Felicia's 40B Predator Reef

[Enderturtle]

In the winter i run two eheim jager heaters rated for 80 gallons each for my 40 gallons of water. Before adding the second heater, I noticed during the cold nights id wake up to my tank being 76 or slightly colder.

 

[rygh]

You talking about GFO all by itself? If I don't tumble it, it gets rock hard!

Yes.
Interesting. I don't have that problem, either in a sock, or in a reactor.
How long do you leave it in?
I run mine for about 1 month. Sometimes 2 when I forget.

 

[aqua-nut]

Yes.
Interesting. I don't have that problem, either in a sock, or in a reactor.
How long do you leave it in?
I run mine for about 1 month. Sometimes 2 when I forget.

I'm on a similar change schedule. I got bad clumping when the supply pump clogged and I didn't notice it for a few days. Flow was way low and GFO was like a big rusty rock!

Sorry for the hijack, Felicia!

 

[Coral reefer]

I always associated clumping do w it having absorbed LOTS of phosphates. Maybe low flow rate lets it have more contact time and it absorbs phosphates more readily and becomes a brick?

 

[neuro]

I always associated clumping do w it having absorbed LOTS of phosphates. Maybe low flow rate lets it have more contact time and it absorbs phosphates more readily and becomes a brick?

clumping happens to me when my GFO starts picking up phosphates and caking with minerals. It's visible in my tumbler

 

[bluprntguy]

I think RHF says run less GFO and change it more often. I thought every two weeks was the max recommended time for regular old GFO.

 

[FeliciaLynn]

In the winter i run two eheim jager heaters rated for 80 gallons each for my 40 gallons of water. Before adding the second heater, I noticed during the cold nights id wake up to my tank being 76 or slightly colder.

Yeah the Eheim Jager heaters seem to not be able to really keep up with the water volume they're supposedly rated for. I'd prefer not to have to run 2 heaters, so I ended up purchasing a new heater off BRS yesterday. I ordered the 300 Watt Finnex titanium tube heater with attached electronic controller. 300W should be more than sufficient!

 

[FeliciaLynn]

I'm on a similar change schedule. I got bad clumping when the supply pump clogged and I didn't notice it for a few days. Flow was way low and GFO was like a big rusty rock!

Sorry for the hijack, Felicia!

No worries! Its a good discussion! Hijack away! I'm interested in learning more about the different medias since I've never thought about it too much before.

 

[FeliciaLynn]

I think RHF says run less GFO and change it more often. I thought every two weeks was the max recommended time for regular old GFO.

Yeah I think I saw 2 weeks as the recommendation for GFO. Carbon is like a month, but if you mix them, then they say to change both every 2 weeks.

 

[aqua-nut]

Yeah I think I saw 2 weeks as the recommendation for GFO. Carbon is like a month, but if you mix them, then they say to change both every 2 weeks.

Every two weeks! That's way too much work!! It takes me a week to get psyched up to do battle with the BRS reactor!

IIRC, BRS says to watch phosphates and when it climbs it's time for a change. Now all I have to do is remember to test for phosphates!

 

[aqua-nut]

Yeah the Eheim Jager heaters seem to not be able to really keep up with the water volume they're supposedly rated for. I'd prefer not to have to run 2 heaters, so I ended up purchasing a new heater off BRS yesterday. I ordered the 300 Watt Finnex titanium tube heater with attached electronic controller. 300W should be more than sufficient!

OMG! You have that tank out on the back porch? In North Dakota?

One 200w Eheim can heat my 120g + 40G sump to about 72-73 degrees. I use two so if one fails it doesn't cook the tank and takes days to come down to a dangerous level.

If that behemoth of a heater sticks on it'll cook the tank in no time!

I guess you youngsters like living dangerously. When it comes to heaters, I'm a belt and suspenders kinda guy!

 

[FeliciaLynn]

Every two weeks! That's way too much work!! It takes me a week to get psyched up to do battle with the BRS reactor!

IIRC, BRS says to watch phosphates and when it climbs it's time for a change. Now all I have to do is remember to test for phosphates!

This is why I got rid of the BRS reactor. Its too much work! I'm hoping this TLF reactor makes me willing to do it more often, haha!

 

[FeliciaLynn]

OMG! You have that tank out on the back porch? In North Dakota?

