Office Tranquility (75g mixed) - Page 2

madweazl · 06/18/2016, 08:59 AM

Today I decided it was time to fix an eye-sore. When I had purchased the controller everything worked great but the USB-TTL connector had been damaged and repaired by the original owner. At $25-30 for a replacement, it is easy to see why you'd want to fix it if at all possible.

My other main hobby is radio controlled vehicles and over the years, I've had to make replacement cables and/or adapters for just about every small connector imaginable. I was pretty sure there were some female pins in my pit bag and as luck would have it, there were six (no margin for error)!

It cleaned up well and is good as new.

madweazl · 06/18/2016, 01:59 PM

Was out of relays and had to get the other box up and running (needed an excuse to finish it up anyways). Skimmer and ATO should be online in the next couple of days.

madweazl · 06/18/2016, 04:50 PM

After soldering the headers to the new float sensors, I had to do something to clean it up.

I had some red PETG sleeving that I ended up not using on my current PC build

Much better!

Crush Coral · 06/18/2016, 09:49 PM

Very nice work. I will enjoy watching your work.

madweazl · 06/21/2016, 07:37 PM

The skimmer (Bubble Magus Curve 5) is pretty close to dialed in now and collecting some nasty. I have a pretty ugly wire management gaggle going on right now as I'm waiting for the lights to tidy everything else up (it's making me twitch just looking at the picture). They better get here Thursday; not sure I can hold out much longer...

tjm9331 · 06/22/2016, 09:28 AM

Awesome build so far, very clean work!

madweazl · 06/22/2016, 07:21 PM

Journal entry vice build entry, sorry folks. Did a water change; fresh RO/DI mixes at pH 8.12 and dKH of 13.5 at 78°.

madweazl · 06/25/2016, 11:50 AM

Lights arrived the other day so I was able to get to work on the cabling so I could control them with the Reef Angel.

First up was an adapter from the stock dimming board to an output for the Reef Angel to take over the duties. A few people on the Reef Angel forums had some good info on the right connectors to make it plug and play.

Next up was the actual dimming cable (each cable controls two drivers).

I ended up drilling an extra hole in the light boxes because of the 3.5mm jacks I used but with a different jack, you could simply mount them where the original dimmer is.

Ready to go!

madweazl · 06/29/2016, 06:19 AM

Not much happening the last week. I sleeved another set of float switches for the skimmer compartment of my sump due to the Bubble Magus Curve 5's sensitivity to water level. I wont be able to employ it until I get another expansion but they're ready when the time comes.

I ordered a bunch of red power cords last week that I'll be using to clean up the controller panel a bit more (having like cords keep my pesky brain happy). Cable management will be a lot easier and I wont need to remove the relay box when I swap things around in the future.

Against better judgment, I also brought a BTA home last weekend that is about the size of a quarter. It has been sitting under the overhang right above it most of the week but peaked out for some light yesterday. The green mushrooms that smuggled themselves in with the liverock a few weeks ago are doing really well; I'll have to grab another shot of them tonight I suppose (now open to about twice the size they were when initially placed in the tank).

madweazl · 06/29/2016, 06:53 PM

I'm running a 6500k CFL over the sump and the chaeto was dying off but the gracilaria and caulerpa (paspaloides and prolifera) are doing really well. I removed the chaeto and may or may not replace it (had it growing great under a 6500k JBJ nano fuge light for a couple years in the past so perhaps I didnt have enough output or there just wasnt enough nutrients to feed it yet). For now it is pretty cool to see the others growing so well (the prolifera lives up to its name and grows pretty fast).

madweazl · 06/30/2016, 07:58 PM

Since purchasing the anthias, I've been feeding three times a day (10:30, 16:30, and 21:30ish). I know I've been over feeding (probably not quite a cube a day) but their need for food along with the ich that made its way into the tank with them necessitated keeping them as healthy as possible. I was completely ready for a GHA outbreak and about three days ago I started to see the first signs of it. I ordered an ultra low range Hanna checker (never much worried about testing things the past seven or eight years but decided what the hell) along with some more red PVC (have to re-plumb the return pump so it isnt in the way of the refugium light) and other odds and ends this evening. I looked over the sump and all was looking pretty good down there; the skimmer is dialed in pretty well but needs to be lowered a bit so I can increase the flow, the macros are growing well in there, the filter sock is nasty as all hell (think I replaced it Saturday or Sunday), and there is a bit of detritus down there but overall, I'm pretty pleased so I focused attention to the display.

