Perry's Shallow Water Acro Dominant Build Thread

[ScottB]

Hey Scott,
I had a tunze 6095 wide open, and a crosswave gryre type pump, both replaced by a single mp40. The tunze put out insane flow, but no sand storm, had to get creative The sand only moves during constant mode at 100%, but I even cranked up the mp40 to 80%, and no issues in reefcrest mode. The pumps synced, but not too upset over that, really nice during feed mode as one pump triggers the other to feed mode, kinda slick I suppose The acros seem to love the flow pattern already. I also finally put up my custom screen top today, so time to add some fish!!!
Starting ti really enjoy the direction of the tank.

Hmm. That feed mode communication is an interesting trick. I am a fan of the MPs just due to ease of maintenance and durability. I keep a few spare wet sides so I can swap them in seconds and throw the dirty in citric acid. Rinse it next day and repeat. I have 8 of them running, so ease matters. My older units are 7 years old or so I think.

 

[Perry]

Hmm. That feed mode communication is an interesting trick. I am a fan of the MPs just due to ease of maintenance and durability. I keep a few spare wet sides so I can swap them in seconds and throw the dirty in citric acid. Rinse it next day and repeat. I have 8 of them running, so ease matters. My older units are 7 years old or so I think.

Lol,
I didn't set the application, the 2 pumps synced on their own, both "W" version QD. I set one to feed mode during feeding, and when I set the other one, I noticed the other pump kicked back on to regular mode. So putting one to feed mode automatically set the other.
I have an extra mp40 wetside, but need a spare mp10. So much easier, and I have used several pumps, but mp's are clearly a superior pump, worth every penny I have used them before, but had the non QD, but they seem to last, like tunze. The inexpensive knock off pumps do not last, I usually get a year, if that. So the investment made, and low profile, less cords, truly important in a smaller setup where the display can quickly be overshadowed by clunky pumps and cords. I did notice sand moved a bit, so mp10 tuned down to 50% and mp40 to 60%. Still plenty of water moving

 

[Perry]

@ScottB
Same routine this morning, 0.05 30 minutes after a 2ml dose. So, a residual carry over of 0.01. So consumption increased, as I expected 0.08, based on trend. Now, I observed corals closely rhis morning, and I see all sorts of growth trends, in the usual suspects, but more so in the lazy stalled acros. My Paletta Pink Tip which was translucent lime green with hues of pink, seems to show greater zooxanthellae density, so could it be?
@drawman
100% correct about testing, while I am not a huge subscriber of testing, I believe daily po4 and alk monitoring is a great idea, if for nothing else but to reinforce observations, and gut instincts. Even my cranky Fox Flame is bouncing back, healed completely, and coloring up
I appreciate all that have been following the journey and growing knowledge with me. I know my style is not embraced by many, and I am ok with that. This is a journal, intended to document, and a place where I can reflect back. So to those sticking around for the madness, I thank you!
Cheers,

 

[ScottB]

You make a great point about the value of a tank journal. It is not something I have leveraged on this platform, but I should. Every couple of weeks or months, I come to a point where I ask myself "now how did I get here?". (For example: dinos, cyano, pale corals, brown corals, burnt tips, STN/RTN, aefw, GHA...)

Answering the question is sometimes obvious, but often not. Because over the past few months, I have made little tweaks to variables. I added variable A, removed B, doubled variable C, missed 4WCs due to D, did a massive WC after D, which now leaves me with E.

As I have the working memory of a juvenile goldfish, it can be hard to piece together how I got "here". A journal would help. Right now, I am stuck with digging through APEX logs. I am good with posting data, but not observations.

 

[Perry]

You make a great point about the value of a tank journal. It is not something I have leveraged on this platform, but I should. Every couple of weeks or months, I come to a point where I ask myself "now how did I get here?". (For example: dinos, cyano, pale corals, brown corals, burnt tips, STN/RTN, aefw, GHA...)

Answering the question is sometimes obvious, but often not. Because over the past few months, I have made little tweaks to variables. I added variable A, removed B, doubled variable C, missed 4WCs due to D, did a massive WC after D, which now leaves me with E.

As I have the working memory of a juvenile goldfish, it can be hard to piece together how I got "here". A journal would help. Right now, I am stuck with digging through APEX logs. I am good with posting data, but not observations.

Hey Scott,
Start a thread here or somewhere, I would absolutely love to see the entire scope of your system I feel it's a place where you can detail your system, and if someone doesn't like it, owell, plenty of other threads out there. I often look back on my journal to gain perspective of the progression.

