ADA 60-F Shallow in Texas

[Spirofucci]

Wow! Almost a brand new set up with some top notch equipment and new philosophy! Please do keep us posted on how you like it!!!

[chippwalters]

 

That new sump and the stuff you learnt from Shane is awesome. I can't wait to read more.

I can't wait to see how everything does.

 

Great story and great explanations chip ... Thanks

You're welcome, Albert.

 

Wow! Almost a brand new set up with some top notch equipment and new philosophy! Please do keep us posted on how you like it!!!

Will do.

 

Another couple of Shane stories...

 

First off, Shane has the only SALTWATER ONLY LFS in Austin. It's small, and he doesn't sell much in the way of skimmers and equipment. He mostly just sells corals, fish, tanks and sumps. And of course LR-- which he sells a LOT OF. I'll try and get the name of the type of LR he uses...he told me but I forgot. And the meticulous process he uses to cure his LR is also amazing. It will have to wait for another thread, but it's nothing like 'throw it in a bin of saltwater and wait.'

 

He opens his store at 10 and closes at 9 and it's open 7 days a week. And he has NO HELP. Yup, you read it right. No help. He does take a weekend off a month. Still, pretty amazing. He takes care of about 30-40 tanks, from the ~350 gallon show tank up front, to the smallest 20 gallons he stocks with fish and corals.

 

Each tank has at the most 4 or 5 fish. Most have just 1 or 2. And they are spotless. No algae, salt creep or cloudy glass. He tells me he spends 4-6 hours a month on tank maintenance. I don't believe him, but it's clear he's done something right as each tank is clearer than the next.

 

Getting to know him is interesting. He's a very opinionated guy, but also very knowledgeable. Many folks on our Austin Reef Club believe his fish are in the best shape, and I think I know why.

 

Shane explained to me years ago when his store was in East Texas, he would drive 75 miles to Houston (he didn't trust ground transportation), direct to the airport to pick up his fish, he watched as the handlers started throwing his boxes off the palettes they were stacked on. As he recounted to me, he threw a holy sh*t storm and demanded that from now on they called him after the boxes arrived and BEFORE they unloaded the palette-- so he could supervise the unloading. And if you know Shane, this makes perfect sense.

 

So, when he moved his operation to Austin, the first time he went to the airport here, the boxes were already waiting for his inspection on the palette. They had not yet been unloaded. He asked the handler why they did this, and they said they had already been told of his reputation from Houston! hahaha.

 

To say the least, it's one of the details in how he runs his store which makes it special. He tells me he has very few casualties and his fish are generally very healthy.

 

Another time, as I watched Shane carefully capture a fish for a client using nothing but a clear acrylic box, I asked him "Why not use a net?" He explained stress was the single biggest factor in keeping a fish alive, and a net was a huge stress point for them. He told me he could catch a damsel (which he wouldn't sell as he didn't think folks needed them in their tank ) a dozen times a day, and the damsel would be alright, but catch one of these 3 times in a day in a net (pointing to some sort of angel I had never seen before) and he'll be dead or dying the next day.

 

Oh, and if you plan on fresh water dipping your fish with copper, don't bother even coming to the store. He had a regular customer tell him he was fresh water dipping with a copper additive, and Shane refused to sell him any more fish. The guy came back a month later and Shane threw him out. Sheesh. He really does care about his fish. He won't sell you a mandarin unless you have a big enough tank and know how to take care of them. It's that important to him. He'd rather lose a sale, then kill a fish.

 

Anyway, I'll share the LR story when I can find the name of the LR he uses. One of his customers was telling me how great this stuff is. We'll see.

[x3thelast]

great reset on the tank. im a huge fan of crushed coral over sand.

 

[Deleted User 4]

It's like a fresh new start.

[ajayjack]

I can't wait to see how everything does.

 

 

You're welcome, Albert.

 

 

Will do.

 

Another couple of Shane stories...

 

First off, Shane has the only SALTWATER ONLY LFS in Austin. It's small, and he doesn't sell much in the way of skimmers and equipment. He mostly just sells corals, fish, tanks and sumps. And of course LR-- which he sells a LOT OF. I'll try and get the name of the type of LR he uses...he told me but I forgot. And the meticulous process he uses to cure his LR is also amazing. It will have to wait for another thread, but it's nothing like 'throw it in a bin of saltwater and wait.'

 

He opens his store at 10 and closes at 9 and it's open 7 days a week. And he has NO HELP. Yup, you read it right. No help. He does take a weekend off a month. Still, pretty amazing. He takes care of about 30-40 tanks, from the ~350 gallon show tank up front, to the smallest 20 gallons he stocks with fish and corals.

