Rebuild and recovery of a dead tank

[jason2459]

Originally Posted by capn_hylinur

I always love dropping in on this thread. It's so detailed with pics etc.

That's an interesting skimmer Jason---keep posting on how it works out which I am sure you will do

Thanks cap'n, you're always welcome to drop by. I'll get some pics of he NAC5e tonight. I tried lowering it and it was doing fine until it was turned off for a water change and turned back on. It started over flowing again. I raise it back up. It may just need to stay raised up to stay consistent on my tank. I'm fine with that as long as it produces. The nice foam head is back and is staying consistent as long as its raised up an inch. It's also the quietest skimmer I've use yet.


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[jason2459]

Originally Posted by thebkramer

Sounds like he may be getting ticked off with your clam sometimes lol He can't decide if the clam is friend or foe!!!

The starry blennie seems to really like curling around it. He must not like the clam opening and closing. The clam is definitely trying to attach itself to the rock. Everyday its turned another direction.


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[jason2459]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=I8_kEGKA7VU

Hopefully that link works. Took some video with my phone and uploaded it straight to youtube. It's of the nac5e starting up. I'm becoming very happy with this skimmer. The foam head is almost instant and is becoming consistant. In the video as I pan down you can also see the 3/4in pvc pipe I used to raise the skimmer up with. You can aslo hear, or not hear, how quite the skimmer is. With the top on you barely hear anything. What you hear in the video is basically the foam fizzing and the fan for the lights which you can hear before he skimmer starts up.

I'm also very happy it has a pinwheel on the pump and not a meshwheel that needs extra maintenance. I do still have some reservations on the longevity of the pump itself. So far as long as it keeps up I plan on running it long term. Also, there are 0 micro bubbles coming from it.

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[jason2459]

Finally got the embedded code for the video link. This will make it easier.



On youtube you really don't hear anything. There is a humm that can be heard from the light's fan. That skimmer is just silent!

[jason2459]

I posted more info on this little guy in my mantis tank thread but I've been talking about wanting to get a rock flower anemone in this thread so figure I'd post a picture of my latest addition to the mantis tank.

He's still bleached but looks like he'll recover. He's eating some mysis.

[jason2459]

I picked up a piece of coral today, litterally a piece. I was told it was a part of a branching hammer coral but I don't think it is. I think it might be frogspawn but we'll have to see. It's in really really bad shape and I got it for a $1! I placed the broken off branch between soe rocks and hope for the best.


My sharknose decided to give a once over cleaning.




BTW, that BM NAC5e that I got which is a super cheap skimmer and you're suppose to get what you pay for especially for skimmers....


IT ROCKS




It's been about 4-5 days since I emptied and cleaned out the collection cup. I need to remember to empty it out sooner though as I don't want it to do that to much but I do have a bucket under it so it can foam right into that if need be but it didn't foam through enough to drip down. I also plan to rig up a float valve in the lid to shut it off if it ever does decide to overflow on me which it hasn't yet since raising it up an inch.

[jason2459]

Oh and btw the clam has attached itself. I accidentally knocked the rock it was onto it's side and the clam didn't fall off. So, I'll take that as a good sign it likes where it's at.

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[jason2459]

Went to hook up the canister with pellets tonight and it has a leak. I'll either fix it some how or I'm thinking of getting a TLF phosphate reactor to try out with them. I haven't taken any parameters yet but I do have some GHA but the cyano is staying to a minimum. I'll get some numbers when I finally get the pellets started and the refugium going again.

Corals are doing great. I have a total of 17 heads on the duncan now and 4 on the torch. The blasto sill doesn't look like it did before but there are two new heads starting so that's great. Here's some pics.

















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[jason2459]

I decided to go ahead tonight and get a bunch of numbers. I've been on straight IO instead of Reef Crystals for quite a a while now and the numbers show. I did like the Cal./Alk/Mag numbers from RC but didn't like all the organics that were included in there. This made my skimmer go nuts right after a water change and always had an increase in cyano right after a water change. Plus, I don't know if sitting in a storage container for a month by the time I got to making more water helped any of that at all.

So, here's the numbers of the tank taken right before and after lights out.

