Stolireef Reborn -- Rebuild Thread

[Stolireef]

Picked up a nice Starry Blennie this weekend at LE Corals. Really cool long eyelashes but not quite ready to pose for a picture.

Nitrates and phosphates are being very stubborn on the low side. I have a tiny amount of cyano in the tank but even it won't spread despite heavy feeding. I'm seriously considering turning off the skimmer for a week. I don't want to run an ULNS but the tank, so far, thinks otherwise. Oh well.

 

[Stolireef]

During my usual 2:00 AM walkabout last night, I heard my leakfrog going off (good thing I was awake). Discovered a nice crack in my fuge. Lost about a gallon of water but caught it early enough to prevent any major damage. Now I have a bucket filled with five gallons of fuge water and a large 'loaf' of chaeto. I guess it's back to petco for a new fuge this afternoon.

Huge thanks to Jeff Porter for giving me a LeakFrog at the garage sale. Save me from 30 gallons of water on the floor.

 

[AZBigJohn]

Ouch! Was it at a stress point, or just a random crack? Those are the stores that wake me up and night with the whole body shivers...

 

[jporter]

During my usual 2:00 AM walkabout last night, I heard my leakfrog going off (good thing I was awake). Discovered a nice crack in my fuge. Lost about a gallon of water but caught it early enough to prevent any major damage. Now I have a bucket filled with five gallons of fuge water and a large 'loaf' of chaeto. I guess it's back to petco for a new fuge this afternoon.

Huge thanks to Jeff Porter for giving me a LeakFrog at the garage sale. Save me from 30 gallons of water on the floor.

Glad you caught it early. Those leak frogs are the best $8 you can spend. JP

 

[Stolireef]

The crack started from the bulkhead that I drilled down to the bottom of the tank. It's weird because I didn't touch anything down there for a few days. Must have just reached a breaking point. I think I may switch to acrylic as a result.

It does give me nightmares. Had I not caught it, I would have ended up with about 25-30 gallons of water on the floor and would have likely dropped my salinity to very dangerous levels due to the topoff. I guess it's time to install a leak monitor into my Apex.

Once again, thanks to Jeff for the little froggie.

 

[Stolireef]

So, as I'm pulling out the cracked fuge...I hit the return pipe pretty hard by accident

....

Wait for it

...

Of course it starts leaking like a sieve from the bulkhead. I think I've got it fixed but I'm seriously thinking about taking up a simpler hobby. Maybe cardiology or nuclear physics. Less can go wrong.

 

[Derekbc]

So sorry to read about this string of horrors you're encountering. I've been following along with your build and you have provided some very useful tips.

Hang in there!

 

[Stolireef]

So sorry to read about this string of horrors you're encountering. I've been following along with your build and you have provided some very useful tips.

Hang in there!

Thanks. I don't think I've had more problems than most. I just like to whine. Most people in this hobby have fairly complex customized systems and things will happen occasionally. The trick is not to panic. Leak is fixed with almost no water lost.

 

[zibba]

Doh! Sorry to hear about the fuge and bulkhead. Sounds like you got it sorted out. I think you're making the right call on just pulling the fuge for now.

 

[Stolireef]

Doh! Sorry to hear about the fuge and bulkhead. Sounds like you got it sorted out. I think you're making the right call on just pulling the fuge for now.

Without the fuge, I have a ton of room to play with under the stand. Not sure what I want to do although I'm seriously considering getting a custom sump/fuge combination built. My plumbing would, of course, require signficant changes so I'm not in a rush.

 

[evolved]

No hard pipes for you!

 

[Stolireef]

No hard pipes for you!

Is this stuff available at HD or Lowes?

 

[evolved]

Yes!

 

[CReyes350]

First SPS Frag. Any guesses on what it is other than an acro? View attachment 277420

Im not sure if anyone already answered this, but...

Is that a Frogskin?

 

[Stolireef]

No idea but unfortunately, it's gone. Bulldozed behind my rock by a snail. By the time I found it, it was too late. RIP,.

 

[Mael]

just had thise happen with an xfactor monti, by the time I got him out of where he was stuck he was already bleaching and gone the next day. RIP you innocent frags =)

 

[Stolireef]

Snails are mean.

 

[Mael]

yep, its why I moved the turbos to the fuige, got tired of waking up everything morning to 1-3 frags upside down on the sand.

Now my ceriths are almost big enough to cause issues like the monti =/

and I hate using that green/white stick cause then you have this white blob in there until it gets covered in coraline.

 

[Stolireef]

Proving that I'm a true geek

Proving that I'm a true geek

I know this is common knowledge but it is just so cool to be able to really see it graphically. The attached graphs shows five days of pH and Temperature in my tank. Peak temperature occurs at the very end of the metal halide lighting cycle. Look how perfectly peak pH matches up with the end of the lighting cycle to see precisely how photosynthesis and respiration act on pH (basically the CO2 levels in the tank).

I think this is just too cool.

 

[m-six hundred]

Apex is a wonderful thing