gena Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 No durso drain thingy????? My drain was silent after installing one of those. Makes a huge difference. Everything looks great . That's one expensive fuge light . Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 No durso drain thingy????? My drain was silent after installing one of those. Makes a huge difference. Everything looks great . That's one expensive fuge light . This is drilled out of the back instead of the bottom (the bottom is tempered) so its a bit different. I got the Glass Holes overflow kit, which a ton of people use and most people say its very quiet. I think it just needs to be dialed in. Part of that (from what I've read) seems to be dialing in the drain to the right level. The overflow isn't gurgling, its just that the water pouring down the drain sounds like a rushing river. Think I need to slow it down a bit. I know! I love my matching, expensive fuge light I had it on hand, so I figured I might as well use it, right? 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 I'm in the middle of the transfer right now. I went ahead and added the corals and the rocks straight into the new tank since the pH and temperature matched. Also, the yellow candy hog wouldn't get out of his cave in the rock, so he went straight in with the rock. All the corals are opening up and look great! The yellow candy hog is out and about checking out his new digs He doesn't seem the least bit stressed. All the other fish and my inverts are drip acclimating right now and they'll go in shortly. So far so good! Oh, and I added 4 ounces of Bio Spira when I added the rocks to try to help with any mini cycle problems. 3 Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Congrats on the new start! Looking forward to the transition. 2 Quote Link to comment
Chris! Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Its a reefer thing Thanks! I would like to have the gate valve on there because I need to slow the drain down a bit in order to quiet the noise. It kind of sounds like a rushing river right now, haha. I have built in safety checks for if something happens to the drain so that the tank won't flood. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a single other PVC 1.5" threaded gate valve in the bay area, so I have one being overnighted from Amazon. For now I'm just running the leaky one since it only leaks if I try to close it. I'll keep it open all the way for now and then replace it with the new one when it gets here. Ok cool as long as you have some serious safety checks in place.... guessing a float switch that will kill the return pump? 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 Ok cool as long as you have some serious safety checks in place.... guessing a float switch that will kill the return pump? That's what I had set up on the old tank, but I'm hoping I can get away without using it this time around. The Jebao return pump has a feature where if it runs dry, it shuts itself off. So if say the drain got plugged, what would happen would be that the return pump would pump its entire chamber of water up into the tank. The tank can hold that amount of water without an overflow. Then the pump would run dry and shut itself off. It won't turn back on if that happens until its unplugged and plugged back in. So the ATO would kick on, but its too slow to keep the pump from running dry. So the pump would shut off and then the ATO would fill up the return pump chamber and then that would be it. I need to test this to make sure it all works like its supposed to, but I need a gate valve on the drain that I can shut first. Congrats on the new start! Looking forward to the transition. Thanks! About to add the rest of the inhabitants that have been acclimating. 2 Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 I know you got the cool uncured rock for your last build. Have you also used dry rock? I'd be curious on your observations on algae growth on one verses the other. It seems whenever I add a piece of dry rock, it quickly takes on algae as opposed to older, "alive" stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 The Jebao return pump has a feature where if it runs dry, it shuts itself off. That might be true, but I've forgotten to top off after several days (still haven't gotten my ATO to actually work, grrr) and the pump will happily continue trying to pump as long as there is at least some water in the chamber to keep it cool. It does get hot as balls and probably if left that way for 24+ hours it will shut off, but in the 12 hours that I hadn't looked at it it could have been going that whole time. There was a LOT of salt creep that day lol 2 Quote Link to comment
