CCOMBS FIRST REEF!
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Sorry for the loss of the shrimp [emoji20]
Hope your qt works out for the rest of your livestock [emoji4]
I dont like light on my qts. A desk lamp pointed near the tank on a timer is usually enough light.
The coral beauty if starts eating less in qt had good luck with san Francisco angel diet. Put one cube in blood worm feeder and it slowly dissolved. These feeders are really inexpensive this way can only be for qt tank.
Hope your qt works out for the rest of your livestock [emoji4]
I dont like light on my qts. A desk lamp pointed near the tank on a timer is usually enough light.
The coral beauty if starts eating less in qt had good luck with san Francisco angel diet. Put one cube in blood worm feeder and it slowly dissolved. These feeders are really inexpensive this way can only be for qt tank.
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ccombs
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Hmm, I have plenty of light in the room (my home office, now fish hospital lol). Should I kill the tank lights? I was thinking it was quite a bit of light. It is just what came with the crappy little tanks.
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ccombs
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For those of you in the future that need to bleach your gear and start over, I created a hybrid method that combines what I believe balances scientific fact and redundancy from my studies of sanitizing equipment. Here are the processes for my different items.
Tank:
Step 1-Drain/Remove Rock, Sand, Equipment, etc./Dry
Step 2-Scrub Every Surface with Clorox (unscented household) at a 10:1 Ratio
Step 3-Hand Dry and Let Sit for 12 Hours
Step 4-Scrub Every Surface with White Distilled Vinegar
Step 5-Hand Dry and Let Sit for 12 Hours
Step 6-Fill Tank with Tap Water and Run Pump, Add Bleach Per This Guide- https://dec.vermont.gov/sites/dec/files/dwgwp/DW/chlorinedosageemergencydisinfection.pdf
Step 7-Let That Run for 24 Hours
Step 8-Add Seachem Prime at 5x Dose
Step 9-Let That Run for 24 Hours
Step 10-Empty and Dry Tank
Step 11-Fill Tank with Tap Water and Seachem Prime (at normal dose)
Step 12-Run for 48 Hours then test for Chlorine/Chloramine
Step 13-Drain and Dry when Chlorine/Chloramine Gone
Step 14-After Drain/Dried, Let Air Dry for 48 Hours
Equipment:
Step 1-Break Down Equipment As Much As Possible
Step 2-Scrub Every Surface with Clorox (unscented household) at a 10:1 Ratio
Step 3-10:1 Clorox Bleach Soak for 24 Hours
Step 4-WDV Scrub
Step 5-WDV Soak for 24 Hours
Step 6-Tap Water Rinse
Step 7-Tap Water + Seachem Soak for 24 Hours
Step 8-Rinse/Dry
Step 9-Air Dry Completely
Sand:
TRASH!
Rock:
Step 1-Remove and Air Dry
Step 2-48 Hours in 10:1 Clorox Solution with Powerhead
Step 3-Remove and Air Dry
Step 4-48 Hours in Tap Water + Seachem Prime with Powerhead
Step 5-Remove and Air Dry
Step 6-Place In Oven for 2 Hours at 500 Degrees F
Tank:
Step 1-Drain/Remove Rock, Sand, Equipment, etc./Dry
Step 2-Scrub Every Surface with Clorox (unscented household) at a 10:1 Ratio
Step 3-Hand Dry and Let Sit for 12 Hours
Step 4-Scrub Every Surface with White Distilled Vinegar
Step 5-Hand Dry and Let Sit for 12 Hours
Step 6-Fill Tank with Tap Water and Run Pump, Add Bleach Per This Guide- https://dec.vermont.gov/sites/dec/files/dwgwp/DW/chlorinedosageemergencydisinfection.pdf
Step 7-Let That Run for 24 Hours
Step 8-Add Seachem Prime at 5x Dose
Step 9-Let That Run for 24 Hours
Step 10-Empty and Dry Tank
Step 11-Fill Tank with Tap Water and Seachem Prime (at normal dose)
Step 12-Run for 48 Hours then test for Chlorine/Chloramine
Step 13-Drain and Dry when Chlorine/Chloramine Gone
Step 14-After Drain/Dried, Let Air Dry for 48 Hours
Equipment:
Step 1-Break Down Equipment As Much As Possible
Step 2-Scrub Every Surface with Clorox (unscented household) at a 10:1 Ratio
Step 3-10:1 Clorox Bleach Soak for 24 Hours
Step 4-WDV Scrub
Step 5-WDV Soak for 24 Hours
Step 6-Tap Water Rinse
Step 7-Tap Water + Seachem Soak for 24 Hours
Step 8-Rinse/Dry
Step 9-Air Dry Completely
Sand:
TRASH!
