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Sorry to hear that Greg... I don't believe in qt but that's just me. So far I've been lucky with fishes.
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I'm going to be stubborn and keep using the QT, but no more meds The API Erythromycin killed off all the bacteria I worked so hard to build up in the AC50 I think the final straw for Floyd was the cycle as, even though I was able to keep the NH3/4 in check, the NO2 got a bit high a couple times while I was at work and I'm convinced that was the cause of his demise If I have to ever use meds again, I'll make sure I use nitrifying bacteria-safe stuff, such as Mindy's suggestion of Furan-2, but I hope that won't be necessary |
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Studying for 4th Class is going to consume all my free time, so all I'll have time for over the rest of this year is bi-weekly WCs instead of weekly, scrape the glass whenever I can, so much for sterilizing my RO and ATO (for now anyway) ... and feed the fish :smile:
We have 3 vehicles that need new coolant, 2 that need the snows removed, and 1 that needs 'other' repairs - that's 2 weekends right there, but I need 5-10 hours each weekend for studying :surprise: so the next month or so is gonna suck for me Tonight I received a Penn Plax battery backup air pump for the QT After our last outage, while there were fish in it, I said that's it I also received 4 new silicone ice cube trays for making my own fish food. Oh ya, I gotta go out and buy some food, and make some muck ... OK, tank update, but no pics ... no time - get home, shower, make lunch, eat dinner, study, now it's 9:00pm - for the next 8-12 months :twised: Asrai and Jr have settled in nicely, to the point where they come to me for dinner :biggrin: Ziggy is being a big dink to everybody, so I'm keeping an eye on him and will decide what to do when I'm in a better mood ... One of the Fire shrimp is MIA and presumed dead as we haven't seen it for a week The Porcelains and Red star are doing great The bubble moved after it split, but has stayed right beside the other, so, for now, all is good The corals have bounced back from being bleached and I've begun slowly turning the lights back up I've got HA on the returns from all the extra feedings, and some kind of green algae or cyano on the sand that needs to be siphoned out and washed (when I have time), and there's red algae on some of the LR and dark green stuff on the overflow box Other than that, I'm planning on buying some parts this weekend to have a flashing red LED when my ATO is low If you've followed along, you'll know I already have floats to turn off my ATO tank powerhead and heater, and ATO pumps, but this doesn't help when the tank is empty - it's happened more than once over the last 2 months So, I'll fix that issue this weekend, and fix some cars, and do a WC, and try to get some extra sleep :mrgreen: |
Holy crap you sound like a ridiculously busy guy! I'm sure it also does not help one bit that summer is just around the corner..
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Short term pain for long term gain, congrats on the schoolling!! Take a deep breath, it will all come together for you!
We switched my snows out last weekend and plastidipped my summer wheels! Love it! I like the idea of the flashing light on the ato, if you have time, post how you get that set up, I could use it as well. I hardly ever see my fire shrimp, he hides behind the rocks, occassionally catch a glimpse of him when I feed the fish. Don't give up on him yet! Sounds like the rest of the tank is doing ok, sans the algae... |
I thought this would be a simple reply about the relays and such, but it's grown into a great-big DIY write-up, so I'll post it later when I have more time
Right now I must do a WC on the DT :smile: |
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Busy, busy, busy Thanks for the empathy, and for following along :mrgreen: I just finally finished my WC. Stupid smartphone, stupid house phone, stupid e-mail, yada yada yada Plus I received a shipment today from Reefwater. These guys should become a SPONSOR :wink: Nice and fast shipping. Brain-dead customer ... I have to place another order as I needed 2 and assumed set meant '2', but it appears in this case it's just one ... :noidea: They sell them in singles, but I obviously missed the part in the cart about needing 2 :twised: OK, the exciting WC I siphoned off the top layer of sand, washed it, and replaced it I've been doing this about every month, or 6 weeks. I haven't kept track, but will now It seems to work well enough while I'm going through the re-balancing of my tank - no ill effects to be noted Whatever it is, and I don't care right now, but it looks like diatoms and a lighter green than cyano Buh-bye ugly green/brown top layer, hello nice clean sand :smile: Oooo look, a pic It's not the best, but for now, it's a pic :wink: http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps272b5097.jpg |
I demand more pictures......
