Homers 80G Started on RC

homer1475 · Nov 25, 2020

Forgot to mention......

I saw an emerald crab this morning!!!!!

I had thought all were dead. The last one I put in my tank was probably like 2 years ago! I've never seen him till this morning, just munching away on some algae. Never found a body either, but if something dies in my tank, I typically never find the body anyways.

homer1475 · Nov 26, 2020

So I think my blue star might be dead!

She's usually one of the first fish up in the AM, and just realized when I was cleaning the glass, she wasn't out. Searched around the tank, looked in the overflow, emptied the plumbing(I've had fish go down the piping and die in the gate valve), no fish.

She's either still sleeping(highly unlikely), or still in the sand transitioning? Maybe? I was thinking she was way to small to be transitioning, but I guess it's a possibility with another female leopard.

I will not go digging around in the sand for her. Worst thing you can do to any sand sleeper. If she died, my CUC will take care of it.

RichtheReefer21 · Nov 26, 2020

Hopefully the blue shows up for ya. Cool to see life pop up we thought long lost. Like the crab u mentioned. You have some great looking corals spread out everywhere too. Reef looks great bud.

homer1475 · Dec 2, 2020

Low and behold, the blue star was just sleeping in! She popped up around dinner time, and has been out and about ever since. Odd behavior for leopards, but she seems to be fine and is eating like a pig.

Dino's are still ticking things off a bit, my poor cream colored RFA is just all squished up and not liking the dino's at all.

Headed to the city this AM to pickup some plumbing parts for the UV. No idea how these dino's started as my nutrients are always kept up well above 0(nitrates 5 to 10, and phosphates right around .1).

I've had them before, and 3 day blackout with UV has always cleared them up. Corals aren't suffering as all my new SPS frags are growing and coloring up nicely, just no polyp extension as I believe the dino's are also ticking them off a bit.

homer1475 · Dec 2, 2020

I have 2 corals(well 1 coral and one RFA) that have been with me through everything in the last 20 or so years. My cream colored RFA, and a photosynthetic gorg.

The RFA was my mom's favorite coral, and I try my hardest to keep it alive and thriving as it reminds me of my mom(past away 2 years ago). The gorg has been fragged many, many times and has been given to anyone I know with a reef tank.

Neither one are liking the dino's, and the gorg is suffering the most. Really need to get this snot cleaned up before either one takes a turn for the worse.

ShepherdReefer · Dec 2, 2020

Looking good.

homer1475 · Dec 2, 2020

Oh yeah forgot to mention.....

My R2R SS got me the Hanna nitrate checker. While I appreciate the gift, it's certainly something I would have never bought for myself after reading all the issues people are having with using it, and all the steps required to perform the test.

Well I ran 10 tests, back to back, on my tank, and my mixing station water.

First 2 tests on my tank came back above the limit of the low range part of the reader. OK, lets do the dilution steps to see if I can get anything close to what my other tests give. NOPE, not even close! Most other tests come back between 6 and 8. Hanna come back around 30ppm........Ok maybe I'm doing something wrong with the test? Try again for a third time, and again I get 25(forget the actual number now, but it was way above what every other test kit tells me).

SO I decide to test the mixing barrel as you need 0 nitrate SW for the dilution step. 3 tests come back around at .50ppm. Not what I was expecting, but workable. Just subtract the .50 from the result, right?

Another tank test with the dilution method(accounting for the fact I have .50 in my NSW). Even after doing the math and subtracting the .50 from my NSW, The hanna is still way off from 3 other test kits.

Back in the box and into the cabinet it goes, never to be used again. If it didn't take 10 minutes to perform the test, and another 10 minutes to clean everything afterwards, I might actually use it. I'm not looking for an absolute number, but rather that there is a build up of NO3 in the water column for the corals to use. So anything above 0 or 1 on the meter is good, but I do keep my nutrients above the low range of the checker which renders it pretty much useless when you have to dilute the sample.

homer1475 · Dec 2, 2020

6 am I was on the road on my way to lowes.....

Got all the parts needed to get the UV plumbed in. Wasn't bad I was home by 10.

Got it all plumbed in and fired up. Used my existing ATS plumbing as I'm not currently using that, but left the plumbing there for future use. Worked out well as all I have to do to convert back to the ATS is break the union.

Hopefully it helps my dino issues. I'll start a three day blackout tonight when my lights go out. Also want to test my ALK as last time I did a 3 day blackout my ALK rose to over 9.

All plumbed in....

It's alive!!! Site glass on the bottom to see if the bulb is on.

Snotty dino's!

This poor frag, I keep blowing off the dino's a couple times, a day, but they just grow right back. It's still kicking though!

And the FTS. You can see the dino's and cyano in the sandbed)cyano from increasing nutrients to combat the dino)

Could just be me, but just in the last 2 hours it's been running, my water seems to be clearer already.
Tried a different filter for those pics. Didn't use the orange filter, but used the 20k filter. The macro shots look good, but the FTS looks too blue. Not to self, use the orange filter for FTS's.

RichtheReefer21 · Dec 3, 2020

homer1475 said:
6 am I was on the road on my way to lowes.....

