First saltwater tank, 40 breeder

[KleineVampir]

Thanks for videos on the drop1.4 harvest. How do you like it so far?

Is it noisy? Can you get a fistful of algae a week?

I love it. I suggest harvesting once every 8 days and yes so far it seems like I can get a decent handful as you can see in those two videos.

As for the noise, it's only really as loud as your air pump because that's all it uses.

 

[KleineVampir]

Guys, I have big news. Thanos came and took half of my display light away. We'll see if that helps with the algae. Seems like the new lights are growing the algae back and the scrubber seems to not be growing much lately for some reason. Well, maybe because the led's are growing the algae in the display too much.

 

[KleineVampir]

Also the moonlight is now hilariously low. 1 percent, the absolute bare minimum. The lights insist on staying on for 6 hours after sunset though I suppose I could actually make the moonlight level 0. But that is a lot of darkness. At least now they have a bit of a night light for 6 hours every night.

 

[KleineVampir]

Hm..one theory is that I got rid of all the excess nitrates and phosphates in those 2 harvests. And now it's causing the rocks to leech more phosphate into the water which is why I still have algae now coming out of the rocks. But dang, it's been like a year. How long does it take to get the phosphate out of the rocks?

 

[KleineVampir]

 

[KleineVampir]

I'm now thinking I might need to upgrade my flow about as much as the overflow can handle. Also my pumps are a bit silly. 3 little off-brand chinese pumps that do work, but they're a bit noisy. Probably not the serious firepower I really need. Also torn, because I'd like to run 2 pumps for reliability, but I guess if I have these 3 they can be the backup.

 

[KleineVampir]

Alright I bought a Sicce syncra pro 1500 gph pump. Trying to up my game on the pumps a little. Also it'll free up the 3 little pumps for some maintenance time. They could probably use a nice little vinegar bath.

Also fixed my aqualifter. Algae got stuck in it again. I'm glad I was able to totally fix it and get it really humming again but it took a while of forcing vinegar down through it. Not sure what to do about that. Here it was supposed to be the ultimate solution to siphon problems with the overflow but it kind of succumbs to it's own problems.

 

[KleineVampir]

I hope 1 inch tubing is the right diameter. It says 1 inch output, so that's what I got.

 

[KleineVampir]

It is interesting how it works when your flow is sub-par. Your sump gets really clean, and then you're limited by your pump shoving in some nutrient-rich water. That's why I was able to get good growth for 2 weeks but not so much for the third time. But I did take out a lot of nutrients initially so it's that too. Still, with 600+ dollars invested in the sump, you'd be a fool to not maximize your return pump flow.

It's funny how my philosophy on flow started at the bare minimum and now it's at the maximum.

 

[KleineVampir]

Also another huge shift in thinking has taken place. The concept of a "clean up crew" is possibly the worst advice I've ever received. At least for beginners. Animals are never going to address your nutrient problems, that's for sure. I've tried them and tried them and honestly I've finally given up. Besides, adding animals to your tank ADDS nutrients.

 

[KleineVampir]

Also at least I feel good about the fish. Despite my algae issues everything that's supposed to be alive in there, is still alive. With the exception of the somewhat recent snail fiasco. No idea what their problem was. I still have: 2 clownfish, 2 firefish, 3 cardinals, the blue tang, and the 2 cleaner shrimp. They're all eating and they all seem fine. I think they like the bio blocks and the skimmer.

 

[KleineVampir]

I turned the scrubber down from 24/7 to 18/6. Dunno if a 'rest' period is going to make a difference or not. It would be interesting if it did.

 

[KleineVampir]

Well the pump came and it's too strong. So now I gotta figure out something else. Hopefully BRS takes it back. If not...oy.

 

[KleineVampir]

Ah they have a pretty good return policy. All should be good! Just gotta figure out how to send it back and everything.

 

[KleineVampir]

Well BRS doesn't want to take it back. 160 dollar pump and if you try it once that's it. Nothing wrong with it or anything, still looks and essentially is brand new.

 

[KleineVampir]

Well I went to the local fish store and got myself a new pump. 740 gph. Works perfectly! Only problem is that dang pump that I wasted money on. Ah well worse things have happened I guess.

Also had a little spill with the airlifter tubing coming out of the sump. Oopsies! Now I have to do something I rarely do: Mix saltwater. So I guess spills are my version of a water change! Anyways I rectified the problem with one of those hose holder things. It's actually a load off because first I thought the whole tank was overflowing from the new pump. But thankfully it was just the aqua lifter line.

 

[KleineVampir]

The scrubber is growing algae again and that's amazing to see! Dunno if I see the difference for the skimmer but I do feel like it's a better situation for the skimmer. Really cooking with gas now with that pump. Never should have skimped like that for so long, especially after I invested over 600 dollars into the sump.

 

[KleineVampir]

Well today I bought a 10-pack of zoas. Not cheap exactly but at least I didn't spend 700! For 200 bucks it seemed like a good deal for some decent zoas. Yesterday I got rid of my freshwater tank and now I kinda feel like the saltwater tank should be better since it's all I have. And I want zoas! Kinda wish the coral dip could get here faster. Not sure if it will beat the corals since they are next day air and the dip is about a week out. Either way is ok, might have to settle for a hydrogen peroxide dip. Oh well.

 

[KleineVampir]

Yeah they shipped the zoas already so there ain't gonna be no dip! Oh well. Still good to have some dip on hand!

 

[KleineVampir]

Well I got the zoas, and so far I stuck them into the substrate. There's 10 of them, which is kind of a lot. And they're all different with different names. The question becomes, how do I keep track of them? This would be easier in a frag tank but for now at least my one and only tank is gonna have to do.

Also I gotta say I think there's something to be said for simply putting them directly into your tank. Subjecting them to all kinds of weird intermediate steps is probably way over-rated. But since I didn't have the dips yet I didn't have a choice anyways. Some of them are already opening and look fine. Some are more hesitant than others.