Dawn's seahorse garden. Farewell 36g bowfront!

[vlangel]

That's awesome . Maybe my son will be inspired one day too .

Yes, it is fun sharing the addiction together. I hope you and your son can enjoy the hobby as well.

[thecoralbeauty]

Eve giving the hairy eyeball!

A top down shot of Adam in his garden.

There teeny, see I came through! Not much has changed in the tank except my blue clove polyps are receding and I am not sure of the cause.

 

This is so gorgeous. and so exciting to read about the sump upgrade!!! Sounds like the desk situation was nice and affordable too. Even better!

[vlangel]

This is so gorgeous. and so exciting to read about the sump upgrade!!! Sounds like the desk situation was nice and affordable too. Even better!

 

Ah thank you Morgan. I am excited to start in earnest on the sump upgrade. The 20 gallon long is on my old study desk in the sump/fish room and as you can see my hubby Dave is enjoying the executive desk in his new 'man' cave!

[vlangel]

Today I looked over Adam real good and he is almost totally cleared from the spots on his pouch. It sure has been a long haul getting him back to full strength.

[HarryPotter]

Awesome

[vlangel]

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

How is the slimer doing?

It looks pretty pathetic when I compare it to the earlier pic I took of it. I don't know which of the many factors have caused the decline: temperature, water quality, inconsistent dosing or ponies choosing it for a hitching post...who knows. It's alive and it's something different but has basically morphed into a brown blah stick, ha ha.

[Pinner Reef]

It looks pretty pathetic when I compare it to the earlier pic I took of it. I don't know which of the many factors have caused the decline: temperature, water quality, inconsistent dosing or ponies choosing it for a hitching post...who knows. It's alive and it's something different but has basically morphed into a brown blah stick, ha ha.

 

My first guess would be temps. Sps are wusses like that.

[vlangel]

My first guess would be temps. Sps are wusses like that.

 

Yeah, markalot was wondering how it would handle the cool temps as he was thinking maybe he could get rid of some pests that way. Probably the pests would survive but not the acros, which wouldn't be good! LOL

[markalot]

It looks pretty pathetic when I compare it to the earlier pic I took of it. I don't know which of the many factors have caused the decline: temperature, water quality, inconsistent dosing or ponies choosing it for a hitching post...who knows. It's alive and it's something different but has basically morphed into a brown blah stick, ha ha.

 

Perfectly normal IMO, it will adapt and slowly color up over a few months as long as the water params are fairly stable.

[Arce]

As long as it still has nice PE let it just heal up. Tank looks great.

[vlangel]

Perfectly normal IMO, it will adapt and slowly color up over a few months as long as the water params are fairly stable.

That is good to know. I had basically resigned to just accepting it 'as is' and enjoying the fact that it is an acro even if a blah one. I will try as best I can to keep my parameters stable although I am not a consistent tester. More of a free spirit observer who decides this need this and that needs that, ha ha!

As long as it still has nice PE let it just heal up. Tank looks great.

I don't know about nice PE but it has some PE. Hopefully it will adjust like markalot said. Anyway my gorgs are brown and I still like them so I won't hold it against the slimer if it never colors up. I am pretty happy with the tank's overall appearance and thanks, I appreciate the kind words.

[Felicia]

Awesome deal on that desk! Can't wait to see how that new fish room turns out. Sorry the slimer lost its color, but it looks like its hanging in there. Hopefully it will color back up for you.

[vlangel]

Awesome deal on that desk! Can't wait to see how that new fish room turns out. Sorry the slimer lost its color, but it looks like its hanging in there. Hopefully it will color back up for you.

Dave loves his new room and desk and who can argue with free?

 

The whole sump upgrade is taking longer than expected because of holiday schedules. I hosted my kids over the weekend and now I am playing catch up. It's not urgent so I am not going to stress over it.

 

I am sorry the slimer has lost its color too but maybe it will come back at least somewhat. I knew it was a risk when I added it and it was given to me so it's ok whatever happens.

[vlangel]

This morning I worked up some sketches of what I want my sump to look like. It will be the somewhat standard 3 chamber sump with the drain and skimmer being in the first chamber, a fuge with 4" DSB (probably with miracle mud)in the middle section, and last a chamber for the return pump. It looks like my fuge will be 10" X 12" which I am guessing is at least 10% of the total volume, even with the DSB. I will probably run my sump lights opposite of the DT. Maybe tomorrow I will buy the acrylic sheets for the partitions and the silicon at lowes.

[vlangel]

I just remembered a goofy glitch dealing with my sump. When I built this system 3 years ago I had to put the 10g sump down through the top because it would not fit through the door or the hole in the back of the stand. Hmmm, I guess that is the only way it will come out too.... Well, maybe I will just leave it there and store stuff inside it once it's empty. I am pretty sure that i do not want to empty the seahorse tank again to get it out!

