Twisteds 180 starting over

[twisted]

So, as ya know I lost most of my tank to Dino's. Over the past week I've been gathering supplies and many thanks to mike for the knowledge and donation of the killer sump and many other needed items.
Everything is up and running and other than a valve on my skimmer and building a nice electrical compartment, finished.
Here's what I did
Added 24 gal cube fed from return compartment and return to pre filter box
DIY 15 gal fuge attached to end of sump full of chaeto
80 gal wc with rock scrubbing
Here's some pics

Twisteds 180 Reef

 

[twisted]

The cube and fuge can run off the sump even during wc's and tank water ends up in the fuge so my skimmer will always have a good water level if I syphon from the tank. I also drilled a drain in the sump to remove any junk with a vac tube attached to the drain. I'll be doing the electrical end next week. It's gonna be nice


Twisteds 180 Reef

 

[wienerdog]

Alot of really cool uique ideas. Glad your gettin back on ur feet and refocused. Sometimes things happen fro a reason. I hae a feeling the final product is gonna be awesome!! Lemme know WHEN I can help...I am ready. What do you need?

 

[twisted]

Thanks Brian, I'm not sure what I need at this point. Come tax time ill be ordering a few monitors. Once I feel my tank is under control I'll be adding some zoas and palays and trying to find some acans. So if you come across anything cool give me a shout


Twisteds 180 Reef

 

[twisted]

I did a little rock moving today and like it! Over thanksgiving we went to tenn and visited The Coral Reef in Knoxville. It was the nicest fs I've ever been in. If you're ever down there, check it out. It's worth the time.
Here's some pics of my work

Twisteds 180 Reef

 

[twisted]

Twisteds 180 Reef

 

[twisted]

So far so good. Tank is looking good amd no signs of any more Dino's. I finally decided what to do with the cube. I'm going to keep sun polyps in it. I've had my black suns in it amd they are doing better than ever so I'll move the others in there too. It'll b easier to feed them and nothing will steal their food.
Last big wc today and I think I'll b able to add a few corals! It's been a long road fighting Dino's and I don't wish them on anyone


Twisteds 180 Reef

 

[mnat]

Glad to see you got back on the horse, this hobby can be incredibly frustrating at times. Everything looks great and a sun coral cube sounds awesome. Look for some dendros too, they are nice corals.

 

[twisted]

Thanks! I have a dendro that also went in. My next mission is a pink one. I also finished up the rock work after the wc. Not sure if I like the right side. Here's a pic of my halimeda dendro maroon cube. Suns aren't open but looks cool

Twisteds 180 Reef

 

[twisted]

Little bit of cyano left but it won't last


Twisteds 180 Reef

 

[twisted]

Couple nighttime shots of my dendro family

Twisteds 180 Reef

 

[twisted]

I'm starting to feel pretty comfy with the tank with just a little cyano in the cube. I gotta get some more flow to it do I ordered 2 pumps with a wave maker and two maxjet 1200 with the upgrade kit. I'll add one of the first two to the cube and the rest in the 180. I'll probably put the maxis on timers to run 15 and off then both on to get some serious flow to my rocks throughout the day. Between them and my other pumps I shouldn't have any settling. My temp and ph monitors should b here Monday and I'll have my DIY carbon and phos reactor running by tues. looks like its time to start looking for some zoa and palay frags....


Twisteds 180 Reef

 

[mnat]

Glad the time and effort worked out for you and you are enjoying your tank again.

 

[twisted]

Thanks, I was really getting burnt out. Watching corals die suks big time. Uv and ozone are going to be installed for some extra peace of mind. I doubt I'll use it all the time but if I see the need, I'll have the option to turn them on. I counted my losses and I lost 31 corals or frags and my two mandarins which I've had for over 2 years.
Some cool news: my red planet was bone white and covered in Dino's and somehow is now coloring back up with some polyps showing. I don't know how, it looked real dead


Twisteds 180 Reef

 

[downbeach]

Good to hear you were able to hang in there Len, any idea what caused the problem/dino's in the first place?

 

[twisted]

I believe a number of things. Mostly a combo of bad ro, 900 tds leach from my container and micro bacter 7. I had 0 tds out but once in my supposed food grade container, tds rose to over 900. Then my resin went bad. Plus dosing bacter
Snails died first then it all went south real quick.



Twisteds 180 Reef

 

[twisted]

Another was constant topoff to my res which led to a build up of tds over time in it
An inch of junk in my sump that I couldn't see, junk in the crannies of my rock, too much liquid foods..... Poor sump layout.... I could go on and on but it all lead to probs.
All issues have been corrected but the biggest fix is the ability to do a 50 gal wc in ten minutes. That will make maint during my busy season more accessible


Twisteds 180 Reef

 

[downbeach]

Well, it's good to know/important, so you don't repeat the same problem. If there's anything I can do let me know.

 

[twisted]

Thanks! Ive learned alot through this and will happily share anytime. When I have a chance I plan to do a thread on it and give details on whAt I tried and...,...


Twisteds 180 Reef

 

[twisted]

Twisteds 180 Reef