Hmm, the 1/4" long GHA that was present yesterday is completely gone today. Not mostly, sort of, or kind of, it is GONE! I was truly surprised a tank this young was capable of overcoming the relatively huge amounts of food (waste) that were being presented to it with almost no clean-up crew (15 hermits in the display and two cerith snails in the refugium). This isnt to say it wont come back with a vengeance but the steady macro growth is a pretty good indication that it is able to keep up with my current "abuse." The anthias are doing fantastic; the male is starting to grow yellow streamers on his tail fins and the females tail fins are going from a light yellow to a vivid yellowish orange. On the negative side, the male is being more pugnacious and chases her more than should be happening creating some stress (and some banged up markings on her noggin) but for the time being, they look fantastic. If the third female is still available, I'll probably add her tomorrow (cant help it, they're gorgeous and I'd rather have her than most other options right now).

I'd really love to find a couple shrimp gobies but they're proving a bit difficult locally for what I want (hi-fin red banded, yasha, and/or tangaroa).

So anywho, here are a couple FTSs that arent very good (ordered some gel film today too).

madweazl · 07/01/2016, 04:34 PM

Finally got everything together to switch over to the red power cords. I had to add different ends to the cables and remount everything which ended up being a four hour project and a ridiculous amount of money. Tomorrow I'm going to grab some spark plug wire organizers to try and clean it up around the relay box a little better.

Chicagoreef2016 · 07/01/2016, 05:09 PM

Man that is one clean setup!

madweazl · 07/01/2016, 06:00 PM

Slowly but surely...

Still need to clean up some wiring but I'm done for the day; time for a beer.

rickztahone · 07/01/2016, 07:33 PM

I may have asked this already but have you considered using some desk grommets to route the red cables through? This would give it an overly more organized look.

madweazl · 07/01/2016, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickztahone

I may have asked this already but have you considered using some desk grommets to route the red cables through? This would give it an overly more organized look.

Dont think I've ever seen a desk grommet that small (holes are 5/8"). I've planned on using rubber grommets from the beginning but havent got around to ordering them yet. I've already spent about three times as much money as the tank cost down there.

madweazl · 07/02/2016, 07:36 AM

Looks great!!
Thank you.

Tank maintenance done! What, you thought my buckets would be a different color?

madweazl · 07/03/2016, 09:51 AM

Naturally, there is a faint reflection of my monitor screwing up what would otherwise be a decent picture.

WiDataTech · 07/03/2016, 10:31 AM

Very nice sir! Love the matching buckets, lol.
Subscribed, as I can see a few ideas already that I'd like to incorporate in my build.

madweazl · 07/04/2016, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WiDataTech

Very nice sir! Love the matching buckets, lol.
Subscribed, as I can see a few ideas already that I'd like to incorporate in my build.

Thanks. And yes, lots of cool ideas to pull from all of these build threads. People come up with some great stuff.

madweazl · 07/07/2016, 01:57 PM

Males anthias died a few days ago. About two weeks ago the female had some wounds just ahead of her dorsal fin. They started to heal up within a couple of days and then the male had some considerably deeper ones in the same spot. The day after noticing the wounds, he stopped eating (and he was a voracious eater). His wounds never started to heal (you couldnt tell anything happened to the female after about five days) and he died about five days later (never ate from that point forward). Fast forward a couple of days and the coral beauty is out and about much more; perhaps these two were scuffling (never that I was able to observe). Go forward another couple of days until today and now the coral beauty has a couple scratches in roughly the same area (not nearly as deep but noticeable). Female looks great. Not sure what is going on but I'm going to set up a trap and see if I can find a crab perhaps.

Journal entries:
Phosphate .003ppm
Alk 10dkH
pH 8.03

madweazl · 07/08/2016, 05:22 AM

Before and after (chaeto was either starved for light or nutrients and was dying off so I removed it a couple weeks ago).

15 June 2016 macro algae

8 July 2016 macro algae

madweazl · 07/08/2016, 06:39 PM

Carbon replaced 8 Jul 2016.

Devaji108 · 07/09/2016, 03:38 PM

sorry to hear about your fish loses.

I know how that is never fun.

man your tank looks so clean. I so need to learn and implement cable management. that another project for another day...but will troll your thread for inspiration...

madweazl · 07/09/2016, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Devaji108

sorry to hear about your fish loses.

I know how that is never fun.

man your tank looks so clean. I so need to learn and implement cable management. that another project for another day...but will troll your thread for inspiration...

It is rough not knowing who got him; I dont know if it was one of the other fish (I suspect this is the case) or something like a crab. That only explains the wounds though, there is still the matter of him not eating in the blink of an eye.

