Rebuild and recovery of a dead tank
- Thread starter jason2459
- Start date
jason2459
Well-known member
lol, keep bringing the comedy!
Here's the Perfecto Perfect-a-flow UGF after I took it out of the box and totally confused about all the parts.
With a little guidance from Paul I decided to keep the flow low and used one tube for each section. Here it is in the tank with two small fountain pumps that just happen to provide a max of 53gph and could be adjusted for a slower flow if wanted. I kept them open for now. I believe they are quite one.
Now I'm curious... google searching....
Quite one model#200 53gph.
http://www.lifegardaquatics.com/products/product.php?id=10
I just have it shoved in the top but I think I'm going to get some 1/2" tubing and shove it down the main perfecto tubing. They just kind of lay on top right now and not super stable.
You can kind of see it behind the rock here
and here
Here's the Perfecto Perfect-a-flow UGF after I took it out of the box and totally confused about all the parts.
With a little guidance from Paul I decided to keep the flow low and used one tube for each section. Here it is in the tank with two small fountain pumps that just happen to provide a max of 53gph and could be adjusted for a slower flow if wanted. I kept them open for now. I believe they are quite one.
Now I'm curious... google searching....
Quite one model#200 53gph.
http://www.lifegardaquatics.com/products/product.php?id=10
I just have it shoved in the top but I think I'm going to get some 1/2" tubing and shove it down the main perfecto tubing. They just kind of lay on top right now and not super stable.
You can kind of see it behind the rock here
and here
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jason2459
Well-known member
Talked with my LFG yesterday (local fish guy as he doesn't have a store front anymore) and tagged along with him this morning to help out change some water and add some live rock with one of the companies around here he's contracted with to keep their tanks up. I got about 30ish gallons of water to add to my tank. Plus I got about 20-25lbs of live rock.
Filled up the tank and added the live rock. Had some more salt water mixing and topped off the tank. Then I spent the next 8 hours rearranging the live rock about a gazillion times. I think the wife was getting annoyed but she helped me in the end get it to where I like it. At least for now. What sucks is it ended up in about the same way it started with and went back to that configuration about 20 times.
Here's some shots with all the lights on. It is a bit smoky as I've stirred up a lot of stuff today and of course I'm curing the live rock right in my tank. It was curing over my LFG's place already too.
Filled up the tank and added the live rock. Had some more salt water mixing and topped off the tank. Then I spent the next 8 hours rearranging the live rock about a gazillion times. I think the wife was getting annoyed but she helped me in the end get it to where I like it. At least for now. What sucks is it ended up in about the same way it started with and went back to that configuration about 20 times.
Here's some shots with all the lights on. It is a bit smoky as I've stirred up a lot of stuff today and of course I'm curing the live rock right in my tank. It was curing over my LFG's place already too.
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jason2459
Well-known member
Ah, I ended up getting two Taam SEIO Prop Super Flow Pump p530's and a SEIO Super Flow Pump m820. Right now I get nice swirly things going all over my tank with just those and about 230gph from my refugium that's going as well. Plus a nice little rippling on top of the water. I liked that the p530's were a bit smaller size physically then the koralia and liked the wide flow of the m820. You can kind of see them through the muck in the pictures above.
I don't have the skimmer up and running yet with the ozone and probably wont run the ozone for a little while until the tank does it's initial cycle. Still have to get the o-ring I discovered was missing somehow when I was taking everything apart and cleaning.
After I get that up and running I'll have a total of around 2435 gph not including the two 53gph pumps pushing into the RUGF. Not sure if that would calculate in that much.
I don't have the skimmer up and running yet with the ozone and probably wont run the ozone for a little while until the tank does it's initial cycle. Still have to get the o-ring I discovered was missing somehow when I was taking everything apart and cleaning.
After I get that up and running I'll have a total of around 2435 gph not including the two 53gph pumps pushing into the RUGF. Not sure if that would calculate in that much.
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jason2459
Well-known member
Wife and I took a trip out of town today to go look at a three LFS's. Really wish my LFG still had a LFS. All three were pretty high priced and pushed selling me fish and additives right away even though I told them I just setup the tank yesterday. None of them had any Chaeto. One of them, Petland, actually had decent coral displays and healthy looking fish. They had some macro but not what I wanted.