 

Each tank has at the most 4 or 5 fish. Most have just 1 or 2. And they are spotless. No algae, salt creep or cloudy glass. He tells me he spends 4-6 hours a month on tank maintenance. I don't believe him, but it's clear he's done something right as each tank is clearer than the next.

 

Getting to know him is interesting. He's a very opinionated guy, but also very knowledgeable. Many folks on our Austin Reef Club believe his fish are in the best shape, and I think I know why.

 

Shane explained to me years ago when his store was in East Texas, he would drive 75 miles to Houston (he didn't trust ground transportation), direct to the airport to pick up his fish, he watched as the handlers started throwing his boxes off the palettes they were stacked on. As he recounted to me, he threw a holy sh*t storm and demanded that from now on they called him after the boxes arrived and BEFORE they unloaded the palette-- so he could supervise the unloading. And if you know Shane, this makes perfect sense.

 

So, when he moved his operation to Austin, the first time he went to the airport here, the boxes were already waiting for his inspection on the palette. They had not yet been unloaded. He asked the handler why they did this, and they said they had already been told of his reputation from Houston! hahaha.

 

To say the least, it's one of the details in how he runs his store which makes it special. He tells me he has very few casualties and his fish are generally very healthy.

 

Another time, as I watched Shane carefully capture a fish for a client using nothing but a clear acrylic box, I asked him "Why not use a net?" He explained stress was the single biggest factor in keeping a fish alive, and a net was a huge stress point for them. He told me he could catch a damsel (which he wouldn't sell as he didn't think folks needed them in their tank ) a dozen times a day, and the damsel would be alright, but catch one of these 3 times in a day in a net (pointing to some sort of angel I had never seen before) and he'll be dead or dying the next day.

 

Oh, and if you plan on fresh water dipping your fish with copper, don't bother even coming to the store. He had a regular customer tell him he was fresh water dipping with a copper additive, and Shane refused to sell him any more fish. The guy came back a month later and Shane threw him out. Sheesh. He really does care about his fish. He won't sell you a mandarin unless you have a big enough tank and know how to take care of them. It's that important to him. He'd rather lose a sale, then kill a fish.

 

Anyway, I'll share the LR story when I can find the name of the LR he uses. One of his customers was telling me how great this stuff is. We'll see.

 

He's absolutely very opinionated! yesterday he told me I shouldnt skim in my sump and use live rock only instead with no lights and no chaeto.

 

But he has the cheapest cleaner shrimp in town and the best sps frags.

[albertthiel]

Another couple of Shane stories...

 

First off, Shane has the only SALTWATER ONLY LFS in Austin. It's small, and he doesn't sell much in the way of skimmers and equipment. He mostly just sells corals, fish, tanks and sumps. And of course LR-- which he sells a LOT OF. I'll try and get the name of the type of LR he uses...he told me but I forgot. And the meticulous process he uses to cure his LR is also amazing. It will have to wait for another thread, but it's nothing like 'throw it in a bin of saltwater and wait.'

 

Wow he doesn't take crxp from anyone I guess and knows what he is doing or so it seems

 

Thanks for sharing ... Great story !

[chippwalters]

Well, I'm not doing so well. But still VERY optimistic. I got called out of town right after the build, and I didn't have time to babysit the tank-- and with the plethora of variables thrown at my critters:

1. New Sump with all new LR rubble
   
2. No Skimmer and No Reactor
   
3. Brand new saltwater mix
   
4. New lighting: Radion from Par38s
   
5. Fresh water dip for most all corals. Some more vigorous than others.
   
6. Dead or dying invertebrates coming in from 'holding tank'
   
7. Holding tank with no decent light for 24 hours-- then onto Radion @ 20%
   
8. All new pipes, tubing, silicon and cabinet
   
9. you get the idea...
   

 

First, most the invertebrates died off including my Turbos (they did such a fine job this last year), my urchin, a conch. All dead with 24 hours.

 

Then one of my candycanes just melted. Nothing but skeleton. The other Candy Cane is barely hanging on.

 

Zoas shut tight-- along with zoas. Mushrooms barely making it. Blue sponge done for and removed. Hammer hopeful. The gorgeous big frog spawn is pretty much gone-- I should remove it, but just hope for some sign of life, acans shriveled but showing polyp extension today

 

My Percula seems to be breathing hard. I'm doing water changes each day. I also think there may have been a pretty good PH swing.

 

Anyway, I'm blaming ONLY myself. I still love the sump and the water's now clear and other than the fact it looks like a coral zombie trailer park-- the tank looks good. Love the Radion but have it now on 10%.

