Dodgersfan's 90 Gallon build thread

[Dodgersfan]

Likely two issues at play here. If you’re messing around with the plumbing under the tank, it’s likely that you’re correct, and your plumbing is binding the bulkhead, causing the bulkhead to not seal properly. I’ve done this, and the good news is that it’s a simple fix, just figure out which pipe is causing the stress, and adjust gently till the bulkhead stops leaking (happens on my return line almost every time I pull the return pump out to clean it).
You second issue, the noise, is caused by the lack of a gate valve on your main drain; your pvc can likely flow far more gph than your return, so you use the gate valve to balance the siphon flow and return flow.

I was actually messing around with the plumbing in the overflow. it was very difficult to get my hand in far enough to get a grip and pull out the pipes. I put reducing bushings in the intakes to try and slow the flow down a little. the leak looks like its coming from the main, which was the one i was messing with the most, also the center one and the hardest to get too of course... i turned off the pump last night and drained the overflow box, it should be dry when i get home today. think it will fix itself if i just jiggle on the internal plumbing a bit more?

I'm going to stop by my LFS and pick up a gate valve, & also see what they'll charge me to come out with some brute cans and drain down and refill my tank for me, if they'll do it for 100 bucks or so that's probably worth the piece of mind & i'll probably spend that much buying cans since i don't have any...

 

[Dodgersfan]

Here's Pics

 

[007_reef]

It should fix itself if you move it around to relieve the stress. You may also want to consider some straps to support the pipes, it’s never a good idea to have the weight of the PVC, with water, supported by just the bulkhead.
Invest in your own brute cans, if you stay in the hobby long enough, you’ll get your money’s worth out of them.

 

[Dodgersfan]

Here’s today’s readings... the shrimp is now furry, but no real change, ammonia is holding steady at 0.2, nitrite is holding steady at 0.1, and nitrate is now back closer to the 2ppm side of the spectrum, so we’ll call it 3 for today.

 

[Dodgersfan]

Also I stopped in at the LFS, we talked a bit about my plumbing set up and the owner helped me simplify the open channel which has resulted in greatly reduced noise and a stable overflow. He also put me in touch with an independent service guy that happens to live real close to me, he’s coming over Monday to help me drain the tank and address the leak. Until then I’ll be stuffing towels behind the tank to soak up the drips before they hit the floor.

 

[Dodgersfan]

I was a busy boy tonight... went a little nuts in the @YourReef live sale... spent a little under $300. (Including paying extra for Saturday delivery) ended up with 15 pieces (not all frags, got a couple nice colonies too) and also won a raffle for 5 more frags! So the tank is gonna be stocked... they didn’t have any hammers though, I’m going to have to find those somewhere else, but the rest of the tank is set... here’s a few pics of what I got:

 

[Dodgersfan]

Tested the tank again today, shrimp is half gone, nitrite and ammonia are down (0.03 & 0.1 respectively). And nitrate is up (5) I think it’s safe to say this thing is just about cycled... guess I’ll pick up a few snails and crabs and some chaeto this week. Should I wait till I see algae to add them?

 

[leahfiish]

I usually put them in before I see algae, as long as you don't get too many they should be okay. Make sure you take out the shrimp. You can always supplement their food with algae sheets like you would for a tang.

 

[Dodgersfan]

hmmm... my leak seems to have sorted itself out... is that a thing that can happen? i have been stuffing a towel back there all weekend, and last night i noticed it was pretty dry, so i left the towel out overnight last night, and this morning the floor was bone dry. I'm thinking of calling off the service guy I've got coming today. but i do have corals coming this weekend, so its going to get harder to drain down after this week, should I just go ahead and drain it anyway?

 

[leahfiish]

Try shutting the return pump off and on a few times and see if it leaks then.

 

[Dodgersfan]

Make sure you take out the shrimp.

Is there a specific reason to take it out? Wouldn’t it just become crab food?

