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Cultivated Reef

THE OFFICIAL ASK ALBERT THIEL THREAD


ZephNYC

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And here it is completed filled with coral gravel. I am having to run the CO2 bubble rate faster and faster to keep up with my tanks demand for calcium. There will almost certainly be excess CO2 coming out of my calcium reactor due to the amount of CO2 I have putting through it. Water from my calcium reactor is passed into this converted reactor which is now a CO2 scrubber of sorts limiting if not using up all the excess CO2 from my calc reactor. Water enters the reactor from the top. but I have put a tube to take this water to the bottom of the reactor. The water containing any excess CO2 exits at the bottom of the reactor and travels up through the coral gravel and overflows into the second tube which is open at the top and flows down it and out at the bottom. The water travels through the reactor in an up and over fashion.

 

20151027_192028_zpseghkuxvl.jpg

 

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I took my algae scrubber apart so I could smear cement mortar on the screen. I found out years ago that algae loves mortar. When it cures in a few days, I will put it back in and build the LED fixture to illuminate it.

 

2015-10-27%2014.45.34_zpsjftjvcrn.jpg

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And here it is completed filled with coral gravel. I am having to run the CO2 bubble rate faster and faster to keep up with my tanks demand for calcium. There will almost certainly be excess CO2 coming out of my calcium reactor due to the amount of CO2 I have putting through it. Water from my calcium reactor is passed into this converted reactor which is now a CO2 scrubber of sorts limiting if not using up all the excess CO2 from my calc reactor. Water enters the reactor from the top. but I have put a tube to take this water to the bottom of the reactor. The water containing any excess CO2 exits at the bottom of the reactor and travels up through the coral gravel and overflows into the second tube which is open at the top and flows down it and out at the bottom. The water travels through the reactor in an up and over fashion.

 

20151027_192028_zpseghkuxvl.jpg

 

20151027_210232_zpstggeoync.jpg

 

Nice utilization of an older aquarium part you had lying around Les

 

Albert

I took my algae scrubber apart so I could smear cement mortar on the screen. I found out years ago that algae loves mortar. When it cures in a few days, I will put it back in and build the LED fixture to illuminate it.

 

2015-10-27%2014.45.34_zpsjftjvcrn.jpg

 

 

Looking forward to seeing the final set up Paul

 

Albert

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My sump completed................ Ermmm yeah right lol.

 

The purple look is due to the light from my DIY ATS with a mixture of red and blue LED's. OK from left to right. Filter sock prefilter, Siproxa, Deltec 1350 skimmer, More Siporax behind the skimmer, TMC300 calc reactor, DIY ATS with 2 x 20w LED grow lights. Santa Monica HOG2 ATS.Jebao 6000 DC return pump also feeding my ATS, DIY CO2 scrubber. Reefloat ATU, Jebao peri pump, ATU res, 2x DIY liquid containers. I have not cranked up the peri pump as yet.

 

20151031_095443_001_zpsjrnjopsr.jpg

 

20151031_100014_002%202_zpszebscnjs.jpg

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My sump completed................ Ermmm yeah right lol.

 

The purple look is due to the light from my DIY ATS with a mixture of red and blue LED's. OK from left to right. Filter sock prefilter, Siproxa, Deltec 1350 skimmer, More Siporax behind the skimmer, TMC300 calc reactor, DIY ATS with 2 x 20w LED grow lights. Santa Monica HOG2 ATS.Jebao 6000 DC return pump also feeding my ATS, DIY CO2 scrubber. Reefloat ATU, Jebao peri pump, ATU res, 2x DIY liquid containers. I have not cranked up the peri pump as yet.

 

20151031_095443_001_zpsjrnjopsr.jpg

 

20151031_100014_002%202_zpszebscnjs.jpg

 

That is getting to be quite a sump Les :)

 

Wow

 

Albert

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CRASH!!!

 

No, Not my tank. Don't be ridiculous I have a Undergravel filter, that can't crash.

 

My "car" was in a crash.

 

I was stopped for a light having a philosophical conversation with my wife about the universe, the meaning of life, or what we were having for dinner when all of a sudden:

 

CRASH!!.

 

Glass breaking, my teeth flying across the broken windshield, my contact lenses bouncing on the road, birds flying away in a panic, squirrels screaming etc. OMG what a scene.

 

Of course none of that happened. But it felt like it did. My teeth are firmly fixed in my head and I don't wear contact lenses. The windshield didn't break and the birds were just pooping as they normally do.

 

But the accident did happen. We were hit from the back by a SUV. I wasn't in my SUV but in my very Manly (Chick Magnet) PT Cruiser. (Although I also have a SUV.)

 

After checking on my wife, I ran out to see what happened.

 

The door opened on the SUV and I expected to see this dopey kid get out with his cell phone that he was texting on, but he didn't get out. A very pretty girl gets out and being I am very observant, I noticed that she was about 9 months pregnant.

 

OMG, I am so glad her air bag didn't deploy, because I am sure "almost born" Babies hate that. I made sure she was OK and I noticed she had another little kid in the back. She immediately apologized and said she thought the cars next to her were moving so she thought I was too. I didn't understand that, but it is what it is. Maybe it's a pregnant thing. So, being in the technological age, we took pictures of each other's license's.

