Buffy's 1st Ever SW Build - Reef Tank

[Buffy]

Marine Depot - Off Topic

Has anyone completely read the letter you receive from Marine Depot when they ship your products?

It gave me a solidly good chuckle.

 

[Buffy]

Update

Ok well looks like no one has read the shipment letter, I did and found it quite cute and funny.

Anyway - Ammonia 0; Nitrite 0; Nitrate 40; pH 7.8. Looks like a little buffering and water change and should be good to start putting all my corals and fish in the main display again!!!! woohoo!!!!

I have this powder in a bottle called pH 8.2. I hope that is what I use to bring the pH up and if so then I'm gonna need to go get more. What does everyone else do to bring their pH up?

I'm also gonna test for everything that I have tests for before I put everyone so 1 I have a starting basis and 2 I will see if I need to "dose" anything else.


Back later, gonna do a pwc and add some of the buffering til I hear from everyone and how/with what they maintain pH.

Well I edited so I could try to add a picture but I'm still getting the same error and now a new one has come up;
Oops! This page appears broken. DNS Error - Server cannot be found.



Guess I won't be posting any pictures any time soon.

 

[scottayy]

I don't mess with my pH. As long as it's stable everything is fine. If you're getting a stable 7.8 I wouldn't mess with it.

This is what i was advised long ago and has worked out well.

The DNS error means the nameservers are down, being updated, or your computer is having trouble reaching them.

You could try the following:

Open a command prompt as administrator - Start Menu > Programs > Accessories > Right click on command prompt, choose run as administrator

Type ipconfig /flushdns
Press enter

Retry

 

[Buffy]

I don't mess with my pH. As long as it's stable everything is fine. If you're getting a stable 7.8 I wouldn't mess with it.

This is what i was advised long ago and has worked out well.

The DNS error means the nameservers are down, being updated, or your computer is having trouble reaching them.

You could try the following:

Open a command prompt as administrator - Start Menu > Programs > Accessories > Right click on command prompt, choose run as administrator

Type ipconfig /flushdns
Press enter

Retry

Hey you forgot to tell me how to exit from there LMAO, (I knew already - I've messed around in dos before especially since before windows came about), so but thank you for your help but :=( sad to say it didn't work, I'll go the photo bucket route.


Has anybody watched their Mandarin's sleep? I thought he was dead, his coloring was almost white except for the lines, his eyes were 1/2 closed and he wasn't moving. Then I saw his eyes pop open and he moved a little, then more and then I was okay. Came back to check on him a few hours later and his color was back. Well I just got home and his coloring is white again, he's in the corner and is eyes are well honestly they seem to be everywhere without moving if that makes sense. I'm thinking that when I get up in the morning he'll be moving around and his color will be back, cause I think he's off in to the soft clouds of neverland in fish world.

 

[needmorecowbell]

Yep dragonets do that. My scooter Blenny sleeps at the bottom of the sandbed at night and is very lethargic during that time.

 

[Buffy]

Lot of questions then HELP issue just started - read at bottom

This was unusual....I got my order of Reef PODS. I ordered from Marine Depot, they were in a box with a return label of AlgaGen (was first line) for Drs. Foster & Smith (was 2nd line) lol. I guess our suppliers all work hand in hand. Which if so, I think that is awesome.

So now, they sent 3 bottles in a cooler. The bottles of course are cool but am I supposed to store them in refrigerator now, it doesn't say.


@needmorecowbell - does yours change colors too or almost lose all of it's coloring? I will try to get a picture on here from photobucket sometime today.

My Photobucket needs some major work. I'm working on trying to do the 3 pieces of plexiglass for the sump now. I have the return pump. I have an overflow (Esopps 90 I think) (believe this....one of the managers at work (bout 3 supervisor levels above my supervior) gave me the overflow when I ran into him at the tour of Diver's Den LMAO. I don't have protein skimmer. Am looking at getting: Reef Octopus Needle/Pin Wheel Protein Skimmer

It's out of stock right now but what ya'll think? In the meantime I need to know how to set up and be ready for when it comes in or can I use my sump with out it for now?

I also will need to do the plumbing from the overflow to the sump. Do I need any other sections besides the skimmer one, the refuge one and the return one?

How do I know if I need to make a "shelf" for the skimmer and pump?

Also last question (for now :-0) the footprint? Does this mean the dimensions of the piece of equipment, like width times length?

OOps see, here's another - how do I know how high to make my baffles (I think that's what they are called)?

How do I know how much of the skimmer needs to be under water?

Ok dang it, another one, where (what section) do I put my hob phosphate reactor?

Ok I think I'm done for now. If you answer can you number them please, I'm gonna go ahead and put numbers on them, I know there are alot but I'm getting ready to put the sections in now.


Holy crappppppppp, I'm sitting here typing and I hear a splash next to me so I look and it's the 10g qt, I look to see if there is a fish on the floor when SPLASH!!!!! I see my mandarin trying to jump out of the tank. I have eggcrate on top, thankfully, but it doesn't cover around the filter so I quik threw a valance on the end and stuffed it in alittle.

Since when do Mandarins JUMP???? Scared the crap out of me. He's at the top of the tank instead of down bottom where he is supposed to be? How Come????? He looks like he just started breathing faster (mouth opening and closing more than it was). Stress????

 

[needmorecowbell]

sounds like stress. i would start a thread for it, a lot of people can help. my 6 line wrasse jumped in the first 2 hours and i was lucky enough to be there. there was no stress with mine, but i got lucky.

and yes, my blenny gets a greyish color when he is sleeping. the red on the tail is a little blander too.

 

[scottayy]

It's out of stock right now but what ya'll think? In the meantime I need to know how to set up and be ready for when it comes in or can I use my sump with out it for now?

You can use your sump without it, definitely.

I also will need to do the plumbing from the overflow to the sump. Do I need any other sections besides the skimmer one, the refuge one and the return one?

Nope, that sounds quite good! And it's the "typical" setup.

How do I know if I need to make a "shelf" for the skimmer and pump?

Your skimmer should have instructions for how deep of water it should be ran in, a minimum and a maximum. If your water is too deep, you'd make a shelf to raise the skimmer up to it's recommended level.

Also last question (for now :-0) the footprint? Does this mean the dimensions of the piece of equipment, like width times length?

The footprint is the size of the bottom of it, so you know if you can fit it in your sump. The width and length will be listed.

OOps see, here's another - how do I know how high to make my baffles (I think that's what they are called)?

Yep, that's what they're called! Make them as high as you want them, but leave room for overflow water when the power is shut off. The last baffle before your return section will determine the depth of the water in the sump.

How do I know how much of the skimmer needs to be under water?

The manual, googling, or playing with it and finding out it's best depth!

Ok dang it, another one, where (what section) do I put my hob phosphate reactor?

Any of them I have mine bridging my intake and fuge sections.

 

[Buffy]

WOW, thank you for answering so many of my questions. Sorry it turned out to be so long.

Update on Mandarin.....Bugger gave me a scare cause he's not trying to jump and he's back down around the bottom and was just chilling, no heavy breathing. WHEW.

However, I bought those 2 striped fish with the yellow forehead and well they were both hanging around under the big rock in my qt and today, there's only one of them in the tank. Randall's Goby is still there too.

I can't find him on the floor, under the table nor under the chair, he's not in the filter and I have 3 pieces of pvc and 2 rocks....one big and 1 pretty small. I can't find the bugger anywhere. I even looked in the holes on the big rock with a magnifying glass and I from I can see, I don't see him buried in there. There are not any body parts laying around or in the intake to the filter, put a new filter in and check the floss of the old one, nope not there either.

He has just vanished!!!!!!!

 

[redsea]

Did you find him yet?

My best guess is that your fish is just being tricky and found a great spot in the rock.

