1000 Gallon Build- Here we go- Lots of Pictures

[whyamisofly]

Beautiful car - with OR without the wrap! Grocery-getter? LOL, can you fit anything in there more than a gallon of milk?

[Socaltoaz]

Yeah sure. You can fit one of these in the trunk- was driving home the other day- saw it crossing the street. Called fire department to grab it and relocate. It ended up at my neighbors house.


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[Socaltoaz]

Woke up this morning and found my dogface puffer had died. Last night I saw this on him. So bummed right now. He was an awesome fish. Anyone have a clue what this is? Total sadness in the household right now:


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[brett559]

Bacterial infection, maybe?

So sorry. Love those fish. You can always try another one!

[Bumsparadise]

Ugh! What a bummer! So sorry.


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[fbskiracer]

Considering a similar (albeit at least 50% smaller) build with a house, 1st floor tank & a fish room in the basement.

I realize you are in AZ, but did you vent/exhaust the tank to outside to prevent moisture build up in the wall? My contractor just asked me about that.

[Socaltoaz]

Yes. I have exhaust fans in both the fish room and above the tank in the hood.

[Socaltoaz]

Damnit- woke up this morning and my large porcupine puffer is dead. All other fish are normal. *** is going on???? No signs of disease on any other fish. Tank parameters are all excellent. Everyone else eating and healthy. Could it be whatever for the first puffer got the second? I'm so depressed right now.

[usmc1812]

Sometimes fish just die could be a number of reasons. If everyone else is fine probably as the fish.

[Socaltoaz]

I recall someone had posted a place where you could send a water sample to get tested. Anyone know of a resource that does a thorough analysis of the water? Just want to rule out any issues since I lost 2 fish so quickly.

[RonMidtownStomp]

There are two options. Aquarium Water Testing / Aquamedic is what I use. They test for:

Calcium
Alkalinity
Magnesium
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
Phosphate
Iodine
Potassium
Strontium
Molybdenum
Copper
Silica
Plus Iron and Boron as an additional test.

Triton is the other one and I think it involves sending water to Germany, unless I misunderstood.. As I get my AWT results back in 2-3 days and I trust them, that's what I use. I send off a sample every 2-3 weeks. I sent them a sample of fresh mixed Reef Crystals a long time ago and the results came back perfect. I think that the results I get match pretty closely with what's going on in my system, and when I make changes based on the water test results, I get positive results with the system. I think all test kits are marginal at best, and I think whatever AWT is doing is better.

Is it perfect? Probably not. But I think it's really good and the price is reasonable. I'd get a box of 12 for $350 (that includes shipping the samples to them) and send one every two weeks at first, assuming you'll need to make adjustments, then once a month.

[whyamisofly]

I would recommend Triton Labs - I've never had a complaint and I have never heard one either!

[Socaltoaz]

Triton it is.

[RonMidtownStomp]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but has anyone direct compared results between Triton and AWT? Sent samples to both of the same system at the same time and compared?

[Socaltoaz]

I'm happy to do that. Anyone have links to both places?

[RonMidtownStomp]

I PM'd you the "shop" link for AWT because I'm not sure what the current RC policies are on links.

[reefzone123]

building your tank around your house is a wonderful feat. amazing job. wow. something i dream of.

[Socaltoaz]

Originally Posted by RonMidtownStomp

I PM'd you the "shop" link for AWT because I'm not sure what the current RC policies are on links.

I ordered the test kit. Something better show up cause I just lost a powder blue tang. Crapola!

[Socaltoaz]

Originally Posted by reefzone123

building your tank around your house is a wonderful feat. amazing job. wow. something i dream of.

Thank you. Right now Im ready to shut this whole thing down cause Ive lost 2 puffers and a powder blue tang. Going to send out my water for testing and figure out the issue. I have no clue why Ive lost fish all of a sudden.

[mike810]

Sorry to hear about your loss, I'd run lots of carbon, change it out often and maybe even a poly filter. Check the remaining fishes for any signs of disease. Maybe something got into the water and needs to be removed?

[Mishri]

yeah, if ammonia is good, ph is good, salinity is good, and temp is good there isn't a lot more you can test for, other than things that can be removed via carbon(metals).

It could be some rare disease.. you can bring your fish in to a vet for examination.. or find one who will make a house call.

-I wouldn't wait for those test results, I doubt they'd tell you anything that can't be solved with carbon.

[Socaltoaz]

Carbon is running. Numbers are perfect. Ill post the most recent readings when I get home.

[karimwassef]

very nice. we're looking to build with the tank in mind also.

[Socaltoaz]

Here are numbers from yesterday:

Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite- - 0ppm
Nitrate - 25ppm (I have fish only- no reef)
Calcium - 420
Alkalinity - 3.86 meq/l
Phosphate - .1ppm
Salinity - 1.021


I ran numbers and had a local fish store run numbers. Water quality is excellent. Im going to wait a few weeks, reevaluate the water and then check again. I hope no more lost fish!

[Mishri]

calc, alk, phosphate, nitrate don't matter for fish. PH does, and temp.