JoJo's 135g in wall tank

J

jojo727

Guest
Originally Posted by Buffett
http:///forum/post/2881663
so i know im rushing you but hows the turf scrubber coming along any new pics?
no updates on the scrubber yet, i didnt make it to the store to get the parts needed to start it up. i should have it working tomorrow.
Originally Posted by Culp
http:///forum/post/2881696
there might be some thing wrong with your RO/DI filter. you might have to buy a new unit. because the membrane, filter and resins in it should lack much longer than 2 months.
i changed the filters after 2 months because i believe the first set of replacement filters were bad to begin with, the second set(which was purchased 2months after the first set) has been holding up fine. i believe my city keeps adding chemicals to our water which causes my TDS meter readings to rise sometimes.
Originally Posted by ERock412
http:///forum/post/2881753
Well done JoJo! Your tank looks great. I like what you did to make water changes easier, seems like you put a lot of thought into this build! I'm a pit bull advocate out here it Pittsburgh, trying to keep BSL out of my state, and it's always great to hear from people doing the same thing in their neck of the woods. Either way, do you have any ideas of what direction you're going to go with your tank? Stocklist?
thanks for the compliments. as far as the direction of the tank it will only have corals of motion (softies/LPS), i'm still doing research on the fish i want but i'll post some of what i have in mind once i find the list i wrote.
its great to hear from another pitty lover. we have been fighting BSL for a while and other city bannings. check out our site at mid-florida pitbulls
Originally Posted by AquaKnight
http:///forum/post/2881827
JoJo, have you been to Finz of Tampa? I heard it's sick for rarer fish? I've been all over Orlando and the east coast, but haven't ventured over to the greater Tampa area yet...
no i havent had the chance to got there, i'll have to look up the address and check it out. do they have a website?
 
J

jojo727

Guest
i'm having some serious problems with my trates. i've been doing w/c every other day for the past week and they continue to climb to 80+!!! i'm barely feeding the fish and not the corals. i need to do something fast because my rics look like they're melting and the bigger GSP wont open but the small one has.
i've tested the new SW mix and its about zero so it has to be something in the tank. when i added a ph to the tank thats hidden in the rocks it blew the sand around to the point theres a 3-4" trough in the sand in one area, could disturbing the sandbed have caused this? its been 2-3 weeks since that happened i would of thought the W/C would have solved that by now. also there's some growth on one of the rocks, i have no idea what it is but it may be the cause...

 
J

jojo727

Guest
i still havent figured out what is the source of the trates...this is killing me! i did some testing to day, which will be done every sunday from now on.
PH: 8.3
Am: 0
NO2: 0
NO3: 40-80
SG: 1.025
PO: 0
i'm doing 15-20g w/c everyday until i can get the trates down.
 
mie

mie

Active Member
Those trates are crazy high man. Have you entertained the idea that you maybe have a falty test kit?
By the way looking good.
 
J

jojo727

Guest
yea, i'm taking some water to the LFS today to get a second opinion on the trates and on my RO water. after staying up all night reading for a solution to the trate problem i think i may have found the problem. the middle section of my sump is a 1/3 full of rubble and i believe detritus is gather underneath it. i'll be taking all the rubble out and syphoning everything out, then doing a huge water change.
 
