Kessil

Raddogz's 120g Piece of Reef

Time for another update -

So as many of you know I have since removed the frag rack which would seem to part of the problem with my bout with this bryopsis. The hair algae which I don't think is hair algae at all because it is reminiscent of turf algae, as it does not come off the rocks very easily.

This weekend I decided to change the reflectors out (went from mini to full size Lumenarcs). Since I have a ton of room when I removed the reflectors, I decided to somewhat clean out the overflow boxes - removed the male clown who seems to like the overflow box more so than the big tank he can swim in. He has gone into the overflow three times in the past two weeks. I weaved cable ties into the overflow teeth to prevent him from going in. Yeah, it looks stupid, but lets see you fish out a one inch fish out of the bottom of a 24" deep overflow box -three times -grrrrr.

I decided to finally get to cleaning out the calcium reactor since I bought new media. Once I moved the reactor from the stand to the sink, I decided to empty out the old media thinking I could reuse some of it - yes, how incredibly cheap I am. I turn the reacto over to dump into the strainer, and it goes spilling out. The reactor media had turned to mush. Wash out the reactor and refill with *new* reactor media.

So all in all it's my own damn fault for all of this. I think the frag rack plus the mushy reactor media is a big contributor to my algae woes.

I had been forewarned about running the calcium reactor 24/7, and I knew what consecquences it could cause. I still have yet to get a ph controller for this tank. I am running the calcium reactor only when the lights are on so it only stays on for a quarter of what it used to be. I'll probably switch out my AC Jr. on my 58g for this tank instead.

On a brighter note the algae has receeded considerably, and the yellow tang keeps everything mowed down for now. The skimmer is set to skim really wet i.e. cleaning it out twice a day. The regular green film algae is somewhat non existant. I'm hoping to scrub out the rest of this insidious algae out at a later date.
 
Did you get a new o-ring for that ER? I have a cheap source for them if not :)

www.allorings.com IIRC :)

FWIW, most sea hares die. IMO their not really suitable for long term survival in aquaria.
 
Yep I got the new o-ring, but it turns out it didn't do anything helpful.

The skimmer still leaks. It just leaks on a different tank (the 155g at work). The 6-2+ has the twist lock flange, and newer pump so it still runs rings around the bigger skimmer. I just may stick with this skimmer until I get a new one at the end of the year.

I have my eye on a H&S 150
 
I would look at the Elos skimmers :) I picked up two of the 1000's for myself and our work tank. INSANE skimmers. They may be small looking, but man do they do big work :)
 
Interestingly enough I was looking at those skimmers as well.

The end of the year is still pretty far away, so I'm necessarily stuck on one brand. I do think that it's ridiculous that a six inch body skimmer outperforms a eight inch body skimmer. I think my ER 6-2+ was once Bookfish's at one point on his 120g.
 
[quote author=Raddogz link=topic=2126.msg21841#msg21841 date=1184013208]
Interestingly enough I was looking at those skimmers as well.

The end of the year is still pretty far away, so I'm necessarily stuck on one brand. I do think that it's ridiculous that a six inch body skimmer outperforms a eight inch body skimmer. I think my ER 6-2+ was once Bookfish's at one point on his 120g.
[/quote]

IIRC with weekly water changes :)
 
Actually, I was doing already doing weekly water changes with the eight inch body skimmer, and the skimmer was bleh. I can't tell if this six inch body skimmer is better tuned this sized tank, because it didn't do much on my 58g, but seems to rock on my 120g.

I might consider going skimmerless with a more mature reef tank, but there's there's always something new in the tank :D This excludes the aiptasia, and bubble algae - lol.
 
[quote author=Raddogz link=topic=2126.msg21645#msg21645 date=1183069919]
On another note - newer smaller skimmer is doing a way better job, as it is taking way more crap out then the larger skimmer - hmmm... go figure. :)[/quote]

Eileen, the old 8" diameter ER skimmers has very inconsistent performance. Undersized pumps for such a large skimmer body. Some do get decent performance for the 8 series, but many don't and lots of complaints. Your 6" diameter ER skimmer is better matched to the pump size, so it is collecting skimmate better than the 8". To get better performance on the 8" skimmer, you'll need to invest in a stronger, more efficient needlewheel pump. With that said, some would rather just go with a new skimmer when the timing is right.
 
Update -

Well, I seem to have beaten this problem more or less through various means:

- getting rid of a frag rack that I think was retaining detrius
- calcium reactor media turning to mush
- insufficient skimmer - well actually insufficient pump connected to a big skimmer

but of course it still isn't perfect :eek:

"What you say??????"

I had a bajillion valonia aka bubble algae and a dozen ginormous aiptasia the oral disks were the size of almost a quarter well maybe a nickel. I say had because .....dah dum....drumm rollllll.........I changed out all the rock probably for the umpteenth time since I started the tank. I've been sitting on about fifty or sixty pounds of extra live rock that I've purchased or have been given. The rocks have been sitting in various sumps doing it's "thing", nice and alive just no coralline.

I now have to get all the detritus out of the sump, and clean out the overflow boxes. I guess I'm getting there.
 
wow - nice work!!

