Trinituner Reefers, Saltwater Aquarium Fish Keepers

[HondaB20B]

Hey guys im having problems with my new tank... redish algae... what can I do? Its quickly taking over my tank

Its called cyano bacteria.
Cyano bacteria is called by many things........
* poor water circulation........... how much powerheads you have and whats the volume
* insufficient water changes........... How much volume you change and how often
* overfeeding (both regular food or other liquid products) what foods or products you add
* high nitrates and phosphates. What are your readings
* water quality. how clean is your water being used. Is the water coming out your RO/DI unit reading "0" with your TDS. What color is your DI resin

Go by Raj and buy something called CHEMICLEAN. WORKS LIKE A CHARM

[kyhamil]

Thanks man

[HondaB20B]

will ask again,

* insufficient water changes........... How much volume you change and how often
* high nitrates and phosphates. What are your readings
* water quality. how clean is your water being used. Is the water coming out your RO/DI unit reading "0" with your TDS. What color is your DI resin

Reason I keep asking is that using the chemiclean doesn't solve the problem. its just a plaster. I am trying to help pinpoint the problem that can be causing it.

[kyhamil]

Ph 7.8... ammonia 0ppm, nitirite 0ppm, nitrate oppm... now this is my first time using the test kit so I may be off but I tried to follow it as best as I cld... I usually do 20 gallon water changes... even from before and I plan to continue... I checked the rodi water reading this morning 014ppm... I feed once a day in the morning before I go to work... bout 10 to 15 pillets of the marine 5 I got from raj.

Still havent gotten the refractometer thing... probly next weeks ill order it

Oh I hate freaking damsels now... he attacked my shrimp and killed it... blasted deamon chile I have... the shrimp was doing well.

[HondaB20B]

Your 0.14ppm is way to high.............................. it should be 0.00 - 0.03.
I only get about 55-65 gal of water from one cartridge of DI. 70 if I lucky.
But everyones input varies in Trinidad. Some days I see 0.34ppm going in and others I see
0.85ppm's. Because of that it either increases or decreases water output.
And because you don't have a pump on your RODI unit, water is slowed down passing tru the DI segment so you don't get efficiency from your unit.
Damsels wont ever be good citizens in small tanks. They fight for territory and intimidate new fish.

[kyhamil]

Where do you get the replacement filters?

[greenlime100]

^ raj

[greenlime100]

Actually there are some other places that do water purification and you will get di and other sediment filters but you just need to make sure you know what you're buying so they won't bs you.

[HondaB20B]

^ raj

Yup, I buy my DI from RAJ. He sells it for $200 a refill.
I always have RODI water stored by me. My 200 gal rotoplastics water tank is always topped up. The filters vary in cost by him also.

[greenlime100]

Honda how did you wash the inside of the rotoplastics tank before using it for Rodi?

Also how often do you empty and wash your saltwater mixing tank? Or is it at all necessary?

[HondaB20B]

^^^^^ the 200 gal I just filled it up for a few days with normal water and left it. Then empty and redo. My 55gal mixing tank I clean it out like every 3-4 mths. Going to add a 100gal to it also.

[greenlime100]

Nice I was also thinking to get a 100gal for mixing eventually that'll save lots of time

[HondaB20B]

Nice I was also thinking to get a 100gal for mixing eventually that'll save lots of time

I talking bout the tall, slim 100gal tanks. They like 28" dia and over 7t tall.
Want to hook my RODI unit directly to it.

[greenlime100]

Yup I know them... Rotoplastics really made them for apartments to save space. They're really neat and much better looking than a 55gal barrel lol

[HondaB20B]

Yup......... that's why I want to put one in the fish room. Really saves on space

[kstt]

[nixson]

Any one have any xenia to sell me? just need one or two frags. Not the white pom pom ones that raj has. looking for the taller ones as per pic.

https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/ ... rt=mozilla

Raj used to have them but i guess this type died out.

[kstt]

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id ... =like&_ft_

[greenlime100]

So a while back i said ill post the pics from my tank upgrade and ill do so when im absolutely finished....well.....I wont be completely finished probably until July or so because of the amount of fine work I plan to do on it.
So ill just post some pics to show how the project progressed...

It began with this design:


Decided wood was to too bulky and gonna take up lots of cabinet room..began thinking about a steel stand:


Is the design strong enough? ran some stress tests on it. With a 1500lb load:


Got it made, sand blasted, zinc primed, hi-build epoxy middle coat and topped with a polyurethane top coat. When I received it I coated it with my own Acrylic paint:


Placed it next to the existing tank to begin preparation and plumbing


Everything was measured and planned on design software to the point the sump had less than 1/4" clearance on either side when it was placed in the stand.
Return pump and plumbing:

Sump was designed to be 2'L x 2'H x 18"W So Ill have lots of room for storage and dosing containers etc.

