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littlebigreef
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Hey, the first are Speckled Kraks followed by Black Rainbows (Ultimate Corals), Hallucinations, and finally As*kraks (Jason Fox).
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Hey, the first are Speckled Kraks followed by Black Rainbows (Ultimate Corals), Hallucinations, and finally As*kraks (Jason Fox).
LesPaulPlayer
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Thank you. On my list of must haves.
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littlebigreef
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Here's the sump/refugium. The plumbing goes thru the wall and empties into sock filters in the sump. The skimmer is at the far end. I recently removed the ceiling and suspended the light fixture. This weekend I'm setting up the dosing pump I got for Christmas (it's on the shelf towards the wall). Once the dosing pump is up and running I'll turn my attention back to the RO unit which I'm plumbing into my waterline via and angle stop valve. From there I'll to plumb in two Ace Roto Mold water tanks. It's a lot of projects but when it all comes together it will make maintenance so much easier. Who says spending on infrastructure has to be boring?
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littlebigreef
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Haha, oh the list. How my awesome wife hates the list (at first she didn't understand that when stuff comes off the list other things go on it). If you're interested in frags down the road feel free to PM me.
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littlebigreef
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I swapped out the first 2 of 8 t5 bulbs over the fuge last night. I also finally set up the dosing pump I got for Christmas.
Now I'm going to turn my attention to plumbing my RO unit into the cold water line. I have the new valve, hose and filters so I'll be able to take care of it all at once. I'm so looking forward to being able to make my own water again. It's also nice to be wrapping up so many small projects.
Now I'm going to turn my attention to plumbing my RO unit into the cold water line. I have the new valve, hose and filters so I'll be able to take care of it all at once. I'm so looking forward to being able to make my own water again. It's also nice to be wrapping up so many small projects.
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Nice work!
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littlebigreef
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Some pictures for your enjoyment.
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littlebigreef
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Some recent acquisitions and a few happy colonies.
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littlebigreef
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A few more new additions and a couple fun pics.
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littlebigreef
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Also, this was a plumbing project I was able to complete based on help and advice from the diy forum. No more lugging 5gal jugs or moving brute garbage cans!!!
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littlebigreef
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My last post was about two months ago but a lot has been going on.
I finished replacing the T5 bulbs over the fuge. $200 total but well worth it.
I'm trying to encourage copepod growth so I removed the fairy wrasses from the sump. I also need to remove a mandarin and a rhino file fish. I did, however, add a bunch of cheto which is now happily sucking up nutrients!
I'd been running the dosing pump about 5-6 months. The lines were right next to a return pump. I realized I was growing more coralline algae in the sump then I was corals in the aquarium. I had wanted to keep a clean look with no tubes running through the wall. Oh well, I finally broke down and tapped holes in the wall. Everything in the display is looking much better now.
Since the aquarium was started I'd been topping off the aquarium by hand. With a mostly open-topped 125 gal for the sump I was loosing gallons a day. In mid June (just before an extended trip) I purchased Tunze ATO unit. It was well worth the investment. Salinity is far more stable and everything is just a little easier. I dare say ATOs are like timers for your lights: once once you've used them you're never going back lol.
That's been a lot of the infrastructure stuff.
On the crappy side I've been dealing with astria stars. I added some harlequin shrimp and they'd been doing a good job managing the population for a few months. I've never been able to figure out where they settled but I'm noticing an up-tick in stars again.
Wonder if I lost maybe one or both.
I've also had Dino flagellets show up along with nuisance algae. The flame fin tang isn't interested in helping me out lol. I upgraded the phosphate reactor to a TLF 550 and moved it from sump to tank. This has kept the algae in check but not eliminated it. The Dino's haven't been too bad but I want them gone. I'd tried doing a series of h2o changes but far from knocking them out it actually encouraged growth. Water from the RO unit is fine, still trying to figure out why this started. Anyhow I've purchased a coralife x6 turbo twist sterilizer. I've never used sterilizes myself and I've heard many mixed reactions over the years. I think in this targeted application it might get me over the hump!
