RFBF's 90 Gallon Déjà vu All Over Again

[Smirkish]

Good lord. I thought I had it bad carrying it across the house. I don’t even want to think about stairs! I’m in awe- and also jealous of how prepared you are. Pictures of water change to come, I hope?

 

[redfishbluefish]

Clowns Stalking Blenny

I added a midas blenny about a week ago and it has settled into his spot of holes in the rockwork, and is now venturing out. I also have a mated clown pair who have defined their space as the very far left of the tank. They pretty much don't move more than a couple inches from this left side, except for the female that does come out when I'm feeding the tank. The male however, stays in his spot and waits and hopes food comes his way.

So about three days ago the male started coming out away from their "nest" and stalking and dive bombing the blenny. He would hide behind the rocks and as soon as the blenny would come out of it's home, zoom, in came the male on full attack. I'm talking about a foot and a half or so from where the male would never leave. I was surprise to see the male doing this, for one, this far for the nest, and two, knowing that the female is typically the nasty one. Anyway, today the female got into this attack mode, and she is now attacking the blenny. Going to have to keep an eye on this, and hope there's no actual wounding. Interesting to see the blenny, if too far from it's hole, cowers into the rocks, laying sideways on the rocks and it's as if the clown no longer sees the blenny, and swims off.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Ten minutes into a power failure. Actually lost it about a half hour ago for all of ten seconds. We get power failures so infrequently, I had to pull out the manual on resetting the date and time on the Fathom lights. I no sooner do that and bang, off again. I'm going to wait another 10-15 minutes and then start to pull out the generator.

 

[redfishbluefish]

My tank had a baby! A JBJ MT-402 that was supposed to weigh in at 12 gallons.

But when I went to fill it, it only held 9 gallons. I don’t know how they get away with calling it a 12??? I could see 10, but certainly not 12. The only thing in the tank is the egg crate I cut to hold frags.

Anyway, a very generous local club member was giving this away and so I snatched it up. It included the stand, tank and pumps, but no hood. It has been modified to include two pumps.

Here’s the plan. My sump is a mess on my 90. I use the refugium portion as a frag tank and it is covered in algae. And this is with running two UV sterilizers and two powerheads in approximately 20 gallons of water. My DT doesn’t have this issue...only this portion of the sump. So the plan is to use this nano as the holding tank (and additional frag tank) so I can clean the sump thoroughly. That’s one reason I didn’t start a build thread for this tank.....it's an extention of my big tank....a family member.

First thing I did when I got this home was to take one of the light holding brackets I used when I did my tank swap and modify it to hold one Fathom light fixture. This fixture is overkill for 9 gallons of water, but it's the light I have over my sump right now....and it's close enough to the DT to pick up the RF signal for the light schedule.

Didn’t care for the unfinished look, so using scraps of wood I had laying around, built a simple cover to hide the light fixture:

It’s currently filled with citric acid water to see if I can get a line of precipitation off the front glass, about two inches down. Here it is with the light on, and mother in the background.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Ready For The Smithsonian

Relaxing and looking at my tank tonight I realize I have a bunch of equipment that are no longer available, and figure it’s ready for display in the Smithsonian Museum. In some cases the companies are just gone, folded, no longer around, and in one case, replaced by newer upgraded models.

Ecotech controllers. I was thinking about my MP40 controllers from 2005, but after taking the picture, I realized the white MP10 controller is now obsolete as well, being replaced by the black QD models.

Fathom LED lights, in my case, the Hydra model. Great lights, but unfortunately the company folded. The issue I have is that I have a bunch of fixtures but only one controller. Currently one fixture is on my sump.

ReefKeeper 2 controllers. Boy do I wish this company was still around….these are my favorites. Reasonably priced controllers that are very easily programmed, and the best part is that they are not bluetoothed, so no bothersome text when you're on vacation.

GlassHoles overflow. And mine is a 1500 gph model. Great story with this now defunct company...Don’t know how true this is but two engineers who started making these in their garage.

Saltwater Connections SWC 160 Skimmer. Love the skimmer, hate, hate, hate the Atman pump on this thing. When the CEO/Owner was arrested and convicted, the company went into limbo for a number of years and now I believe they are totally gone.

