My self induced cyanobacterial bloom

[alberthiel]

Lol right..Instant Diatoms...not Ocean.

One thing that sucks is that there are only lesser quality brands to find locally..so emergency salt runs are not going to be nearly as fast.

Indeed .... and on the salt supply I usually stock up on it and never let my remaining supply go below 50 gallons reserve. When I reach that level I re-order ... but not sure whether that is how you want to handle it ... Of course even if I ran out for some reason there are plenty of stores here in the area ...

Check out Pure Reef - Marine Fish, Saltwater Fish, Corals, Aquarium Supplies, Alpharetta, Georgia which is my local LFS (well the closest by - maybe 10 minutes drive away).

 

[SeymourDuncan]

Yeah I stock up on salt too...which is why i have not yet ran out of "Instant Diatoms" (reef crystals).

I can't wait to move from here...you don't wanna see our nearest LFS..they have a single 20 long with a pile of rock and caulerpa and "assorted coral" including aptasia for sale..closest good one still isn't close to what I see you guys post. The closest place is at least 1.75hrs and beyond pricey...star polyps for $40 per plug is outrageous but there is no competition around them. If it wasnt still indiana I would move there and set up shop but I have had it with the corn fields. Idaho is calling my name. (My home state). Hurry up and graduate college, woman!!! Haha

 

[alberthiel]

Yeah I stock up on salt too...which is why i have not yet ran out of "Instant Diatoms" (reef crystals).

I can't wait to move from here...you don't wanna see our nearest LFS..they have a single 20 long with a pile of rock and caulerpa and "assorted coral" including aptasia for sale..closest good one still isn't close to what I see you guys post. The closest place is at least 1.75hrs and beyond pricey...star polyps for $40 per plug is outrageous but there is no competition around them. If it wasnt still indiana I would move there and set up shop but I have had it with the corn fields. Idaho is calling my name. (My home state). Hurry up and graduate college, woman!!! Haha

I know what you mean when you live far from a good store and when the closest good one is totally over priced ... not unusual in kind of rural communities I guess (unfortunately)

 

[SeymourDuncan]

I might just stick the 20 gallon stink tank inside the 75g and use is as a refugium after I clean it out...or even take it apart for the glass...

The 75 gallon doesn't really need any baffles if i do that...Berlin Style with a Drop in 20 gallon refugium? Hmmm I think I like that a lot. That would leave a much larger Evap section. Less chance my tank will run dry if I am gone for too many days.

 

[alberthiel]

I might just stick the 20 gallon stink tank inside the 75g and use is as a refugium after I clean it out...or even take it apart for the glass...

The 75 gallon doesn't really need any baffles if i do that...Berlin Style with a Drop in 20 gallon refugium? Hmmm I think I like that a lot. That would leave a much larger Evap section. Less chance my tank will run dry if I am gone for too many days.

Now that sounds like a plan indeed and a good one ... I think that will work ... and yes larger reserve of water for evap compensation ....

 

[SeymourDuncan]

The other thing I have to do is redo my water change system right now the sump is in the basement so I use gravity. The saltwater reservoir is not anywhere near the sump or the fish room...I may have to combine my frag tank with the display and use the sump space from the frag tank for the water station. Just now realized that as I am filling up my ATO

 

[SeymourDuncan]

Here is a rough sketch of the layout.
The fish room is at the front of the house. There is a living room, a kitchen, and a back porch between there and the water closet. The plumbing from the ATO and salt reservoir go all the way back to the sump which is 17 feet below and to the right of the fish room. I love it

(Picture done with high tech compressed tree fiber and HD ink for an almost hand drawn effect )

 

[alberthiel]

The other thing I have to do is redo my water change system right now the sump is in the basement so I use gravity. The saltwater reservoir is not anywhere near the sump or the fish room...I may have to combine my frag tank with the display and use the sump space from the frag tank for the water station. Just now realized that as I am filling up my ATO

Yes looks like a few changes are needed ... and nice drawing you did ... have to really take a good look at it ... thanks

 

[SeymourDuncan]

That was what I drew to explain to my girlfriend what I was doing with all that PVC haha. She was hoping for a 2nd bathroom lol.
The diagram I made my self before I installed it looks like this

Of course my scribbles to me mean so much more than they look haha. The funny part is I got an A+ in blueprint writing in College

 

[alberthiel]

That was what I drew to explain to my girlfriend what I was doing with all that PVC haha. She was hoping for a 2nd bathroom lol.
The diagram I made my self before I installed it looks like this

Of course my scribbles to me mean so much more than they look haha. The funny part is I got an A+ in blueprint writing in College

Well I am sure that with that drawing she will understand ... sort of I guess

 

[SeymourDuncan]

She still thinks I'm crazy, but was impressed when I showed her how it works. Before I always complained about walking back and forth with buckets. Now I say, "see you in 5!" And its done.
Each day the scrubber gets more and more surface life. I'm wondering how dense the stuff will actually get before my buddy has time to get here to help?

