Mixed Red Sea Reefer 525XL

[DLHDesign]

5/8/2017 - Day 365 - ONE YEAR OLD!

Woo-hoo - made it without any major problems. A few unfortunate events with various fish and more coral than I care to think about, but each one taught me something; something I likely needed to know to get as far as I have and will surely need in the future.
I don't really have any great insight to post - it's been a long day of work and "honey-do's". I did manage to snap some pictures, however! I would have preferred to get them mid-day to get the really good extension, but - alas - such was not to be. Ah well; they'll do to document progress, I suppose...

First up; a full cabinet shot. Hey @jsker - still got the baby picture above the tank!

Full Tank Shot (now with cleaner sand):

Some things of note:
- Both clowns are still alive and doing well. They have lived in the zoa garden (among the longer polyps), but now prefer the duncan forest under the arch.
- There's a little pink dot in the lower middle of Star Destroyer Point (on the right). That's one of my original corals - a pink gonni. It wins the award for The Coral That Can Hang On The Longest. It never opens, yet also (seemingly) refuses to die. One of these days I'll figure out how to make it happy...
- Grazer on the left has solidly entered "Snail Time". This happens every night I fill them (which I make sure to do in the AM most days). By night, the snails move in and crawl over each other to get at the leftovers. Seen here are some of the larger specimens in the tank - all of which are from that second (major) round that actually survived.

Left side:

That purple cespitularia started off as a wee tiny thing. I've already chopped it back once to keep it contained on that rock in the corner, too!

Right side:

So glad the rock nems are doing well. I've killed numerous BTAs and won't get any more until I have the time to sort out why...

So that's where it's at. I'm fighting with a hair algae infestation currently. I pulled out about a golfball during the pre-anniversary cleaning, yet there's still more. I would have gotten more out, but Peek-a-Go (the blenny) bit me when I tried to clean it off his home. I left that patch alone... Not really sure what to do about it, to be honest. I've pulled it out a few times now, yet it seems to come back stronger and in more places. So I suspect that while - yes - I'm removing some; I'm also distributing little pieces of it around the tank. I've got the macro down below to try and "outgrow" it, but the macro is not really doing well (I suspect my lights aren't what is needed.. sigh). I could try blacking out the tank, I suppose, but am concerned that a fair number of my corals are on the edge of survival as it is...

Wife has approved the chiller purchase, on the condition that I don't buy any more corals. I'm just going to assume she means "at the same time". I'm sure that's what she meant... My plan is to pick up a chiller during the next BRS group buy (unless there's not one in May, then I'll just order it soon). I'm not really looking forward to having an extra thing outside the cabinet (especially with a baby who now crawls!), but it's better that than I continue with an overly warm tank...

I guess that's about it for now. I'm going to try to get into some kind of thread update cadence; keeping this up-to-date really drives me to keep the tank clean and give it some (more) attention. I've got a Triton test that's been received, so hopefully my next update will include those results! If not, I'll find something to blabber on about, I'm sure. Thanks for following along and being involved!

 

[jsker]

Congratulations, That is such a great picture, nice work with the tank and think what the system will look like in another year.

The things that impress me the most, you have a beer tapper in the kitchen oh, the clean scape

How do you like the new lights compared to the LED?

My I suggest getting a cabinet like this link putting a top on it, vent the cabinet for the chiller.

 

[stevo01]

Looking great and congratulations on the tanks birthday!

 

[DLHDesign]

5/11/2017 - Day 368 - Triton Test #1

Got results back from my first Triton test. I must admit; I'm pleasantly surprised by the result. I was expecting things to be FAR more out of kilter than they actually are...

I'm still trying to process all the info to determine what is important and what is not... Thoughts and opinions welcome!

 

[ksfulk]

Everythings looking really good. I dont see anything on that Triton test that would be of concern. Some people would get nerved by the Iodine number and dose to keep that number up from where you are at, but I dont think its mandatory. I would assume the Li number is from your salt, so again, nothing to get flustered about there. Not sure about Zn - I dont know anything about levels in sea water and if they have or can have impact to aquatic life.

As far as the hair algae goes - Ive had luck with getting rid of isolated patches by filling a disposable pipette or syringe with hydrogen perioxide and blasting the patch directly with it. Tends to break up after a treatment or two in a row of that. I wouldnt do it if its on/near corals, but otherwise it should be safe to do.

 

[ezell_tonya]

5/8/2017 - Day 365 - ONE YEAR OLD!

Woo-hoo - made it without any major problems. A few unfortunate events with various fish and more coral than I care to think about, but each one taught me something; something I likely needed to know to get as far as I have and will surely need in the future.
I don't really have any great insight to post - it's been a long day of work and "honey-do's". I did manage to snap some pictures, however! I would have preferred to get them mid-day to get the really good extension, but - alas - such was not to be. Ah well; they'll do to document progress, I suppose...

