Time for a Re-Boot

[ndrwater]

Ben, the 240G looks amazing. Sometimes a reboot is exactly what we need. Can't wait to see what the 120G looks like.

Because I happen to be sitting here... Snapped a pic. Actually looks better in person.. I am a horrible photographer..
Was actually texting with a friend the other day about how truly horrible I am with a camera...

 

[ndrwater]

Apparently I am REALLY sick of this whole quarantine thing...
Getting a bit more professional..

 

[Pbh-reef]

This is a really interesting build thread - I hope to learn a lot from it in the next few years!

 

[ndrwater]

Welp... Been a hair under 3 years since this thread has been updated ..
The 240 had a bit of a crash a while back (long story only told over adult beverages).
Since then it has been a fish tank. Now I love my fish, but I have decided to get over the crash and get back into the reef life. This requires an expenditure that only those of you who have large tanks can appreciate. EVERYTHING this is more expensive when you go big... I am still rocking my G3 Radions, but looking to upgrade. At current prices, this is a chunk of dough. Between the 240 and the 120, I have seven G3's...
And yes the idea of dropping the better part of seven grand on lighting is not something that gives me the warm and fuzzies, but...... I may just do it..
The fish from back in the day are still fat and happy with the exception of the CBB. He made it seven years with me, so I consider that a moral victory, but moral victories aren't what I look for in this hobby . My fish are my pets like any cat or dog. I mourn them when they are gone.
Fish have personalities like any other animal, and my big tank CBB was a character. If there is any solace, I still have his twin brother in the 120...
Hopefully, this new version of the 240 will
prove to be as rewarding as the 1st was. I have been reefing for many years now and am still learning. I hope to avoid the pitfalls that I ran into in with th 1st version, but will continue to learn and be inspired as move forward with the latest iteration...

To be continued.......

 

[chapter7]

still goin at it? would love to read an update ......

 

[ndrwater]

still goin at it? would love to read an update ......

Funny you should ask ...
I got new lights .... And not the direction I thought i would go ..
Since i am off work for the next couple weeks, big things are afoot... Going to redo BOTH tanks... The 240 is still going to be a reef, but the 120 is going planted.... Because ..... Why not .. haven't done a planted tank in like 30 years and apparently like spending ungodly amounts of money of silly hobbies. I have 95% of what its going to take to make the swap in the 120. I am planning on taking the fish and corals from the LPS120 and putting them in my 240 to make a mixed reef.
The real hard part for me is that I have to part with one on my "bucket list" fish... I have an Asfur angel that was in the 240 from the time he was about the size of a 50¢ piece... Hes now 9-10" and gorgeous.... But.... He's a d!xk...part of the reason for the stall from my last attempt at a reboot was him... Anything... And i mean ANYTHING i put in the tank he destroys... Meaning any frags, or corals that went in lasted minutes before they were either dead, eaten, or lost to some far flung corner of the tank to never be seen again .. no amount of crazy glue, coral cement, epoxy was enough to stop him... Unfortunately, he has to go.. i found him a good home with a LFS that has a 1000 gallons display that he will hopefully be happy in ..
So.... The plan is tomorrow... 1st thing is Mr. Asfur has to be caught, which ought to be an adventure in and of itself, but I plan on re-scaping anyway, so even though the tank is 8', he wont be able to get away ... Then .. i think the swap of the LPS to the 240 is next... The fish in the 120 go into the 240 too... With no " King of the tank" this ought to go relatively smoothly... Then.... coming up with a new mounting solution for the new lights .. and THEN..... clean and prep the 120 for freshwater.....
Good thing Im off for 2 weeks ...
Ill post up lots of pics, hopefully have a minute or 30 to document this adventure and be done by the time I have to go back to work ...
Stay tuned!!! (I know i said that last time, but for realzies this time)

 

[chapter7]

What LFS in OC has a 1,000 gallon tank!??

 

[ndrwater]

What LFS in OC has a 1,000 gallon tank!??