Rock:
Step 1-Remove and Air Dry
Step 2-48 Hours in 10:1 Clorox Solution with Powerhead
Step 3-Remove and Air Dry
Step 4-48 Hours in Tap Water + Seachem Prime with Powerhead
Step 5-Remove and Air Dry
Step 6-Place In Oven for 2 Hours at 500 Degrees F
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ccombs
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Sad day, after months of fighting Uronema, Carl has died. I have no clue how he made it so long, but it took me so long to diagnose it (spot didn't show as obvious, showed more in equilibrium issues) that by the time I got him the proper treatment, it was too little too late.
Here are the post mortem pics, let me know if you guys see anything else. Over the past few days I had to pull him off the intake multiple times and he was barely breathing. He had so much mucus in his gills that I did another FW dip before he died. He perked up for a few minutes after that, but eventually sank to the bottom and I watched him take his last breath. In his final few days the spot on his side really began to appear.
Here are the post mortem pics, let me know if you guys see anything else. Over the past few days I had to pull him off the intake multiple times and he was barely breathing. He had so much mucus in his gills that I did another FW dip before he died. He perked up for a few minutes after that, but eventually sank to the bottom and I watched him take his last breath. In his final few days the spot on his side really began to appear.
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ccombs
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By now I am sure you have read enough of the sad stuff, let's take this post to talk about the future. I will not tell you yet what I am doing for tank upgrades yet, but I will tell you my general guidelines moving forward.
1) Tank must be simple. I want time tested techniques that provide long term stability. I do not want anything gimmicky or cool for the sake of it. I completely understand that I can run a tank with proper flow, lighting, and nutrient control (balancing feeding and export). Per this method, an aquarium control isn't really called for, but I will still have one, explained in bullet 2.
2) I travel a lot and am the main care taker of the tank. My wife and I work and love on the tank together, but I do the research and design of the equipment and livestock. Hopefully that makes sense? I need control of the tank if there is ever something she needs help with. I also want to be able to monitor certain parameters remotely to help her diagnose problems when needed.
3) I want to buy equipment that I can repurpose in tanks down the road that are larger and nicer. For example, does my current size tank NEED a Kessil 160? No...it doesn't. However, instead of buying something half the price now and running it 100%, I can run the Kessil lower right now and it will be suitable for larger tanks later.
4) I want redundancy. I want a system that has backups, and backups for the backups.
5) Tank must be appropriately stocked. I think overstocked tanks are irresponsible. My tank will be stocked appropriately and very carefully crafted so all livestock benefits the ecosystem.
1) Tank must be simple. I want time tested techniques that provide long term stability. I do not want anything gimmicky or cool for the sake of it. I completely understand that I can run a tank with proper flow, lighting, and nutrient control (balancing feeding and export). Per this method, an aquarium control isn't really called for, but I will still have one, explained in bullet 2.
2) I travel a lot and am the main care taker of the tank. My wife and I work and love on the tank together, but I do the research and design of the equipment and livestock. Hopefully that makes sense? I need control of the tank if there is ever something she needs help with. I also want to be able to monitor certain parameters remotely to help her diagnose problems when needed.