[Arce]

use a razor and cut the silicone to take it apart?

[vlangel]

use a razor and cut the silicone to take it apart?

Thanks, you are a genius. I never considered that. Or am I just an idiot? I'd rather think you are a genius! LOL

[Arce]

Thanks, you are a genius. I never considered that. Or am I just an idiot? I'd rather think you are a genius! LOL

My second idea was wrap it in a heavy duty bag and break it but cutting the silicone should work.

[teenyreef]

Is miracle mud still considered to be good stuff? I remember back when it was really popular but it doesn't seem to be very widely used any more.

[vlangel]

Is miracle mud still considered to be good stuff? I remember back when it was really popular but it doesn't seem to be very widely used any more.

I am not sure teeny. I also have heard the negatives regarding miracle mud but at the very worst I will just be investing in an expensive DSB. Anaerobic bacteria will still colonize the bottom of it and perchance that it can slowly leach trace minerals and such to my corals I am going to give it a chance.

[vlangel]

 

Ok, so here is a primitive sketch of what I envision my sump to look like.

[Orangutran]

 

Ok, so here is a primitive sketch of what I envision my sump to look like.

How come the first baffle after the skimmer has the gap in the middle? Why not make it 8.5" high to maintain that height for the skimmer?

[HarryPotter]

1) Is that skimmer made for 5" of water? Seems low to me.

 

2) I would recommend an extra baffle to serve as a bubble trap before the refugium. This will also prevent junk and critters from getting into the skimmer chamber from the refugium, especially during maintenance.

 

3) Last chamber doesn't make sense to me, what am I missing? Im not a sump person, but it looks like stuff from the refugium will get into the return/display. In addition, the last baffle is too tall. If the holes clog it will flood or the return will burn out. A solid last baffle is what most people use so that water level varies only in the return chamber and to prevent muck from getting in.

 

Not a sump person, but just some things im wondering about

[Felicia]

Looks great! The only thing I can think of to maybe add is a bubble trap. I definitely needed one for my skimmer.

[vlangel]

How come the first baffle after the skimmer has the gap in the middle? Why not make it 8.5" high to maintain that height for the skimmer?

 

1) Is that skimmer made for 5" of water? Seems low to me.

 

2) I would recommend an extra baffle to serve as a bubble trap before the refugium. This will also prevent junk and critters from getting into the skimmer chamber from the refugium, especially during maintenance.

 

3) Last chamber doesn't make sense to me, what am I missing? Im not a sump person, but it looks like stuff from the refugium will get into the return/display. In addition, the last baffle is too tall. If the holes clog it will flood or the return will burn out. A solid last baffle is what most people use so that water level varies only in the return chamber and to prevent muck from getting in.

 

Not a sump person, but just some things im wondering about

Looks great! The only thing I can think of to maybe add is a bubble trap. I definitely needed one for my skimmer.

Ha ha, I figured my sketch would be confusing because this style of sump is an early on design from the 90s when fuges were just beginning to be popular. Back then they were always 3 chambers and the 1st chamber had a 1/2 inch slit(cut at an angle upward) to direct the water toward the surface. The slit was 1/3rd of the way up. I have mine higher because I want the flow to go across the DSB. Back in those days a fuge was used instead of a skimmer so bubble traps usually weren't necessary. However my current sump does have a skimmer and micro bubbles have not been a problem probably because of the flow being slower. I figured if micro bubbles are a problem I will add another partition to be a bubble trap at the end of the first chamber.

 

Thanks Harry, you are right, the holes could clog with stuff from the fuge. I was overlooking that possibility, especially when I might be away on a vacation and not be home to maintenance the tank. My current sump just has a 6" high partition for the return and that was not a problem but again probably because my turn over is less. I think I should make an 8" high partition with holes starting at 5". However I should have a full egg crate partition against the 8" partition (one that can be removed if desired). That way my water height which will be 8 and 1/2" will flow through the holes and over the 1/2" that is basically open except the egg crate. That should not get clogged but if I am on vacation I will remove the egg crate and the flow will run totally unimpeded. If perchance a little caulerpa or cheato goes through the return it will be alright. Mag drives are pond pumps and can handle it.

 

I don't use the partitions to set my sump height. Rather I turn the return pump off, fill the sump all the way up to the top and then turn it on and see what the maximum sump height can be. I know that it will be much higher than 8 and 1/2 inches because it even runs higher than that in my 10g sump. If I want to maximize my water volume I can put my skimmer on a platform so that it is still only 8 and a 1/2 inches from the surface of the water in the sump. I want that flexibility.