Kessil

Rygh's 250 gallon - Rev 3

sfsuphysics said:
Why not just use some very fine sand?

That said I wouldn't use RO/DI'd water that came from a desalinization plant that pulled water from the bay.
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Sugar fine sand is still 0.2 to 1.2 mm, so pretty large.
Supposedly they do a lot better with mud/silt.

Looking at some pollution reports, there does seem to be a lot of nasty things in the bay.
So yes, maybe not the best plan.

And of course, the mud from the bay is 100% silica based. No coral here.
Although Miracle mud was tested to be the same... so...
 
Wonder if you couldn't get aragonite, pour it in vinegar until it all/mostly "dissolved" then let the vinegar evaporate and should be left with "silt" no? *shrug*
 
sfsuphysics said:
Wonder if you couldn't get aragonite, pour it in vinegar until it all/mostly "dissolved" then let the vinegar evaporate and should be left with "silt" no? *shrug*
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Hmm, worth a try. Sounds like a fun science experiment.
Might end up with a big solid lump, but might work.
I have a ton of larger grained sand around.
 
sfsuphysics said:
Wonder if you couldn't get aragonite, pour it in vinegar until it all/mostly "dissolved" then let the vinegar evaporate and should be left with "silt" no? *shrug*
Click to expand...

So....figured I better look it up first...

CaCO3 + 2CH3COOH = Ca (CH3COO)2 + CO2 + H2O
Which means you end up with water, carbon dioxide and calcium acetate.
Which would then produce some pretty crystals as it dries.
 
Found some more fun articles on optimal seagrass substrates.

To do:

Save the detritus you siphon out of your tank and maybe friends tanks.
Buy a small amount of live-mud from region that has seagrass, for correct bacteria.
Mix sugar fine sand, regular mud, special live-mud, and old detritus to about 3"
Put a 3" layer of sugar fine sand on top.
Wait 6 months for it to really mature.
Then put in seagrass.

All that ... for some grass. ???
I bet all that is not really needed though.
 
Ah that's right, chemically it changes when you add an acid, it's not just dissolving like adding dirt to water.

That recipe sounds a lot like you're trying to make reef compost :D I still say use the sand and call it a day, you'll have fish pooping in there right? Well there's your "mud" :D
 
All the rock is in now. And I put one coral in, just for fun.
Tank looks like crap of course.
Like all "new" tanks, it has a serious case of diatoms and brown nastiness.
As always ... it takes time.
IMG_3077.jpg
 
Yeah that's the problem with all "tank reboots" you can't just let it sit and "stabilize" without fish in it, well you could but then you run into the issue of your temporary holding tank(s) going on longer than you want.
 
sfsuphysics said:
Yeah that's the problem with all "tank reboots" you can't just let it sit and "stabilize" without fish in it, well you could but then you run into the issue of your temporary holding tank(s) going on longer than you want.
Click to expand...

Yep.
I might siphon a fair amount of the brown algae/diatoms out.
Help speed things along.

Fish are happy.
Nitrates are fine.
Corals seem to be surviving ok in QT tank.
So other than ugly, not really a big deal.
 
Made a quick vacuum cleaner attachment.
Duct taped some broom bristles around the siphon hose.
Worked pretty well on cleaning the diatom/brown crud off the rocks,
as you can see by color of the water in the bucket.

aq2.jpg
aq1.jpg
 
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Noticed a leak in my Kalk reactor though.
It is in the joint where main body tube is connected to the bottom.
It leaked before, thought I fixed it with more glue, and it lasted for months, but now leaking again.
I think the Kalk might slowly dissolve the glue.

So I am going to dump a bunch of epoxy in there. Fix it for good.
 
My Avast marine also had that similar problem, I just used Weld-On instead of the "hobby glue" that they package with the "You build" kit though and it seems to have worked ok.
 
Made a "Seagrasss Planter Box" this weekend.
Something to hold the sand + mud + grass in the fuge.
And easy enough to remove some day if it turns out poorly.
Had quite a few scraps around, so did not need to buy any acrylic - bonus.
I added a small lip on top, hopefully to help keep sand in.
IMG_3092.jpg


Inside dimensions = 26.5" x 10.5" x 4"
Fill sand to 3.75".
SO: 0.604 cu ft = 4.5 gallons = 54 pounds of sand

Ordering 30 pounds of Aragasnow sugar fine + 1 gallon of mud, and mix it with leftover sand that I have.
Still might add a tiny bit of mud from the bay, to jump start fauna.
 
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