In other news, I installed a Jebao RW8 on the opposite side of the WP25 and wish I would have ordered the RW15 instead. I'm not really planning on SPS but the extra headroom would have been nice in the long run I think. If I moved the pumps to the back wall it would probably be fine but across 4' it is merely adequate. Overall flow seems similar to the WP25 but it is definitely spread over a wider pattern. It is very quiet which is nice.

07/01/2016, 07:33 PM	#40
rickztahone Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Pacoima (SFV) Posts: 1,481	I may have asked this already but have you considered using some desk grommets to route the red cables through? This would give it an overly more organized look. __________________ -Ricardo 22g RBTA tank build: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2578399 Current Tank Info: 22g Peninsula tank RBTA / Euphyllia / Clownfish

07/03/2016, 10:31 AM	#44
WiDataTech Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Wausau, Wi Posts: 136	Very nice sir! Love the matching buckets, lol. Subscribed, as I can see a few ideas already that I'd like to incorporate in my build. __________________ Mark I enjoy long walks on the fairway. Current Tank Info: 28 gal cube with 2 O. clowns, 58 gal in the works.

06/18/2016, 08:59 AM	#26
madweazl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NOVA Posts: 774	Today I decided it was time to fix an eye-sore. When I had purchased the controller everything worked great but the USB-TTL connector had been damaged and repaired by the original owner. At $25-30 for a replacement, it is easy to see why you'd want to fix it if at all possible. My other main hobby is radio controlled vehicles and over the years, I've had to make replacement cables and/or adapters for just about every small connector imaginable. I was pretty sure there were some female pins in my pit bag and as luck would have it, there were six (no margin for error)! It cleaned up well and is good as new.

06/18/2016, 01:59 PM	#27
madweazl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NOVA Posts: 774	Was out of relays and had to get the other box up and running (needed an excuse to finish it up anyways). Skimmer and ATO should be online in the next couple of days.

06/18/2016, 04:50 PM	#28
madweazl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NOVA Posts: 774	After soldering the headers to the new float sensors, I had to do something to clean it up. I had some red PETG sleeving that I ended up not using on my current PC build Much better!

06/18/2016, 09:49 PM	#29
Crush Coral Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Central Wisconsin Posts: 1,233	Very nice work. I will enjoy watching your work.

06/21/2016, 07:37 PM	#30
madweazl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NOVA Posts: 774	The skimmer (Bubble Magus Curve 5) is pretty close to dialed in now and collecting some nasty. I have a pretty ugly wire management gaggle going on right now as I'm waiting for the lights to tidy everything else up (it's making me twitch just looking at the picture). They better get here Thursday; not sure I can hold out much longer...

06/22/2016, 09:28 AM	#31
tjm9331 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 340	Awesome build so far, very clean work!

06/22/2016, 07:21 PM	#32
madweazl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NOVA Posts: 774	Journal entry vice build entry, sorry folks. Did a water change; fresh RO/DI mixes at pH 8.12 and dKH of 13.5 at 78°.

06/25/2016, 11:50 AM	#33
madweazl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NOVA Posts: 774	Lights arrived the other day so I was able to get to work on the cabling so I could control them with the Reef Angel. First up was an adapter from the stock dimming board to an output for the Reef Angel to take over the duties. A few people on the Reef Angel forums had some good info on the right connectors to make it plug and play. Next up was the actual dimming cable (each cable controls two drivers). I ended up drilling an extra hole in the light boxes because of the 3.5mm jacks I used but with a different jack, you could simply mount them where the original dimmer is. Ready to go!

06/29/2016, 06:19 AM	#34
madweazl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NOVA Posts: 774	Not much happening the last week. I sleeved another set of float switches for the skimmer compartment of my sump due to the Bubble Magus Curve 5's sensitivity to water level. I wont be able to employ it until I get another expansion but they're ready when the time comes. I ordered a bunch of red power cords last week that I'll be using to clean up the controller panel a bit more (having like cords keep my pesky brain happy). Cable management will be a lot easier and I wont need to remove the relay box when I swap things around in the future. Against better judgment, I also brought a BTA home last weekend that is about the size of a quarter. It has been sitting under the overhang right above it most of the week but peaked out for some light yesterday. The green mushrooms that smuggled themselves in with the liverock a few weeks ago are doing really well; I'll have to grab another shot of them tonight I suppose (now open to about twice the size they were when initially placed in the tank).

06/29/2016, 06:53 PM	#35
madweazl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NOVA Posts: 774	I'm running a 6500k CFL over the sump and the chaeto was dying off but the gracilaria and caulerpa (paspaloides and prolifera) are doing really well. I removed the chaeto and may or may not replace it (had it growing great under a 6500k JBJ nano fuge light for a couple years in the past so perhaps I didnt have enough output or there just wasnt enough nutrients to feed it yet). For now it is pretty cool to see the others growing so well (the prolifera lives up to its name and grows pretty fast).

