Dawn's 56 gallon natural nutrient garden

[vlangel]

Looks like you have excellent water movement throughout the entire tank!
What ya gonna do when those anemones start to take over? I see one hanging out on the overflow box.
Sorry, not a fan of the figurine, your tank is so natural looking I think it pulls your attention to much.
NOW, when you had the real seahorse tank that was so amazing!!

Thanks for the comments and opinion Kevin. I took the gyre to your store and Jaime got it going for me plus showed me how to program it. I am pleased with the flow.

Yeah, Ted gave me 1 nem and it's turned into 20, (ok, maybe not 20!). There are nems in the sump too. So far they stay up on that pedestal and don't sting stuff so I have let them stay because I like BTAs.

Dave agrees with you about the figurine. He thinks when I buy some zoas from Reef Gallery and they encrust some of the figurine that it will probably be more subtle making it more palatable. So give me a year and maybe the figurine will be more like my vision for it,,,or maybe it will still be a distraction, who knows? I agree however, real seahorses are way better!

 

[vlangel]

We are getting ready to visit some grandkiddos so gave the tank a little extra lovin' beside my regular weekly maintenance. I syphoned out some detritus again but it was greatly reduced and the filter floss was much much dirtier. That tells me that the gyre is doing what I want. Oh yeah, kevinl, I removed the nems from the overflow and relocated them to the sump. Didn't want to risk one of them clogging the overflow or drain. I found a nice surprise while I was setting up the auto fish feeder. I went down to the sump to make sure enough food was going over the overflow to feed the Percula clown and neon goby. I had put the royal Gramma down there a month or more ago to die peacefully because he was laying on his side in the display. I had not seen him but he looks fit and healthy now so that was awesome.

I decided to test nitrates and phosphates to see where they are, (especially since the green slimer frag died this week). They were in what I consider good for my high nutrient tank, nitrates 25ppm and phosphates .25ppm. I know that is horrifying to some reefers but macro algaes need a lot of nutrients not to die off and all the coral are tolerating the nutrients fine, in fact are flourishing except the slimer and I don't watch calcium or alkalinity at all so that could have been what did it in.
Anyway here are some pics. I have never had better color in my coral.

 

[nuxx]

Everything's looking great, good job

 

[vlangel]

Everything's looking great, good job

Thanks nuxx. Now let's hope disaster does not strike while I am away this weekend!

 

[nuxx]

Thanks nuxx. Now let's hope disaster does not strike while I am away this weekend!

 

[kevinl]

Dawn your tank does look beautiful!
ENJOY those kiddos this weekend!!!

 

[vlangel]

Dawn your tank does look beautiful!
ENJOY those kiddos this weekend!!!

Thanks Kevin, we are enjoying the family!

 

[vlangel]

Thanks nuxx. Now let's hope disaster does not strike while I am away this weekend!

We arrived home and the tank is great, to my relief. I think when my tank is starting to look good, I expect impending disaster to strike, LOL. It's silly I know and there was nothing worse than some green film algae on the glass!
I just had to take a pic of this featherduster. It's so pretty and I really like it!

 

[vlangel]

I am developing a love/hate relationship with my gyre. It is always needing me to fuss with one side so that the vibrating noise is tolerable in our living room. I wished I knew how to stop that vibration for good.

 

[kevinl]

your propeller's may be loose?
Maybe the rubber pieces worn?
Magnet sliding out a little?
they are not a set and forget type thing.
These are all things I deal with.

 

[vlangel]

your propeller's may be loose?
Maybe the rubber pieces worn?
Magnet sliding out a little?
they are not a set and forget type thing.
These are all things I deal with.

I think I have a spare set of the rubber piece but am intimidated to try and replace them. How do I know whether it's for the right side or left?

 

[kevinl]

I think only the the propeller and it's cage need kept together and on same side.
Repair parts don't matter.
I have the latest model and they color coded each side.
I am down your way often and can swing by and show you, would love to see your tank in person!

