Angry Upgrade 120 to 230 Peninsula!

Janci · Apr 9, 2019

AngryOwl said:
Almost had ya!

What isn't a joke though is my phosphates have somehow plummeted back down to zero! Over the past week I noticed a few brown dustings on the sand bed, figured I was overfeeding a bit, cut back and then I decided to test yesterday. 0 phosphates!

Anyone know why phosphates would just bottom out within a week like that? Seems very strange to me...

I would suspect a false measurement or a polluted test vial.
Seems strange to have those quick drops.

AngryOwl · Apr 9, 2019

Janci said:
I would suspect a false measurement or a polluted test vial.
Seems strange to have those quick drops.

I agree it's very strange. I asked the local Facebook group and no one had a solid answer.

I retested but this doesn't prove anything IMO. I say this because as soon as I tested 1ppb, the next day (Sunday morning) I removed the filter pad and dosed 5ml of phosphates which should put me in the .03ppm range. Yesterday evening I tested and got 17ppb (.052ppm).... this make sense based on the changes I made.

I also took Sunday morning to clean up the tank a bit. Stirred the sand, scrapped the algae off the back glass. For all I know that algae was up-taking alot of PO4... Hard to tell but I trust my testing and checkers.

Lets see if these numbers hold though!

AngryOwl · Apr 10, 2019

I suppose you guys can join too

AngryOwl · Apr 11, 2019

Hmm... did I show you guys these progress pictures?

AngryOwl · Apr 15, 2019

Can't beat this view

AngryOwl · Apr 15, 2019

Went ahead and decided to order a calcium reactor. This is something I've wanted to due since I got into the hobby and started doing more and more research on dosing. The upfront costs have prevented me from purchasing one previously but I decided its time to just get it over with. I just ordered everything this morning and got items 10% off on Aquacave and BRS. In total it was about $1250. Here's what I got:

Tunze 3171 Calcium reactor
5g CO2 tank
44lbs Two little fishies reborn media
8.8lbs Two little fishies magnesium media
Kamoer continuous dosing pump
Double junction PH probe
Electronic carbon doser

This should set me up nicely for success as corals continue to grow. I'll probably have everything going into next week and I'll get it installed. It will sit inside the sump which I like because it frees up space outside of the sump. You can also run it externally as well.

Some other updates....

I went to do some cable management this weekend and found out the extension cords I originally got are too short and I had to order new ones. I'm going to paint the new ones red so everything fits in with the stand.

As far as the tanks parameters go... I've been able to get phosphates back up and as a result the sand bed is looking much better. Tested Saturday and Alk was 7.9 and PO4 27ppb (.089ppm). Much better.

This weekend I plan to finish off the framing for the stand door openings. After that is finished I can measure accurately and order the doors finally. I'm also building a tv stand that will require doors as well so I'll be done with that shortly. It's reef related because I'm going to put a 10g AIO tank on it.

Whelp... think that's it for now. If I missed anything then... oops...

AngryOwl · Apr 17, 2019

Here is a video update of everything on and in the tank. Good catch up video for people who are new to the thread and are slow readers like me

AngryOwl · Apr 18, 2019

Calcium reactor should be here today. But of course the Kamoer pump doesn't come until Monday :mad:

AngryOwl · Apr 19, 2019

This is what getting a calcium reactor looks like

AngryOwl · Apr 22, 2019

Added some trim this weekend and now its ready for doors!

Also ready for some much needed cable management.

norfolkgarden · Apr 22, 2019

AngryOwl said:
Hmm... did I show you guys these progress pictures?

Seen plenty of reef tanks (and yours is a great one!)

But *THAT STAND* is fantastic!
Nicely done!

AngryOwl · Apr 23, 2019

norfolkgarden said:
Seen plenty of reef tanks (and yours is a great one!)

But *THAT STAND* is fantastic!
Nicely done!

Thank you! I'm working on getting the wires cleaned up and making the inside just as jaw dropping!

AngryOwl · Apr 25, 2019

Got the kamoer Monday, super easy to install and calibrate. Even on full speed its pretty quiet. I'm only running 8ml a minute right now and running pH in the reactor at 7.2-7.1.

What that range means is that the co2 will kick on when the pH inside the reactor hits 7.2 and shuts off at 7.1. I chose to run this pH because the tank has very low consumption. So a higher pH will result in a lowering concentration from the effluent.

Right now even at this rate my alkalinity is rising .1 per day. This is fine right now because I'm getting the tank up to 8.3-8.4.

One concerning thing is the number of on/off cycles from the apex. It seems excessive to me. Let me know your thoughts!

Screenshot_20190421-163448_Apex Fusion.jpg

SkiCatTX · May 13, 2019

Hey, great thread!

So, what ended up happening with the fish that was sick last month? Did you ever diagnose what was wrong? I went back but couldn’t find if you posted about it or not.

AngryOwl · May 19, 2019

SkiCatTX said:
Hey, great thread!

So, what ended up happening with the fish that was sick last month? Did you ever diagnose what was wrong? I went back but couldn’t find if you posted about it or not.

Wow it's been a few minutes since I've posted huh?

The trigger is still kicking, except now he has what looks like popeye... but it isn't popeye? It's more like some sort of bubble has encased around his eye and is filled with liquid.... no idea whats going on. My magma wrasse was also refusing to eat and hanging around the sand bed just laying there. I put him in QT and he ended up not making it. No idea what happened with him but everyone else in the display is going great!

I got my new fish as well! They are all doing very well and I suppose I will tell you what I got. The new fish are... a golden rhomboid wrasse, a crescent tail wrasse, and a pintail wrasse. I received a naso tang as well but he was upside down in the bag and died overnight. So I'm waiting on a replacement to come in.

Other than that everything is going well right now in the tank and I'll post more updates soon!

SkiCatTX · May 20, 2019

Sounds like a lot of wrasses...lol. Sorry to hear about the other fish, but happy the trigger is still kicking for now.

I just lost my first fish in years this week. My purple striped dottyback, the namesake of the WB10 nano, Pinky. I am chalking that up to old age, as I was not able to find an obvious cause, and I have had him for about 5 years, and being wild caught no way to know how old he was at that point. I read that they live 3-7 years, so maybe that was a good run for him.

Good luck with the new fish.