First Build: IM 50g AIO, Mixing Station, QT Setup
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OP
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dangles
Well-Known Member
One final update for the day. A buddy of mine is an engineer and has a 3D printer. He helped me make these dosing tube clips…
I REALLY like them! They’re simple. No screws or magnets or anything. They hold onto the tubes and the back wall of the tank really well. We’re going to keep tweaking the design to push the tubes a little farther away from the wall. We’re also going to create a probe holder version. Stay tuned
I REALLY like them! They’re simple. No screws or magnets or anything. They hold onto the tubes and the back wall of the tank really well. We’re going to keep tweaking the design to push the tubes a little farther away from the wall. We’re also going to create a probe holder version. Stay tuned
OP
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dangles
Well-Known Member
One of the downsides of using a chamber in the back of my AIO for the refugium…
I have the light mounted vertically, shining through the glass - which makes that same glass an algae magnet.
It’s forcing me to remove the fuge caddy and clean the tank glass each week so light can actually penetrate to the chaeto!
This is likely why my pH has been suffering the last few days - no photosynthesis in the fuge!
I have the light mounted vertically, shining through the glass - which makes that same glass an algae magnet.
It’s forcing me to remove the fuge caddy and clean the tank glass each week so light can actually penetrate to the chaeto!
This is likely why my pH has been suffering the last few days - no photosynthesis in the fuge!
OP
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dangles
Well-Known Member
So I saw a thread here a few weeks ago where the poster had used plastic mesh sheeting to “jump proof” the emergency overflow along the top of the back display wall. I thought that was a brilliant idea so I gave it a shot. I wish I could remember who it was so I could give them credit. If anybody knows let me know and I’ll tag them!
It seems to work beautifully!
Here’s what I used:
Pllieay 5 Pieces Black Plastic Mesh Sheets(10 x 13 inch) with Binding Bars&Cable Ties Kit for Embroidery, Fish Tank Divider Screen, Wall or Floor Mesh, Acrylic Yarn Crafting Knit and Crochet Projects https://a.co/d/gAyZTqA
I just cut it to size, and fastened it with a bead of super glue along the underside of the screen top.
It seems to work beautifully!
Here’s what I used:
Pllieay 5 Pieces Black Plastic Mesh Sheets(10 x 13 inch) with Binding Bars&Cable Ties Kit for Embroidery, Fish Tank Divider Screen, Wall or Floor Mesh, Acrylic Yarn Crafting Knit and Crochet Projects https://a.co/d/gAyZTqA
I just cut it to size, and fastened it with a bead of super glue along the underside of the screen top.
TheWB
Valuable Member
Those knitting screen sheets can have a lot of uses. I once made a diy algae turf scrubber out of it that hung below a in-tank floss holder in my lagoon 50. Worked pretty good.So I saw a thread here a few weeks ago where the poster had used plastic mesh sheeting to “jump proof” the emergency overflow along the top of the back display wall. I thought that was a brilliant idea so I gave it a shot. I wish I could remember who it was so I could give them credit. If anybody knows let me know and I’ll tag them!
It seems to work beautifully!
Here’s what I used:
Pllieay 5 Pieces Black Plastic Mesh Sheets(10 x 13 inch) with Binding Bars&Cable Ties Kit for Embroidery, Fish Tank Divider Screen, Wall or Floor Mesh, Acrylic Yarn Crafting Knit and Crochet Projects https://a.co/d/gAyZTqA
I just cut it to size, and fastened it with a bead of super glue along the underside of the screen top.
OP
OP
dangles
Well-Known Member
Doing great. She's a bit of a bully to my purple dart fish but she's backed off a little since I got the Midas blenny and Tomini tang. Both are more dom than the gramma is!
TheWB
Valuable Member
I have one too and it's always been a good tank mate. No aggression whatsoever. I couldn't imagine having a tank without one.Doing great. She's a bit of a bully to my purple dart fish but she's backed off a little since I got the Midas blenny and Tomini tang. Both are more dom than the gramma is!
Gumbies R Us
Certified Noob
I need to make one of those for my tank!So I saw a thread here a few weeks ago where the poster had used plastic mesh sheeting to “jump proof” the emergency overflow along the top of the back display wall. I thought that was a brilliant idea so I gave it a shot. I wish I could remember who it was so I could give them credit. If anybody knows let me know and I’ll tag them!
It seems to work beautifully!
Here’s what I used:
Pllieay 5 Pieces Black Plastic Mesh Sheets(10 x 13 inch) with Binding Bars&Cable Ties Kit for Embroidery, Fish Tank Divider Screen, Wall or Floor Mesh, Acrylic Yarn Crafting Knit and Crochet Projects https://a.co/d/gAyZTqA
I just cut it to size, and fastened it with a bead of super glue along the underside of the screen top.
OP
OP
dangles
Well-Known Member
I built a box out of an ABS plastic sheet and hung it from the back edge using those moldable cable ties. Prior to that I was using a 2x4 stood vertically. I just zip tied it near the top lol
Neither option is ideal really. I’m working on a 3D printed light shade/mount that will hang from the back. A much nicer/sleeker version of the box I’m using now.
OP
OP
dangles
Well-Known Member
8 months in and it appears I'm finally experiencing some legit uglies!
I'm beginning to think it's dinos based on visuals, and input from some others on a thread I posted about them. They disappear completely at night and reappear when the lights come back on. I'm turning off my lights for the next few days to see if that helps.