Did a small water change today of around 3-gallons. Took me about 3m to do. Already had the salt water mixing from yesterday. Put in my drain tube into the tank with a siphon pump attached like you would use on a boat to prime gas to the engine. Just needed to give it one good pump and it was going. Then attached the feeder tubing into the mag 1200 pump that was mixing the salt and back up stairs by the tank I opened up the ball valve. Easy as pie. No dragging water around and up and down the stairs.
9pm water test
Temp 84
pH 7.8
Salinity 35
Ammonia 1.0
Nitrite 1.0
Nitrate 80
Did a small water change today of around 3-gallons. Took me about 3m to do. Already had the salt water mixing from yesterday. Put in my drain tube into the tank with a siphon pump attached like you would use on a boat to prime gas to the engine. Just needed to give it one good pump and it was going. Then attached the feeder tubing into the mag 1200 pump that was mixing the salt and back up stairs by the tank I opened up the ball valve. Easy as pie. No dragging water around and up and down the stairs.
9pm water test
Temp 84
pH 7.8
Salinity 35
Ammonia 1.0
Nitrite 1.0
Nitrate 80
jason2459
Well-known member
Much clearer today. Just noticed after transferring some pictures over I haven't hung up my pump to the refugium yet. It's now up by the outflow box for the skimmer. I did reposition the seio pumps a little. Not much though.
Here's a closer pictures of the dolomite.
I know kind of boring. Did another small water change this afternoon. Will probably keep doing this until I get 0/0/0. Then cut back to checking parameters once a week and water changes once a week for a bit. Then cut back to once a month for both in the long run.
8:30pm Test
Temp 82 v
Salinity 35 -
pH 7.8 -
Ammonia 1 -
Nitrite 5 ^
Nitrate 80 -
Maybe I should start a thread freaking out about my Nitrite spike and high Nitrates?
Here's a closer pictures of the dolomite.
I know kind of boring. Did another small water change this afternoon. Will probably keep doing this until I get 0/0/0. Then cut back to checking parameters once a week and water changes once a week for a bit. Then cut back to once a month for both in the long run.
8:30pm Test
Temp 82 v
Salinity 35 -
pH 7.8 -
Ammonia 1 -
Nitrite 5 ^
Nitrate 80 -
Maybe I should start a thread freaking out about my Nitrite spike and high Nitrates?
Aquarist007
New member
looks like the cycling is well underway by the ammonia and nitrate numbers. Water changes are a good way to go to minimize the ammonia spike and protect whatever has hitch hiked in with your live rock
jason2459
Well-known member
Thanks steve. I tried to make many caves and put some smaller rocks on the very bottom and propped up some of the bigger rocks.
Capn I certainly jumped straight to having some high nitrate by getting that water change water but I'm certainly not to worried about it right now. It'll go down.
I got the o-ring for the collection cup on the skimmer and got it going at half power right now to break it in.
I decided to try something out and have it feed into my HOB refugium.
Looks like I'm really close to becoming a daddy. The wife has been having contractions every 3-5 minutes all day. We were at the hospital for about half the day and were sent home because she isn't dilated beyond 1cm yet. Very frustrating and I feel really bad for her.
6:20pm Water test
temp 80 v
Salinity 35 -
pH 7.8 -
Ammonia 1 -
Nitrite 5 -
Nitrate 80 -
Capn I certainly jumped straight to having some high nitrate by getting that water change water but I'm certainly not to worried about it right now. It'll go down.
I got the o-ring for the collection cup on the skimmer and got it going at half power right now to break it in.
I decided to try something out and have it feed into my HOB refugium.
Looks like I'm really close to becoming a daddy. The wife has been having contractions every 3-5 minutes all day. We were at the hospital for about half the day and were sent home because she isn't dilated beyond 1cm yet. Very frustrating and I feel really bad for her.
6:20pm Water test
temp 80 v
Salinity 35 -
pH 7.8 -
Ammonia 1 -
Nitrite 5 -
Nitrate 80 -
Aquarist007
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15433201#post15433201 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jason2459
Thanks steve. I tried to make many caves and put some smaller rocks on the very bottom and propped up some of the bigger rocks.