 

She was going to her baby doctor so that was a good thing as we were practically in her doctor's parking lot. I am sure the doctor will check her and her baby out.

 

My car will go into the body shop this week. I wanted to change that back bumper anyway because it was scratched. Now it is history. So it all ended well.

 

I know that secretly a lot of people were hoping it was my tank that crashed so they could say. Oh look at the old guy who thinks his fish are bulletproof after only a few decades. I really think she found out I wrote a book and she was looking for an autographed copy.

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Everything is good, but there are some Leeks on the front glass of my tank

 

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Glad you are all OK and I would not worry about those leeks Paul :) :)

 

Albert

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I'll be up your way Sunday Paul picking up a shipment. I figure I can slip in behind the Yankee lines, get my fish and corals and be back home before they know the Tarheel was ever there. ;)

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That's cool. I was in Manhattan all weekend babysitting my Grand Kids and on Sunday I went to the Manhattan Reef SWAP which was not that far from my Daughter's house. But now I am very glad to be out of the city and back home. My fish were scratching slurs in the glass because no one fed them or turned on the TV for them to watch. Where did you have to go?

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That's cool. I was in Manhattan all weekend babysitting my Grand Kids and on Sunday I went to the Manhattan Reef SWAP which was not that far from my Daughter's house. But now I am very glad to be out of the city and back home. My fish were scratching slurs in the glass because no one fed them or turned on the TV for them to watch. Where did you have to go?

 

:):):)

 

Albert

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We were in North Bergen picking up 3 boxes. Some chucklehead tried to slip Philippine corals past USF&W, didn't work and it cost me all of my Antenna gobies. needless to say I'm not a happy camper.

 

You sound like a guy we bought a squat sled from. Mapquest dumped us out in downtown Manhattan and forgot to tell us to go through the Queen's midtown tunnel, lol. So here I am in Manhattan in a 1 tonne crew cab, long bed truck trying to get the hell out. My wife called the guy and he says "You're in the city? I don't go into the city." I laughed but we got to drive down Park avenue.

 

What 3 boxes of corals and fish look like, there are 88 bags there.

 

ZR2sg4h.jpg

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We were in North Bergen picking up 3 boxes. Some chucklehead tried to slip Philippine corals past USF&W, didn't work and it cost me all of my Antenna gobies. needless to say I'm not a happy camper.

 

You sound like a guy we bought a squat sled from. Mapquest dumped us out in downtown Manhattan and forgot to tell us to go through the Queen's midtown tunnel, lol. So here I am in Manhattan in a 1 tonne crew cab, long bed truck trying to get the hell out. My wife called the guy and he says "You're in the city? I don't go into the city." I laughed but we got to drive down Park avenue.

 

What 3 boxes of corals and fish look like, there are 88 bags there.

 

ZR2sg4h.jpg

 

Wow quite an experience !!!!!

 

Albert

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Unfortunately a failed Sun Coral .... looks really bad and not sure it can be saved :

 

sunfailed.pngi bought a sun coral that looked pretty much like that but it's really coming back and showing its flowers and I feed it every night. There are a few bad heads but most are starting to look better. If I'd have known it was starved and needed a lot of TLC I wouldn't have bought it. But it's really coming back. Do you have any suggestions?? I'm very sorry that I don't know who you are but you seem so nice Mr. Theil!!!

 

Albert

sorry I quoted inside your quote. This is Mindi Hammerstone ?
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Had to do out and buy some Milliput (pains me as I used to get it free lol) Stopped off at an LFS I go to only now and again and bought a porcelain crab just £7 (about $8 I guess) and it will go in one of my RBTA seeing my clowns don't want to go in them.

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sorry I quoted inside your quote. This is Mindi Hammerstone

 

Keep feeding each head every day and hopefully they will revive. Keep them protected from too much light as well

 

Albert

Had to do out and buy some Milliput (pains me as I used to get it free lol) Stopped off at an LFS I go to only now and again and bought a porcelain crab just £7 (about $8 I guess) and it will go in one of my RBTA seeing my clowns don't want to go in them.

 

Sorry you had to buy it this time Les

 

Albert

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Keep feeding each head every day and hopefully they will revive. Keep them protected from too much light as well

 

Albert

 

Sorry you had to buy it this time Les

 

Albert

lol Albert it's not dear less than £3 (about $3.50) a box so I bought 2.

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My good friend gave me this 330 watt LED light because most of it didn't work. I fixed it but they really don't want you to fix these things. First of all there are over 325 tiny screws holding the LED board to the heat sink. Those alone is a real pain to remove. Then you pry the thing apart and tear the wires. I found an open in one of the LEDs and replaced it. Unfortunately I can't use this fixture the shape it is because my tank is long

(6') and skinny. I will see if I can re build it into a 5' long 4" wide fixture. I can use it as a spare or just change my existing light as it is way underpowered.

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Here it is with a third of the LEDs lit.

 

 

 

 

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