Waveline DC6000 Pump....And I'm not sure on this one, but I can't find any retailer still selling these pumps. This is my return pump.

This little exercise surprised me!

 

[redfishbluefish]

Wood Cutting Boards

We have our fair share of wood cutting boards. So many that I’ve turned a couple into pieces of furniture. Here are two end tables in our living room with cutting board tops and treadle sewing machine bases.

I also should point out that although wood cutting boards have a pleasing natural look, and some firmly believe better in maintaining a sharp knife edge, I’m a plastic cutting board person.

So anyway, I’m in the basement doing a little organizing and cleaning and come across three wood cutting boards. These were gifted to us over the years and now sit collecting dust. I’m now contemplating throwing them out when a little light bulb goes off in my head. The ATO roll around cabinet I build is very plain-Jane with a recessed top that collects dust.

So one of these cutting boards was cut and notched to fit the ATO cabinet top….also stained and awaiting a couple coats of polyurethane.

 

[redfishbluefish]

My wife convinced me (OK, she told me) that it's time to cover the booger green paint our son painted when that was his bedroom.

I'm up over the top of the canopy on a ladder trimming out the room with the new color, and look down to see a fan on the middle light unit was not running.

Hard to see from a static picture, but the fan on the right isn't working. I'm pretty sure I've got a bunch of spares and will try to get to this tomorrow. Might also give this rust-bucket of a fixture a quick sanding and squirt of paint.

 

[redfishbluefish]

After lights out last night, I pulled the fixture down, popped it open, a quick sand and paint, and this morning put it all back together. I think it looks a little better....and now with both fans working!

For inventory purposes, I have five new fans remaining.

 

[redfishbluefish]

FISH ROOM IS NOW BLUE

Just finished two walls, and wow, what a difference! Also pulled the window sashes to not only paint them correctly, but to fix those cheap Andersen sash balances. (Soap Box Time - The nylon string breaks and Andersen's only answer is to buy the whole balance for 50 bucks each. Not me! I figures out how to open them and replace the nylon cord...for darn near nothing). Still have the plastic covering the screens so that I could pull the sashes. Not done yet, with plenty to do to finish it up and also pick window shades/curtains. Now to move the furniture and paint the other wall...back to work!

 

[redfishbluefish]

HUMIDITY PROBLEM

I have a humidity problem! I live in a house built in the late 40’s, with plaster walls and double hung windows, and I’m assuming old rockwool insulation. Now I did replace all the windows around 1981 with Andersen windows, with high efficiency e-glass. But even with that, I get condensation on the windows when the weather turns cold. This is this morning...coldest night so far this season:

And that’s with currently running three dehumidifiers! Mid winter, it’s not unusual to actually see this moisture frozen.

Anyway, as stated above, I’m painting the fishroom a soothing blue. In the process, I’ve also painted the window frames and sashes, and to do the sashes completely, I pulled them out. While the sashes were removed, to protect the room from cold, bugs and rain, I placed plastic around the screens….for one window, a black 55 gallon garbage bag, and the other, an old shower curtain that I use for a drop cloth.

I left these plastic covers up, in part because the blinds are going to be replaced, and I haven’t picked them up yet. The plastic provides a level of privacy.

And guess what? Where the source of the moisture emanates….the fishroom….those two windows were as dry as a bone, while all the rest in the house had condensation. I’m assuming the temporary plastic over the screen is acting as a storm window and offering a temperature buffer between the glass and the cold outside. I’m excited, but the wife is not.

What I now want to do is pick up clear polyethylene sheet and carefully and neatly cover the screens. My wife thinks it will look like tobacco road, but I’m going to give it a shot and see if I can convince her. I’m thinking, if carefully done, it won’t be overly noticeable. I can remember a number of years ago there were advertisements for shrink wrap clear film that was installed on the inside of windows to help with energy conservation. And I just did a search, and they still make this shrink film.

If my idea doesn’t work, or the wife strongly objects, I’ll try this route.

 

[redfishbluefish]

UV STERILIZER - No Bueno!

UV sterilizers were all new to me when I set up an Odyssea 36W UV Sterilizer to hopefully minimize the nasties on my new tank setup. I mounted this temporarily in the canopy to "cleanse" the DT, as recommended by a number of threads I read.

