Fishroom Reality Check

[User]

Morning check to feed and see how everyone is doing. Crabs and snails are doing crabby and snaily things, the clowns are eating brine shrimp like crazy and mr shrimp...

... had a molt, lol. Didn’t take long.

Into DT after daycare run!

 

[User]

I’m going to hold off putting Leo (wife is naming ALL the tank inhabitants after West Wing characters since she’s on reruns. [emoji52]) until I bring the sump back online and get it stabilized.

Figured this was a ‘stress molt’ and don’t want to put him through another one (potentially) so quick by putting him into an unstable DT

 

[User]

Just transferred 50 gals nsw to my sump and am mixing 50 more. Aiming to get sump online sometime Sunday, if the naps align and I get a few hours.

Painting the nursery today. I hate painting.

 

[Dubs83]

Just transferred 50 gals nsw to my sump and am mixing 50 more. Aiming to get sump online sometime Sunday, if the naps align and I get a few hours.

Painting the nursery today. I hate painting.

Too bad you don’t live closer, my fiancé LOVES painting. I don’t understand it!

 

[User]

Too bad you don’t live closer, my fiancé LOVES painting. I don’t understand it!

I’ll pay her airfare. I’m only partly joking

 

[Dubs83]

She’ll probably pay her own at the idea of painting! [emoji6]

 

[User]

She’ll probably pay her own at the idea of painting! [emoji6]

Lol

 

[User]

Just saw one of the urchins spawn out about 30-40 eggs while sitting on the outcrop. [emoji3]

 

[User]

So, I’m a bit bummed.

For my scape, I used hydraulic cement to make small 2” pedestal blocks to keep the rocks off the glass and allow for burrowing animals access under the rocks.

I also used it to elevate a Tonga shelf piece on top of a piece of pukani. I cemented little chunks of pukani into the large block to provide a 4 point contact to sit the shelf on.

Looks like this-

a

Last night, I switched my gyre to the opposite side in preparation for getting my RFA on my return and bringing the sump in line.

This morning, I found this-

It’s chunks of fragmented hydraulic cement, and the areas I attached the ‘contact points’ for the shelf are crumbling and falling off. Seems the switch in flow direction collected it all and made it obvious to see. The shelf is still stable at this point, but it’s only been in a month , so it’s not looking good for long term stability. However, the shelf weighs like 30lbs, so I don’t think it very likely something will knock it off the pukani, but uugghh, I’m stressing.

I’m thinking I’m going to need to drop my water level, take the plate off, and epoxy the contact points more thoroughly.

I don’t want to use any more of the cement, since it’s obviously not working for that application. The blocks seem fine though.

Any recommendations for a quick set epoxy that I could use?

 

[Dubs83]

Agh, I read about this regarding hydraulic cement. I started working on my scape today and can tell you the Aquaforest Stonefix cement isn’t much better. I keep reading good things about the emarco cement along with Jurassic Gel 4540. I do believe BRS sells both!

Good luck!

 

[najer]

Ouch, if it has broken down can it release anything into the water, I have never used it?

 

[User]

It sucks. The blocks seem fine, it just seems to be a particular batch I made for the contact points. If I’d read anything about it crumbling the way it has, I’d have avoided it in favor of the Jurassic gel. That worked awesome on my other structure, but the fumes were nasty and it was real messy.

I’m going to try a 2-part reef epoxy and some Jurassic gel.

I’m so bummed, but I’ll get it fixed up.

It really shouldn’t leach anything, but who knows. It’s apparently very similar in composition to Emarco 400 but they add an accelerator or something. This has it premixed.

I’m tempted to take some of my left over chunks, grind them up a bit and put them in some nsw for ~2-3 months , then do an ICP test. I’d planned one for my DT at the 3 month mark as a baseline test, so adding 2 more (nsw alone got comparison) isn’t an issue

 

[User]

And while I was stressing about that, I drilled a siphon break in my 90 fitting that has the new RFA nozzle in it. On the wrong side. After gluing (the last 90 and rfa aren’t glued) so now it shoots a 1/4” stream of water over the rim of my tank, right where I planned to House my light power supplies...

So off to Lowe’s for another couple fittings before I can get it online again

 

[User]

Just a couple pics to lift the tone of the thread a little. Getting a wee bit dour in here

 

[Dubs83]

And while I was stressing about that, I drilled a siphon break in my 90 fitting that has the new RFA nozzle in it. On the wrong side. After gluing (the last 90 and rfa aren’t glued) so now it shoots a 1/4” stream of water over the rim of my tank, right where I planned to House my light power supplies...

So off to Lowe’s for another couple fittings before I can get it online again

When I get days like that, I have to remind myself this is supposed to be relaxing. I then step away and let my brain calm down a bit before I go at it again. Keep up the good work, Neil!

 

[User]

When I get days like that, I have to remind myself this is supposed to be relaxing. I then step away and let my brain calm down a bit before I go at it again. Keep up the good work, Neil!

Thanks man. Yeah- I stepped away picked up my 2yo from daycare and took her to the grocery store. Where she proceeded to have a melt down over not getting to eat a box of Parmesan cheese wisps.

Some days you can’t win

 

[User]

So, started Copper Power on my onyx clowns today.

Gave them a water change and a big feed yesterday, then this morning i dosed them with copper. I’m taking them up to 1.75 with a 5 day/ 10 dose (0.95ml) ramp. Each dose should increase copper by 0.175ppm

I added 0.95 ml of CP, then tested 30 minutes later with my Hanna high range checker- it came out at 0.2 ppm. So a bit of math, and I’ll add a correction to my dosing to keep the days total addition to 0.35ppm

The error is that my calculated 9.25 gallon volume is more like 8.5g.

Also did a 50% wc on Leo the skunk cleaner.

Off to Lowe’s later to get a few replacement pvc fittings, then hopefully get the sump back online tomorrow.

 

[Dubs83]

So, started Copper Power on my onyx clowns today.

Gave them a water change and a big feed yesterday, then this morning i dosed them with copper. I’m taking them up to 1.75 with a 5 day/ 10 dose (0.95ml) ramp. Each dose should increase copper by 0.175ppm

I added 0.95 ml of CP, then tested 30 minutes later with my Hanna high range checker- it came out at 0.2 ppm. So a bit of math, and I’ll add a correction to my dosing to keep the days total addition to 0.35ppm

The error is that my calculated 9.25 gallon volume is more like 8.5g.

Also did a 50% wc on Leo the skunk cleaner.

Off to Lowe’s later to get a few replacement pvc fittings, then hopefully get the sump back online tomorrow.

Back at it! [emoji6]. I just checked on my guys and it looks like the ich has fallen off. Retested the water and we are still at 2.0 and 2.0. Another 12 days!

 

[User]

Yeah- I need these guys in DT by Christmas, for our girls Christmas party. We have a bunch of 2-4 year olds coming over December 20th, and she’s been telling everyone about her ‘onx fish’

Sounds like your treatments are going well. Good luck for the next couple weeks

 

[User]

Got Algae?

You see it?



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Look closer...

Lol.