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My first SW Reef tank 85 gallon


Oregon Aqua

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Did you take the inlet off and pull the impeller out to see if there is anything that could be binding it up? See of the shaft is split open as well. If it is then I know Patrick at Saltwater Fanta-Seas can set you up with another impeller. Some of the other LFS may be able to as well. (When I had one go bad he actually called the supplier and had them bring it to the store while I was there, took about 10 minutes)

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Did you take the inlet off and pull the impeller out to see if there is anything that could be binding it up? See of the shaft is split open as well. If it is then I know Patrick at Saltwater Fanta-Seas can set you up with another impeller. Some of the other LFS may be able to as well. (When I had one go bad he actually called the supplier and had them bring it to the store while I was there' date=' took about 10 minutes)[/quote']

 

Thanks Rick I tried almost everything i could think of, I took it apart so many time i was swimming in SW on the floor.

 

What bugged me so much is if i took the inlet off and run the pump i got crazy water flow just not in the correct direction......... so i tried a couple of things and finally came up with an idea.

 

I took a Co2 seal from a regulator and installed it between the little spacer and the impeller magnet. Simple and easy. figure getting the impeller a little more room to move would help a little.

 

It is actually pumping more water now then before it broke, the sump is having a little trouble keeping up so i might need to put another hole in the baffle to let water through i figure the seal should last a bit tell i can either get another more suitable spacer or a new impeller parts.

 

BEFORE

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AFTER

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THE SUMP WITH PUMP RUNNING

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On the downside the pump flow kicked up dust again and my tank looks like .......

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Interesting. Now i wish I would have held onto the GX-2400 I tossed out awhile back. I would mess with it and get it pumping for a few minutes and then it would stall. After 4 or 5 times I finally just shut the skimmer down and replaced it with a new pump the next day.

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pic of tank cleared up here. first pic is with the 2 65watt 12k bulbs that i hate because it makes the tank washout in white color, i want to replace them but have no idea what color to go for? something that will make the color pop more or that the corals will like more?? Taking ideas here=0) 2nd is only MH and 460nm actinic light. would changing the 12k's to 420nm make it look weird i wonder?

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pic is of the only peices of LR i could afford LOL.

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is my skimmer making nasty stuff i have no idea how its supposed to do but i get a cup of dirty stuff once a day out of it.

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Well, it LOOKS like the tank cycled, Mind you im partially color blind and the test are a bit hard for me to read, also im using a seachem ammonia alert as i find they are very easy to read. The nitrates nitrites where 0 and ammonia in the safe zone, so i threw in 3 blue legged hermits, and a turbo snail Ammonia came up a little to almost alert color and back down to safe in my book thats a cycled tank. The crabs are doing good not going after the algae on the sand as i had hoped, you can see thier trails where they walked though.

 

The snail just sits with lights on but off its all over the tank. So i went out again and got a piece of rock with one mushroom coral on it, At home in the tank i realized this rock is absolutely covered in other life including 2 different typed of feather dusters, so far 3 confirmed what i think are brittle star fish some type of very small coral like zoa's maybe but they have not really opened, and to my horror a anemone. I ran straight to the computer and i dont think it looks like a aiptasia its only 1/2 inch tall and maybe 1/4 wide pink or brown (colorblind lol) and my hermit has been eying it but not made an effort to get it, so hope im lucky.

 

For another 10 bucks i picked up another rock covered in what i was told is a mushroom coral but have not been able to ID help appreciated. I had to take pics very fast as batt is dead in camera so sorry.

 

A crab checkin me out

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The best pic i can get of the "rock of life"if you look up right of the middle of the mushroom you can make out the what i think is a anemone then next to that is the star with its legs hanging out of a crevice in the rock, i CAN NOT FIGURE OUT HOW TO MACRO SORRY

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and the best pics i can get of the mystery mushroom coral if it helps any i accidentally touched one when i put it in and my finger was covered in a clear slime.

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and brighter white light turned on

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i put all live sand in the sump and seeded the tank with it, I then monitored the water and saw everything go up then down. The crabs where added because the algae was starting to get to me, its all over the sand in the corners and the rocks at the top some hair and some other stuff, my planted tank experience is to take care of algae before it gets a real hold. When i saw the ammonia go up then back down i got excited and jumped the gun. I hope that if the tank goes and does a big cycle it will not kill the mushrooms, but the bigger rock was more of a LR purchase with bonuses and the other was an impulse buy i should have talked myself out of but the money was hot and really burning a hole in my pocket. i guess worse comes to worse, everything will die and i will really kick off a cycle, but that would make me sad. the one mushroom with the colors has takin a liking to its spot from what i can tell, its mouths where opened and i fed it some food, very cool to watch.