 

[leahfiish]

It has done its job and you don't want too much ammonia.

 

[Dodgersfan]

Today’s water parameters: ammonia is 0.1, nitrite is almost clear, definitely not close to the 0.05, but not 100% clear. Maybe 0.01 or 0.02. Nitrate is still holding around 5.

Also went ahead with the service call, peace of mind cost me 80 bucks. Not bad all things considered, most importantly we knocked it our in about 30 minutes.

 

[Dodgersfan]

Pulled the shrimp today, it was starting to come apart. Water parameters(after taking a day off from testing) ammonia: first 0 reading I’ve gotten. nitrite: 0.01 - and I’m tempted to call it 0, it’s the closest to clear I’ve seen it... nitrate: steady at 5

In other news, Diatoms have shown up today, I’ll be picking up a small CUC tomorrow. I’m thinking of the following: 5 cerinths, 5 nassiritus, 5 Trocus, 2 turbo, & 3 hermits. Is that good for a start or a little too much?

I was going to get a little bit of chaeto, but I’m worried it will strip all the nitrates out of the water and Dinos will show up next, so I’m going to hold off on it either until I start stocking fish, or if algae gets out of control.

 

[Mark Gray]

Nice Build following

 

[Dodgersfan]

Added the start of the cleanup crew the last few days, ended up deciding to not do any hermits. Picked up 2 turbos, 2 trocus, 5 cerinths, and 5 nassiritus. In about a month or so I’ll probably double all of those. Also my first batch of corals arrived this morning, coral update coming soon!

 

[Dodgersfan]

Coral update!

So these aren’t the frags I got from the yourreef sale, those are coming next week. I also bought a 10 pack of frags from AquaSD, (and then grabbed 3 more from their eBay auctions to take advantage of combined shipping). This was a they-pick frag pack, they did allow me to request it be half euphyllia.

Got a few blastos(which I wouldn’t have picked on my own, but i’m Really liking now that I’ve got ‘em)

One has a purple rim, the other red, they are both just about that green in person in the middle (I’m still getting used to the aquarium camera app, but I managed to get these to photo pretty close to what they look like in person)

Also got 2 favias, the bigger one was bleached pretty bad when I got it in the tank, I was worried it didn’t make it, but it slowly colored up over the course of the day and has a really pretty irridescent green rim, you can just barely get a glimpse of it in the 2nd picture.

I also got a galexea coral, which is one of my favorites from the batch, you can’t really make it out in the picture but the polyps are an intense glowing green in the center and a deep iridescent blue on the rim, it’s really stunning in person. I’ve got it monnted dead center on the bigger rock structure.

And then there are the euphyllias, i asked for mostly branching hammers, and an assortment of colors, but I think they may have either misunderstood me or just didn’t have more than 1 variety, I got these two which look like toxic hammers probably off of the same mother colony:

And also this one which has the same coloration, but the head is crescent shaped, I think it might be a wall hammer?

I also got a really nice pink octospawn:

And the crown jewel of the batch is definitely this torch with dark purple to almost black tentacles and teal tips:

They also threw in some free zoas, bright green center surrounded by red, they didn’t say what they were, but I’m guessing candy apple reds?

And then there are the three I just had to have on eBay:

An Absolute terror chalice:

Red lightning favia: (also one of my favorites the contrast between the deep red and the teal blue is very striking, the picture doesn’t do it justice)

And an ultra panic favia (which I bought as a consolation prize when I missed on the first red lightning I bid on, only to have auto bid win the one above for me in my sleep. This one is still very pretty too though)

 

[leahfiish]

Nice, I love the blastos and the torch!

 

[Brynn]

Youre speeding along! I find the plumbing & electrical stuff so intimidating. Its nice when people post bumps in the road, mistakes, etc. Reminds others problems can be addressed. Hurdles cleared just like everything else in life.

 

[Dodgersfan]

I realized I didn’t take a FTS after I got the frags in, need one to reference as a starting point: