SneakyPete
I see you
So here's a tank shot, if the link is broken, i'll fix it. I'm trying to link from my google drive.
Much more open layout.
Ignore the algae on the back, that's been taken care of now...
Quick update today. I can't do much on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I was planning on doing another syphon and water change along with getting my reactor going again, but i lost count of how many scoops I put into my new water, and ended up with saltwater that was 1.015. Too low to do a change with and too low to replace what I have to pull out while puting new carbon in the reactor. So instead I decided to try to clean my overflow. There was quite a bit of algae in it, and I was dreading trying to fix it (I never did replace the one I have with the new one I bought. I'm concerned that I don't have the clearence for it and can't really test that without wrecking my current setup... but I'm going to just go for it soon).
So i had to figure out a way to do that with random materials I had around my house. It's a sealed box C type external overflow. My initial idea was to run a piece of nylon string through the box to get it through, and then pull something else behind it through. I got the string about 2/3 the way through the box, when the pull wouldn't take it any more. I couldn't force any more through. Well that sucked. I think the algae growing inside it was just blocking too much flow. My next idea was to use some fishing line, but that wouldn't stay reasonable enough for me to get it much farther than about 1/4 the way through. So i combined the 2. I tied a little piece of nylon to the end of the fishing line thinking this was the ticket. And no. The line ended up coiling int he bottom of the overflow.
So my last idea before going with a different plan was that the line was getting coiled up because it couldn't get in the highest flow area. So I fed the line through a piece of bent air tubing and into the crevasse. Now we were making progress. I got the line all the way through and had to hook it with a twist tie on the other side, but I got it done! So what could I use as a cleaner? I thought about tying a bit of sponge to the end of the line, but couldn't find one that wasn't already used. But I did find a cotton ball. So I cut a small hole in it and fed the line through, trimmed it up so it would fit decent, and fed it into the overflow.
It worked pretty well. I was able to floss my overflow with it, but every pull rubbed the line against a sharpish edge of the overflow. I knew it was going to break sooner or later and once it did, i'd have to be careful not to get it stuck in there forever. Worked great though. Knocked all the algae out and I'm glad I don't have to do that again for a while, because it was a pain in the rump.
Much more open layout.
Ignore the algae on the back, that's been taken care of now...
Quick update today. I can't do much on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I was planning on doing another syphon and water change along with getting my reactor going again, but i lost count of how many scoops I put into my new water, and ended up with saltwater that was 1.015. Too low to do a change with and too low to replace what I have to pull out while puting new carbon in the reactor. So instead I decided to try to clean my overflow. There was quite a bit of algae in it, and I was dreading trying to fix it (I never did replace the one I have with the new one I bought. I'm concerned that I don't have the clearence for it and can't really test that without wrecking my current setup... but I'm going to just go for it soon).
So i had to figure out a way to do that with random materials I had around my house. It's a sealed box C type external overflow. My initial idea was to run a piece of nylon string through the box to get it through, and then pull something else behind it through. I got the string about 2/3 the way through the box, when the pull wouldn't take it any more. I couldn't force any more through. Well that sucked. I think the algae growing inside it was just blocking too much flow. My next idea was to use some fishing line, but that wouldn't stay reasonable enough for me to get it much farther than about 1/4 the way through. So i combined the 2. I tied a little piece of nylon to the end of the fishing line thinking this was the ticket. And no. The line ended up coiling int he bottom of the overflow.
So my last idea before going with a different plan was that the line was getting coiled up because it couldn't get in the highest flow area. So I fed the line through a piece of bent air tubing and into the crevasse. Now we were making progress. I got the line all the way through and had to hook it with a twist tie on the other side, but I got it done! So what could I use as a cleaner? I thought about tying a bit of sponge to the end of the line, but couldn't find one that wasn't already used. But I did find a cotton ball. So I cut a small hole in it and fed the line through, trimmed it up so it would fit decent, and fed it into the overflow.
It worked pretty well. I was able to floss my overflow with it, but every pull rubbed the line against a sharpish edge of the overflow. I knew it was going to break sooner or later and once it did, i'd have to be careful not to get it stuck in there forever. Worked great though. Knocked all the algae out and I'm glad I don't have to do that again for a while, because it was a pain in the rump.
