Fishroom Reality Check

[Dubs83]

Yeah, I have those, but I’m making custom extension cables to hardwire my equipment into conduit in my fishroom. I’d hoped to use the right angled plugs to reduce the depth of the final cabinet fascia (I wanted the eb8s hidden instead of on show like similar builds) but I can’t get more than 2 plugged in before I get crowding issues.

Basically doing a version of this-

Large Build - Paul’s 240 gallon upgrade!

Junction box is done. We’re past the half way mark. I’ll keep filling hoping to be close by the end of the weekend but I doubt it.

www.reef2reef.com

But cooler because I’m hiding the outlets and adding flashing lights and sirens and that kinda ****

Hi @Dubs83 lol

Haha! well played, sir!

 

[User]

So, I’m laying here on the couch under the tank, watching Sicario 2, kid 1 JUST went to bed (she’s 3...) wife en route home from Boston.

The blues in the tank go off, and I hear this low rumbling growl. The kind I’ve heard sea lions make. Male clown swims the full length of the tank, goes lip to lip with female, they do 20 seconds of clicking and growls, then he goes back to his side, while she heads up to lay against the overflow box

Nature is [emoji91], as the kids say nowadays.

Anyway- desert road scene. 10/10. This series is a winner.

 

[Victoria M]

Wow. Mine just court tail wiggle, and dance, and waaa waaa waaa. Barry White is playing in the background.

 

[User]

Leak from plumbing is possible.

Is your refractometer calibrated? If you use a digital one, do you wait a moment for the temperature to equalize with the glass so the refractometer knows the actual temp of the water it’s testing?

It was a bad refractometer.

I made my own calibration fluid and baselines the refractometer to 1.000 with RODI. I hate doing that because I prefer to calibrate with fluid that’s ‘in range’ if the target sample.

I put the refractometer down, got a sample of the fresh calibration fluid, doubled checked the 1.000 calibration I did 20 seconds before, and it was 2-3 clicks below the line. I turned the screw to reset it to 1.000, held it up vertical , and could see the line creep lower.

If I did the rodi calibration , new fluid, DT sample, old fluid without moving it away from horizontal, I got:

1.000
1.0264 (diy fluid)
1.0250 DT
1.031 old brs standard.

24 hours later, with ATO doing its thing, I can tell I’ve evaporated 3.5 gallons, abs the salinity is at 1.0250.

So I’ve ordered a new one and will make sure it doesn’t get bumped in future

 

[CL_]

Aha! I mean it either had to be
A. Saltwater being removed
B. Salt being removed
C. Measurement error

Glad you figured it out!

 

[Victoria M]

Yeah, I have those, but I’m making custom extension cables to hardwire my equipment into conduit in my fishroom. I’d hoped to use the right angled plugs to reduce the depth of the final cabinet fascia (I wanted the eb8s hidden instead of on show like similar builds) but I can’t get more than 2 plugged in before I get crowding issues.

Basically doing a version of this-

Large Build - Paul’s 240 gallon upgrade!

Junction box is done. We’re past the half way mark. I’ll keep filling hoping to be close by the end of the weekend but I doubt it.

www.reef2reef.com

But cooler because I’m hiding the outlets and adding flashing lights and sirens and that kinda ****

Hi @Dubs83 lol

Totally laughed out loud.

 

[Victoria M]

I was suppose to have this all wired in like 8 months ago- but I’ve been hanging out with this little tornado instead...

Seriously laughed out loud to this one. Tornado! just love it!
My youngest was like Yoda when he was going through Luke's stuff. All you see is a little butt and stuff flying out of the cupboard.

 

[Victoria M]

And I did think about the refractometer fluid being off but not the refractometer it's self. Duh, right? So glad you figured that out.
So I check mine with good calibration fluid, and have rarely needed to tweak it. But I wonder I should check it against someone else's.

 

[User]

Aha! I mean it either had to be
A. Saltwater being removed
B. Salt being removed
C. Measurement error

Glad you figured it out!

Option C, although, in a 22 year lab career, I’ve never had to calibrate my calibration solutions...

 

[User]

And I did think about the refractometer fluid being off but not the refractometer it's self. Duh, right? So glad you figured that out.
So I check mine with good calibration fluid, and have rarely needed to tweak it. But I wonder I should check it against someone else's.

If it’s close, then consistency is just as good as accuracy.

But I doubt this is a common issue. I probably dropped it and didn’t realize it was damaged.

 

[User]

Taking vacation for two weeks from next Saturday. Lots of tank tweaks to get it ready for our dude that’s looking in on it. Coming every two/three days to drop a few cubes of frozen in while the daily feeder drops 3 bunches of pellets in daily.

Once I’m back- MAJOR improvements to electrical and filtration.

Plus a couple other projects that I’m going to keep tight lipped in for now. Pretty excited about the next few months.

 

[Victoria M]

If it’s close, then consistency is just as good as accuracy.