 

I promise to not make anymore changes for awhile, patience is not my virtue unfortunately

 

when can i add more clean up crew? Or what should i add? was the hermits a bad idea?

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Have you been tracking the nitrite and nitrates? See if the nitrite is at zero and also if you have some nitrates detectable. If so then your probably okay. Don't go too fast on the cleanup crew. For awhile it will look like there is no way they will ever catch up which usually results in too large of a cleanup crew once they do. A dozen nassarius and half a dozen astreas or trochus are probably all you will need once they catch up. Hermits are question mark. Many don't have any at all and just use snails. (The tend to aggravate the corals) I personally like seeing them so I have some but I have it limited to about half a dozen of them and I yank them out of the display and put them in the sump if I see them climbing on the corals.

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Have you been tracking the nitrite and nitrates? See if the nitrite is at zero and also if you have some nitrates detectable. If so then your probably okay. Don't go too fast on the cleanup crew. For awhile it will look like there is no way they will ever catch up which usually results in too large of a cleanup crew once they do. A dozen nassarius and half a dozen astreas or trochus are probably all you will need once they catch up. Hermits are question mark. Many don't have any at all and just use snails. (The tend to aggravate the corals) I personally like seeing them so I have some but I have it limited to about half a dozen of them and I yank them out of the display and put them in the sump if I see them climbing on the corals.

 

I used the last of my test for nitrates day before yesterday and came up from what i can tell at 0............ Then i very annoying light came on in my head when i realized this is the last of my test........ this means the test was old and probably very inaccurate since i stopped testing my planted tanks ohhhhhhhhh about 2 years ago. Now im kinda freaked, think im gonna run to the LFS and see if they can test for me.

The crabs are fun to watch they only once checked out the corals then straight back to the top of the rocks for the hair algae. I do need to thank you for the setup its working out great and the hood is built perfect, like you designed it for my light setup. Your new tank is looking GREAT.

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..... I do need to thank you for the setup its working out great and the hood is built perfect' date=' like you designed it for my light setup. Your new tank is looking GREAT.[/quote']

 

Glad it's working out well for you. And Thanks. I'll be posting up some more pics before too long. I rearranged the rocks again after battling with an evil damsel. (Had to take pretty much everything out to catch him) Also added a Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish and replaced the Niger Trigger I lost last week as well.

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The ricordea mushy is pretty hardy!! Should be ok!!

 

Clay

 

I hope so i have been reading on them and see they can do with less then perfect water, and i read they are good indicators on the water quality. fingers are def. crossed

 

went to saltwater fantaseas results are nitrate at 10ppm annd salt at 1.025 so yep NO3 test is bad funny part is their test looked the same as mine like i thought it looked between 5 and 0 but that's my wonderful eyes telling me the wrong color lol. Also proves my $25 refractometer is working perfect yeahhhhhh.(clap)

 

Also picked up a new ball valve for the Herbie overflow and wow what a difference that made, the more expensive gray ball valve that was on the sump inlet was really hard to control, i went and got the standard white with red handle and now i can change the level by 1/4inch at a time as a pose to the 6 inches, live and learn i guess. Tank is absolutely silent now.

 

OK i have talked to a couple people now and they all say the same thing...... i jumped the gun, need to learn patiance and get a couple damsels and overfeed them. Talked to the guy at LFS and he said they would lend me the fish trap when i was done with them....... any views on this advice? Also was told to turn of my MH for a month or 2 and just run the PC's?

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i was talking to him about my algae growth on the sand, and when a good time to get some snails would be. Thats when i was told to shut the MH off and cut my photoperiod down to 5 hours. I always consider the fact that algae has its purpose of taking up nutrients and such, but i dont want to have a battle on my hands down the road. IM not sure who he was i didnt ask. IM assuming it was the owner as it seemed he was working with his family and was talking about the new upgrades he made to the store. BTW he has a cool new setup for inverts, looks like it would be a nice setup for farming corals if i had the space to build my own later on.

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  • 1 month later...

I think you need a snowflake eel in there now.;)

 

Nice rics.

 

What is up in the top left side in the rocks?

 

I have a Green Star Polyp (GSP) and one or two Kenya Tree Coral frags so you can get a bit more in there if you want them. I can probably come up with a mushroom or two as well.

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I think you need a snowflake eel in there now.;)

 

Nice rics.

 

What is up in the top left side in the rocks?

 

I have a Green Star Polyp (GSP) and one or two Kenya Tree Coral frags so you can get a bit more in there if you want them. I can probably come up with a mushroom or two as well.

 

An eel would be cool!

 

When i picked up my piece for the goc i was given some GSP but i guess i didnt glue them good because in about a week they where all gone. I am always up for some more Corals.

 

up in the left is a pink pin cushion urchin and a frag of blue acropora from the $5 rack. though its not really blue anymore its still growing.

 

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