One 200w Eheim can heat my 120g + 40G sump to about 72-73 degrees. I use two so if one fails it doesn't cook the tank and takes days to come down to a dangerous level.

If that behemoth of a heater sticks on it'll cook the tank in no time!

I guess you youngsters like living dangerously. When it comes to heaters, I'm a belt and suspenders kinda guy!

My 150 W Eheim is letting my tank drop to 75 during the nights, so its just not enough power. I wasn't sure if only going up the extra 50 W to the 200 W heater would be sufficient, so I went to the 300 W heater. I thought it was safer to use a bigger heater since they don't have to be on all the time. I was thinking if you use one that was too weak and it ran all the time that it would be more likely to fail. I like the Finnex heaters because they're hooked to a separate digital controller with a separate temperature that let's you set a max and min temperature, so that if the heater's internal thermostat sticks on, the electronic controller will cut power to the heater as soon as the temperature measured by the probe exceeds the maximum temperature. It also has an audible alarm that goes off if the temperature goes above or below the outer limits that you set.

 

[rygh]

FYI on media: I think I am switching back to bags.
The idea: I have 4 bags in the sump, each a mixture of GFO + Carbon.
I change ONE of them every week, rotating, so effectively one lasts a month.
I find that I tend to actually DO weekly simple maintenance, but I procrastinate on anything less often.

 

[rygh]

My 150 W Eheim is letting my tank drop to 75 during the nights, so its just not enough power. I wasn't sure if only going up the extra 50 W to the 200 W heater would be sufficient, so I went to the 300 W heater. I thought it was safer to use a bigger heater since they don't have to be on all the time. I was thinking if you use one that was too weak and it ran all the time that it would be more likely to fail. I like the Finnex heaters because they're hooked to a separate digital controller with a separate temperature that let's you set a max and min temperature, so that if the heater's internal thermostat sticks on, the electronic controller will cut power to the heater as soon as the temperature measured by the probe exceeds the maximum temperature. It also has an audible alarm that goes off if the temperature goes above or below the outer limits that you set.

Why not just get a normal aquarium controller to control the heater.
By the time you add up the temp control, ATO, dosing control, etc, it makes sense.
(Unless you already have all those separately)

 

[FeliciaLynn]

Why not just get a normal aquarium controller to control the heater.
By the time you add up the temp control, ATO, dosing control, etc, it makes sense.
(Unless you already have all those separately)

I already had everything separately and then I realized there was an issue with my heater since the upgrade. A new heater was $45, whereas a controller would be several hundred minimum.

 

[aqua-nut]

When a heater fails 'on' it's usually because the connection in the thermostat makes a small arc every time it shuts off or on. This will eventually cause it to weld itself shut.

I set the heater thermostat to a slightly higher temp than desired. I use my controller to switch the heater outlet on/off. This way the heater never uses it's thermostat and never arcs. When the controller fails (when not if!), the heater warms the water a couple of degrees and it's thermostat shuts it off. Assuming the controller has not totally gone off to lala land, it will text/email/alarm for me to fix it.

Looking at the Finnex site, I could not determine if it had an Eheim type thermostat. I'm also not sure how these golldarn new fangled electronic heater controllers work with an aquarium controller like Apex.

 

[jonmos75]

I set the heater thermostat to a slightly higher temp than desired. I use my controller to switch the heater outlet on/off. This way the heater never uses it's thermostat and never arcs. When the controller fails (when not if!), the heater warms the water a couple of degrees and it's thermostat shuts it off. Assuming the controller has not totally gone off to lala land, it will text/email/alarm for me to fix it.

That is exactly how I have mine setup on my Apex, yet very rarely does my heater turn on due to the weather by the coast it stays very stable to the most part...lol

 

[aqua-nut]

This is why I got rid of the BRS reactor. Its too much work! I'm hoping this TLF reactor makes me willing to do it more often, haha!

Let us know how that goes. I really need a self cleaning reactor.

I watched Rich Ross's MACNA talk, almost the exact same as his talk for us, and am thinking about removing the reactor all together. Perhaps just some GAC now and then. I have a very low (compared to Felicia) fish load. Only 5 fish in a 120.

Hey maybe that's why I don't need as much heater. Your fishes tails are just fanning the water and cooling it off!

