5 unit. Can't wait to see it up and running with some frags.

This shot is awesome. Look the fixture and FTS.

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[Lilmatty5dimes]

Don't get rid of your indo torch.

 

[sahin]

Hope the work you put in pays off. How are things going?

 

[Wazzel]

I have unfortunately temporarily lost my job, the place of employment caught fire, so I will not be returning to work for a spell. I will likely take on odd jobs, and be Mr. Mom for some time, so no better time to essentially re-boot, and fix some weaker points within the system. Luckily, I have fresh RODI filters, new bucket of salt, and everything I need for a good spell, so the loss of income will not break me too bad, at least to keep my reef going, lol... So, as you can see, I should have no problem with time, so I will take this unfortunate mishap, and apply energy to my reef, and getting my house in good order, the outside landscaping could use a touch of love too Thanks again guys for all the love, I will keep you posted on my results, here's to a nice break from work, and some fun playing with the tank Cheers!!!

I missed this. Hope you mange the lack of employment without to many hiccups. Is the company going to rebuild or do you have to find a job else ware?

 

[markalot]

Oh jeez Perry,

my mind blanked out on the job loss. I hope all is ok!

 

[cugly]

Oh man hope all will be well my friend on a good note you will have more time to stare at your tank and enjoy. Sometimes we just need a break.

 

[plyle02]

Thanks for the positive vibes and good energy guys!
Here is my update:
I have installed the power module on the 120, the light has been raised to 10" off water, heat is no concern, even with the hood re-installed. The power module cannot be suspended from ceiling without stud, I decided to remove the top off the hood to decrease heat.
Also, my frag tank is almost complete, today the stand was finished, so I am only plumbing and water away from going live. I will be using my tek t5 unit, but given the depth is only 12", I will likely only run 4 of the 8 bulbs. I like the foot print, 48"x24"x12" is optimal as eventually this will be collector's piece tank.

As far as the job, yes they will re-open, and I am working part time right now at the local LFS as they will have increased traffic throughout the holidays. I will take advantage of having plenty of time to kind of re-boot my tank. I plan to completely removing all my corals and temporarily house them in the frag tank, this way I can scrub the maintank and run it blacked out for a spell. This is the beauty of having 2 systems in one, it gives you the ability to have redundancy. Once complete, I will move all non acros back in to the main tank once it is clean and the algae is in check. The acros will not be added in so that I can isolate them and run the main tank acro free for a spell. I just want insurance that no pests will make their way in to the display. I also want to place the corals in better locations this time, having the 2nd tank allows me to do this. Thanks for the concern fellas, this is really a blessing in disguise, I am taking care of many neglected projects, both in and out of the hobby