Reef Lounge .. Corona...
They used to have the same 1000 in Anaheim, but it went to the bigger store in Corona...
Jimmy (owner) has been a friend for years and is a real good dude .. I was looking for a while for a home for Dick McDickerson Asfur for a while, but as I have mentioned before, these fish are my pets and I want the best for them..... Even if they have to go.... Took a minute to find the right home...

 

[chapter7]

ahhh, nice. will check them out next time in socal.

 

[ndrwater]

So... Day one is done... What a chore... Mr McDickerson the Asfur is now Jimmy at Reef Lounge's problem. I just spoke with him a couple minutes ago and he'll be in the display in Corona... Gonna miss that fish... Best i can figure looking at old pix, i got him in 2017-ish...
But... Time to actually get the tank back to being a reef again ..
The photos I took show the fish, old dumpster fire of a tank and my helper for the day. My grandson was a great help and I really enjoyed hanging with and doing fish stuff with him today!!! Next gen reefer lets hope!!
I added some sand back to the tank today. I have to say i really like the look better than BB. I was having a discussion with @IvanW and were thinking there is a benefit to actually having sand.. we'll see...
Haven't swapped the lights yet. My original plan needs to shift gears, but Ill get there probably tomorrow...
Also need to move the SPS/Leather from the 120 over to the 240. I got tired and needed an adult beverage with the Mrs, so pause for today...
To be continued...

 

[ndrwater]

One more snippet of info... Most of the live rock that was in the tank is currently in a 55 gallon barrel full of saltwater so I can put it right back tomorrow... Needed too move 85% of the rock to catch the stupid fish... Which, was super easy since they had minimal places to hide....
Till tomorrow....

 

[ndrwater]

Welp... Getting there slowly but surely..
Got the 240 running and new and improved with SAND!!
Tore into the 120 and got the few corals worth saving into the 240. Also did the very technical "plop and drop" method of acclimating the fish from the 120 into the 240. With one exception, all were doing well. Including Mr. Cbb who was eating 5 minutes after his very unceremonious plop into his new digs.. The issue is with yellow tang #3.. he was initially accepted by his fellow yellows, but after a bit the largest of the existing yellows apparently remembered that the new guy was a fish that he had an issue with in the past and the aggression started anew. I turned off the lights to hope to calm everyone down. Time will tell. If it doesn't work, i may have a yellow with need of a new home.....
The 120 was a bigger dumpster fire than I initially thought, but it has been drained half a dozen times now while stirring up what can only be described and many years of "I can't get back there with a gravel vac, it'll be fine" disgusting filth... Very glad i decided to do this on Christmas Eve when the fam is coming over tomorrow.... What a lovely smell we have discovered!!!
Knowing the wife would have my gentelman bits removed if I left things in anything resembling the mess she saw earlier, I opted to pull all the sand, flush the tank a couple more times and then refill with hose water to make things be "more acceptable" to the nose. Seems to have worked because my lovely wife isn't focusing on making me be a permanent alto singer and was praising how the 240 looked "looks like when it was new" I'll take the moral victory...
Tomorrow after all the festivities are over I'll get back to making the 120 something to look at besides a box full of water ..
Happy Holidays all and to be continued.....

 

[ndrwater]

We have corals!!
So a bit more of an update... One of the yellow tangs from the 120 that used to be part of the group of 5 from way back in the day was reintroduced back with the pair in the 240... Lets say it didn't go as well as we had hoped. For the 1st couple hours all was right with the world and all three were buds... Then... Apparently words were exchanged and the new guy was in no uncertain terms he needed to go...
So before WW3 started, the yellow from the 120 was removed and passed along to a local club member to be happy in his new digs..
That fellow reefer, aware that the re re boot was underway, brought some SPS to kick things off and now we are officially an SPS tank again..
Also just got aome more sticks today from another local reefer so we are moving in the right direction.
Still haven't mounted the new lights due to FedEx changing their delivery dates on me, but hopefully very soon.
Pix of corals in a bucket dipping below..
Not exciting to probably anybody but me...