I used a Cobalt MJ1200 to feed the sterilizer and after a month or so, I moved it down to the sump. Not liking the lack of any evidence of sterilizing, and now reading reviews that stated that inexpensive UV units were not very effective, I installed a second sterilizer, a Coralife Turbo Twist. These were set up serially, water first going through the Odyssea and then through the Turbo Twist.

After running the sterilizers for over a year and a half, I have the dirtiest sump I've ever had. I would have expected the exit line from the sterilizers to be nice a clean.....but no! If it could grow, it was growing in that line....and in my sump. Again, maybe it's just the units I had and the pump I was using, but I saw no benefit of running UV, so I removed all this from the sump.

In addition, I have the BRS dual reactors with nothing in them, so I also removed the feed line from the manifold, emptied out the trapped detritus, and cleaned them out. I still leave the unit there for if and when I need to run something.

 

[JumboShrimp]

I always enjoy a good Class Cages build. Congratulations!

 

[redfishbluefish]

Auto Feeder

My old rimless tank had the Eheim Everyday Feeder mounted on a small cross brace in the upper right corner of the canopy.

The feeding ring was held in place by a piece of scrap acrylic extending down from the canopy to trap the ring.

When I got the new tank with the Euro Bracing, this setup wasn't going to work. The plan was to simply sit the feeder on one of the cross braces with a feeding ring suction cupped to the front glass right below the feeder:

Well that was great until I went to set it up again and the screen was all wonky:

In addition, when you hit the button to do a feeding, it would only go about half way around....and that was with new batteries.

I've got to believe that setting this on the cross brace exposed it to popping saltwater bubbles and did it in. This is the second Eheim that has died on me.

So now I've added another cross-brace in the left corner and was able to stick the suction cups to the underside of the Eurobracing.

Hopefully is high enough not to be effected by salt spray.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Repositioned two MP40's and added an MP10

The two MP40's on the right side of the back wall were moved to the right wall. You can see the two marks on the back wall that are void of coraline, Now I'm not crazy about the look of the drysides being seen on the side of the tank, but having these powerful pumps on the back wall of a tank that is only 18 inches wide is a waste of their power. If I had to do this all over again, I'd have two MP40's on one of the side walls and maybe five or six MP10's on the back wall.

In addition, I added one MP10 on that back wall, to the right side, just below where one of the MP40's was located. Here's a photo showing the four MP40's and two MP10's.

 

[redfishbluefish]

One more disadvantage moving the pumps to the side wall......

I couldn't hear the pumps when they were on the back wall, but now the one 40 on the right, closest to the front, is singing a song.....a nice high pitch whine.

 

[redfishbluefish]

So I've added yet another MP10 to the DT. The last two MP10's added are in the place of the MP40's that were moved to the side wall. The current roll call are four MP40's and three MP10's. All three 10's are on the back wall while the 40's are split on the two side walls.

Adding these last two MP's has created more of a mess in the lower stand....

More to come....I've started making little boxes to hold all the pieces.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Box building is going to take a little longer then expected. Knocked off the two easy ones pretty quick:

Jebao Powerhead Controller:

Fathom Light Controller:

The two that are going to take time are the MP10 Controllers. Luckily I've made one before and am using that one as a template:

These are 90% scroll saw work and that's what's taking the time.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Let me first correct my tool suggestion above....I only wish I had a scroll saw....the one tool I don't have! What I meant to say coping saw. These "boxes" are going to truly be hand made. A coping saw is a hand tool. I first tried making these with plywood, and the saw just ripped apart the top and bottom veneers, making a real mess.

I've now put layout lines on this 1/4" project wood I purchased years ago. Not sure of the wood type, but it smells just like the pencil sharpener in Miss Olgelthorp's second grade class, years ago. It's the same wood they use to make pencils!

Now back to work....I have to make six of these.

 

[redfishbluefish]

It's getting close. The four "boxes" are constructed. Waiting for the glue to dry on the MP brackets, and then a quick sand and paint. I also need to pick up a box of #6 x 3/8 screws to hold these guys up.

Still scratching my head on how to mount this board in the stand???

 

[kschweer]

Nice work Paul!