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GTi's CAD Lights 34G Mini-II


GTi

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I have my water level pretty high and am getting a problem with stagnant water in the return section. I have water to the height of the second baffle. A tunze 9004 in the overflow section. The cadlights reactor in the big one. And a tunze return pump. I am getting stagnant water in the return area with a green film on top. Gti I know you keep your water level high. Do you have this problem?

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I have my water level pretty high and am getting a problem with stagnant water in the return section. I have water to the height of the second baffle. A tunze 9004 in the overflow section. The cadlights reactor in the big one. And a tunze return pump. I am getting stagnant water in the return area with a green film on top. Gti I know you keep your water level high. Do you have this problem?

I get a little film on the top of the water but it doesn't sound as significant as what you describe. I try to pull some of the surface film off when vacuuming the detritus out of the back chamber when doing my water change. Sometimes I'll use a baster to suck some of the film off between changes.

 

Running higher means there's no surface movement so it's either take additional cleaning measures or extend the last baffle so there's a surface skimming action as the water falls in to the last (pump) chamber.

 

I think I'm going to see how the In Tank media basket works out when it's released soon and may change my water level but I also have to factor in the Tunze 9001. I just ordered a BRS media reactor but that's external and shouldn't be fussy about water level.

 

I have hair algae growing on the rear wall of the rear chambers where the light overspills from my Radion.

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Spot treating the snail shells with peroxide seems to be working. It's tricky with the smaller ones to get enough on the shell but not on the body so I have lost a couple of the mini conchs.

 

I bought a BRS reactor and set it up tonight with 100ml of GFO gently tumbling. With the ball valve it's very easy to dial in the right flow. I hope to see the hair algae stop growing and start to recede.

 

Frag swap on Sunday - hoping to find a nice clam and an orange plate and possibly a few frags.

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The GFO seems to be helping suppress algae growth - the glass is staying a fair bit cleaner. However, since starting the GFO I have noticed that the flatworm population has bloomed. I had some a while back and then they seem to die back to a small number where there would be just a few on the glass - nothing troublesome but in the last few days there are a lot. Anyone have any ideas why?

 

At the frag swap I picked up some Tiger Tail zoas, porcelain crab, flame scallop and a nice orange plate coral with green flecks. There were some Croceas but they were predominantly a grey color with little blue. I ran in to Todd Cherry who remembered I was looking for a clam and he mentioned that he had some back at his facility. I stopped by there today and picked up a nice bright blue Crocea and a couple of Ricordea. Cherry Corals is an incredible place and their SPS is just unreal. Unfortunately I'm drifting away from SPS towards LPS and softies so that my travel schedule doesn't affect the tank as much. I have a Rainbow Pocillopora and a Bonsai Acro I'm planning to keep - they seem pretty robust. I also have a Pink Lemonade acro top and centre under the Radion. It's really bright and growing well. I'm trying to decide whether to keep it; trouble is that it likes a lot of light which clashes with some of the other species like the Rics. I'm considering a mag-rock for the PL so it can be high up near the light but the rest of the tank is lower light so the LPS and soft corals can achieve full colors and not be bleached.

 

I'll try to get some decent photos in the next day or so.

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Most of the photos didn't come out well under the LEDs that are dimming down for the night.

 

Pink Lemonade:

IMG_0156_zps0002e9b6.jpg

 

Plate:

IMG_6129_zps838ff2a5.jpg

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Awesome plate! And that pink lemonade looks great, I need to get mine to color up like that. Can't wait to see pics of the clam and I think it's time for a FTS.

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Awesome plate! And that pink lemonade looks great, I need to get mine to color up like that. Can't wait to see pics of the clam and I think it's time for a FTS.

Thanks - I'm really pleased with the plate, too!It glows under the moonlights!

 

Couldn't get a good shot of the clam but I will break out the viewer and try for a top down shot tomorrow. It's quite small, maybe 2" long and while nothing spectacular, it look nice.

 

As for the FTS, it's a mess! I need to redo my rockwork to better suit the corals I'm changing over to. Perhaps a 2 island theme. I was actually just looking at BRS dry rock but I'll also check out Reefcleaners which is where I got the current rock from.