Capn I certainly jumped straight to having some high nitrate by getting that water change water but I'm certainly not to worried about it right now. It'll go down.
I got the o-ring for the collection cup on the skimmer and got it going at half power right now to break it in.
I decided to try something out and have it feed into my HOB refugium.
Looks like I'm really close to becoming a daddy. The wife has been having contractions every 3-5 minutes all day. We were at the hospital for about half the day and were sent home because she isn't dilated beyond 1cm yet. Very frustrating and I feel really bad for her.
6:20pm Water test
temp 80 v
Salinity 35 -
pH 7.8 -
Ammonia 1 -
Nitrite 5 -
Nitrate 80 -
wow it really is an exciting time for you right now. Keep us posted on the impending good news
Congratulations on your impending fatherhood.
You've made quite a comeback from the flood. My parents live in Ocean Springs, Mississippi (across the bay from Biloxi). Their house was also quite high above sea level, but Katrina still put several feet of water into it. Luckily, the foundation was not damaged, and they were able to repair the house. After seeing the pictures from their cleanup, I have an idea what kind of chaos you must have returned to.
From the pictures, the stand looks even better now than it did before the flood. Those oval "windows" on the sides of the tank are something I've never seen before. It's a neat effect.
I understand the loss of the car, too. My grandfather, who also lives in Ocean Springs, had a Mustang that he bought back in the 60s. A neighbor who worked on cars flushed out the salt water after the storm, but the damage was done, and it's gone now.
Good luck with the tank, and here's hoping the baby arrives soon!
You've made quite a comeback from the flood. My parents live in Ocean Springs, Mississippi (across the bay from Biloxi). Their house was also quite high above sea level, but Katrina still put several feet of water into it. Luckily, the foundation was not damaged, and they were able to repair the house. After seeing the pictures from their cleanup, I have an idea what kind of chaos you must have returned to.
From the pictures, the stand looks even better now than it did before the flood. Those oval "windows" on the sides of the tank are something I've never seen before. It's a neat effect.
I understand the loss of the car, too. My grandfather, who also lives in Ocean Springs, had a Mustang that he bought back in the 60s. A neighbor who worked on cars flushed out the salt water after the storm, but the damage was done, and it's gone now.
Good luck with the tank, and here's hoping the baby arrives soon!
jason2459
Well-known member
No baby yet. In fact the contractions slowed down to only a few here and there which she's had for a while now. She's very disappointed.
Got some chaeto in and thrown in the refug. Dido on another small water change this morning.
6:20pm Test
temp: 80 -
Salinity: 34 v
pH: 7.8 -
Ammonia: 1 -
Nitrite: 5 -
Nitrate: 80 -
Got some chaeto in and thrown in the refug. Dido on another small water change this morning.
6:20pm Test
temp: 80 -
Salinity: 34 v
pH: 7.8 -
Ammonia: 1 -
Nitrite: 5 -
Nitrate: 80 -
nanshaw2001
Older newbie
Your new set up will be a great reward for what you have been through! Best of luck!!!
jason2459
Well-known member
Started to see a small bit of Coraline growth yesterday but it was a very small amount and almost unnoticeable. Overnight and by the time I got home tonight it is most definitely noticeable. Not just on the live rock that already had some on it but the bleached out dead rock that I had. I guess they really don't care if theres a bit of Ammonia, Nitrites, or Nitrates in the water. I suppose the small little water changes I've done every day probably has helped that along? BTW, I've been having the actinic lights come on at 4:30p - 9pm and the 10k lights come on at 5:30pm - 8pm.
Nothing yet on the baby front yet.
8:30pm Tests
Temp: 80 -
Salinity: 34 -
pH: 7.8 -
Ammonia: 1 -
Nitrite: 5 -
Nitrate: 80 -
Nothing yet on the baby front yet.
8:30pm Tests
Temp: 80 -
Salinity: 34 -
pH: 7.8 -
Ammonia: 1 -
Nitrite: 5 -
Nitrate: 80 -
