Benapilot's SCA 150 Upgrade

[BirdGuy21]

It may be worth a shot? What are your nutrients running at now. Maybe get a baseline and experiment to see if it the lower flow has a significant impact on your testing levels and how the corals respond.

 

[Zach B]

Such an awesome fish list! Love this setup

 

[benapilot]

Thanks Zach!

I'll post a video update soon!

 

[benapilot]

Here it is!

 

[BirdGuy21]

Tank looks fantastic! I love the sense of depth you created with the rock structure in the back, especially when looking through the arch.

 

[Zach B]

Wow! I really enjoyed that video, twice The tank turned out incredible as well as your stand & sump. This is definitely a setup that will inspire!

 

[benapilot]

I saw this little frozen food defroster/feeder online somewhere. It works great! I’m feeding Rod’s Food Herbivore Blend. I cut a couple strips off the “plank” then cut those into smaller chunks in the feeder.


Innovative Marine

 

[benapilot]

I’ve been following Tidal Gardens on YouTube for quite a while and finally Put in an order from them. I picked their 10 piece SPS Mystery Pack and here’s what I got:

 

[benapilot]

I had to make a cheat sheet so I know what I have and where they need to be placed!!
Looking at the individual corals on the Tidal Gardens website, I'd say the frag pack is definitely worth it! I didn't add it up, but I got about $350 worth of coral for $270!

Meanwhile, in the laundry room....
I have a 20 gallon aquarium that I use for my holding tank for new saltwater that feeds my auto water change system. I have a float switch that will shut down the awc pumps in the event that I run out of water. For some reason, the float switch failed, so I ordered a new one from autotopoff.com. It came in the mail a few days ago, so I installed it today. It's superglued to a mag float. (The blue jug is my RODI storage).

 

[benapilot]

Benefits of a steel stand!

 

[a4edwin]

How do you like the 4 nero’s?

 

[benapilot]

How do you like the 4 nero’s?

So far so good!

I have them set to alternating wave left/right opposite, 60% at 1 sec intervals.

 

[benapilot]

Today’s full tank shot:

Plus a couple additions from my latest trip to LAX Aquarium. Aussie torch, Chalice, big green polyps, and Green Star Polyp colony (to be attached to its own island!!).

Cyano is in full bloom... just got to wait it out, I think!

Added a Cleaner Shrimp
Added 4 Anthias
Lost the Naso Tang
My Biota Majestic Angel and Forktail Benny disappeared

 

[Lilmatty5dimes]

Wow tanks looks amazing. I keep kicking myself for not getting one of these tanks instead of my 120.

 

[benapilot]

Wow tanks looks amazing. I keep kicking myself for not getting one of these tanks instead of my 120.

Thanks!

I often find myself just standing in front of it and watching! Truly blessed to be able to put this aquarium together!

Now if the cyano would just hurry and go away... I need a sand sifting fish... Goby? Jawfish? Any recommendations??

 

[BirdGuy21]

Thanks!

I often find myself just standing in front of it and watching! Truly blessed to be able to put this aquarium together!

Now if the cyano would just hurry and go away... I need a sand sifting fish... Goby? Jawfish? Any recommendations??

I really like my Diamond Goby, but he does make a mess with sand sometimes.

 

[benapilot]

Still in the ugly stage
My Zoas are NOT happy! I’m hoping it’s just the algae irritating them and not my Lemonpeel Angel. Every once in a while I see her nipping at the green Palys, but nothing else.
I nuked the tank with Chemiclean, but it doesn’t seem to be working… I think I just need to wait it out.

 

[benapilot]

I’ve been doing a lot of research and I think I’m dealing with Dinoflagellates ;Yuck I need to get my hands on a microscope to see if I can identify what variety it Is.

Let the fight begin!

1. Get my nutrients up.
- Quit dosing NoPoX
- Ceased auto water changes

2. Reduce the lighting.
- Turned off the white T5s
- Adjust to a shorter ”day”. (Unfortunately, the tank is exposed to ambient sunlight and we are quickly approaching 20 hours of daylight here in Alaska!).
- At some point I may need to do a 3-5 day total blackout.

3. Deploy UV Sterilizer
- I went back and forth as to what brand and size to get- Pentair, Lifegard, AquaUV. 25w, 40w, 55w. It all came down to what I could fit behind the tank and how fast I could get it! So, I ordered the 25w Aqua UV unit from BRS. It‘s rated for 150 gallons and only 20” long (stepping up to the next biggest and every one is 36”+!). It should be here Monday and I’ll run it straight out of the display with a spare Jebao pump. After I get the Dinos in check, I’ll plumb it in to one of my returns.

4. Dose bacteria.
- Dr. Tim’s Waste Away
- Microbacter7
- Vibrant

Wish me luck!

 

[Zach B]

I’ve been doing a lot of research and I think I’m dealing with Dinoflagellates ;Yuck I need to get my hands on a microscope to see if I can identify what variety it Is.

Let the fight begin!

1. Get my nutrients up.
- Quit dosing NoPoX
- Ceased auto water changes

2. Reduce the lighting.
- Turned off the white T5s
- Adjust to a shorter ”day”. (Unfortunately, the tank is exposed to ambient sunlight and we are quickly approaching 20 hours of daylight here in Alaska!).
- At some point I may need to do a 3-5 day total blackout.

3. Deploy UV Sterilizer
- I went back and forth as to what brand and size to get- Pentair, Lifegard, AquaUV. 25w, 40w, 55w. It all came down to what I could fit behind the tank and how fast I could get it! So, I ordered the 25w Aqua UV unit from BRS. It‘s rated for 150 gallons and only 20” long (stepping up to the next biggest and every one is 36”+!). It should be here Monday and I’ll run it straight out of the display with a spare Jebao pump. After I get the Dinos in check, I’ll plumb it in to one of my returns.

4. Dose bacteria.
- Dr. Tim’s Waste Away
- Microbacter7
- Vibrant

Wish me luck!

We're on the same boat. Found some in mine as well even with feeding 4 times a day and 20+ fish... Best of luck

 

[benapilot]

We're on the same boat. Found some in mine as well even with feeding 4 times a day and 20+ fish... Best of luck

Get it taken care of and FAST! I haven't lost any corals yet, but my Zoas sure aren't happy.
I can't remember, do you have a UV sterilizer on your system? I went back and forth about it during the building phase and now kick myself for not. In the back of my mind I thought I might use the other 1/2" output on my manifold for a UV, but in my research, the flow from it will not be enough. Now I'll be cutting into one of my return pipes and working with it in place (I'll be adding an Apex flow sensor at the same time). It's tight back behind the tank, but not too bad.