Aquarium photography with an underwater camera and macrolens yields some impressive results. Click to enlarge. It's worth it imo. I thumbnailed this just so MaJoRs connection wouldn't have a seizure loading this thread.
![[Image: eHXzfmIl.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/eHXzfmIl.jpg)
Gallery from last week: http://imgur.com/a/fAkse#0
This week I broke down the refugium (I was sad to see it go but I needed the space) to make room for a new spray induction foam fractionator (god I love saying that out loud). Got it on ebay for $138 after S&H (normally it runs for about $350 new) although it's an older less efficient revision introduced back in 1998. A better model was available on ebay that actually ended up selling for less. But I was impatient and didn't want to wait another week while risking being outbid at the last minute or overpaying. I also moved the reverse osmosis system from the bathroom to the patio after a flood that occurred when I left the unit on accidentally while at work. It ruined two floorboards. I have since removed the flooring from the surrounding area and dried it thoroughly. I'll install the new boards next weekend. The RO unit now runs off the backyard hose faucet as the supply. Despite many attempts, thorough teflon taping, and tightening with two pipe wrenches the connection between the hose Y splitter (3/4") and the RO supply line (1/4") leaks very very slightly. I might try adding a washer and/or O-ring and some grease next. I could also try some paste, sealant, or thicker teflon tape. Also while I was working on the sink plumbing I must have dislodged some mineral buildup because suddenly both the hot and cold water supply to the sink have slowed to a trickle at the same time. And I never even touched the hot water supply which means the clog must be in the faucet.
This week I'm upgrading the pump on the skimmer, adding 30 pounds of Florida inland dry/live rock, adding activated carbon and aluminum hydroxide pellets to the reactor, building a water changing system for the ponds, and changing out the flooring and faucet in the bathroom. The week after that I'll be adding my first SPS corals. Which sadly I did not have time to do this week.
I was originally hesitant to invest so much money in a good protein skimmer since I'm a cheapskate. But after trying one out and seeing an absolutely night and day difference in my tank I felt it was worth it.
The removal of the refugium will likely throw the water chemistry out of whack for awhile. I have seen one of the gorgonians retract its polyps and the other start shedding gorgonin tissue but it will pass in a few days when the bacteria recolonize in the main tanks sandbed. The refugium sandbed had very large pockets of hydrogen sulfide and sulfide metals in it. Some only half an inch below the surface. Which indicates anoxic conditions. That is strange since the bed is only about 3" deep, the flow through the area is fairly good, and the sand is fairly course. After only a few months it was teeming with life. Amphibods, fan worms, and bristleworms everywhere. I was sad to kill/throw out so much life. The caulerpa had filled most of the sandbed with their holdfasts (similar to roots) so I was able to uproot most of the sandbed as one big solid block. Once I smelled the hydrogen sulfide I immediately shut off the pumps and did a water change since the stuff is extremely toxic. I had to use tap water and didn't have much time to dissolve the salt and declorinating agents in it since the RO unit was still unhooked. I saved most of the sand and stuck it in an aerated bucket with no light. A lot of the organisms in it are already beginning to die from the sulfides. If I setup a new refugium in the future I will use this sand to seed a new sand bed with life (or whatever life remains by then). Draining the aquarium and removing the baffles was quite the challenge. It involved carrying the 80 pound aquarium full of water out to the backyard to dump the water in a suitable place. The baffles were sealed so well that I was able to lift the entire aquarium with one hand by holding on to one of them without the baffle bending or showing stress at all. When trying to remove a baffle I used a hammer to force a flathead screwdriver between the baffle and the glass in several spots to create fractures. Then used leverage to try to pry the baffle upwards. It was sealed so well that I bent the screwdriver 90 degrees and it still didn't budge! I managed to get the sealant off by cutting through it slowly with a razorblade.
After this was done I setup the skimmer in the new sump and fired it up. I underestimated the flowrate when positioning it and blasted water everywhere. Then the aquarium started overflowing because I broke the siphon. So I had to reprime it by sucking saltwater into my mouth...... Eventually I got everything working properly and mopped up the mess I made. And that is how I spent my Friday night.
I am the only person you will ever meet who will be shoveling toxic sand in their backyard at 2:30 a.m. under a lantern. It was worth it though, just to get that protein skimmer in.
You guys have been quite active. I was only gone for a week and yet I've got 13 pages to read through. I'm not sure if I should bother at this point considering how long it took me to catch up reading threads in other subforums.
