Dual 250 gallon Marineland Monterey Deep Dimension build - Page 5

david00061 · 06/15/2014, 06:44 PM

Read this thread
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2153276

xrayjeeper83 · 06/15/2014, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by david00061

Blue star polyps will spread like wild fire. They send out something that spreads everywhere. They will literally be on every square inch of your rock

very true. I have a friend that lost a lot of corals due to them. The only way I know to get rid of the is fluke tabs once they start spreading. My LFS just broke down their big display tank cause it got over run by em.

Your tanks are beautiful btw

davidfrances · 06/15/2014, 08:11 PM

OK, thanks for the advice. I will move them to one of my frag tanks.

david00061 · 06/15/2014, 08:18 PM

That won't help. I tried that I knew that they spread like crazy, so I left them in frag tank hoping for the best. Hope didn't help. Blue star polyps send something into water column. They ended up stairs in my display.

david00061 · 06/15/2014, 10:31 PM

That's if frag tank is tied in with display

davidfrances · 06/16/2014, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by david00061

That's if frag tank is tied in with display

My frag tanks are not plumbed into my DT's, so no worries

davidfrances · 07/21/2014, 07:33 PM

I re-mounted my eight (8) Photon 24's using 24" Incra T-Tracks. The units are mounted inside the canopy of both my Marineland DD 250's. The two units in the back hang about 2" lower than the from two units. I can slide them in and out for service/reprogramming. I installed a stop at the rear of each track to prevent someone from pushing them through.

Biggest challenge was disassembling each unit to replace the mounting bolts with stainless steel hardware. Took about 20 minutes each, this became a full afternoon project yesterday.

davidfrances · 07/21/2014, 07:39 PM

The tanks are cloudy because I just finished a major cleaning and stirred up the sand bed.

My right hand side tank almost crashed from a horrible outbreak of some type of snot diatom. Covered everything and smothered most of my polyps. I tried everything, and it only has just cleared up when I installed a Reef Octopus BiChurn 170INT reactor. Things are now returning to normal, although I will need to rebuild my soft coral stocks.

Funny thing, all during the outbreak, my nitrates, phosphates and silicates were almost undetectable. Even stranger given the high bioload on this tank. I suspect they were tied up in the algae.

davidfrances · 08/16/2014, 01:25 PM

My new Passer Angel. I haven't had one of these in over 20 years. He's been in QT for ten days now, only 20 more to go before he joins the other large fish in the right side tank. He started eating like a pig on day one, and feeds heavily on NLS pellets.

davidfrances · 08/16/2014, 01:35 PM

I did a lot of work this morning cleaning up and organizing my sumps. I wanted to clean the impellers of all the return pumps, and cleaned up some of the salt spray that has built up over the last 18 months or so. I also double checked the bulkhead fittings, and straightened out the cords.

You can see my new Reef Octopus Biochurns in the photos as well. I installed a 170INT on the right side tank (bigger fish, higher bioload) and a smaller 120 INT on the left side tank.

This is the sump on my left side tank, I call it the Tang Tank:

davidfrances · 08/16/2014, 01:37 PM

This is the sump on my right side tank, I call it the Tusk Tank:

davidfrances · 08/16/2014, 01:41 PM

A couple of updated FTS:

Tang Tank:

davidfrances · 08/16/2014, 01:45 PM

And the Tusk Tank:

davidfrances · 08/31/2014, 05:46 PM

Adding an Apex controller to both tanks. Spent most of the day working on configuring. Pictures soon, but somewhat frustrating.

GSMclowns · 08/31/2014, 08:47 PM

Beautiful tanks you have there.
On the Tang tank, how many yellowtail damsels do you have in there? How long have you have them? Do they kill each other at all?

thanks

davidfrances · 08/31/2014, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GSMclowns

Beautiful tanks you have there.
On the Tang tank, how many yellowtail damsels do you have in there? How long have you have them? Do they kill each other at all?

thanks

I have eleven (11) yellowtail damsels, and have had them since I started the tank approximately 20 months ago. I haven't noticed that they are killing each other off, but each one seems to have selected its own little portion of the reef to call home.

I did start with about a half dozen blue devil damsels, but they all died one by one. I had about ten reef chromis, and they battled down to the two that are left.

