Sawdonkey’s 210 Rebuild / Redo

sawdonkey · Nov 8, 2018

bubbaque said:
Very nice! You look like you got some sponge growth happening already.

Yeah, that rock is actually from the guy I got the nem from. However, I never completely shut down my old tank, so I have tons of sponge growth on my old rock too.

Also picked up an elegance from him.

And a rock with four super bright yumas.

Having a whole tank of SPS frags is just boring. Needed to mix it up. I’m getting something really cool in a week or two. It’s three feet long and has stripes like a [emoji3070]. It also had over 8,000 Instagram followers.

bubbaque · Nov 8, 2018

I can't see the pic of what you said it had stripes like but I am interested to see what you get!

sawdonkey · Nov 8, 2018

bubbaque said:
I can't see the pic of what you said it had stripes like but I am interested to see what you get!

His name is Milton and he has stripes like a zebra. You can probably find him using that info and google.

sawdonkey · Nov 10, 2018

Got some soda lime today! Five gallons should last a while.

Pretty obvious when I changed my media today!

cale0721 · Nov 11, 2018

sawdonkey said:
Got some soda lime today! Five gallons should last a while.

Pretty obvious when I changed my media today!

How long did it take to get it after you ordered it? I’ve been debating. Brs recently lowered their price on theirs but this maybe still more cost effective.

sawdonkey · Nov 11, 2018

cale0721 said:
How long did it take to get it after you ordered it? I’ve been debating. Brs recently lowered their price on theirs but this maybe still more cost effective.

Funny you asked. I ordered around noon on Friday, and it was on my doorstep on Saturday by noon. I just looked at the tracking, it was shipped from the Chicago burbs to where I live downtown.

Vet Med is still quite a bit cheaper. You could get 9lbs for $27 ($3/lb) compared to 7.5lbs for $35 ($4.7/lb) from BRS.

A buddy and I split the 5 gallons (which is about 33 lbs) for $100, so there really isn’t a bulk discount over the 3lb bag....but it comes in a nice 5gal jug that could be used as an ATO!

cale0721 · Nov 14, 2018

sawdonkey said:
Funny you asked. I ordered around noon on Friday, and it was on my doorstep on Saturday by noon. I just looked at the tracking, it was shipped from the Chicago burbs to where I live downtown.

Vet Med is still quite a bit cheaper. You could get 9lbs for $27 ($3/lb) compared to 7.5lbs for $35 ($4.7/lb) from BRS.

A buddy and I split the 5 gallons (which is about 33 lbs) for $100, so there really isn’t a bulk discount over the 3lb bag....but it comes in a nice 5gal jug that could be used as an ATO!

Nice! Can you provide the url you ordered it from?

sawdonkey · Nov 14, 2018

cale0721 said:
Nice! Can you provide the url you ordered it from?

I can prove that it makes a difference!! Refilled my media on Sat.

https://www.shopmedvet.com/product/soda-lime-3-lb-bag/anesthesia-respiratory

cale0721 · Nov 14, 2018

sawdonkey said:
I can prove that it makes a difference!! Refilled my media on Sat.

https://www.shopmedvet.com/product/soda-lime-3-lb-bag/anesthesia-respiratory

Awesome thanks!

pscheel2 · Nov 14, 2018

Nice! Those frags should be colonies in no time.

Jason boles · Nov 14, 2018

Following along

sawdonkey · Nov 15, 2018

My Ecotech M1 return pump sounds like a helicopter. I took it apart, cleaned it, put it back together...sounds like a helicopter. Must be the motor in the sealed part.

The thing is, I always used to buy Jeboa pumps and they’d die after about 1.5 years. I thought I’d buy some quality and reliability with the ecotech, but after 1.5 years, it’s junk.....except I’m out $325 instead of $80.

So, do I go Jeboa? Does anyone have and like the Neptune pump that works with Apex? Suggestions?

pscheel2 · Nov 16, 2018

I personally like my old school mag drive pump. Never did any maintenance other than cleaning the intake strainer. Still kicking after 14 years. I have a friend that has had it running longer.

The only bad thing, which is not a biggy for me, is that it runs warmer than a dc pump.

sawdonkey · Nov 25, 2018

Welp, I’m going back to Biopellets. My PO4 and NO3 are much higher than I like them and my corals aren’t coloring up like they need to. I like to feed my fish and I just can’t keep up with the waste.

I ran pellets for years with a lot of success. This go around, I was trying to keep it simple, but it just isn’t working.

ihavecrabs · Nov 25, 2018

sawdonkey said:
Welp, I’m going back to Biopellets. My PO4 and NO3 are much higher than I like them and my corals aren’t coloring up like they need to. I like to feed my fish and I just can’t keep up with the waste.

I ran pellets for years with a lot of success. This go around, I was trying to keep it simple, but it just isn’t working.

What is high for you and how you run your tanks, if you don't mind sharing?

bubbaque · Nov 25, 2018

Got anywhere to grow chaeto?

sawdonkey · Nov 25, 2018

bubbaque said:
Got anywhere to grow chaeto?

Yeah, I already have chaeto, and a decent wad of it. It just doesn’t seem to take off even under a red grow light for 20 hrs a day. However the bryopsis growing in the same chamber was REALLY thriving. I recently switched to a whiter grow light (zetlight) and the bryopsis seems to be fading.

My NO3 is up around 20, maybe higher. My PO4 is .3 or so.

I know the trend these days is to runs a tank with some nutrients, and even add nutrients back in.....but for many years, I ran biopellets, skimmed heavily and fed a lot, aimed for zero, and it worked really well for me. I’m going back to what I know. Plus...biopellets are “set is and forget it.” Although, in my experience, they didn’t do much for PO4, so I’ll continue with the chaeto until it dies.

BoomCorals · Nov 26, 2018

I can definitely relate to falling back on what you've had success with. I personally have never tried biopellets. But, I've also never had good luck growing cheto. FWIW, I have much better luck growing flame algae and bubble caulerpa and it seems to keep the nutrients in check. Neither have ever grown out of hand either.

sawdonkey · Nov 27, 2018

Got my two Orphek light bars. Two 35” Sky Blue end to end and I had them put four white diodes in each. I put them all the way to the front of my tank and angled them back a little.

The color pop is great and they really helped to fill in any shadows. I’ll take some with/without photos tomorrow after I clean my filthy tank.