Raeges 75 gallon Adventure

[Raege]

You are a trooper. Glad to hear you still love the tank. That means you will keep at it. Curious, where is your Phosphate level?

Phosphates are zero by redsea test. Nopox dosing are based on nitrates tho. I know phosphates are there feuling the akgae im seeing. I considered dosing some phosphate to get balanced level with nitrate and continye Nopox but like the chances of full fuge with vodka vinegar if needed instead. IM hoping that will match what i have for biofilter vs nopox. Thoughts suggestions im open too. My reading of Randys and others exp are pointing me this way so far

 

[Raege]

First a happy picture.A picture of pure fish joy

 

[Raege]

And now as most of stuff has arrived to tackle the sump of shame. I hope this pushes me to carve out enough time to get er done by Saturday night. And yes I cleaned out my overflowing skimmer after the shot :oops:

 

[Raege]

Hide ho good neighbors, Well it’s Sunday not Saturday but the new sump has been installed!
Going in I knew this would be shall I say challenging but it was much worse lol.
I had a change of plans going to hard plumb the return 100% instead of connecting the braided to the schedule 40 in picture foreground.
Still not sure where reactor is going. I’m toying with idea of plumbing lines thru left side of cabinet and mounting it outside tank to be easier to change out. This is pending boss’s approval.
Overall thrilled with the size 30.6 gallons which roughly adds about 15-17 gallons over what I had with old sump, and the led lights I added under cabinet.
I added Caribbean mud and black live sand to the fuge and also some marine pure balls to the next chamber. Now it’s time to find my fuge light mount ( misplaced it doh) and get some worms and algae on the way to complete fuge.
Here’s a pic a day late and not complete but darn close for my book

 

[RichtheReefer21]

Niiiiiiice. So jealous. Looks solid

 

[NY_Caveman]

Very exciting. Nice upgrade.

 

[Raege]

Niiiiiiice. So jealous. Looks solid

Very exciting. Nice upgrade.

Thank you gents, I’m hoping to end my training in algae management soon. This double cycle diatom cyano Dino’s hair algae then crystal clear water then repeat has been brutal. Still getting to know my tank and what she wants and needs but closing in once again.
Looking forward to getting the algae and some Worms and a copepod breeder going in sump. Very excited to see where this takes the tank.

 

[Raege]

Hello fellow saltaholics. Thought I would share a pic after two days with the new sump and having kicked the Nopox habit. Algae is receding the long hairs are pretty much gone now but still a ways to go. Water clarity is up a bit ( even with carbon reactor offline) and aquatic inhabitants doing well. Will be running a full set of param tests this evening but expect them to be in with the 35 gallon water change out Sunday.
My skimmer is still re-breaking in after its full tear down cleaning and have had to change the dual socks out each day from the crud we’ve been blowing off the rocks each day.
From what I can see after only two days I’m very hopeful that I’m finnaly hearing/understanding what the tank needs.
I may not be able to nail down the issues or cure but suspect nopox was stripping phos and nitrates out of balance not in tandem and Bacteria blend not matching what tank needed. Only additives new was the live sand and mud along with some marine pure balls. Today added some Chaetomorpha to the fuge.
Wish I had a pic of algae at its worst but here’s the reboun pic today

 

[RichtheReefer21]

I know that feeling all too well. Looks exactly like what I've been battling.

Get a sea hare nudibranch. U can literally see the path he takes across the rock. Very thorough.

 

[Raege]

Tank is looking better each day. GFO and carbon still offline giving sump a chance to work in and see where we’re at. As @NY_Caveman says learning to speak the tanks language
Ran a few tests today
Ca 300 gave it a small dose to raise
Mg 1600 this one is always high with the RedSea salt....
Kh 8.4
Nitrates under 50 a first in a long time hopefully Chaetomorpha and fuge keep it dropping
Sal 1.026
Temp 77
Iodine and iron good by RedSea kits
Holding off on phosphates test for now once algae is darn near gone will peek at these numbers.
Been fighting itch to add to tank. So far winning the battle and only added some more cuc.
All inhabitants seem fat and happy. Lenny our Molly Miller blenny has been out and about a lot. He’s a real trip so full of personality it’s a toss up between him and the foxface for favorite fish. Hoping weather continues as it is to get an order for worms and other algae’s in early next week.
Keep it wet and salty folks. Next drive by will get some pics up

 

[NY_Caveman]

Nice. How is the new sump running?

 

[Raege]

New sump is doing well. Only issues is changing socks every other day with all the algae getting blown off, and having to clean daily the sponge before return section. Had a problem with water slowing down getting to return pump and my ato firing off. I moved ato sensors and fill to fuge compartment and now all is well.
Was quite a surprise to see foam block slow that much in just days to trip ato. So many things to consider and only way to learn some of it is thru expierience your own or someone else’s :)

 

[Raege]

Gooood Mooooorning Fellow Reefers. Took a couple pics this am before the daily blowing of the rocks. We are winning the war with algae slow but sure. Each day less and less to blow off just a few strands to toothbrush here and there. New additions to the cuc are doing a good job and a little extra feeding to Lenny the killer Blenny has I think stopped him from murdering any new additions.
Here’s the pics still not ready for reef if the month but for me pretty ok.

 

[RichtheReefer21]

Ur algae is exactly the same and what I am dealing with too. So ugly and annoying :(

 

[Raege]

Ur algae is exactly the same and what I am dealing with too. So ugly and annoying :(

It’s a good ugly compared to what is was lol Hang tuff we’re gonna win this :)
Getting some pods tomorrow from your western ma hookup Think this will help a lot as well as new sump still making a difference every day

 

[RichtheReefer21]

It’s a good ugly compared to what is was lol Hang tuff we’re gonna win this :)
Getting some pods tomorrow from your western ma hookup Think this will help a lot as well as new sump still making a difference every day

@Paul C. What area are you two meeting?

 

[Raege]

Peaceful calming relaxing.
I find myself alone tonight house to myself with the wife out with some old friends and kids well just out and about. I haven’t had the house alone to myself in a long time. Was feeling a bit lonely my mind spinning on all the projects and running around to do and the weekend all but gone then I glance at the tank. I forgot the projects stopped feeling alone and just had a sense of relaxation and peace. All this from a box of water that I worry and work on. I need to remember to really unplug and watch more often even when it’s dark and you would think there isn’t much to see so much is going on under the shimmer of even the moonlights.
And this is another reason to keep on reefin thru the issues. We take long trips all the time to get somewhere and enjoy the view this long trip just happens to sit in my living room AWESOME

 

[najer]

Loving the work with the refugium, that is all I run for nutrient control (X2 fuges, it's complicated!). :)

 

[Raege]

@RichtheReefer21 and @Paul C. was great to meet you both today. Paul pods look awesome and are going to be an awesome addition to my tank. I appreciate all the info and instructions to make sure I get em in the right way.

 

[RichtheReefer21]

@RichtheReefer21 and @Paul C. was great to meet you both today. Paul pods look awesome and are going to be an awesome addition to my tank. I appreciate all the info and instructions to make sure I get em in the right way.

Absolutely. And thanks for the "sump of shame" as u called it. ;Hilarious

Much appreciated. It brings me one step closer to my goal of drilling the 125. I'll have a dendro polyp for u once I get some feedback on how to frag it.