Salt mix: Instant Ocean
Salinity: 34ppt (just calibrated refractometer)
Temp: 80.1F (Hanna handheld probe)
pH: 7.94 (Hanna handheld probe)
ORP: 160 (ditto)
Nitrate: a light 5 (API)
p04: 0.20 (Hanna Checker) I was expecting much higher here but I guess this is why I don't have so much cyano right now.
Calcium: 380 (API)
Alk: 11dKH (API)
Mag: 1170 (Salifert)

Numbers are pretty much right inline with IO. I plan on getting a galaxia pretty soon and with the past couple new additions I think I'm ready to start doing some dosing! This will be a first which I've been strangely looking forward to since the beginning. I've been reading up on it all and with the numbers I have and the inhabitants I've got and getting I believe it's time.

I've got a 7gallon bucket under the stand I use for ATO with an aqualifter controlled by three float switches. The Lowest shuts it off when the water level dropped suddenly for things like a water change or for some reason the tank is drained by some other (hopefully never) reason. The middle float is the main float that controls it and the top float is a failsafe to the middle float. The aqualifter inside the bucket is connected to a spare skimmer's silencer thing-a-ma-jig with a little sponge filter inside of that. It is suspended and never hits the bottom.

I plan on a very simple procedure. Dump in the lime (a bag of Mrs. Wages from the store) and mix it up with a maxijet 1200 and then let it set all day to settle down. I fill up the ATO bucket once a week with about 5g of fresh ro/di water. I'll start making sure to get that done in the morning so I can stir it up again and let it sit all day. From my very precise calculations of gestimation I should be good for at least a month before needing to add any more lime and need to dump in another bag. I'm not to worried about being precise and will want fully saturated lime to bring the calcium levels up a little and then maintain.

I think I'd like to be around 420. This should also help bring up my pH which also always been low just below 8. I'd like to see that get to and maintain above 8. My mag is pretty good but I could probably get away with dosing just a little magnesium once a week during the weekly kalk stirring. I'd like to get that back up to around 1200-1300 and stay there.

I'll try that out for a month or so and get some more readings.

[jason2459]

Found another new growth tonight. Not sure what it is but looks like some type of filter feeder. I'll have look it up at some point or just wait and watch it grow and turn into something.



I know its not a new head as I'm already seeing those and they look just like miniature blastos. I'm guessing sponge.

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[jason2459]

I went ahead and started dosing kalk this morning as it settled overnight. I didn't want to wait. I was to excited to start. I took a PH reading tonight and got 8.24!!! That was about 30m after lights out which shouldn't make that big of a difference. That's perfect! Now to see what it does to the calcium levels. I did add some magnesium last night about a quarter cup. I bought a big thing of Tech-m a little while ago in preparation for this. Using their directions on the container to get the mag levels up to about 1300 and raising by 83ppt per day I think it was. I'll check the mag levels next weekend.

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[jason2459]

Wow, what a difference kalk makes and what I'm seeing already in my corals. pH was 8.29 tonight right before lights out. My blasto is finally starting to look like it's old self again, torch was just swollen and the duncan was huge. The what I think is frogspawn still looks really pathetic but actualy looked a little better tonight.


You can see it's much fuller then in the picture of it above.









I need to get around to either fixing or buying a new reactor for those pellets and get them going again.

[jason2459]

I just have to share another picture of this guy in this thread too. I'm so glad I got a tuxedo urchin for the mantis tank. It's always fun to find him and see what he's wearing for the day.

[jason2459]

I'm thinking of trying out the sro-lx2000s again but raising it up a couple inches kind of like I've done with the NAC5e. I don't know why I didn't think of it before. I'll be curious if it'll allow me more playing room with the collection cup height.

The NAC5e is so far one of the best HOB skimmers I've used along with the SRO-lx2000s. Just wish the SRO-lx2000s had more playing room. Not sure what would help in it's design besides my attempt to raise it up higher. Possibly the body of the skimmer could be slightly larger which it's already pretty darn big. I don't think the neck needs to be bigger as it was creating a really great foam head and pulling out the nastiest gunk I've ever seen.

The NAC5e is the quietest skimmer I've ever heard. It's also been really consistent. Doesn't pull out as much as the sro-lx2000s but that's to be expected just based on the size of the skimmer's pump and body size.

