120g startup!

[Michael E.]

About a week ago, we had a temperature spike in the palm springs area! knowing how the summers are, I figured that was a good reminder to get this chiller situation taken care of. I found a used 1/4 hp Aquaeuro chiller. The plan was to place it next to my aquarium stand and just simply pipe it into my sump. However, my other half saw the chiller next to my stand as an interior design FAIL. With my plan crushed, i had to find another solution. Because the aquarium is against a wall that borders the garage, i was going to just plumb it into the garage. The problem there is that the ambient temp was too high for the chiller.

Luckily, my LFS had a used commercial stlye 1/3hp chiller. It wasn't fully working, so he gave it to me. The unit was flat on refrigerant. I fixed the leak, filled it up, and tested! It worked well after that! The ambient temp for this chiller is 130sh, so the garage was an option with the new chiller.

Materials:
-PVC-1"
-Eflux 1900gph DC pump (my fear with this pump was lift, but it didnt end up being a problem at all! The pump is super quiet, and in fact had to be dialed down)
-Aqua Logic Temp Controller (temperature probe was extended to the DT)

She wasnt totally thrilled on the piping in her garage, but it was a compromise

The wires were put into a a composite cover

 

[Michael E.]

Photo bombers

 

[Michael E.]

Update:

Had a massive tank die off. Corals are looking great, but some type of bacterial/parasite was introduced to the system. Luckily I had a hospital tank, and my old 44g rimless still set up. I was able to transfer a couple fish to them. However, ive lost roughly 15 fish.

Its completely my fault, as i did not properly QT a few anthias i had brought in. Like everyone, i was eager to get the fish in to the DT. What i thought was normal discoloration on one of them, quickly spread to the rest of the tank. Its been a long process catching and trying to save some of the fish. I have successfully brought back my Naso, sailfin and a couple clowns. the naso is no longer in medicated water. He is in the 44g rimless, being observed. The other two are receiving regular doses of recommended antibiotics.

Its a major bummer, and somewhat stressful. Thankfully it was a coral die off, but its sad, because the fish are my favorite part of the display. I can definitely say I will never be rushing a QT again. If a fish doesn't look perfectly healthy, hes not going into the tank.

 

[Michael E.]

Here is an updated pic of my coral growth. Its not the best picture, but everything has been growing incredibly fast and well over the past year. Ill post some better pics of each coral soon.