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I am so sorry to here the news:sad:
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Oh no! I've been following along hoping for ya.....so sorry.:cry:
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I am so sorry to hear this ....
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Sorry to hear that Catherine
Wayne |
Oh no!! Horrible news.. Sorry to hear of the losses. :cry:
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I too can offer up my babysitting services. I have the display and a 33g QT sitting empty right now.
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:cry:I am so sad to read this.
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Thank you everyone. When I get home tonight I will again try to figure out what to do. Most everything in my tank is gone, and looking at an empty tank is really hard. I removed 2 out of the 4 questionable clams yesterday. I left all of the SPS in the system, there only seems to be two typs of SPS right now; dead, and not so dead Mostly it will be clams and fish that need temporary homes if we go that route. A few pieces of SPS as well.
The skimmer pulled out over 3 liters of crap between 5 pm and 8 pm last night. It was pulling throughout the day, but it had to be dialed back significantly since nobody was home to watch it. I do have photos, and I think I will post them. |
Cath - you know you can count on me to help house things too. In fact I have a mostly empty 110g right now (ritteri went to a new home, but can't take down the tank yet), so I have a fair amount of space. Let me know, ok? It's no burden, don't hesitate to call on your Canreef friends if it can make the difference for you.
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I definitely won't hesitate. We will be making the call on keeping things in the tank or moving them tonight. So there may be a flurry of PMs tonight, but there may not be.
I am sad to hear the ritteri is gone, but change can be good. I really loved that tank, it was really cool because it was like the ultimate minimalist tank. I loved the rabbitfish, clam, anemone combination, it just worked so well for that system. I will be making a run tomorrow to pick up more carbon. I also think I will be buying a 5g bucket in bulk just to have around. I've gone through probably 1g of the stuff already, maybe more. |
Kevin & Catherine, sorry you're having such rotten luck. Let me know if there is anything I can do.
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Things are looking stable now. The death toll stands at 6 clams, most of my SPS, and most of my fish too. I am most distressed over the fish and clams. Almost all my favorite SPS have died. Some still have flesh on them and I am leaving them in the tank, just in case. I am heading out to buy some new heaters, more carbon, and probably live rock. I am also looking to pick up some of the bacteria we were talking about earlier. I need to do some clean up in terms of aquascaping, and then I will post up a few photos. I also need to pick up some green painter's tape so we can start marking out the potential dimensions of our new tank. |
So a quick update just to keep this going. We suffered another crash earlier this week (http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=45772 and it was messy, horrible, and tragic.
We are still going to keep going with this, I am bound and determined to have a beautiful tank again to watch and enjoy. I just wanted to update this thread to reflect what is happening with the tank as of today. |
Glad to hear you guys are going to keep at it. After such terrible luck many would call it quits. Good for you! And GOOD LUCK!
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This is, of course, assuming that at that time I will be living somewhere that has some sunshine in winter. Not sure that something like this would work on the coast where it tends to be cloudy and/or rainy and/or foggy. And since this is a REALLY old thread your tank is awesome and I hope one day to be able to have the success that you guys have had. Your tank is beautiful and an inspiration to people like myself who are just starting out in this hobby:D |
Hey, just a thought, but could some of your fish deaths have been caused by parasites or some sort of internal worm or something?
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Awe! Thank you.
Things should be well underway to getting back this weekend. I keep promising to do a photodump of some of the disaster, but I keep forgetting. I'm also going to be making food tonight & tomorrow, so I'll have some photos of that process to share as well. |
Really good to hear you guys are going to stick with it. I felt nauseous reading your thread this past week. I cant imagine actually going through a crash(never mind two) you guys are troopers. On to bigger and better things huh?
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Yes, bigger and better things.