First up; a full cabinet shot. Hey @jsker - still got the baby picture above the tank!

Full Tank Shot (now with cleaner sand):

Some things of note:
- Both clowns are still alive and doing well. They have lived in the zoa garden (among the longer polyps), but now prefer the duncan forest under the arch.
- There's a little pink dot in the lower middle of Star Destroyer Point (on the right). That's one of my original corals - a pink gonni. It wins the award for The Coral That Can Hang On The Longest. It never opens, yet also (seemingly) refuses to die. One of these days I'll figure out how to make it happy...
- Grazer on the left has solidly entered "Snail Time". This happens every night I fill them (which I make sure to do in the AM most days). By night, the snails move in and crawl over each other to get at the leftovers. Seen here are some of the larger specimens in the tank - all of which are from that second (major) round that actually survived.

Left side:

That purple cespitularia started off as a wee tiny thing. I've already chopped it back once to keep it contained on that rock in the corner, too!

Right side:

So glad the rock nems are doing well. I've killed numerous BTAs and won't get any more until I have the time to sort out why...

So that's where it's at. I'm fighting with a hair algae infestation currently. I pulled out about a golfball during the pre-anniversary cleaning, yet there's still more. I would have gotten more out, but Peek-a-Go (the blenny) bit me when I tried to clean it off his home. I left that patch alone... Not really sure what to do about it, to be honest. I've pulled it out a few times now, yet it seems to come back stronger and in more places. So I suspect that while - yes - I'm removing some; I'm also distributing little pieces of it around the tank. I've got the macro down below to try and "outgrow" it, but the macro is not really doing well (I suspect my lights aren't what is needed.. sigh). I could try blacking out the tank, I suppose, but am concerned that a fair number of my corals are on the edge of survival as it is...

Wife has approved the chiller purchase, on the condition that I don't buy any more corals. I'm just going to assume she means "at the same time". I'm sure that's what she meant... My plan is to pick up a chiller during the next BRS group buy (unless there's not one in May, then I'll just order it soon). I'm not really looking forward to having an extra thing outside the cabinet (especially with a baby who now crawls!), but it's better that than I continue with an overly warm tank...

I guess that's about it for now. I'm going to try to get into some kind of thread update cadence; keeping this up-to-date really drives me to keep the tank clean and give it some (more) attention. I've got a Triton test that's been received, so hopefully my next update will include those results! If not, I'll find something to blabber on about, I'm sure. Thanks for following along and being involved!

Congrats on tanks bday! My tank's 1st bday will be in Aug. I've absolutely enjoyed reading your thread. Even the stuff that could be boring to me about the mechanics, but your method of writing helped me get through it. Sometimes I wanted to skip to the end and I even tried to do so sometimes but I was afraid I would miss something so I didn't. I love the commentary about your wife. She sounds awesome! Reading about your trials have helped me. Thank you for sharing. "Wife has approved the chiller purchase, on the condition that I don't buy any more corals. I'm just going to assume she means ". Lol!!!!! This is the best. I get the same looks and comments from my husband but he is equally great and supports me and my spending on the tank

 

[DLHDesign]

I've absolutely enjoyed reading your thread.

Aww; thanks! Your tank looks great as well! I'm SO jealous of your BTA's and clams - two things that seem to give me nothing but grief, yet I refuse to completely give up on (even if I have for now in favour of a chiller).

I love the commentary about your wife. She sounds awesome!

I'm sure I don't give her even a fraction of the credit she deserves. She's my own personal hero and I can only hope to be for her half of what she is for me.

 

[Reeflogic]

Enjoyed reading through your first year of reefing!! It's very apparent when someone uses these forums and really digs deep to get the best understanding possible to keep a happy, healthy reef. You've absorbed enough knowledge in 365 days that took most of us 30 years to master! Good stuff! Also, very well written. You had me hooked from the first paragraph Reef on! Beautiful tank, thank you for sharing it!!

 

[Reeflogic]

Oh, one other thing. Don't sweat little outbreaks of nuisance algae or cyano. The tank is still maturing, it's to be expected. Add more hermits and maybe a few turbos and voila. They should at least keep it in check. GHA isn't too bad of an issue really, just keep doing what you're doing and keep nutrients in check and be glad you don't have bryopsis or bubble algae.

 

[DLHDesign]

Reef on! Beautiful tank, thank you for sharing it!!

Cheers Doug! Really appreciate the notice and the praise. It's true that this forum has likely been the only thing that's allowed me to make it through the first year. I fully expect it to continue to get me through the next 30 as well.

Don't sweat little outbreaks of nuisance algae or cyano.

