Time for a Re-Boot

[ndrwater]

Ever so slowly, but in the right direction...

 

[joe0813]

just been doing water changes and GFO?

 

[ndrwater]

just been doing water changes and GFO?

So far...
Phos actually went up again yesterday. Think im at the point of phos leaching back out of the rock.
Ill test again today to see where im at. May change the GFO again today..

 

[joe0813]

So far...
Phos actually went up again yesterday. Think im at the point of phos leaching back out of the rock.
Ill test again today to see where im at. May change the GFO again today..

Time for new rock or bleach?

 

[ndrwater]

Time for new rock or bleach?

Neither this tome around..
This rock is over 12 years old so lots of good bacteria.
Probably nee GFO.
The rock and sand can/will bind phosphate snd subsequently leach it back into the water. The sand is new, but the rock being old is probably the culprit. It was in the tank for the FOWLR days.
This also probably means that the water is no longer the source and now we are on the downhill side of getting things back in order. This may take a bit longer due to leaching, but still a good sign if you look at the big picture.
Ill test a little later this morning, probably replace the GFO again and see where we are.
The corals are doing okay, the fish don't care, so its just a process... Ill get there...
Besides, we have 3 local frag swaps/shows coming up... I'd like to continue getting some cool pieces...

 

[joe0813]

Neither this tome around..
This rock is over 12 years old so lots of good bacteria.
Probably nee GFO.
The rock and sand can/will bind phosphate snd subsequently leach it back into the water. The sand is new, but the rock being old is probably the culprit. It was in the tank for the FOWLR days.
This also probably means that the water is no longer the source and now we are on the downhill side of getting things back in order. This may take a bit longer due to leaching, but still a good sign if you look at the big picture.
Ill test a little later this morning, probably replace the GFO again and see where we are.
The corals are doing okay, the fish don't care, so its just a process... Ill get there...
Besides, we have 3 local frag swaps/shows coming up... I'd like to continue getting some cool pieces...

we also have a big frag swap up here. Frag farmers market in CT, supposed to be the largest single day show in the country. Hoping I can get some good stuff to replace the corals I lost during a snow storm. 29inches of wet heavy snow here, wiped out power for 27 hours. Jenny did the best she could with keeping the tank warm/aerated throughout the night while I was out plowing. 34 hours sitting in a truck with no sleep

 

[ndrwater]

we also have a big frag swap up here. Farmers frag market in CT, supposed to be the largest single day show in the country. Hoping I can get some good stuff to replace the corals I lost during a snow storm. 29inches of wet heavy snow here, wiped out power for 27 hours. Jenny did the best she could with keeping the tank warm/aerated throughout the night while I was out plowing. 34 hours sitting in a truck with no sleep

Thats bonkers... Heard about the storm and actually was thinking you'd be out in the middle of it. Sorry about the corals.
We have 80° weather here currently...
That means you'll probably have a heat wave in a week or so .... Crazy to have to think about chillers in February.... Mine has been running for the past week...

 

[ndrwater]

Been busy with work, so been a minute..
Update time.....
Phos creeping up. Need to replace the GFO. Also have some nasty red cyano that I got some ChemiClean for. GFO has to go off line for the moment to get rid if the cyano.
Water change today to help with the phosphate, then ChemiClean treatment for a couple days.
Then another water change and then back to GFO...
Seems I have gotten to the point where the rock is now leaching phosphate. This is where the patience needs to kick in. Daliy testing, frequently swapping GFO...
Good news is the corals are doing okay..
Pix soon...
Oh... Not sure if i ever mentioned, i got one of the IceCap Gyre 4k pumps... Its great!! LOTS of flow where i needed it. Got it at 30% off from the CoralVue outlet. Turnover in the tank is back to where I like it for SPS... Around 100x within the tank.... Whole bunch of MP's on various sync and anti sync programs and the new 4k on random at about 70%...

 

[ndrwater]

While waiting forbthe 240 to be a little less cyano-y... I decided to do a thing .
Definitely not even close to done, but at least it is closer that it was yesterday..
Only real issue is my return pump decided not to pump.. instead of running to the store to get a new one, I pulled a Sicce i used to circulate my mixing barrel. Its too small but I'll replace it sooner than later.
Now i need to swap the lights for the FW versions I have, plant the stupid thing, add fish, get some filter socks and about 1463624 other things to make this look like something..

 

[ndrwater]

My wife just asked me if i posted about flooding the garage while getting things up and running....
Never answer the phone when you have water pumping...
Only done this, oh i dunno,.... At least a dozen times in the last 15 years...

 

[joe0813]

My wife just asked me if i posted about flooding the garage while getting things up and running....
Never answer the phone when you have water pumping...
Only done this, oh i dunno,.... At least a dozen times in the last 15 years...

I did this a week ago.... Forget the RO was on, flooded my first floor bathroom which then leaked into the basement..... Thankfully Jenny was working

 

[ndrwater]

Welp... Besides some basic maintenance for the 240 to keep things moving in the right direction, i did a bit of a thing with the 120. No fish yet, but its now more than a box of water..
A bit out of my expertise here, but how hard can it be?

All the little tufts in the forground are intended to all grow together to be a couple different types of carpet...
I know this is a reefing forum, but Im sure there are enough of you out there that have done fresh at some point.. This isn't intended to derail the re-re-boot, just an update about whats happening while the 240 catches up with itself.

 

[ndrwater]

So..... Been a minute since an update ..
I ran the course of ChemiClean so no more cyano, but .. needed to take the GFO offline for the duration.. Phosphate bounced back to 1.24.
After running a sh!te ton of carbon for a bit, the GFO reactor went back online and we are now back down to .74... Checking again tomorrow to see if we are still dropping. If yes, hold course. If no, swapping the GFO for new. 50 gallon water change again today so we'll see where everything lands tomorrow..
But.... (I know this is a reefing forum, but..)
The 120 is moving forward nicely. CO2 is now online, and i installed something i am embarrassed to admit but the wife is happy, so... Happy wife, happy life.. I'll post pix up of the major eye roll soon.. instead, Ill post a couple fish pix. Those of you actually paying attention to the photos will notice something not super great, but I have a plan in action and we'll see how things turn out.

 

[ndrwater]

So... Remember that whole Nitrate through the roof problem.... Welp... 3.8 as of today...
Now to get the phosphate in check... Was reading another reefer's post about the molar ratio and am definitely out of whack.. pre latest 100 gallon water change... Phosphate was still hovering around .2 (yes there is a decimal point in front of that 2...)
Haven't checked post water change yet. Want to circulate a bit before I come back and see .