MedRed's 60 Gallon Solana XL
- Thread starter MedRed
- Start date
I just did a full sump clean up. I wet vac'd the sump, cleaned it out, ran all of the pumps in a vinegar bath, soaked the vortech wetsides and return nozzles in vinegar, cleaned the skimmer, and performed some cable management on all of my wires. The tank is looking good and some of the SPS are starting to grow out.
I got the clowns from doni's reef. http://store.donisreef.com/
Her site is WYSIWYG. She posts a video for each available clown. It's best to sign up for her newsletter which will have an email notification when she posts new clowns. The nice ones usually go really fast.
I got the clowns from doni's reef. http://store.donisreef.com/
Her site is WYSIWYG. She posts a video for each available clown. It's best to sign up for her newsletter which will have an email notification when she posts new clowns. The nice ones usually go really fast.
I actually took measurements twice. The first time with the AI Nano before i swapped it with a halide. I printed out a big picture of the tank and took measurements at each coral and wrote the results down one at a time. I also did the back of the spires, but didn't include them on the front view picture. It's nice having the whole tank mapped out.
My current sump is from them. It's great quality, but their customer service was pretty bad.
I make "videos" in the valley. j/k. It takes awhile to plan everything out. I research each piece of equipment ahead of time. It's not uncommon that I'll stay up until 3 am reading about something I'm interested in.
My current sump is from them. It's great quality, but their customer service was pretty bad.
I make "videos" in the valley. j/k. It takes awhile to plan everything out. I research each piece of equipment ahead of time. It's not uncommon that I'll stay up until 3 am reading about something I'm interested in.
The upgrades continue.
Bioreactor: I recently downsized my perfectly fine NextReef SMR-1 to a Cadlights Nano Reactor. It was missing parts (LFS's fault) and dealing with cadlights was an exercise in patience. I had to deal with different people, send multiple emails to get a response, and was mailed the wrong parts twice after explicit instructions. I just pulled my Cadlights reactor and went with a mid size Innovative Marine MiniMax in sump reactor. It makes the cadlights reactor look like an early prototype.
GFO & GAC: After adding the MiniMax, I have decided to stop using Chemipure Elite/Blue Life ClearFX Pro in my filter sock. I just bought two more MiniMaxes and will run GFO and GAC in them. I pray I don't overdue it on the GFO. WIsh me luck!
Heaters: I also upgraded my Cobalt heaters to the 150w versions.
Magnesium: After 2 years of using Kent Tech M for Magnesium dosing, I have decided to switch to BRS Magnesium. I can't help but think I'm putting bad stuff in the tank with how much junk is in the Tech M. I'm currently running Cuprisorb to see if there are any heavy metals I've accumulated that can be pulled out. The BRS Mag is completely clear after sitting overnight.
I still need to downsize my skimmer. Waiting on the Vertex Omega 130 to debut before I make a choice.
Bioreactor: I recently downsized my perfectly fine NextReef SMR-1 to a Cadlights Nano Reactor. It was missing parts (LFS's fault) and dealing with cadlights was an exercise in patience. I had to deal with different people, send multiple emails to get a response, and was mailed the wrong parts twice after explicit instructions. I just pulled my Cadlights reactor and went with a mid size Innovative Marine MiniMax in sump reactor. It makes the cadlights reactor look like an early prototype.
GFO & GAC: After adding the MiniMax, I have decided to stop using Chemipure Elite/Blue Life ClearFX Pro in my filter sock. I just bought two more MiniMaxes and will run GFO and GAC in them. I pray I don't overdue it on the GFO. WIsh me luck!
Heaters: I also upgraded my Cobalt heaters to the 150w versions.
Magnesium: After 2 years of using Kent Tech M for Magnesium dosing, I have decided to switch to BRS Magnesium. I can't help but think I'm putting bad stuff in the tank with how much junk is in the Tech M. I'm currently running Cuprisorb to see if there are any heavy metals I've accumulated that can be pulled out. The BRS Mag is completely clear after sitting overnight.
I still need to downsize my skimmer. Waiting on the Vertex Omega 130 to debut before I make a choice.
The complete history of my lighting can be summed up in this picture. Well...almost. The Radions used the AI hanging kit, and the pendant I used between the Radion and the Geisemann sat on that kit as well.
They are great. My big issue is that there's no way to directly dial in the flow. You can twist them infinitely and at some point they are fully open and at some point they are closed. There's no indicator to see how much flow. It's easy when there isn't a lot of media, but when the chamber is full, it's tough to tell.
I agree!
on another note...
I've recently had some struggles with my acans. Every now and then, a specific colony would start to lose individual heads. Within a few days I'd lose the entire colony. I've had some success with dipping a coral in Bayer insecticide and then following it up with a peroxide dip. Tonight, I had pulled two pieces to dip and found a worm partially hanging out of one of the skeletons. I've read a bit about burrowing worms that eat acans.
I pulled all of the acans and dipped them in Bayer for an extended period of time. I then did a full freshwater/peroxide dip. I'm going to let them recover overnight and then do a revive dip. I hope there aren't more worms.
I agree!
on another note...
I've recently had some struggles with my acans. Every now and then, a specific colony would start to lose individual heads. Within a few days I'd lose the entire colony. I've had some success with dipping a coral in Bayer insecticide and then following it up with a peroxide dip. Tonight, I had pulled two pieces to dip and found a worm partially hanging out of one of the skeletons. I've read a bit about burrowing worms that eat acans.
I pulled all of the acans and dipped them in Bayer for an extended period of time. I then did a full freshwater/peroxide dip. I'm going to let them recover overnight and then do a revive dip. I hope there aren't more worms.
I'm long overdue for an update, but here it goes!
There's no trace of the acan eating worms, but my little acan farm is in need of rehabilitation. My colors are a little down as I was without a skimmer for awhile. I'm still working to eliminate the post crash bubble algae outbreak. I've also had some byropsis since I switched off of Tech M. I finally gave up on some of the SPS pieces on the zoa pillar. The zoas grew too quickly for the sps to encrust enough to start taking off. I'm hoping within the next 6 months the tank will be back to its former glory.
There's no trace of the acan eating worms, but my little acan farm is in need of rehabilitation. My colors are a little down as I was without a skimmer for awhile. I'm still working to eliminate the post crash bubble algae outbreak. I've also had some byropsis since I switched off of Tech M. I finally gave up on some of the SPS pieces on the zoa pillar. The zoas grew too quickly for the sps to encrust enough to start taking off. I'm hoping within the next 6 months the tank will be back to its former glory.
