Rhodes19 180 Build

[Rhodes19]

I also am battling cyano and nitrates. I started to dose vodka. Hopefully the skimmer will help as well. I would have loved a cone, but they are really expensive. :hmm3:

Oh yeah, they run from $600 - 1200 and a friend of mine told me that skimmers can go as high as $2000-3000!!!:eek1: I came across one thread that was talking about the difference in efficiency between cones and straight walled skimmers. I don't think there was any major difference between the two styles mentioned. I'm just happy I am getting a skimmer that can handle my tank without breaking the bank.

How do you like vodka dosing? I've read some folks are having great luck with it and the skimmer goes nuts after it's been dosed.

 

[Rhodes19]

Ok, I give up. I just lost my 4th diamond sifter goby. The first one went carpet surfing after a year or so in my 29. His replacement lasted about a month before I found him belly up. The 3rd one lasted about 6 weeks in the 40g before I found the hermit crabs munching on him. And last night I found my 4th diamond sifter belly up. He made it 6 weeks in quarantine, was eating flake, mysis, live black worms, and marine cuisine with no trouble and lasted 2 weeks after he was transfered to the 180. He hid for a day or 2 but after that he was alway up front and sifting away. Never saw any one picking on him. I guess this is nature telling me not to keep diamond sifters. :sad1: I guess I need to find another animal who can sift/clean the sand bed. I'm not sure what though, the diamond sifters are the only ones I've seen really get into it.

 

[Rhodes19]

Woo Hoo!!! I just joined the big boys'/girls' skimmer club. My SWC 200 came in 2 days ago and I have it set up and running.

Just turned it on and I need to play with the flow.

I'll post some pics once I get it tuned.

 

[Rhodes19]

I got tired of having to flush my 6 line wrasse every time he went surfing into the overflow box so I used some plastic rain guard to block the opening. It works so far.

I used some zip ties to hold it in place.

 

[zmckenzie]

I am sure you are wishing you installed the gutter guard a long time ago. I will have to make sure to use it when my system gets that far. Are you still liking the dual herbie? I plan on using it on my 120 like you did but many have suggested not go with the herbie and use bean instead. What are your thoughts? Are you still glad you made the switch from durso to herbie?

 

[Rhodes19]

I am sure you are wishing you installed the gutter guard a long time ago. I will have to make sure to use it when my system gets that far. Are you still liking the dual herbie? I plan on using it on my 120 like you did but many have suggested not go with the herbie and use bean instead. What are your thoughts? Are you still glad you made the switch from durso to herbie?

Hi zmckenzie,

LOL, yeah, I wish I did the rain guard earlier. I never thought a fish would ever go there. WRONG! LOL. Because I couldn't get the net in there to get him, I had to pull the stand pipes out and let him enjoy the water slide down to the sump. I really believe that's why he kept going back, for the ride.

I do like the herbie. The Duros pipes worked but they were way to loud and the turbulence in the sump was very loud. The Herbie took care of that. Using a gate valve is a definite big plus.

If I was to set my tank up all over again, I would drill the back for a coast to coast and go with a BeanAnimal's set up (make sure the back of the tank isn't tempered glass). It would be more work to make but the surface skimming would be a lot better and with going with a BeanAnimal set up, you can use bigger bulkheads which means you can push more water and use a bigger pump for more flow. With my RR tank, I am restricted to the 1" and 3/4" bulkheads and that really determines my max flow rate.

I really do like my Herbie set up and I'm glad I moved to it. I didn't find it or the BeanAnimal set ups until I already had my tank set up and running and I didn't want to take it down to drill it at that point. My return pump pushes 1100 gph and I would have to cut that in half to get the Duros/sump to quiet down. With the Herbie set up, I can push more water without the noise.

Both are good solid systems and I don't think you can go wrong with either one. HTH

 

[Rhodes19]

OOPs, I turned the return pump off last night to feed the fish and about 15 minutes later turned it back on and when I went to look at the skimmer, water was overflowing the collection cup. I guess the extra water in the sump raised the water level in the skimmer and it overflowed. Oh well, just another hurdle in the leaning curve!! LOL

 

[Rhodes19]

Skimmer lesion # 2. Clean skimmer cup, expect overflow when you turn the skimmer on. :eek2: I turned the skimmer off this morning and emptied the collection cup. I rinsed the cup and knocked of the green skimmy build up, put the cup back in place, and turned the skimmer back on. The water/bubble column when up and filled the cup with water. I had to adjust it to bring the water/bubble column down to just under the collection cup. I wonder if this is a one time only thing or will I have to be changing the level every time I clean the cup.