Because I said I would, I am offering up photos of the first crash, when the two heaters in the holding tank (our new glass sump) failed. Looking down on the holding tank http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...DSC_0091-2.jpg Everything in the 180g again. Disgusting water http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...DSC_0097-1.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...a/DSC_0098.jpg Left side of the tank http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...a/DSC_0099.jpg Middle http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...DSC_0101-1.jpg Right side http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...a/DSC_0102.jpg I'll post photos of the result of the second crash, the pump failure later, once the lights come on. So these are a couple of area photos I took at some point since October 3rd of the basement. http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...a/DSC_0104.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...DSC_0092-1.jpg Even though the gigas clam died in the second crash, I wanted to post up what was happening to it. One side had actually separated from its shell, and it was in the process of building up a new shell. I think baring the pump failure, the clam would have survived and we could have eventually seen where its transformation was going. |
Catherine I'm so srry that you had this crash , but remember Big ger is better the 3rd time around AND I DO HAVE MORE CLAMS THEN YOU
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Hahah, I had 15 before the crash, and I think 8 total now. I miss not being able to watch my clams.
Bigger and better for 2008/2009 means getting the 180g back up and running again. I'll stock it with fish for the large tank at the same time. We will also start work on the big tank as soon as we get a few house-related things out of the way; e.g. new hot water tank, finishing unpacking, etc. Your in-wall tank its looking super sweet! I love the look, and I think that is what we may try to go for with the big system. |
Well you guys do know a finishing carpenter that may be willing to trade services with you, if you figure you need help with the finer details.:wink:
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Probably will need your services! Thank you.
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Off topic, but you mentioned replacing your hot water tank. You might consider getting a 'tankless' hot water heater. Initial cost is more, but big savings in the long run and a never ending supply of hot water for filling that hot tub.
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We are definitely looking at that option. However, we have been reading about some drawbacks that make us a bit wary. The initial price as well is something to consider.
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poor clams.
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Hey Cathrine,
Sorry to hear about the crashes lately. Glad to hear that your keeping your head up with all that is going on. If you need a hot water tank, plus installation let me know. My friends a plumber and is around south alot. |
The one that came with our house is 23 years old and well out of its life expectancy. I'd rather replace it now, then come home to yet ANOTHER flood in the basement.
The crappy thing is that we have a water meter on this house, and I am fully expecting this first bill to be up there. I'm sure we've gone through at least 350g since the 3rd of October for the tank alone. Never mind everything else in the house. I'm also looking for ways to "green" up the 180g and the large system to keep the costs down long term. Living is expensive, and so is this hobby, which doesn't always make for the best combination. |
Yikes! thats going to be quite the water bill. We just replaced a hot water tank for another friends house that was leaking so it only took a total of 1hr or so. Dont know much about going "green" for water tanks but if you just want a reg one, my friend can probably save you abit of cash so you can restock your tank when the time comes.
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Tankless hot water systems have come a long way in the last few years. Yes, there are drawbacks including high initial cost, but if going green is the goal..... My hot water tank is having some issues and I'm certain that when the time comes, I'll be going tankless. My parents installed one last year and are quite happy with it. Their gas usage has dropped noticeably.
Newer tankless HW systems have the option of installing controls with digital readouts for each location, kitchen, bath etc., allowing you to precisely control the water temperature delivered, not just a knob with "Hot, Warm, Vacation" as on conventional HW tanks. No pilot light to worry about either, electronic ignition. You can also prioritize which location gets the hot water when multiple taps are used. The biggest thing you need to do is figure out how much flow you're likely to use for your family and ensure you buy a large enough unit so the person taking a shower doesn't get a surprise when you run the hot water in the kitchen... Starting to sound a lot like the issues we have with our fish tanks, no?? |
[quote=mike31154;353616]The biggest thing you need to do is figure out how much flow you're likely to use for your family and ensure you buy a large enough unit so the person taking a shower doesn't get a surprise when you run the hot water in the kitchen... QUOTE]
And that would be hitting the nail on the head right there! How do I figure out how much we use? We are a "family" of 2 plus 2 water-guzzling dogs. Is there a calculator for this? |
Yes, there are calculators available to determine the appropriate size. Just Google tankless hot water systems and I'm sure you'll find some guidelines. My parents have a small unit manufactured by Rinnai. I would likely get a slightly larger one just to be on the safe side. Because these heaters heat the water through a coil/heat exchanger while it is flowing, if you have too many hot taps open at once, it won't be able to keep up. It also depends heavily on the temperature of the incoming water, which will be colder in the winter. For a family of 2 like yourselves, it shouldn't be a big issue, just takes a little coordination. Generally you wouldn't run bath water, a shower, the dishwasher at the same time. As for the water guzzling dogs... that's cold water and wouldn't affect the demand for hot water?