 

[FeliciaLynn]

Ok guys....I think we're long overdue for an update. Sorry just been super busy over here again, but I get a few days off this week for Spring break so I have some time to get some much needed aquarium chores done. Ok, let's start with the general updates:

1) The tank is an algae covered mess...I think this is a combo of new tank syndrome and excess nutrients from me overfeeding the new anthias. I always get overzealous with new fish and feed them way too much to make sure they're eating. Also, the rock that I moved over from the old tank was already covered in algae from the crash, so that has just spread. I've cut back on feeding now, added GFO to my reactor, and have been doing big weekly water changes. Hopefully the algae will clear back up soon.

2) The urchin, trochus snails, and turbo snails just aren't getting rid of the algae fast enough, so I figured I'd beef up my CUC. My boyfriend recommended the ruby red mithrax from KPA. He has some that made short work of the bit of an algae outbreak in his tank a while back. Those came today and I added them to the tank this morning. No photos yet because they're still being shy. I ordered 2 of the ruby red mithrax crabs and got 3 of them, which all arrived happy and healthy. I also got 2 of the nano serpent stars to help pick up uneaten food and detritus off the sand bed since I don't have any hermits in this tank. And I also got some additional chaeto for my refugium. The original chaeto I got had been in a tank with flat worms so I freshwater soaked it and treated it with Flatworm Exit, and it just never recovered. Its been slowly dying off, so new chaeto should also help with clearing up the nuisance algae.

3) Corals still haven't been put in their permanent places in the new tank, so everything is just tossed in at random. Still trying to figure out how I want to place everything.

4) I haven't really been coral shopping, but I did get one new gorgonian from Diablo Corals. Its a really cool deep purple with white polyps. I hadn't seen this variety before, so I had to get it. Here are the frags at the LFS:




And here it is in my tank:


5) I am trying to make all the maintenance on this tank as easy as possible so I can keep up with it when I'm busy. I have been mixing my water in multiple 5 gallon buckets. I get out two 5 gallon buckets, set up a pump and heater on each, fill up the first one with RO/DI water, wait for my RO/DI to make another 5 gallons, fill up the other bucket, and then mix salt...all in the middle of my living room.

I finally decided its time to have a permanent mixing set-up with fresh saltwater always ready to go. I figured 10 gallons was a good amount to have on hand for my system and is the amount I use for my water changes. I went to Ace and got a navy blue (matches my living room arm chairs

) 13 gallon Rubbermaid bin with a lid. I drilled a small circular hole in the lid for the cords for the pump and heater. I've set up the bin right next to the tank with my Jebao WP-10 for flow and my old Aqueon Pro 150 watt heater. The pump and heater are plugged into one of my individual switched power strips inside the stand. I've got 10 gallons of water mixing in the container, and then when I'm ready for a water change I can just lift off the lid, drop it my pump with tubing, and then pump the water up into the tank. Should make life much simpler

Here's the bin next to the tank. Doesn't exactly go with my decor, but I don't think its too bad and its worth it for the ease of mixing water.


6) I ordered a new sediment filter, catalytic carbon, carbon block, DI resin, and RO membrane for my RO/DI unit from BRS and got that all installed. I figured I might as well since I'm having algae problems and wasn't sure if maybe there was as issue with my RO/DI water. I figure it was time to just start from scratch with everything. I also finally ordered a dual TDS meter to hook inline with the RO/DI unit so I can better tell when portions need to be replaced.

7) Tested my water finally

Yeah I'm a bad person! Anyways, looks like Alk, Ca, and Mg are all a bit low. I'm not surprised about the Alk and Ca since I haven't installed the doser on the new system yet, so I haven't been dosing at all. I've never needed to dose Mg in the past and have always been able to keep it in range with just water changes. Normally I use Reef Crystals, but I started this build with natural sea water since I needed a bunch at once and my friend delivered it for free. Anyways, I'm thinking the Mg must be low in the natural sea water compared to Reef Crystals, so hopefully as I change out the water, the Mg will come up.

Here is what I tested on Monday evening:
Alk - 7.3
Ca - 375
Mg - 1125
Phosphates - 0.03

8) After testing my water Monday evening, I finally calibrated and programmed my dosing pump, so we are now DOSING! Woohoo! I've got it dosing a small quantity of Alk and Ca right now and tomorrow I plan to test again and see if I need to increase the amount. I also have it dosing 2 mL of Microvert food for my anthias once a day and 2 mL of Acropower for the corals every 3 days.

Ok...I think that's the major stuff for now. Time for photos maybe?