FlowerMama Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 I love how she's just right up there front/center right in front of roofus. Quote Link to comment
Maniu Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 I saw that. There's no way I could make one. I'm sure they'd have to be expensive is someone were to actually make them and sell them because of how much time is involved. I would LOVE one though. It's got the skimmer up and running to break it in before I put it on the tank. It's sitting in a 5 gallon bucket with some dirty water from my 25 gallon G. Ternatensis tank, a powerhead, a heater and a couple pieces of live rock that need a blackout to kill some hair algae. That should give it something to skim and get broken in. I soaked it in vinegar prior to setting it up. How do you like your new skimmer? Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted March 30, 2014 Author Share Posted March 30, 2014 I love how she's just right up there front/center right in front of roofus. She literally came out just to get a good look at this new dog in her house. They were enchanted and curious about each other. Very adorable. Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted March 30, 2014 Author Share Posted March 30, 2014 How do you like your new skimmer? I haven't had a chance to put it on the tank yet. I'm trying to throw enough stuff into the bucket that it's running in to get it to break in, but there isn't much for it to skim. It's still putting out a lot of micro bubbles, but I'm sure that's because it's not fully broken in yet. I've been throwing in food, reef roids, Acropower and I'm going to throw in a raw krill today to see if I can get it to start pulling something out of the water. I might just have to put it on the tank to get it to break in properly. The IM skimmer crapped out today, something got clogged in the air inlet and I had to clean it out, so it's working again. It does work well, but I'm still not super happy with the design and construction. The PLS-50 is a way better design. I'll probably get it on the tank next weekend when I have some spare time; too many other projects going on this weekend. Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted March 30, 2014 Author Share Posted March 30, 2014 Update: I stand corrected, all of that food and stuff I threw in the bucket has got it up and skimming now. Pulling out some decent skimmate now. 1 Quote Link to comment
Maniu Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Update: I stand corrected, all of that food and stuff I threw in the bucket has got it up and skimming now. Pulling out some decent skimmate now. Glad to hear it finally skims. It is interesting to read about break in period with skimmers and I know that it is a well know fact. But can you or someo go into some details about that process? I have been an audiophile for most of my life and there certainly is a break in period for electronics, components such as capacitors, power supplies or even wires (which are directional btw) and I can explain that process with ease. But skimmers breaking in puzzles me a bit..... is it something to do with proteins build up? Quote Link to comment
metrokat Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Did she snap at the glass, you know, mantis kisses?? At the puppy. Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted March 31, 2014 Author Share Posted March 31, 2014 Glad to hear it finally skims. It is interesting to read about break in period with skimmers and I know that it is a well know fact. But can you or someo go into some details about that process? I have been an audiophile for most of my life and there certainly is a break in period for electronics, components such as capacitors, power supplies or even wires (which are directional btw) and I can explain that process with ease. But skimmers breaking in puzzles me a bit..... is it something to do with proteins build up? Funny you mention audio. I upgraded the speakers in my car (2002 Saab 9-3) a couple months ago and it took over a month for them to settle in and really start to sound good (although the door speakers still produce too much bass). Anyhow, normal break-in period for a skimmer is about 3 days to a week. A couple of things need to happen. The new plastics have a fine layer of mold release, oils, and other contaminants on them that needs to be washed off. I sped up the process by soaking the skimmer parts in vinegar for a couple hours before I assembled it for the first time. This helps to get that fine layer of schmutz off of the plastic. Then a thin layer of biofilm needs to build up on the inner surfaces of the skimmer. At that point, if you have it adjusted properly, you're up and running. Over time, you'll do some minor tweaks to get the skimmate to whatever consistency you are looking for. I shoot for a dark coffee colored skimmate. Some people go really dry, almost sludgy, and others like a wetter skimmate that is closer to a dark tea color. Different skimmers have different performance, too. Some less efficient skimmers just skim wet. In the case of all of my tanks, the skimmate has a really earthy, musty, algae smell to it. It's not totally unpleasant, but I wouldn't drink it either. I've heard other people describe the smell of their skimmer's skimmate as truly horrifying, but I haven't ever experienced that. For what it's worth, the skimmate coming out of a tank that isn't lighted, doesn't have a dark coloration to it. It still smells about the same. Did she snap at the glass, you know, mantis kisses?? At the puppy. No, not at all, she was truly mesmerized by this new dog that looked nothing like a standard poodle. She was extremely curious. They sat there for several minutes just staring at each other. I had plenty of time to take pictures. Quote Link to comment
