TeenyReef's 10g Fusion - ATO Disaster

[teenyreef]

16 hours ago, Tamberav said:

I had the mame overflow, I broke a piece on it too. It gets dirty fast, micro algae just loves to grow in it, all that flow without snails to graze on it. 

 

10 hours ago, xiaoxiy said:

DON'T DO A MAME. IT'S NOT WORTH THE HASSLE. Lmao. I had two Mame's that I was swapping out, and it was still a PIA and I eventually ended up breaking both >_>.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I see as the downside. The Mame looks really good when it's clean but it just doesn't seem to be worth it. And I definitely got that message from following in your thread 

[teenyreef]

8 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

Why don't you consider a MD HOB overflow box with white pvc or silicone tubing with a frosted back ? 

I've thought about it. I think the MD HOB is too obtrusive even if it was painted white. Plus I'm not a fan of siphon overflows.

 

But I definitely am going to do a frosted back no matter what else I do. I did a frosted back on the DB30 frag tank and I love the way it turned out.

[teenyreef]

8 hours ago, DaveFason said:

@teenyreef - Cant wait to see the new setup. Funny you are doing this. I have a couple spare UNS tanks laying around and I thought about swapping the IM10 as well. Adding a false wall instead of doing a sump. 

 

Few ideas that may work. Return and drain coming from the bottom. Use clear PVC or a similar tubing and paint a strainer white to white it better. 

 

Also check out my IG a couple posts back. A customer in the UK did a killer job on his rimless tank with sump. 

 

Cant wait! I am also working on a new light arm that would be really rad for this tank. Similar to the old ADA lights where the mount went underneath the tank, then an arm on the side. 

 

-Dave

Thanks, Dave. I checked out the IG one you were talking about and it is one of the options I've been considering. I'm undecided on whether a simple bulkhead strainer/drain will work, although I know @Scorched has turned it into an art form 🙂

 

I need to do some research on return/drain from the bottom. I can't recall if I've seen a design that works reliably.

 

That light mount sounds cool! Keep me informed.

[mitten_reef]

Have you seen @Frag Factory's ADA cube?  Bottom-drilled inlet-outlet behind rock work, all unseen from the front.   You can do something similar with hiding plumbing behind rockwork somehow, with higher intake that would help with surface skimming.

 

 

[teenyreef]

51 minutes ago, micoastreefing said:

Have you seen @Frag Factory's ADA cube?  Bottom-drilled inlet-outlet behind rock work, all unseen from the front.   You can do something similar with hiding plumbing behind rockwork somehow, with higher intake that would help with surface skimming.

 

 

Thanks for the pointer! He has a beautiful clean build and that's definitely the look I want. I wasn't following his build but I am now 🙂

 

Unfortunately, I want to do a sump. He uses a cannister filter, so he has closed loop plumbing and can put the return and drain anywhere. Lots of flexibility in plumbing, but after having run a 90g FW tank with a cannister for the last fifteen years or so, I know I don't want to mess with cleaning a cannister all the time. Plus you then have to put all the stuff that would go in a sump in the tank itself, like the ATO and heater.

[teenyreef]

I'm still chasing high levels of nitrates and phosphates in the tank. While I don't want to worry about specific numbers, I do know that the problems I had with corals in the tank earlier this year was definitely due to overly high levels, so I'm trying to stay ahead of it this time. I also know that since I removed the sand bed, the tank is probably going through a new period of instability and adjustment.

 

I'm doing weekly 25% water changes, but even so, nitrates are still going up slowly and phosphates are going up rapidly. So I'm also doing regular PhosphateRx dosing, a drop every three or four days. And when nitrates get too high (above 16), I do a 50% water change.

 

So far it's working great judging from the growth and colors of the corals. But I sure wish I knew where it's all coming from. I feed about 1/4 to 1/2 a cube of frozen daily, and I only have two small fish. I've made sure the back chambers are clean, and there's no detritus accumulating in any corners. So for now I'm just chalking it up to changing conditions after removing the sand bed, and giving it time.