Thank you

davidfrances · 09/21/2014, 06:56 PM

Two weeks ago I started installing an Apex controller for both tanks. I had the left side fully automated last weekend, and tackled the right side tank this weekend. Everything is now fully installed as follows:

WXM - Controller for Vortechs in both tanks
PM2 - Conductivity meters in both tanks
PM1 - pH and ORP monitors for both tanks
ALD - I have two (2) Automatic Leak Detectors, with five (5) leak sensors, two (2) inside each stand and one between both tanks
BOB - One breakout box for each tanks, which controls my ATO (2nd float with is an emergency shutoff), and a fill sensor float switch on my skimmer waste container to shut off the skimmer when the waste container fills.
Auto feeder - Right now I only have one auto feeder on the left tank. The right tank is fishless because of another Ich outbreak (more on that later). I will install a autofeeeder once the tank completes a fallow period.

Programming was something of a PITA. I eventually got the hang of it.

Enjoy the pictures. I installed it by mounting it on 8020.

Left side of left tank

Right side of left tank

Left tank showing one ALD sensor and skimmer waste overflow with float switch.

davidfrances · 09/21/2014, 07:00 PM

This is the right side tank. The wiring is a little cluttered, as I ran out of 8020 connectors.

Left side of right tank

Right side of right tank

david00061 · 09/21/2014, 07:37 PM

wish mine looked as nice and clean as yours

davidfrances · 09/21/2014, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by david00061

wish mine looked as nice and clean as yours

David - Thanks. My right tank got hit with Ich (again). In addition to wrapping up the Apex installation on Saturday, I had to net everyone out. I suspect it was my PBT, although everyone goes through an 8 week QT. Everyone is now in holding tanks or brute trash cans undergoing a cupramine treatment. the right side DT will remain fallow for 11 weeks. Any advice on ridding PBT's from Ich?

david00061 · 09/21/2014, 08:03 PM

I just leave everyone alone and feed 3 or 4 times a day. And wait it out. Haven't ever lost a fish the two times I had a break out.

davidfrances · 09/22/2014, 07:39 PM

Yeah, in 40 years of keeping saltwater I have never had any luck waiting it out. All my fish eventually die.

I usually try to find a few things positive about the experience. In this case, I found a metal brush embedded in a piece of my base rock. I suspect that was causing some of my recent water quality issues. (do not know where the brush came from, by the look of it it had been there a long time.)

Additionally, my wife told me she would like me to create some caves or overhangs in the rock, so I have an opportunity to redo my aquascape.

davidfrances · 10/18/2014, 04:02 PM

Well, dino's killed one of my reefs

Since I was still in the fallow period fighting ich, I decided to tear the right tank down and redo it.

Last weekend I drained the tank, vacuumed out the sand and threw it away, and washed everything down with a bleach solution. I removed the few softies I had left to my frag system (after a freshwater dip to hopefully kill the dino spores). My base rock was bleached for 24 hours, then washed in an acid solution, then soaked in fresh water for 24 hours. I then let the rocks dry on my patio.

I refilled the tank with fresh RODI, added new sand, and returned the dry base rock. I ran the tank with freshwater only for 24 hours, then added some Prime to neutralize any residual bleach.

Salt was added this owning, and I am restarting the cycle with some dead shrimp in the sump.

davidfrances · 10/18/2014, 04:05 PM

On the bright side, I added a NextReef MR1 Monster media reactor to my Left Tank, running GFO and carbon, and am very pleased with the improved clarity.

davidfrances · 12/06/2014, 04:05 PM

I mentioned that I had to nuke the right side tank due to an outbreak of dinoflagellates. I completed the cycle by late November, and finally returned the fish and corals. I also treated all the fish to a two-week cupramine treatment, and then they were in my frag system for over a month. The only fish I lost was my Harlequin Tusk - he jumped out when I was cleaning the frag tanks and I didn't notice it until too late. :-(

Anyway, here are some updated photos. I have a really nice Chevron tang in QT, and one he's clean I will replace my HT.