 

Lesson learned. I actually think the fresh water dip AFTER the stressful 24 hours in the holding tank may have been the culprit.

 

I'll post some pics as soon as things are a bit more presentable...

[metrokat]

but that would not explain coral deaths.

[JR!]

well this sucks chip

[chippwalters]

but that would not explain coral deaths.

 

My hypothesis is the corals were previously stressed. The pH swing from 7.9 to 8.7 (duh-- didn't think of checking pH when switching saltwaters) killed the snails-- which rotted pretty quickly and with me gone for 2 days, and an old bag of activated carbon, the tank ended up not being able to fend for itself as well as it should have.

 

PLUS, and I'm not sure... but the lighting might have also been at 100% for awhile, as if anyone presses the cycle button (wife, child, cleaning lady, other) it stays 100% for, I believe an hour before going back to the regular setting. When I got home I found out my Radion, for some reason, was offline. So, I just don't know. But, a Radion at 100% for even a short time would be really hard on corals.

 

Up until now, all my corals seemed really hardy. I think I was playing fast and loose– and paid the price. Frankly, I was surprised at how depressing it was losing some of my favorite corals and snails. I thought I would just shrug it off-- but I felt worse and worse. Doing water changes, and talking to some of the 'experts' in my community did help quite a bit.

 

Things are better today.

[albertthiel]

Well, I'm not doing so well. But still VERY optimistic. I got called out of town right after the build, and I didn't have time to babysit the tank-- and with the plethora of variables thrown at my critters:

 

I'll post some pics as soon as things are a bit more presentable...

 

Sorry to read about all that happened and I respect your positive outlook on it all Chip. Good luck in getting it all going again.

[chippwalters]

well this sucks chip

 

 

Sorry to read about all that happened and I respect your positive outlook on it all Chip. Good luck in getting it all going again.

 

Thanks guys for the sympathetic ear. I know I'll get through this. I'm off to MACNA today and looking forward to a great time there!

[albertthiel]

Thanks guys for the sympathetic ear. I know I'll get through this. I'm off to MACNA today and looking forward to a great time there!

 

I am sure you'll enjoy it given all the speakers they advertise that will be there. Wish I could have gone myself but not this time .. ;-(

[Spirofucci]

Oh Man!!!!

 

Hope things turn around in there!

 

Have a good time in Dallas!

[chippwalters]

I am sure you'll enjoy it given all the speakers they advertise that will be there. Wish I could have gone myself but not this time .. ;-(

Yep. Looking forward to it.

 

Oh Man!!!!

 

Hope things turn around in there!

 

Have a good time in Dallas!

thanks for your kind wishes.

[albertthiel]

Yep. Looking forward to it.

 

Chip if you get a chance take lots of pics (actually I am sure you will) and do post some messages on what went on and on the lectures, and whether anything new that is exciting is being demo-ed in terms of equipment ...

 

Thanks

[chippwalters]

Had to come back early from MACNA, as the whole tank just died. At the show I did get some advice from Dr. Timothy A. Hovanec of Dr. Tim's Aquatics.

 

After explaining my current dillema, he said it sounded like silicone poisoning. Later in the day, my wife called and things had gone from bad to worse in my tank.

 

I rushed home and by the time I got home, everything was dead-- even my clownfish. And this was AFTER multiple successive water changes.

 

I'm 99% sure Shane uses the right silicone, but when I siliconed the drain hose to the overflow and the sump per Shane's directions, I used GE 100% Silicone II. Awhile back I did some research and this stuff looked OK, as it didn't say anything about mold inhibitors and there were some on forums (years ago) who said it was safe.

 

I let the connections cure 12 hours (too short it turns out) and now, as I research GE II, I find out the stuff is pure poison for aquariums. No wonder everything's dead.

 

Sad day. I thought it was the fresh water dip, or the abrupt switch of saltwater types, or the pH swing-- but now it's pretty clear, especially reading THIS.

 

Damnit. Back to square one. My best guesstimate is I lost over $500 of corals and fish, and now I'm not sure where to start. I suspect I need to break it all down, re-cure the LR if possible, throw out the drain hose and bulkhead and substrate, clean out the sump, and start all over. Bummer...

[albertthiel]

Had to come back early from MACNA, as the whole tank just died. At the show I did get some advice from Dr. Timothy A. Hovanec of Dr. Tim's Aquatics.

 

After explaining my current dillema, he said it sounded like silicone poisoning. Later in the day, my wife called and things had gone from bad to worse in my tank.

 

I rushed home and by the time I got home, everything was dead-- even my clownfish. And this was AFTER multiple successive water changes.

