20L radioactive meltdown upgrade build, now with 50% more display room

[tetraodon]

 

congrats! looking forward to seeing some update pictures!

haha oh yes, now i dont feel crazy haha, yes i hope to get some pictures, im not too good with remembering to take them, i followed your thread and its funny my name is matt as well

[tetraodon]

i need to get a good routine going for my tank, so im reading alot on different ways to run the tank, we will see

[myarmolich]

What is the return pump your running on your tank? i think i finally caught the sump bug and am going to drill my 20 long. Also, what is the noise level like? I have my tank right next to my bed so noise is a concern of mine :/

[tetraodon]

What is the return pump your running on your tank? i think i finally caught the sump bug and am going to drill my 20 long. Also, what is the noise level like? I have my tank right next to my bed so noise is a concern of mine :/

I dont have my sump up and running right because o cracked the tank I was gonna use, the pump I have is a sicce 2.0 and that this is dead silent while I used it to fill my tank, ill have my sump up and running as soon as I can find a cheap 20long, check out glass-holes.com they are freakin awesome

[tetraodon]

What is the return pump your running on your tank? i think i finally caught the sump bug and am going to drill my 20 long. Also, what is the noise level like? I have my tank right next to my bed so noise is a concern of mine :/

i got a sump on my tank and was able to silence the drain, so you can get it quiet. i hope to get some pics up soon

[tetraodon]

heyo my dedicated tank build followers, ive been busy with my tank, im ordering new rock with hopes of creating a new scape, im heading to the new england frag farmers market, so maybe ill sit down and take some pics of my tank and such.

[Jellyingabout]

Pics or non of this happened

 

Are you constructing the sump from scratch or possibly rehashing one from an old tank?

[tetraodon]

Pics or non of this happened

 

Are you constructing the sump from scratch or possibly rehashing one from an old tank?

ill try and get some pics when i get some time, the sump was my old tank. its not totally finished i gotta get the baffles built.

[tetraodon]

its been a while since this has been updated, the 20 long no longer exists, everything has been transferred into a 30 breeder. right now im still trying to get it going good, been trying to dial in my biopellets, fighting algae, and just all around stumbling a bit. im starting to question if my reef needs a biopellet reactor, but ive seen and heard both good and bad things. but im doing what i can, i can see this page is very popular with many people wanting to see the progress, so i hope to update more often.

[tetraodon]

update on my tank, im horrible at remembering to take pictures. i think i have my biopellets working correctly and its starting to show results. i lowered my lights a bit and noticed my grape monti cap color is getting better. im also working on redesigning the stand to be more efficient. im also considering dosing nitrates to help keep my water from being stripped since i only have one fish now. i also started an aquatic log to help track my parameters, its great. i highly recommend it.

[tetraodon]

still getting things set in the tank, i did notice some of my coraline algae had gone white so i have to do some extra tests. i still cant get the aggresive tumble i need in my reactor. so i guess its time to pull its apart and clean all the equipment. i thought i did read that people have had success with dosing nitrates to help with cyano, ill have to do some more reading on this.

[tetraodon]

i made my reactor a recirculating design, this helps because i get get a lot of flow though the pellets but keep the output low enough that the skimmer intake doesnt get overwhelmed. in addition to the recirc design i drilled a hole in a PVC cap and put in on the end of the inlet tube, this may decrease the volume of water a bit but it increases the velocity of the water coming in contact with the pellets, this gives me a nice aggressive tumble that im looking for.

[tetraodon]

so i ended up loosing another clam, all my maximas are now gone. i think my temp swings have something to do with it, causing them to stress out and subcome to illness. it also seams my alk has stopped shifting, or at least my tests arent being messed up, i have to find a better heater and maybe look at a controller for it. things are slowly getting better, and chipping one issue off at a time.

[tetraodon]

after much reading and discissions ive settled that the reason i lost my clams was due to slow starvation. basically i stripped my water of all nutrients. so ive removed my refugium, to cut that back, feeding a lot more, and im going to look at getting some more fish to help create more nutrients. i also found a great controller from reef safe solutions. works wonderfully and inexpensive. i did notice that my red sea alk test kit consistantly reads my alk as 9.8. even after a 5 gallon water change with regular IO salt. the next water change i do i should test the water before i put it into my tank so i can see if its the kit or the water. i should take some time and get some good pictures, though my tank wouldnt look near as good as any reef on here.

[tetraodon]

hello adoring fans, its been a while since ive posted anything and even longer since any actvity other than my own has happened on here, the question is should i continue with this thread or start a new one? let me know what you think, aaanndd, GO!

[tetraodon]

after some thought, ive decided to let this thread go and start a whole new one, hopefully i can get some more interaction and maintain it better.