Got all the parts needed to get the UV plumbed in. Wasn't bad I was home by 10.

Got it all plumbed in and fired up. Used my existing ATS plumbing as I'm not currently using that, but left the plumbing there for future use. Worked out well as all I have to do to convert back to the ATS is break the union.

Hopefully it helps my dino issues. I'll start a three day blackout tonight when my lights go out. Also want to test my ALK as last time I did a 3 day blackout my ALK rose to over 9.

All plumbed in....

It's alive!!! Site glass on the bottom to see if the bulb is on.

Snotty dino's!

This poor frag, I keep blowing off the dino's a couple times, a day, but they just grow right back. It's still kicking though!

And the FTS. You can see the dino's and cyano in the sandbed)cyano from increasing nutrients to combat the dino)

Could just be me, but just in the last 2 hours it's been running, my water seems to be clearer already.
Tried a different filter for those pics. Didn't use the orange filter, but used the 20k filter. The macro shots look good, but the FTS looks too blue. Not to self, use the orange filter for FTS's.

Considering the dinos are present, i still day hats off to a beautiful fts. Nice work on the uv plumbing, k.i.s.s.

Stay salty

homer1475 · Dec 8, 2020

Came off my 3 day blackout with the UV running to a pristine tank! ******* yeah!!!!! NO MORE DINO'S!!!!!!

Unfortunately my little blue star leopard has died. For some reason it just plain stopped eating. I have plenty of pods(I can see them on the glass at night) as my mandy is plenty fat, and it was eating anything I threw in the tank. After the blackout, it just refused to eat. 2 days later, it's dead on the sand with a pinched belly. Pinched so bad, it was even pinched behind the head. So he/she must not have been eating for a while, and I never noticed.

Everything else is doing wonderfully. I'll snap some pics and post in the next post.

homer1475 · Dec 8, 2020

Pics as promised:

Frags, FYI I HATE FRAG RACKS! I just hate the way they look in the tank. Soon as these start to take off, I'll remove it.

Copps 24K gold millipora, it's at the back of the tank, top of the rockwork. Hard to get a pic of:

Princess peach:

Poto rise and shine. This is the one that was riddled with dino's. Still kicking:

Fox flame:

Oregon tort:

Green slimer:

Green with purple polyp monti:

My 2 baby rock flowers:

Hairy pavona:

And the obligatory FTS:

homer1475 · Dec 8, 2020

Some of those are a little blurry.....

Need to take some more with that clip on lens and play with the pro settings. Hard to get focus(auto) in the tank with stuff floating by. The shot looks good, click, something floats by and it gets blurry. Happens alot with the macro lens.

I think the pro setting allows me to manual focus. LIke I said, I need to play around with it a bit more.

RichtheReefer21 · Dec 8, 2020

homer1475 said:
Pics as promised:

Frags, FYI I HATE FRAG RACKS! I just hate the way they look in the tank. Soon as these start to take off, I'll remove it.

Copps 24K gold millipora, it's at the back of the tank, top of the rockwork. Hard to get a pic of:

Princess peach:

Poto rise and shine. This is the one that was riddled with dino's. Still kicking:

Fox flame:

Oregon tort:

Green slimer:

Green with purple polyp monti:

My 2 baby rock flowers:

Hairy pavona:

And the obligatory FTS:

Great FTS and nice shots of the new sticks. They are doing well even with the blackout. Nice work.

homer1475 · Dec 10, 2020

Well I sold my old snowmobiles yesterday, haven't ridden in 5 years! Since my wife was diagnosed with lupus, she can't do the cold anymore, my BIL died riding, and the rest of the Fam just kind of fell out of riding.

Anyways......

Think I might buy a trident. I do have to update to the 2016 apex, so I'm not to sure I really want to. Any and most problems lately with the apex are all the newer 2016 model. My older model has been rock stable for years now, so not 100% sure I want to replace it.

homer1475 · Dec 10, 2020

On that same note, been thinking about picking up 2 versa pumps for AWC too.

Which to do?

Decisions decisions......

homer1475 · Dec 10, 2020

Come on @RichtheReefer21 since your the only one reading my thread, you could at least sway me one way or the other.

RichtheReefer21 · Dec 10, 2020

homer1475 said:
Well I sold my old snowmobiles yesterday, haven't ridden in 5 years! Since my wife was diagnosed with lupus, she can't do the cold anymore, my BIL died riding, and the rest of the Fam just kind of fell out of riding.

Anyways......

Think I might buy a trident. I do have to update to the 2016 apex, so I'm not to sure I really want to. Any and most problems lately with the apex are all the newer 2016 model. My older model has been rock stable for years now, so not 100% sure I want to replace it.

I miss my 750 cat. Of course dad had the yamaha 4stroke beast. Did 120 across Lake Winnapasakee on his. Miss corridor 5 runs from St johnsbury, Nh to Mt Washinton.

Good luck with the sales, im currently debating which apex to go with as well. Best wishes for your wife and her condition as well. I have a friend with the same diagnosis and its tough.

Happy holidays. Reef on.