Jimbo's CDA 250 Build

[stephanjupillat]

Thanks for the attachment. It is very easy to read and I like how it is organized.

I have heard that using live sand and fresh live rock can really accelerate the maturation process. I did try to add some of the AF mud, and other reefer's sand.

I've not heard about a DNA test...I'm assuming it is the Aquabiomics. The microbiome or the tank DNA test?

Sorry it’s the microbiome. Here’s the test I did

1002640_Microbiome_Report

Was real happy with the results

 

[Jimbo327]

Very cool on the microbiome test. I might have to give it a whirl.

Got a big overseas trips coming up. So need to set up some automation to keep the tank running while I'm gone. I have the neighbor's kids coming over to feed the fishes.

Here is a list of tasks I need to do before I go on my 3 weeks trip:

• Clean skimmer cup
• Empty skimmate locker and change out carbon
• Make my own DIY trace elements solution and put it on the doser
• Make my own DIY 2-part and top off the 2-part containers
• Refill the auto fish feeder
• Prep frozen fish food into daily portions for neighbor's to drop into tank
• Make instructions for neighbors on feeding
• Top off Trident reagents & calibrate
• Dose nitrates and phosphates to middle of range
• Replace filter floss
• Last water change
• Top off ATO container
• Say a prayer that my tank survives with the automation.

I should have bought a webcam, so I can keep an eye on it. Next time.

 

[Jimbo327]

Well, here we go. My first extended trip away from the tank for 24 days. It'll be a good test of my controller and equipment setup.

 

[Jimbo327]

Just got back home. Tank is looking a mess. Lots of frags got knocked over. All of the fishes are good though. And I would say most of SPS frags are alive, but some definitely don't look good. My SC Orange Passion SPS and Pink Lemonade SPS frags are goners.

Don't have time this week to fix things as I'm going straight into the office for work.

But all in all, the tank survived my 24 days absence.

Really dirty glass

SCOP bleached white

 

[Jimbo327]

Nitrates: 5.6 ppm
Phosphates: 0.13 ppm

I'm surprised this is in range as I was expecting nutrients to be much higher.

 

[tritonpower]

Great build thread. I too had trouble with SPS for the 1st 1-1.5 yrs. I think the maturity is likely the answer. Also, have you checked your PAR levels. I was shocked when I checked mine (they were way higher than I thought).

 

[Jimbo327]

I think you are right, it does take some time (~1 year I'm told) when starting with dead rock and sand. The tank is about 10 months old, so I'm almost there.

The good news is that I'm starting to see more signs of tank maturity. The coralline algae is covering most of the rocks and parts of the back wall. My nitrates and phosphates are stabilizing with carbon and LC dosing. Some of the SPS that had STN, well it seems to have either slowed down or stopped as well. I'm hopeful that I can keep more SPS after my tank reaches 1 year mark.

 

[Jimbo327]

I want to show the ups and downs of the tank. Well, the big downer is I found red planaria flatworms in the tank. Bummer.

I dip all of my corals in DipX and then the frag plug in hydrogen peroxide before I put it into the tank. However, it seemed that something got through, probably eggs or sand that I've gotten.

This is how I nuked my first reef tank, by treating flatworms with medication. I've tried the FWE, but it did not kill all of them. So I'm going to try Levamisole for a few weeks.

Here is a photo of the flatworm on the glass.

I don’t have enough space to run a separate QT for corals. Dipping can only lower the risk of pests.

This is the constant battle of being a reef keeper. I will detail my FW battle here, so others can see my successes or failures. I’m going to start making a fresh batch of salt water, and start sucking out as many FW into a sock in the sump as possible. The red FW toxin is no joke. I have to be very careful on the initial few treatments as there is usually way more FW than you can see. I have in-laws staying over, but once they leave, I can start my treatment.

I purchased pure Levamisole powder from Subquaria. I'm following this thread in RC for the recipe (thread link).

 

[Jimbo327]

On a bigger tank, you do save a lot of money by mixing your own chemicals.

I've added 4 teaspoon 99.9% Levamisole powder to 1L of RODI water (I made mine 2x concentrated than the thread, but I will dose less), and for my tank volume of ~300 gallons...I am going to dose about 150ml of this DIY FWE solution. I've made enough for 6x treatments (in case I need it). There are many types of FW's and each type may need different dosage. I will repeat this treatment multiple times since it does not kill eggs. From other's experience, overdosing may wipe the tank and may need to run an air pump to keep oxygen levels up.

I have made ~50 gallons of fresh saltwater for water changes. I have a pound of carbon ready to go.

Will wait until Friday to start the treatment since I will have time on weekend if things go south.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

On a bigger tank, you do save a lot of money by mixing your own chemicals.

I've added 4 teaspoon 99.9% Levamisole powder to 1L of RODI water (I made mine 2x concentrated than the thread, but I will dose less), and for my tank volume of ~300 gallons...I am going to dose about 150ml of this DIY FWE solution. I've made enough for 6x treatments (in case I need it). There are many types of FW's and each type may need different dosage. I will repeat this treatment multiple times since it does not kill eggs. From other's experience, overdosing may wipe the tank and may need to run an air pump to keep oxygen levels up.

