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Internet Explorer posted:The issue is that, from my limited understanding, the stuff on the top layer of sand is different than the stuff on the bottom layer. When you move all the sand out, it is impossible to keep them in the proper layers. The stuff on top gets buried and dies, the stuff on the bottom gets exposed and dies. This is pretty much it. There is kind of a debate as to whether or not stirring up your sandbed regularly is a good or bad thing. One party's position is that as long as it's stirred up regularly the nutrients don't get trapped nearly as badly. Of course you're still going to be stirring something up when you do it, so it really depends on what's in the tank. Soft corals? Not a problem. High-maintenance SPS? Definitely a problem. Honestly as long as you keep your live rock damp or submerged in water the cycle will be minimal, and consist mostly of nitrates that are stirred up from disrupting the rockwork.
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Apr 19, 2012 03:30
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Malaysian Trumpet Snails can handle a specific gravity up to 1.024 and they do a great job of stirring the sand bed.
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Apr 19, 2012 04:14
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Well, my plan was to empty the tank as much as possible and leave the sand bed and a small amount of water on the bottom untouched. I should be able to move the tank fairly easily with help even with the sand still in it. Total move time will only be like 2 or 3 hours. Do you guys think that's feasible?
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Apr 19, 2012 04:59
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Tanks aren't really designed to be moved with weight in them. I'd worry about splitting joints.
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Apr 19, 2012 05:15
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Not really a good idea for the above reason.
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Apr 20, 2012 17:50
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So I moved today and FINALLY set up the 40+20 system. Holy poo poo this sugar sand takes forever to settle. I just realized I haven't seen the pistol shrimp in a few weeks, only the goby. I kinda hope he's no longer due to the sandstorms that he'll make in this new tank. Fish and lights move tomorrow, wish me luck.
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Apr 30, 2012 09:26
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Quick question: We just put in a yellow watchman goby and a tiger pistol shrimp this last weekend. The shrimp is bulldozing all through the underside of the LR and through the holes in it as well. As a result, sand is piling up on the bottom areas of the rock. I vaguely recall someone saying that sand shouldn't be allowed to settle and sit on LR. Should I be moving the sand off the rock or is it ok to leave it since its only on the bottom areas?
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May 1, 2012 03:18
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Russian Dollies posted:Quick question: We just put in a yellow watchman goby and a tiger pistol shrimp this last weekend. The shrimp is bulldozing all through the underside of the LR and through the holes in it as well. As a result, sand is piling up on the bottom areas of the rock. I vaguely recall someone saying that sand shouldn't be allowed to settle and sit on LR. Should I be moving the sand off the rock or is it ok to leave it since its only on the bottom areas? You should kinda try to have enough flow so that settling can't happen anyway. Odds are your little digger will find an equilibrium soon.
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May 1, 2012 07:16
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Russian Dollies posted:Quick question: We just put in a yellow watchman goby and a tiger pistol shrimp this last weekend. The shrimp is bulldozing all through the underside of the LR and through the holes in it as well. As a result, sand is piling up on the bottom areas of the rock. I vaguely recall someone saying that sand shouldn't be allowed to settle and sit on LR. Should I be moving the sand off the rock or is it ok to leave it since its only on the bottom areas? You are correct about not wanting the live rock buried as it will kill off the good bacteria, but it is just one of those things you live with while having a pistol shrimp and goby. I usually leave it alone because as the poster above me said, the shrimp will unusually find an equilibrium. If it gets too ridiculous or buries a coral, then I would brush some of the sand off.
