The Worst Thread in RAG History

[olsaltybastard]

Don't give me any ideas!!

[olsaltybastard]

November 27th update:


On Sunday, I made the first water change in 6 weeks. I will start doing 10% water changes every week for the time being and if necessary, alter this for the demands of the tank.

Today, I added a dozen turbo snails and a dozen cerith snails. Next week, I will be changing out the GFO inside the reactor. I will do a write up on this so all the new reefers can see how this goes. It's easier to do this when doing a water change as the media needs to be rinsed with several gallons of water.

[olsaltybastard]

Dec 4th update:


I went ahead and changed out the GFO. I was going to do a pictorial write up, but my loaner digital camera is back with the owner. Here is a summary of the procedure:


You want to use about 1 gram per gallon of water; if you have never used GFO, use half this amount for the first time. Be realistic when estimating your gallonage as the tank makers are very slippery in their advertising of gallonage. My 215g will hold about 190g; then the rock displaces some water; long story short, there is probably a total of 200 gallons total for my setup. I measured out 200 grams of GFO on a scale I have at work. I added this to the GFO reactor and drew a line with a black magic marker where the GFO came up to. Now I won't have to measure with a scale; I can simply add it until I reach the line; pretty simple.

Next step is to rinse the media; I don't care what the instructions say, RINSE THE MEDIA!!! All I did was route the reactor outlet into a bucket and after 3 gallons (the capacity of the bucket), I was done. Keep in mind that I did this in conjunction with a water change, so I had plenty of makeup water on hand.

You only want a small amount of flow over the media; the top should do a little dance but no need to stir the entire reactor with flow. It will take a few days for all of the water inside the tank to go into the reactor; this is in keeping with the "go slow" habits.

That is all there is to it. Again, no camera, so no pics. This thread is starting to suck!

[olsaltybastard]

Ok,

I took a few measurements just to see how things are going. Here are some of the results:


Ca: 425
dKH: 6
Mg: 1300
NO3: 0
pH: 8.3

So far, so good. Alk always measures low using M.E. salt. Since the pH is so stable, I could care less. Coralline growth is really starting to take off. I upgraded my water change containers in order to keep up with the larger water changes that I have to perform due to the larger tank.

I added a few corals that I received from an individual that I KNOW has no AEFW, ich, flatworms, etc... My impatience will not go unheeded. I KNOW better than to have corals shipped during the cold season and I will pay with my wallet. Heat packs are nice if the weather is in the 60's. When it's below freezing, shipping corals is NOT a good idea, especially SPS.

I have a large batch of water made up for this weekend's water change. I am going to pay special attention to removing the detritus that has built up inside the sump and the stuff that has built up along the back of the tank behind the starboard bottom. I have been paying extra special attention to make sure that I don't put my hands in the tank unnecessarily.

[Tom100]

Very nice. Please show some sump pics? (He.. he.. Bit of a sump fetish.)

[olsaltybastard]

I'll borrow a camera tonight and take some pics.


Didn't realize I had pics of the sump:






The Brute trash can is for ATO, you can see the GFO reactor hanging off the side of the sump, I turned the light on for the picture; I don't use it anymore. And then there is the skimmer. Pretty simple setup.



While we're at it, here is a simple way to track everything. My memory isn't what it used to be.

[olsaltybastard]

End of the month update:


I purchased an ATI Bubblemaster 250 skimmer to see how it would compare to the Deltec APF600. Take a look at how much bigger the ATI is:





The coralline algae is really starting to take off and spread everywhere. Here is the starboard bottom and a Tunze powerhead next to the overflow:









The obligatory FTS. The colors are really starting to glow as the tank ages.





Happy holidays everyone!!

[goldenmean]

OSB you tank is looking awesome.
I like the cutting board bottom and how the coralline is growing on it.
Your aqua-scaping is amazing. You set well with the rock and saw where it belonged!
The Chicago Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe said, "less is more," and you proved that with your rock work.
Great job

[phlounder]

You know OSB, this is nowhere near the worst thread in RAG history. Methinks it will rival Chuck's thread in the end. Tank is looking better and better. Kudos to you for taking things slow. It will pay off in the long run.

[olsaltybastard]

Thanks for all the kind words.

Less is more is exactly what I was going for with this tank. There is only 100 lbs of live rock inside the display; about 1/2 of what is usually recommended. This is about 30 lbs less than what I had in the 125 before upgrading.

Chuck's thread is the quintessential DIY thread; I have many of his pics stored on my computer for reference.

The basis here is really to show the folks who are new to reef keeping that having a nice tank doesn't mean that one has to chase their tail for months on end. I have not had any problems with unwanted algae, diatoms, or cyanobacteria. Of course, having a lot of water helps with this. No real trick; go slow, take your time, and do not add additives unless absolutely necessary.