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Looking good Greg!
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I did the write up on my ATO floats and relays |
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Here's some pics, but this is all you get I am too busy with my 4th Class Power Engineering Studying to keep my build thread updated ... My camera is crappy Rich, from here on in, I don't care what you ask for, I am too busy to post :wink::wink: Some pics and this is all you get, for probably the next 6 or 8 months http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...psdb4ead39.jpg http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps45b41e6a.jpg http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps1f9c0218.jpg http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...psd35d2d1a.jpg http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...psfda76bc6.jpg http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps7c8897fb.jpg |
Some nice sticks there, Greg. Coming along I would say
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Thanks Wayne
It's been a long road for the SPS recovery I cut the lighting in half to help with the healing and started feeding very heavily Lately there has been some good signs of improvement, so I started bumping the lights a bit Then I went on a coral-purchasing binge 'cause I had a couple hours today .... :rolleyes: We'll see how things go .. Pics to come later |
No new coral pics yet. I'm waiting for them to look a little better
Here's something else to report Tuesday, 5am, I wake to the sound of rattling eggcrate ... Bleary-eyed, I get up to investigate and what do I find ? Asrai flopping around on top of the eggcrate, about an inch away from carpet surfing behind the stand :surprise: I got her back in the water pretty easily Then, too tired to realise I should go back to bed, I found myself standing there, staring at the eggcrate and wondering "how the heck did a 2-1/2" Lubbock's get through eggcrate?" I stumbled back into bed, but the ol' brain wouldn't shut down I lay there thanking the fishy god that saved her from a fuzzy slow-death, and started devising a plan for a surround canopy that will fit my suspended fixture. Next thing I knew it was time to get up for work When I got home last night, Donna was amazed that I woke up, even thought I can sleep through so many other things :noidea: RKE alarm, Tunze alarm, overflowing chaeto tank, snails in the Vortechs They're fishy noises ... I wake up to them :lol: So, the eggcrate is gone and now anyone who jumps can flop around on top of either the center brace or the overflow cover until they dive back in Last night, with some help from my wife, a roll of packing tape, and a $6 sheet of white corrugated plastic, I made a temp surround It rests inside the top trim Cut-outs for the returns and wiring http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...psfd897eca.jpg Vents - fibreglass mesh http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...psb3be22d4.jpg Feeding door http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps5a81c806.jpg The glow that I will cover with some black on the outside At first it looked kinda cool, but as soon as we're below fixture level, it's pretty irritating as it glows right in our eyes http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps85295988.jpg I'm pondering making something similar that will match the pine Aqueon stand with 2 front access doors, a vent and an exhaust fan |
Hey Greg, have you ever thought of the BRS 1/⁴ netting?
I made two screens which perfectly fit the two openings of the tank and works very well... I have 4 wrasses and the jump all day. if you want to see it, I can take some pics, out you can come over one day. |
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Thanks for the heads up, and the visit offer I've looked at that mesh before, and was thinking about it for a short while, but I don't like how it's turned out for many others (sagging), and I need to block the light from our fixture anyway I've been using a black garbage bag taped to the light for a year already :rolleyes: and this was the kick in the pants I needed I want to make a wood surround that rests on the top trim, painted white inside and black outside It will allow me to raise the light higher (with the white paint) so hopefully there's less heat penetrating the water I won't have to remove the eggcrate everytime I want to get my arm wet, or wash it when we get food on it etc etc etc And when I want to get seriously wet, I will only need to raise the light and remove the rectangular wood piece It'll also cut down on the 'glow' we get from the light hitting the back, white-painted wall |
I use lexan covers for all my tanks. So much simpler and more effective than egg crate or mesh. Covers can be in multiple pieces, doors, holes, or any way you want. Can't get any easier for access and maintenance. Very easy to bend, shape, drill and cut (just with tin snips, no saw required), and doesn't crack or warp like plexi.