I guess I can break down some stuff with the HOB skimmers I've used:

Bubble Magus (BM) NAC5e (one of my favorites):
I'd say good for a 40 - 90g tank depending on bioload
Pros:
Quietest skimmer I've used
Consistent so far
Besides the SRO-lx2000s has pulled out more skimmate per day then any other
CHEAP and a major bargin!! wow, can't go wrong for $114-$130 brand new
Zero microbubbles after breakin into the tank
comes with a drain built into the collection cup (not over flow drain though)
Pinwheel pump (I'm not a fan of the mesh wheels)

Cons:
took about 2+ full weeks to break in
Wish the drain was up high not underneath the collection cup
Had to raise it an 1" so it didn't flood over
still worried about the longevity of the pump
Had to take the pump apart when I first got it and move the ceramic washer from on top of the propeller to below it for some reason. Otherwise it made a TON of clacking noise
Need to be very careful when putting the pump onto the skimmer. Do NOT tighten it down and will be loose (o-ring creates a seal)
No bubble plate but not really sure this a con with the basic design and size of the body and neck seem to be in good proportions with the pump.

Super Reef Octopus (SRO) lx2000s (another favorite)
I'd say good for a 50-120g depending on bioload
Pros:
Most powerful HOB skimmer out there today with the hy2000 bubble blaster pump pulling an amazing ~45scfh of air
Nice sized neck matched up well with the airflow to pulled out some of the NASTIEST and most amount of skimmate
Pinwheel
I like the intake and return design
Bubble plate
amazing skimmer pump did I mention that yet

Cons:
Very touchy about anything being added to the water and has very little room to adjust (this might change as I try raising it up a couple inches)
Pump seems bigger then the body can handle (again might change) (the lx-1000 seems like it's really well balanced as is)
Expensive compared to other skimmers I've tried but you do get a nice quality pump
Doesn't have an overflow drain in the collection cup(I installed my own along with a flow switch as an emergency shut off which is easy to do in a square collection cup)
RED very very RED. (I spray painted mine black with Krylon Fusion flat black making it much better)
Took well over a month to break in before finally reducing to eliminating microbubbles)
Second loudest skimmer behind the coralife superskimmer which was the loudest

Eshopps PSK-100h (Just behind the above as a favorite)
Great for 20-75g and an entry skimmer
Pros:
Very quite but not as quite as the NAC5e but very close
Very consistent (until the mesh wheel craps out on you)
Over flow Drain built into the collection cup
Very quick break in. Took a day
Zero micro bubbles very quickly
Bubble plate
Cheap. Another big bargain skimmer

Cons:
Doesn't seem to have the most reliable pump
Make sure to test it out in a bucket and check for leaks first and proper pump operation.
Mesh wheel (I'm just not a fan of these)

Coralife Super skimmer 65:
Just can't recommend this one
Pros:
Not very expensive.

Cons:
Not consistent at all with out a lot of modifications which I've done just about every modification you can possibly think of on this thing and actually got some really good results out of this skimmer. But stock this skimmer is awful
Very loud. Even louder then the SRO-lx2000s with it's beast of a pump.
Pump goes inside the aquarium taking up to much room.
Microbubbles up the yingyang with out the foam filter on the outtake
Just not a very good design all around
No overflow drain on the smaller model (I added one)

Seaclone 150
Another one I can't recommend
Pros:
Not very expensive. Exemplifies the stereotype of you get what you pay for in a skimmer.
Cons:
Another skimmer that needs many modifications to get mediocre results.

[jason2459]

GOT MY MANTIS IN!!! Got a G. Smithii from blue zoo aquatics. If anyone's interestes you'll just have to check him out over here.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...1802722&page=4

[jason2459]

Well, the excitement turned into a big disappointment with the mantis.


On a positive note since using kalk in my ATO my pH has never been more stable and right at around 8.2-8.3 and since dosing Mag. along with it coraline algae is taking off like crazy... well that last part may not be a great thing after a while. I'll take some parameters next weekend most likely.

I'm going to bring online the sro-lx2000s next week then about a month after that I'm going to bring back in the pellets but might try something completely different with them and place them right in the dolomite RUGF and making my entire tank the reactor.

[jason2459]

Couldn't wait. I went ahead and put on the sro-lx2000s skimmer last night. Wow, I forgot how loud it was especially after barely hearing anything from the NAC5e. Also, after putting it on the back of the tank I realized why I didn't raise it up before. It would not do any good because of the design of the body raising up the skimmer would not lower the level of the water any. Only way to do that would be to cut out a bigger hole where it leaves the back skimmer body to the front baffle return area. I'm thinking about doing something about that.

I was going to switch back but decided to leave it on. Mainly because I plan on adding the PCL pellets again which the massive air draw on the lx2000s will help with reducing any chance of oxygen depletion from an increase of bacteria. Plus, it will give me more of an apples to apples comparison to before when I used the pellets in the canister filter compared to how I'll try them out this time.

[jason2459]

It's been about two weeks since I started using fully saturated kalk in my ATO and I've been very impressed and very happy with the results so far. With in the first two weeks I've already achieved my goals of where I want my Calcium, Alk, and pH. pH has been consistantly between 8.2 and 8.3.

Two weeks ago these were my numbers.
Salt mix: Instant Ocean
Salinity: 34ppt (just calibrated refractometer)
Temp: 80.1F (Hanna handheld probe)
pH: 7.94 (Hanna handheld probe)
ORP: 160 (ditto)
Nitrate: a light 5 (API)
p04: 0.20 (Hanna Checker) I was expecting much higher here but I guess this is why I don't have so much cyano right now.
Calcium: 380 (API)
Alk: 11dKH (API)
Mag: 1170 (Salifert)

My current numbers are Now.
Salt: Instant Ocean
Salinity: 34ppt
Temp: 81.2
pH: 8.21
ORP: 190 (lx-2000s had an impact on my ORP last time I ran it too)
Nitrate: 0
pO4: .11 (I'm sure it hasn't gone down but see some more cyano which is probably consuming it)

Calcium: 480
Alk: 11dkH (afraid this would go up but it didn't which is good)
Mg: 1260 (right on track. I've done two doses of 1/4 cup after water changes)

In about a week I'm going to add the shapelock pellets again so I guess it's time to go find that shapelock nuking my tank thread and get it going again.

[ROB2005]

Hey Jason, now that you put the lx2000 back in service, what are your plans with the NAC5e

[jason2459]

Not 100% sure but I might put it back on some time later. Just the short time I ran it I was very happy with it. Putting the bio pellets back in the tank I just want to make sure I have a lot of oxygenation which nothing beats the lx-2000s for that. That may be a long while down the road though.

[jason2459]

I finally got the two broken lights replaced that broke in the move. I've been running on two T5's the past 4-5 months. Which is crazy that I've had any growth at all in the corals. After going this long with the two T5's which are close to a year old now I probably could get away with only two T5s on this tank.

Either way to late now because I absolutely love the all blue 48" ReefBrite LED strip that I put up. It gives great coloration with all lights on and its surreal with just the LEDs. I have the LEDs on for an hour before and an hour after the T5s go on and off.

It's almost like there's a black light on. Here's some pictures that does look like a black like is on but in real life there's that black light look with some brilliant colors that pop out.

[jason2459]

Here they are





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[jason2459]

quick note for today. All the windows and doors in the house were open all day and most of the night. I wondered what that would do to the pH. Well, temp climbed up to 85 and pH hit 8.4. Temp was a little concerning but the pH was good. I was scared it may go above 8.5.

[jason2459]

Just had to post in this thread about the Epicystis crucifer I just got today. I love these guys.

This is from my mantis tank build thread in the mantis forum:

I also stopped by a LFS today just to look around and found the most beautiful Rock Flower and never thought I'd find one. I saw in another thread on here a picture of a white stripped Epicystis crucifer and instantly wanted one but never thought I'd get one. Well, the LFS had one in.

I LED makes it look like it's glowing.



I still want a red one.

[jason2459]

Took some pictures of my flood proofed sro lx2000s. I have no worries what so ever now of my skimmer overflowing and flooding the floor behind the tank. I don't even need the float switch anymore so it can keep running and flow back into the tank. Main reason I did this is because I've thrown the shapelock pellets back in and I'm sure the skimmer is going to overflow at some point. Which it actually did last night at some time. I also want to let it overflow and not shut off right now because of the pellets creating a lot of bacterial growth which is going to use up oxygen and if the skimmer stops I don't want to worry about loosing to much oxygen.

So, here's what I did. I got some thin sheets of acrylic and siliconed them to the outsides of the skimmer body around the collection cup area. Then did a line of silicon along all the edges to water proof it all.



Made sure it goes higher the the cup so the cup lid can foam all it want it will just run down the sides.




I also added this strip to the side so if flows out the front there some how it will direct it right to the tank.




Like I mentioned above it has already saved my butt last night and the skimmer never had to stop running.