Cruelty of Physics, Holiday Hardware, Outside Setup, and Coming Stock, Oh My!
Hi everyone! it's been a long time (again) since sending over some updates, but I'm excited to say that there's a LOT going on lately. Having been months since the last update, I've, for better and worse, been ridiculously busy, up and down a bit in mood, and just generally having very little time for anything other than what's needed IRL (in regard to posting here on the forum, I should say). That said, I'm excited to give an awesome update of all sorts of stuffs!
I'm proud to say that I've done a LOT of cleaning in the tank, as algae has been creeping up and around lately, but getting tougher to control (see livestock info below), and everyone's happy and healthy. Let's start with a new FTS (from today, 01/29)! After that we'll head in calendar order.
Like I said, algae is coming around. Compared to what it was, especially on the back, it's not nearly as bad, though.
The cruelty of physics
You may remember my excitement of getting a new ATO container that actually fits in my little cabinet. I was so excited to use it, but it ended up overflowing the sump twice and reducing the ORP substantially, including at 4 in the morning. The problem? Something I've told others about - siphoning. The level of water in the container being higher than the sump made the water continue to flow out into said sump. Because science is cruel and evil.
Equal levels of water = bad.
The solution? A hole in the line, just above the water line but still inside the container. This breaks the siphon, though it does mean the ATO itself needs to work a bit more due to some of the water leaking out and back into the reservoir. Better than overfill by a long shot.
Take THAT, science!
MASSIVE CLEANING!
While my current (above) image isn't quite so nice, I spent a long time scraping and scrubbing algae from the back and overflow to clear things out. My nitrates have essentially been zeroed out for awhile because of it, but that's not so bad. And it looked a lot better after the cleaning.
Back looked a lot better. Had to rid the coraline, but still.
Always good to see Leonard.
Love the hammer in full glory
Holiday Upgrade Time!
The holidays were very busy, with a lot of great upgrades both in and out of the tank. It had been a long time since I changed out my RO system things, including the membranes. Awhile ago I'd upgraded my 75 g/day to 150 g/day, but my pressure was always pretty low, so one of the things I finally got my hands on was a booster - hit that solid 65 PSI easy and make water like a boss.
Middle of changing out stuff.
I also decided to label the membrane holders so I don't have to think as much. Always a plus
LIGHTS!!!
Really big news on the hardware front - LIGHTS. I went big. Well, big for like 6 ish years ago. I got 2 3rd gen Radions and a used WXM to control them, as well as a lunar sim module with a 4 light string. The difference is amazing. Problem came with how to hang them inside my canopy. I ended up going with eye hooks allowing centering over the two tank halves, with the lights themselves suspended with picture holders and wire.
Eye hooks are closed tightly enough that the wire can't get in and out easily.....
So stretch a bit with some pliers!
Eyehooks installed in the canopy.
With the bend in the hooks, I can take the lights off easily, plus the glass covers act a bit like diffusers to avoid spotlighting. So that's nice.
The extension on the leathers especially is SO incredible under the new lights.
All the lighting cycles are based on this
coral spawning paper, which used the same materials by and large. The radions are set to come on with sunrise and off with set, and the lunars with the moonrise and set, including adjustments for the cool stuff like amount of moonlight, new/full, etc. Very cool.
I'm still waiting to get a macro lens for my Canon for better pics, but my utter chaos has gone from 2 heads to 6 since I got it, and look good under the LSM lights.
Eagle eyes looking good under the lunars, as well.
Good ol hammertime.
For you electronics nerds, here's the cabinet upgrades, as well.
Pre lighting upgrades
Post upgrades. I was glad that I could fit the Radion power supplies inside so they're much easier to access, if needed. The other two new "box" modules are the WXM (top) and LSM (far left).
I also got a spare set of Neptune WAVs from
@Bulk Reef Supply along with some cleaning supplies; citric acid, some different sized scrapers, etc.
Outside stuff
I know what you're thinking. Outside? What, frag tank? New plumbing? So confuse. But no, it's more about recycling. Astute viewers may have noted the garbage can in the bathroom with the RO Setup. That collects the waste water. I'm collecting it, then add a touch of skimmate (~2 TBSP/5 gallons) to use as fertilizer for a garden I'm building up. The backyard had a large deck that was a) rotting, b) ant infested, c) not properly anchored, d) was all up in the way of the sun, and e) gave me an excuse to buy power tools. As such, I went about breaking it down to make room for my planters. I worked pretty much every chance I got over the MLK and following weekend, but had other random stuff to do as well. Overall not too bad as far as efficiency.
Before doing anything, note heavy rote on the top and the base literally supported by free-standing concrete blocks (for you construction nerds to cringe at). ONE of the joists below was "anchored" with a steel strip screwed to the block, but that's it.
RIP, building codes.
First day's work (Cut the upper boards with a circular saw to make them easier to move)
Second day's work (reciprocating saw for the 2x4's)
Third day's work
Final day's work - power washing the concrete and pavers, chopping out a lot of the roots to start up compost, and pretty much ready to go.
Other side, including washed pavers (some are upside-down because a few of the roots were literally ~30 feet long)
Incidentally, favorite tool of the job was the wrecker bar. highly recommend. So much fun.
So, with the yard ready, it's time for soil and plants! I'm waiting now to get a quote from a guy who runs a nursery and makes a great soil mix and fertilizer to come by with ~2.5 cubic feet of soil (that's about 500 gallons) and some nice veggie, fruit, herb, and flower starters to plant in the three raised beds. Very excited about the whole thing.
NEW STOCK!
It's finally time! for the holidays, I got a
@LiveAquaria gift card and I finally feel ready for more fish. Here's what I have on the list:
Sailfin or similar Blenny - algae eater. I scrubbed a LOT of rocks recently, not to mention the back, and I want to make sure that I have a real cleaner to get rid of what's there. I also already got some herbivore frozen food for it, as well.
Dwarf Angel - likely a beauty. They're just so gorgeous and my last one did very well for a long time. Love that dark blue it offers.
Mandarin- Time for the big plunge. I want to go captive-bred so a) better environmentally for the world and b) hopefully better survivability, alongside likely an
@AlgaeBarn feeder subscription, though a bit aggravating as my LiveAq gift card obviously won't work, so the price is... well.... the price lol.
Something smaller, maybe dottyback or the like - just to get another little pop of color, but nothing so big as to overwhelm the biofilter.
Corals - This one's tough. between potentially some great random eBay deals, there's not many I really want, the Xenia only really coming to mind. I want to get more color pop and the like, but obviously that means paying through the nose, potentially in the hundreds EASILY. That said, with the new lights, I'm not worried about anything not getting what they need
I think those will max out my little 55, assuming they all are ok. I'm setting up the QT tank this weekend (cleaning tonight with light citric acid and heavy rinse, then adding the 5 gallons from my change tomorrow, and topping with another 5g freshmade). Mostly I'm waiting for the stock to come in for that sweet sweet free shipping, then will do the whole copper thing for a couple weeks and rock from there. Hopefully. I do worry a bit about space, as well, but I hope that having only two "big" fish (the wrasse and angel) will allow everyone to live without too much effort, not to mention I've got ammonia reducing pads, carbon, and can up changes if needed for additional NH4.
I'd say that's it, but it was a lot! Hope you all enjoy, and I'll try to keep you all posted with the new stuff
.
. Yay for corals!
