ValaWan's 280 Gallon Reef

[RW09903]

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.

[RW09903]

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. 

[therootcause]

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

[dmatt56]

That stinks!  Did you cut around the tanks or empty/move them for the new floors?

[RW09903]

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. 

[reeferindc]

Any updates here? Atleast give us a full tank shot

[RW09903]

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. 

[RW09903]

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. 

[RW09903]

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

[YHSublime]

I love all the Anthias! Looking really nice, I bet the movement is amazing!

[RW09903]

I added a few test corals a month back and everything looks great. I hope to add a few SPS soon. 

[YHSublime]

Looks great, I'm happy to see some fungia around more these days! 

[Gatortailale]

Nice build and good progress.

[RW09903]

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 😅

[RW09903]

4 hours ago, Gatortailale said:

Nice build and good progress.

Thank you!

[YHSublime]

20 hours ago, RW09903 said:

 

Thanks Isaac! Those are chalices from PEA, btw 😅

so they are! Whoops!

[RW09903]

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! 

[RW09903]

Putting it in perspective, here is how much GHA I was pulling from the display, weekly, before and after the bucket refugium. 

[dmatt56]

Looking great!!!

[RW09903]

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! 

[RW09903]

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. 

[RW09903]

I was finally able to get the green hair algae under under control by July. There is still a little in the sump, however, it's not an issue.

I Starting adding a few montiporas and acroporas in August. Most of which are settled and began setting their base. As you can see, this has always been a marathon, not a sprint!

 

[zoozilla]

Looking good.  

[YHSublime]

Astounding patience you’ve shown! Are you still running the DIY scrubber?

[RW09903]

15 hours ago, zoozilla said:

Looking good.  

Thank you!