150gal ZEO que dramatic music

[lobsterboy]

Tank size:125gallon
sump: 33 gallon
return pump: Rainbow lifeguard quiet one 4000HH, rated at 980gph, actual 550gph
Tunze DOC 9005 skimmer
Vortex zeo reactor: 1.25 lb of zeolites changed every month, now leaving 10% of old zeolites mixed with fresh zeolites
Two little fishes phosban reactor, running zeovit carbon, 1cup changed every 2 weeks.

Current:
x2 Tunze 6065 steams, 1717gph
x1 tunze 1100 gph nano stream
x1 Vortech gen1, 3000gph <-- died last night, more on that in up coming post
x1 Vortech mp40 set on reef crest mode

Lighting: changed every 3months
Nova extreme PRO T5, 12 blubs
2, 39wt Corallight 10k
4, 39wt Fiji purple KZ
6, 39wt New Generations KZ

5% water changed, every two weeks

Tank Parms:
temp: 78-80f
ca-420-dosing 6.1 tsp CA morning
kh-6.5-7.5-dosing 12 tsp carbonate night with top up water
k+ 390-400
mg-1400

ZEO dosing schedule: all done at night after lights out

Everyday:
5 drop coral vitalizer
5 drop sponge power
2ml phols xtra
2 drop amino acid SPS
6 drop Stylo glow
0.3ml Zeostart twice daily (morning and evening)
1ml K-balance, very rare occassions.

Every other day dosing:

5 drop zeobak
5 drop zeofood
5ml B-balance twice weekly
zeospur2 every 21 days, dosed with 5 drops Jodi komplex
2 drop KZ iron done on saturday

Once a month
10ml Zeospur Macro elements

[lobsterboy]

so recently i had some set backs with my equipment. and live stock.
so i get up yesterday morning at 5am to head to work, i always take a peek at the tank before i leave, even with the lights off. and i see my yellow tang which i have had for 5years stuck to the side of the vortech lifeless.
RIP buddy.
pic from better times


while still feeling down, i was vonurable to all the new fish at Red Coral and came home with a fat purple tang, Kevin had 6 in stock and they were all eating like pigs and looked like it.
he was welcomed by my tomi tang, which soon left him alone. and yes thats a huge bubble algae growing out of the birdnest.



so already it wasnt the best start of the day, so after work, at 9pm
i decided to replace the two new 10k lamps that i got from Red Coral.



i then thought it would be a perfect time to clean the acrylic cover so i go to get the vinager, when i trip on the leg of the fixture and snap it back breaking the leg, i was flippin last night.
this is what got cracked.


i tried glueing it by clamping it down,



then buffing out the xtra glue, it was 2:30am when i finally got it back onto the fixture, what a sigh of relief i thought as i pushed it back to line it up when i hear *CRACK* it broke again, i set the fixture on the coffee table to deal with in the morning.
which i did, by going to a big box aquarium store and finding the last pair of replacment legs. this issue was solved.

but while waiting for the glue to harden post breaking the leg, the top of the tank was wide open, so i took the opp to take a top down pic.


naked tank



i also took the opp to clean my vortech, which needed a good cleaning.
i took some of the algae of it, and put it back in the tank, then it doesnt want to start, just giving spurts of on and off, so i take it out take the back plate off, and there was a black bump, i thought it was some kinda crazy sponge that liked to be spun around and around, then i tried to take it off, and what comes out is black oxidized iron (i am guessing) and it was eating away at the black of the disk. so the wet side is shot.




then i go to Red Coral in the late morning, and Kevin hooks me up with a replacement part, and i get it home and still doesnt work. i go back to red coral and Kevin tested different scenerios of the pump, long story short its shot. Kevin was awesome as he lent me the stores vortech until the new mp40 will arrive, which will be in a few weeks.
thanks Kevin. tank is up and running again

so it was a great day off today, i got to go the red coral 3 times in the last two days, and i got to spend sometime with the tank, as well a new fish.

good times.

[lastlight]

Despite your setbacks I love your tank not to mention that very nice new fish you go there. I was expecting to hear of some bleaching with you getting new bulbs and cleaning the cover at the same time but I'm glad to read (and see) the corals are still awesome.

[Lance]

That was a run of bad luck. Hopefully that's the last of it.

[Dez]

I'm glad that it was all bittersweet in the end. I'm looking forward to one day seeing your set up in person. Everything looks amazing in there as usual.

[kien]

i do love them purple tangs! would have a boat load of them if i could. glad to hear that these were just minor glitches :-)

ps: i am inviting myself over sometime, watch out!

[lastlight]

Look out for his level 5 spoon attack dude.

[Coleus]

Wow. I would freak out if that happens to me. But i don't have a vortech :-)

[globaldesigns]

Sorry to hear about your mishaps, but as others stated, and I also agree, your tank is beautiful.

You now have me worried about the vortechs, as I just bought one. Was yours a gen 1 or gen 2.

[shrimpchips]

Wasn't that one of the primary problems with the wetsides fo the Gen1's? The uncoated magnet often led to the failure of the pumps. Good to see you're having that sorted out though.

Do you really replace your bulbs every three months? - did I read that correctly?

Tank looks awesome BTW