My Waterbox 180.5 Build
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thewedge
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I got all of my tasks done and the tanks are ready for me to be away. Hoping to be able to move the fish over and shut down my 65 when I get back. Next major tasks are to setup the awc and build the mixing station. I won't have an Apex until I shut my other system down so the awc and finishing mounting components on the controller board I will probably do on the same day I move the apex.
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thewedge
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Back from my work trip. Ammonia is reading 0 but nitrite is reading at least 5 and nitrate is over 40. I really expected nitrite to be down by now. I will perform a large water change in the next day or so.
Had the same exact problem with the replacement Finnex heater I received. I'm very frustrated.
Had the same exact problem with the replacement Finnex heater I received. I'm very frustrated.
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thewedge
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A couple more shots. I already have my first diatom bloom after having the lights on for 4 days. Also still dealing with heater issues. I contacted Finnex this time. On Monday I'm sending them the old heater and they're going to send me a replacement. For the time being I've been using a 300 watt heater from my old freshwater setup. It's in the display tank because it's not fully submersible. I'm going to put that into my 65 and take the 300w heater out of the sump there and put it in this tank's sump.
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thewedge
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Transferred over my serpent star and one astrea snail. I can see after feeding the two fish for just 2 days that there is already uneaten food in the tank. Trying to have a balance between adding cuc as needed but not overstocking with snails only to have them starve. The astrea is just to get a start on cleaning the glass, which is beginning to show micro algae. Pretty sure I'll be moving more in the next few days. Also plan on getting a few nasarius snails by the end of the week.
I spent time on Sun and Mon moving my Apex over and programming it for the new tank. I then dug out my old Apex classic. With the help of my old Wi-Fi extender that had an ethernet port I was able to use that to reconnect the Classic to Fusion. I'll be able to continue to use this Apex to manage and monitor my 20 gallon Nuvo. I have an ALD module on it and will be picking up a LDK for the new tank. Right now I'm just using a Watchdog for leak detection.
My goal is to hopefully be breaking down my 65gal this weekend. If not, then definitely the following weekend. Will take whatever rock I can to my LFS for some credit for all the mushrooms. Problem is, they're not exactly a rare coral.
I spent time on Sun and Mon moving my Apex over and programming it for the new tank. I then dug out my old Apex classic. With the help of my old Wi-Fi extender that had an ethernet port I was able to use that to reconnect the Classic to Fusion. I'll be able to continue to use this Apex to manage and monitor my 20 gallon Nuvo. I have an ALD module on it and will be picking up a LDK for the new tank. Right now I'm just using a Watchdog for leak detection.
My goal is to hopefully be breaking down my 65gal this weekend. If not, then definitely the following weekend. Will take whatever rock I can to my LFS for some credit for all the mushrooms. Problem is, they're not exactly a rare coral.
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thewedge
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I moved my devil's hand over in Thursday night. It's doing really well. Definitely going to need to cut it in half. I didn't realize how big it was.
I tried to setup the fuge section and I seeded it with some pods fed them phyto and put in Marinepure spheres. Put everything sit for an hour before turning the pump back on and watch pretty much 3/4 of the pods leave the huge for the skiver section and I'm sure ultimately to that return pump and tank. By the next day I couldn't see any pods in the fuge. I was also taken by surprise by how loud the baffle for the refusalem section made the whole sound. It sounds like I have a waterfall under my tank. It was bad enough that the socks made it sound that way but I was able to dampen the sound with some filter floss. But this is twice as loud. One of the reasons I went this route was cuz I wanted to be assured that the tank would be nearly silent and by and large I had accomplished that. But I'm not sure I'm going to be able to take this noise long-term. And since it doesn't look promising to cultivate copy pods in the huge section and probably going to take the baffle back out sooner or later.
I tried to setup the fuge section and I seeded it with some pods fed them phyto and put in Marinepure spheres. Put everything sit for an hour before turning the pump back on and watch pretty much 3/4 of the pods leave the huge for the skiver section and I'm sure ultimately to that return pump and tank. By the next day I couldn't see any pods in the fuge. I was also taken by surprise by how loud the baffle for the refusalem section made the whole sound. It sounds like I have a waterfall under my tank. It was bad enough that the socks made it sound that way but I was able to dampen the sound with some filter floss. But this is twice as loud. One of the reasons I went this route was cuz I wanted to be assured that the tank would be nearly silent and by and large I had accomplished that. But I'm not sure I'm going to be able to take this noise long-term. And since it doesn't look promising to cultivate copy pods in the huge section and probably going to take the baffle back out sooner or later.
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thewedge
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Also took my first N and P measurements since stocking.
N = 10
P = .04
I added 6 astrea snails and 6 blue leg hermits on Thursday. They all seem to be doing okay and the snails are taken care of the line of film at the water line so that's pretty cool. I was a little nervous about things starving cuz I wasn't quite sure how much food was available in the tank yet. But I put a portion of a frozen cube of isis in every day and there's definitely some money and my sis in there. The flow looks really good with the two mp40s pretty much just doing constant 40%. Seems to be keeping things suspended pretty well. Once I start adding Coral I will be varying the flow and probably turning up the speed a bit.