Left side tank:

06/15/2014, 06:44 PM	#101
david00061 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: st joseph Missouri Posts: 2,341	Read this thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2153276 __________________ Current tank A.G.E. 500 gallon Two frag tanks 48"x20"x12" 12 EcoTech Radion XR30w LED Lights 2 mp60's 4 mp40's, GEO 818 calcium reactor SRO XP 8000 external skimmer

06/15/2014, 08:18 PM	#104
david00061 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: st joseph Missouri Posts: 2,341	That won't help. I tried that I knew that they spread like crazy, so I left them in frag tank hoping for the best. Hope didn't help. Blue star polyps send something into water column. They ended up stairs in my display. __________________ Current tank A.G.E. 500 gallon Two frag tanks 48"x20"x12" 12 EcoTech Radion XR30w LED Lights 2 mp60's 4 mp40's, GEO 818 calcium reactor SRO XP 8000 external skimmer

06/15/2014, 10:31 PM	#105
david00061 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: st joseph Missouri Posts: 2,341	That's if frag tank is tied in with display __________________ Current tank A.G.E. 500 gallon Two frag tanks 48"x20"x12" 12 EcoTech Radion XR30w LED Lights 2 mp60's 4 mp40's, GEO 818 calcium reactor SRO XP 8000 external skimmer

08/16/2014, 01:35 PM	#110
davidfrances Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Parkville, MO Posts: 666	Sump updates I did a lot of work this morning cleaning up and organizing my sumps. I wanted to clean the impellers of all the return pumps, and cleaned up some of the salt spray that has built up over the last 18 months or so. I also double checked the bulkhead fittings, and straightened out the cords. You can see my new Reef Octopus Biochurns in the photos as well. I installed a 170INT on the right side tank (bigger fish, higher bioload) and a smaller 120 INT on the left side tank. This is the sump on my left side tank, I call it the Tang Tank:

08/31/2014, 05:46 PM	#114
davidfrances Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Parkville, MO Posts: 666	Neptune Apex controller Adding an Apex controller to both tanks. Spent most of the day working on configuring. Pictures soon, but somewhat frustrating.

06/15/2014, 08:11 PM	#103
davidfrances Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Parkville, MO Posts: 666	OK, thanks for the advice. I will move them to one of my frag tanks.

07/21/2014, 07:33 PM	#107
davidfrances Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Parkville, MO Posts: 666	I re-mounted my eight (8) Photon 24's using 24" Incra T-Tracks. The units are mounted inside the canopy of both my Marineland DD 250's. The two units in the back hang about 2" lower than the from two units. I can slide them in and out for service/reprogramming. I installed a stop at the rear of each track to prevent someone from pushing them through. Biggest challenge was disassembling each unit to replace the mounting bolts with stainless steel hardware. Took about 20 minutes each, this became a full afternoon project yesterday.

07/21/2014, 07:39 PM	#108
davidfrances Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Parkville, MO Posts: 666	The tanks are cloudy because I just finished a major cleaning and stirred up the sand bed. My right hand side tank almost crashed from a horrible outbreak of some type of snot diatom. Covered everything and smothered most of my polyps. I tried everything, and it only has just cleared up when I installed a Reef Octopus BiChurn 170INT reactor. Things are now returning to normal, although I will need to rebuild my soft coral stocks. Funny thing, all during the outbreak, my nitrates, phosphates and silicates were almost undetectable. Even stranger given the high bioload on this tank. I suspect they were tied up in the algae.

08/16/2014, 01:25 PM	#109
davidfrances Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Parkville, MO Posts: 666	My new Passer Angel. I haven't had one of these in over 20 years. He's been in QT for ten days now, only 20 more to go before he joins the other large fish in the right side tank. He started eating like a pig on day one, and feeds heavily on NLS pellets.

08/16/2014, 01:37 PM	#111
davidfrances Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Parkville, MO Posts: 666	This is the sump on my right side tank, I call it the Tusk Tank:

08/16/2014, 01:41 PM	#112
davidfrances Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Parkville, MO Posts: 666	A couple of updated FTS: Tang Tank:

08/16/2014, 01:45 PM	#113
davidfrances Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Parkville, MO Posts: 666	And the Tusk Tank:

08/31/2014, 08:47 PM	#115
GSMclowns A Reef Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Boston Posts: 364	Beautiful tanks you have there. On the Tang tank, how many yellowtail damsels do you have in there? How long have you have them? Do they kill each other at all? thanks __________________ Bao ================================= ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. >((((º>

