jolt Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I think the kid proof doors will really prove to be worth the extra effort. Last time we had a party at the house I found a popsicle stick in my sump later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Great work Kim! You've done more in the last couple weeks on your stand than I've done in half a year! Sent via Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted September 16, 2014 Author Share Posted September 16, 2014 I think the kid proof doors will really prove to be worth the extra effort. Last time we had a party at the house I found a popsicle stick in my sump later Yes, absolutely. Child proof doors are a must in this house. I'd never get my kids out of the sump if it was accessible! They'd think it was their own indoor saltwater pool, especially the baby, lol. Plus I can't risk that closed loop plumbing getting yanked on. Heck until last night, the baby spent half his free time everyday poking around the sump seeing what he could mess with. At least he's interested in a fun hobby, right!? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 SWEET! Great work Kim. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Looking great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted September 29, 2014 Author Share Posted September 29, 2014 Time for an update. Not much has happened since the last one, but at least I'm getting the cycle started. The sump is full of water with a few loose rocks from the 90g and the display only needs about 2 brute cans full and I'll have it all running. Right now I have a return pump circulating water in the sump and one of my spare back up battery air pumps in the display until it gets filled. That thing has lasted over a week now on just the 2 D batteries in it. I'm impressed! Makes me feel a bit better about vacations, besides the heat of course. So I've ran 2 brute cans full through my 90gal to get some tank water into the new system, and the rest has been freshly mixed saltwater. I don't want to disrupt my 90gal too much. One of the batches of water I made up just using RO water which gave me some ammonia to add. I tested it with 2 ammonia tests and had the Dome test it, and before adding the RO saltwater, the existing water in the sump had 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite. The batch of RO saltwater tested around 0.8ppm ammonia and after adding it to the sump, the sump tested 0.5ppm ammonia. About 24 hrs later it now tests at less than 0.25 but not quite 0 yet. That's okay though, the whole thing isn't even running yet and there's still time. I also made a mock up of the canopy out of cardboard, so that's my next project as the tank cycles. The picture is pretty crude but you can probably get the idea. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Glad you are still making progress Kim! In hindsight from my upgrade, I wouldn't take too much water away from your old tank as I noticed it compromised the health of my corals even before the actual move. For the canopy, may I suggest bamboo sticks and zip ties? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted September 29, 2014 Author Share Posted September 29, 2014 Glad you are still making progress Kim! In hindsight from my upgrade, I wouldn't take too much water away from your old tank as I noticed it compromised the health of my corals even before the actual move. For the canopy, may I suggest bamboo sticks and zip ties? Exactly right on the old tank water. Those 2 water changes are all I'm doing. I noticed some minor changes in a couple corals after the second big one. Ran my alk too high on accident from it too. I think bamboo and zip ties are a great idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Following for updates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OU12004 Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Thanks for the magnet idea. I was using velcro for the doors but it would not stick to the wax on the stand. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 You guys have great timing! I'm just today getting back to working on the tank. I just unscrewed the back panel on the stand and got it mounted with hidden magnet locks. I didn't think I'd ever need to access this side of the sump, but I've needed to a few times already. Now it's super easy to get full access! That panel comes all the way off. Next I'm mounting the reactors. The tentative plan is to move everything over on Sat. A little nervous about this part. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Look at it this way, you can't do any worse than Bpb, Ol' Aggie, or me! Sorry to throw you guys under the bus fellas. At least you're in good company. :-) Sent via Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Lol can definitely do worse. EVERYTHING could die. Not just acros. Hope the transfer goes smoothly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 Okay now you have me worried. Did all of you have problems transferring tanks!? Has anyone moved tanks and had it go smoothly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I think all of our problems were related to acropora specificially and it was likely due to a large volume of water added, a lot of new rocks and fluctuation of alkalinity, salinity, and overall micro fauna levels. I lost 2 years and probably $500-1000 worth of acropa value within a month of transferring, Ty lost even more plus a couple fish due to bacterial blooms. Not sure about ole aggies troubles. At any rate it seemed to be limited to acropora. All zoas, softies, montipora, and Lps actually flourished just fine. Wouldn't sweat it too much for anything but acros. If you have acros, I'd recommend rehoming them for 4-5 months. I think RSW recently did a big tank change and had no problems. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I wouldn't worry too much Kim. Bpb hit the nail on the head when he said it was mainly acro related deaths. I don't think I lost a single softie or LPS. Sent via Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted October 28, 2014 Author Share Posted October 28, 2014 Well, all of the contents of the 90g got moved over Saturday. So far everything looks fine, I hope that continues to be the case. I did discover a bunch of aiptasia hiding on my big rock :/ Big bummer about that, it's pretty important in my aquascaping. I'm deciding what to do about that. I've been so busy trying to get things set up I haven't had time to write up a good post. Look forward to an update coming soon! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted October 28, 2014 Author Share Posted October 28, 2014 I think all of our problems were related to acropora specificially and it was likely due to a large volume of water added, a lot of new rocks and fluctuation of alkalinity, salinity, and overall micro fauna levels. I lost 2 years and probably $500-1000 worth of acropa value within a month of transferring, Ty lost even more plus a couple fish due to bacterial blooms. Not sure about ole aggies troubles. At any rate it seemed to be limited to acropora. All zoas, softies, montipora, and Lps actually flourished just fine. Wouldn't sweat it too much for anything but acros. If you have acros, I'd recommend rehoming them for 4-5 months. I think RSW recently did a big tank change and had no problems. I hadn't realized, or maybe remembered, that all your loss was after a tank move. That sucks How long did it take after the transfer to see the corals go downhill? I have a pretty good size red planet colony and a smaller unknown acro. Both look fine but I'm only 4 days in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Glad everything made the transition Kim! I'd nip that aiptasia in the bud now before you regret it down the line when everything is settled. Better to do it when transitioning! If you have the rock in hand, can you just chip the rock off where they are attached? Or perhaps get a small pen-sized butane torch and roast them? I'd do a good job of mentally noting where they are first (or stick pins in the rock near them) before removing from the water only to watch them shrivel up and loose where they are. Sent via Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Saw that you transferred a lot of corals as well. I was going to say, maybe let a filefish go to town for a month before adding coral, then remove and sell. Or...if you have the refugium space, put the aiptasia rock in there and let a filefish go nom nom. For me, it's hard to say. I think it was about at the 2-3 week period that I noticed the STN starting. And it wasn't all at once. Seemed like one coral at a time. My Oregon tort hung in there and looked great until like the 2 month mark, then died suddenly over a couple days. Read theories about STN possibly being related to an autoimmune dysfunction that can trigger related corals to follow suit, even if nothing is wrong. Just a theory... At any rate. Removing all filtration, letting algae grow, and dirtying up the water a lot helped to stop it and reverse the trend, Everything got really brown and ugly, but I'll take brown and growing over dead any day. I'd guess it was around the 4 month mark that I noticed growth rather than necrosis. Hope that helps! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 TOSS THE ROCK! SAY NO TO AIPTASIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted October 28, 2014 Author Share Posted October 28, 2014 Saw that you transferred a lot of corals as well. I was going to say, maybe let a filefish go to town for a month before adding coral, then remove and sell. Or...if you have the refugium space, put the aiptasia rock in there and let a filefish go nom nom. For me, it's hard to say. I think it was about at the 2-3 week period that I noticed the STN starting. And it wasn't all at once. Seemed like one coral at a time. My Oregon tort hung in there and looked great until like the 2 month mark, then died suddenly over a couple days. Read theories about STN possibly being related to an autoimmune dysfunction that can trigger related corals to follow suit, even if nothing is wrong. Just a theory... At any rate. Removing all filtration, letting algae grow, and dirtying up the water a lot helped to stop it and reverse the trend, Everything got really brown and ugly, but I'll take brown and growing over dead any day. I'd guess it was around the 4 month mark that I noticed growth rather than necrosis. Hope that helps! Have you used a filefish before for aiptasia? If so, what kind? Thanks for the other info too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 I personally haven't, but some friends of mine on marsh have/do, and I know I've read of one or two people on here who have/do, and read hundreds of accounts on RC and other forums. I know they tend to go after corals eventually. Friend of mine had one keeping aiptasia down in his 120 gallon very packed mixed reef for years and it never nipped. He recently added a new one to another tank and it went to town immediately on some acropora polyps and zoas. They appear to be luck of the draw much like dwarf angels. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 I've had 2 tassled filefish now and both were/are perfect citizens so far. But they also haven't touched the aiptasia. I love filefish in general and would love to try more, just need to figure out which ones are most likely to eat the aiptasia. Which I'm guessing means they'll be the ones most likely to eat coral too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 I picked up one on the same notion and all he ever did was mow down my zoas. Just depends on the one you get. He was a cool little bugger though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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