 

[ndrwater]

Small victory update...
The 120 soaked for a week+ in fresh water, skimmer and all misc stuff that was in it out for a citric acid soak. 2nd fill with fresh since I changed out ALL the media/filters in the RODI. Figured I use the run up water to give everything a nice 2nd rinse...
The 240 is still cruising along STILL waiting for FedEx to get my aluminum to SoCal si I can hang the lights... My "scheduled delivery" of last Friday 1/3 is apparently still in Illinois... Some day..
Mean time, all new reagents for all the text kits and a couple new Hannas...

 

[ndrwater]

Aaaaaaaaand ****... Was wondering why my ATO wasn't ATO-ing . Thought it might be the pump so I pulled it, opened it and looks brand new .. Then i go into the sump to see whats up.. all red lights... Not good... Opened it up and there is a sensor above the optical that is toast... Great .. you can buy a new pump, but apparently not the in-tank part.... Nobody ever said this hobby was cheap.....

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Aaaaaaaaand ****... Was wondering why my ATO wasn't ATO-ing . Thought it might be the pump so I pulled it, opened it and looks brand new .. Then i go into the sump to see whats up.. all red lights... Not good... Opened it up and there is a sensor above the optical that is toast... Great .. you can buy a new pump, but apparently not the in-tank part.... Nobody ever said this hobby was cheap.....

Dang! Well that sucks.

Small victory update...
The 120 soaked for a week+ in fresh water, skimmer and all misc stuff that was in it out for a citric acid soak. 2nd fill with fresh since I changed out ALL the media/filters in the RODI. Figured I use the run up water to give everything a nice 2nd rinse...
The 240 is still cruising along STILL waiting for FedEx to get my aluminum to SoCal si I can hang the lights... My "scheduled delivery" of last Friday 1/3 is apparently still in Illinois... Some day..
Mean time, all new reagents for all the text kits and a couple new Hannas...

This is looking great!!

 

[joe0813]

Aaaaaaaaand ****... Was wondering why my ATO wasn't ATO-ing . Thought it might be the pump so I pulled it, opened it and looks brand new .. Then i go into the sump to see whats up.. all red lights... Not good... Opened it up and there is a sensor above the optical that is toast... Great .. you can buy a new pump, but apparently not the in-tank part.... Nobody ever said this hobby was cheap.....

heard good things about the new style tunze ato

 

[ndrwater]

heard good things about the new style tunze ato

Hi Joe!! Long time no talk!!
And I found a new old stock 3155 (old style)
Got it for a better price than the new ones. My ATO is now ATO-ing as it should.. my issue with the new style is that stupid little sensor. Just seems too wasy to get buildup or whatever on it and waaaaay too easy to ruin it if you try and clean it.. ask me how i know...
The new pump is definitely better, and the new one is smaller, but i just feel like less "technical" moving parts and redundancy built in with the old one was the better way for me. I have a ton of live rock in the sump and the probability of the new one getting gunked up again was high... I chose old school...

 

[joe0813]

Hi Joe!! Long time no talk!!
And I found a new old stock 3155 (old style)
Got it for a better price than the new ones. My ATO is now ATO-ing as it should.. my issue with the new style is that stupid little sensor. Just seems too wasy to get buildup or whatever on it and waaaaay too easy to ruin it if you try and clean it.. ask me how i know...
The new pump is definitely better, and the new one is smaller, but i just feel like less "technical" moving parts and redundancy built in with the old one was the better way for me. I have a ton of live rock in the sump and the probability of the new one getting gunked up again was high... I chose old school...

Tank looks like it's coming back along nicely.... I miss the RAP days

 

[ndrwater]

Mee too, but ... There is always 2026...
Maybe Orlando? Who knows .. i could use an East Coast trip... Maybe @revhtree would be conned into coming out to the West Coast if I poke the bear a bit in Orlando...