3) I want to buy equipment that I can repurpose in tanks down the road that are larger and nicer. For example, does my current size tank NEED a Kessil 160? No...it doesn't. However, instead of buying something half the price now and running it 100%, I can run the Kessil lower right now and it will be suitable for larger tanks later.
4) I want redundancy. I want a system that has backups, and backups for the backups.
5) Tank must be appropriately stocked. I think overstocked tanks are irresponsible. My tank will be stocked appropriately and very carefully crafted so all livestock benefits the ecosystem.
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ccombs
Valuable Member
What is for dinner you might ask?? Rock of course!
After my method listed a few posts above to sanitize the rock of parasites, it is getting a final round in the oven. Once that is done this evening, the rocks will be going in a curing container I have set up in the garage. It is a real simple set up with a 25 gallon bin, a powerhead, heater, and mixed to the salinity of the tank.
I also plan on adding some nitrifying bacteria to the mix so I can maybe get a jump start in that regard since this rock is very, very, very dead.
Also! I am excited to document the equipment portion of the rebuild. I have a pretty slick plan that should hide all of the equipment in plain sight! You might be asking yourself how I plan to make an ATO Reservoir, Neptune APEX, UPS, etc. live in plane sight with an open stand? Well I will certainly show you!
Finally, my wife and I finalized our stocking list. We will be getting this pair of clowns (not these exact ones, but the same ones... you know?) as well as an anemone eventually. We have a LONG way to go before we are there, but we certainly look forward to it!
After my method listed a few posts above to sanitize the rock of parasites, it is getting a final round in the oven. Once that is done this evening, the rocks will be going in a curing container I have set up in the garage. It is a real simple set up with a 25 gallon bin, a powerhead, heater, and mixed to the salinity of the tank.
I also plan on adding some nitrifying bacteria to the mix so I can maybe get a jump start in that regard since this rock is very, very, very dead.
Also! I am excited to document the equipment portion of the rebuild. I have a pretty slick plan that should hide all of the equipment in plain sight! You might be asking yourself how I plan to make an ATO Reservoir, Neptune APEX, UPS, etc. live in plane sight with an open stand? Well I will certainly show you!
Finally, my wife and I finalized our stocking list. We will be getting this pair of clowns (not these exact ones, but the same ones... you know?) as well as an anemone eventually. We have a LONG way to go before we are there, but we certainly look forward to it!
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ccombs
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Quick Update!
My new gear is starting to arrive at the house. I have finalized my new plan for set up, and it is going to be something special!
Rocks are curing in a 25 gallon container with saltwater and a heater. I added some Microbacter 7 and Dr. Tim's so that maybe the rocks can begin to accumulate some beneficial bacteria. I haven't seen an example of anyone doing this, but it made sense in my head so here we are lol. I want to make a video of the process, I think it will be really interesting and hopefully inspiring to reefers doing their first tank. Without getting too specific, here is what I am doing.
1) Dual return pumps for redundancy
2) Dual Heaters with one on a lower temp for a backup, and external temperature monitoring for an automatic shut off if one fails in the on position
3) Refugium with reverse light cycle
4) Always On Line UPS that will run critical life support only in a power outage. It will run powerheads and turn on heater if temperature drops to a dangerously low level. The average power outage (excluding major storms) is 112 minutes. With major storms it is 250 minutes. Major storms are not much of a concern where I live, and with major storms there is some sort of advanced warning. I should get around 3 hours of runtime in emergency situations which is what I felt to be a reasonable amount to be prepared for.
5) Automated top off. My wife and I both have our businesses with very unpredictable hours. Many times I am gone for days and weeks (sometimes months) at a time, and her job can require that she is gone from 6am to 11pm sometimes, so we had a really hard time with topping off for evaporation. For some reason, we seemed to lose a lot of water, about 2.5 gallons a week in a 30 gallon system. This extra cost is a trade-off to take care of the tank and the well being of the inhabitants in there. I do not view this as a luxury, but more of a cost of doing business since we want our busy lives AND our reef.
