55 Patience is a Virtue Seawater Build

[Sniperhank]

Good idea on scrubbing out the soft spots. I actually left some in the lr I got the second time around and got some interesting hitchhikers months down the road.

 

[San Raphael Catfish]

Read soft spots are where mantis shrimp like to hide.

 

[apet66]

Read soft spots are where mantis shrimp like to hide.

Wish I would've read that before I put all my rock in. My mantis hitch hiker is almost 2" long now.

 

[San Raphael Catfish]

My wife told me she is getting me the CPR Large Aquafuge 2 with protein skimmer. Can hardly wait. That will quiet down my system a lot as I have a loud HOB filter with chaeto in it running at the moment.

Update -- it has been ordered and will get here between this Friday and the following Wednesday. I hope that it gets here before the weekend.


SRC

 

[San Raphael Catfish]

Found our old Brita pitcher. Gonna use it to filter my tap water until I can get an RODI system. Figure it is better than nothing.

SRC

 

[ReefNoob0424]

Just keep in mind about the waste ratio and do you have a septic tank?

 

[San Raphael Catfish]

I don't see how I can have a septic tank. I have probably done over 100 gallons in water changes on my 55 gallon tank in 5 weeks. I have healthy livestock and running purigen in my frequently cleaned canister.

 

[San Raphael Catfish]

Or do you mean septic tank as in not on a sewer system? You mean "Waste Water" ratio? And filling a septic tank? When I see "tank" on an aquarium site, I think fish tank.

 

[ReefNoob0424]

Yeah I mean your cesspool. The RO unit I'm getting has 3:1 ratio but for how frequent and the quantity I'm fine with my cesspool.

 

[San Raphael Catfish]

Not gonna be a water problem. It is a dollar problem.

 

[ReefNoob0424]

Isn't always?

 

[San Raphael Catfish]

Stupid algae bloom. My new refugium and protein skimmer can't get here soon enough. I have Chaeto in my HOB filter, but I think that it must not be a good environment for Chaeto to grow in. I think that it is dying and shedding nutrients all over the tank. PWC today.

Saw my first bristle worm this morning. Couldn't get my tweezers in time. Only got a piece of it as it went in a hole. The peppermint shrimp went nuts trying to get at the rest of it.

 

[San Raphael Catfish]

I am at work. My new refugium and skimmer are waiting for me to get home and set them up.

 

[San Raphael Catfish]

Putting the fuge to bed my first night with CPR refugium and skimmer.

SRC

 

[San Raphael Catfish]

My old freshwater hood lights with 15w full spectrum bulbs. CPR sells a 24 watt refugium light. I am going 30w. Mounted them to the wall and they are gonna be on 24 hours a day, growing my macro algae.

SRC

 

[San Raphael Catfish]

Even after all that, still throwing .25ppm nitrites. Completely new floss in the canister as of Satuday morning.

The refugium is filled with 3 baseball sized clumps of Chaeto. Fuge lights running 24 hours a day. Skimmer is pulling out about a 1/2 cup to a cup a day. Feeding is down to 1 time a day. Feeding flake food 3 out of 4 days. The fourth day is a 1/3 of a cube of frozen food. The snails are doing a great job cleaning algae. 1/3 pwc on Sunday.

My displays lights are now on a timer. Running 8 hours a day, four in the morning and four in the evening.

This coming Sunday I am going to Coralprops for their open house and plan to pick up a ricordea and see if they have any other specials going on.

SRC <><

Please let me know if you are following this thread or if I am just talking to myself.

 

[TommyP]

Looks good

 

[San Raphael Catfish]

Finally! Keep this up and I see no reason not to get a coral as I go to an open house at a coral greenhouse on Sunday.

 

[San Raphael Catfish]

Got more new corals. Pink Birds Nest Stylophora, Ricordea (super fun, glows really bright under actinic), blue mushroom, and star polyps. Need to spend a couple days under actinic, and then I will take photos of them under white and post them here. Coralprops was having an openhouse this weekend and I had to go.

SRC <><

 

[TommyP]

Sounds like some good pieces. Cant wait to see the pics