My 320 Gallon Build - Father of 10

[Imrahilwjz]

Protein skimmer on a 4" marine pure block

 

[Imrahilwjz]

Added little fans to help keep temp down

 

[tbrown]

Have the kids shown much interest in helping out? This is a cool (but very good expensive) hobby to get into. My daughter helps some, but mainly only when I'm out of town for a week or so. My son occasionally shows interest for 5 or 10 minutes and then ignores the tank for another month or two.

 

[Imrahilwjz]

They all show some interest. My third son, Gil, and fourth son (7th child), Kent, often feed the fish on the days I work. Gil actually claims the flame hawk. $20 of the purchase price was his Secret Santa gift from Kent. We did an exchange where we paid for the gifts, but each child had another child be their "Santa" and choose the gift. Kent made Gil a "gift card" that said he could choose a fish. The flame hawk was $115 on a $20 budget. Gil wanted the flame hawk bad enough that he paid the difference with cash he'd earned during the summer. Gil is 15. Kent is 6.

 

[tbrown]

Nice! My daughter claims the freshwater fish on occasion. She really wants guppies. LOTS of guppies.

 

[tbrown]

And it's cool that he's showing that much responsibility too. Too many "young men" these days want everything handed to them.

 

[Imrahilwjz]

My tank is doing well. I find that having the external pump makes my water changes super easy. I just open the drain valve about 3/4 of the way and watch until the water in the sump drain down to just above the intake. Close drain valve. Pump water from mixing station across into the system. I can only do about 20 gallons at a whack that way, but of course I can just repeat the process to do a bigger water change.

 

[Imrahilwjz]

Cleaning the glass

 

[Imrahilwjz]

The other day I was sitting at my computer with my back to the aquarium. I heard a sound like the last bit of water gurgling down the drain. My oldest son and I both thought it came from the aquarium. We went to the aquarium and both said "What was that?" simultaneously. We opened the stand and were trying to figure out what it might be. My son noticed that heater was off. Immediately after that I realized the light and the Hydros controller were off. A moment later my wife said "I smell smoke." She pointed to smoke coming out of the leftward opening. I looked closer and saw that it was rising from the skimmer. Where there should have been bubbles was a cloud of smoke. I yanked it out of the water and unplugged it. When I unplugged it I noticed that the circuit breaker was popped on my power strip. I reset it and it came back on. This brought the heater, my Hydros controller and the lights back online. The skimmer was a Bubble Magus Curve 7. I bought it used with my 90 gallon tank, so I don't know how many miles it had on it. It worked for me up until now. So I'm in the market for a new skimmer. (Hopefully after my next payday). I also need to think about starting a clean up crew, I'm thinking.

 

[tbrown]

The other day I was sitting at my computer with my back to the aquarium. I heard a sound like the last bit of water gurgling down the drain. My oldest son and I both thought it came from the aquarium. We went to the aquarium and both said "What was that?" simultaneously. We opened the stand and were trying to figure out what it might be. My son noticed that heater was off. Immediately after that I realized the light and the Hydros controller were off. A moment later my wife said "I smell smoke." She pointed to smoke coming out of the leftward opening. I looked closer and saw that it was rising from the skimmer. Where there should have been bubbles was a cloud of smoke. I yanked it out of the water and unplugged it. When I unplugged it I noticed that the circuit breaker was popped on my power strip. I reset it and it came back on. This brought the heater, my Hydros controller and the lights back online. The skimmer was a Bubble Magus Curve 7. I bought it used with my 90 gallon tank, so I don't know how many miles it had on it. It worked for me up until now. So I'm in the market for a new skimmer. (Hopefully after my next payday). I also need to think about starting a clean up crew, I'm thinking.

Glad you guys heard it!

I was going to recommend the IOAOI Skimmer they're offering free for testing but I believe it's rated for an 80-100 gallon so it'd be a little small for your tank.

 

[VB313]

When your ready for coral let me know I have quite a few Kenya trees ide be willing ship your way when the weather gets warmer

 

[Imrahilwjz]

When your ready for coral let me know I have quite a few Kenya trees ide be willing ship your way when the weather gets warmer

Really? That would be awesome! I used to take Kenya tree babies to a LFS in Salem, Oregon from my old tank.

 

[VB313]

Really? That would be awesome! I used to take Kenya tree babies to a LFS in Salem, Oregon from my old tank.

Absolutely just send me a message, they drop and grow like weeds I used to give them to LFs but even they couldn’t keep up with them and eventually turned them down. I literally throw away about 30 every other month

 

[Imrahilwjz]

Thanks

 

[Imrahilwjz]

Absolutely just send me a message, they drop and grow like weeds I used to give them to LFs but even they couldn’t keep up with them and eventually turned them down. I literally throw away about 30 every other month

Just realized I don't know how to send a private message on Reef2Reef. Is that the start a conversation button when you click on a member?

 

[tbrown]

Just realized I don't know how to send a private message on Reef2Reef. Is that the start a conversation button when you click on a member?

Yes

 

[Imrahilwjz]

Thanks

 

[Imrahilwjz]

Shoot. I wonder if this could have been the source of my copper problem. If so it hasn't significantly raised the copper yet this time, since I still have living snails, emerald crabs, and hermit crabs. Maybe it's a good thing I left all those absorbing pads in the sump.

 

[tbrown]

What'd you find?

 

[Imrahilwjz]

The photo didn't upload the first time.