Chris! Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 FWIW, all my jebao returns will run practically dry, and their supposed no dry run will supposedly sense water and turn back on when water is available (from what I understood of it anyway). I wouldn't put my faith in that system honestly. Also lets go worst case scenario and say you dial it back slightly and get a slight clog it will not be a rapid thing to where it is going to drain the return chamber quickly it will slowly do it and your ATO will likely kick on and keep refilling until the ATO is empty..... I would go with a float switch at the highest point you feel safe and have it shut the return off in the event it gets there. Thats really the only way I could sleep at night if I was dialing back a solo drain.... but I also have some of the worst luck lol 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 I know you got the cool uncured rock for your last build. Have you also used dry rock? I'd be curious on your observations on algae growth on one verses the other. It seems whenever I add a piece of dry rock, it quickly takes on algae as opposed to older, "alive" stuff. I used dry rock exclusively in the past and I just am not a huge fan. It took forever to really color up. I never really have had too many nuisance algae problems though until recently, so I can't compare on that. After this last tank crash, the excess nutrients caused a crazy hair algae outbreak on my rocks. I'm still trying to get rid of that. I need to go get a serious CUC for this tank. That might be true, but I've forgotten to top off after several days (still haven't gotten my ATO to actually work, grrr) and the pump will happily continue trying to pump as long as there is at least some water in the chamber to keep it cool. It does get hot as balls and probably if left that way for 24+ hours it will shut off, but in the 12 hours that I hadn't looked at it it could have been going that whole time. There was a LOT of salt creep that day lol FWIW, all my jebao returns will run practically dry, and their supposed no dry run will supposedly sense water and turn back on when water is available (from what I understood of it anyway). I wouldn't put my faith in that system honestly. Also lets go worst case scenario and say you dial it back slightly and get a slight clog it will not be a rapid thing to where it is going to drain the return chamber quickly it will slowly do it and your ATO will likely kick on and keep refilling until the ATO is empty..... I would go with a float switch at the highest point you feel safe and have it shut the return off in the event it gets there. Thats really the only way I could sleep at night if I was dialing back a solo drain.... but I also have some of the worst luck lol Ok good to know! Yeah I was considering still using my float switch. I just put it up in the display so that if the water level goes too high in there it kicks off the return pump. That thing was constantly in use on the old system because the HOB overflow was always getting clogged. So I know it works like a champ. No floods, so I'll just use it again. 3 Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 I need to go get a serious CUC for this tank.lol! Yeah, I suck at that too. 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 lol! Yeah, I suck at that too. Yeah my wrasses tend to eat my snails and then I never replace them. In the past, I've never had much of an algae issues (I chalk that up to pure luck!) so I've never really needed them. But man is this hair algae gross! I'm hoping being in the brand new, very clean system will help starve it away and I'm going to get a good CUC to help. Anyone have any suggestions on best CUC animals to eat hair algae? I have a tuxedo urchin who does a good job, but he's slow and hasn't been able to keep up. I was thinking of doing primarily trochus and maybe a few smaller turbos. For the sandbed, I just have my two fighting conchs who do a wonderful job. I may add a couple nano serpent stars from KP Aquatics to scavenge the sandbed as well. I'm thinking I'll skip the hermits and nassarius this time around. Oh, and if all goes well, I'll be picking up my school of dispar anthias tomorrow! 2 Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 I was thinking of doing primarily trochus and maybe a few smaller turbos.Pinned it on the head. That was going to be my suggestion. Oh, and if all goes well, I'll be picking up my school of dispar anthias tomorrow! omgomgomg 1 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 This is drilled out of the back instead of the bottom (the bottom is tempered) so its a bit different. I got the Glass Holes overflow kit, which a ton of people use and most people say its very quiet. I think it just needs to be dialed in. Part of that (from what I've read) seems to be dialing in the drain to the right level. The overflow isn't gurgling, its just that the water pouring down the drain sounds like a rushing river. Think I need to slow it down a bit. I know! I love my matching, expensive fuge light I had it on hand, so I figured I might as well use it, right? I'm sure you'll get it all figured out . Anymore pictures of the setup with the rock and inhabitants in the tank???? 2 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 I'm sure you'll get it all figured out . Anymore pictures of the setup with the rock and inhabitants in the tank???? Your wish is my command! I need to work on the scape, but here's everything in the tank. I'm going to go pick out some additional live rock tomorrow. The fish are doing just fine after the transfer. New screen lid. Got a black acrylic lid cut for the overflow box. Full view of the sump. Refugium with rubble rock and chaeto. Added a filter pad after the refugium. Also got a black acrylic lid cut for the ATO reservoir. 6 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 Pinned it on the head. That was going to be my suggestion. omgomgomg Awesome! I'm going to try to pick up some snails tomorrow when I go to get my fish. 2 Quote Link to comment
