Scott's 270 aka Project Mayhem

[Scythanith]

I got an A200 from Abyzz instead of an A100 since it wasn't ready yet. I pulled the Quietones out and adapted the 1.5" output of the Abyzz to the 1" manifold.

Here is the A200 on the bottom sump.

You may have noticed the large white zip ties holding the silicone connectors on to the Abyzz pumps. This is why I took the stainless shell hose clamps off.

And my little buddy was hanging around so I had him pose for a couple.

I still need to add two more MP40's. I have one running on the 40g coral tank that will be transferred once that tanks shut down.

I added some corals. I hope to get some shots this weekend. A nice green/orange scolymia, an aussie pink wall hammer, an aussie orange frogspawn, a nice aussie acan colony, and a small zoa frag.

Cheers,
Scott

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

Looks like your little buddy is the perfect reefer.

 

[Scythanith]

He is a little more meticulous than I am, must be his Danish ancestry. He has me labelling all of the plugs and controllers today

 

[Scythanith]

I'm slowly moving the Euphyllia's over to the 270. They look pretty sweet. I am quite excited about it haahaa! They aren't in there final resting places but I just wanted to get them into the tank and see how they opened up and reacted to the flow. So far so good. I may try to get some night pictures tonight.

I also moved my space invader over and am watching it closely!

 

[Rotknee]

I have never seen an orange hammer as nice as the one you posted, so I wish you well with the move. Looking forward to the pics once you get them situated in the new tank.

Thanks for posting the pics of the Abyzz clamps. I've often wondered if the clamps were titanium or simple stainless steel. Now I know.

 

[Scythanith]

Like I mentioned in the post after that picture, I didn't actual get that exact hammer. I thought that was the one I bought over while texting the store owner but I actually bought a wall hammer that was a little different. Trust me, I am at the top of the list for when he gets another like that in. I also know who bought it and will be pestering them for a frag when it's ready

I was surprised the clamps went that quick! They cost a small mint so I am rather unhappy at the state they are in. I'd rather pay for titanium than get over charged for stainless.

 

[Scythanith]

Here are a couple quick photos from the holidays

Pink with gold base.

Sort of blue with gold base. The blue is getting closer to a true blue everyday.

Good ol' acans.

Golden hammer.

Scoly.

 

[Scythanith]

Just some random shots.

 

[Aleks677]

Very well done, excellent work. Signed, will follow the project!
Skimmer I think a little deeply submerged. Maybe pick it up?
It will be possible to obtain higher power pump.

 

[Scythanith]

Thanks Aleks. I checked the RE manual and it says 20-25cm of water, with 22cm being ideal. My skimmer is currently sitting in 24cm of water. I could bump it up a couple cm to see if that changes anything

 

[Scythanith]

Some new corals from a great local boxing day sale and ones I transferred from the 40g. They aren't the best pictures but I wanted to share

 

[Scythanith]

I have high hopes for this one.

 

[Scythanith]

Bought this when it was brown. It had a hard time, but now is off the hook!

Red Fungia sp.

[/QUOTE]

 

[Lilmatty5dimes]

nice pieces. pics aren't bad either.

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

Someone has a chalice obsession. I agree those hammers are saweeeet.

 

[Rotknee]

Hey Scott...I was reading your post(s) above regarding your biopellet reactor and was wondering if you decided to run it now or continue to wait? You sound like you travel as much as I do and I wanted to make a comment regarding biopellet reactors. You have probably read where people vary the amount of pellets and flow to dial in the perfect balance between nutrient reduction and a healthy looking tank.

While I think you have a good bp reactor I would find a way to control the flow through the reactor to avoid having the pellets strip your system of nutrients and crash your tank. With my old reactor, I would notice that my corals were slightly bleached and significantly less colorful when I would return after a two week trip. It's difficult to train the wife and kids to recognize they need to feed a bit more than I scheduled to maintain the overall health of the tank. After trying varying amounts of pellets, adjusting feedings and flow I stumbled upon a reactor that allows independent control of flow through the reactor and the suspension of the pellets. In short, this allowed me to control the process rate and turn down the rate at which the biopellets removed nutrients from the system. Before the new reactor I consistently had zero nitrates and phosphates. What I didn't know was my system was on the edge of being too clean.

Some of the most beautiful tanks here maintain some very low levels of nitrates and phosphates. Now I can make adjustments (admittedly with a lesser degree of trial and error) and keep my tank looking as good as I left it. With solid carbon dosing done the right way you will be able to feed more with less regard to polluting your tank. This simply means you can keep the fishes fat and happy.

Rodney

 

[Scythanith]

Thanks for info Rodney. I am currently running my BP reactor and no it doesn't have a recirculating feature. I can control the flow to the reactor with a ball valve on my manifold but if I dial it down too much the pellets don't tumble.

Do you think it can be as simple as ensuring a healthy feeding schedule is adhered to?

 

[Aleks677]

Beautiful photos. How to deal with a low pH after the installation of the reactor pelets? Any thoughts on this bill?

 

[Rotknee]

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Thanks for info Rodney. I am currently running my BP reactor and no it doesn't have a recirculating feature. I can control the flow to the reactor with a ball valve on my manifold but if I dial it down too much the pellets don't tumble.

Do you think it can be as simple as ensuring a healthy feeding schedule is adhered to?

With a goal of maintaining a very low level of nutrients and avoiding "the crash" by not allowing levels to rise or fall too low too fast, it is possible to successfully use biopelletes. Remember, liquid carbon dosing preceded biopelletes. Back then we dialed in the optimum doses and adjusted as necessary. Using a reactor that allows you to maintain a good tumble rate and adjust the flow through the reactor is very similar to the fine tuning we used to do when we were liquid carbon dosing. In your case, your ability to adjust or fine tune your nutrient levels can be done with a lot of testing and keeping a good eye on your system. It's worth a try. Just go slow and allow your adjustments to manifest in your system without adding a lot of enzymes you may not need.

Many who started biopelletes where quick to discontinue citing the pellets caused the a nasty outbreak of cyano in their systems. This is partially true as cyano is the result of a bacterial imbalance and not necessarily the biopelletes alone. We had cyano outbreaks well before we had biopellets.:lmao:

All this rambling and I didn't ask (or forgive me if I overlooked it) what type of pellets are you using? I won't get into polymer types for time sakes but all pellets are not equal. Some are better at removing nitrates AND phosphates whereas others primarily impact nitrates alone. Your research will fish out the differences.

 

[Scythanith]

I want to say I am using Vertex or ATB pellets. I threw the bag out already so I honestly can't remember.

So I have a question about "the crash". If I started out with BP's from the very beginning then shouldn't the levels in the tank be at where they are going to be? I let the tank stabilize for a couple months before I added the majority of the livestock. I understand what you mean by adjusting the system. The reactor can hold 1.5L of BP's, I only have 500ml in the tank right now.

Cheers