J

jojo727

Guest
i got everything out of the sump: rubble, skimmer,ect. you wouldnt believe how much junk was under that rubble! i turned off the return pump stirred up the water in each section of the sump using 2 ph and the 3rd ph was pumping water from the sump to the drain line outside.
since i used all the salt i had from frequent water changes and i was tired of paying $25 for a 55g mix of Reef Crystal, we took a drive to the next county to pick up a couple of 5g buckets of --...no stores in my area had the big buckets. so the sump has been empty since about 10am, i'm tweaking the SW mix now then i'll add it to the sump but i'm not sure it'll be enough to start the sump again. but with 3 650gph pumps and 2 MJ1200 it should only take about 2 hours to mix another batch.
either doing the water changes are starting to pay off or the fact that the return pump is off and isnt pushing the sump water(which i believe is where the nitrate source was) on them has caused the GSP to open back fully and the rics were open twice as much as yesterday. since they were the closest to the sump return i think they were hit the worst.
on an even better note, Kim gave me an early Christmas gift today. we had ordered new furniture before going to Disney which allowed us to utilize more space in the house so now the dogs are in the room closest to the backyard. this allows them to go in and out freely without trampling through the house, now they have a bigger room and we can isolate them to this area while still being in the same area when we're eating dinner or watching t.v. but the best part is i get the whole room now without worrying about a certain dog chewing on tank tools are spare plumbing parts and hoses. i have a spare 40ish gallon tank i've been debating making a remote fuge...now i can really decide if i want to do it.
 
J

jojo727

Guest
well after all that worrying and work it was the test kits after all. the LFS trate test read 0-5 both times. this has taken so much weight off my shoulders. i'm sure the trates were higher than that before i cleaned the sump but within reason. but now i'm confused why i have bubble algae again, on the same rock. i'm also getting brown & black algae on the sand bed along with the cyano. tomorrow i'll do another w/c while syphoning the sandbed.
i added the male Lyretail Anthias today after acclimating for close to 4 hours. for the first 5 minutes he was swimming close to the rocks inspecting everything but he has been hiding since then. i fed some thawed fish food and saw him eating in one of the caves.
 
J

jojo727

Guest
thanks Scott, my hopes are riding on the turf scrubber. i'll have to check out your thread.
 
J

jojo727

Guest
thanks for the reassurance, i'll be doing reverse light more than likely.
i got a few new shots, i had another question but cant remember now and i'm heading out the door to my parents so i'll leave yall with a little eye candy.
the Anthias has made himself at home

the original GSP times 3

the zoas looking happy

the xenia, i'm trying to get it growing on the back glass

the rics are seeming to well, probably the lighting

the hammer looking nice
 
scottallert

scottallert

Active Member
nice pics
for the xenia, you should tie them to a suction cup and then stick it to the back, thats what im gonna do when i get my 60 gal corner up and running.
 
J

jojo727

Guest
Hey Scott, i tried the tying to xenia to the suction cup but it wouldnt stay a hold...well probably because i used a rubberband. the xenia is attached to a plug so its a little hard to keep it connected to the suction cup but tomorrow i'll try dislodging it from the plug and use a needle and thread to affix it to the suction cup
my dad went with me to the LFS today because i bragged about it so much. i was going to get a Skunk Shimp, while i was there i noticed a zoa type frag with about 8 heads on it in the $5 section so i picked it up too. when i finally found my dad in the fish section and he had a yellow tang waiting on me.
the tang has been acclimated to the QT and the frag and shimp are being acclimated to the DT, pics tomorrow.
i'm starting to get some browning on the ATS screen, i dont think it will be too long before there's algae growing.
 
J

jojo727

Guest
i was checking my salinity and it was low...1.023. i had new SW mixed at 1.028 and i did a 6g wc to raise the salinity some, but before doing the water changes it did a little testing.
with the salinity at 1.023
cal: 380
Mag: 1410
Alk: 3.09
the alkalinity seems too high, should be 2.5-2.9 right? and i would like the calcuim around 420 but that will probably happen once the salinity is back up to 1.026.
i also have a few pics:
first the ATS is maturing, there's starting to be diatom build-up

the yellow tang (Kim named him Tweety)

the cleaner shrimp in its new home, it hasnt left that spot all day

and the mystery coral...could it be a Duncan? 7 heads for $5
 
diy

diy

Member
nice setup! how is the ATS coming along. Your the first one I have seen to run a horizontal screen instead of vertical. I want to run a ATS setup very similar to yours but, I wonder if its just as effective as a vertical setup.
 
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