Irishman 180 Build

[asting]

Just got my Red Sea test kit in and I tested my ammonia at lunch, Red Sea reads at 1.2 ammonia, which is a way better reading than Salifert.

Now here is the main question. Since I know what my ammonia is at now, should I dose up to 2 PPM, or just go with it and let it cycle where its at?

I'd go with it. Let that process. How many fish re you adding at a time anyway?

 

[Hallowhead]

I am looking for a picture of the Herbie. I couldn't seem to find one.

What size piping? 1"?

Looks super clean!

 

[Irishman]

I'd go with it. Let that process. How many fish re you adding at a time anyway?

Probably two to three fish

 

[Irishman]

Tested my ammonia two days ago and I’m already at .8 so the cycling is going by pretty fast I’d say. I have been just testing ammonia though and nothing else yet.

I will start testing other parameters when I get home from CO. Wife wanted to surprise her mom for her birthday and it also happens to be our anniversary and Father’s Day so we’re going to go to a renaissance festival while we’re here. We did stop by some fish stores I used to go to a lot here and I picked up 2 300W titanium heaters with controller as well as some salt.

 

[Irishman]

Got back from CO last night and was able to test my tank and I am fully cycled. Ammonia is 0, Nitrite is 0 and Nitrate is 20PPM. I also was able to get one of my heaters going and attached to the tank with a magnetic heater holder that I bought from Zen Reef. I also had a new ATO container come in as well that I'll hook up.

 

[Irishman]

Tank finished cycling and have some clean up crew Otw to the house next week. I decided to get the water movement in my tank going. I am using an MP40 (yellow circle in pic) and maxspect Gyre XF250 (yellow square in pic). It a 180 tank.



This combo is wrecking havick on my drain system, dual Herbie with 2 emergency drains. I had ever tuned perfectly before I turned them on.

I’m only having problem with one drain, I was able to stable the other one. With the drain that is giving me problems, when the MP40 kicks into high gear is rushes all the water to the weir, overflows it and rushes down the emergency drain. When I tune the drain it plummets the water level roughly 4” above the full siphone

Should I go to one wave maker? Use them in a different way? I’m all ears for any suggestions.

 

[Irishman]

Got my clean up crew on order from reefcleaners.org. Ordered 10 trochus snails, 2 Halloween hermits, 20 nassarius snails, 20 blue leg hermits, 1 conch, 20 assorted hermits. Last time I had trochus they spawned like crazy so I’m hoping that will happen again. I also ordered some pods and phyto from @AlgaeBarn to help jump start my tank for a mandarin when I get one.

Going to get my stock list together here soon and post up to see what everyone thinks about it.

 

[asting]

Interesting conundrum re flow. I noticed my overflows are louder (mainly waves dropping into the overflow box) when the powerhead are running.

 

[Irishman]

Going to swap out my MP40 and Gyre with the two @Rossmont movers I won in the give away! They should be arriving tomorrow and the controller is already here that I purchased at @Bulk Reef Supply.

Got some hermits and snails in the tank now and a shrimp goby combo. Posted up my stock list on another form but I’ll put it here too.

Will update later when I make the swap and do more stuff to the tank.

Bella goby or Diamond Goby
Harlequin Tusk
Blonde Naso Tang
Purple tang
Fox Face (magnificent or bi color)
Pair of clowns
Helfrichi firefish x2
Flame wrasse (male and female)
Agile Chrimos
Red Mandarin
Leopard wrasse
Labouti wrasse
Twelve line wrasse
Rainbow wrasse
Watchman goby paired with shrimp

 

[Rossmont]

Thank you @Irishman . Whichever question you'll have we rest at your disposal

 

[Irishman]

Got some more fish for the tank. So far I have gotten a Bella goby, 2 helfrichi fire fish and a pintail fairy wrasse.

I was also was able to work on a skirt for my tank and completed it yesterday.

 

[Irishman]

Tank has been doing good for the most part. Parameters are where they should be. Took down my MP40 and Maxspect and using the rossmont system. Traded my Maxspect for some Zoas and put them in today. So far they are all responding well to the tank. Only time will tell.

I did get a trigger ATO container that I want to use, but I would need to drill a hole in it to plumb my RO/DI line in it with a float switch. Has anyone drilled into a trigger sump before to add something to it? Did it crack?

 

[Irishman]

It’s been a while since I gave an update. So here it goes.

Tank is going through a tough ugly algae and cyano outbreak. Most of my fish have passed away and now am down to two fish. I did order the fish online, I don’t QT them, and put them in the tank. They eat for the first day then go on strike. I’m also currently dealing with a mold issue at the top of my tank so I’m going to figure what’s that’s all about before I add anything else. And also get the algae under control.

I have added chem clean today and will start up my cheato reactor this weekend to help with combat.

 

[Irishman]

Seems like I’m going to restart the tank. Algae has gotten out of control and the cyano came back.

Read something interesting about why my CUC may have died. When I added coral to the tank I used Bayers insect solution, the one everyone gets at Lowe’s. Anyways after I dipped my coral I dipped them in fresh water and put them in the tank, shortly after that my CUC started going down hill with some exceptions of some snails. Originally thought it was a rouge pistol shrimp but after reading an article posted on FB by R2R and skimming through the comments, of you don’t really clean off the frags the dip can wreck the CUC.

 

[Deezill]

This is good to know because I wanted to use the bayer solution. What is the full name of the solution because I don't want any aptasia or any other type of pest in my new 210 build.

 

[Hallowhead]

I have been using Bayer regularly to dip all of my new corals as well as to eradicate polyclad flatworms on my torch coral. I have one container setup with bayer a second container setup as initial rinse and to let coral bath for several seconds and third container which is a flush that I swirl the coral in several times before it re-enters the tank.

I have had no issues to date... This post will be my last one before some crazy problem rises. lol

 

[Irishman]

This is good to know because I wanted to use the bayer solution. What is the full name of the solution because I don't want any aptasia or any other type of pest in my new 210 build.

I have been using Bayer regularly to dip all of my new corals as well as to eradicate polyclad flatworms on my torch coral. I have one container setup with bayer a second container setup as initial rinse and to let coral bath for several seconds and third container which is a flush that I swirl the coral in several times before it re-enters the tank.

I have had no issues to date... This post will be my last one before some crazy problem rises. lol

I’m just saying from my experience I didn’t rinse my frags well enough and some of the dip leeched into my system.

 

[Deezill]

does this stuff kill aptasia on frags?

 

[Irishman]

So yesterday I tore down the aquascape, scrubbed it with grout brushes and did a 100 gallon water change. I had to redo the aquascape obviously and didn’t know what to do for it. So I just started to throw everything in. I don’t like it as much as the original one, but it does give it more Flow through the tank. After I got the rock in I headed to the LFS and got a large CUC pack (101 pieces). Hopefully with this being done I can get more interested in my tank.

 

[Irishman]

does this stuff kill aptasia on frags?

Unfortunately no