PodRod's Solana Therapy

[joecoastie]

Hopefully you will not be leaving the Solana family completly. I don't think I have heard of the Vortech falling off. Has this been an ongoing problem and have you informed Vortech? I wish you all the luck with your upgrade.

Joe

[PodRod]

Hopefully you will not be leaving the Solana family completly. I don't think I have heard of the Vortech falling off. Has this been an ongoing problem and have you informed Vortech? I wish you all the luck with your upgrade.

Joe

 

I'll definitely keep my Solana - I love that tank! As for the Vortech, I'm calling them today. Yes, it has been going on since I got it. I've heard their customer service is great so I plan on calling them today if they are open on Saturdays. They've already told me they can walk me through a trouble shoot. I'll post my finds after I talk with them.

[cbachman]

well i just spent the last four days reading your entire thread and its been quite the journey. its full of great information and amazing photos. The tank looks great and ill be sure to keeping following it.

[divecj5]

Hey Karen. Sorry to hear that the Vortech keeps falling off on you. Guess your husband wasn't lying when he said that he found the propeller on the sand

 

Let me know if you want me to come over and take some pictures for you sometime. I would be more than happy to since you are always gracious with frags and other goodies.

 

Hope you are out enjoying this awesome weather.

[PodRod]

well i just spent the last four days reading your entire thread and its been quite the journey. its full of great information and amazing photos. The tank looks great and ill be sure to keeping following it.

 

Thanks so much! It has been quiet the journey with a lot of ups and downs but I do love the tank and I've learned so much along the way....

 

 

Hey Karen. Sorry to hear that the Vortech keeps falling off on you. Guess your husband wasn't lying when he said that he found the propeller on the sand

 

Let me know if you want me to come over and take some pictures for you sometime. I would be more than happy to since you are always gracious with frags and other goodies.

 

Hope you are out enjoying this awesome weather.

 

Hey Adam,

 

Got a bad case of Spring fever! I've worked so much in the yard that I'm sore all over! I finally gave up and turned the AC on today since it was over 85 degrees - wow!

 

You are right. You and I both thought something was fishy (no pun intended) when Randy said part of the pump was in the sand and the outside part was in the floor. Turns out he was right. It's happened 3 more times since then and I actually saw it once. I have no idea what is going on but my beautiful orange cap looks pitiful now.

 

I do want some updated pics but I just thinned everything out and took a lot of frags to Tideline. I want to give it a little time to settle down since I have glue and putty showing and my cap looks soooo bad.

[airman_verde04]

Hey Karen, I sure wish my tank was ready for some bigger and better coral. unfortunaly I had to leave very last minute last week and Mely is stuck trying to learn how to take care of the tank all on her own.. well sort of, a girl named Amy from Goose Creek offered her help to Mely over Charleston reefers, and went over last night to put in my new bulbs. anyways.. I'll be over seas here for 6 months now. I'm very very very very (x 100k) upset and having some big adjustment issues.. anyways.. I better get back to work..

[PodRod]

Hey Karen, I sure wish my tank was ready for some bigger and better coral. unfortunaly I had to leave very last minute last week and Mely is stuck trying to learn how to take care of the tank all on her own.. well sort of, a girl named Amy from Goose Creek offered her help to Mely over Charleston reefers, and went over last night to put in my new bulbs. anyways.. I'll be over seas here for 6 months now. I'm very very very very (x 100k) upset and having some big adjustment issues.. anyways.. I better get back to work..

 

Hey David,

 

I hope you got my email and that your time goes fast. We look forward to having you back in the good Ole US soon. You be sure to tell Melisa to call me if she needs any help at all with the tank. I'll be more than happy to fill in until you return.

 

Take care and keep in touch!

[airman_verde04]

I sure will, she is getting Help from a girl named Amy, she acutaly has been over to the house 3 times now, they did water test, and water change. anyways, I think its kind of odd, you got rid of your leather coral, I'm actually going to have Melisa sell it while I'm gone, its starting to attach to one of the main rocks, so I'm going to hve to get her to pull it off soon and let it heal before she trys to sell it off. anyways, the odd part is great minds think alike I guess. On my end, I'm debating on my new tank I want to put up. I want something more sleek before I move out to Colorado next fall. (2010) I dont know if I want something around 10-20 g display, or more of a pico display, I have everything I'm thinking of doing on my page. anyways... later on!!