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Here are those photos as promised:

 

FTS:

IMG_6161_zps54e6af75.jpg

 

 

Flame Scallop:

FullSizeRender_zps8df593b2.jpg

 

 

Tiger Conch:

IMG_6157_zps13971b3b.jpg

 

 

New Ricordea (still annoyed from yesterday's dip):

IMG_6148_zps90b698af.jpg

 

IMG_6147_zps1f358297.jpg

 

 

Some top down shots:

 

Clam:

IMG_6132_zps1d6e9635.jpg

 

 

Gobstoppers:

IMG_6134_zps32398f00.jpg

 

 

Bam Bams:

IMG_6135_zpsaa73a499.jpg

 

 

Rainbow Pocillopora:

IMG_6136_zps90dad67d.jpg

 

 

Frogspawn:

IMG_6137_zps0d64cc56.jpg

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Very nice pieces. Fts looks sweet, awesome scape with plenty of room to add.

I have always wanted a flame scallop, always shy'd away thinking I would be able to keep it alive. They are awesome though.

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Very nice pieces. Fts looks sweet, awesome scape with plenty of room to add.

I have always wanted a flame scallop, always shy'd away thinking I would be able to keep it alive. They are awesome though.

Thanks! I'm thinking about changing the scape around a bit but I'm undecided.

 

A vendor at the local frag swap had a load of the scallops and he assured me that they aren't too difficult. When I read up on them when I got home, the consensus is that they are difficult. I don't know why someone would do that for a $5 sale. Anyway, fingers crossed that it'll do ok.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I just returned home from a 3 1/2 week trip out of town. While I was gone the fish were fed, ATO reservoir kept filled and filter pads changed but no water changes. Everything looked happy except the new orange plate which has receding tissue around the mouth area. Alk was down to 5.7. I did a 5 gallon water change and will do so each day for the next few days. When I dropped a few pellets on the plate it didn't take them to its mouth and when the pumps came on, they blew away.

 

I was growing some macro on a frag plug (I think it's ulva) but some must have come off and got in the MP10 because there are little leaves growing all over the LR. And red turf algae from the mini conchs' shells. It might be time for a Reefcleaners order.

 

I ordered an Aquamaxx WS1 skimmer (like the HOB but for in-sump use). That and some other bits and pieces had arrived.

 

I adjusted the water height in the back chambers to 9 1/2" (instructions say 8 - 10") and set it up. Within 10 minutes there was nice thick foam in the neck even with the cup set high. Once it is settled in, I will fine tune the water level in the rear chambers so it is s little lower and also get the cup to sit lower. The photo shows how much it sticks out above the tank right now but it will be a bit lower after the adjustments.

 

FullSizeRender_zps77709651.jpg

 

FullSizeRender_zps0fa8d20f.jpg

 

FullSizeRender_zps746d80b0.jpg

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Cool bro. I got mine as well. Doing pretty good. For some reason my WS1 went crazy last night and overflowed all night. Not sure why, but Ill have to look closer at it when I get home.

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Cool bro. I got mine as well. Doing pretty good. For some reason my WS1 went crazy last night and overflowed all night. Not sure why, but Ill have to look closer at it when I get home.

 

It's a nice skimmer, for sure. The foam is much thicker than the Tunze I was using. I'll post an update tonight on the skimate. With the Tunze I was hard pressed to get more than a light tea colour. Hoping for better things with this one!

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Skimate update!

 

The neck has chunky bits in it. There is some light colored skimate in the cup. It seems more like clear liquid with cloudiness in it if that makes sense. I think the Clownfish eggs hatched last night so that might be those poor little guys...

 

When I put in new filter pad that I had rinsed, the skimmer still went nuts for a short while.

 

FullSizeRender_zpsaffab9e0.jpg

 

FullSizeRender_zps64132aa8.jpg

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That's about how mine has looked the past couple of days. I got a feeling in about a week or so it will really kick in and get some nasty gunk out of the water.

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That's about how mine has looked the past couple of days. I got a feeling in about a week or so it will really kick in and get some nasty gunk out of the water.

 

That's what I'm hoping! This is the third and last skimmer I'm trying!

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It seems the lack of water changes while I was away resulted in a big drop in alkalinity and upset the Plate and clam. I did a couple of 5 gallon water changes over 2 days and that actually was too much - the alk swing was enough to finish off the clam and Plate. I'm keeping the plate skeleton in the tank for a while as they can grow babies in some cases.

 

I'm trying to decide between dosing 2 part and dosing kalk in the top off water. Short term, I'm going with the kalk as I have some from before when my 55 gallon was SPS heavy. I'll see how well it stabilizes the alk and make a longer term choice afterwards. Ideally I was trying to stay away from dosing in any form and keeping an easy care tank with just regular water changes. I guess that can work when you're around and able to do the water changes.

 

I also read that GFO can decrease alkalinity and pH so that's something to watch out for. I'm running some GFO in a reactor to try to knock out the beginnings of an algae problem. The GHA is minimal now but the red turf algae seems more stubborn. John at Reefcleaners says there's an Astrea that usually shows up in June that may take care of it. Otherwise I might resort to spot treating with peroxide.

