Benjmain's 75g Garage Reef

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Does anyone want to suggest a custom tank builder? I live in Virginia Beach, VA. There are 1,000 threads here and on RC about who is the best. I'm more interested in location and customer service right now than the silicone work that people pick at all the time.
 
Sad new, after a year and a half and surviving 3 tank swaps we've lost "The Godfather" our blue hippo. I found it floating this morning very, very swollen. All of the fins were intact and no markings on the sides. I'm at a loss. This on the same morning my blonde naso has arrived after a 2 month search. Blue Zoo does an amazing packaging job complete with stress guard, acclimation line, suction cup and a full care and acclimation guide. The naso is on the upper size of their large scale so I'm very excited. It's very blotchy in color but I assume it's due to the stress of travel than anything else. I'll keep everyone posted.
 
Upgrade in the works...

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Top Shelf Aquatics
Top Shelf Aquatics
Thank you! Here are some updates on the sump progress this week. I drilled a 3rd drain for the 40 to 40 bridge and a 3" hole for the Dart pump's bulkhead. Also cut all the acrylic for my Frankensump experiment.

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Major super insane weekend. Tons of work but I finally have the new sump and Dart up and running. As with all things reef related, this is an ongoing experiment. I went from 2 1262s rated at 900gph to a single Dart Hybrid rated at 3600gph. This was an upgrade with a larger tank in mind next year so it's temporarily rigged into the old 3/4" fittings until next year. While it's overkill, it will help with the overhead chiller and the 2nd frag tank. The only downside to the sump so far (and I'm sure more will come) is that the baffle/fuge section isn't wide enough to accommodate the flow. So the emergency drain area is already getting a decent trickle of water. The fuge will be more of a display for macros than anything else due to it's small size. I'm really happy with the filter section and after discussing some ideas with a friend I think I figured out a way to make the next one better.


3rd hole on the frag tank to accommodate more flow and opening the bean animal up more to the frag tank. This was the first tank I have drilled with water in it and I was freaking the entire time. No biggie after a slow 15mins or so. On to the sump.

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I made a quick and dirty platform for the Dart and just sprayed it white Saturday morning.

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I've broken the rules and mounted the bulkhead backward to save space. This caused a leak right when it got wet. I had to pull it all apart and try reseating it after cleaning the glass and gasket thoroughly. We're leak free now. If this hadn't worked I would have had to throw away the $25 ball union and go with a straight 2" union and flipped the bulkhead around. It's a tight fit with the heater.

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Here we are finished with the 1.5" getting split to dual 3/4" returns. Pathetic but temporary :)

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Up and running, the flow is crazy. I threw all my small rock in with the mangroves until I have time this week to get this sorted out. The filter socks are getting hammered after not running them for months. The skimmer seems to be breaking in nicely. I need to build a platform and a muffler to catch micro bubbles.

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Got flow b1tch3s?

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Deltec
BTW, admins: can you change the title of this thread for me? I contributed for 2 years this week and all I can do is edit posts :( If so can you change it to "Benjamin's Upgraded 125g Garage Reef Build" ??
 
BRS
Tidal Gardens
I have had some bad luck this summer and haven' posted all of my updates. Back in June I lost some fish to an ammonia spike that I never figured out, I got a clogged overflow between the systems in July which dropped my salinity to .022 over night and flooded my garage, I had a punch of tissue loss due to that later and I discovered a montipora eating nudibranch which wiped out a small colony. So I have had every problem this summer and it's all been documented on my local club thread. After going through some macros I shot last night I have discovered red bugs on my red dragon and tri colors. I saw some on a few millis as well.


I have way too many encrusted acros to dip everything and Interceptor is not available. While I have Sentinel, I don't want to deal with the invert/copepod kill off and it's not well documented like Interceptor is. I've decided to drop that tank slowly today to 66° which is also known to kill them off but like Sentinel, less documented. However, I don't have to deal with water changes and carbon etc like with the medication. I thought I would have it down by noon today and would keep it there until this evening. It's now 3:30 and I'm still only at 71°. I'm not sure if I can get it low enough even with ice and swapping water to the freezer hourly.

I will probably lose some more SPS due to shock and tissue loss but I have already lost a handful of acros this summer and I have 2 massive colonies in trouble at the moment. So I'm rolling the dice. Wish me luck, I'm 1/2 way there.
 
BTW, I dip my coral and QT my fish. Obviously this doesn't effect eggs or I'm not QT'ing long enough. I'm going to need another dedicated reef tank setup for a much longer QT process in the future. I'm losing too much money at this point.
 
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IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%

  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%

  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%

  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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