RW09903 September 22, 2023 Author Share September 22, 2023 On 8/23/2023 at 10:30 AM, therootcause said: I really like your setup, and those lights look killer, nice canopy design. How are the fish doing? Have you added anything that has an appetite for GHA? Thank you! I have a few tangs (purple, powder blue, and sailfin) and a foxface, that eat the shorter gha strains. Luckily, I do not have corals yet, so the lights have been off for the past 5-6 weeks. This knocked the gha back to just a few small patches. I plan on making a DIY chamber in the sump for macro algae. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RW09903 September 22, 2023 Author Share September 22, 2023 When life gives you lemons, make lemonade? Right before RAP NY, a bad storm flooded our basement after the sump pump failed. This wasn't the first time, and I'm sure it won't be the last. Out with the old, in with the new! We took the opportunity to change the floors throughout the basement and rebooted the freshwater aquarium to boot. Time to get ValaWan's Reef back on track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therootcause September 26, 2023 Share September 26, 2023 On 9/21/2023 at 8:43 PM, RW09903 said: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade? Right before RAP NY, a bad storm flooded our basement after the sump pump failed. This wasn't the first time, and I'm sure it won't be the last. Oh no! Man, that sucks! In my old house I added a water powered emergency back up. It just comes off of the cold water supply in the house and has it's on float switch. NO POWER REQUIRED. It uses water to pump water and drains straight out the drain you already have. More reliable, and cheaper, than a marine battery backup. (This only works if you have a city water supply - not a well - as your well pump will not run if you have no power). This is what I installed. https://www.amazon.com/Liberty-Pumps-SJ10-Discharge-SumpJet/dp/B0013H94MO/ref=asc_df_B0013H94MO/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=193984242218&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6737807743115442258&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9006599&hvtargid=pla-338104954514&psc=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmatt56 September 26, 2023 Share September 26, 2023 That stinks! Did you cut around the tanks or empty/move them for the new floors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RW09903 September 28, 2023 Author Share September 28, 2023 On 9/26/2023 at 7:14 PM, dmatt56 said: That stinks! Did you cut around the tanks or empty/move them for the new floors? We cut around the reef tank only. Everything else was emptied and moved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reeferindc October 12, 2023 Share October 12, 2023 Any updates here? Atleast give us a full tank shot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RW09903 October 14, 2023 Author Share October 14, 2023 On 10/12/2023 at 2:35 PM, reeferindc said: Any updates here? Atleast give us a full tank shot You're in luck! I turned the lights on for a few hours this afternoon. The fish were spooked. I am running GFO at the moment and GHA is 100% gone. I am quarantining some feather caulerpa to help with nutrient export. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RW09903 November 2, 2023 Author Share November 2, 2023 Ariel and Jhay were at it again. They swung by last weekend to help me install an 80 watt UV sterilizer. The unit is plumbed from the return and feeds directly into the display. I plan on operating the sterilizer during night time, 12 hours a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RW09903 November 7, 2023 Author Share November 7, 2023 (edited) Took some pictures with natural lighting prior to the panels turning on. Can't wait to add some SPS. Edited November 7, 2023 by RW09903 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime November 9, 2023 Share November 9, 2023 I love all the Anthias! Looking really nice, I bet the movement is amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RW09903 February 25 Author Share February 25 I added a few test corals a month back and everything looks great. I hope to add a few SPS soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 26 Share February 26 Looks great, I'm happy to see some fungia around more these days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatortailale February 26 Share February 26 Nice build and good progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RW09903 February 27 Author Share February 27 7 hours ago, YHSublime said: Looks great, I'm happy to see some fungia around more these days! Thanks Isaac! Those are chalices from PEA, btw 😅 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RW09903 February 27 Author Share February 27 4 hours ago, Gatortailale said: Nice build and good progress. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 27 Share February 27 20 hours ago, RW09903 said: Thanks Isaac! Those are chalices from PEA, btw 😅 so they are! Whoops! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RW09903 April 18 Author Share April 18 Fast forward a few months, I'm still dealing with slightly elevated NO3 and PO4. GFO and increased water changes are helping, however, I wanted ValaWan's reef to stay relatively "natural." I looked into algae scrubbers and chaeto reactors, but for something that grow algae, they were a bit expensive... I started looking through threads on R2R and stumbled on a youtuber (Coral Euphoria) who made his own bucket refugium. This was a great idea for me specifically as a previous attempt to use my sump as a refugium failed. The light spread just gave GHA another place to take over. The bucket refugium idea was a relatively cheaper option because I already had a couple Tunze LEDs laying around. Here is the bucket refugium and results after a month of growth. Thank you @dmatt56 for providing the chaetomorpha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RW09903 April 18 Author Share April 18 Putting it in perspective, here is how much GHA I was pulling from the display, weekly, before and after the bucket refugium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmatt56 April 21 Share April 21 Looking great!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RW09903 Wednesday at 01:16 AM Author Share Wednesday at 01:16 AM On 4/21/2024 at 12:15 AM, dmatt56 said: Looking great!!! Thank you, Matt! You have to stop by one day to check out the build in person! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RW09903 Wednesday at 01:24 AM Author Share Wednesday at 01:24 AM Over the weekend, @miggs76 and I took our annual road trip to@Pacific East Aquaculture. Dr. Mac has a very unique selection. I highly recommend a visit if you haven't had the opportunity. Here are a few pieces I was able to hand pick. They're destined for ValaWan's reef after a brief quarantine period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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