Bommie's Edge 2.0 - Full Spectrum 156W MakersLED, ATS, DSB

[xerophyte_nyc]

Aquamaxx HOB-1 Skimmer

 

I bought this skimmer back in November during the initial rebuild of my tank, then I returned it because I felt that a skimmer would not be necessary. However, in light of recent revelations regarding phosphorus export, I decided that a skimmer would be beneficial. Based on this article: Elemental Analysis of Skimmate: What Does a Protein Skimmer Actually Remove from Aquarium Water?, a skimmer is essentially the equivalent of doing about an 8% water change daily (as far as phosphorus is concerned). To me, this is a good thing. Export of organic phosphate is very important.

 

The Aquamaxx fits perfectly in my sump. That is the main reason I chose this particular skimmer, along with the many positive reviews. I broke it in with an overnight water + vinegar bath to clean off residue. Now it is sitting in my sump, foaming away. The intake water comes from the tank's return line. This is the same water that also feeds the ATS and the carbon + purigen in my TLF Phosban Reactor. I may mess around with positioning of the other pumps.

 

The skimmate has a light brown color so far, and I can see all sorts of detritus trapped in the bubbles and foam. I have never had a skimmer so this whole experience is new to me. The Aquamaxx looks like a quality piece of equipment, well made and very quiet.

 

 

[xerophyte_nyc]

Early thoughts on foam fractionation:

 

For the most part I keep the Aquamaxx Skimmer cup on the high end otherwise it fills up too quickly. The foam is pretty consistent. Visually, the particles stuck to the bubbles and along the walls of the cup look to me exactly like detritus, which would be a good thing. The skimmate itself has a light brown color and has particles of detritus floating around. I once noticed a dead amphipod but otherwise no signs of life. I feed phyto regularly but I have yet to see any hint of green in the skimmate.

 

Not sure if this is normal, but the formation of foam is markedly reduced shortly after food is added to the tank, and it stays that way for some time. I also believe this to be a good thing since I can leave the skimmer running continuously without shutting it down during feeding time. My feeding time is long since I use an automatic feeder twice daily.

 

 

pH

 

My pH has consistently been measuring 8.5-8.7, on the high end. It is always stable within that range. But there is no reason for pH to be so high, I haven't dosed kalk in a month and even when I was dosing it was very small amounts. At that high of a pH there should be deposition of calcium all over the place, which there is not.

 

I decided to test my pH probe in a brand new batch of new SW, and sure enough it read 8.6. But it is not the salt, because I used the same salt prior to my first tank crash, and my pH typically would be around 8.2. The probe must be faulty. Something happened during that 2 week Hurricane period. I cleaned the probe thoroughly, and recalibrated, and it still reads high. The Coral Pro salt is supposed to have a pH of 8.2-8.4. I think I will just subtract .3 pH units from my readings. What's more important is to be able to measure changes in pH, not so much the value itself. I think I may pick up a packet to mix up calibration fluid and see where I'm at.

 

 

ATS

 

Since cleaning my ATS last Sunday, this past week has resulted in the worst growth on the screen in some time. There is still a full green sheet, but it is not thick and dense. Not sure what to attribute this to - it could it be the skimmer, or it could be that the tank is simply maturing and bacteria are taking care of nitrates more efficiently. For the first time since starting this tank last November, Salifert shows a clear "0" for nitrate.

 

 

Moving

 

In other big news, my house is in contract so barring a last minute disaster there will be a move involved probably in May, and I'm not looking forward to it. In fact, we may need to move into a temporary rental home first. I had planned on swapping the existing sandbed for a shallower one with a coarser substrate - my thinking now is to wait until the move to do so, it would be easier and probably safer at that point.

 

Luckily I have been stockpiling all sorts of different styrofoam containers that were used during deliveries of reef goodies so I will be putting these to use during my eventual move. I am not adding any new tank inhabitants until the moves come to an end this summer.

 

 

Mandarin dragonette

 

He is still going strong, my tank clearly can sustain adequate copepods. Continuous dosing of phytoplankton and Golden Pearls 5-50 micron food does the trick.

[metrokat]

Look at Stevie T's moving guide. It really helps.

[xerophyte_nyc]

Look at Stevie T's moving guide. It really helps.

Thank you, I have seen that guide in the past but not recently. My move would be about a mile away, so that reduces some of the stress but I still have to break everything down. My rocks are all big chunks with minimal stacking so that simplifies things too. Still not looking forward, except that it will also be a good time to clean out the sump and stand.

[Thelizardkin]

Hey I just found this tank and I want to say its amazing any updates?

[xerophyte_nyc]

Hey I just found this tank and I want to say its amazing any updates?

