My first reef tank is a Crystal Dynamics 250 gallon build.

[dca22anderson]

Now we are having some fun!! Love the new additions!!

 

[Don Lidtke]

Now we are having some fun!! Love the new additions!!

Ya, things are a lot nicer with something in the DT. It’s been a long haul getting to this place but it was worth it. I really enjoy just sitting and watching the tank!

 

[Don Lidtke]

Fish update, both quarantine tanks are full again. One has four Blue Reef Chromis and the other has four Pajama Cardinalfish.

Once again not the best photos so I have ordered a proper filter for the Canon. With a tripod and filter I should get better pictures. No more iPhone photos.

 

[dca22anderson]

Looking good!! How’s the fish in the show tank doing?

 

[Don Lidtke]

Looking good!! How’s the fish in the show tank doing?

They are doing very well! It’s a good thing they’re so colorful otherwise you would be hard pressed to find them in that big tank..lol!

 

[Tom Stevens]

I just finished reading your build. What an inspirational set-up and perfect timing as I am waiting (patiently) for my CD tank. Last I heard it will be sometime in Nov. and your build only makes it harder to wait! The only thing good about the 3 month wait is it give more time to save the $$$ to pay the final installment.

I cant wait to see how your tank progresses.

 

[Jeto2004]

Nice build! Looking forward how this will develop further.....

 

[Don Lidtke]

It's been a tough week; I have lost my four Blue Reef Chromis while they were in QT. They had made it three weeks before they came down rapid breathing and darting. I started treating with Furan 2 and PraziPro. Apparently this was the wrong combination or I didn't catch things soon enough because the end result was I lost all four of them. They certainly were lovely fish.

Then one of the Pajama Cardinals came down with fin rot and a bit of fuzz on the mouth. I started treating with ParaGuard and that seems to be working. The other three had the fuzz on their mouths that showed up a day later but no fin rot.

A 50% water change was done as well. I needed to clean up the detritus that was collecting and figured I might as well go for a large water change.

I have decided to upgrade the UV sterilizers that I have on each tank. I know that's not a cure but if I can prevent or slow down the bad stuff I figure that's worth the cost.

My question is, what's the best way to clean the QT where the Reef Chromis were? Everything is coming out, the pumps will sit in citric acid, and the rest of the removable stuff will be in vinegar. So, I am wondering if I should just wipe the tank down and then fill it with RO/DI and let it run for a couple a days and then repeat wiping and refilling or should I also run something in the RO/ID?

 

[MatsReef]

It's been a tough week; I have lost my four Blue Reef Chromis while they were in QT.

My question is, what's the best way to clean the QT where the Reef Chromis were? Everything is coming out, the pumps will sit in citric acid, and the rest of the removable stuff will be in vinegar. So, I am wondering if I should just wipe the tank down and then fill it with RO/DI and let it run for a couple a days and then repeat wiping and refilling or should I also run something in the RO/ID?

Don,

Sorry about losing the Chromis.

When cleaning a QT tank I clean it out with a very diluted bleach/water solution. Like a 5% bleach. Then I rinse with tap water. After that I blast all equipment with a heavy duty fan for a couple days until I know everything and I mean everything is absolutely dry. As far as I know the drying is the key part. I’ve only dealt with ich and did TTM then QT so that’s the extent of my experience.

Enjoying reading this thread and seeing your progress. Also glad to read about your family reconnections.

Mathew

 

[Don Lidtke]

Don,

Sorry about losing the Chromis.

When cleaning a QT tank I clean it out with a very diluted bleach/water solution. Like a 5% bleach. Then I rinse with tap water. After that I blast all equipment with a heavy duty fan for a couple days until I know everything and I mean everything is absolutely dry. As far as I know the drying is the key part. I’ve only dealt with ich and did TTM then QT so that’s the extent of my experience.

Enjoying reading this thread and seeing your progress. Also glad to read about your family reconnections.

Mathew

I had wondered about using bleach and I like your approach so I will give this a go.

Thanks for your kind words.

 

[MatsReef]

Don,

Since I didn’t remember to mention it before. Make sure to use plain old bleach. Nothing with any flowered scents or other agents.

 

[Don Lidtke]

Don,

Since I didn’t remember to mention it before. Make sure to use plain old bleach. Nothing with any flowered scents or other agents.

Good point! I will make sure to get the unscented.

 

[Don Lidtke]

After trying several UV sterilizers and not being happy with any of them I figured I had wasted enough money and went for the Pentair Aquatics Smart UV 18 watt systems for both tanks. These fit very nicely behind the tanks.

 

[dca22anderson]

How's your build coming along?

 

[Don Lidtke]

How's your build coming along?

I moved my second set of fish out of quarantine last week

I am cleaning and restarting the QT systems but I will hold off getting any more fish until after the holidays. At least that's what I am telling myself right now. I almost believe it...lol!

How's your setup doing? Did you get the coral tank and the rest of your hardware?

 

[dca22anderson]

I moved my second set of fish out of quarantine last week

I am cleaning and restarting the QT systems but I will hold off getting any more fish until after the holidays. At least that's what I am telling myself right now. I almost believe it...lol!

How's your setup doing? Did you get the coral tank and the rest of your hardware?

That’s awesome, there are some good deals on fish right now

added some corals, fish are huge, still need parts ‍

 

[Don Lidtke]

I did a little plumbing today to get the Versa hooked up. I am doing some testing to see how three heads on the Versa compare to the PMUP. So far it looks like the Versa is moving a lot more water which I find interesting. I wasn't expecting this.

The next item on my list is to figure out some way to fill my ATO automatically so I can stop dealing with it.

 

[lakai]

I did a little plumbing today to get the Versa hooked up. I am doing some testing to see how three heads on the Versa compare to the PMUP. So far it looks like the Versa is moving a lot more water which I find interesting. I wasn't expecting this.

The next item on my list is to figure out some way to fill my ATO automatically so I can stop dealing with it.

just got mine in today

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

I did a little plumbing today to get the Versa hooked up. I am doing some testing to see how three heads on the Versa compare to the PMUP. So far it looks like the Versa is moving a lot more water which I find interesting. I wasn't expecting this.

The next item on my list is to figure out some way to fill my ATO automatically so I can stop dealing with it.

Wait a minute, are you using 3 versa pumps to do one task? That's insane! Hehe... what do you need so much flow for? Or was that just to test it out?

 

[S.Pepper]

I don't know how I missed this, but I've found it now. Killer system and thanks for sharing.