The next day my first ever reef aquarium was broken down to make room for the new tank.


Not sure if I ever mentioned it but the old tank was bought from a chinese guy, not knowing anything much about aquariums and what to look for I bought it. Couple months after found out the silicone was old and the tank developed a leak :/
When it was removed...this was the result:

Yeah i still have to repaint :/

Skipping some detail and leaving some suspense for future pics lol
here's the result:


All assembly began on a friday and all systems were back up and running successfully by sunday night. Saturday was assembly and the actual change was done on the Sunday. The amount of work was crazy to get everything done, special thanks to a good friend of mine who currently has a 200G fish only system for all the help!!
I absolutely love my new starphire front tank and looking for more success in the hobby.

Just some pics:





Will probably post some more pics in a week or two when take them from my camera.

[HondaB20B]

Got it made, sand blasted, zinc primed, urethane middle coat and topped with a polyurethane top coat.

You sure you have that correct?

Why you double coat with a urethane (middle and top coat). Someone recommended that to you?

[greenlime100]

That should be epoxy middle coat!
just corrected it...

[HondaB20B]

That should be epoxy middle coat!
just corrected it...

LOL................... That's why I asked.
You made a big mistake by putting the acrylic on it though.
You should of left it. The acrylic could have adverse effects in the long run. Putting more paint doesn't make it better and stronger. But you already have it on.
NICE SET UP

[greenlime100]

For those of you struggling with large amounts of back siphon....

Drill a couple 1/8" holes on the return nozzle just below the water line:


Result:




THE HOLE CAN GET BLOCKED BY SNAILS ALGAE ETC.
I just drilled a couple holes on both return nozzles to reduce this risk.

After the siphon breaks, sump level now rises about 3"
Gonna change the nozzle fitting soon and drill the holes higher to further reduce the amount back siphoned.

Maintenance: I just use http://www.healthleadsuk.com/content/images/thumbnails/750/750/file-product/tepe-interdental-brushes-dental-floss-tooth-1259.png to clean the holes and prevent any clogging every time I do a water change...takes about 3 seconds

[greenlime100]

That should be epoxy middle coat!
just corrected it...

LOL................... That's why I asked.
You made a big mistake by putting the acrylic on it though.
You should of left it. The acrylic could have adverse effects in the long run. Putting more paint doesn't make it better and stronger. But you already have it on.
NICE SET UP

The paint was just so itll match with the back.
The acrylic used has no effects on the polyurethane and does not stick to it... I can actually peel it off similar to vinyl.
Im pretty confident in the paint I used lol as for toxins after 72 hours MSDS says all is well.

If you say it can have adverse effects show me the light man lol always willing to learn

[dgobo]

^^ Honda is a coatings specialist by profession. He doesnt know much about fish but he knows his paints. Lol

[greenlime100]

Lol Honda is a boss man!! Really helped me save my tank when it was crashing.

[kyhamil]

Hey guys... anywhere other than raj have the chemiclean or chemipure products

[HondaB20B]

That should be epoxy middle coat!
just corrected it...

LOL................... That's why I asked.
You made a big mistake by putting the acrylic on it though.
You should of left it. The acrylic could have adverse effects in the long run. Putting more paint doesn't make it better and stronger. But you already have it on.
NICE SET UP

The paint was just so itll match with the back.
The acrylic used has no effects on the polyurethane and does not stick to it... I can actually peel it off similar to vinyl.
Im pretty confident in the paint I used lol as for toxins after 72 hours MSDS says all is well.

If you say it can have adverse effects show me the light man lol always willing to learn

The reason why the vinyl didn't adhere to the polyurethane coating is because you were supposed to sand down the coating first before application. Polyurethane is applied very thin and is very smooth when dry. So the smooth surface gave the vinyl nothing to adhere to. This polyurethane coating wasn't required for the stand because all it really does is protect the epoxy coating from UV light. Heavy direct sunlight. The zinc in the primer is what actually protects the steel and acts as an ANODE. This is not applied thick. Its a thin film. So when ever the steel gets scratched, the zinc actually sacrifices itself and protects the steel. The epoxy is what protects the zinc and can be applied thick. (but in multiple coats) Its the coating that gives steel the abrasion resistance required and also is the barrier coating. This stops the penetration of water/moisture which causes your corrosion. All in all, there are lots of good paints out on the market, but its proven that 90% of the longevity of your paint system is in the preparation. That's why sandblasting of steel is the #1 process for the preparation of steel......................hope this helps

[meccalli]

Paint and Fish, damn bro lol.

[kyhamil]

Schooling by honda... dude I want a 8 foot diameter half a tank... my kois occupying space that I cld use for another saltwater setup... lol