So again, this am, I dosed 2ml of flourish, waited 1/2 hour, then tested. 0.08 today, so I am really getting an idea of what my system is doing, in terms of throughput. It appears that 1 to 1.25 ml per day, plus the normal feeding will be my approximate set point. I am pleased with .08, and will repeat tomorrow with lower dose to gain more data. Tomorrow, I will test no3, curious to see if that is declining.
Other than the normal bacteria building on sand, rock, and glass, the corals all seem to be loving it.
Yesterday, I placed an order with Reefcleaners, 6 emeralds, a cucumber, brittle star, mex red legs, ceriths, periwinkles, nass, limpets, astreas, and a few others, but I can't remember righrt now. I try to update the CUC every year, so it's time with a new sandbed My next purchase will be a CBB.
Cheers

 

[minus9]

Perry, I don't want to be an alarmist here, but inspect your CUC thoroughly for pyramid snails before you put them in your tank. This is how I believe they entered my system, hitchhiking on other snails. Look for pyramids and their egg cases on the shells.

 

[Perry]

Perry, I don't want to be an alarmist here, but inspect your CUC thoroughly for pyramid snails before you put them in your tank. This is how I believe they entered my system, hitchhiking on other snails. Look for pyramids and their egg cases on the shells.

Ahh...
Will do my friend. I am sure many hitchhikers make it through on inverts. I have hermits with bubble algae on their shells, lol. I can quarantine anything as I have a fallow system running with mangroves and liverock. A visual inspection with reader's on should suffice
Cheers

 

[BranchingHammer]

Perry, I don't want to be an alarmist here, but inspect your CUC thoroughly for pyramid snails before you put them in your tank. This is how I believe they entered my system, hitchhiking on other snails. Look for pyramids and their egg cases on the shells.

Totally agree with John here. Some pyramid snails hitchhiked on some cerith snails that I bought a few months ago. I was terrified that they would devour my derasa, but somehow I got lucky, and I only see them preying on Collinista and vermetid snails. Still, I rinse and scrub all of my snail shells with freshwater now...

 

[ScottB]

Totally agree with John here. Some pyramid snails hitchhiked on some cerith snails that I bought a few months ago. I was terrified that they would devour my derasa, but somehow I got lucky, and I only see them preying on Collinista and vermetid snails. Still, I rinse and scrub all of my snail shells with freshwater now...

WAIT!

Pyramid snails eat vermetids? If that is true, I might need to ponder... how badly do I want these vermetids gone versus how bad do I want to keep my enormous turbos or get a clam...

 

[drawman]

You make a great point about the value of a tank journal. It is not something I have leveraged on this platform, but I should. Every couple of weeks or months, I come to a point where I ask myself "now how did I get here?". (For example: dinos, cyano, pale corals, brown corals, burnt tips, STN/RTN, aefw, GHA...)

Answering the question is sometimes obvious, but often not. Because over the past few months, I have made little tweaks to variables. I added variable A, removed B, doubled variable C, missed 4WCs due to D, did a massive WC after D, which now leaves me with E.

As I have the working memory of a juvenile goldfish, it can be hard to piece together how I got "here". A journal would help. Right now, I am stuck with digging through APEX logs. I am good with posting data, but not observations.

I'm right there with you Scott. When I started the hobby I used to keep an old school calendar and wrote down everything I did...even my dosing by hand. Now I try to remember and it's easy to get confused on when things actually happened. Guess we both need to start a thread at some point.

Hey Scott,
Start a thread here or somewhere, I would absolutely love to see the entire scope of your system I feel it's a place where you can detail your system, and if someone doesn't like it, owell, plenty of other threads out there. I often look back on my journal to gain perspective of the progression.

So again, this am, I dosed 2ml of flourish, waited 1/2 hour, then tested. 0.08 today, so I am really getting an idea of what my system is doing, in terms of throughput. It appears that 1 to 1.25 ml per day, plus the normal feeding will be my approximate set point. I am pleased with .08, and will repeat tomorrow with lower dose to gain more data. Tomorrow, I will test no3, curious to see if that is declining.
Other than the normal bacteria building on sand, rock, and glass, the corals all seem to be loving it.
Yesterday, I placed an order with Reefcleaners, 6 emeralds, a cucumber, brittle star, mex red legs, ceriths, periwinkles, nass, limpets, astreas, and a few others, but I can't remember righrt now. I try to update the CUC every year, so it's time with a new sandbed My next purchase will be a CBB.
Cheers

That's great news Perry. It enforces the idea that your corals may have been benefiting from PO4 via bacteria consumption once things turned around.

Totally agree with John here. Some pyramid snails hitchhiked on some cerith snails that I bought a few months ago. I was terrified that they would devour my derasa, but somehow I got lucky, and I only see them preying on Collinista and vermetid snails. Still, I rinse and scrub all of my snail shells with freshwater now...

