Higher Thinking

Without exhausting the humid air, you will struggle with that. So you have a couple options to at least mitigate the problem. One would be an air dehumidifier. I'm not totally sure how effective this would be because I'm not super savvy on the scientific mechanics of evaporation, corrosion, and how saltwater factors in. A couple other things that will reduce evaporation would be to reduce the temperature a bit. Cooler water temps evaporate less than warmer water. You might be able to bring that down to 74 or so depending on what's in the tank. Additionally, you can use a glass top on the aquarium. This is not super ideal because they get dirty and develop hard water stains and then light doesn't get through to the corals as easily. That being said, if you have low light corals, this may not be a problem. If you put a cover, know that it reduces surface gas exchange, but having a skimmer or at least part of the top open, can help offset that. Wishing you the best with a solution! It would be really tough to guarantee that this doesn't happen again. So that definitely puts you in a tough spot. But I think if you can reduce evaporation, you'll reduce the corrosion issues.

Congrats on the build. That tank looks fantastic! What's the plan for the sump?

For what it's worth, you did a tremendous job detailing your situation, your tank, and your parameters. Most people would just say, "120 gallon tank, parameters are fine, coral are dying, what should I do?" Haha. Well done.

Dang man, everything you are talking about sounds exactly what I've been battling for over a year now. In my decade of reefing, this last one has been the most unsuccessful as far as growing corals. Everything just slowly loses tissue until it's gone. There have been a couple colonies that seem to be unaffected which is strange. I too am at a loss. My calcium reactor holds about 4 gallons worth of media and I dumped a full container and bought all new stuff in case that was the problem. The only thing I haven't done is start replacing pumps and other internal equipment in the off chance they're leaching something. That'd be a real expensive experiment. I'm also about to order a grounding probe to remove any chance of random stray voltage. I have an unbearable amount of asterina starfish which I constantly see on the dead skeleton. Then I start thinking they're the ones killing the tissue. Not likely, but at this point I've gone crazy and I trust nothing and no one 😡 @stylaster had a similar problem and he lost his whole tank. He's one of our most veteran members in reef keeping, too. It's just so freaking crazy and frustrating. I'm about to switch my tank over to just zoas and anemones. Neither of which seem to be impacted. 😆😜. Wish I could offer something worthwhile!

Fyi, listing which brands of equipment you have and who made the tank will help increase your chances of a package sale. Looks like a nice tank!

Clams for sure. I've had a Gigas that I got from Jeff about 18 months ago. It started as a little 2" thing and now it's a monster. Probably 10" or so. I actually had to have Jeff hold onto it for a couple months while my tank was struggling and I was losing all my other clams. These photos were from 6 months ago. I'll have to post an updated shot because it's only kept growing.

Sorry about the motivation-sucking couple of experiences. Maybe just keep the fish and shrooms going. Wishing you the best!

We all shine in different ways 😀

Nice! This makes me think about Bert wanting to create a coral warfare book. Basically which coral wins when pitted against another. The ultimate "greater than" book.

I think there's a few locals reefers on your area. Well, it's Eugene so I'm assuming there's countless refers, but those are the wrong kind 😉. Seriously though, there might be a couple people in your area. Where would you get it from? Ordering it online? From a shop?

No, it's not upside down. 😀 The extra brace supports on the bottom are for the flooring and are intentionally more shallow to allow the floor to be added and have the edges recessed beneath the outside braces (if that makes sense). This is what it looks like with the flooring. It's 360 gallons. 8' X 3'

@spectra is your guy if you want steel.

Geeze, give the lady some privacy.

Sounds like a bacterial bloom, but the ammonia is the problem. I would continue some water changes and/or use some prime to detoxify the ammonia.

Yeah I lost a PM module after the update, but luckily I was just able to unplug it and it worked right away when I plugged it back in.

Dang, that's wild. The house address thing is pretty solid.

You can definitely get by with auto feeders. There aren't too many fish that will only eat frozen. Most fish in the industry can get by with pellet and freeze dried. You algae loving tangs will appreciate sheets of nori, but the extent will be tank size dependant. If the tank is big enough, they're likely able to forage around for quite some time. And you can provide nori intermittently. As you are researching fish, just avoid those that are finicky eaters. The duration of how long a tank can be left alone involves too many variables to predict. The biggest issue is top off water, feeding, and monitoring the overflow (assuming you have one). Then there's dosing or CaRx maintenance if that applies to you. However, all of those things can be set up in such a way that you could technically leave it indefinitely. The problems arise when...well....the problems arise. Something goes crazy with the overflow? That could mean trouble. Reactor has a problem? There's another ordeal. All in all, you will be the best person to determine how well your tank can cruise. You just have to recognize how often you do little adjustments or changes and then consider what it would be like if you weren't around to do them. No one should be tied down by their tank.

Welcome to the club. Glad to hear round two is proving more successful. There's always more and more to learn about doing things better. Keep after it and you'll get the returns on your labor.

Congrats on the new build. I'm not familiar with the DIY overflow, but hopefully that works out good. Since the back can't be drilled, remember that each return is just one more thing you have to hang over the back. Single return would likely look cleaner, just my thoughts.

Congrats! Sounds like you've grown a great deal in this hobby since you first dove in. Look forward to seeing where everything progresses.

It's Flat Head lake, right by Kalispell. They just redid the deck last month. Still some more work to do, but turned out great.

While you can see the detritus that builds up on bare bottom tanks, that's also the biggest benefit. You can just siphon it all super easily. When you have sand, you're never able to clean up the detritus as easily. Always pros and cons.

Party on! We're celebrating at a friend's house in Montana! God Bless America! 🇺🇸🦅

I recall reading all about people using star board for bare bottom when I set my tank up. It made me think I needed to do that too. The more I thought about it though, it just seemed unnecessary. Aesthetically, it will get covered all the same by coralline. Structurally, it would take a very significant rock impact to actually crack the bottom panel. Set your hard scape up correctly and it will not be a problem. What size tank?

You are correct. However, I've already annulled the By-Laws and club Constitution and installed myself as Supreme Ruler. Sending you to the gulags is on my list of top priorities.