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Which reactor are you using? What do you think about it? I am thinking about adding one as I am dealing with some algae right now as well.

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Which reactor are you using? What do you think about it? I am thinking about adding one as I am dealing with some algae right now as well.

 

I'm using this:

 

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-gfo-carbon-reactor-single.html

 

I like it - it's simple, easy to adjust the flow and tumbling on the media. Easy to change the media. I bought an extra valve, black tube and black elbows. When changing media I can close both valves so there is no siphon or drainage when I remove the top of the reactor. I use the sponge in the top and a thin layer of floss to stop the fines from entering the tank. The black hose and elbows allow easy routing of the lines in to the back chambers of the tank. I can snap pics later if you like.

 

It isn't small but it works and the price is decent!

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I'm using this:

 

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-gfo-carbon-reactor-single.html

 

I like it - it's simple, easy to adjust the flow and tumbling on the media. Easy to change the media. I bought an extra valve, black tube and black elbows. When changing media I can close both valves so there is no siphon or drainage when I remove the top of the reactor. I use the sponge in the top and a thin layer of floss to stop the fines from entering the tank. The black hose and elbows allow easy routing of the lines in to the back chambers of the tank. I can snap pics later if you like.

 

It isn't small but it works and the price is decent!

Cool, thanks for the info, and I am assuming you haven't had any trouble fitting both this reactor as well as the new WS-1?

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Cool, thanks for the info, and I am assuming you haven't had any trouble fitting both this reactor as well as the new WS-1?

 

No problem with fitment. I have the WS-1 on the left side of the second chamber and then the MJ900 supplying the reactor on the right side of the second chamber. The return hose from the reactor doesn't take up much space. I have the reactor itself located in the cabinet under the tank. I want to grow some chaeto back there too but I am running out of space!

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I see. After I actually went and looked at your link I realized there was no way you had the actual chamber in the rear compartment. I really want something that I can hide in the rear chamber. Maybe the 2 little fishies reactor....

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I see. After I actually went and looked at your link I realized there was no way you had the actual chamber in the rear compartment. I really want something that I can hide in the rear chamber. Maybe the 2 little fishies reactor....

 

I considered that one but saw a few reviews saying it leaked. I guess if it's in the rear chamber, that doesn't matter. I had an Innovative Marine reactor which was similar and worked well.

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A bit of an update. I ran an airline to the outside to feed the skimmer. As well as making it quieter, it should help keep the pH up a little. Instead of hearing a rumbling from the skimmer, now I can hear a faint crackling from all the bubbles. Still trying to dial it in to get really dry skimate but it is pulling out a lot of junk. I have to leave it off for about 30 minutes after a feeding or it overflows uncontrollably.

 

Although I lost the clam and plate to water quality issues while traveling, some of the other corals did well. Sorry that they are at different angles!

 

2 April:

IMG_0156_zps0002e9b6.jpg

 

8 May:

IMG_0273_zps90ece810.jpg

 

2 April:

IMG_6136_zps90dad67d.jpg

 

8 May:

IMG_0275_zps19cb6d58.jpg

 

2 April:

IMG_6137_zps0d64cc56.jpg

8 May:

IMG_0274_zps758b4682.jpg

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Just tested some key parameters. I started dosing a little kalk in the top off water a few days ago and it is definitely helping to keep alkalinity and calcium more stable.

 

Wednesday: Alk145ppm (8.12 dkH), Ca 469 ppm

Saturday: Alk 144 ppm (8.06 dkH), Ca 465 ppm

 

Going to do a 5 gallon water change later and then remeasure.

 

Also considering switching out some of the contents in my egg crate media rack and changing shelf height now I'm running the water level a little lower due to the new skimmer. Currently top shelf is floss and once a week for a couple of days I run felt on top of that to pull out some of the finer detritus. Under that I have a small amount of carbon and Purigen in bags. In the lowest section I have Marinepure ceramic spheres to add biofiltration as the display doesn't have a lot of live rock.

 

I am thinking about making a water diverter so the overflow from the tank doesn't tun down the wall of the red chamber but instead goes through the media more effectively. Also, I had a frag that started growing ulva and I harvested a piece and now have a golf ball sized piece growing on a frag plug. I may covert part of the rack in to a fuge and add a JBJ Nano Glo on reverse timing to the display lights. I'd prefer to keep the light external for durability and also to keep heat out of the tank - with the central AC set to 78F, my tank cooling fan (run off the Apex) kick in a lot already and I don't want to raise evaporation even further.

 

More later...

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