 

[Buffy]

Did you find him yet?

My best guess is that your fish is just being tricky and found a great spot in the rock.

No I haven't found him yet. If he did hide in a hole, he hid very well and is now in DT. I now have a Mandarin, Randall Goby, Yellow forehead goby, 3 crabs, Frogspawn coral, Finger coral, and a Green Eyed Yellow Skirt Zoa and a whole bottle of Reef Pods in my DT tank. WOOHOO! Am gonna add 3 or 4 more corals to my DT tonite along with another bottle.

Plexiglass is all cut for my sump, need to file edges yet. guess I need to order a filter sock and holder plus a protein skimmer, some algae and a ton of pods. then hopefully off for plumbing stuff.

 

[Buffy]

Nothing special going on, still no sign of the one goby, oh well.

 

[redsea]

Sorry for your loss, I know that it is frustrating.

 

[needmorecowbell]

He might've jumped. My wrasse did that to me one time but luckily I found him. He was fine after, not stressed at all.

Sorry man, hopefully you find him.

 

[Buffy]

He might've jumped. My wrasse did that to me one time but luckily I found him. He was fine after, not stressed at all.

Sorry man, hopefully you find him.

Thanks ya'll.

Didn't you just buy some led's if xo what did you buy?

 

[needmorecowbell]

Yep, here's my vid review.

I also have a thread called taotronics on a thirty gallon? Which is like a review, I think there are links to the fixture in it.

 

[Buffy]

Thanks, Uhm I don't think he did the suicide leap cause I've cleaned everywhere and vacuumed, nothing nada zilch.

I'm finally ordering a protein skimmer and a filter sock holder and sock. Plexiglass is all cut, waiting for skimmer to figure out the layout/dimensions.


Am so glad I got into the Group Buy, I didn't one to wait another month but I would have. I saved 20.00 on skimmer, 10% on the sock holder and 10% on the sock.

 

[Buffy]

Clean up crew and an update

I am trying to figure out a clean up crew. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I've got almost everyone back in the 75 G. I'm taking my time. When I get everyone in, I will get some pictures, though I am thinking it is going to be a couple days. I finally got the right hand side rock to stop falling down, I feel a little more comfortable putting everyone back now. Except I am getting hair algae growing.

It doesn't help when I only have 2 crabs in there, well maybe one now, I was moving a rock last night and some claws fell out. ugg. The 20G has 1 large turbo, 1 or 2 snails and 2 or 3 crabs. I didn't start out with many as the LFS didn't have much in that dept.

Still in the 20G, I have the Fire Fish, 2 Spotted Cardinals, 2 Fire Shrimp, 1 Blue Tuxedo Urchin (which looks like a walking trash can) 1 zoa and 4 Acorpora left (had to break a big one down, they keep going white for some reason) and 2 pieces of rock that I hope I can find a place for. Everyone else is in 75G.

Still no sign of the one Sleeper Goby, the other one is doing find and stays under a rock most of the time. The Randall Goby, finds a spot and just stares, doesn't hardly move, he looks like a statue, my Mandardin is okay so far, every night the lights go out he swims up and down the right side of the tank and trys to suicide jump and smacks himself on the egg crate a couple of times, but he doesn't hit it that much considering how many splashes I hear and see everynite. LOL Maybe he's trying to knock him self silly, ohhhh wait, he already is silly LMAO.

Thanks.

 

[Ibrahim]

Maybe order a CUC from reef cleaners. I got my CUC for my 75g for $30 and they were a great help

 

[Buffy]

Maybe order a CUC from reef cleaners. I got my CUC for my 75g for $30 and they were a great help

Thanks, I saw they had a custom section, so I used that to see what they would suggest, there are so many different that I've gotten lost.


Needmorecowbell - Finally got a chance to look at your video, thank you, it was a great help. Was that from overseas? I'm kinda leary ordering outside the states. Least here I can drive there (at some point) and give them a piece of my mind lol.