First saltwater tank, 40 breeder

[KleineVampir]

Anybody got any recommendations for powerheads/wavemakers/gyres? If I make a bunch of waves will my ATO still work properly? Also I want one that is very enclosed, very safe for fishies and cucumby and everybody in there. I was thinking about the hydor nano...it looks like one that nothing can get into and I don't think a 40b needs too much power. At the same time it would be cool to get a wavemaker or something like that just for fun. Especially if it was safer.

Yeah my old powerhead finally stopped working. It got totally clogged with hair algae. I tried drying it out but this time it just wouldn't start up again.

 

[KleineVampir]

I ordered a Gyre. This one here: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/1k-gyre-generation-pump-with-controller-1000-gph-icecap.html

I definitely need some gas exchange probably more than anything. Otherwise I can't just keep adding soda ash to try to get the pH up. I'm hoping I have better luck with gyres than I've had with powerheads.

 

[NY_Caveman]

I ordered a Gyre. This one here: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/1k-gyre-generation-pump-with-controller-1000-gph-icecap.html

I definitely need some gas exchange probably more than anything. Otherwise I can't just keep adding soda ash to try to get the pH up. I'm hoping I have better luck with gyres than I've had with powerheads.

That is what I have. Love the flow, just keep it clean. Honestly, I use the mesh covers and usually get away with just cleaning them for a while.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ice Cap 1k gyre or MP40 should suffice

 

[KleineVampir]

That is what I have. Love the flow, just keep it clean. Honestly, I use the mesh covers and usually get away with just cleaning them for a while.

Oh yeah? How do you clean either of those things?

 

[KleineVampir]

The BRS guy said soak it in citric acid, but honestly; who has citric acid? How about vinegar? That I have!

Also I am regretting part of the setup on this build. The fuge was a good idea but I don't think it's good enough. I think what I shoulda done was actually get another 40b for a sump. Just the most gigantic sump ever full of chaeto. That's one experiment I wish I could do. I could if I managed to save up some money.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Oh yeah? How do you clean either of those things?

I just rinse the mesh. I take the gyre apart and soak in vinegar every few months (I am going to switch to Citric Acid though. Very cheap on Amazon). You basically have to figure it out. Finding info on taking the gyre apart and back together was not easy. If I recall, I found a useful one from CoralVue for the 3K gyre and figured it out. BTW, there are two versions of the 1K.

 

[KleineVampir]

Actually I saw that. I was trying to figure out what a gyre even was so I wanted to see the actual mechanism. Looked pretty wild taking it apart completely but you probably don't have to take it all the way apart every time.

Anyways I ordered an iron supplement for the chaeto. Brightwell makes chaeto gro, which is what I got...but a reefer youtuber guy said that just the iron does more for your chaeto. I just hope I'm not feeding the hair algae at the same time. I guess if I do a manual removal right before I dose the iron...that might help the chaeto get to it.

 

[KleineVampir]

Ok I'll ask for suggestions again but hopefully this time you'll actually have time to answer!

I'm now thinking what I want to do is make a 40b sump. Does anybody know any good reliable submersible pumps? Something fairly cheap. I don't need something that pumps a million gallons a second, I just need something that has the strength and reliability to keep getting water up there. Also something that isn't gonna heat the water too much.

Then I'm planning to make a DIY overflow and return pipe with PVC pipes, which I know probably ain't gonna look good. We'll see what I can do. Seems wack to pay 200 dollars for an overflow box. Otherwise I'd get one, but a 10 buck PVC overflow starts looking pretty good. For now I just want something that works. When I get a hold of more money I can have a better looking system.

 

[KleineVampir]

Man...that said, how am I gonna add almost 40 gallons to a 40 gallon system? Just put a bunch of new saltwater in the sump before I turn it on, I guess. I dunno hopefully that doesn't get the water out of whack.

Anyways here's what I'm looking to do for the overflow:

 

[KleineVampir]

The first step is getting a hold of a fairly cheap 40b though. Oh well, the fuge is at least buying me time to mess with this.