[PodRod]

It's been awhile since I posted an update so I thought I'd share what's taken place recently with my tank. I had a HUGE overpopulation of baby snails, micro stars, bristle worms and chitons in my tank. I was literally taking out 20-30 baby snails each morning that gathered along the water line yet it had no impact on the population. My LFS loaned me a juvenile Formosa Wrasse and all I can say is WOW. He wasted no time in getting my snails under control. He's been so fun to watch. He loves bristle worms and carries them around in his mouth - kinda like playing kick ball with them. He spits them out and then chases them again until he finally gets bored and eats them.

 

I traded my two True Percs to my LFS since they never paired up and spent all their time in the back corners of my tank. Next week, the Formosa goes back and I'll be picking up a Court Jester Goby and a Yellow Coris Wrasse that are on order. I had to literally take my tank apart yesterday to catch the Formosa. He's in a holding container in my tank now and not happy at all. I knew I would have to disassemble my tank to get to him so I went ahead and did it now so that my tank would be all cleared up and ready for next week's new fish.

 

I've thinned out some corals and got rid of all the GSP - Yeah! I thought I got rid of all my mushrooms also but I see a few babies coming back. I lost one Acro during the tank disassembly yesterday and it was one of my first SPS for this tank so I'm a little mad about that but it was all my fault. Of course there were a few bumps to the other SPS along the way so right now the tank doesn't look very good. It needs a few weeks of heal time before I take any updated pics.

 

I had to replace the pump on my Tunze skimmer. Anyone using it knows how short the power cord it. I had to really stretch it to reach the power supply and that eventually caused the cord to come apart. I had live wires exposed and came close to a real disaster. I'm fortunate I found the issue during routine cleaning. I'm also having problem with my Vortech. The motor grinds and makes a scratching noise and it has fallen off the glass 4 times. It's completely ruined my orange cap. Tunze was great about helping me to replace the skimmer pump but I've contacted EcoTech regarding my Vortech problem and had to leave a message. I still have not heard back from them and it's been over a week.

 

I'll post pics in a couple of weeks when my tank heals back up and my new fish are acclimated.

[divecj5]

Hey Karen. Sounds like it's been a busy couple of days in the PodRod reef Glad to hear that the Formosa made short work of the snails and bristle worms but I'm sorry to hear that you had to take the tank apart to catch it. That is the only reason why I don't get more fish right now...I know that I will be moving to another place within the next year and just dread catching fish. I wish there was some easier way.

 

Which Acro did you lose? Is it the green one that I have? If so, I can frag you a piece off of the frag that you gave me.

 

Did you post on the Vortech thread over on ReefCentral? I would suggest doing that as well since I know they answer those questions daily. I posted there one time and one of the owners of Vortech responded within 2 hours.

 

Can't wait to see the pics of the Court Jester Goby and a Yellow Coris Wrasse...should be great additions to your tank.

[Nick's Reef]

Sounds like you've been busy, glad you got most of the problems worked out, hopefully the vortech can be fixed.

[PodRod]

Hey Karen. Sounds like it's been a busy couple of days in the PodRod reef Glad to hear that the Formosa made short work of the snails and bristle worms but I'm sorry to hear that you had to take the tank apart to catch it. That is the only reason why I don't get more fish right now...I know that I will be moving to another place within the next year and just dread catching fish. I wish there was some easier way.

 

Which Acro did you lose? Is it the green one that I have? If so, I can frag you a piece off of the frag that you gave me.

 

Did you post on the Vortech thread over on ReefCentral? I would suggest doing that as well since I know they answer those questions daily. I posted there one time and one of the owners of Vortech responded within 2 hours.

 

Can't wait to see the pics of the Court Jester Goby and a Yellow Coris Wrasse...should be great additions to your tank.

 

I lost the blue-tipped green tort that I got from Prop over a year ago. Here's a pic:

 

 

Yes, I've posted a thread to the Vortech issue on RC and I received a quick response from Tim. He said to give Steve a call and provided his number and extension. He said Steve would trouble shoot over the phone. I left Steve a call over a week ago and received no reponse as of yet...

 

 

 

Sounds like you've been busy, glad you got most of the problems worked out, hopefully the vortech can be fixed.

 

Thanks Nick - I'm sure it will all work out with the Vortech - I hear their customer service is great. I'll contact them again this week and hopefully we'll get it resolved soon.