 

Nothing new, just plugging along. The move I anticipated is not happening, for now. I still want to swap the sandbed, it will happen sometime in the near future.

 

Zoas and Palys are doing very well, multiplying rapidly. Most have almost tripled in polyp numbers since I got them in January.

[eitallent]

Thanks for the link to the skimmer article. I have bookmarked it to read later.

 

Regarding the pH, I have a Hannah digital pH meter that reads .3 under the actual value. I racked my brain trying to figure out why there would be a low pH when I do regular small water changes. I open windows to get fresh air, added a bubble wand to the fuge, etc. Then I found out it was the pH meter when I also tested a fresh batch of SW.

 

Your tank looks great. Good luck with the move! :scary:

[xerophyte_nyc]

Thanks for the link to the skimmer article. I have bookmarked it to read later.

 

Regarding the pH, I have a Hannah digital pH meter that reads .3 under the actual value. I racked my brain trying to figure out why there would be a low pH when I do regular small water changes. I open windows to get fresh air, added a bubble wand to the fuge, etc. Then I found out it was the pH meter when I also tested a fresh batch of SW.

 

Your tank looks great. Good luck with the move! :scary:

 

I just received some packets of pH calibration fluid of 7 and 10. I can now test my probe against known values.

[Drift Monkey]

Any updates? How's the ATS doing?

[eitallent]

Any updates? How's the ATS doing?

Ditto.

[xerophyte_nyc]

ATS is doing fine, everything is pretty much in steady state. I've been so busy with family/ house/ work lately I haven't done much with my tank other than feed and make sure there is top off water. I guess it's a good thing that the coral and fish continue to do well despite relative neglect.

 

x

[eitallent]

X,

Your system is set up such that auto-pilot is all it needs! Are you still using the drip feeder from Cleartides? What do you think of it now that you have had it for a while?

 

I know family obligations take priority, but some pictures would be so great and welcome!

[xerophyte_nyc]

The autofeeder is one of the best purchases I've made. I just make a cocktail and throw it in. The feeder needs to be disassembled and cleaned about every 3 weeks but otherwise operates smoothly.

 

The tank looks identical to previous pictures to be honest. Zoas have more polyps but that's it, no new additions to the tank.

 

More evidence of a skimmer's benefit: I haven't had to clean algae from the DT glass in many many weeks. I've never had this before, I always had to clean weekly at least.

 

Biggest PIA in the tank hands down is the annoying red cotton ball algae. At some point I will have to remove rocks and drip peroxide on them.

 

x

[Weetabix7]

Pink/Red Cotton Algae is the Devil.

[jedimasterben]

Hey.

[hypostatic]

Rock Anemone

 

Meet the newest member of my reef. From Tropicorium, which did a very poor job of handling the order, and customer service was terrible. Couldn't get the address or shipping date correct, had items out of stock, made no effort to contact me about their issues, and have no timetable on a refund - that's OK though, if they don't refund my money when I think it should be, they will end up with nothing. It helps having a good relationship with a credit card company especially when using it for business expenses over $100k a year!

 

 

WOW.

[xerophyte_nyc]

Hello anyone and everyone still there...several months ago I decided to take the tank down. It was a tough decision, but between my family and other interests, I simply did not have the time to devote proper long term care of my tank. Even though it was understocked with lots of automation, and I had loads of fun, I had to pull the plug. All inhabitants have been safely relocated to fellow reefers. Dragonet Goby was healthy and plump so clearly a pod population can be sustained with a little bit of effort. FWIW, I went nearly 4 months sans water change, without any noticeable effect - this came as a bit of a surprise, but then again the DSB may have just been sucking up the nasties.

 

One day I will be back. It was not for lack of fascination and excitement with the hobby that I am taking a leave of absence.

 

That being said, I am now looking to sell off some equipment. The custom Makers LED has only a few months mileage. The Vortech MP10es pair and Aquamaxx HOB skimmer are in nearly perfect shape - a dilute HCl bath has rendered them free of all buildup. Reefkeeper Lite is in perfect working order as well. I will be posting these for sale in the classifieds shortly but wanted to first offer them here. I don't have any specific prices in mind, I am very reasonable. I'm not looking to make a profit, just fair market value or less.

 

If there is any interest in the above parts/ supplies, or anything else from the system, please send me a PM with an offer. I am in NY so a pickup could be arranged in Manhattan or Long Island if interested, otherwise I'm happy to ship anywhere. In about a week or 10 days I will post to the classifieds, and then whatever remains will make its way to eBay.

 

Happy New Year to all! x

[jedimasterben]

Sad face