 

[alberthiel]

She still thinks I'm crazy, but was impressed when I showed her how it works. Before I always complained about walking back and forth with buckets. Now I say, "see you in 5!" And its done.
Each day the scrubber gets more and more surface life. I'm wondering how dense the stuff will actually get before my buddy has time to get here to help?

Well that is good progress .... and on the scrubber hopefully not so thick that some starts dying off and pollutes your whole system ...

 

[SeymourDuncan]

When it gets too thick it will get sucked up by the overflow and the protein skimmer will remove it. I actually just watched a piece go down the drain and end up in the skimmer cup. I had that in mind ahead of time. The pump didn't even get clogged!

 

[alberthiel]

When it gets too thick it will get sucked up by the overflow and the protein skimmer will remove it. I actually just watched a piece go down the drain and end up in the skimmer cup. I had that in mind ahead of time. The pump didn't even get clogged!

Glad to read that such is what happened as if they fall apart and break down and do not get removed... they will pollute the water ...

 

[vetteguy53081]

Yes, This one

 

[SeymourDuncan]

Yes, This one

This one?! This one what?! Lol.

 

[SeymourDuncan]

The stink tank has been officially removed!
The new sump is nearly plumbed. The local hardware store didn't have the PVC I needed for the new drain so tomorrow I have to go get it out of town.
I have opted to just use my 55g sump while designing the new sump so I can remodel my basement.
I am exhausted, that's for sure. Nothing ever goes as planned, which I planned for, but still was a lot more work than anticipated.

I have set the stink tank aside and will test the system without it for a while to see if it improves or gets worse. If it gets worse i will plan to add a cyano scrubber into the new sump. Until then, it is on stand by! Pics tomorrow after the plumbing is assembled

 

[alberthiel]

The stink tank has been officially removed!
The new sump is nearly plumbed. The local hardware store didn't have the PVC I needed for the new drain so tomorrow I have to go get it out of town.
I have opted to just use my 55g sump while designing the new sump so I can remodel my basement.
I am exhausted, that's for sure. Nothing ever goes as planned, which I planned for, but still was a lot more work than anticipated.

I have set the stink tank aside and will test the system without it for a while to see if it improves or gets worse. If it gets worse i will plan to add a cyano scrubber into the new sump. Until then, it is on stand by! Pics tomorrow after the plumbing is assembled

Wow looks like a lot of changes and yes I can understand you are beat ... moving those tanks around is hard work.

It will be interesting to see what happens when you remove it and how things develop .... and what happens in the main tank ...

 

[SeymourDuncan]

Here's the progress now, looks like I need a human clean up crew for this mess!!! Haha

You can see the tank...barely. The tilted trash can is slowly filling the sump like an ATO while I drink coffee. My back hurts too much to pour it.
I am at the last 10g of salt too I believe. So that is a plus. It seems to never end though..I am starting to think this salt bucket came from Mary poppins. I just keep using and it never emptied haha.

So today's goal:
Get te sump full, plumbed, and back up and running with the display. Maybe clean up my pile of a fish room...maybe pay someone else to...with frags

 

[alberthiel]

Here's the progress now, looks like I need a human clean up crew for this mess!!! Haha
You can see the tank...barely. The tilted trash can is slowly filling the sump like an ATO while I drink coffee. My back hurts too much to pour it.
I am at the last 10g of salt too I believe. So that is a plus. It seems to never end though..I am starting to think this salt bucket came from Mary poppins. I just keep using and it never emptied haha.

So today's goal:
Get te sump full, plumbed, and back up and running with the display. Maybe clean up my pile of a fish room...maybe pay someone else to...with frags

I can see what you mean and yes you are going to need a super duper cleaning crew and maybe some Aleve for your back

Lots of stuff to do it looks like.

And I know what you mean about that salt bucket ... when you are trying to use it up ti seems like it just keeps going an going and when you don't want it to run out it always looks like it is empty way too soon or sooner than you thought it would be