The good- well I've met a lot of new folks the last 7 months and I've been busy trading. Nearly everything has been zoas (which are what I love) but I've also added a few chalices which are starting to grow on me.
The ugly- I had another limb come outta the locust tree in my backyard. It was ~6" off the power line. Now the whole tree is going to be removed. It's a bummer but necessary as it's been dropping big limbs the last two years.
I finished replacing the T5 bulbs over the fuge. $200 total but well worth it.
I'm trying to encourage copepod growth so I removed the fairy wrasses from the sump. I also need to remove a mandarin and a rhino file fish. I did, however, add a bunch of cheto which is now happily sucking up nutrients!
I'd been running the dosing pump about 5-6 months. The lines were right next to a return pump. I realized I was growing more coralline algae in the sump then I was corals in the aquarium. I had wanted to keep a clean look with no tubes running through the wall. Oh well, I finally broke down and tapped holes in the wall. Everything in the display is looking much better now.
Since the aquarium was started I'd been topping off the aquarium by hand. With a mostly open-topped 125 gal for the sump I was loosing gallons a day. In mid June (just before an extended trip) I purchased Tunze ATO unit. It was well worth the investment. Salinity is far more stable and everything is just a little easier. I dare say ATOs are like timers for your lights: once once you've used them you're never going back lol.
That's been a lot of the infrastructure stuff.
On the crappy side I've been dealing with astria stars. I added some harlequin shrimp and they'd been doing a good job managing the population for a few months. I've never been able to figure out where they settled but I'm noticing an up-tick in stars again.
Wonder if I lost maybe one or both.
I've also had Dino flagellets show up along with nuisance algae. The flame fin tang isn't interested in helping me out lol. I upgraded the phosphate reactor to a TLF 550 and moved it from sump to tank. This has kept the algae in check but not eliminated it. The Dino's haven't been too bad but I want them gone. I'd tried doing a series of h2o changes but far from knocking them out it actually encouraged growth. Water from the RO unit is fine, still trying to figure out why this started. Anyhow I've purchased a coralife x6 turbo twist sterilizer. I've never used sterilizes myself and I've heard many mixed reactions over the years. I think in this targeted application it might get me over the hump!
The good- well I've met a lot of new folks the last 7 months and I've been busy trading. Nearly everything has been zoas (which are what I love) but I've also added a few chalices which are starting to grow on me.
The ugly- I had another limb come outta the locust tree in my backyard. It was ~6" off the power line. Now the whole tree is going to be removed. It's a bummer but necessary as it's been dropping big limbs the last two years.
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littlebigreef
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Sure do, shoot me a pm, I just fragged out a batch.
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Tank looks good!
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littlebigreef
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Thanks! Didn't realize its been 6 months since I posted on this thread. Time for some new pics!
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littlebigreef
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Since my past post I've been busy. Fish-wise I finally got my long sought after Fowleri tang. In December I was lucky enough to add a pair of sunburst anthias and then a few weeks ago I acquired a 4" maculiceps tang from a fellow r2rer. The tang is currently in the 125 gal fuge. It's my plan to finalize the rockwork and then add him with the hopes of messing up the fowler's territory.
Through mostly trades I've been able to build a nice little 'shroom patch. Bounces were never my thing but I was able to trade for a WWC and a Godspawn. I've also added several more zoa strains.
Over Christmas I finally mounted my Tunze ATO box. I also purchased and plumbed in a 16 gal Ace Roto mold container- no more moving the pump between 5 gal jugs for this reefer!
Still to come- I need to run some wire and mount a new quad outlet for additional pumps. I'm also going to mount a outlet on a switch for the mixing tank. Soon 5 gal jugs AND extension cords will be a thing of the past.
Through mostly trades I've been able to build a nice little 'shroom patch. Bounces were never my thing but I was able to trade for a WWC and a Godspawn. I've also added several more zoa strains.