6) Automated WC. Ok, this one is a luxury. Our tank is in our bedroom, and we love keeping an absolutely clean house...like OCD clean...like our closets don't even hide junk, our closets are mostly empty lol. Carrying buckets back and forth, mixing water in the bathroom, spilling water in the bedroom, etc. stressed me out to no end. We spend so little time at home we want to enjoy it and relax when we are there, not do water changes. That being said I am going to change out about a gallon a day with this system. It should also increase consistency in the tank. I have never missed a water change, but this one is simply a luxury, and pretty dang cool.
7) Peace of mind. We will now be running an apex system, and although they have all of their cool monitoring for leaks, I have one better. Our house has a home monitoring system that has the option for water detectors. They are small, sleek, wireless, and awesome. They are meant for under sinks, by water heaters, etc. While I do have them in those locations, I also have one under my tank. If I have a leak, it sets an alarm off in the home, it sends me a text, and operator from the monitoring center calls me. If they can't get in touch with me, they will call my wife. If they cannot reach her they will call a family member I have as an emergency contact. I accidentally got the sensor wet the other day, and within 5 seconds I had already received the text and the incoming call came in.
8) Elegance. With the exception of the lights above the tank, we do not want to see any gear. No pumps, no reservoirs, no anything. We also decided against doing a closed cabinet. Without a fish room or basement, how will we ever accomplish that with so much gear... you'll have to wait and see.
9) Ease of use. I am adding a simple momentary switch that will trigger a 10 minute feed mode. This will turn of pumps for 10 minutes, and the skimmer for 20.
Contrary to what the system above suggests, I really believe in simple, elegant solutions. If my wife and I worked standard 9-5 jobs, we would probably not go as crazy gear wise as what I have outlined. However, I believe (or convinced myself cause I like tech stuff lol) that there are responsibilities with having a reef tank. Since we feel like we can sometimes fall short of these responsibilities, we invested the money in being sure these creatures are taken care of.
My new gear is starting to arrive at the house. I have finalized my new plan for set up, and it is going to be something special!
Rocks are curing in a 25 gallon container with saltwater and a heater. I added some Microbacter 7 and Dr. Tim's so that maybe the rocks can begin to accumulate some beneficial bacteria. I haven't seen an example of anyone doing this, but it made sense in my head so here we are lol. I want to make a video of the process, I think it will be really interesting and hopefully inspiring to reefers doing their first tank. Without getting too specific, here is what I am doing.
1) Dual return pumps for redundancy
2) Dual Heaters with one on a lower temp for a backup, and external temperature monitoring for an automatic shut off if one fails in the on position
3) Refugium with reverse light cycle
4) Always On Line UPS that will run critical life support only in a power outage. It will run powerheads and turn on heater if temperature drops to a dangerously low level. The average power outage (excluding major storms) is 112 minutes. With major storms it is 250 minutes. Major storms are not much of a concern where I live, and with major storms there is some sort of advanced warning. I should get around 3 hours of runtime in emergency situations which is what I felt to be a reasonable amount to be prepared for.
5) Automated top off. My wife and I both have our businesses with very unpredictable hours. Many times I am gone for days and weeks (sometimes months) at a time, and her job can require that she is gone from 6am to 11pm sometimes, so we had a really hard time with topping off for evaporation. For some reason, we seemed to lose a lot of water, about 2.5 gallons a week in a 30 gallon system. This extra cost is a trade-off to take care of the tank and the well being of the inhabitants in there. I do not view this as a luxury, but more of a cost of doing business since we want our busy lives AND our reef.
