And now for something a little different ...

[LBReefer]

Its still a work in progress, but I feel somewhat better.

 

[LBReefer]

I had to remove the canopy to pull out the square base I had built. After removing it, I decided I preferred the way the system looked without the canopy altogether.

My first attempt at hanging the light from the ceiling started well ...

 

[LBReefer]

I had to remove the canopy to pull out the square base I had built. After removing it, I decided I preferred the way the system looked without the canopy altogether.

My first attempt at hanging the light from the ceiling started well ...

 

[LBReefer]

That didn't last long. The ceiling tile I drilled into gave way. Thankfully the electrical components didn't fall into the water.

 

[LBReefer]

I decided to retool my approach and bought a pair of echotech mounts. They seem to be holding up well.

 

[LBReefer]

As soon as this disaster was mitigated, I created another.

I noticed that my nitrate and phosphate balance was off. I was having a build up of Cyano. I decided to dose some phosphates to correct the balance.

Let's just say the measure twice, cut once philosophy probably should have been applied here. My phosphates jumped up beyond the range of my test kits and my sps took a nose dive.

 

[LBReefer]

I then compounded this error with a faulty temp probe on my apex. The system was reporting 78+ when a manual thermometer and the chiller showed the true numbers as closer to 72.

In addition to the corals, I lost two clownfish and my leopard wrasse. It was a real blow.

 

[LBReefer]

I installed these bad boys today. It took A LOT of back and forth with manufacturer. The customer service was very responsive.

In retrospect I should have uploaded some kind of diagram versus verbal instructions. Also I did not review the cad file carefully enough. The cut outs for the lights ended up on the sides instead of the back as a consequence. Theoretically they are can adjust the design, but u think shipping costs makes that cost prohibitive.

 

[LBReefer]

I've been meaning to replace my RODI reservoir with a properly designed water changing station. Here's a pic of the current system.

After a few searches and some vblogs (thanks @ReefBuilders) I settled on a design. I ordered two matching 45 gallon tanks from home depot and went through a few iterations of plumbing parts. I originally bought low grade stuff from Home Depot, but ultimately broke down and bought schedule 80 off of BRS. I thought that it would be ironic if I went cheap on one of the only visible portions of my plumbing.

These are headed back to HD:

I decided to follow best practices for once and dry fitted everything before pulling out the primer and cement. I will say paying extra for clear primer was totally worth it.

I'm pretty happy with the finished project. I will need to pick up another barbed fitting and add some lose tubing for the downspouts, but an extra length of pvc will work for now.

 

[LBReefer]

Updated FTS:

 

[LBReefer]

I lost my purple style and another sps whose name is slipping my mind. So frustrated.

Thankfully I have back ups of both elsewhere, but this is so frustrating.

 

[LBReefer]

And then I found that my new mixing station was leaking.



Thankfully I found the problem:

I missed gluing one of the sections together.

Arrghh

 

[LBReefer]

I became panicked about pests in my tank and decided that I needed to add a wrasse or two to keep the "bad guys" at bay. I added, on separate occasions two six line wrasses to the tank, only for them to dissappear.

In a bit of hasty decision making, I decided that I'd reintroduce sand to my carefully planned bare bottom so that I could expand my repertoire of wrasses. We'll see how this shakes out.

 

[LBReefer]

And then my Trident went haywire. To say that it's been a tough couple months for this tank is an understatement. The Trident stopped collecting samples. After trying to trouble shoot this for some time with excellent support from Neptune, they offered me an opportunity to get a replacement. I can't get into the details because of the NDA, but I will say that I'm very satisfied with how they handled the situation.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Bear in mind, wrasses are jumpers. Apex support has been Top Notch on my behalf

 

[LBReefer]

Bear in mind, wrasses are jumpers. Apex support has been Top Notch on my behalf

Much appreciated. I waited to add the wrasses until after I had my new custom lids. Unfortunately I wasn't smart enough to cover my quarantine tank.

 

[LBReefer]

I tried to add two anthias to the main tank.

 

[LBReefer]

But it's not looking good. One down and the other is not eating.

 

[LBReefer]

Alas the other Anthias didn't make it.

I love the look of these fish, but I've had terrible luck. They all seem to die within the first week.

 

[LBReefer]

I had my first work trip in 18 months and my wife was kind enough to check in on my tank.

My ato was alarming. I should have out together the fact that this meant my return pumps were not working. Likely it wouldn't have mattered because as it was it took me 45 minutes of plugging and unplugging items to figure out that the pump for my carbon reactor had gone on the fritz.

It's frustrating because this is the second time I've had to replace this pump.