Fat Al's 93 Gallon Reef Cube

Discussion in 'New Tank Builds' started by fattytwobyfour, Oct 30, 2015.

  1. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    This is my $30 lemon coral. :/
    PSX_20161229_155351.jpg

    Disappointed in the size. I don't guess I need to order from Live Aquaria unless it's a WYSIWYG. I wouldn't sell something that small out of my tank.
     
  2. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    Man, I would call them about that! I'm really surprised. I've not bought much coral from them but never had that happen when I did. Gotta wonder if someone messed up?
     
  3. graciesdad

    graciesdad Treasurer Staff Member

    yes. I would send them that picture. I don't think Kevin Kohen would approve of that.
     
  4. graciesdad

    graciesdad Treasurer Staff Member

    Approximate Purchase Size: Closed (upon arrival): 1/2" - 3/4" Open (fully acclimated): 3/4" - 1"

    That's the size it was listed at. Looks like it was half that to me.
     
  5. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    Thanks everybody. I emailed them a photo. Hopefully it's just a case of them being so busy with holiday orders. I just couldn't see any site, especially one that has been around so long, doing something like that. It has to be a mistake.
     
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  6. Kim

    Kim Secretary Staff Member

    Hiya,

    Glad to hear the devil's hand made it through the tank issues. I can attest to how hardy that thing is. It is one of the only surviving things I've have from when I first got started in saltwater. The other thing is a cocco worm hitchhiker I got from some live rock.

    Kim/Benton, AR
     
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  7. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    Live Aquaria made it right, and refunded the lemon tree coral. I just really want the small one to grow. It seems like it would be a beautiful coral. The polyps are nice and feathery looking.

    I've been trying to get a photo of the yellow fin wrasse. It's a really pretty fish, but it moves too fast.
     
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  8. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    LOL, welcome to my world. Photos of wrasse are an exercise in futility...I've gone to just shooting short videos to document their progression.
     
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  9. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    Guess who finally got around to testing their Po4 and No3?

    I finally had time to sit down and try to understand the Red Sea Algae Control Probably Test kit that I picked up in November. It wasn't as hard as I initially thought. And maybe now we can figure this green hair adage problem out.

    The No3 test was great. The test results only show 0-4ppm and mine was in that range, closer to zero. Probably around 2ppm, and that is before performing my weekly water change.

    The Po4 test, not so great. And I think it is probably what is causing my issue. If I read the test right, it was in the 0.16ppm range.

    I tested my room water, and it was showing 001, which it is about time to change the filters. It has been reading 000.
    So is it time to look at investing in a GFO reactor? I stopped feeding flake and pellet food months ago, bc I read those can cause phosphate problems. But then sometimes I read frozen food can (which is what I feed, with reef chilli once or twice a week, and occasionally nori).

    I also run my radions longer than I probably should. I'm using the radiant reef program at like 45% intensity, but 12 hours a day. So I may need to adjust that down to 8 hours or something to help.

    Any suggestions on where to go from here?
     
  10. Kim

    Kim Secretary Staff Member

    Hiya,

    I only run my lights 10 hours a day. Granted, they're t5's, but I'd cut your hours back.

    Kim/Benton, AR
     
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  11. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    I just cut them back to like 81/2 or 9 hours a day. (I can't remember) so maybe that'll be a change. I used dry rock in my tank, so that might be where the phosphate is coming from.
     
  12. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    A GFO reactor is inexpensive and easy to set up. You can install a Tee in your return line with a gate valve and run it off the return or you can use a cheap pump like a maxijet to run it. You don't have to have a reactor. You can just put it in a bag in your filter sock. Not as effecient but will work.

    I try to keep my PO4 between 0.02 and 0.05. I can tell even without testing when it's getting high by how fast the film algae builds up and how my tank looks. Food can be the source of PO4. You can have great nitrogen export and still not get PO4 exported as all our biofiltration exports nitrogen and phosphate at a 16:1 ratio. Very easy to get a phosphate problem without a nitrate problem.

    For example my new rock was soaked for days and the water tested....zero phosphate. Now after running for almost 8 weeks my nitrates are still undetectable but my phosphate was up to 0.06 about 2 weeks ago. At that time I only had two fish.

    Hair algae is a pain but you can beat it!!!
     
  13. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    If I just buy the BRS dual one for GFO & Carbon that comes with a pump, do I have to do any plumbing? The t line thing confuses me, because I'm horrible at plumbing stuff. I just like to plug and play lol.
    But I'm going to order something for it today. I'm going to stop the algae fix treatment, and see if I can control my phosphates better.
     
  14. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    If you're talking about this one.....http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-gfo-carbon-dual-reactor.html, I would not recommend it. GFO needs to be fluidized and carbon needs to be packed tightly to keep from being ground in to fines. With one pump it's impossible to get the flow right.

    A better choice if you only get one reactor is to mix the GFO and carbon together and pack it tightly in the chamber. This is not as effecient as two different reactors IMO but will work just fine.
     
  15. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    I'll see if I can find a single reactor then that comes with a pump. I can keep my carbon in the mesh bag like I've got.
     
  16. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    I ordered a deluxe BRS single reactor and 4lbs of GFO. I had some reward points, so that took $35 off my order. So wasn't a bad deal. I just hope this helps with my hair algae issue. I literally hate looking at my tank right now.
     
  17. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    I got my GFO reactor in tonight. Is the media supposed to separate like that in the canister?
    20170119_180844.jpg
    Hopefully I am on my way back to a healthy reef though!
     

    Attached Files:

  18. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    I think I got it going right now:
    20170119_201556.jpg
     
  19. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    Just tap on the reactor a time or two and it will fall back to the bottom. Adjust the flow so that just the top 1/2" or so is moving fluidly. The bottom GFO should be immobile.
     
  20. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    Still struggling with the hair algae. I don't know what to do with this tank.
     
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