6) Automated WC. Ok, this one is a luxury. Our tank is in our bedroom, and we love keeping an absolutely clean house...like OCD clean...like our closets don't even hide junk, our closets are mostly empty lol. Carrying buckets back and forth, mixing water in the bathroom, spilling water in the bedroom, etc. stressed me out to no end. We spend so little time at home we want to enjoy it and relax when we are there, not do water changes. That being said I am going to change out about a gallon a day with this system. It should also increase consistency in the tank. I have never missed a water change, but this one is simply a luxury, and pretty dang cool.
7) Peace of mind. We will now be running an apex system, and although they have all of their cool monitoring for leaks, I have one better. Our house has a home monitoring system that has the option for water detectors. They are small, sleek, wireless, and awesome. They are meant for under sinks, by water heaters, etc. While I do have them in those locations, I also have one under my tank. If I have a leak, it sets an alarm off in the home, it sends me a text, and operator from the monitoring center calls me. If they can't get in touch with me, they will call my wife. If they cannot reach her they will call a family member I have as an emergency contact. I accidentally got the sensor wet the other day, and within 5 seconds I had already received the text and the incoming call came in.
8) Elegance. With the exception of the lights above the tank, we do not want to see any gear. No pumps, no reservoirs, no anything. We also decided against doing a closed cabinet. Without a fish room or basement, how will we ever accomplish that with so much gear... you'll have to wait and see.
9) Ease of use. I am adding a simple momentary switch that will trigger a 10 minute feed mode. This will turn of pumps for 10 minutes, and the skimmer for 20.
Contrary to what the system above suggests, I really believe in simple, elegant solutions. If my wife and I worked standard 9-5 jobs, we would probably not go as crazy gear wise as what I have outlined. However, I believe (or convinced myself cause I like tech stuff lol) that there are responsibilities with having a reef tank. Since we feel like we can sometimes fall short of these responsibilities, we invested the money in being sure these creatures are taken care of.
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ccombs
Valuable Member
Ok, so here is some exciting stuff. I have made a lot of plans and a lot of purchases, and when things start to get complex I do what is called a brain dump. When I do this I either write what is on my mind or sketch out a design. I do this for work and personal stuff on a daily basis. Since this system is growing in complexity, I sketched up a quick diagram that is sloppy, but it gets all of the basic components on paper. This allows me to be sure I don't miss any component on the install and have to re-do anything. Before I do my permanent install, I will lay everything out on my bench and program and label my components in a very simple way. This quick drawing will be a reference. When it is all said and done I will chart out a real schematic so I can reference how it all hooks up. You guys are about to be overwhelmed with labeling.
The design is a bit more complex than on paper, but this just helps me keep everything straight in my head when I start unpacking my BRS boxes and try to remember what every float, fitting, cable, etc. is for.
So without further delay, here is a sneak peak at the design.
This is what happens when I get bored at a hotel on the road lol.
The design is a bit more complex than on paper, but this just helps me keep everything straight in my head when I start unpacking my BRS boxes and try to remember what every float, fitting, cable, etc. is for.
So without further delay, here is a sneak peak at the design.
This is what happens when I get bored at a hotel on the road lol.
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ccombs
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Today the rebuild really picked up. I have the majority of my new parts and got to work programming and labeling before the install. I wanted to go ahead and get everything talking before I actually installed it.
Here is my APEX home screen (probes not calibrated or even wet yet)
Here is some of the new gear!
Here I am labeling away.
Every connector gets a label and heat shrink.
Connectors for DC power supplies and extensions all get heat shrink. Although this isn't an ip65 rated solution, it is more water resistant and keeps things from accidentally getting unplugged.
Getting lighting programmed.
I have some stuff coming up that I think is kind of a game changer in a way, it represents a whole new way of thinking in regards to keeping equipment.
Here is my APEX home screen (probes not calibrated or even wet yet)
Here is some of the new gear!
Here I am labeling away.
Every connector gets a label and heat shrink.