Too right. I set out to grow saltwater things in a glass box. If the best I can grow is green things that undulate in the flow hypnotically, well - so be it. I mostly dive the Pacific and that's all I really see down there anyways... ;-)

be glad you don't have bryopsis or bubble algae.

Had bubble. Got some emeralds and it's since gone away; hopefully never to return. If it does, I know where to find them emerald crabs at.
I think what I'm fighting now may be bryopsis, actually. I've not made a concentrated effort to identify it, tbh. Next time I pull some out, I'll get some pics of it. I've got a hoard of snails and hermits already; a few of the latter of which have parked themselves near the heavy patches and seem content to munch on the verge.

 

[Reeflogic]

To be honest, I think the nuisances in this hobby are put there deliberately to keep "us" in check lol, otherwise we'd probably get bored with our systems. If we all had our tanks on cruise control from day one, where would the excitement come from? Sure it's fun watching a coral encrust or pop new heads, but the battle of beating baddies is where the fun is at, lol.

Bryopsis is usually pretty easy to identify, it's like the liver and onions of the ocean critter buffet. Sure, you might find a few that like it, but for the most part, it's skipped over by 99% of the critter population! ;Wideyed If something is grazing on it, chances are it's not bryopsis, hehe. There are also a few strains of bubble algae; the type that most of us have, which pops up a bubble or three here and there, and then there is the one that will take over your tank in a month, the latter is the one to fear!

I say, "Bring on the baddies!", we go this! ;Woot

 

[bpapo]

Tank looks awesome!

I have a question how did you attach the Red Sea ATO float to the RO/DI 1/4 in hose?

 

[DLHDesign]

Thanks!

I'm not sure if this is something custom I did early on, or if it came this way... The RO/DI line feeds into a push-connect that's screwed into the float switch:

 

[bpapo]

You must have modified it mine came with a barb type and black hose

 

[DLHDesign]

You must have modified it mine came with a barb type and black hose

Ah; yup. I unscrewed the barb and replaced it with the push-fitting. If memory serves at all, it's a 1/4" NPT thread? I removed the barb and took it to Lowe's to find a push-connect to replace it, so I didn't actually measure it. I used a little bit of pipe tape when reassembling it, but not an unusual amount.

 

[bpapo]

Thanks that makes sense

 

[Clayton Jessup]

This tank is absolutely beautiful, I love the hood and the way you hung the Radions and did the lighting , amazing build !

 

[DLHDesign]

7/14/2017 - Day 444 - It's Been Too Long...

So I'm still here (kinda'). Tank is still alive (mostly). FTS:

At this point, nothing new is being added to the tank. This is mostly due to budget; while there are critters I'd love to keep working at (clams, BTAs, more starfish, and more) and equipment I'd love to add (breakout box(es) for float switches and such, auto-water-change setup (and new mixing station), better ATO solution, and - again - more), those are things that are not in the cards at this time. So the tank is in a pretty stable place in terms of bio-load. Which, one would think, would give me the ability to stabilize the numbers...
Except: kids. Most of my time these days are spent either working (read: sitting in front of a computer) or else doing fun things (and some not-so-fun things) with the family (wife, nearly 3yr old, and a 1yr old). Camping, Disneyland, holidays with the extended family - all seem to take us away on the weekends. Weeknights are spent doing the more mundane - dinner, bath time, get them in bed, spend some time with the wife, sleep...
At this point; I feed the tank 2x per day, make sure to change the filter socks every 2-3 days, the skimmer cup 1/wk, scrape the glass every so often, and do a 20-30gal water change every other week (or so). Aside from the feeding, most of that happens in the dead of night - after everyone else is in bed and the dog has been walked; usually midnight and later. I do work from home, so I get to walk by the tank every so often on my way to/from the fridge, etc. There are things I'm not doing that I likely should - chief among them is taking readings. It's been, I'll admit with some shame, over a month since I've actively measured anything. I've got the APEX and SenEye in the tank passively monitoring things, but that's not the same as doing the full suite of tests. It seems like such a simple thing, but takes me the better part of an hour to do, so it's been hard to keep up with given the schedule of the times. Tonight, perhaps... I've recently downloaded the new audiobook of "Cosmos", so I'll throw that on to help motivate me to do science-stuff. (It's a great book I suggest everyone read or listen to, btw.)
Another thing I've been meaning to do but have not yet done is take PAR measurements of the tank at full light. I'm pretty sure I'm outside the ideal range in most of the tank and am also sure that I can make adjustments with all the controls I've got. I suspect that checking my PAR will drive me to want to "correct" my T5 bulbs (currently running 2x Blue Plus, 1x Aquablue Plus, and 1x Coral Plus) - which would mean I'd also need to get a T5 fixture to use to "burn in" whatever new bulbs I would install... And there goes that budget issue again... Perhaps I'll just measure and adjust without changing the bulbs out. I'm an adult. I have willpower. I can do that, right? ... Right? **sigh** Yeah; likely not - I know.