I got the gyre in there. The geniuses that designed this thing decided 50% was a good place to start. Well, that kicked up a lot of stuff! This tank has been very low flow for a long time. The good news is that a lot of the hair algae got sucked into the fuge. Some of it was so loose that just the increased flow took it off. It was kind of a crazy mess at first but it started shaping up. Besides I managed to turn the thing way down. I don't know why but 10% in reverse is a lot more gentle than 10% forward. Right now it's just on 10% in reverse...I think the critters have had a wild enough time.

But yeah so far I think I spent a bit too much money on something with too much power. I get to see what a gyre is and how it works in the long run though. Hopefully it's more resilient to the odd bit of hair algae. Also the instructions are insanely vague. They're enough of a hint I guess, but not clear enough to be clear right away. The setup of the physical unit is obvious, but how to program it isn't. I think I get the hang of it but I still don't get the whole time period thing. I think I get that too but I'm not sure. You get 3 time periods, and for each one you just put in 1 time. Presumably the thing happens at the time and goes until it hits another time, at which point it would do the other thing. And I guess a max of 3 things can happen in 1 day. Ha.

 

[KleineVampir]

Hm...now I'm thinking, maybe just get an algae reactor instead. Might cost a bit but man...I'd have to reinforce the bottom part of the table that I have. It isn't as sturdy as the top part. 40 gallons is a lot of water. Maybe the reactor does what I'm hoping for without all the extra hassle.

 

[KleineVampir]

Eh...not really that impressed by the reactors. I think more chaeto is better. Chaeto can only grow so fast. I still want that big sump fulla chaeto! Just not sure how I'm gonna do it.

 

[KleineVampir]

Maybe I'll just make it a 20 gallon. That way it's still pretty big but not ridiculous.

 

[KleineVampir]

I put the iron in. I do hate the bottle it comes in. It says shake well, but when I shake it, it leaks.

 

[KleineVampir]

I dinked around with the flow pattern and I managed to get it to only go every 15 seconds, for 4 seconds I think. This time 10% positive so the flow is fairly strong. I think that simulates the ocean about as much as I can get it to!

 

[KleineVampir]

Sigh...ya know what could really turbo-charge my chaeto? The kessil fuge light. But you know, people keep saying it stops working after a few months. I dunno...it's like I would get it, but not if it's not gonna work for that long. Same spectrum, just lower output. At least mine doesn't quit though. The kessil probably has too much firepower for what it can really handle. Sounds like it's melting it's own insides...especially if the fan stops working. Then it won't work at all!

 

[KleineVampir]

If I could turbo charge my chaeto, I could avoid the whole sump thing. Apparently the glass people didn't want to do my custom mirror work. That's too bad because I think that'd go pretty far to helping the chaeto and reducing the light bleed...which would help the chaeto even more.

 

[KleineVampir]

Wow...the sea hare died. I shoulda caught it sooner. He was really stinking up the place. I thought he was just being slow and eating in the same place...I shoulda known! Bless the ceriths though, because they crawled out of the water. They usually don't do that so that's how I knew something was wrong.

I know it wasn't the longest trial run of having sea hares, but from my experience they aren't worth it. Now my whole tank is in jeopardy because of that thing. The last thing you wanna do is put a ticking time bomb in your tank.

Just gotta hold on and hope for the best! The fish seem ok. I hope the worst is over and the tank can recover. I put in some active carbon that I got from that cheapo filter I bought from a while back. It still had some of the old silt on it from when I was starting up the tank...kinda interesting. Clouded up the water a bit but I dunno what to do other than try to run that carbon.

 

[KleineVampir]

Everything seems fine, though the snails have been hit to some extent I think. The fish don't seem bothered at all, which kinda surprised me. I thought snails were a little tougher than fish but maybe fish are really the toughest of all. They didn't skip a beat!

On the other hand, the Trochus snails seem to be dying for some reason. Or they're extremely weak and constantly falling off the glass. This was happening before the hare died but more now that it has. There seem to be tiny snail babies everywhere on the glass, so I can only assume the trochuses are breeding, and maybe it's slowly killing them? Maybe they got too many nutrients at once from all the algae, bred too much, and now are either dying or weak as a result. I honestly do not know but those are some theories. I am constantly pushing them back onto the glass after they've fallen. I've never had such high maintenance snails before or anything like this happen! I dunno what their deal is!

The chaeto does seem to be growing like crazy, or it could just be my imagination. I'm pretty sure the growth has indeed increased significantly though.