[Kozo]

Hey Karen I love your tank, I have been following your progress for quite a while now, Karen can you tell me what's your lighting scheduler for you sunpod and how much calcium and alk product do you dose per day. Thanks

[Osric]

I'm still trying to determine the best location for it, so I would be interested to hear from other Solana owners who use this pump as to their preferred location and what mode they like best. I'm also curious if there will be a temp change since two pumps have been removed from the display and the new pump is external.

 

Sorry to hear about all the trouble you've had with the Vortech falling off the glass. I couldn't find any pics on your thread of how it's installed but in your TOTM shots it looks like it's pretty high up and near center on one side. I have mine slightly lower in the tank and closer to the back wall but I'd think where you've got it you have plenty of flow.

 

As for it falling off, I can't help but wonder from your description if you haven't bothered to use the cord holders that came with the pump? I only ask because you say something about the motor part being 'on the floor', and that shouldn't be possible with the holder holding the cord above the pump? Might be a factor in the fall too...

 

You could try setting the spacer as though your glass is thicker too, but I am not sure how good an idea that is. I'd also take apart the propeller side and clean it thoroughly.

 

'course all this is assuming the pump still works at all ... sounded grim from your last few posts. And it should be taken with a massive spoonful of salt, as I've had my MP20 for less time than you've had your pump so doubtless you know more about it than I do!

 

Osric

[psykobowler]

When I first read about the vortech falling off I quickly though of the spacer. It should be set up to the proper aquarium thickness. I assume you could use a better setting as if the glass is thicker than it really is. The vortech also came with the cord organizer, if you have the cord tied to the back the pump side would not hit the ground.

[GentleBen]

I am sitting here as I type waiting for the LFS to call and tell me new Solana system has arrived, he said around 4:00, I'm positively vibrating. LOL

 

Just wanted to thank PodRod and all the other contributors for all the excellant information on this thread. As a total salt water newbie I feel I have a good basic understanding about setup and cycling. Just love the internet when you have to educate yourself about something.

 

OH YEA, that's one amazing tank PodRod, just what we all invision but few actually pull off.

[divecj5]

How are things going in the PodRod reef Karen? Hope all is well after all of the shuffling, fragging, and general mixing up.

 

Hope you can come over sometime soon and check out my tank.

 

-Adam

[airman_verde04]

Hey Karen, just thought I would stop by and say hello! things are ok on my end. Mely is almost ready to do her first water change on her own she said. she is mixing water by herself now though. sounds like I still have a bad micro Algae problem, they Mely and her friend whos teaching her the reefing ropes is trying to get it into control. Anyways, I'd love to see some updated pictures!! I think.. hmm.. I think I can usually view your pictures at work (I'm off at the wireless hot spot, no firewalls here)

 

anyways, dont know if you have ventured by my page, I'm in the works of designing a new tank. I really want something... HAHA.. smaller.. and mainly I want to be able to box everything up and move it with ease next year.. You'll have to stop by and look at the design I have on my page. I really want to have some hard coral, and the new tank set up with be much smaller, I'll have to watch it closer, but it will have more bio-filtration than my current tank, and my T5s will be 6 inches closer to the water.. good for high light coral, no more fish though well at least my clowns anyways.. time for bed!! later on

[jrlim]

Hi Karen,

 

I've been following your solana thread for a couple weeks already. Great tank you have. I was reading some other threads on other reef forums and one of the threads talked about water between the tank and stand. One person said that water got underneath the tank so much that the stand started warping and eventually cracked and the person had to get a new stand. The person's solution on the new stand was to apply silicon around the bottom edge of the tank. Now, water just runs down and out instead of getting sucked underneath the tank.

 

I was wondering if you have that issue with water spilling over during water change or cleaning glass, etc.

 

Thanks.

 

~Jr.

[Pablo]

Awesome tank.

[Nanobuds]

FTS plz

[PodRod]

Hey Karen I love your tank, I have been following your progress for quite a while now, Karen can you tell me what's your lighting scheduler for you sunpod and how much calcium and alk product do you dose per day. Thanks

 

Kozo - I'm waaay late on my responses but my lighting schedule is as follows:

 

 

White LEDS On at 8AM Off at 9PM

Blue LEDS On at 9PM Off at 8AM

MH On at 10AM Off at 7PM

Cheato Light On at 7PM Off at 7AM

 

I basically use the white LEDs as a buffer between the blue LEDs and the MH. As for ALK and CA I'm currently dosing approx 50ml a day. Hope that helps!

[PodRod]

When I first read about the vortech falling off I quickly though of the spacer. It should be set up to the proper aquarium thickness. I assume you could use a better setting as if the glass is thicker than it really is. The vortech also came with the cord organizer, if you have the cord tied to the back the pump side would not hit the ground.