![[Image: eHXzfmIl.jpg]](http://imgur.com/eHXzfmI.jpg)
Gallery from last week: http://imgur.com/a/fAkse#0
This week I broke down the refugium (I was sad to see it go but I needed the space) to make room for a new spray induction foam fractionator (god I love saying that out loud). Got it on ebay for $138 after S&H (normally it runs for about $350 new) although it's an older less efficient revision introduced back in 1998. A better model was available on ebay that actually ended up selling for less. But I was impatient and didn't want to wait another week while risking being outbid at the last minute or overpaying. I also moved the reverse osmosis system from the bathroom to the patio after a flood that occurred when I left the unit on accidentally while at work. It ruined two floorboards. I have since removed the flooring from the surrounding area and dried it thoroughly. I'll install the new boards next weekend. The RO unit now runs off the backyard hose faucet as the supply. Despite many attempts, thorough teflon taping, and tightening with two pipe wrenches the connection between the hose Y splitter (3/4") and the RO supply line (1/4") leaks very very slightly. I might try adding a washer and/or O-ring and some grease next. I could also try some paste, sealant, or thicker teflon tape. Also while I was working on the sink plumbing I must have dislodged some mineral buildup because suddenly both the hot and cold water supply to the sink have slowed to a trickle at the same time. And I never even touched the hot water supply which means the clog must be in the faucet.
This week I'm upgrading the pump on the skimmer, adding 30 pounds of Florida inland dry/live rock, adding activated carbon and aluminum hydroxide pellets to the reactor, building a water changing system for the ponds, and changing out the flooring and faucet in the bathroom. The week after that I'll be adding my first SPS corals. Which sadly I did not have time to do this week.
I was originally hesitant to invest so much money in a good protein skimmer since I'm a cheapskate. But after trying one out and seeing an absolutely night and day difference in my tank I felt it was worth it.
The removal of the refugium will likely throw the water chemistry out of whack for awhile. I have seen one of the gorgonians retract its polyps and the other start shedding gorgonin tissue but it will pass in a few days when the bacteria recolonize in the main tanks sandbed. The refugium sandbed had very large pockets of hydrogen sulfide and sulfide metals in it. Some only half an inch below the surface. Which indicates anoxic conditions. That is strange since the bed is only about 3" deep, the flow through the area is fairly good, and the sand is fairly course. After only a few months it was teeming with life. Amphibods, fan worms, and bristleworms everywhere. I was sad to kill/throw out so much life. The caulerpa had filled most of the sandbed with their holdfasts (similar to roots) so I was able to uproot most of the sandbed as one big solid block. Once I smelled the hydrogen sulfide I immediately shut off the pumps and did a water change since the stuff is extremely toxic. I had to use tap water and didn't have much time to dissolve the salt and declorinating agents in it since the RO unit was still unhooked. I saved most of the sand and stuck it in an aerated bucket with no light. A lot of the organisms in it are already beginning to die from the sulfides. If I setup a new refugium in the future I will use this sand to seed a new sand bed with life (or whatever life remains by then). Draining the aquarium and removing the baffles was quite the challenge. It involved carrying the 80 pound aquarium full of water out to the backyard to dump the water in a suitable place. The baffles were sealed so well that I was able to lift the entire aquarium with one hand by holding on to one of them without the baffle bending or showing stress at all. When trying to remove a baffle I used a hammer to force a flathead screwdriver between the baffle and the glass in several spots to create fractures. Then used leverage to try to pry the baffle upwards. It was sealed so well that I bent the screwdriver 90 degrees and it still didn't budge! I managed to get the sealant off by cutting through it slowly with a razorblade.
After this was done I setup the skimmer in the new sump and fired it up. I underestimated the flowrate when positioning it and blasted water everywhere. Then the aquarium started overflowing because I broke the siphon. So I had to reprime it by sucking saltwater into my mouth...... Eventually I got everything working properly and mopped up the mess I made. And that is how I spent my Friday night.
I am the only person you will ever meet who will be shoveling toxic sand in their backyard at 2:30 a.m. under a lantern. It was worth it though, just to get that protein skimmer in.
You guys have been quite active. I was only gone for a week and yet I've got 13 pages to read through. I'm not sure if I should bother at this point considering how long it took me to catch up reading threads in other subforums.
"Normally if given a choice between doing something and nothing, I’d choose to do nothing. But I would do something if it helps someone else do nothing. I’d work all night if it meant nothing got done."
-Ron Swanson
"I shall be a good politician, even if it kills me. Or if it kills anyone else for that matter. "
-Mark Antony
-Ron Swanson
"I shall be a good politician, even if it kills me. Or if it kills anyone else for that matter. "
-Mark Antony
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