eric b 125
Active Member
I'm sorry things are rough for you right now man
Back to basics- 29g adventure
- Thread starter snakeblitz33
- Start date
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
Things will get better.
eric b 125
Active Member
They always do buddy.
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
So no one wants to buy the tank, so I decided to put some more money into it. Lol. Why do I keep punishing myself?!
I went and bought all the supplies I needed to fix the RODI system. Bought new sediment filters, bought new carbon and DI resin. I flushed the membrane a good ten minutes. After about an hour, it was spitting out zero TDS.
So with the top off water fixed, I'm going to do a large water change and suck out some algae and other detritus, and I'm going to invest in a couple of jebao pumps. Then I'm going to buy an AI Hydra 26. I've already got the money and gonna buy it for my Christmas presents. Woohoo!
I'm going to soak down the protein skimmer in vinegar overnight or tomorrow while I am at work... And I'm going to get it going again.
Despite my gross neglect of the system, only two SPS frags have completely died. So, I guess it is doing OK for now.
Water tests and other maintenance will be done this weekend.
That's pretty much it for now. Maybe after some of the algae dies back, I'll post up some new photos.
I went and bought all the supplies I needed to fix the RODI system. Bought new sediment filters, bought new carbon and DI resin. I flushed the membrane a good ten minutes. After about an hour, it was spitting out zero TDS.
So with the top off water fixed, I'm going to do a large water change and suck out some algae and other detritus, and I'm going to invest in a couple of jebao pumps. Then I'm going to buy an AI Hydra 26. I've already got the money and gonna buy it for my Christmas presents. Woohoo!
I'm going to soak down the protein skimmer in vinegar overnight or tomorrow while I am at work... And I'm going to get it going again.
Despite my gross neglect of the system, only two SPS frags have completely died. So, I guess it is doing OK for now.
Water tests and other maintenance will be done this weekend.
That's pretty much it for now. Maybe after some of the algae dies back, I'll post up some new photos.
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
I guess tackling the RO DI problem was a big challenge for me. But, I had to do it mainly for decent top off water and for good filtered water for the baby bottles.
Oh, despite the water quality being pretty low, one of the acros is doing really well, encrusting and even growing blue tips.
I think I just lost interest in the hobby there for a little while, but its time to get back into it.
Oh, despite the water quality being pretty low, one of the acros is doing really well, encrusting and even growing blue tips.
I think I just lost interest in the hobby there for a little while, but its time to get back into it.
eric b 125
Active Member
I go through this all the time. Part of the reason I hung on to that 200DD for as long as I did was that I knew I'd regain interest in the hobby sooner than later. That's one of the reasons I like to keep a backup for a lot of the things that regularly need replaced like filter media and RODI supplies: not only is it convenient when I need to change stuff out, but when I get caught-up in other things (usually another hobby. Right now it's kayaking, LOL) I can focus on those things and the tank requires less effort since I don't have to go out of my way to order things, wait for them to be delivered, then find time to do the maintenance. All I have to do is set aside a few minutes to actually do stuff.
Glad you're back in the saddle. Like I said, I'm really preoccupied with the whole paddling thing right now, but I still keep up on the tank so that when it becomes my focus again I can spend that time moving forward and not playing catch-up.
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
I just reinstalled the protein skimmer. It's OK but takes up a lot of room. After a decent light, I'm looking into a better HOB protein skimmer for sure.
I don't have the room for an algae scrubber on my system.
Holy crap, I just had an amazingly awesome idea for an algae scrubber.
Anyways.......
I don't have the room for an algae scrubber on my system.
Holy crap, I just had an amazingly awesome idea for an algae scrubber.
Anyways.......
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
The skimmer pulled out a bunch of green junk overnight. It didn't overflow, so that's a good sign.
Did a five gallon water change and added an extra gallon of water to the system with the protein skimmer, so that's even better.
I have to buy more salt soon.
There are a few things I need to pick up for the tank in the coming weeks.
The give gallon water change really helped, I think. I was able to siphon out a lot of the detritus and algae on the sandbed and it looked much better, so we will see in the coming weeks as things improve.
Did a five gallon water change and added an extra gallon of water to the system with the protein skimmer, so that's even better.