 

I'm 99% sure Shane uses the right silicone, but when I siliconed the drain hose to the overflow and the sump per Shane's directions, I used GE 100% Silicone II. Awhile back I did some research and this stuff looked OK, as it didn't say anything about mold inhibitors and there were some on forums (years ago) who said it was safe.

 

I let the connections cure 12 hours (too short it turns out) and now, as I research GE II, I find out the stuff is pure poison for aquariums. No wonder everything's dead.

 

Sad day. I thought it was the fresh water dip, or the abrupt switch of saltwater types, or the pH swing-- but now it's pretty clear, especially reading THIS.

 

Damnit. Back to square one. My best guesstimate is I lost over $500 of corals and fish, and now I'm not sure where to start. I suspect I need to break it all down, re-cure the LR if possible, throw out the drain hose and bulkhead and substrate, clean out the sump, and start all over. Bummer...

Wow sorry to read that Chip but yes that silicone contains mold inhibitors as far as I have been able to determine.

 

What a shame ... I guess others who read this better stay away from that silicone !

 

Again sorry to read what happened ... and also that you missed part of Macna but that is probably the minor of the ills

[Spirofucci]

Shiit, you must be sooo bummed!

 

Try and hang in there bro, keep yer chin up and start over.

[chippwalters]

Wow sorry to read that Chip but yes that silicone contains mold inhibitors as far as I have been able to determine.

 

What a shame ... I guess others who read this better stay away from that silicone !

 

Again sorry to read what happened ... and also that you missed part of Macna but that is probably the minor of the ills

I did see a couple nice presentations at MACNA. Plus, I ended up with a bunch of free t-shirts. Other than an aquarium piled high with clams, I didn't see much unusual. There were a lot of LED fixtures from the usual suspects and some new folks in town as well. Both Tanked and the Fish Tank Kings were there (I'm partial to FTK).

 

Shiit, you must be sooo bummed!

 

Try and hang in there bro, keep yer chin up and start over.

Yup. That's the goal

[chippwalters]

Just talked with Shane, and by process of elimination, he agreed it was probably my silicone. He says he uses the same silicone BUT he said he buys it by the case, and 1, sometimes 2 of the tubes are bad-- meaning the silicone won't cure completely, and for me to check my hoses and see if there's any slime indicating it's not cured. Silicone won't cure if wet and will keep poisoning the tank.

 

In any case, I'll need to shut the DT down and run the sump with water changes and GAC for a week, re-plumb the DT and let it cure, then rebuild.

 

Ugh. At least there's a plan.

[albertthiel]

I did see a couple nice presentations at MACNA. Plus, I ended up with a bunch of free t-shirts. Other than an aquarium piled high with clams, I didn't see much unusual. There were a lot of LED fixtures from the usual suspects and some new folks in town as well. Both Tanked and the Fish Tank Kings were there (I'm partial to FTK).

 

Sounds like you were not overly impressed somehow ... ?

[chippwalters]

Sounds like you were not overly impressed somehow ... ?

Nope. As I asked around, it appears it's a great networking show-- where folks get to reacquaint and make new relationships. I saw some folks from my local reef club, got some questions answered from some vendors, saw some neat tanks.

 

There were A LOT of corals and frags for sale, which was curious to me as I wasn't sure how people could pay for frags on Friday, then leave town on Sunday, and be assured they would stay alive. I guess I'm spoiled as we have pretty great LFS's here and I'm pretty happy with the quality of corals locally.

 

I did learn a few things about my Radion and Reef Octopus skimmer which was nice. And I saw some really nice picassos, which I'm keeping my eye on now that my tank is kaput.

 

Tank update:

 

I cleared out everything, siphoned off the DT water and pulled off my siliconed drain-- and sure enough, the smell of vinegar and ammonia greeted me. Turns out I put too much silicone inside the drain hose and it never dried.

 

Shane called and put forth a plan. He said to bring back all the LR I just purchased, and he'd replace it. He also gave me a new bag of substrate and a new filter-- which was awfully generous of him as this problem was only of my doing, not his, and he certainly owes me nothing.

 

I'm cleaning the new sump and will wait for it to dry out for a couple days-- same with DT. Then I'll silicone the drain in place and let it dry a couple days. Next, I'll fill the sump and DT with water, add substrate, some bacteria and a snail and small healthy frag, and watch for a couple days. If everything lives, we'll put in the new LR. If it doesn't I'll be quitting the hobby and selling it all real cheap! JK ;-)

[owenj]

Aww man, sorry to hear about your tank! Glad you have a game plan & haven't thrown in the towel.

[chippwalters]

Aww man, sorry to hear about your tank! Glad you have a game plan & haven't thrown in the towel.

Thanks for your concern. This is a great member community!