[teenyreef]

Some quick pics I took tonight just because I haven't posted any in a while 🙂

 

Reefgen smoldering cauldron, RG vulcan blood, RG portal punks, Sunny D zoas:

 

 

A wider view:

 

Utter Chaos, Armor of God, Baby Back Blue Eyed zoas:

 

Favites:

 

Rainbow acans getting rainbow-y on the sides where the light isn't so bright:

 

Blastomussa:

 

Unknown acropora that has never ever colored up in three years is starting to color up a bit. I'm looking forward to seeing what color it actually is 🙂

 

 

It's purple and blue on the growth tips where it gets more light:

 

 

[teenyreef]

I've been bad at updates lately. I really need to get back to making this a real tank journal so I can keep track of what's been going on. 

 

I've been continuing weekly water changes, at least 25%, sometimes 50%. Nitrates seem to be reasonable now, between 4 and 8 most of the time. Phosphates still jump up if I don't keep up on PhosphateRX, but a drop every three or four days keeps it level, and the water changes are bring it down slowly. 

 

The corals and fish are doing fine, so I've got no complaints 🙂

 

Here's a February FTS I took back on the 9th. 

 

 

 

[spectra]

Lookin good....................

[teenyreef]

12 minutes ago, spectra said:

Lookin good....................

Thanks! 

[skyscraper2290]

Looking so good!

[DaveFason]

Starting to look like it did a couple years ago. 

 

I wish I could calculate but I am curious how many sales you have sent my way because of this tank. I cant thank you enough!

-D

[SkiCatTX]

Amazing! 😀

[Reefkid88]

wowzers bud,looking phenomenal 🙃

[Gourami Swami]

Feb FTS looking great! Still one of my favorites on this site!

[teenyreef]

Thanks, everyone! I'm really pleased with how things continue to bounce back. The setosa and bubblegum montipora have almost encrusted back over all the dead areas. This weekend I'm going to take some pictures for before/after comparison.

[dferrari13]

On 2/24/2019 at 11:17 PM, teenyreef said:

I've been bad at updates lately. I really need to get back to making this a real tank journal so I can keep track of what's been going on. 

 

I've been continuing weekly water changes, at least 25%, sometimes 50%. Nitrates seem to be reasonable now, between 4 and 8 most of the time. Phosphates still jump up if I don't keep up on PhosphateRX, but a drop every three or four days keeps it level, and the water changes are bring it down slowly. 

 

The corals and fish are doing fine, so I've got no complaints 🙂

 

Here's a February FTS I took back on the 9th. 

 

 

 

Absolutely awesome!!

[dferrari13]

What media are you currently running in the tank?

[teenyreef]

20 hours ago, dferrari13 said:

Absolutely awesome!!

Thanks!

[teenyreef]

5 hours ago, dferrari13 said:

What media are you currently running in the tank?

Filter floss, plus carbon for five days a month. I think there's also a chunk of biobrick in the third chamber.

 

I dose PhosphateRx because my phosphates started getting out of control. I do one drop every four or five days. Or every week or two, it's not scientific. But I do check nitrates and phosphates about once a week to make sure they don't start jumping up again.

 

Other than that, large water changes are what I've been doing lately to control nutrients.

[dferrari13]

Nice....thanks......I use phosguard and I recently realized that my phosphates are super low.....so I'm thinking about taking out the phosguard but I'm also starting to feed and dose amino acids more frequently so I'm not gunna remove it just yet...well see how it goes. 

 

With a tank so small, most of our nutrient export is via water changes....so it almost seems crazy to run any media at all....but I always like overkill and redundancy.

[Pjanssen]

Beautiful as always John

[JBM]

I like this pile of rocks. It is pleasing to the eyes.

 

 

Keep up the good work.

[Tamberav]

I think I like the bare bottom look better. It's not like it isn't covered in mostly corals anyways!

[teenyreef]

On 3/3/2019 at 7:45 PM, dferrari13 said:

Nice....thanks......I use phosguard and I recently realized that my phosphates are super low.....so I'm thinking about taking out the phosguard but I'm also starting to feed and dose amino acids more frequently so I'm not gunna remove it just yet...well see how it goes. 

 

With a tank so small, most of our nutrient export is via water changes....so it almost seems crazy to run any media at all....but I always like overkill and redundancy.

My phosphates go through the roof if I don't use something regularly, even with large water changes. Something is producing a lot of phosphates in the tank but I haven't figured out what.

On 3/3/2019 at 8:24 PM, Pjanssen said:

Beautiful as always John

Thanks, Penny!

On 3/3/2019 at 8:44 PM, JBM said:

I like this pile of rocks. It is pleasing to the eyes.

 

 

Keep up the good work.

Why, thank you, sir!