09/21/2014, 06:56 PM	#117
davidfrances Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Parkville, MO Posts: 666	Neptune Apex Two weeks ago I started installing an Apex controller for both tanks. I had the left side fully automated last weekend, and tackled the right side tank this weekend. Everything is now fully installed as follows: WXM - Controller for Vortechs in both tanks PM2 - Conductivity meters in both tanks PM1 - pH and ORP monitors for both tanks ALD - I have two (2) Automatic Leak Detectors, with five (5) leak sensors, two (2) inside each stand and one between both tanks BOB - One breakout box for each tanks, which controls my ATO (2nd float with is an emergency shutoff), and a fill sensor float switch on my skimmer waste container to shut off the skimmer when the waste container fills. Auto feeder - Right now I only have one auto feeder on the left tank. The right tank is fishless because of another Ich outbreak (more on that later). I will install a autofeeeder once the tank completes a fallow period. Programming was something of a PITA. I eventually got the hang of it. Enjoy the pictures. I installed it by mounting it on 8020. Left side of left tank Right side of left tank Left tank showing one ALD sensor and skimmer waste overflow with float switch.

09/21/2014, 07:00 PM	#118
davidfrances Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Parkville, MO Posts: 666	This is the right side tank. The wiring is a little cluttered, as I ran out of 8020 connectors. Left side of right tank Right side of right tank

09/21/2014, 07:37 PM	#119
david00061 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: st joseph Missouri Posts: 2,341	wish mine looked as nice and clean as yours __________________ Current tank A.G.E. 500 gallon Two frag tanks 48"x20"x12" 12 EcoTech Radion XR30w LED Lights 2 mp60's 4 mp40's, GEO 818 calcium reactor SRO XP 8000 external skimmer

09/21/2014, 08:03 PM	#121
david00061 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: st joseph Missouri Posts: 2,341	I just leave everyone alone and feed 3 or 4 times a day. And wait it out. Haven't ever lost a fish the two times I had a break out. __________________ Current tank A.G.E. 500 gallon Two frag tanks 48"x20"x12" 12 EcoTech Radion XR30w LED Lights 2 mp60's 4 mp40's, GEO 818 calcium reactor SRO XP 8000 external skimmer

09/22/2014, 07:39 PM	#122
davidfrances Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Parkville, MO Posts: 666	Yeah, in 40 years of keeping saltwater I have never had any luck waiting it out. All my fish eventually die. I usually try to find a few things positive about the experience. In this case, I found a metal brush embedded in a piece of my base rock. I suspect that was causing some of my recent water quality issues. (do not know where the brush came from, by the look of it it had been there a long time.) Additionally, my wife told me she would like me to create some caves or overhangs in the rock, so I have an opportunity to redo my aquascape.

10/18/2014, 04:02 PM	#123
davidfrances Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Parkville, MO Posts: 666	Dinoflagellates killed my reef Well, dino's killed one of my reefs Since I was still in the fallow period fighting ich, I decided to tear the right tank down and redo it. Last weekend I drained the tank, vacuumed out the sand and threw it away, and washed everything down with a bleach solution. I removed the few softies I had left to my frag system (after a freshwater dip to hopefully kill the dino spores). My base rock was bleached for 24 hours, then washed in an acid solution, then soaked in fresh water for 24 hours. I then let the rocks dry on my patio. I refilled the tank with fresh RODI, added new sand, and returned the dry base rock. I ran the tank with freshwater only for 24 hours, then added some Prime to neutralize any residual bleach. Salt was added this owning, and I am restarting the cycle with some dead shrimp in the sump.

10/18/2014, 04:05 PM	#124
davidfrances Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Parkville, MO Posts: 666	On the bright side, I added a NextReef MR1 Monster media reactor to my Left Tank, running GFO and carbon, and am very pleased with the improved clarity.

12/06/2014, 04:05 PM	#125
davidfrances Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Parkville, MO Posts: 666	I mentioned that I had to nuke the right side tank due to an outbreak of dinoflagellates. I completed the cycle by late November, and finally returned the fish and corals. I also treated all the fish to a two-week cupramine treatment, and then they were in my frag system for over a month. The only fish I lost was my Harlequin Tusk - he jumped out when I was cleaning the frag tanks and I didn't notice it until too late. :-( Anyway, here are some updated photos. I have a really nice Chevron tang in QT, and one he's clean I will replace my HT. Left side tank: