redsea's 125g Reef Build

[carey]

I also got sand from reefrocks and dint rinse it, it went right into the 60g and was fine.

[redsea]

Bad news :

Last night I looked in the tank and saw my McCosker's Flasher Wrasse dead.



On a different note, I am not sure how much longer I should continue hypo since it seems to have been going for a while now. My problem was that for the past few weeks (before I did the PWC to bring it even lower), the salinity was pretty close to 1.009. It could have been on it, and my eyes just weren't sure where the line was, or it could have been a little higher. I remember that I posted in Florida that when I left that tank was at 1.010, but it is always a bit hard to tell exactly were the line is on my non-digital refractometer. Sorry if that sounded confusing, lol. If you have any questions on what I am babbling about just let me know, lol.


Thanks, you guys are great!

[Hondatek]

Sorry about your loss. How long have you been in hypo again?

[redsea]

Thanks.

The sad part is that I am not entirely sure. I am confident the tank has been low enough since May 4, but before that I am a little unsure. It seems to me that it looked like it might have been over hypo conditions before May fourth at certain times, but I am not 100% sure.

Even if the tank went a little bit over 1.009 in the days before May 4, would it even weaken the ich it all? If so, maybe it had been extremely weakened, then when I brought the tank even lower (on May 4) it died.


I think I probably should have invested in the digital refractometer. LOL.

[Hondatek]

That's a tough call then. If your sure may fourth then i would be inclined to say you still have a while to go. When was the last spot that you have seen?also what fish are in the tank

[redsea]

Originally Posted by Hondatek

That's a tough call then. If your sure may fourth then i would be inclined to say you still have a while to go. When was the last spot that you have seen?also what fish are in the tank

There is a Lawnmower Blenny, Blue Hippo, Clown, and a Scopas Tang.

There are about threeish spots on the Blue Hippo, which I thought might be ich at first, but now am not so sure that it is ich.

Say the 125 had stayed right around 1.009 since I originally got it down there, the tank would have been in hypo for over a month already, the problem is I am just not sure that it did, indeed stay in the range during that time. If I didn't stay in the rage, I am sure it was very close, however.

[Hondatek]

Ok i get the situation a little better now. Bad news is if you still see spots that may be ick I would wait 6 weeks after they all disappear just to be sure . You don't want to stop treatment only to have to start all over again.

[carey]

Really sorry about your wrasse red, that totally sucks.....

I really don't know about the hypo situation unfortunately. Wish i could help on that front....

Are the blue hippos' spots on the skin or under it?

[redsea]

Thanks.


It is a little hard to tell.

I can't even tell if it is ich or not, LOL, but if I HAD to guess, I would probably go with on the skin.

On another note:

I saw one of these in a picture today and LOVED it. (Saltwater Aquarium Inverts for Marine Reef Aquariums: Crinoid Squat Lobster).


Do any of you guys have any of those? In the picture I saw earleir the guy said that the crab had stowed away on a piece of coral. I really like them, but it says that you can only keep one per tank unless you have a mated pair. Oh well, I guess that just means one for each tank! LOL. I love all of the different coloring/patterns too, very cool.

[redsea]

Hi everyone.

Lately I have been thinking about an algae scrubber for this tank. It is definitely not set in stone yet, but I would like to learn more to help me decide if I will use one.

I have an algae scrubber that I made a little while back which is approximately 13ish inches long, and a bit over 10 and a half inches wide. Would this size be okay for my tank?

If I use a scrubber, how to I hang it over my sump, or should I use a separate 10g tank?

What pump would I use for the scrubber I have (if I can use it).

I know a scrubber will help with trates, but will it be able to keep them at zero? If not could I use other methods of filtration like a skimmer and macroalgae with it?


That is it for now, I think I will go take pictures of what I have.

[redsea]

Here are some pictures.

Nothing is glued yet. If I set this up and I need to glue, what kind do I use? Where do I put it?

One end of the scrubber tube is open, and the other side is closed. The open side is shown below in one of the pictures.

The hole in the picture is about four centimeters from top to bottom. Does that help with helping me decide on a pump?

[Hondatek]

That pipe unfortunately will not work. the slot should just be long enough for the screen to fit . Also the screen should be roughed up well. For the pump you want 35 gph for each square inch of screen. Location of the scrubber will depend on your lighting . You need to have the lights perpendicular to the screen. Use regular PVC cement that you would on any plumbing. As far as the skimmer I'm keeping mine until it stop producing skimmate. The macro algae will die because the scrubber will outcompete it. You can check the last few pages of my build and see all the mistakes I made lol.

[FTMMWS]

mikes got you covered ,,also keep in mind your screen length ..It looks pretty long and none of it can bu under the water surface ,so at that length your going to need it pretty high up in the sump

[redsea]

Originally Posted by Hondatek

That pipe unfortunately will not work. the slot should just be long enough for the screen to fit . Also the screen should be roughed up well. For the pump you want 35 gph for each square inch of screen. Location of the scrubber will depend on your lighting . You need to have the lights perpendicular to the screen. Use regular PVC cement that you would on any plumbing. As far as the skimmer I'm keeping mine until it stop producing skimmate. The macro algae will die because the scrubber will outcompete it. You can check the last few pages of my build and see all the mistakes I made lol.

Thank you.

Could I just cut the pipe to the correct size? Or would that expose any toxins or anything?

When I made this I had some weird item to rough up the screen, but I am no longer able to use that. What would you recommend?

[Hondatek]

The issue with cutting the pipe is you want solid pipe on both sides of the screen so when you zip tie it you do not pinch the ends closed. For scuffing the screen a hole saw bit is the tool to use. Here is a pic of one of my failed slot pipes. Notice the slot is just long enough to fit the screen and the rest is solid pipe.

[redsea]

Here is what the scrubber looks like of the sheet is turned on its side. Would this be okay now? Do you guys even think that this size sheet is enough?

Thanks!

[Hondatek]

I think that is a lot better. It would be easier to configure the screen and keep it out of the water . I think the size is just fine IMO but I'm still wet behind the ears as far as scrubber sizing goes.

[Hondatek]

One thing i forgot to mention don't forget that the top of the screen where it slides in the slot should be smooth so you don't grow algae at the top and clog it.

[redsea]

Hi everyone!

This ich is really annoying me! There is a spot on my Scopas' tail, and around three (maybe) spots on the Hippo. Not sure if it is ich that I am seeing. I am considering just starting to get the salinity back up. I had another person check my reading on the refractometer, and they said it looked like 1.006-1.007. I really want to start to fully enjoy the tank, and not be worried about ich, I know right now I am not doing a lot of things which I should, so I would like to start raising and go from there.

What are your thoughts?

[Hondatek]

I had the same issue with my hippo. I sold him . I think you might have to setup another qt and use cuprimine after you bring them to normal salinity. From talking to the guy at Atlantic sea farms. He said for the past year ick is harder and harder to kill with hypo . Not sure if it is true but I experienced it with my hippo tang.