Here's a link with a quick rundown... http://www.greenerbuilding.org/buying_advice.php?cid=56 |
Well we are still sitting on the hot water tank issue. I think I want to go with a tankless system, but balk at the cost. Its still first on the list before anything else, and it will get done sooner rather then later.
I tested the tank this afternoon/evening and we are at the tail end of the cycle. I guess the tank wasn't strong enough to recover without a full cycle. I still plan to add more live rock in the next couple of weeks, just in case. Right now the tank is running without kalk. or Ca. reactors, mostly because we are afraid of overloading the circuit in the basement. The lighting is solely T5s, as there is no point in running the MHs. I am also only running a seio and koralia 1 power head, again because of fears of overloading the circuit. pH: 8.02 SG: 1.025 ORP: 268 (low) PO4: 0.13 Ammonia: 0.50 Nitrate: Less then 0.5 via Elos test kit Nitrite:0 We've also drawn out the first of a few options for our big system. If we go with a cube shape, the best we can do is looking like 5ftx5ft, which is less then 500g. I can't say I'm happy with that size. I think the next step is to probably look at an L-shape system. The problem we are having is balancing the space the tank would need vs. the living space required to actually use our basement. I've lost my camera USB cord, so I can't share all the photos I have with you. |
Tankless water heaters
The tankless hot water heater activates as water demand is initialized, however, hot water output is limited by production capacity. A consideration with a tankless water heater is how many degrees of temperature the water heater can raise the water passing through it. Considering a winter climate where city water during the cold season reaches the home at 55°F, a tankless water heater must be able to heat that water to 120°F (an increase of 65°). This is true. What I have seen is you end up here in Calgary with a very low hot water output using a TLess WH. (Calgary water 55.3 f)Forget about having a long hot shower or how about 1 hour later to fill the bathtub. What I have seen is tankless HWheaters run in conjunction with large regular water heaters turned on low. Small 6 gallon water set up for small usage. So cold water runs into a 60 g WH (set to hold water temp at about 80 f) from there it goes to a TLess WH set to bring it up to shower temp; from there it goes to a 6 gal water heater designed to be used for washing hands, face, filling up a sink. So ie: scenario You turn on a tap to wash hands water goes from main to 60g WH to TLess WH to 6 g WH and you get immediate hot water. This is an effective way to get the best usage of a stong need for Hot water and the least amount of water used. (it takes about 3+ g of water run through a Tless wh before it is hot) Just my 2 cents worth. |
Well I think we are going to go the tankless route if we can. Although I am now just going over our tankless options and the costs associated with one. As long as I have enough water to shower with, and maybe for someone else to wash their hands it will be fine.
I figure its probably appropriate to make a tank related update as well. Last time I tested the tank, which I think might have been Tuesday or Wednesday, I had slightly elevated Ammonia, along with some nitrates, and phosphates. The tank also has some beautiful stringly green hair algae with complements the brown diatomes nicely. The tank needs a water change this week, and then, provided all my levels are still good this coming weekend, I'll slowly start restocking it. I figure by the end of the month, assuming everything continues to go well, I will have my livestock back in my system and things can hopefully continue on as they were. |
Catherine its looking great kido , i see tha the hair algae is back again there must be something wrong with something there. I have never seen some one having that much problem with their set up starting out with your experience.
good on you to have the patience. I couldn't OH YA what a great time to start dosing Vodka you wont burn anything |
Well the tank is at the point where all you can do is laugh about it.
The Dart return pump was seized again this morning when I woke up. I would also like to point out that I am getting extremely fed up with the tank. So I am proposing that sell off the 180g tank itself, and build a sweet cube in its place. |
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