But I doubt this is a common issue. I probably dropped it and didn’t realize it was damaged.

Yeah, I suppose that is true. I have always been so careful with my refractometer, hope not to be jynxed now.

 

[User]

I lost the stony corals I got. War favia, a fungia and a favite brain. I don’t think they recovered from being at 68oF for almost two weeks while my inkbird crapped out. Ultra green branching hammer, purple capped hammer, Duncan, GSP and pulsing Xenia seem to be doing well.

I’m going to keep them going in the hopes they come back and then restart the coral QT. I’m moving all my frags from the 10g they are in now to the 20long, taking them off the plugs and putting them on rock rubble and dipping them again. Bugs everywhere. I think they survived the first couple dips on the big GSP that has completely enclosed a frag plug. That guy is getting fragged and opened up, and reseated on a big piece of flat pukani plate. About 6x3”

Then set up the apex bob ATO for the QT, and do a fresh WC on Friday. Hoping that will keep them going for the vacation period.

 

[User]

Hey buddy!!

 

[User]

Thinking of doing a planted refugium. Bunch of macros, some sand, some sexy shrimp etc.

This’ll be a little later after I get 4 other things done, but ideally before Christmas


It’s literally 40g breeder sized, all it does right now is catch detritus. Chaeto didn’t grow because I had zero nutrients, but I’m dosing nitrates now and po4 is steady around 0.04ppm.

Thoughts?

 

[User]

Ok guys- vacation time. Navarre beach and Pensacola for 2 weeks.

Catch you later!

 

[Victoria M]

Have a great time!

 

[User]

Tank status update from the tank sitter, and from what I can see on my crappy SD cams (took the hd ones for baby cams, but can’t get them hooked up to the condo WiFi...[emoji52])

Really bad cyano outbreak. Scarlet red everywhere apparently. I think tank sitter dude triple dosed some frozen by accident. He is kinda dumb, tbh. Software nerd. Can’t trust them like you can bio geeks

CJ my big female clown went MIA on cams the past 2 days. After some troubleshooting- We found her in the outer box of the overflow. That’s 5 times now. I need to figure out a solution.

Coral QT apex ATO is working flawlessly. It runs 14 seconds every 11 hours almost like clockwork. It’s putting back about around 150ml a time in a 20 long. Pump is an $8 80gph 3feet head Amazon no name. In a 10g full of rodi right next to the QT with a siphon air break. Dual float switches hooked up to apex BOB


DT-ATO auto top off (apex controlled solenoid from 55g barrel into the ATO reservoir via a float valve) completed a refill as programmed. Flawless.

I have a level surge in the return chamber. Over the course of 5 minutes, level increases by 1.25”, then back to normal, repeat cycle. I know exactly what the issue is- the 1” siphon from my settling chamber to my sump proper is 2.5” below the water line, and air gets trapped. Then the siphon fails, and the extra flow comes through the 1.5” channel which forms an almost siphon, dropping the water level in the settling chamber by 1.25”, increasing the water level in the return chamber the same amount. the bubbles clear in the main channel, it creates siphon and the water level goes back to normal. I intended to cut the pvc to 1” below the level but didn’t manage before we left.

Bit of a temp climb after I put the ac into vacation mode... came up a few degrees higher than I’d like but I got my tank sitter dude to leave the fishroom door open to compensate. All good now

What else... blue angels doing practice off the beach at Pensacola today. Saw a stingray and a turtle. My 3 year old is an old salt. Looks out into the gulf like Quint looking for a sharks fin. Fearless.

Read 3 paperback fiction books. Haven’t read anything other than pixels since Callie was born. I used to be heavy into sci fi stuff but since my fave author (Ian m banks) passed away, i haven’t been doing a lot. Also into crime-suspense fiction- FBI agent gone off the Rez, bustin heads, taking down cartels kinda stuff.

Eaten 3 different varieties of fried shrimp, 2 of crab claws, some nice Baja fish tacos. Somewhere around 7-8 gallons of virgin strawberry daiquiri. That’s purely a beach thing. I have a bottle of 12yr old Macallans, but I’m not really feeling the sense of occasion I need to open it. It’ll probably end up going back home with the seal intact

Anyway. Back on the beach tomorrow. It’s a rough deal, but someone’s got to take one for the team

 

[Victoria M]

I am so glad you got to go to the beach! Jealous!
Glad you can stalk the aquarium system while you are gone.

 

[User]

I am so glad you got to go to the beach! Jealous!
Glad you can stalk the aquarium system while you are gone.

I dunno. Not sure it’s all it’s cracked up to be...

Stalking the tank is going fine, but I threw the cams up last minute. I’m planning for better coverage in the fishroom and the ends of the DT but I only had 2 SD cams that used to be our security cams in Nashville.

There are some nice panning HD web enabled cams on amazon for like $50. Pity the Apex doesn’t have better cam integration, but I can open up the cam app and see all the cams at once in my phone.