TrueTricia's Beachside Build (size TBD)

[Guest]

Once Hurricane Dorian became a real threat, I had to reconsider going to MACNA. Florida was supposed to be a pre-surgery fun trip, but the Hurricane and its unpredictability meant I couldn't chance getting stuck down there and missing my surgery. So I stayed home and worked on the plumbing of course!

I personally prefer monochromatic color schemes, but in designing the sump and plumbing, I also wanted to create something that would be easy for a caretaker to understand. Thus I decided to go with multicolored plumbing, each line associated with a particular color. Black is the water flowing from the DT to the sump. Blue is for the return line back to the tank. Green is for the secondary drain on the Bean Animal overflow and my manifold, and red is the emergency drain. This makes it very easy to quickly describe if any leaks are occurring and from where.

 

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPcJTGHN776EadDd_BoY3PZz0Ot_fa284en7JvJ

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMDD3zkleK8WSWggfq8qm_qLKfBxuEzYgHHva7o

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the finished product, but I did take some of the various stages. The return pipe is connected to my pump by braided hose to minimize vibrations, and the black pipe will eventually connect, also via braided hose, to the Clarisea Klir Filter Bracket. Once I put in all the equipment into the sump, the green and red end points will be finalized. For now, they just dump into the sump at a random point with an unglued connection (no water should be running through, and certainly won't be under pressure).

Important features are the one-way valves on the green manifold line to prevent water going up the drain pipe. I've also used a true union ball valve at the manifold T so turn this on and off. While nothing is connected now, I'll be adding three outputs on the manifold to run a couple of reactors. There's a one-way valve on the return line as well to prevent water flowing back from the aquarium into the sump. I also used furniture cord covers in the wall for the pipes, to help distribute any weight and pressure of the pipes on the drywall. Not to mention it just looks good! I also laid down a PVC shower liner beneath the sump to help with any minor water spills as I work in the fish room.

 

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPnGaBrUC5SOG_souqPDaY2NURdkCQrg7bpD56F

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipO-KNQTiRiXWmOlyOoWXeNm5U9pou8YBv2pwilW

 

While I did make some minor mistakes with the plumbing with not quite the right angles, everything fits together and is leak free! I've used a bunch of unions, so various pieces can be taken apart and modified if necessary.

[Guest]

Finally, it was time to add the fish to the DT. My rock had been cycling in rubbermaid containers, with Dr. Tim's and some Microbacter 7 having been added over the course of several months. I didn't particularly aquascape, rather just added rock into two islands for the moment. At this point, the tank was full and running through the sump and back to the DT. I left most of the equipment in the DT for ease of access however.

I had 2 sets of CB ORA clowns that were both going in here. During recovery from surgery, I'm staying with a family member, so I won't be home. While my Apex allows me to do a lot remotely, including some AWC with a DOS, I didn't have enough equipment to run automation on two tanks. I know housing two sets of clowns together can be tricky, so I was prepared to separate them if needed.

 

Initially, they did fine together. The two larger "females" actually swam together most of the time with little, if any, aggression. The smaller of the snowflakes started swimming by himself, and occasionally, I would see a little chasing by the other three.

 

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipOkJJ13uHRbMwiGWrLu8M-zxm6fmqA1bn9cV5W0

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNcHROBaZegz_zh85yX957OE_FYRI_kSCPuD4rF

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipOgf2Dhs1wMTfR80ZehYHMDswnPBEUtfAe9YYXG

 

Eventually, however, there was some minor signs of aggression between the two larger "females." Given that I was going to be gone for a few weeks, I opted to go ahead and divide up the tank in half using egg crate and screen netting (the fish were able to fit through just the egg crate). This way water flow wouldn't be impeded, food could flow through, and while the fish could see each other, they couldn't harm each other. It also allowed me to have everyone in one single automated tank rather than two, all of which was easier for my tank sitter as well.

When I left, each pair was doing quite well in their own 60g cube.

 

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPlY7bbXyuJwncCH99oh8d7SIt9p0ARHvAkXhVX

[Guest]

I also took the time to add a few final trim touches to the stand. I used PVC trip so that it wouldn't warm with any water spills.

 

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipP8Listrr1dDjxg304xaJED4TM4V7tELem3PEIv

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPMMZC-ZFwnJx4wjzrXkD0AVt-8x4AMQKmvrVdJ

 

There still needs to be some filler added to the seams (I'm not as good as I'd like at perfect cuts with a handsaw). I may redo some with my miter saw in the basement to be honest. I also need to fill in the holes from the nail gun, and do a final bit of paint over the entire thing for consistency.  My plan is to eventually add a semi-transparent acrylic to the top of the stand around the tank to help minimize water damage from small spills.  I'll use silicone to gently adhere it to the tank as well.  

 

My shelving holes also turned out to not be perfectly angled, so I am switching over to a different pin holder, which will require a little rework on the shelves themselves. Lesson learned: be perfectly level when drilling the holes!

I also built a temporary board for the Apex gear. I used magnets to attach it to the stand, and drilled holes below each of the electronics. I covered the holes in furniture cord covers for a more finished look. Each of the cords goes up to the piece of equipment to ensure a drip loop for any leaks.

 

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNP5byhIFTT2261DI2vjGV1q7JO30DABTRhU1gK

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipOKNjLv6V1onBgNxrwrIHealZ05PlsRJJOyp3KC

In the long-run, I'll install a nicer finished white board, probably install it on a sliding rail so that it pulls out and is easier to reach, and ensure all cords are long enough to reach. The heater cord, for instance, needed a longer cord to reach without pulling. But as a temporary piece for now, it works!

[Guest]

So my four ORA clowns are now out of the main display and in QT.  My female dwarf clown started to show some white spots on her sides just below her dorsal fins.  The male started to show a couple as well.  Other than the spots, none of the fish displayed any behavioral changes associated with ich and continued eating normally.  While all had gone through a passive QT prior to the DT, I didn't do active copper treatments or TTM since they were coming from ORA.  

 

The clowns are now in a QT tank running active copper (Cupramine) at 0.5mg/L dosage.  They'll stay here for 30 days.  Then on Nov 9, the dwarf clowns can go into their home tank, which will have been fallow for 76 days.  The other snowflake clowns will stay in QT a bit longer as I wait for the DT to hit the fallow period.

 

Question for everyone.... Humblefish on R2R suggests a 76 day QT period as the extreme.  This is due to a singular study done in 1990s where a single strain of ich being kept at 68* took significantly longer for all encrusted tormonts to hatch.  In all other cases, a 45 day QT sufficed to rid ich, especially at normal reef temperatures.  Especially if I raise the tank temp to 80* to speed up disease processes, should I go with the 45 days, or just bite the bullet on 76 for a single rare strain of ich based on a singular study?  

[madweazl]

If you're gonna go fallow, you may as well do it for the long haul. I'm full YOLO when it comes to the fish; they go in the tank and either make or go in the toilet (they generally make it though I flushed one of the four anthias last night...).