Hart's 120 3/4" starfire expansion!

[hart24601]

Bought some frozen blackworms that came yesterday. Sure stink up my hand after feeding! So far the fish eat them ok, not going crazy and not all of the fish are eating them, but will see after a few days. I still use the autofeeder, flakes, rods and LRS to keep it varied along with nori for the tangs. Now that I have conditioned the new members I will drop the feeding a bit and use more dry food.

 

[jzaso]

Very nice! On a few pages back you mentioned a uv diode swap can ask you a couple of questions?

 

[hart24601]

Very nice! On a few pages back you mentioned a uv diode swap can ask you a couple of questions?

Sure thing. Here are some more details. I bought the new diode from reefbreeders - I found a couple guides on how to replace them and it was pretty easy. I think there was even a youtube video. Pretty much get a decent soldering gun, touch the old diode on the metal connection while lifting up and the old ones come out. Put new ones in the same way, dab of thermal paste, find the tiny little mark for the positive or neg, heat up the connection and use a little bit of solder. Pretty easy. Sucks with a cheap gun though.

 

[jzaso]

Thanks, love your led layout and par readings good info! well got a good gun skill level iffy but courage is up! going to place a order with reefbreeders for some choice diodes have some lenses and a few diodes coming from ebay ready to void my warranty!

 

[hart24601]

Thanks, love your led layout and par readings good info! well got a good gun skill level iffy but courage is up! going to place a order with reefbreeders for some choice diodes have some lenses and a few diodes coming from ebay ready to void my warranty!

Nice! It's scary, it was my 1st time soldering and with a terrible gun, but it really went pretty well (eventually) and it's easy. I think you can do a custom layout and have reefbreeders install them for you when you order the lights - if you have not ordered the fixtures yet. I also think that if you get their LEDs you can do it yourself and not void the warranty, but check with them, I don't remember 100% and things always change.

 

[jzaso]

I wish it was a reebreeders unit-its not -but its using 3w lowbin two tab bridge/epis diodes- I was able to do a custom layout on my other boxs because I ordered more than two very happy with those-this one is a 300w marsaqua hate layout diode spectrum stinks I might be trying to polish a turd but anything I do to it at this point would be a +

 

[hart24601]

Be sure to post how it goes, good luck!

 

[hart24601]

Wow. Looking back at old photos - when 1st got back into saltwater. No sump, tiny skimmer, canister filter with a hob too. Even with a combo of live rock (terrible rock at that, not a good internet rock experience, and some decorative rock from the yard! Terrible!!

 

[hart24601]

Sigh... well 1st off I noticed some ich on the purple tang and a bit on the white-tail. I was setting up a hospital tank, but I really don't know how to catch them. I was good about QT the tangs, but just forgot when it came to one of the more recent additions. My fault totally. Anyway I used to have a vortex diatom filter in the mid 90's that I used for discus tanks, and I am going to try using one of those to filter the ich to contain it, not cure it. With good nutrition and the ~18hr free living stage coupled with BB and lots of flow hopefully I can just treat the outbreak. Not ideal, but short of totally tearing down the tank I could never get all the fish out anyway to eradicate it. So we will see how it works.

In coral news I have been trying and trying and trying to get that stupid cap to stick on the back wall. The one little frag plug with just superglue is on there really tough, as I was going to take it off and pulled pretty hard, surprisingly hard and it stuck, so I am leaving that one. The large one I have tried waterweld and fluval stick, those puttys are not sticky though. I tried quite a few things, but finally ordered a "safe" 2 part epoxy "Mr sticky's underwater epoxy". It looks promising. Just takes hours to harden, so I had to put a bit of superglue on the plugs 1st and epoxy on the plugs and glass, but it appears to stick well to the glass before hardening. We shall see. I probably just attached horribly ugly plugs forever! Thats ok, it wont take long for coral to encrust it even if it never comes off.

Next bit of news, the tang seems to be picking at the sweet elephant ear green mushroom. Not sure what to do, the shroom attached to the bare bottom and I really like it. The shroom is really thick though, will see how it goes before I rehome it.

I have been eyeing an elegance coral at the LFS for a few weeks. Not a cool colored tip, but fresh cut base and edges and from what I hear that is good and indicated an Aussie and cut from a reef, not pulled from lagoon which I read is a good thing. After watching it for a few weeks to make sure the cuts were not infected I decided to buy it. I normally am more impulsive! But these guys I really wanted to get a healthy one and it was still there so I got a discount. Very sticky and looks pretty good! I had to move my mp40 though, it was on the bottom blowing crud forward, but pretty sure it was too much, at least for now, so I just moved it higher on the back wall. So far so good.