Chris! Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Looks really good Felicia. I really like the scape as is..... but needs more room for coral I can see it filling up quick as is lol Asterea or however its spelled snails have always did a decent job on algae for me in the past.... I need to find a few again, the mollies do a good job but they like when I feed the tank a bit to much too lol Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 Looks really good Felicia. I really like the scape as is..... but needs more room for coral I can see it filling up quick as is lol Asterea or however its spelled snails have always did a decent job on algae for me in the past.... I need to find a few again, the mollies do a good job but they like when I feed the tank a bit to much too lol Thanks! I love my scape but it definitely needs to be added to in order to have more space for corals. Plus now with the extra 5" of depth, I can have a deeper scape. I'm keeping the 3 islands as they are, but I'll shift them around a bit. I want to add new rock off of the front of the left and right islands to sort of make a cove shape. Then I want to add an additional low lying island in the front center. Something sort of like this: Astreas are good algae eaters, but mine always get eaten by the wrasses. They can't right themselves when they fall over, which is all the time, so they become tasty snacks. I'm trying to avoid them for that reason. 3 Quote Link to comment
Chris! Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Thanks! I love my scape but it definitely needs to be added to in order to have more space for corals. Plus now with the extra 5" of depth, I can have a deeper scape. I'm keeping the 3 islands as they are, but I'll shift them around a bit. I want to add new rock off of the front of the left and right islands to sort of make a cove shape. Then I want to add an additional low lying island in the front center. Something sort of like this: Astreas are good algae eaters, but mine always get eaten by the wrasses. They can't right themselves when they fall over, which is all the time, so they become tasty snacks. I'm trying to avoid them for that reason. That scape will look great and definitely give you some much needed coral space I guess I just got lucky, I didn't have enough fall off to be that concerned about them.... tho I've never had more then probably 15-20 snails of any kind (yes even in my 180) so replacing them was never a big deal. 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 That scape will look great and definitely give you some much needed coral space I guess I just got lucky, I didn't have enough fall off to be that concerned about them.... tho I've never had more then probably 15-20 snails of any kind (yes even in my 180) so replacing them was never a big deal. Thanks! Hopefully I can pick out the right pieces of rock to pull that off. Its always hard picking out specific pieces when you can't look at the tank while you're doing it. Gotta try to visualize it in my head. The seem to tip over constantly for me. I'm thinking I need like 7-10 snails to clean up this hair algae mess. Maybe like 5 trochus and 2 turbos. 1 Quote Link to comment
Chris! Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 You can do it I have faith in ya. I know you will find some sweet pieces A nice little CUC would be good, I still haven't added any snails... one of these days I'll try to find some but for now the mollies are doing decent as long as I don't feed them to much lol 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 You can do it I have faith in ya. I know you will find some sweet pieces A nice little CUC would be good, I still haven't added any snails... one of these days I'll try to find some but for now the mollies are doing decent as long as I don't feed them to much lol I hope so! And I hope I get my anthias without any issues tomorrow! Silly mollies. Better start starving them Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 New gate valve and the Two Little Fishies Phosban reactor showed up this morning! Lots of work to do later this evening when I get home from work. I still have to finish organizing all the electrical cords in the stand too. Oh and move the light so its centered over the tank. Goodness, its never ending! 2 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Looks awesome . How'd the rock hunting go? You have so much more space now....lots of room for your clams to grow They sure have grown since I last saw them too! 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 Looks awesome . How'd the rock hunting go? You have so much more space now....lots of room for your clams to grow They sure have grown since I last saw them too! Thanks! Rock hunting went great! I ended up getting Real Reef rock, which is entirely manmade to look like natural live rock and then they cure it for like 12-16 weeks to make it biologically active. Cool stuff, but a bit pricey. The color on it makes it worthwhile though and its live with no risks of pests. I picked out ~10 lbs and managed to get 3 pieces that were perfect for what I wanted to do. I'll put up photos in a moment. And yeah the clams are doing great! The squamosa doesn't grow very fast, but its about a year and a half old now. The derasa has been growing like crazy and is coming up on one year old. 1 Quote Link to comment
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