Fat Al's 93 Gallon Reef Cube

Discussion in 'New Tank Builds' started by fattytwobyfour, Oct 30, 2015.

  1. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    Wow! Cool ... I want to see fully expanded pics!
     
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  2. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    Changing out the GFO every week seems to be helping. I still haven't beat the hair algae, but it seems to be getting less and less, and thinner. I will keep changing out the gfo, my weekly water changes, and manually removing to see if I can finally beat this.
     
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  3. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    This is how it looks at the moment. My lights have been on 2 hours, so it might expand more throughout the day. If I get the hair algae gone, I hope to try to work it into the rock work, if it's not too large. It's almost too large for the corner of the tank, and I'd like to allow it to keep growing.
    PSX_20170906_135231.jpg
     
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  4. Kim

    Kim Secretary Staff Member

    Hiya,

    I love pearl corals! Sorry you're having issues with the hair algea. I'm having an issue with my 29 gallon. I need to put a skimmer on it, but I'm waiting to see if someone has a spare. If not, I'll get one ordered.
     
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  5. Brian

    Brian Blenny

    With the stuff that comes out of a skimmer, I cannot imagine just letting that foul smelling stuff keep recirculating through my tank. If that is what is keeping the algae growing, I think the sooner you get it going the better. I can tell you that it is not simply plug and play though. I put an air valve on the air hose to control bubble size, and I had to tweak the level of water in the actually tower a lot till I found a level that it stays stable at. I just guessed when I built the shelf that it sits on in the sump, but it's glued and can not be moved. The water level on the outside is constant as it is in the first stage of the sump, so the water level is the level that the first level spills into the second level. But by varying the air and water level inside the sump, it finally sort of balanced out, and goes right back to the same level after a water change. I think it probably to me a full month to get it that way though. Now I just open the valve on the drain hose when I do my water change, and drain the nasty out. Sometimes I take the top off and go scrub it, depends on how nasty it is.
     
  6. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    If anybody is ever near Batesville, I may have y'all come and try to get my skimmer fixed. I have watched videos, and can't get it to skim into the cup. It's probably something simple, and I hate to drop $400 on a new one if I can get this one working.

    The high capacity GFO seems to be the best tool I've used so far. I'm slowly getting there.
     
  7. Brian

    Brian Blenny

    Can you take a video of your skimmer running and post it? Otherwise, I would just be guessing
     
  8. Brian

    Brian Blenny

    And $400 for a skimmer it's obscene. There are much cheaper good skimmers
     
  9. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    This is the best video I could get. I've raised and lowered the skimmer, messed with the water level. It skims, just not into the collection cup.


     
  10. Brian

    Brian Blenny

    Your skimmer should down in the water. Really down in the water. Yours is airborne
     
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  11. Brian

    Brian Blenny

    Your skimmer should be down in water about as deep as the top of your bubbles are now
     
  12. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    What compartment is that in? It looks like there is hardly any water in it at all. I run my sump higher I guess. When mine is off and leveled (DT drained) it sits about ⅔ full.
    The last compartment then lowers where the return pump is hut the others stay higher. I recently got a Skimmer stand but haven't had a chance to use it as my Skimmer pump went out. Thankfully though, my nitrates are around 5
    And my phosphate is hanging around 0.04 I think. Not too bad for no Skimmer and no gfo for a while!
     
  13. Brian

    Brian Blenny

    My skimmer sits in my first compartment, so it is skimming water straight after the socks. It is also the deepest section, so I made a three inch high shelf for it to sit on. That still leaves 9 inches of water for it to sit down in. The water level in the skimmer is usually about 6 inches, with 4 to 5 inches of bubbles till it sounds down into the cup. I have too empty three cup twice a week of the nasty stuff. I contemplated running the drain hose down into a jug like most people do, but as bad as that stuff smells, I cannot imagine how much that jug would smell
     
  14. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    It's a 10 gallon sump. In like 6 or 7 inches of water. I fill the water up to the dividers that separate the chamber where the return pump is. (Can't think of the name of them) if I fill it any higher, then water would just run over them. The skimmer worked fine until about a year ago. I'm pretty sure it has been in the same level of water.
     
  15. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    Mine has the drain hose going into a bucket. It used to fill the bucket up. I'll try adding water if it can run over the black dividers. (Is it called baffles?)
     
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  16. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    I'm not understanding. Does the water not flow over the baffles normally?

    Mine flows from the tank through the Filter Socks then into the first compartment where the Skimmer is (finally got mine hooked back up!) then through/under the baffle to the refugium compartment then it spills over the next baffle into the return pump area and back up into the tank. The first two stay at whatever level that last baffle is and the return pump area is the only place the water level changes.
     
  17. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    Ok watching the video again I THINK I see the water line. Probably the angle. Ok ... so is the problem that the bubbles aren't going up into the cup anymore? Have you taken it out and cleaned everything? I have noticed that when mine gets especially gunky inside, it stops foaming as well. Like the oils and such (from me putting my arm in the tank all the time) are popping the bubbles before it can get a good foam going. Clean the pump well too! Take it all apart and scrub in vinegar water. I just ran into pump problems too. I should have cleaned it all when I got it. Lesson learned.

    If that doesn't do it, try opening the valve all the way so nothing goes up and slowly adjust until you hit the sweet spot.

    Edit: and if you know or have done all of this already I'm sorry ... just sharing what I've learned. I reread and it sounds a little condescending but it wasn't meant that way! ;)
     
  18. Brian

    Brian Blenny

    where do you see the water line. I played it full screen, and to me, it looks like the water level is down where that red handled valve is. If that is the valve that controls the level inside the skimmer, mine has a long handle on it that comes up to the cup. My valve is way under water.
     

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  19. Brian

    Brian Blenny

    where do you see the water line. I played it full screen, and to me, it looks like the water level is down where that red handled valve is. If that is the valve that controls the level inside the skimmer, mine has a long handle on it that comes up to the cup. My valve is way under water.
     
  20. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    Yeah ... that's about where I was thinking. Mine is similar though. I have a Lifereef. That pipe the red handle is on curves down just above the water line.
    IMG_4823.JPG
     

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