Perseverance Reef

[tbrown]

Access to th sump is always a pain. Glad you're getting it all out together and with minimal losses so far.

 

[Goaway]

Access to th sump is always a pain. Glad you're getting it all out together and with minimal losses so far.

I have to disassemble my protien skimmer in sump to remove it for cleaning.

Guess when it was cleaned last?

I cant even remember...

@Fishy888 no promisses... once you grt yourvtank stable, I'll try to get some frags put aside for you and sfin. Maybe you can pick them up from him?

 

[tbrown]

I have to disassemble my protien skimmer in sump to remove it for cleaning.

Guess when it was cleaned last?

I cant even remember...

@Fishy888 no promisses... once you grt yourvtank stable, I'll try to get some frags put aside for you and sfin. Maybe you can pick them up from him?

My 75 was the same way because the sump was off the floor. The 125 sump is sitting on a couple of 2*4s to get it off the floor just to see underneath for water and such. I can remove the cup easily and I can remove the whole skimmer easily but it's easier without the cup (and I don't spill)...

 

[Goaway]

My 75 was the same way because the sump was off the floor. The 125 sump is sitting on a couple of 2*4s to get it off the floor just to see underneath for water and such. I can remove the cup easily and I can remove the whole skimmer easily but it's easier without the cup (and I don't spill)...

Skimmer is too tall to remove, I feel like I'm going to chip glass when I remove the skimmer.

 

[Fishy888]

I have to disassemble my protien skimmer in sump to remove it for cleaning.

Guess when it was cleaned last?

I cant even remember...

@Fishy888 no promisses... once you grt yourvtank stable, I'll try to get some frags put aside for you and sfin. Maybe you can pick them up from him?

That would work. He comes to Decatur for work and he services our apartment complex. If he needed me to pick them up from him in Springfield I surely would.

I realize there are no promises of frags but I thank you for thinking of me. Once I get the overflow and return bulkhead and the plumbing done I think things will stabilize fairly quickly. You wouldn’t believe how much coralline survived, even on the rocks that are curing currently. I’m hoping it’ll take two week or less to stabilize once I get the plumbing done. That two week period would likely take me to August.

 

[Fishy888]

My 75 was the same way because the sump was off the floor. The 125 sump is sitting on a couple of 2*4s to get it off the floor just to see underneath for water and such. I can remove the cup easily and I can remove the whole skimmer easily but it's easier without the cup (and I don't spill)...

In the old stand I had the sump off the floor. It required me to have the frame I built for the sump mounted to the top of the bottom frame of the stand itself. Assuming I build a frame for the sump it’ll sit about the thickness of a 2x4 above the floor. I want to be able to maneuver in the sump without issues so I won’t raise it as high as I had it in the old stand.

 

[Goaway]

That would work. He comes to Decatur for work and he services our apartment complex. If he needed me to pick them up from him in Springfield I surely would.

I realize there are no promises of frags but I thank you for thinking of me. Once I get the overflow and return bulkhead and the plumbing done I think things will stabilize fairly quickly. You wouldn’t believe how much coralline survived, even on the rocks that are curing currently. I’m hoping it’ll take two week or less to stabilize once I get the plumbing done. That two week period would likely take me to August.

The thing is, every time I want to give something away, I am blessed with death.... That's my life for you.

 

[Fishy888]

The thing is, every time I want to give something away, I am blessed with death.... That's my life for you.

I know the feeling. It’s not a good one but your reef is awesome and you know your stuff.

 

[Fishy888]

It’s been 12 hours since I transferred the rocks from the bin to the sump (and into clean saltwater). I ran a phosphorus test on the water in the sump. I got 63 ppb of phosphorus which is equal to 0.193 ppm of phosphates. I expected the reading to be over the limit of 200 ppb of phosphorus.

I also tested the new DT. I got 44 ppb of phosphorus which translates to 0.135 ppm of phosphates.

I’m happy with the reading in the new DT. Sure it could come down a little but it’s not horribly high either. I’m not chasing numbers, see @Lost in the Sauce? (I had to find some excuse to pull you back in here. :D )

As for the reading in the sump, I expect that the phosphate levels will sharply increase by tomorrow; although If phosphates stay this low for several days and I don’t see any signs of ammonia I’ll scape the rocks in the new DT. Hopefully there isn’t as much die off as I expected. Oh and I have not dosed any LaCl yet.