My parameters are as follows:
pH 7.85-7.95
dKH 9ish
NO3 0.4 (down from 1.0 last week and 1.1 the week before)
PO4 0.06 (0.04, 0.03 in the preceding weeks)
Ca 410
Mg 1170 (added 570 mL of BRS liquid mag after that reading)
My uncle is a microbiology professor at a local college. I'm going to bring a sample to him later this week to examine under a microscope and see what light he can shed on the issue. I'll update here when I do!
I'm beginning to think it's dinos based on visuals, and input from some others on a thread I posted about them. They disappear completely at night and reappear when the lights come back on. I'm turning off my lights for the next few days to see if that helps.
My parameters are as follows:
pH 7.85-7.95
dKH 9ish
NO3 0.4 (down from 1.0 last week and 1.1 the week before)
PO4 0.06 (0.04, 0.03 in the preceding weeks)
Ca 410
Mg 1170 (added 570 mL of BRS liquid mag after that reading)
My uncle is a microbiology professor at a local college. I'm going to bring a sample to him later this week to examine under a microscope and see what light he can shed on the issue. I'll update here when I do!
OP
OP
dangles
Well-Known Member
Thanks!
Still no corals lol
I'm moving in a few months, selling my house and moving in with my fiancé. We already have a spot picked out for a new (bigger!) tank
I figure I may as well wait and avoid the hassle of moving corals AND fish into a new tank. I'm working on the aquascape now
OP
OP
dangles
Well-Known Member
Let’s give this UV thing a try…
You can see the dinos in my previous posts. A little over two weeks ago I shut off the lights completely. Not a total blackout, but no artificial lights. I also reduced my fuge light from 24/7 to just 12 hours a day, and slowly started increasing my temps to 81-82. This was Plan A, aka my “inexpensive” (free!) option.
You can see in the UV photo that there are no longer dinos in the display. There are however still a bunch in the fuge in the back chamber. I wasn’t willing to turn off my fuge light completely because even at half the run-time I’ve seen a huge spike in my phosphate (0.23 ppm!). So I opted for Plan B - the UV.
I spent probably hours trying to find a pump that could deliver the necessary 500(ish) gph, and figure out how to best incorporate it into my system. In the end I realized the return pump that came with the system delivered… wait for it… 500(ish) gph and had the same size barb fitting! So I just ran tubing from the return pump to the UV input. Simple! I just hope to god it doesn’t leak lol. I placed my leak sensor on the floor underneath the tubing/UV and made sure the return pump outlet on my EB832 was programmed to shut off if the leak sensor were to trip.
I should also note that I’ve been dosing phyto daily, as well as Microbacter Clean, since I started the tank. I have not changed those practices any since the dinos popped up. So I reason that either the reduced light + increased temps knocked out most of the dinos, or my pod and beneficial bacteria population finally caught up. Maybe/probably both. No way to know for sure, but I suspect the former because of how the dinos were accelerating right up until I made the changes to my lighting and temps. But that’s just a semi-educated guess
Anyway the one thing I didn’t anticipate was that since my return pump outlet has been redirected through the UV, it’s no longer sending water through the return nozzles - which were providing all the surface agitation! I’m not sure what I’ll do about that in the near term.
I’m going to return my fuge light to 24/7 now that the UV is running in the hopes I can bring my phosphates back down. I might put the GFO bag back in the back. We’ll see how my levels are next week when I re-check.
Actually there was one other thing I didn’t anticipate…..
I now have 500 gph being sent right to one spot on the bottom of my tank
You can see the dinos in my previous posts. A little over two weeks ago I shut off the lights completely. Not a total blackout, but no artificial lights. I also reduced my fuge light from 24/7 to just 12 hours a day, and slowly started increasing my temps to 81-82. This was Plan A, aka my “inexpensive” (free!) option.
You can see in the UV photo that there are no longer dinos in the display. There are however still a bunch in the fuge in the back chamber. I wasn’t willing to turn off my fuge light completely because even at half the run-time I’ve seen a huge spike in my phosphate (0.23 ppm!). So I opted for Plan B - the UV.
I spent probably hours trying to find a pump that could deliver the necessary 500(ish) gph, and figure out how to best incorporate it into my system. In the end I realized the return pump that came with the system delivered… wait for it… 500(ish) gph and had the same size barb fitting! So I just ran tubing from the return pump to the UV input. Simple! I just hope to god it doesn’t leak lol. I placed my leak sensor on the floor underneath the tubing/UV and made sure the return pump outlet on my EB832 was programmed to shut off if the leak sensor were to trip.
I should also note that I’ve been dosing phyto daily, as well as Microbacter Clean, since I started the tank. I have not changed those practices any since the dinos popped up. So I reason that either the reduced light + increased temps knocked out most of the dinos, or my pod and beneficial bacteria population finally caught up. Maybe/probably both. No way to know for sure, but I suspect the former because of how the dinos were accelerating right up until I made the changes to my lighting and temps. But that’s just a semi-educated guess
Anyway the one thing I didn’t anticipate was that since my return pump outlet has been redirected through the UV, it’s no longer sending water through the return nozzles - which were providing all the surface agitation! I’m not sure what I’ll do about that in the near term.
I’m going to return my fuge light to 24/7 now that the UV is running in the hopes I can bring my phosphates back down. I might put the GFO bag back in the back. We’ll see how my levels are next week when I re-check.
Actually there was one other thing I didn’t anticipate…..
I now have 500 gph being sent right to one spot on the bottom of my tank
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