 

[vlangel]

I think only the the propeller and it's cage need kept together and on same side.
Repair parts don't matter.
I have the latest model and they color coded each side.
I am down your way often and can swing by and show you, would love to see your tank in person!

Thanks Kevin, that is very kind. Let me make sure that I still have those replacement parts.

 

[vlangel]

I think only the the propeller and it's cage need kept together and on same side.
Repair parts don't matter.
I have the latest model and they color coded each side.
I am down your way often and can swing by and show you, would love to see your tank in person!

Here is what I have for replacement parts. Are those the parts you would need? I am not in any hurry at all.

I do have to confess that the gyre quieted down quite a bit from the day I posted my complaint of it. It oscillates from being not too bad to being somewhat obnoxious, LOL. I figure if we have friends over and it's loud that I will just unplug it!

 

[kevinl]

yes
the two small white & black pieces are what we need.
I will be down in your area mid morning tomorrow, sound good?
Heading to Costa Rica next week for 2 weeks.

 

[vlangel]

yes
the two small white & black pieces are what we need.
I will be down in your area mid morning tomorrow, sound good?
Heading to Costa Rica next week for 2 weeks.

Sorry Kevin, only seeing this now but if you are still in the area, today, that works.

 

[vlangel]

yes
the two small white & black pieces are what we need.
I will be down in your area mid morning tomorrow, sound good?
Heading to Costa Rica next week for 2 weeks.

Hey Kevin, if you stop by today Armstrong cable are working on the lines preparing us for fiber optics. I did ask them to move their truck so folks could get in or out.
If you don't make it out today, have a great time in Costa Rica. That sounds nice this time of year! Maybe you will go snorkeling?

 

[vlangel]

yes
the two small white & black pieces are what we need.
I will be down in your area mid morning tomorrow, sound good?
Heading to Costa Rica next week for 2 weeks.

Oh my goodness, I can't believe how quiet that gyre is. It was not that quiet when I first got it! Also it is moving the water so efficiently, I decided to turn it down to 20% and it is still plenty. I turned the right cage side more so it's not bubbling up but rather more toward the front of the tank. That allowed me to move the gyre up even higher so it's not smack dab in the center of viewing the tank.

You have heard the old proverb about giving a man a fish; well I can't thank you enough for teaching this gal how to fish! Jaime taught me how to program it and now you have taught me how to maintenance it. Thank you both for your help!

I will take a video sometime so you can see the water movement even at 20%.

 

[kevinl]

Dawn
It was fun catching up with you today. Talking about Lloyd and Heather and even Barb brought back a lot of memories from a long time ago. That was long ago that we fist meant and it has been a wonderful journey together in this hobby!
I started dealing with Lloyd in 1986, when did you start working there?

 

[vlangel]

Dawn
It was fun catching up with you today. Talking about Lloyd and Heather and even Barb brought back a lot of memories from a long time ago. That was long ago that we fist meant and it has been a wonderful journey together in this hobby!
I started dealing with Lloyd in 1986, when did you start working there?

Yes, it was fun. I really miss Lloyd, Barb and Heather. I started working at the Seahorse in 1997 but like you, I was a customer before that. We bought this house in 1986 and in the corner where our TV is, we put a 40 gallon XH freshwater tank. After I started working at the Seahorse I converted it to saltwater. Somewhere around 2000 I upgraded to a 90 gallon where my current tank is.

Thanks again Kevin. I always feel intimidated by new technology when I don't understand how it works. I read the manual but still didn't get it. Watching you take it apart I now have a much better understanding of the gyre and how it works. It's kind of a shame that it just sat on my fish shelf in the basement for 2 years just because I didn't understand it. Watching it work properly, I am gaining a great appreciation for how it moves water, even if it is finicky. In my video, Tommy the tomini tang gets swept up in the current created by the gyre which shows how much power it has, LOL.