Over Christmas I finally mounted my Tunze ATO box. I also purchased and plumbed in a 16 gal Ace Roto mold container- no more moving the pump between 5 gal jugs for this reefer!
Still to come- I need to run some wire and mount a new quad outlet for additional pumps. I'm also going to mount a outlet on a switch for the mixing tank. Soon 5 gal jugs AND extension cords will be a thing of the past.
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littlebigreef
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Taking a break from haunting the Club Zoa forum.
Since my last post I finalized the left side of my rockwork and introduced the maculiceps tang. Setting the rockwork def minimized aggression between him and the fowleri. I also introduced a med sized Comet. While shy and retiring he'll mix it up with the tangs now and again. I feel like I'm pretty well set on fish.
Instead of adding the other electrical box I did a right turn and added can lights in my basement. I also anchored the lighting rails to the joists so I could remove the shelving brackets (this has been on the to-do list for 2+ years). End result is that the basement is nicer and the display looks a heck of a lot cleaner (one of the old ceiling lights was right next to the aquarium).
I also moved the auto dosing lines from the display back to the sump. I didn't like running them through the wall. It looks a lot cleaner now.
Over the sump I run a 6' T5 unit. While zoas and sps do alright it seemed like the zoas were stretching. The unit is suspended from the ceiling so I lowered it another few inches and the added some led strip units. We'll see if this colors the zoas up further.
In building out the display rockwork I was able to removed some big pieces from the sump. About two weeks ago I added a gyre that moves the water towards the end of the sump with the skimmer. It creates a nice unobstructed flow and moves the detritus to the skimmer. I'm also seeing good waterflow moving up through the eggcrate racks- I don't think the zoas have ever been happier.
Old habits die hard. For the last 25 years I've believed any readable nitrates and phosphates are bad. That might still be the case for nutrient poor sps dominated reefs but that's not what I'm doing here. I removed the phosphate reactor and started feeding 4 cubes a day (mysis/brine/formula I & II). Phosphates are now around .25-.5 and nitrates around around 20ppm. I'm cleaning the skimmer more but I've also seen the zoa colonies and LPS perk up. They do like it dirty. The sps I do have seem to be taking it in stride.
Since my last post I finalized the left side of my rockwork and introduced the maculiceps tang. Setting the rockwork def minimized aggression between him and the fowleri. I also introduced a med sized Comet. While shy and retiring he'll mix it up with the tangs now and again. I feel like I'm pretty well set on fish.
Instead of adding the other electrical box I did a right turn and added can lights in my basement. I also anchored the lighting rails to the joists so I could remove the shelving brackets (this has been on the to-do list for 2+ years). End result is that the basement is nicer and the display looks a heck of a lot cleaner (one of the old ceiling lights was right next to the aquarium).
I also moved the auto dosing lines from the display back to the sump. I didn't like running them through the wall. It looks a lot cleaner now.
Over the sump I run a 6' T5 unit. While zoas and sps do alright it seemed like the zoas were stretching. The unit is suspended from the ceiling so I lowered it another few inches and the added some led strip units. We'll see if this colors the zoas up further.
In building out the display rockwork I was able to removed some big pieces from the sump. About two weeks ago I added a gyre that moves the water towards the end of the sump with the skimmer. It creates a nice unobstructed flow and moves the detritus to the skimmer. I'm also seeing good waterflow moving up through the eggcrate racks- I don't think the zoas have ever been happier.
Old habits die hard. For the last 25 years I've believed any readable nitrates and phosphates are bad. That might still be the case for nutrient poor sps dominated reefs but that's not what I'm doing here. I removed the phosphate reactor and started feeding 4 cubes a day (mysis/brine/formula I & II). Phosphates are now around .25-.5 and nitrates around around 20ppm. I'm cleaning the skimmer more but I've also seen the zoa colonies and LPS perk up. They do like it dirty. The sps I do have seem to be taking it in stride.
P-Dub
The ocean is open to all, merciful to none.
Serious envy over your set-up and zoas... Serious...
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littlebigreef
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Thanks! I really appreciate the compliment.
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littlebigreef
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