I have made ~50 gallons of fresh saltwater for water changes. I have a pound of carbon ready to go.

Will wait until Friday to start the treatment since I will have time on weekend if things go south.

Wow! Good luck with that! I know Polo reef just blasts them with a hose of fresh RODI and the fish gobble them up. But you probably could have a hose running for an hour and it won't dent their salinity.

 

[Jimbo327]

It's a bit nerve wracking to use chemicals to eradicate FW. Thanks for the good luck wishes. I will need it.

While I wait, whipped up a bottle of Ammonia Bicarbonate stock solution per Randy's instruction. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-ammonia-dosing-for-low-nitrate-systems.987087/

My nitrates is <5ppm and I can see there is a light brown dusting on my sand, so I decided to start adding some DIY ammonia to the tank. Planning to add 0.1-0.2 ppm of the ammonia to the tank per day, which will translate to 0.36-0.7 ppm of nitrates.

 

[Jimbo327]

So it begins. Turned off the skimmer. Poured 220ml of the double strength DIY Levamisole solution into the sump.

The flatworms starts to move very quickly and some fell off the glass. Some of the snails fell off the glass and the fishes went into hiding. The shrimp and clams are looking fine, maybe mantle withdrawn a little bit. Zoas closed up. Torches deflated. But no emergencies.

After 1 hour, I started the skimmer. I adjusted it to skim wetter. After 1.5 hours, I added a big bag of carbon. Changed filter floss.

99% of the flatworms are gone from the glass. I can’t really tell because they are really tiny. But I’m going to repeat this treatment 3 or 4 more times to get any eggs/babies. So I'm not too concerned to get every flatworm on this first treatment. It is more important to knock the numbers down while not releasing too much toxin from dead flatworms.

At the 2 hours mark, I did a 30% water change.

Now waiting to see if tank recovers.

 

[Jimbo327]

So everything looks fine this morning, I can still see a few FW on the glass. I definitely knocked their numbers down significantly, but it is not all gone. I looked up the type of FW I have, and it is brown acoel flatworms (Amphiscolops sp) because it only has the 2 tails and no middle red spot like a red planaria. Many say they are harmless and I'm assuming less toxic than red planaria.

My plan is to continue this treatment every Friday for 3 more weeks.

Have to see the upside to everything. At least my fish won't have any worms since Levamisole is used a lot in the hobby as a dewormer.

 

[Jimbo327]

I think any medication will mess with the balance of tank. Now what the heck is this growing on my glass? I hope it is not some Dino’s. It’s brown and ugly. I’m going to syphon it into a bucket.

 

[Jimbo327]

I also notice my ORA turquoise staghorn started to half RTN. . ORA acros are supposed to be more hardy, so yeah it’s been that kind of week.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

one issue begets another... I am sure your system will be out of whack for awhile

 

[Jimbo327]

Always have to remind myself to look on the positive side when things are going wrong.

On the upside, my softies & LPS are doing well! My OG bounce started as a quarter sized frag, and it has naturally split once. Neptune bounce is not doing much, but healthy. And the JF Raunchy Red bounce is growing out of control. Mushrooms love my tank since I had high nutrients for awhile. Indo Gold torch is getting bigger about the size of a fist. I also bought a HG torch that was starting to detach from the base, and it has since healed and recovered. Yay!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Always have to remind myself to look on the positive side when things are going wrong.

On the upside, my softies & LPS are doing well! My OG bounce started as a quarter sized frag, and it has naturally split once. Neptune bounce is not doing much, but healthy. And the JF Raunchy Red bounce is growing out of control. Mushrooms love my tank since I had high nutrients for awhile. Indo Gold torch is getting bigger about the size of a fist. I also bought a HG torch that was starting to detach from the base, and it has since healed and recovered. Yay!

Very nice looking bounce! How long have you had it?

 

[Jimbo327]

All about 4-6 months. The OG started about quarter size, then it elongated and I was surprised that it split naturally when it was not that big. I’m trying to grow them out. And experiment if I can induce more splits.

The crazy one is the JF raunchy red bounce, it has big bubbles. It must have been 3-4” and then started to split.

 

[Jimbo327]

Started the 2nd dose of the DIY FWE. There were a lot of FW on the glass, so the first dose definitely didn't kill enough FW. I'm losing a little hope on the chemical treatment, but will continue to see if I can figure something out. Starting to think I need another wrasse. I'm hesitant on getting a wrasse because I would have to get a lid to prevent another jumping accident.

Anyways, I added 250ml of the DIY FWE (2x strength) and let it run. Skimmer off, no carbon, no UV.

Update#1: After 90 minutes, I started the skimmer. Still no carbon, no UV. The clams are fully shut. I don't see any FW on the glass. Everything else looks fine, maybe a couple snails are stunned and fell over. But overall, no major reactions.

Update #2: After 16 hours, I added a big bag of fresh carbon in the sump. The fishes are still hiding and not swimming like they normally do. I do see 1 of my nice SPS frags starting to STN. Clams are half opened. Shrimp is fine. All of the fishes are alive.