fabutahoun
Angels and Acros
Or Giant Snail 
Zoey's Reef is Growing Up . . .
- Large Build
- Thread starter Maritimer
- Start date
- Tagged users None
OP
OP
Let there be fish . . .
Here's a video I shot from the end of the tank, under white "day" lights, a couple of days ago:
And here's one from this morning, under the early blue lights - after having added fish to the tank last night. A few moments into the video, I'll drop some food into the return chamber of the sump - in seconds, it's everywhere in the tank. Since my phone is against the glass, you can hear the Gyre pump ramping up, but in reality, it's not audible - in fact, the background noise in the room isn't nearly as loud as my videos would make it appear:
Interesting to see that the trio of azure damsels are schooling so tightly this morning, and that the flame angel and kole tang are swimming together like besties. We'll see how that all plays out!
~Bruce
Here's a video I shot from the end of the tank, under white "day" lights, a couple of days ago:
And here's one from this morning, under the early blue lights - after having added fish to the tank last night. A few moments into the video, I'll drop some food into the return chamber of the sump - in seconds, it's everywhere in the tank. Since my phone is against the glass, you can hear the Gyre pump ramping up, but in reality, it's not audible - in fact, the background noise in the room isn't nearly as loud as my videos would make it appear:
Interesting to see that the trio of azure damsels are schooling so tightly this morning, and that the flame angel and kole tang are swimming together like besties. We'll see how that all plays out!
~Bruce
fabutahoun
Angels and Acros
It is nice to see fish swimming in there finally, congrats man
OP
OP
Thank you, Fadi - it sure is good to have some color and movement in that tank!
Liverock - _real_ liverock - comes from the ocean.
I started my tank with 80# of "Pukani Air Rock", which arrived with a few red foram skeletons on it, but no visible life at all.
I added another 20 or 30 pounds of rock from a quality LFS before the changeover, and 30 or so pounds each of shelf rock and Tonga branch from BRS - but that's not what I think of when I think of "liverock".
Real liverock comes from the ocean, and the most compatible I can imagine would come from warm, blue, tropical water.
And it will come here.
I've ordered 60# of rock from KP Aquatics, down in the Florida Keys, and just got word that it'll be arriving on or about the 16th of this month. (A full review will follow!)
All of which means that I won't be able to glue any of the corals that I pick up on the 14th at CTARS' Fragtoberfest event - or even the ones in the tank. Like the M. setosa that's been flipped over almost every night since the fish returned.
~Bruce
Liverock - _real_ liverock - comes from the ocean.
I started my tank with 80# of "Pukani Air Rock", which arrived with a few red foram skeletons on it, but no visible life at all.
I added another 20 or 30 pounds of rock from a quality LFS before the changeover, and 30 or so pounds each of shelf rock and Tonga branch from BRS - but that's not what I think of when I think of "liverock".
Real liverock comes from the ocean, and the most compatible I can imagine would come from warm, blue, tropical water.
And it will come here.
I've ordered 60# of rock from KP Aquatics, down in the Florida Keys, and just got word that it'll be arriving on or about the 16th of this month. (A full review will follow!)
All of which means that I won't be able to glue any of the corals that I pick up on the 14th at CTARS' Fragtoberfest event - or even the ones in the tank. Like the M. setosa that's been flipped over almost every night since the fish returned.
~Bruce
Amoo
Professional Thread Derailer
Bruce it's nice to see you've come out of the fog finally.
I have to admit I had read through your thread once before, and I was dry fitting my PVC on my 32G you're following at one point I stopped and said to myself "don't pull a Bruce"!
I have to admit I had read through your thread once before, and I was dry fitting my PVC on my 32G you're following at one point I stopped and said to myself "don't pull a Bruce"!
OP
OP
LOL!
Glad you didn't - your plumbing looks ace!
~Bruce
Glad you didn't - your plumbing looks ace!
~Bruce
Amoo
Professional Thread Derailer
Bruce a few things here that I thought about when i went through your thread a second time:
1. Your tank still looks cloudy to my eyes. Is that the phone or is it still cloudy? Have you tried some simple Carbon?
2. You should be able to set both of your Gyres so that 1 is in forward while the other is in reverse. They do have a way to run master/slave. That should solve your slug of water issue as well as prevent the two from fighting against each other, which would actually limit the flow you could be getting. You could also try to mount one or even both horizontally instead of vertically with one on the front side of the tank and the other on the back that way they are both pushing water in the same gyre directions.
3. Have you changed your ball valves to gate valves yet? I saw you used true union ball valves, but don't know if you ever changed them. You'll instantly thank me as you'll have them dialed in, in a matter of a few seconds.
1. Your tank still looks cloudy to my eyes. Is that the phone or is it still cloudy? Have you tried some simple Carbon?
2. You should be able to set both of your Gyres so that 1 is in forward while the other is in reverse. They do have a way to run master/slave. That should solve your slug of water issue as well as prevent the two from fighting against each other, which would actually limit the flow you could be getting. You could also try to mount one or even both horizontally instead of vertically with one on the front side of the tank and the other on the back that way they are both pushing water in the same gyre directions.
3. Have you changed your ball valves to gate valves yet? I saw you used true union ball valves, but don't know if you ever changed them. You'll instantly thank me as you'll have them dialed in, in a matter of a few seconds.
OP
OP
Thank you for your insightful comments, Amoo!
Gate valves would be _awesome_ in the drain lines - the ball valves are very fidgety, but more or less dialed-in ... for the moment, anyway. I may well decide to upgrade down the line.
As far as being cloudy, there is a bit of that, and it varies from hour to hour. My Chaetomorpha is dying and almost gone, and the fish have stirred things up a bit, whether by digging or hammering the hair algae in the tank. I've got a bag of ROX-08 / GFO in the sump, which could use some freshening up - but really want a new bag before I do. The granules of that stuff are _tiny_, and it gets into the display through the current mesh. (My phone's not the newest or the best, either...)
I know that you can sync or anti-sync the Gyres, but decided not to do that - for now, at least. As it stands, there are three "scours" in the sand - one at each front corner, where the Gyre and return from the opposite end of the tank dump their flows, and one across the center front, where the Gyres crash. As they're set now, the Gyres ramp up and down, forcing a downdraft that blows across the center regions of the tank, vigorously caressing the rocks and corals below. I did try a vertical mount, but found that the scouring of the sand was more than I wanted to deal with. What I've got now is something of a compromise. I may change it up in the future . . .
~Bruce
Gate valves would be _awesome_ in the drain lines - the ball valves are very fidgety, but more or less dialed-in ... for the moment, anyway. I may well decide to upgrade down the line.
As far as being cloudy, there is a bit of that, and it varies from hour to hour. My Chaetomorpha is dying and almost gone, and the fish have stirred things up a bit, whether by digging or hammering the hair algae in the tank. I've got a bag of ROX-08 / GFO in the sump, which could use some freshening up - but really want a new bag before I do. The granules of that stuff are _tiny_, and it gets into the display through the current mesh. (My phone's not the newest or the best, either...)
I know that you can sync or anti-sync the Gyres, but decided not to do that - for now, at least. As it stands, there are three "scours" in the sand - one at each front corner, where the Gyre and return from the opposite end of the tank dump their flows, and one across the center front, where the Gyres crash. As they're set now, the Gyres ramp up and down, forcing a downdraft that blows across the center regions of the tank, vigorously caressing the rocks and corals below. I did try a vertical mount, but found that the scouring of the sand was more than I wanted to deal with. What I've got now is something of a compromise. I may change it up in the future . . .
~Bruce
jsker
Reefing is all about the adventure
Staff member
Super Moderator
Partner Member 2024
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
Article Contributor
Hospitality Award
Ocala Reef Club Member
R2R Secret Santa 2023
My Tank Thread
Great progress and great to see some life in the tank.
I do the same with my gyre's and then I run a mp 40 midway down. When the two gyre currents crash in the center the mp 40 circulates the water down below.
I do the same with my gyre's and then I run a mp 40 midway down. When the two gyre currents crash in the center the mp 40 circulates the water down below.
Amoo
Professional Thread Derailer
I can say with the double Dursos on my 125, even with Gate valves I would have to tinker with them like once a month.
Weird, I know it would be an extra expense, but you may try a BRS Reactor. They're realatively cheap, you can get one with a pump and I've never had any escape. It would certainly process more water every 24 hours. They're pretty bullet proof as well. Mix your GFO and Carbon together and you'd be set.
I also use bio-spera on new tanks and have never seen a bacterial bloom this aggressive that lasted for so long. SOMETHING has to be continuously feeding that bacteria for it to be so aggressive and continuously coming back. Are you dumping anything in at all at the moment?
Weird, I know it would be an extra expense, but you may try a BRS Reactor. They're realatively cheap, you can get one with a pump and I've never had any escape. It would certainly process more water every 24 hours. They're pretty bullet proof as well. Mix your GFO and Carbon together and you'd be set.
I also use bio-spera on new tanks and have never seen a bacterial bloom this aggressive that lasted for so long. SOMETHING has to be continuously feeding that bacteria for it to be so aggressive and continuously coming back. Are you dumping anything in at all at the moment?
Amoo
Professional Thread Derailer
Also Bruce now that I'm actually commenting in your thread I'll bring a little banter along with me.
I certainly wouldn't listen to this guy ^^^ It takes him WEEKS to get pictures and videos up of his tank and he can't even think of music on his own without help from his audience. Not exactly an example I would follow for how to run a tank
OP
OP
I used BioSpira too, along with a couple of bacterial blends from Two Little Fishies. Had a bacterial bloom, then a phytoplankton bloom - green water style. There may be another phytoplankton at play here as well, as when my son moved a thermometer from the display to my wrasse QT, red-brown film algae began to grow on the walls (not the usual red slime cyano...) and has since _strongly_ discolored the water in that tank. It looks like someone threw a jar of old nails in there. (Lights on that tank are currently turned out.) Wondering if it isn't some odd variety of dinoflagellates.
Given the nature of the stuff, I'm hoping that the sponges and possible bivalves on the inbound liverock will help - and will thrive!
~Bruce
Given the nature of the stuff, I'm hoping that the sponges and possible bivalves on the inbound liverock will help - and will thrive!
~Bruce
jsker
Reefing is all about the adventure
Staff member
Super Moderator
Partner Member 2024
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
Article Contributor
Hospitality Award
Ocala Reef Club Member
R2R Secret Santa 2023
My Tank Thread
Also Bruce now that I'm actually commenting in your thread I'll bring a little banter along with me.
I certainly wouldn't listen to this guy ^^^ It takes him WEEKS to get pictures and videos up of his tank and he can't even think of music on his own without help from his audience. Not exactly an example I would follow for how to run a tank
The pressure to produce is all over R2R.;Wacky
Amoo
Professional Thread Derailer
I mean, with so much bacteria flying around your poor Chaeto doesn't have a chance. I'm just going to ramble off what's in my head, as I do that from time to time, so feel free to ignore most or all of it. I'll do this internally when I'm having my own issues but find it sometimes helps me to write it down and read over it a few times to try to make heads or tails of any of it.
Started the tank with multiple bacterias, never a bad thing. Did rinse intially with vinegar, that certainly could have fueled a bacteria growth, but why still?
Skimmer has been having a hard time for what seems like the entirety of it's life. Wondering if you've got it sitting at the right water level. If you do have a bacteria source and the skimmer isn't properly working it may not be removing it and that could be why you're seeing such sustained growth.
Rust colored algae is definitely odd, I'm wondering about your silicates. Any chance on silicates or something coming in with your top off water?
Wondering if a short lights our along with the skimmer being dialed in might help with some of this craziness.
I've been through the red-brown film algae on my 60G, just now coming out of it. Was a result of silicates coming through RODI which needed filters changed. Changing filters to limit feeding the algae with top off water combined with the bio-pellets starting to kick in is beating them back on all surfaces of my tank. My chaeto growth has slowed down as would be expected and I'm actually getting some die off (which isn't a bad thing necessarily), but my die off is brownish not white like you're seeing. I'm wondering if the bacteria are simply just starving your Chaeto out.
I can't imaging testing for nutrients would be anywhere close to accurate at this point considering all the bacteria flying around. I'm just wondering what's actually keeping your nitrates in check at the moment? Clearly it has to be the bacteria, if not your nitrates would be sky high. Any chance you have ammonia coming in from some water source which is fueling this bacteria.
The whole green water thing is just mind boggling. I can't even contemplate how much algae had to be suspended to green out a 220g tank. Question is why did it stay suspended and why green? Lighting spectrum at play maybe, but still odd for sure.
Ok I'm done brain dumping. Like I said, maybe something in there will be useful to you as it doesn't always make sense to me when it's first coming out of my head.
Started the tank with multiple bacterias, never a bad thing. Did rinse intially with vinegar, that certainly could have fueled a bacteria growth, but why still?
Skimmer has been having a hard time for what seems like the entirety of it's life. Wondering if you've got it sitting at the right water level. If you do have a bacteria source and the skimmer isn't properly working it may not be removing it and that could be why you're seeing such sustained growth.