Seems like you hit the lottery on pyramid snails! I had some that hitchhiked in on my previous setup and I had to continually brush them off of my turbo snails...painful to say the least.

 

[BranchingHammer]

WAIT!

Pyramid snails eat vermetids? If that is true, I might need to ponder... how badly do I want these vermetids gone versus how bad do I want to keep my enormous turbos or get a clam...

I'm right there with you Scott. When I started the hobby I used to keep an old school calendar and wrote down everything I did...even my dosing by hand. Now I try to remember and it's easy to get confused on when things actually happened. Guess we both need to start a thread at some point.



That's great news Perry. It enforces the idea that your corals may have been benefiting from PO4 via bacteria consumption once things turned around.



Seems like you hit the lottery on pyramid snails! I had some that hitchhiked in on my previous setup and I had to continually brush them off of my turbo snails...painful to say the least.

I’m not sure of they’re actually killing the vermetids, but I do see them on the tubes of them and on the Collinista snails. The vermetids that are preyed upon are still alive, however. I’m thinking that they just weaken them. I don’t have large enough numbers to really determine their diet.

 

[Perry]

Happiest coral in the tank

 

[ScottB]

Happiest coral in the tank

Nice and furry. SCOP?

 

[Perry]

Nice and furry. SCOP?

Wd

 

[ScottB]

Hey Scott,
Start a thread here or somewhere, I would absolutely love to see the entire scope of your system I feel it's a place where you can detail your system, and if someone doesn't like it, owell, plenty of other threads out there. I often look back on my journal to gain perspective of the progression.

My systems are kinda old now, but I will start one (I keep saying).

Actually, I have started one build thread for a project I am working on with my LFS owner, Randy. In fact I need to run down there to drill a couple of sumps in prep for tomorrow's plumbing day.

Large Build - Welcome to all the fun: setting up a 12 foot reef tank

Firstly, this system is not my own. I am merely an assistant to the building, stocking, and maintenance process. I will list my functions later in the thread for anyone who gives a fish-poo about it. Spoiler alert: I only have to do the fun/interesting parts. Mostly, anyway. Second, it is not...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Perry]

So this just happened....
My fiance, Cindy, is so tired of looking at my unskinned, stand, that she just ordered me a new system!
That's correct, my messy wiring, my unfinished stand, and mess of a sump has finally become such an eye sore, that she just got me a new setup, lol
So soon, I will be upgrading to the SCA 90 gallon cube setup. It includes everything, stand, sump, pump, skimmer, etc, and of course I will probably upgrade some equipment. The tank is 36"x24×24"
I will begin a new journal soon

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

So this just happened....
My fiance, Cindy, is so tired of looking at my unskinned, stand, that she just ordered me a new system!
That's correct, my messy wiring, my unfinished stand, and mess of a sump has finally become such an eye sore, that she just got me a new setup, lol
So soon, I will be upgrading to the SCA 90 gallon cube setup. It includes everything, stand, sump, pump, skimmer, etc, and of course I will probably upgrade some equipment. The tank is 36"x24×24"
I will begin a new journal soon

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost pulled the trigger on their 80g cube. My 50g is a sca btw. I never have bc I’m scared to death of the possible upgrade fatalities.....I’m also afraid of what my wife will do to me....and I don’t know which one scares me more

 

[ScottB]

So this just happened....
My fiance, Cindy, is so tired of looking at my unskinned, stand, that she just ordered me a new system!
That's correct, my messy wiring, my unfinished stand, and mess of a sump has finally become such an eye sore, that she just got me a new setup, lol
So soon, I will be upgrading to the SCA 90 gallon cube setup. It includes everything, stand, sump, pump, skimmer, etc, and of course I will probably upgrade some equipment. The tank is 36"x24×24"
I will begin a new journal soon

Some of us Old Timers would call that the behavior of "a keeper". I am lucky to have one myself.

 

[Perry]

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost pulled the trigger on their 80g cube. My 50g is a sca btw. I never have bc I’m scared to death of the possible upgrade fatalities.....I’m also afraid of what my wife will do to me....and I don’t know which one scares me more

My thought is similar volume, 4" wider and taller, I will build the scape about 4 inches higher as well, and make a single center bommie. I will use all existing rock and sand, but because it a PNP, I am in no rush, I can get it going then move on my schedule, without forcing over the livestock, been there done that. I want to move the sand 1st. Also do water changes in current tank, while tossing tank water in new, I have a plan, but want to take my time

 

[Perry]

Tank shipping tomorrow, I upgraded the stand from mdf to pre-assembled wood, very happy I made this decision. Started a thread on members forum, will be updating all new info there