Another thing I feel slightly guilty of is not being around the forums as much as I'd like. It used to be that I would check for new posts every 10-20min during the day and respond to whatever threads caught my fancy. And then Work happened. I'm a contractor, so when work is available I need to jump on it to cover the times when it's not. I've not picked up any new clients or anything, but it just seems like the clients I do have are giving me more work to do. Or, really, they are asking for more meetings. Which - one would think - would help solve that budget question. But alas; the wife does not agree. Such is married life (I love it). In any case; I just want any readers to know that you are all in my thoughts more than on my screen. I may not be around as much for now, but I still feel like this is a place I want (need) to be. Cheers!

 

[DLHDesign]

8/9/2017 - Day 470 - Oh, the power

I took another FTS shot a few minutes ago, but I had a hard time seeing anything different in the tank. Which, given a change I made, I'm happy about.
A few weeks ago, Tesla updated the software on the Powerwall (whole-house battery) that allows it to now charge from solar during the day and then discharge when the solar isn't running. WOOT! This is what I bought the thing for - finally. Here's a graph from the Tesla app showing the power consumption/production a few days after the update:

The key here is how short a time the battery (green) lasts after the solar (yellow) declines down. There is also no utility power (grey) being pushed back to the grid; which is okay, but not ideal. What this told me, however, was that I either needed more solar, or I needed to reduce my power usage if I wanted to be energy independent. Both are technically possible, though my calculations showed that with the above constant draw, I don't have enough square footage to make it all work out. So I set out to reduce our power use in ways that wouldn't disrupt our lives. Bumped the A/C up a degree, unplugged some unneeded stuff that kept itself in sleep, etc.
One of the other things I changed - and the only thing on the tank - was to program my skimmer to be on only 50% of the time (on an hour, off an hour, repeat). So far, the only effect I can see is that my ORP has gone up by about 30 (averaging around 270 or so now). I'm okay with that - especially since I've not seen anything different in the tank, and it's been a few weeks now.
Here's yesterday's power graph:

Now, it's not really accurate to compare these without also factoring in things like weather and such, but our weather out here is pretty consistent this time of year. The first graph, in fact, likely had nicer weather than yesterday (less cloud cover, at least - which is a major factor in solar). Even with that caveat, however, this second graph shows how much better things are now. So good, in fact, that we managed to sell some power back to the utility company (PG&E) around 4pm. This is unfortunate, really, since we pay ~$0.13 per kWh, but are only paid $0.03 per kWh... What this tells me is that we need another battery (or two, really). But even if we had those, we'd still not have enough to last the night through. And that's in the Summer; in the Winter we'd be pulling from the utility for sure. SO - still some room for improvement. And I plan to look into shaving some off the tank as it's one of the few things that's running 24/7.
So far, my ideas include (in no particular order):

1. Check my lighting to see if they are running higher than needed (yeah; this is still a to-do...)
2. Check my programming for the Gyres. I don't think I need them running quite so strong 24/7. Ideally I'd get two IceCaps and run them off the Apex so that I can tweak things easier, but that's an expense that I don't think I really need...
3. Raise my temp a bit. With the chiller running (and the heaters basically off), I swing between 77.2 and 78.9 a couple of times a day (average of 78.15). I was aiming for 78, so I'd prefer not to mess with this, but I also think that this is a major power draw. I'm hopeful that if I can lower the lights some, I'll also be able to run the chiller less (without changing any temp settings).
   
4. Turn the return pump down. I'd like to avoid reducing my flow any, of course, but may be able to drop a few percents without much impact; most of my flow comes from the dual Gyres anyways.
5. Reduce my fuge lighting. I've got a white light and a purple LED bar. Both are LED, so neither is likely to help overly much, but perhaps something. Only thing in my sump are three mangroves at the moment, though I've been thinking about switching it up to the Triton method once my current batch of supplements runs out (soon), so I may need to swap out them both for a better light to grow the chaeto (I've tried several times and it's always died within a month or two.)

Aside from that, I can't think of much else. I suppose I could unplug the SenEye, but I like the redundancy and ammonia monitoring, so that's not really an option. Don't see much value in switching the dosing pumps on/off - and don't think I have any more plugs open on the Apex anyways (they are plugged into a surge protector now).

SO, I think the take-away from the above is that I need to measure my PAR output and go from there...

 

[Amoo]

Hey @DLHDesign I love me some conversation with leavel headed people of opposing opinion. Thanks for the good conversation earlier mate. As a result I'm following your build thread! I will get myself caught up and comment later, I need to go visit my neighbor who's wife is in the hospital in the ICU, the caner man, the caner