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May 1, 2012 13:08
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Well, my tank is all moved and set up again. I ended up discarding all of my sand and putting fresh stuff in as people recommended. Now I have a Rubbermaid bin full of 60 pounds of used sand that I'm not sure what to do with. Rinse it and store it somewhere for the next time I have to move? I could probably keep it outside somewhere and it'd be fine. Someone on Reefcentral nailed it with their advice about how much water to have prepared at the new location... I was woefully unprepared on that front. In fact I think that was my biggest mistake in moving: I didn't even have enough water to immediately fill the tank and put all the rock/livestock back in. Everything sat in 25 gallon Rubbermaid bins for 3 days (with heat and circulation at least.) I finally just went to the Seattle Aquarium and got the water I need from the 24/7 dispenser. Fortunately, everything survived the move and seems to be doing well. My birdsnest coral frags are kind of my canary in the coalmine, and they're starting to extend their polyps quite nicely. Water tests show that the chemistry is good, except for ammonia being higher than I'd like, and I think that will settle down once the bacteria is back to full strength.
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May 1, 2012 21:30
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 sup moving buddy. So on Sunday I drilled, plumbed and set up the 40br at our new place. All went well and everything is still thriving.Now to figure out how the hell to quiet down that drat drain.
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May 2, 2012 00:23
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Last week I awoke to my emerald crab eating my decently sized blenny. This morning I awoke to the same crab eating the smaller, replacement blenny. I think it has contracted bloodlust.
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May 2, 2012 00:48
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If you're in the Chicagoland area I have a similarly consumed-by-bloodlust invert I'd like your crab to meet. (peacock mantis shrimp--it hunting is definitely a sight)
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May 2, 2012 01:05
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Injuryprone posted:Last week I awoke to my emerald crab eating my decently sized blenny. This morning I awoke to the same crab eating the smaller, replacement blenny. I think it has contracted bloodlust. My emerald turned giant. I was defending him against accusations of Clown-icide, but he pushes my corals around now. It's the sump for him!
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May 2, 2012 02:08
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arioch posted:If you're in the Chicagoland area I have a similarly consumed-by-bloodlust invert I'd like your crab to meet. (peacock mantis shrimp--it hunting is definitely a sight) Let's create an underground invert fighting ring.
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May 2, 2012 02:37
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SaNChEzZ posted:
What type of sound issues are you having? I will soon be a moving buddy as well, parents sold their place where my tank is and I'll be moving into a separate suite wherever they go and I'm going to use the opportunity to build a big setup. 
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May 2, 2012 02:43
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Injuryprone posted:Let's create an underground invert fighting ring. I actually haven't seen it in months, but both holes of the PVC pipe it made its home in is regularly blocked and unblocked by broken turbo shells, so I guess it's still in there.
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May 2, 2012 03:32
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arioch posted:I actually haven't seen it in months, but both holes of the PVC pipe it made its home in is regularly blocked and unblocked by broken turbo shells, so I guess it's still in there. I think you're looking at the first world champion.
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May 2, 2012 06:43
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MKLKT posted:What type of sound issues are you having? I will soon be a moving buddy as well, parents sold their place where my tank is and I'll be moving into a separate suite wherever they go and I'm going to use the opportunity to build a big setup. Well, I did it in a super hurry, so the drain is a 1.5" PVC that's 24" long, goes into a 45 then a 16" 1.5" PVC so the water that runs down the drain hits that 45 and makes some noise. The overflow is quiet though. See!   I need to lower the water level in the sump a little bit, when the pumps turn off for feeding it gets a little uncomfortably close to the top when the siphon stops. And a temporary FTS with no scape   Also, I must give praise to the Bubble Magus skimmer. It's a NAC 3.5 and holy poo poo, I fired it up and within 2 hours the water was almost crystal clear after adding sand and the cup was full of white/eggshell goop.
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May 2, 2012 19:03
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To reduce the amount of water that drains to your sump you could try arcing your return loc-line up and then back down. The nozzle should be just barely under the surface. That'll break the siphon much sooner and you won't get as much drainage. If you drilled a siphon-break hole near the base you'll have to plug it again. The loc-line is water-tight enough to ignore any leakage unless you're leaving the return off for a few days. Here's a pic of how I did it on my tank (ignore the lack of effort screen cover, please) 
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May 2, 2012 21:03
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that makes sense, I'll do that when I get home, thanks. I also need to install a ball-valve on the return, because the mag7 is pretty crazy flowy and pushes sand around no matter how it's aimed. Also, what tank is that, looks super nice. Frozen Pizza Party fucked around with this message at 21:13 on May 2, 2012 |
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May 2, 2012 21:10
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SaNChEzZ posted:Well, I did it in a super hurry, so the drain is a 1.5" PVC that's 24" long, goes into a 45 then a 16" 1.5" PVC so the water that runs down the drain hits that 45 and makes some noise. The overflow is quiet though. To quiet down your drain, dump the drain into the top of a filter sock. The water will trickle down the sides of the sock quietly into the water and the air will be able to escape without making a bubbling / gurgling sound. The air moving through the drain makes the most noise.
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May 2, 2012 21:15
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Is the drain making the noise in the overflow box because it's sucking in air? For my tank, I just have a ball valve for the drain that I've fine tuned so that the drain volume closely matches the return pump volume. So the water line in the overflow box is 2-6 inches below the lip which helps cut down on trickle noise, and it doesn't suck air because the drain is completely submerged. There's an emergency drain standpipe in case the main drain becomes blocked - plus my return pump is in its own chamber in the sump, so if the display tank gets too full there simply isn't enough water to flow into the return chamber, and the pump runs dry (not exactly a desirable state either, but at least the tank won't flood).
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May 2, 2012 21:20
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Anony Mouse posted:Is the drain making the noise in the overflow box because it's sucking in air? For my tank, I just have a ball valve for the drain that I've fine tuned so that the drain volume closely matches the return pump volume. So the water line in the overflow box is 2-6 inches below the lip which helps cut down on trickle noise, and it doesn't suck air because the drain is completely submerged. There's an emergency drain standpipe in case the main drain becomes blocked - plus my return pump is in its own chamber in the sump, so if the display tank gets too full there simply isn't enough water to flow into the return chamber, and the pump runs dry (not exactly a desirable state either, but at least the tank won't flood). The overflow box is almost dead silent, it's where the water hits the 45 in the drain that it's making noise. It's gotten better since I actually installed the vent hose that came with the overflow (derp) but it's still a little bubbly. It's in the living room so it's not causing any sleep/play stress though.
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May 2, 2012 21:59
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Quote =/= edit. Anyway:optikalus posted:To quiet down your drain, dump the drain into the top of a filter sock. The water will trickle down the sides of the sock quietly into the water and the air will be able to escape without making a bubbling / gurgling sound. The air moving through the drain makes the most noise. I'll try this too once I make a rack or a holder for a sock.
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May 2, 2012 21:59
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SaNChEzZ posted:Quote =/= edit. Anyway: I use soft vinyl tubing for the overflow piping with a soft bend into the sump with a filter floss basket at the bottom wrapped tightly to avoid air gulps. I had tried to build essentially the same thing as you and it drove me nuts because of the sound. You can get a gradual 45 elbow PVC pipe (spreads the corner over roughly 1' instead of 2", I'd imagine that would remove a lot of the impact that is causing the sound. I believe the optimal situation is where you have the water flow exactly so it's clinging to the outside edges of the tubing with as minimal surface interruption along its path. MKLKT fucked around with this message at 23:02 on May 2, 2012 |
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May 2, 2012 22:59
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Edit: Wrong thread, sorry
Dial M for MURDER fucked around with this message at 01:23 on May 3, 2012 |
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May 3, 2012 01:20
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SaNChEzZ posted:Also, what tank is that, looks super nice. Oceanic Illuminata 57gal with a custom stand. I lied I didn't post, so here's a couple from setup. I drilled the return hole so I could use the two holes in the overflow for a Herbie drain. It's wonderful.  
porksmash fucked around with this message at 01:43 on May 3, 2012 |
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May 3, 2012 01:38
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Help. D: I've got a clownfish (dunno what kind but its rather big) floating in a bag in my tank...I don't have saltwater. Someone dropped it off at work and nobody wanted it, and we're not allowed to put it back into our tanks. I have another place interested in him but how long can he stay in the bag without...dying? Its not a special breather bag afaik, just a regular Petco one and hes floating to stay warm. Overnight? 24 hr? 2 days? I dont know how theyre supposed to swim either, hes not swimming around, just kind staying in place and tilting from side to side it looks very odd.
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May 3, 2012 05:22
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Malalol posted:Help. D: He's gonna need some oxygen, I've never had experience with shipped fish but eventually the water is going to gain ammonia and lose its oxygen. porksmash... What's the gate valve on the return pump for?
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May 3, 2012 06:22
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Malalol posted:Help. D: How long has he been in the bag for? If he was packed properly with the right amount of air/water he should be fine for 2-3 days as long as you do not open the bag. If you open the bag you need to get him out of there within 30 minutes. Can you maybe go to a fish store with saltwater and have them repack the bag with new water and concentrated oxygen? That would give him another 3 days or so. MKLKT posted:porksmash... What's the gate valve on the return pump for? It allows you to control the rate of flow from the sump to the display tank. If your return pump can do more GPH than your overflow can handle the overflow will start getting very noisy. It is a good idea to always install a gate valve on your return, but you should never put in any sort of valve on your overflow pipe that goes into your sump. Otherwise it increases the chance of that getting clogged and having your return overflow your display tank. Internet Explorer fucked around with this message at 13:31 on May 3, 2012 |
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May 3, 2012 13:28
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double post
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May 3, 2012 13:30
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 ->  
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May 3, 2012 19:59
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Very nice. Over how long?
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May 3, 2012 21:30
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I just glued all of my healthy coral frags into their permanent homes in my rockwork. I'm going to take some pictures today so that I can track their growth. Looking forward to seeing before and after pics! 
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May 3, 2012 21:56
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The first one was uploaded Oct 18, 2011 and the second was taken this afternoon So just under 7 months? Also the one on the right, I thought was dead.. but when i was looking at the tank last night, I noticed polyps coming out of the part that is encrusted on the plug and about 1/2" up on the stalk! Should I trim off the totally dead part, or just let it do it's thing. It's been "dead" for like 5 months. Also, update on the YWG that is missing his pistol friend, he hasn't taken food in 2 days, should I be worried about him? They don't NEED a pistol once they've been accustomed to one, right? Looks like I posted that elsewhere, when I moved, I couldn't find the pistol or his shell, think he got munched. But the YWG was living in his caves, now there's no caves and no pistol. Frozen Pizza Party fucked around with this message at 01:05 on May 4, 2012 |
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May 3, 2012 22:27
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Finally the sand has settled! 
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May 6, 2012 03:55
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 Picked this up from a local reefer trying to clear out some space in her tank, but she couldn't remember exactly what variety of mushroom it is. I tried looking around, but couldn't find a good reference. Any clues? If it helps the tips are really bright green (my camera phone really washed out the color), and the base looks somewhat maroon/purplish. Edit: Also visible is where the pistol shrimp has been hauling sand up through the live rock. Gonna have to clear some of that off. :P Russian Dollies fucked around with this message at 00:58 on May 7, 2012 |
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May 7, 2012 00:56
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http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=597+598+665&pcatid=665 Likely a Rhodactis.
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May 7, 2012 02:22
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I've had a pretty sharp increase in dosing requirements in my tank lately, coupled with what I believe to be accelerated growth. For quite a while it took ~15ml daily of 2-part calc/alk to maintain levels in my 90g. Now it takes me 30ml daily to keep things stable. Even my SPS are growing well and not bleaching, for almost 6 months now. Yay.
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May 28, 2012 06:22
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