Later today I'll be adding the Apex FFM module with optical sensors for the sump and ATO reservoir as well as a leak detector on the floor.
N = 10
P = .04
I added 6 astrea snails and 6 blue leg hermits on Thursday. They all seem to be doing okay and the snails are taken care of the line of film at the water line so that's pretty cool. I was a little nervous about things starving cuz I wasn't quite sure how much food was available in the tank yet. But I put a portion of a frozen cube of isis in every day and there's definitely some money and my sis in there. The flow looks really good with the two mp40s pretty much just doing constant 40%. Seems to be keeping things suspended pretty well. Once I start adding Coral I will be varying the flow and probably turning up the speed a bit.
Later today I'll be adding the Apex FFM module with optical sensors for the sump and ATO reservoir as well as a leak detector on the floor.
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thewedge
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Hit anther milestone the other night. Plumbed and setup the Dos for auto water changes. I'm at 1 gal per day from 10pm to midnight, while I observe that everything is good. It's been fine the past few nights and I will switch to daily 2 gal changes overnight.
Also added a zoa frag and a blasto frag from the LFS. So far, they look happy.
I removed the fuge baffle because I could not take the waterfall noise and all the pods spilled into the skimmer section anyway. Ultimately I will cultivate pods someplace as I really would like a mandarin eventually.
I also added the FMM and sensors.
So many mini-projects with this build...
Also added a zoa frag and a blasto frag from the LFS. So far, they look happy.
I removed the fuge baffle because I could not take the waterfall noise and all the pods spilled into the skimmer section anyway. Ultimately I will cultivate pods someplace as I really would like a mandarin eventually.
I also added the FMM and sensors.
So many mini-projects with this build...
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Just a quick update. Everything seems to be doing well. 1gal water changes nightly. When I get a little more bio load, I'll increase that.
Along with my old leather, I added a blasto and 2 zoa frags. I'm in no rush to glue them. Will just let them grow out a little on the frag rack as I slowly acquire more coral.
Not planning on adding much to the tank for at least a month. Going to see how ugly things get first. There's a little bit of diatoms or something on the sand, but nothing too crazy and doesn't seem to be increasing very quickly. Seeing some as algae or something on the rocks. It's really hard to tell with the rock being purple. The glass needs to be scraped daily.
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thewedge
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Have had a number if updates recently. I added a Trident (woot!) a few days ago. Pretty sure I'm going to have to calibrate it. It is consistently reading alk lower than Hanna. 7.6 on Trident, 8.2 on Hanna.
Yesterday, I added a BRS CO2 scrubber. My PH has hit 7.9 for the first time. I'm hoping I can get to about 8.3. it has been reading between 7.6 and 7.7.
I've been dosing All for Reef at 35ml about every other day. I prefer my alk to be at 8.4, which is what my water mixes up to. It's been tough to keep it there. I'm still fine tuning dosing/testing/water changes. I stopped with the daily water changes for a bit so I could focus on getting stable alk/ph first, then I will reintroduce. I only have 2 fish in this tank, so I think I can tolerate no water changes for a week or two
Yesterday, I ordered a lid from Clearview Lids. Very excited for that. Seems like it will be at least a month and a half before I get it. I've been holding off on adding fish until I get a cover. I may look into something that is unlikely to jump, like a few cardinals, in the meantime.
N and P have been at 0. So far I just have a not-very-robust looking turf algae covering all the rock. I moved a snail to the frag rack yesterday and it cleared the algae from the frag plugs nicely. Just keeping an eye on things. I'm hoping if I go slowly and don't add too much livestock at once, I can keep the bad stuff at bay for a bit. I may start feeding more to try and get the nutrients up slightly until I can add more livestock. Stopping water changes for a week or so might help too.
Yesterday, I added a BRS CO2 scrubber. My PH has hit 7.9 for the first time. I'm hoping I can get to about 8.3. it has been reading between 7.6 and 7.7.
I've been dosing All for Reef at 35ml about every other day. I prefer my alk to be at 8.4, which is what my water mixes up to. It's been tough to keep it there. I'm still fine tuning dosing/testing/water changes. I stopped with the daily water changes for a bit so I could focus on getting stable alk/ph first, then I will reintroduce. I only have 2 fish in this tank, so I think I can tolerate no water changes for a week or two
Yesterday, I ordered a lid from Clearview Lids. Very excited for that. Seems like it will be at least a month and a half before I get it. I've been holding off on adding fish until I get a cover. I may look into something that is unlikely to jump, like a few cardinals, in the meantime.
N and P have been at 0. So far I just have a not-very-robust looking turf algae covering all the rock. I moved a snail to the frag rack yesterday and it cleared the algae from the frag plugs nicely. Just keeping an eye on things. I'm hoping if I go slowly and don't add too much livestock at once, I can keep the bad stuff at bay for a bit. I may start feeding more to try and get the nutrients up slightly until I can add more livestock. Stopping water changes for a week or so might help too.
