Isaac's CADE 1500s2/ Peninsula Reef Build

[Isaac Alves]

Quick update…


I was able to move my Melanurus wrasse from the office tank into the Cade display. End of the Month I should be getting a Chocolate and Kleins from fishotel.com so I’m excited about that.

——

On the tank maturation side of things I had a bit of an accident with prepping my carbon dosing regiment. While hooking up my old Versa doser to some DIY NoPOX I accidentally doused a few mls while priming the lines. This lead to a bacterial bloom I’ve been monitoring and taking small corrective actions this past weekend — still presently dealing with the issue.

I thought it subsided yesterday but this morning the tank was foggy again, but subsided later in the day.

A shot of my “DOSING COLUMN” …

1. Versa will be running carbon dosing
2. The Kamoer is running the Kalk drip
3. RedSea Dose 4 is running Red Sea Trace

…similar setup as my previous tank.

Some tank shots showing the bloom from this morning. And this is already less than it was:

All of these shots are using an orange filter on an iPhone. But the top two shots are showing the bloom more like how I see it. Not sure why this angle turned out more blue:

When this happened Saturday evening my initial fear was I would have an oxygen issue. I have 3–4 bubblers ready to go but with the Skimmer running, the fuge pump agitating the fuge surface, the surface agitation in the display, the CO2 Scrubber and the Avast media reactor’s chocolate-fountain-like output I think there’s a fair amount of oxygen exchange. Still though…

What scared me the most was that as soon as I caught the accident I smelled vodka. And I could smell a slight vodka smell a few hours afterward. It was faint but it was there. AND, the pH dropped very quickly on my two probes from ~8 to ~7,6. This worried me. I was surprised by the pH drop. I did a 15 gallon water change and replaced my carbon in the media reactor while turning up its flow. Then I just worried the rest of the evening and cursed myself internally for making such a dumb mistake.

I mean, I let myself get distracted and of course I was priming a line. Duh. It’s like texting and driving.

 

[Reefer Reboot]

LOL, so do the fish have a hangover now?

 

[Isaac Alves]

Added another dosing pump I had from my aquarium hoarding days — a Kamoer X1 Pro-T. Unopened and sitting in a garage cabinet. I need something for magnesium and I think this will work fine.

just added it to the “dosing column”…

I didn’t realize the app used another Kamoer app that’s different from the X1 Pumps. The app is called “Kamoer Remote”. After updating the device’s firmware to 1.0.13 the connection wasn’t so bad.

I’ll have to calibrate next.

 

[Isaac Alves]

The Kamoer X1 Pro-T is calibrated and ready to dose magnesium.

slightly messy but it’s nicely hidden in this cabinet side. And the bottles are ready to pull out and refill.

All lines dose directly into return:

…now to find some cheap SPS to get the tank consuming elements.

 

[Isaac Alves]

The Lone Aquarist on Instagram: "Go into your home!!! It’s been like weeks! #happyreefing __ #livecorals #tropicmarintanks #reefaddict #reefnutrition #reefaddiction #reeftanks #reefaquarium #saltwatertank #instareef #reef2reef #saltwateraquarium

0 Likes, 0 Comments - The Lone Aquarist (@theloneaquarist) on Instagram: "Go into your home!!! It’s been like weeks! #happyreefing __ #livecorals #tropicmarintanks #reefaddict #reefnutrition #reefaddiction #reeftanks #reefaquarium #saltwatertank #instareef #reef2reef #saltwateraquarium...

www.instagram.com

 

[Isaac Alves]

Best tool I’ve purchased for this aquarium build is the Tunze Care Magnet Strong+ Plus 0222.025. Haven’t used a metal blade yet.

 

[Isaac Alves]

Tank is slowly coming along. The cyano has subsided from the sand bed and is all on the rocks now. Definitely been helped by

1. clean up crew
2. Sand sifting goby
3. Carbon dosing
4. Bacteria dosing
5. Flow at 100% on gyres only

At least that’s what I’m doing.

I started to add a couple more coral. I got a dragon soul from a local Reefer friend as well as a nice pink branching cyphastrea.

 

[Fasthandsslowmind]

Doing major changes to the overflow drains in order to fit in the ReefMat 1200 into the first sump section.

First, the main drain that goes right into the ReefMat:

Moved the gate valve into the chiller section of the cabinet. I think this will work for me. Everything is cemented up nicely.

If you had it to do again, would you change anything about installing the reefmat? I’m prepping to install a reefmat on my 1800 peninsula, and I need to relocate my gate valve as well. My concern is that having the gate valve mounted horizontally might cause issues.

 

[Isaac Alves]

If you had it to do again, would you change anything about installing the reefmat? I’m prepping to install a reefmat on my 1800 peninsula, and I need to relocate my gate valve as well. My concern is that having the gate valve mounted horizontally might cause issues.

Honestly the setup has not caused me any issues and seems to be running smoothly. I suppose I could have spent the time to install several elbows and unions to get the gate valve in a more ergonomically friendly position. On the other hand, I'm also happy that I'm using one run of pipe with only four joints. I worry, with my skills, I'm sure I'll get a leak if I attempt fancy intricate plumbing -- my luck.