Maniu Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Funny you mention audio. I upgraded the speakers in my car (2002 Saab 9-3) a couple months ago and it took over a month for them to settle in and really start to sound good (although the door speakers still produce too much bass). Anyhow, normal break-in period for a skimmer is about 3 days to a week. A couple of things need to happen. The new plastics have a fine layer of mold release, oils, and other contaminants on them that needs to be washed off. I sped up the process by soaking the skimmer parts in vinegar for a couple hours before I assembled it for the first time. This helps to get that fine layer of schmutz off of the plastic. Then a thin layer of biofilm needs to build up on the inner surfaces of the skimmer. At that point, if you have it adjusted properly, you're up and running. Over time, you'll do some minor tweaks to get the skimmate to whatever consistency you are looking for. I shoot for a dark coffee colored skimmate. Some people go really dry, almost sludgy, and others like a wetter skimmate that is closer to a dark tea color. Different skimmers have different performance, too. Some less efficient skimmers just skim wet. In the case of all of my tanks, the skimmate has a really earthy, musty, algae smell to it. It's not totally unpleasant, but I wouldn't drink it either. I've heard other people describe the smell of their skimmer's skimmate as truly horrifying, but I haven't ever experienced that. For what it's worth, the skimmate coming out of a tank that isn't lighted, doesn't have a dark coloration to it. It still smells about the same. No, not at all, she was truly mesmerized by this new dog that looked nothing like a standard poodle. She was extremely curious. They sat there for several minutes just staring at each other. I had plenty of time to take pictures. Thanks for in depth look on skimmer break in period and variables in different approaches and designs. It sure makes a lot of sense. As to your bass drivers, well, bass drivers are a lot stiffer then higher frequency drivers. Even if they are metal or kevlar, it still applies since the excursion, rubber surround is a lot thicker then drivers for mid or high frequencies. Once the driver gets a solid workout, ot should smooth out substantially. It usually takes few hundred hours, depending on materials used and design. Use bass heavy tracks with various frequencies, ranging from 18Hz-150Hz. Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted March 31, 2014 Author Share Posted March 31, 2014 This is so funny, we had the neighbor's dog over again last night. I've never seen Betty this curious about anything before. Satchel is equally curious about Betty. I had to share some video... Satchel eventually laid down on the dog bed and went to sleep, but Betty spent the rest of the evening checking him out. 4 Quote Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 She's gazing into Satchel's beautiful eyes. Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted April 4, 2014 Author Share Posted April 4, 2014 Thought a few of you might be curious to see the difference in color of skimmate between a lighted and unlighted tank. The skimmate in a tank with no lights is very light in color, mainly because you're not skimming out dark colored photosynthetic algae that you would have in a lighted tank. Tank with no lights: Tank with reef lighting: 1 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted April 7, 2014 Author Share Posted April 7, 2014 Vicious mantis shrimp attack caught on video! Oh the humanity! 3 Quote Link to comment
farkwar Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Hey guys, I just launched Betty's new Facebook page to educate the public and share information about stomatopods. Come join in if you're interested! https://www.facebook.com/bettystomatopod'>https://www.facebook.com/bettystomatopod Are they edible? Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Mantids? Absolutely. Everything I read says that they are better tasting than lobster, especially since they don't eat everything else's shit all day lol 1 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted April 7, 2014 Author Share Posted April 7, 2014 Are they edible? Yes, they are eaten in some countries. It's usually the spearers that get eaten because they're much easier to catch with nets. Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Are they edible? Yeah, they taste better/sweeter than lobster from what I have read. My husband always teases me that when Ivy gets eating size, he is going to have a nice meal. 1 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted April 8, 2014 Author Share Posted April 8, 2014 I just swapped out the Innovative marine skimmer for the CAD Lights PLS-50. Now it's just a matter of letting it run for a little bit and then dialing it in. I can tell you, this skimmer is sturdier and easier to adjust than the Innovative Marine skimmer. And so far, no micro bubbles, which is an added plus over the IM skimmer. Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted April 9, 2014 Author Share Posted April 9, 2014 24 hours later, we're starting to get some skimmate. A little wet, but not half bad. New SPS added Sunday. A friend of mine wasn't having any luck with it and it's a bit browned out, so I'll take a stab at rehabilitating it. And... Betty would like to remind everybody that it's dinner time! 4 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted April 10, 2014 Author Share Posted April 10, 2014 Betty checks my work. This is very important to her! If you're curious: SG: 1.026Alk: 8.1Calc: 420Mag: 1700 (intentionally high)Phos: 0.01Nitrate: 1 ppm 5 Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Are you keeping the Mg high for algae control or some other reason? Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted April 10, 2014 Author Share Posted April 10, 2014 Are you keeping the Mg high for algae control or some other reason? Yes. I initially did a massive spike (over a week or so) of Kent Tech M for bryopsis control, and it worked quite nicely. I've been letting it slowly drop down through water changes, but with the excessively low nutrient levels in the tank, I've been putting off water changes in hope of raising nitrates and phosphates slightly. My Hanna tester is still only reading .01 or sometimes .00, so I'm hoping to bring that up to .02 at least. And nitrates are hovering around 1 to 2 ppm. With the really low nutrient levels, I've been adding daily doses of ReefRoids and twice a week doses of AcroPower so the SPS don't starve. Alkalinity and Calcium levels are being maintained very stable through kalkwasser in the ATO water and a BRS alkalinity dosing pump for alkalinity. Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Woohoo! Resume is finished and printed. Off to Hawaii in a couple days. Wish me luck. Tank sitters are arranged and trained. Many pictures at the end of the month! I'm taking my underwater camera. Hoping to reside on the big island by the end of the year! 1 Quote Link to comment
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