06/30/2016, 07:58 PM	#36
madweazl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NOVA Posts: 774	Since purchasing the anthias, I've been feeding three times a day (10:30, 16:30, and 21:30ish). I know I've been over feeding (probably not quite a cube a day) but their need for food along with the ich that made its way into the tank with them necessitated keeping them as healthy as possible. I was completely ready for a GHA outbreak and about three days ago I started to see the first signs of it. I ordered an ultra low range Hanna checker (never much worried about testing things the past seven or eight years but decided what the hell) along with some more red PVC (have to re-plumb the return pump so it isnt in the way of the refugium light) and other odds and ends this evening. I looked over the sump and all was looking pretty good down there; the skimmer is dialed in pretty well but needs to be lowered a bit so I can increase the flow, the macros are growing well in there, the filter sock is nasty as all hell (think I replaced it Saturday or Sunday), and there is a bit of detritus down there but overall, I'm pretty pleased so I focused attention to the display. Hmm, the 1/4" long GHA that was present yesterday is completely gone today. Not mostly, sort of, or kind of, it is GONE! I was truly surprised a tank this young was capable of overcoming the relatively huge amounts of food (waste) that were being presented to it with almost no clean-up crew (15 hermits in the display and two cerith snails in the refugium). This isnt to say it wont come back with a vengeance but the steady macro growth is a pretty good indication that it is able to keep up with my current "abuse." The anthias are doing fantastic; the male is starting to grow yellow streamers on his tail fins and the females tail fins are going from a light yellow to a vivid yellowish orange. On the negative side, the male is being more pugnacious and chases her more than should be happening creating some stress (and some banged up markings on her noggin) but for the time being, they look fantastic. If the third female is still available, I'll probably add her tomorrow (cant help it, they're gorgeous and I'd rather have her than most other options right now). I'd really love to find a couple shrimp gobies but they're proving a bit difficult locally for what I want (hi-fin red banded, yasha, and/or tangaroa). So anywho, here are a couple FTSs that arent very good (ordered some gel film today too).

07/01/2016, 04:34 PM	#37
madweazl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NOVA Posts: 774	Finally got everything together to switch over to the red power cords. I had to add different ends to the cables and remount everything which ended up being a four hour project and a ridiculous amount of money. Tomorrow I'm going to grab some spark plug wire organizers to try and clean it up around the relay box a little better.

07/01/2016, 05:09 PM	#38
Chicagoreef2016 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 315	Man that is one clean setup!

07/01/2016, 06:00 PM	#39
madweazl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NOVA Posts: 774	Slowly but surely... Still need to clean up some wiring but I'm done for the day; time for a beer.

07/02/2016, 07:36 AM	#42
madweazl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NOVA Posts: 774	Looks great!! Thank you. Tank maintenance done! What, you thought my buckets would be a different color?

07/03/2016, 09:51 AM	#43
madweazl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NOVA Posts: 774	Naturally, there is a faint reflection of my monitor screwing up what would otherwise be a decent picture.

07/07/2016, 01:57 PM	#46
madweazl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NOVA Posts: 774	Males anthias died a few days ago. About two weeks ago the female had some wounds just ahead of her dorsal fin. They started to heal up within a couple of days and then the male had some considerably deeper ones in the same spot. The day after noticing the wounds, he stopped eating (and he was a voracious eater). His wounds never started to heal (you couldnt tell anything happened to the female after about five days) and he died about five days later (never ate from that point forward). Fast forward a couple of days and the coral beauty is out and about much more; perhaps these two were scuffling (never that I was able to observe). Go forward another couple of days until today and now the coral beauty has a couple scratches in roughly the same area (not nearly as deep but noticeable). Female looks great. Not sure what is going on but I'm going to set up a trap and see if I can find a crab perhaps. Journal entries: Phosphate .003ppm Alk 10dkH pH 8.03

07/08/2016, 05:22 AM	#47
madweazl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NOVA Posts: 774	Before and after (chaeto was either starved for light or nutrients and was dying off so I removed it a couple weeks ago). 15 June 2016 macro algae 8 July 2016 macro algae

07/08/2016, 06:39 PM	#48
madweazl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NOVA Posts: 774	Carbon replaced 8 Jul 2016.

07/09/2016, 03:38 PM	#49
Devaji108 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Jackson Hole Wy Posts: 3,430	sorry to hear about your fish loses. I know how that is never fun. man your tank looks so clean. I so need to learn and implement cable management. that another project for another day...but will troll your thread for inspiration...