I am just getting cyano under control myself.. major PITA.. had to do re-aquascaping, adding more flow, fixed my skimmer pump (impeller was missing a bushing on one side) and very agressive water changes.. I am still considering a larger skimmer.. something like an AquaC EV-120 with a Mag5 on it. BUT- i'll see how the ER CS-80 holds it's own now that the pump is working normally for once.. I'm going to get new bulbs for my Outer Orbit also.. (HQI MHs - it's been a year..). I was going to suggest new bulbs to you with that hair algea issue..

the only critters I saw eat cyano were spanish red legged hermits.. they mac down on that stuff.. but you need an army of them to do any real damage..
 
tiburon, just a comment about your skimmer since i deal with skimmers for years, the RS80 is undersized for your 85g w/25g sump, unless you have another tank that is smaller. if you like ER, i would stay with them and get a RS135 rather than switch to AquaC. another skimmer you might want to consider is the new ATi Bubblemaster 160, pricey, but skims like a beast on smaller tanks. air draw is around 800lph with extremely 8"x7" small footprint.
 
Hi - thanks for the comment.. ok, right, RS not CS. well, I thought it seemed under powered... but wanted to give it a change to prove itself at full strength.... I do have some space contraints in the sump.. an 8x14 area in my sump for a skimmer (mid compartment).. this sump is a little funky... I let Ceasar's Tropical pick all the stuff out.. I was very new to the area at the time and didn't know about BAR... anyways.. so I'm stuck with this sump for now (can't get it out of the stand without moving it away from the wall). I would like to stay with ER, but the CS135 stats say:

Sump space required for skimmer: 10 " x 11.5"

Is that totally accurate? Looking at the skimmer I thought maybe that wasn't completely accurate and I might be able to fit it somehow.. but that would be an expensive experiment. The ATi looks pretty sweet.. hrm.. well, I guess I have to work with the space I have... so that's a contender for sure! thanks for the suggestion.. Is there a better place to buy it??
 
I'll let Ed answer on the dimensions. I use an old CS 6-1 on my 58g (total water volume is close to 58g) and I know it's dismal.

The lower cost option that Ed mentioned is quite nice. I used to run an EV120 with Mag 5 pump, the ER in of itself ran rings around it. I had replaced the EV120 with an ER 6-2+ which would be an 135 equivalent, but moved it to my display tank at work.
 
[quote author=tiburon link=topic=2126.msg23788#msg23788 date=1188353071]I would like to stay with ER, but the CS135 stats say:

Sump space required for skimmer: 10 " x 11.5"

Is that totally accurate? Looking at the skimmer I thought maybe that wasn't completely accurate and I might be able to fit it somehow.. but that would be an expensive experiment. The ATi looks pretty sweet... hrm.. well, I guess I have to work with the space I have... [/quote] It's going to be really close. You probably can fit the skimmer in at an angle as long as you don't have any restrictions and have the entire 8"x14" to work with.

ERs are a very well built skimmer and the new RS135 will perform much better than the old CS135 or CS6-2+ because of the new pumps with the new impellers. But the unit does draw 40W electricty as compared to 22W on the BM160. Like I mentioned earlier, the air draw on the BM160 is superior to the smaller ER skimmers. Check out Reef Central/BAR Forum as there's a new local member that just installed a BM160.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1192689
 
[quote author=Raddogz link=topic=2126.msg23790#msg23790 date=1188357577]
I'll let Ed answer on the dimensions. I use an old CS 6-1 on my 58g (total water volume is close to 58g) and I know it's dismal.

The lower cost option that Ed mentioned is quite nice. I used to run an EV120 with Mag 5 pump, the ER in of itself ran rings around it. I had replaced the EV120 with an ER 6-2+ which would be an 135 equivalent, but moved it to my display tank at work.
[/quote]

wow... well I am glad I said something. :) Sorry for turning this discussion into a skimmer fest.. doh! I can shove my heater way under the drip plate, so I would have the whole 8x14 area to work with.. but I am going to try and swing the BM160 if I can.. looks very nice! but how does one clean the air port with the pump inside the reaction chamber? hrm.. well with that aggressive air intake I bet the intake port doesn't need to be cleaned nearly as much as the ERs do.. I had to pull my pump apart once every 6 or 8 weeks to clean the air intake.. again, it wasn't running at 100%.. BTW, the customer service at ER rocks.. they had a new impellar out to me within a week.. free! it's the newer style with more holes in the pin-wheel disc.

OK - anyways I will check the RC thread about the BM now.. I'm thinking that would be the best fit for my setup.. power consumption and performance wise.. more $$ but worth it in the long run. :)
 
tiburon, you don't need to take apart the pumps on BM skimmers anywhere near what ER pumps needs. I would suggest just squirting a 1/2 cup of hot freshwater down the air hose so that it melts any salt creeping or the beginnings of calcification. Just weekly squirting of hot water will do it. I have touched base with BM owners that have had their units for over 8 months, they check their pumps every 3 or 4 months and the impeller, meshweel and shaft areas are completely clean still, I get the feeling they really don't need much maintenance, but it's always good to get into a regular routine and check.

Getting back to bad hair algae problems, a good skimmer won't do it. In my experience, you need 3 things to happen:
1. a excellent performing skimmer
2. a good cleanup crew
3. a way to export any buildup of phosphates and nitrates

For #3 it could be a well run refugium. What I've found that a skimmer skimming very wet will remove more phosphates than one that skims dry. Also, phosphate reactors work as well as the denitrators that use sulfur material is practically a no maintenance piece of equipment. I once had a very bad hair algae problem that attacked my main 180g display, so bad that it was embarrashing to even have people over. I have never cooked my rocks like many suggest, I just changed my skimming to very wet, used phosphate removers,installed a denitrator and put in a huge booster cleanup crew. Did some scrubbing to get everything started too. Haven't had any hair algae in almost a year.
 
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