In short, I can't say I'd do it differently except to have joints over the sump for water leak safety. Again, I've had no issues. The setup is pretty silent and adjusting water levels is working exactly as I expect it to.

My previous tank had a vertically positioned gate valve and I'm not noticing or hearing a difference. And my adjustment process is the same.

Not sure if my long answer is helpful.

 

[Isaac Alves]

I got some questions from a thread read and I thought I'd post the answers for my own reference. It could help others looking at a similar setup:


What is the level of your sump where the skimmer sits, my sump works with 21cm's exactly what the manufacturer advises for this model.
I have the water level at 22.86cm (9 inches).

When using the pump at 60% do you work with the output of the skimmer fully open and have the bubble at the neck line?
Yes. I actually find the Typhoon's mechanical adjustments not very responsive, and a bit tight if that makes any sense. Adjusting the skimmer's DC pump and air intake valves is the easiest for me.

Did you ever have any microbubbles thew the the skimmer output after it stabilizes?
Not that I've noticed. But in the 1500 s2/P setup the skimmer sits right after the sock compartment and where I placed the ReefMat 1200. So it needs to travel across my carbon/heater area then over and through the baskets of bio media which I think takes care of any microbubbles.

Did you ever think about using the reactor with the co2 media in a re circulation loop getting the air from the cup of the skimmer?
I'm waiting on www.fishofhex.com to get a hold of an Ultra Reef UKD-200 Typhoon lid so he can produce one. I had one of his for my NYOS 160 and it worked great.

 

[Isaac Alves]

Live Stock Update


I got my order from https://fishotel.com and Jeff is amazing at fish health and quarantining. He's a major resource over at Humble fish here:

FisHotel

The FisHotel provides the best care for all Marine Animals being Welcomed into the Aquarium. So if you can’t quarantine, we will for You.

humble.fish

I have a species issue with the new Mimic Tang - Acanthurus pyroferus - and the current chief resident, a Powder Blue Tang named Bluey.

The order came in great:

So the Powder Blue hates everyone.

Lights were off as I acclimated fish:

The PB Tang went immediately after the Chocolate/Mimic, but then also the Klein's and the Checkerboard wrasse. So currently, the Mimic is in an isolation box while it eats and heals up from the slashing form the PB. The butterfly has moved into my office tank. And I think the Checkerboard is ok but I only saw him once.

 

[Isaac Alves]

The Mimic was easier to catch than the PBTang so the mimic gets to be in the isolation box.

The Mimic, or Chocolate, is such a beautiful fish. I wish I planned the introduction a lot better.

Here are closeups of the wounds. All cuts were made by my Powder Blue. The little guy knows how to use his blade.

 

[Isaac Alves]

Clowns hosting.

One unexpected event from the commotion of introducing new fish and trying to catch the PB or Chocolate was that it somehow triggered the clowns to finally host the bubble-tip:

 

[Isaac Alves]

March 5th Entry

I have not seen the Checkerboard wrasse since March 1st. The fish was out and eating on the 1st but he’s been MIA since. I’ve had wrasses just go into “sand” hiding for a good amount of time. I’m hoping he shows up. I’m also suspicious that my leopard wrasse is overly aggressive.

Next up…

My system might not be ready for SPS. Looking at my recent purchases from R2R vendor @Coral Love it seems my system or my placement was not good for this one coral:

Skin is just flopping in the wind…

I did use Polyp Lab’s Reef Primer. It uses Potassium Salts as it’s main ingredient, and might have been too harsh for this guy.

I need to look around at the other corals and see how they’re doing.

 

[Isaac Alves]

Looking at my readings from yesterday I’m not really seeing issues with chemistry:

Nitrates have climbed.

But I’ve had extra feedings the last few days to get the new fish eating and the Mimic tang healing up from its battle with the PB.

I’m going to increase my DIY NoPox slightly.

 

[Isaac Alves]

I caught my Powder Blue. Next steps…?

​

 

[Isaac Alves]

The wounds on the Mimic Tang are healing up nicely. He’s eating nori soaked in a slurry of selcon, HUFA and Omega-3, plus a Beta glucan supplement.

 

[Widdlyscudds]

I caught my Powder Blue. Next steps…?

​

I highly recommend the mirror technique, when I introduced my neon dottyback it was the only thing that would get my tomini to stop trying to murder him. the threat of another fish of there own species is greater than the other dude chilling and they tend to focus on the reflection.

 

[Fasthandsslowmind]

Are you pretty happy with the Ultra Reef skimmer? I’m considering the Typhoon 200 for my Cade 1800 build.

 

[Isaac Alves]

Are you pretty happy with the Ultra Reef skimmer? I’m considering the Typhoon 200 for my Cade 1800 build.

I’m be happy with it. It’s powerful and skims great. Although, I do wish I felt I was affecting the skim density with the valves on the skimmer itself. The sicce control is the most responsive.