I now have the sand from the 90 in a 5 gallon bucket. Tonight I’ll make more RO/DI water, mix in some salt, and fill the bin that had my rocks in it. I’ll cure the sand in it.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I don't understand. If there are no fish, etc in the tank yet, why not just "cure" everything in the main aquarium...?

 

[Fishy888]

I don't understand. If there are no fish, etc in the tank yet, why not just "cure" everything in the main aquarium...?

There are fish in the DT. I fit all the rocks I could into the bin and everything that was/is still alive at the time of the blowout. Once I finished the stand I filled the new DT and put everything in the bin in there. The rest of the rock was either in the old tank or in the sump.

Once I transferred all the rocks from the bin into the 75 gallon, I put all the other rocks into the bin, then I emptied the sump. I cleaned it out really good, then I put all that rock into the sump. I know its confusing.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I know its confusing.

It doesn't take much to confuse me :face-with-tears-of-joy:

 

[Fishy888]

It doesn't take much to confuse me :face-with-tears-of-joy:

Me either some days.

 

[Goaway]

Sand, i rinse in saltwater a few times. I like my micro fauna and all the critters that live in it. I've done it multiple times. Never had an issue with a few nice rinses. Those critters in the sand can last a good while.

Fresh water will nuke them :(

 

[Fishy888]

Sand, i rinse in saltwater a few times. I like my micro fauna and all the critters that live in it. I've done it multiple times. Never had an issue with a few nice rinses. Those critters in the sand can last a good while.

Fresh water will nuke them :(

I haven’t rinsed it yet but I’ll rinse it in saltwater when I do. The sand is surprisingly moist since it’s been exposed to air for almost two weeks now. I agree, I don’t want to lose any beneficial bacteria or anything else that’s alive.

 

[Bleigh]

Wow! You have had a lot to deal with! Looking forward to following along!

 

[Fishy888]

Wow! You have had a lot to deal with! Looking forward to following along!

Thank you. Even though it’s been rough at times, a lot of progress has been made overall. I’ve been given great advice and gotten a lot of help in this thread and in general from the folks on R2R. They have different perspectives that help me learn and grow as a reefer and I’m grateful to them for that.

I’m a reefer on a budget who is here to show that budget reefing doesn’t have to be boring and it doesn’t keep a person from having amazing animals in their reef. There’s a lot of learning involved both in terms of reefing in general and DIY skills. That’s the fun of it though!

Thank you for following my thread. Please feel free to critique my methods and/or give me advice. I know enough to know that even when I become an expert (and make no mistake, I have a long way to go to become an expert) I’ll still need different perspectives and good advice.

 

[Fishy888]

Guess who’s back, back again?

My Kenya tree is wide open too.

Seeing the rainbow BTA in its normal place again is highly encouraging. That situation had me quite anxious. I feel like I can take a breather now. Of course there’s plenty to be done still but at least the nem is back to normal for the most part. I’ll keep a close watch on things.

Like the nem my corals look better now than they have since going into the new tank. My Kenya tree is looking awesome and so is the cabbage leather. Most likely the ammonia spike has come and gone. Hopefully tomorrow I can get NH4 and NO3 tested.

The water in the sump looks a bit yellow but is clear as glass otherwise. I’m going to get NH4 and NO3 tested for the sump’s water. I’ll test both sump and DT tonight for PO4.
Seeing the nem looking and acting like its normal self has made my weekend and the weekend’s just begun.

 

[Bleigh]

Thank you. Even though it’s been rough at times, a lot of progress has been made overall. I’ve been given great advice and gotten a lot of help in this thread and in general from the folks on R2R. They have different perspectives that help me learn and grow as a reefer and I’m grateful to them for that.

I’m a reefer on a budget who is here to show that budget reefing doesn’t have to be boring and it doesn’t keep a person from having amazing animals in their reef. There’s a lot of learning involved both in terms of reefing in general and DIY skills. That’s the fun of it though!

Thank you for following my thread. Please feel free to critique my methods and/or give me advice. I know enough to know that even when I become an expert (and make no mistake, I have a long way to go to become an expert) I’ll still need different perspectives and good advice.

Same!!! I’m still learning stuff constantly!!! Plus. There’s many different ways to reef successfully!!

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Cheers Bud!