 

[hart24601]

I had not really thought about this before, but I have my bubble magus doser pluged in through the apex. I was just reading about someone being scared that a 2part doser could get stuck on and crash the tank. I changed the doser outlet to shut off if pH goes above 8.6. I think this should work pretty well to act protect the tank right? Calcium shouldn't matter too much if gets stuck, just make a snow storm, I think the worry is from alk raising pH too high if everything was dosed. Thoughts??

I also have the skimmer shuts off with return pump and turns back on 2min after the return starts and the ozone shuts off when skimmer is off and restarts 2 min after skimmer does, or 4 min after return starts. That works pretty well.

 

[hart24601]

Couple FTS:

 

[hart24601]

My friend came over with his ultra fancy dslr and put me to shame....

 

[hart24601]

I got the vortex last night. That brings me back! I hooked it up before the above pictures were taken and it has been running since. People are right, the instructions are terrible! Lucky I still remembered the basic process from when I had one before. Crazy to think I detassled in middle school and saved up so I could get a silly filter in my early teenage years. These old style electric motors have such a unique smell, you sure know it's on!

Shows how the times have changed, it says you need to give the fish a break with all the flow it puts out or they could die... 300-400gph! I guess they wouldn't like the 9,000+ I run in a 120 back in the day these were made, ha!

It seems to be working just fine. No leaks, I did also ziptie the tubes, I remember they fall off or at least used to.

 

[gettaReef]

Haha, detassled and used the money for a fish filter, now that's a diehard aquarist! Could you post a picture of this vortex? These were before my time but wish I had one as it seems pretty useful

 

[Paul B]

I have been using them since the 60s and have about 5 of them. Most for parts as they are made very badly and rust out, leak, fall apart etc. Most of the parts I made. My tank would not work without yearly cleanings with a diatom filter.

 

[hart24601]

Nice! Glad to see I am not the only one who likes them, even if I did take a 15 year break from having one. Here is the one I got from Amazon. It seems larger than the one I used to have.

 

[hart24601]

I have been using them since the 60s and have about 5 of them. Most for parts as they are made very badly and rust out, leak, fall apart etc. Most of the parts I made. My tank would not work without yearly cleanings with a diatom filter.

You invent all sorts of stuff Paul, you should make and sell an updated diatom based filter. I think it would have a good market for reef tanks now, 2 part precipitation emergency, fish/coral/clam spawns, picking bubble algae, really anything in the water column that is larger than 1 micron, but you know more about the uses than me! With the nice pumps now you could make a really slick one.

 

[gettaReef]

Thanks for the quick responses. It appears you have this one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002602SW/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_Zq45ub0T4S6WG. It is huge, ugly, and my wife would hate it; I think I'll buy one and give it a whirl.

 

[hart24601]

Haha, I just looked it up, I got Amazon.com : Vortex XL Diatom Filter - 8 in. x 15 in. : Aquarium Filters : Pet Supplies

Even bigger and uglier! They are out of stock now though. Even better if someone has never had an old electric motor, some old kitchen things like blenders, they have a smell that modern electronics don't have so you can smell that and think the house will burn down! I don't know what that unique smell is, just the oil?

 

[Paul B]

Here is the one I got from Amazon. It seems larger than the one I used to have.

I also have one of those large ones, maybe two. I had to make the bag for it as the original bag only lasts a few years. They are great for helping to cure ich or any parasitic infection but I don't like to mention that (or anything about ich because of the arguments) If you have to treat something in copper and you have it in a tank with a diatom filter, the fish will be cured a lot faster because the newly hatched parasites will get sucked up in the filter. I recently bought a copperband butterfly for five bucks because it was covered in parasites. Copper and a diatom, cured it in a couple of days. I kept it for a month and gave it away as my old copperband didn't get along with the newer much smaller one. I often get ich infected fish very cheap and do the same thing. I don't know why so few people use diatoms except that they are not built very well. If I ever get time, I will build one from scratch as it is not that difficult to make something now with the new pumps we have. I write about using a diatom filter in my book because so few people have ever heard of them. If anyone disagrees with me about the ich thing. I don't want to hear about it because I am old and crotchety so you will have to write your own book and certainly , don't read mine. :nono:

Yes, that smell is the oil as those motors have bronze, oil infused bearings and the windings overheat. (I rebuilt them dozens of times) You can boil eggs on these pumps, that's the ones that don't leak because those just shock you more than if you ever go to a Lady GaGa concert :fear: