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135g In-Wall Basement Build


RockyProndoa
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Frustrated!!! Got rid of the cyano for now; but dino's appear to still be present slightly, corals look bad - I just can't seem to get this thing right. Is it ever possible for parameters to be too far out of whack to ever get a tank straightened back out? I also think that I am suffering from information overload. I tend to do a lot of research into my hobbies, and in this case, I think there is often times a lot of conflicting information out there and at this point I just don't know what to do next. I don't know what to dose, how to dose, water changes - the whole gambit.

 

I have sunk a lot of money into this tank, and I really hate to give up on it - but I also don't feel like continually dumping money into something that looks pitiful. Not to mention the coral frags that have perished as a result of my inabilities - it just doesn't make me feel good.

 

I am not sure what the point of this post is - maybe a rant, lol, maybe a cry for help, who knows...maybe I'm just hoping for a miracle :)

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I think you hit it on the head with info overload. If you are dosing stuff, what are you dosing? How many corals do you have? Cyano is typically a water flow issue. I haven't read your whole thread so I apologize if you already answered these questions. For what it's worth I have a 130 different types of corals in my tank and I don't dose anything. I'm going to have to start that someday but not yet.

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I think you hit it on the head with info overload. If you are dosing stuff, what are you dosing? How many corals do you have? Cyano is typically a water flow issue. I haven't read your whole thread so I apologize if you already answered these questions. For what it's worth I have a 130 different types of corals in my tank and I don't dose anything. I'm going to have to start that someday but not yet.

 

I am not really dosing anything, mostly out of fear of dosing the "wrong" thing (tried vodka, got dinos), and unfortunately some naivety as to what are the correct things "to" dose.

 

As for the corals, I only have a few frags - which seems to me would make keeping the parameters in line easier. However, I feel that I am chasing one number after another and adding way too many products (ChemiClean, UltraAlgaeX, etc) to give any real stabilization to the water.

 

I have 3 powerheads (2 x Jebao RW-8 and 1 x cheap Chinese knock-off) in the tank, plus the return (which I have also determined is grossly restricted because I have a 3/4" flex line connected direct to the pump) so, I guess again, I don't know what to judge it against as far as too much or too little flow.

 

I'm considering hiring a local company to come and service my tank and walk me through the basics - I consider myself a fairly intelligent guy but I am obviously missing the boat terribly somewhere.

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Before you go and hire a local company I would take a look at the forum and see if there are any members close to you that are willing to help out. I'm sure there has to be someone in Tole do that could lend a hand.

Personally I think this hobby is over complicated most of the time. Drop back to basics, keep the temp correct, change your filter media, do your water changes, don't over feed and don't add anything new until you have stability.

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Before you go and hire a local company I would take a look at the forum and see if there are any members close to you that are willing to help out. I'm sure there has to be someone in Tole do that could lend a hand.

Personally I think this hobby is over complicated most of the time. Drop back to basics, keep the temp correct, change your filter media, do your water changes, don't over feed and don't add anything new until you have stability.

This. Stop adding anything, and do a few large water changes to get your chemistry back in wack. Is your RODI giving you 0 TDS? If so wait it out manually removing what you can. Run a reverse lighting schedule on your fuge and get some cheato or other macro growing in there. If you are persistent it will get there!

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This. Stop adding anything, and do a few large water changes to get your chemistry back in wack. Is your RODI giving you 0 TDS? If so wait it out manually removing what you can. Run a reverse lighting schedule on your fuge and get some cheato or other macro growing in there. If you are persistent it will get there!

 

Working on this...though I killed off most of my chaeto by adding the UltraAlgaeX and ChemiClean. Not sure if I should remove whats left and start fresh or will it "recover"?

 

Yes...RODI is giving me 0 TDS...I do check that frequently.

 

I'll work on the water changes - I have a pretty automated system so they aren't a big deal.

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And for those following along...I did some testing today and here are my parameters:

 

Temp: 78.5 F

Salinity: 1.025

pH: I hate API tests....so my best guess is somewhere between 8.0 and 8.4

Nitrates: Again, tough to tell on API, but look to be somewhere between 10 and 20 ppm...I know, high :)

Alk: 9.5 dKH

Ca: 450ppm

 

I didn't test Mg as I figured that was the least of my concerns.

 

Let me know if you guys see anything alarming :)

 

Thanks!

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How are you getting your calcium that high? If you are dosing anything I would stop for now myself. A few water changes are going to get your nitrates back in line fast.

 

I am dosing nothing - never have. I can only assume that Reef Crystals has that as the standard for its salt mix. As stated previously, I have very few corals (a hammer, a few polyps, an open brain, and an elegance frag), so probably not a lot being used up there. I do have some corraline, but growth I would consider slow.

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So...I decided to adjust my return pump plumbing as I was pretty convinced that I simply wasn't getting enough flow out of my pump (Jebao DC-9000). I had it originally plumbed using a 3/4" braided hose straight out of the pump into a manifold that I wasn't using (the water just passed straight through) and up into a 3/4" locline which emptied into the display.

 

I decided to plumb my pump with 1 1/2" PVC pipe at the outlet, up the back of a tank into a Y, with 3/4" PVC returns x 2. Man - I cannot believe the difference and the amount of water that is being cycled through the sump now. I was able to back the pump down to 3 (out of 5) and I must be getting nearly double to triple the flow.

 

I don't wonder if this hasn't helped contribute to my woes to date? I'll consider it an improvement!

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  • 1 year later...
  • 7 months later...

Well shame on me!

It looks like it has been a long, long time since I have updated this thread. And depending on how you look at it, quite a few changes have occurred, namely tearing down the tank and starting over! Much of the equipment has stayed the same, but I did cook my original 100# of rock in muriatic acid (quite an interesting experience),  I have ditched the 55g sump for a 100g Rubbermaid sump, added an additional 50# of cured live rock, replaced sand - and well, basically started fresh again. I'll get some new pics posted as I could have sworn I posted some of these previously, but nonetheless, I'll get some coming in the next week or two.

As for my original reason for posting - I need some stocking ideas! I've got a general idea of what I would like, but it's nice to get input for that 'aha, I didn't think of that!' moment.

Current inhabitants:

Two-Barred Rabbitfish

Mated Pair Ocellaris Clowns (One orange, one black)

Blue-Leg Hermits, Scarlet Hermits

Cerith Snails

Lettuce Nudibranch x 2

 

Wish List:

Powder Blue Tang (will add last)

Yellow Tang

Flame Angelfish

Fairy Wrasse

Shrimp Goby (no particular species)

And??????

 

Plan for this tank as before, is a mixed reef, probably LPS dominant. I have zero corals/frags at the moment as the tank is just coming out of a terrible GHA bloom from the initial cycle. Water parameters are testing good, GHA is rapidly receding, so I think we are moving into the next phase of tank maturity.

 

Let me know if anyone has any ideas - I'm open to suggestion at this point, and the wife and kids are providing their own input as well. Would love to see what we can come up with collectively.

 

Thanks!

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2 hours ago, Muttley000 said:

I would definitely stick with the tangs.  A group of something would be cool like anthias, or maybe some shrimp fish. 

Yeah, I enjoy the tangs. Really interested in a semi reef-safe butterfly, perhaps a pyramid? Anthias are out, remind me of freshwater fish for whatever reason, lol.

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  • 6 months later...

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