Rust colored algae is definitely odd, I'm wondering about your silicates. Any chance on silicates or something coming in with your top off water?
Wondering if a short lights our along with the skimmer being dialed in might help with some of this craziness.
I've been through the red-brown film algae on my 60G, just now coming out of it. Was a result of silicates coming through RODI which needed filters changed. Changing filters to limit feeding the algae with top off water combined with the bio-pellets starting to kick in is beating them back on all surfaces of my tank. My chaeto growth has slowed down as would be expected and I'm actually getting some die off (which isn't a bad thing necessarily), but my die off is brownish not white like you're seeing. I'm wondering if the bacteria are simply just starving your Chaeto out.
I can't imaging testing for nutrients would be anywhere close to accurate at this point considering all the bacteria flying around. I'm just wondering what's actually keeping your nitrates in check at the moment? Clearly it has to be the bacteria, if not your nitrates would be sky high. Any chance you have ammonia coming in from some water source which is fueling this bacteria.
The whole green water thing is just mind boggling. I can't even contemplate how much algae had to be suspended to green out a 220g tank. Question is why did it stay suspended and why green? Lighting spectrum at play maybe, but still odd for sure.
Ok I'm done brain dumping. Like I said, maybe something in there will be useful to you as it doesn't always make sense to me when it's first coming out of my head.
OP
OP
Simon, Radman, Jsker, Amoo - thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts!
The rusty algae is definitely at its worst in QT, which isn't 100% RO/DI, so you may have something there. Lights on that tank have been dark the last two days - I may take a peek tomorrow. (I can see the shadows of wrasses moving about when I drop food . . . )
I suspect that this may have been nanochloropsis or some similar phytoplankton. Seems to have faded back an awful lot, but I can't be certain every cell has been eradicated. There are certainly sponges growing in my rock, and I expect more sponges in the rock coming on Monday. If there are T. maxima clams at Fragtoberfest, I'm gon' be _real_ tempted.
There also seem to always be some small particulates drifting about in the tank. I think some of them may be micro-bubbles from the skimmer, but some look to have been blown out of the rock or the sand or the dying chaeto or . . .
I can count the tips on the tentacles of the frogspawn five and a half feet away from the end pane I'm looking through - that makes this the clearest tank I've ever owned, so I'm not _that_ upset about it!
~Bruce
The rusty algae is definitely at its worst in QT, which isn't 100% RO/DI, so you may have something there. Lights on that tank have been dark the last two days - I may take a peek tomorrow. (I can see the shadows of wrasses moving about when I drop food . . . )
I suspect that this may have been nanochloropsis or some similar phytoplankton. Seems to have faded back an awful lot, but I can't be certain every cell has been eradicated. There are certainly sponges growing in my rock, and I expect more sponges in the rock coming on Monday. If there are T. maxima clams at Fragtoberfest, I'm gon' be _real_ tempted.
There also seem to always be some small particulates drifting about in the tank. I think some of them may be micro-bubbles from the skimmer, but some look to have been blown out of the rock or the sand or the dying chaeto or . . .
I can count the tips on the tentacles of the frogspawn five and a half feet away from the end pane I'm looking through - that makes this the clearest tank I've ever owned, so I'm not _that_ upset about it!
~Bruce
Amoo
Professional Thread Derailer
I'm really sorry this has been such a struggle for you Bruce. I mean, yeah it sucks, but we still have to try to find the good in it. So far the good in it looks like it could be new friends. Maybe we can just all put our collective heads together and come up with something that might help you do things like, you know worry about rising Nitrates and Phosphates like normal reefers rather then silly things like too much bacertia
OP
OP
LOL!
~B.
~B.
Amoo
Professional Thread Derailer
Wait a minute. I'm not going to lie, my plankton knowledge is severely lacking, and by severely that means I know what they are and what role they perform and that you can culture them for food if you wanted, but that's pretty much where it ends.
So when you mentioned nanochloropsis I decided to go to the MOST TRUSTED and always 100-thousand% always accurate never wrong source of.....Wikipedia
I think you have said you work at an aquarium. Are you secretly trying to genetically manipulate your fish? I'm on to you buddy.
So when you mentioned nanochloropsis I decided to go to the MOST TRUSTED and always 100-thousand% always accurate never wrong source of.....Wikipedia
I think you have said you work at an aquarium. Are you secretly trying to genetically manipulate your fish? I'm on to you buddy.
Similar threads