 

[Rhodes19]

Well, crud, I turned of the return pump and skimmer so I could feet the fish and when I turned the skimmer on, it wouldn't run. I played with it, plugged and unplugged it multiple times and I finally twisted it around and it kicked in. 10 minutes later when I went to check on it the collection cup was overflowing again. Apparently, twisting the pump around changed the dynamics of the skimmer and I had to tune it back in. Meanwhile, the 1/2" of skimmate got dumped back into the sump. :hmm5:

 

[scott26]

I really like the new rock work the first attempt was just to much and looked like a big pile of rock. All that time into custom rock got to show it off. Got any links on how to DIY rock like that I want some nice flat ones.

 

[Rhodes19]

I really like the new rock work the first attempt was just to much and looked like a big pile of rock. All that time into custom rock got to show it off. Got any links on how to DIY rock like that I want some nice flat ones.

Hi scott,

Thanks. I like the new rockscape too. The first couple of set ups looked like stone walls you find in New England. LOL Here are some links that might help. I go some good info from them.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=807988

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1704140

http://www.garf.org/garf.html Aragocrete

 

[Rhodes19]

Well, bummer. I found what was left of my coral banded shrimp the other day. I thought he had moulted but later found his head with antennae. I'm not sure what happened but that's the most I have seen of him since he went in the tank. The cleaner shrimps are doing fine and I'm thinking of getting some more. The are very entertaining.

 

[Rhodes19]

On the way home last night I swung by one of the lfs and saw a small emerald crab. Well, she came home with me. I'm not sure what I was thinking because it sounds like they can be hit or miss but I thought I'd give it a try. Maybe she can put a dent in the gha. My daughter asked me if I named it yet and I said "yup, "Crabby Appleton".

 

[Rhodes19]

So, we are sitting at the kitchen table after dinner last night and every one is watching the aquarium. After a few minutes my wife asks "When did you get the new coral banded shrimp"? I didn't.?? I guess the death of my coral banded shrimp has been grossly exaggerated. :bounce3: There he was hanging upside down in his favorite cave. Apparently he molted and the antennae came of with the shell. I've never seen that happen before. I'm glad he is still around, I just wish he would come out of hiding more often and show himself off.

 

[zmckenzie]

So, we are sitting at the kitchen table after dinner last night and every one is watching the aquarium. After a few minutes my wife asks "When did you get the new coral banded shrimp"? I didn't.?? I guess the death of my coral banded shrimp has been grossly exaggerated. :bounce3: There he was hanging upside down in his favorite cave. Apparently he molted and the antennae came of with the shell. I've never seen that happen before. I'm glad he is still around, I just wish he would come out of hiding more often and show himself off.

Glad to hear he is still around and not dead like you feared.

 

[Rhodes19]

Glad to hear he is still around and not dead like you feared.

Hi zmckenzie,

Thanks. I think they are cool looking (when he comes out) and I'm glad he is still around. Another learning curve for me.

 

[michael_in_nc]

Nice setup.

 

[Rhodes19]

Nice setup.

Thanks michael. It will be a while before I can get it the way I want. Mostly, more corals.

 

[Rhodes19]

It was a nice Christmas and a New Year. My oldest daughter and son in law came down for New Years and took me shopping for my birthday/Christmas presents. We went to a lfs and we picked out a nice Christmas wrasse and then we went to a local reefer's and picked out some nice corals.

The wrasse got named Noel instead of Christmas because the 6 line wrasse my younger daughter got me last year was named Christmas. Hmmm, I'm sensing a theme here.

Here is Noel in the QT

Here are the corals we picked out.

Season's Greetings monti

Golden eye chalice (not a great picture)

Pink poci

Cali tort

They are all pretty corals. The pink poci is under a 20K mh so the pink doesn't show off as well but I can change that later.

 

[Rhodes19]

I got to play with my skimmer yesterday. I made a 6" stand from some plastic that Frankie gave me and raised the skimmer from 10" to 8" in depth. Its nothing fancy and I did clean it up up before it went into the sump.

It looks like I have more bubble formation in the chamber.

Here is some skimmate its pulling.

I was going to put a tube on the drain on the collection cup and put a valve on it so I could drain the collection cup without having to take it off. However, it requires a 7/16" ID and Lowes/Home Depot carry 3/8" then 1/2" ID so I will have to look on line to find the tube in the right ID.