And dramatically cuts down your evaporation, which is better for your house, too. Also great light transmission (different than plexi), and easy to keep clean (I just remove and wipe mine down about once a month, or longer). I also have built in vented canopies, which is great for lighting. Just another idea for your consideration... |
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You have a nice tank, Greg!
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I got the canopy/light surround cut yesterday and half glued together tonight. I hope to glue the 2 halves together tomorrow night, fit the door hinges maybe on Wed and cut the trim, then sand it all down and get some primer/sealer on it by the weekend Looks like I have to work Sat, so maybe I'll get it painted on Sun, and then be able to install it by the end of next week after the paint cures some I'll be using a pair of 80mm fan guards for the fresh air intakes, and a 140mm fan for exhaust, with a piece of fiberglass mesh covering the fan The semi-massive rectangular opening will be my access behind a pair of doors Hopefully, when it's all done, it will sorta match the Aqueon stand, but only by the door widths and the outside dimensions The wife didn't want it exactly the same as she doesn't like the stand much, so I had to tone down the build and make it a bit sleeker than a bunch of verticle pine planks Except now it's just big, horizontal pine planks :rolleyes: This new surround will also allow me to raise the lights another 3", so hopefully I'll be able to turn on some of the other colors I've been missing since the corals started to bleach It will put the bulbs about 10-1/2" (guesstimate) above the water http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps1599b5a4.jpg http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...pseb9542a7.jpg |
I won't bore you all with the rest of the build pics for the surround
The basic idea was to have it semi-match the stand, but be a bit sleeker to satisfy the wife The door widths match the stand when closed, but open fully without a center brace I used a primer/sealer and then 3 coats of zero VOC gloss white on the inside, and 2 coats of satin black on the outside If I ever make another one, I'll use a satin black Minwax stain on the outside I have the light 'just' resting on it on foam to block light bleed, while still having some tension on the support cables The whole thing comes off in less than a minute if I wanna get crazy 'arms deep' Here it is all done http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps01d361cf.jpg http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps3369e07b.jpg I had to add a bunch of black weather-stripping to the insides of the doors to block light bleed http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps0c46705e.jpg I had to add a support front to back as the thin horizontal face wants to warp inwards http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps4edd9825.jpg |
And because it's been over a year ...
June 7, 2012 http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC01083.jpg June 7, 2013 http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps9613e7df.jpg I'm off to make my first batch of home-made fish food |
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The finished project looks great though! Good job! I like the weather striping idea to prevent the light bleed. Nothing worse than sitting down and that one crack shining right in your peripheral vision. |
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One last touch up will be to add some deflectors on the end of the light fixture, the air intakes and the fan Then the only light will be from the glass and we can re-hang our picture without a big stipe of light through it |
Couple updates
The RBTA I got from Rich in Feb has become 3 :lol: I'm super happy they are staying where I placed the first one They are a bit deflated as I still haven't ramped the lights up fully yet I keep feeding them about once a month, and they get lots of fish food http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps0a3e1a33.jpg And here's my home-made food in the trays I used 1/2 bag of scallops, 1 bag of seafood medley, 4oz mysis, a bunch of pacifica plankton, some cyclopeeze, and a healthy dose of garlic and aminomega I thought for sure I was gonna have problems finding somewhere to freeze all this food but, after I started spreading it out in the trays, it quickly became evident there's lots of room as I only got 315 cubes out of the mix So with the current fish load, this recipe should last me about 9 1/2 months, unless I need to use more than 1 cube per day I'll find out tonight when I feed with this stuff for the first time :wink: Thanks Kien for your post about making the food, and thanks Mindy for the link to buy these silicone trays :smile: http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps6116ba92.jpg |
Those trays are cool. Smaller than I was expecting. Do you still have the link for them?
