55 reef reboot

[MacDracor]

Hey all. I've been absent long enough I bet no one remembers me! I just went through a period of upheaval that included end of a relationship, change of career, two moves, and loss of my primary vehicle. As a result, my reef tank suffered greatly. Things have stabilized quote a bit, and I think it's safe to begin investing in the hobby again. I've only lost one fish, but all my hard corals perished, probably because I wasn't able to keep up on water changes or change my T5 bulbs.
Newcomers, let my story be an example. This hobby is not cheap.
I'm caught up and anticipating a very nice bonus next month, so this is the agenda. I just purchased a 4-stage RO/DI unit from purewaterclub. It's the $60 one. Carey mentioned having used it in a different thread, and that's all the endorsement that I need! The only corals still alive are mushrooms and Kenya tree, so I'm not bothering with the lights until the bonus check next month. At that point, I'm getting two of the taotronics reef LED lights. The dimmable ones. I considered getting the programmables, but since I already have a spare timer, it seemed excessive.
Another lesson for newcomers! Invest in lights! My T5s were never good nough for anything more than hardy LPS, and now that the bulbs are more than a year old, all they really grow are algae. Pics to come. You won't like them.
Anyone in the tacoma, Washington area with a healthy tank willing to share some micro fauna, I'd be happy to pay. I'd rather not have to buy bristle worms online. Just seems silly.
So, kiddos, the moral of the story is to always have money in savings, and make smart long term plans for not just yourself, but your fish tanks.

[Sniperhank]

Great to see you back! Can't wait to see the recovery project. Also glad to see you coming over to LEDs as well! They grow algae real good . But really, I love my radions and am sure you'll enjoy the taotronics. Remind me to try to get the containers together at some point and I'll try to overnight some green tipped birds nest that has become a weed in my tank.

[MacDracor]

Thanks, man! I won't have the new lights for about a month, but when I get them, I'd love some bird nest! PM me with how much you want for a frag or two.
I'm attaching some pictures of how bad it is now, so that it'll be more impressive once everything is up to where I want it. Lol

[MacDracor]

Woot! RO unit arrived! Already flushed it and am making my first bucket now!

[MacDracor]

And on that note, my bathroom faucet apparently sucks and cannot handle the back pressure. Have to use the kitchen sink.

[Tmar]

I am following this! Looks like it has potential for a very beautiful finish
Too bad about your bathroom & backflow, I got hubby to install a whole NEW utility sink and cabinet for me downstairs. I can now have him mount the new RO/DI system right in the cabinet, when I get it

[MacDracor]

Thanks! When I first set up, I took some shortcuts and paid for it over the last year. Now it's time to spend the money to do it right!
I added three Astraea snails and a few blue leg and red leg hermits. With the ability to control water quality now, I figure they can help get the algae under control. The snails have already gotten started on the back wall.

[MacDracor]

I think I found a slightly lower priced alternative to the taotronics LEDs I was planning on buying. Now, I don't recognize the brand, so can anyone tell me anything about this?

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewi...d=181256767592

[Sniperhank]

Looks like someone in the us buying them bulk and selling for profit to me.

[MacDracor]

Originally Posted by Sniperhank

Looks like someone in the us buying them bulk and selling for profit to me.

That would seem to imply that you might know a cheaper place to get these directly. If so, please share! Lol

[Sniperhank]

I don't, but have read conversations about people importing them before. Isn't too hard to believe.

[MacDracor]

Ah well, anyone importing and selling will be doing so for a profit. I think I found these same lights on amazon, and they show as having a 120 degree lighting angle, and from what I've read, I think I want 90. I sent the seller a message and will report back when he does. If they are 90, then I'll save the $80 on two of those. If not, I'll eat the difference to get what I want.
I'm also looking into a wave controller and an extra powerhead. What is the most economical a) soft start controller or b) pumps that can handle hard start?
The hydor smart wave is hard start, so if I go with that then I need hard start pumps, and hydor's are a bit pricey. Thoughts?

[Sniperhank]

I don't have a firm understanding of these controllers...my pumps run all day long without issue, all i know.

[MacDracor]

It may be completely unnecessary, but here's why I've been thinking about it. I want tabling acropora. I think tabling acros are the coolest coral growth form ever. But I also know growth form is affected by environment, and a wild tabling variety may not table in an aquarium. My hope is that by recreating the random, turbulent flow of a reel reef, my odds of success will increase. Anyone have experience with tabling acropora?

[Sniperhank]

I had a red and green planet acros. My red died in a power outage and the green is just growing slowly. Only in my tank that were supposed to table.

[MacDracor]

I was feeling like the algae wasn't getting any better, when I decided to compare with that pic I posted here before, and I was surprised at just how big a change there is. Funny how the snails do more when it's not growing back instantly! Yay for water quality control!

[Animal-Chin]

Are you going to do any manual removal? I'd be scraping that glass and removing the rock and scrubbing them. I can't see snails cleaning all that up?

[MacDracor]

I'm kinda using the snails and hermits vs algae to measure how well I'm getting things rebalanced. Over the past year, it got so out of control that it was growing faster than anything could eat it. Now that they're making headway, I know the algae growth has slowed down a lot. There are some dead spots in the tank I can't reach with my siphon hose, so it's been a battle. But I've never minded algae on the back wall anyway. I'm really more concerned with the algae on the rocks. Not adding any coral until that's under control.
So between the snails, crabs, and more frequent water changes, it's getting there.

[Criptix]

Thanks for sharing!You have some great information!

[MacDracor]

Thanks, Cryptix! I shared this story so that others can learn from my mistakes. Like, get your own RO unit, don't skimp on lights, and don't let dead spots lie. Lol