I have to buy more salt soon.
There are a few things I need to pick up for the tank in the coming weeks.
The give gallon water change really helped, I think. I was able to siphon out a lot of the detritus and algae on the sandbed and it looked much better, so we will see in the coming weeks as things improve.
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
Did another 4g water change this afternoon. I bet it's like a breath of fresh air going into the tank.
I poured off the old saltwater into the sink and it smelled rank and sour. No wonder the corals are performing poorly.
Going to do another 4g water change tomorrow and wait a few hours before I re-test the parameters.
The algae that usually grows on the front glass is not growing as quickly as it used to... So that's a good sign. There is a few other things that I have to get done go the system as well, but I'm going to wait. Too many changes at one time is not a good thing.
I poured off the old saltwater into the sink and it smelled rank and sour. No wonder the corals are performing poorly.
Going to do another 4g water change tomorrow and wait a few hours before I re-test the parameters.
The algae that usually grows on the front glass is not growing as quickly as it used to... So that's a good sign. There is a few other things that I have to get done go the system as well, but I'm going to wait. Too many changes at one time is not a good thing.
eric b 125
Active Member
I bet you'll see an incredible improvement with the Hydra over the CCLED's. When I switched from the cheap(ish) ReefBreeders to quality lights I saw a marked improvement in growth and color in my frags.
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
I'm so torn between buying an AI Prime or a Hydra 26. I've been told that with the Prime, I need to turn it up or with the Hydra 26, I'll need to turn it down.
What do you think for a 29? One puck or two?
What do you think for a 29? One puck or two?
lmforbis
Well-Known Member
Downside to a single puck is the shadows. I have Kessils and they are great lights. Theoretically I have plenty of light but the Kessil alone left areas on my few corals that got no light. I ended up adding a 2 bulb HOt5 fixture with actinic light to supplement the Kessil and eliminate the shadows.
eric b 125
Active Member
I think double puck would be better.
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
Fixing to order a jebao RW4 for the tank and another bag of GFO and probably another box of salt... This time reef crystals. 4g water changes are very easy to do every other day until I can get nitrate under control.
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
Been doing water changes, 4g every other day.
Temp, 78
Salinity 1.026
Nitrate 0ppm API
Phosphate: near 0ppm API.
Calcium 400ppm
Alkalinity 7dKH
I'm going to bring up calcium by 60ppm and alkalinity by 3dKH to try to get my corals to start growing again.
I increased my photo period to 12 hours per day. I've lost three SPS frags but no soft corals or LPS corals.
My algae problem is currently under control.
I ordered a jebao RW4 powerhead, 1lb more GFO, and a 200gallon mix of IO Reef Crystals. I'm hoping the increased circulation and a better quality salt will go a long way towards stabilizing the reef.
Temp, 78
Salinity 1.026
Nitrate 0ppm API
Phosphate: near 0ppm API.
Calcium 400ppm
Alkalinity 7dKH
I'm going to bring up calcium by 60ppm and alkalinity by 3dKH to try to get my corals to start growing again.
I increased my photo period to 12 hours per day. I've lost three SPS frags but no soft corals or LPS corals.
My algae problem is currently under control.
I ordered a jebao RW4 powerhead, 1lb more GFO, and a 200gallon mix of IO Reef Crystals. I'm hoping the increased circulation and a better quality salt will go a long way towards stabilizing the reef.
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
I didn't measure before I started water changes. I just assumed it was present.
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
This morning I added 12oz of calcium supplement and I have been dripping in 4oz of alkalinity this afternoon. Things are looking better.
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
So I've been watching my tank And paying attention to my plate coral some. The edges of it had died back all the way around, before I started doing water changes. Now, the tissue is starting to grow back towards the edges in small strips. Good sign that the tank is recovering.
Alkalinity is still being slowly dripped in as well. I might take out one gallon of saltwater to replace it with fresh to lower my salinity a little.
It's coming back! I have also seen new growth on the montipora this weekend. Woohoo!
Alkalinity is still being slowly dripped in as well. I might take out one gallon of saltwater to replace it with fresh to lower my salinity a little.
It's coming back! I have also seen new growth on the montipora this weekend. Woohoo!