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There's 90 cubes per tray and I bought 2 pairs Some reviews aren't too forgiving, but I had no issues removing a couple cubes tonight for a feeding Casabella silicone mini ice cube trays I put mine through the dishwasher when they arrived, and then rinsed them in RO. I'm a bit anal :rolleyes: |
Sweet, Thanks!
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how about a recipe for your food concoction? ;)
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I read on the web about this and that, and made my food based on what others say is good, and what I had in the freezer :smile: Because my fish are small, I chopped my stuff much smaller than most might I used; 1/2 bag scallops 1 bag seafood medley 4oz mysis 18 cubes pacifica plankton 4 cubes cyclopeeze And 3-5 eye droppers of garlic and aminomega I used the plankton as it was going to be wasted (getting burnt in the freezer), and the cyclopeeze is for the corals and small fish. Whatever, it'll be eaten :smile: I checked on my blending throughout the process to ensure the fish could eat the size of food I was making I thawed the scallops and medley in a pot of RO, then chopped it really small with my X-mas present blender. I used the big bowl that came with mine, not the cup. I rinsed it with RO in the re-usable coffee filter and put it in a mixing bowl I thawed the mysis, plankton and cyclopeeze in RO, rinsed it with RO, then chopped it also in RO I found the less water you use, the easier it is to watch the blend Once it was all chopped and strained, I blended all the stuff in a bowl and added the garlic and vities Then I spread it into the trays with a spoon and that was it |
you sure like that RO! :)
Sounds like quite the medly, and that they eat better than I do. How much do you suppose all of that cost you, and how long does it last? Is that the only thing you feed to the fish & coral and, how much and how often do you feed? |
We feed our fish some NLS pellets at lunch, and the 'live' food for dinner
I haven't calculated it all, but I'll guess it's about $20-30/year, maybe $40 ? It's much cheaper than feeding mysis every day Go to your local grocer and you'll see how cheap it is to buy the seafood, but make sure you get it 'uncooked' |
OK, I just finished feeding our critters and see how much food they need
I can get away with just one cube per dinner, so my batch of food should last me about 10+ months And they eat it, so all is good :smile: Best part is I don't have to rinse the food anymore and add garlic/vities Just warm it up in a cup of tank water and dump it in :lol: This is great as my time is limited right now, so everything that takes less time is a big help |
Your tank is looking so good! Amazing the changes that take place over a year!!
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Your tank looks so much better than mine :smile: Thanks for the compliment, but really ... I've got all kinds of algae, and slow growth, and blah blah blah |
oh I've certainly contemplated it, and normally look through the seafood section and brain storm what might be good. Fish need oils and guts for proper health. I was going to go to TNT and get some fish guts and some other gory stuff to make a concoction. I'll definitely follow the recipe, with a couple tweaks. ;)
Thanks for the info! |
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Anyway, you've done some great things with your setup that makes the along haul with the tank so much easier! I like the food idea too. I'm rinsing food every couple of days, need to look into this! |
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My wife doesn't mind them, and they are mostly not there, so I don't care I'm surprised to hear about your corraline algae ... are you dosing ALK and Ca ? And are you monitoring/testing them ? I was pretty tired of the food rinsing thingy too, but had no time 'till now to make my own batches You'll love it if you ever do it, but how to store the frozen stuff is questionable I've freezer sealed all my 'other' trays of food with a food saver system, but am not sure what to do with my 'in use' tray .... I've covered it with tin foil while it was wet so it sticks, and then put it in a ziploc and sucked all the air out, but I'm sure it'll still get freezer burnt I like the idea of being able to drop a cube into a cup/dish of water to thaw, and then dump it into the tank 'with no rinsing' :mrgreen: My plan is to cut the tinfoil away from a cube as needed, so whatever happens .... |
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