Connectors for DC power supplies and extensions all get heat shrink. Although this isn't an ip65 rated solution, it is more water resistant and keeps things from accidentally getting unplugged.
Getting lighting programmed.
I have some stuff coming up that I think is kind of a game changer in a way, it represents a whole new way of thinking in regards to keeping equipment.
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ccombs
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Today we are getting wet!
Also...I may or may not have put a hole though my wall today.... don't tell my wife!
Water is going in as we speak. I can only make RODI so fast!
Oh... and I remembered to wash my sand this time around!
Also...I may or may not have put a hole though my wall today.... don't tell my wife!
Water is going in as we speak. I can only make RODI so fast!
Oh... and I remembered to wash my sand this time around!
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ccombs
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It's 1:30am, I am still up just waiting for the RODI to finish filling up. I want to start getting this salt mixed tonight.
In the mean time, I wanted to share a few thoughts of my Aquatic Life 4 Stage RODI Filter.
This thing has done a great job. It is well built and an overall well designed product. My life revolves around designing systems and this gets my stamp of approval. It is very easy to change filters and at a very reasonable cost. I have been running it for several months and still getting 0 TDS on my output. The system comes with a ton of fittings to get you started. The only thing I can suggest it to skip their plastic valve tee that comes with it and grab a metal one from BRS. Overall, I give this product a thumbs up and highly recommend!
@AquaticLifeProducts Great Job! Also, I had to call their team with some questions in regards to flushing the membranes. Not only did they get in touch with me quick, they also did a great job explaining the science and goals behind flushing. I appreciate knowing the why as opposed to just knowing I need to flush for X amount of time.
In the mean time, I wanted to share a few thoughts of my Aquatic Life 4 Stage RODI Filter.
This thing has done a great job. It is well built and an overall well designed product. My life revolves around designing systems and this gets my stamp of approval. It is very easy to change filters and at a very reasonable cost. I have been running it for several months and still getting 0 TDS on my output. The system comes with a ton of fittings to get you started. The only thing I can suggest it to skip their plastic valve tee that comes with it and grab a metal one from BRS. Overall, I give this product a thumbs up and highly recommend!
@AquaticLifeProducts Great Job! Also, I had to call their team with some questions in regards to flushing the membranes. Not only did they get in touch with me quick, they also did a great job explaining the science and goals behind flushing. I appreciate knowing the why as opposed to just knowing I need to flush for X amount of time.
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ccombs
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Today I am starting my tank over via the @Lasse Method! I am drip acclimating my first fish in a specimen container at the moment. I made a super professional lid to keep the guy from jumping while I acclimate. I previously temperature matched by floating the bag, but now I am trying to do things the right way.
Lasse recommends not testing parameters, and I will follow this guide. I checked salinity after mixing up water, and put up a Seachem Ammonia Alert just to prevent any unnecessary deaths since it is a new tank. Outside of that I will be following word for word.
Lasse recommends not testing parameters, and I will follow this guide. I checked salinity after mixing up water, and put up a Seachem Ammonia Alert just to prevent any unnecessary deaths since it is a new tank. Outside of that I will be following word for word.
I´m sure it will works out well but you have to use your own head ans see whats happen. It is good with the ammonia alert if you feel more safe with that Just take it slow and the most important thing is the feeding regime. The steps I wrote down is not set in stone - sometimes you maybe need to adapt the steps for how it looks in your aquaria - use your own head.
Sincerely Lasse
Just take it slow and the most important thing is the feeding regime. The steps I wrote down is not set in stone - sometimes you maybe need to adapt the steps for how it looks in your aquaria - use your own head.Sincerely Lasse
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ccombs
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My head will certainly be in use! Hopefully nothing strays too far from your write up, but if there is one thing aquariums have taught me so far, it is that they hardly ever go to plan lol.I´m sure it will works out well but you have to use your own head ans see whats happen. It is good with the ammonia alert if you feel more safe with that
Sincerely Lasse
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