 

Osric and Psykobowler - you are correct, I did not use the cord attachment since it just looked like a couple of zip ties and a plastic piece with sticky on the back. I underestimated the power of these but I do have them installed now.

 

The spacer is set correct - that's not the problem at all. I had already tried changing the setting to a thicker glass to see if that would help but it didn't. The glass is clean and it's installed correctly - it just begins screeching and jumping off the glass every once in awhile. I've taking the water side apart and cleaned the impeller so that's not the issue. If you think of any other suggestions then let me know - I appreciate your ideas and feedback!

 

 

I am sitting here as I type waiting for the LFS to call and tell me new Solana system has arrived, he said around 4:00, I'm positively vibrating. LOL

 

Just wanted to thank PodRod and all the other contributors for all the excellant information on this thread. As a total salt water newbie I feel I have a good basic understanding about setup and cycling. Just love the internet when you have to educate yourself about something.

 

OH YEA, that's one amazing tank PodRod, just what we all invision but few actually pull off.

 

Thanks so much GentleBen - I look forward to hearing how your tank progresses!

 

 

How are things going in the PodRod reef Karen? Hope all is well after all of the shuffling, fragging, and general mixing up.

 

Hope you can come over sometime soon and check out my tank.

 

-Adam

 

Hey Adam - all is fine on the reef. The corals received a few bumps and bruises along the way but all is settling back into place now. I would LOVE to see your tank!

 

 

Hey Karen, just thought I would stop by and say hello! things are ok on my end. Mely is almost ready to do her first water change on her own she said. she is mixing water by herself now though. sounds like I still have a bad micro Algae problem, they Mely and her friend whos teaching her the reefing ropes is trying to get it into control. Anyways, I'd love to see some updated pictures!! I think.. hmm.. I think I can usually view your pictures at work (I'm off at the wireless hot spot, no firewalls here)

 

anyways, dont know if you have ventured by my page, I'm in the works of designing a new tank. I really want something... HAHA.. smaller.. and mainly I want to be able to box everything up and move it with ease next year.. You'll have to stop by and look at the design I have on my page. I really want to have some hard coral, and the new tank set up with be much smaller, I'll have to watch it closer, but it will have more bio-filtration than my current tank, and my T5s will be 6 inches closer to the water.. good for high light coral, no more fish though well at least my clowns anyways.. time for bed!! later on

 

Hey Dave - how is my far away friend? I'm glad to hear Mely is learning the ropes of tending to your tank. My offer still stands if she needs any help. I've not been on the forum in awhile so I'll try to catch up today and view your thread. Take care and be safe!

 

Hi Karen,

 

I've been following your solana thread for a couple weeks already. Great tank you have. I was reading some other threads on other reef forums and one of the threads talked about water between the tank and stand. One person said that water got underneath the tank so much that the stand started warping and eventually cracked and the person had to get a new stand. The person's solution on the new stand was to apply silicon around the bottom edge of the tank. Now, water just runs down and out instead of getting sucked underneath the tank.

 

I was wondering if you have that issue with water spilling over during water change or cleaning glass, etc.

 

Thanks.

 

~Jr.

 

Jr - I'm so glad you asked that question. Yes, I have that issue. My stands is not warped or cracked but I have a definite water line on the top of the stand and the finish is wearing away as a result. I love the idea of silicone and I'll be shopping for some black silicone now. Thanks for the idea - that is great!

 

 

Awesome tank.

 

Thanks so much Pablo - it's a constant work in progress. Every time I think I have it just right, I end up changing something which results in another change, which results in another change.... You get the picture

 

FTS plz

 

Hey Nanobuds - I do need to provide an updated FTS. I'm just trying to let the tank heel from all my recent changes. I'll probably post updates pics soon. Thanks for the reminder!

[divecj5]

Been a couple weeks since I've seen you around here Karen. Just wondering how things are going in your tank.

 

Hope all has been well with you.

[airman_verde04]

Hey Karen, just thought I would say hey... hey! also. I'm in the mix of planning the new Pico tank and all. I'm really stressing on salt this time for the get go, what are you using right now? aside of your high demand coral, how does it test prior to your livestock munching up the Cal and alk. I'm looking for something that will not need much, or if at all.. ANY dosing.. (unless the tank goes through its nomral cycles of being a grumpy head and the perams. get off a bit).. anyways.. hope all is well!!