I got backups now 
I held the computer up there to instruct them on how to molt, and not die in the process lOl they got the youtube education too!
Today I gave my sump it’s first deep clean in 2.5 years. It wasn’t as bad as I thought but it was needed. I cleared out the contents of each chamber one at a time. I put a Tunze powerhead at one end and used an MJ1200 to pump the hunk into a filter sock. Here’s a before and after of the center chamber
Here’s the sump after everything got scrubbed. Almost like new
Have a suggestion for you mr engineer: After seeing the above pics of your DT I’d highly recommend you think about adding an algae scrubber…All that nuisance algae should disappear over time ,your dissolved oxygen levels will increase, and the ability to keep difficult corals will improve .I know you see me plugging my plenum system along with Donovan on another thread. But I am also a proponent of algae scrubbers and have used them on many tanks over a 30 yr period…Just something to consider…I’m sure you’ll see better results-just ask anyone who has one…HTH
Thanks for the suggestion. I had a crash in my tank. Never had algae before that. I’m working on coming out the other side. I was running ULNS, but not by choice and it set me up for the crash I think. I couldn’t keep nutrients up.
I am in no way associated with this company, but it looks like they make a nice scrubber :
[quote=“hottuna, post:106, topic:5013”]
I am in no way associated with this company, but it looks like they make a nice scrubber :
https://www.facebook.com/Algaescrubber[/quote]
Thanks. I’m gonna hold off, but I appreciate the link. I’ve seen his stuff on FB before. I think I’d probably make my own if I wind up adding one to the system.
In other news… I went NAKED TODAY!!!
I’m officially stopping my use of filter socks. lOl I think they’re great when I’m doing a water change or blasting off the rocks, but otherwise they’re just a nutrient source.
I’ve been sockless basically since starting. I figure they just remove beneficial stuff from the water column. My water isn’t crystal clear anyway from the pistol shrimp digging all the time.
True. I do like the clear water. I was more concerned with the stuff settling in the sump. It is still a concern, but I think I’ll just need to more regularly stir things around down there to keep them from settling. I have a lot of bristle worms that live in the sump, so most stuff should get processed anyhow.
Doing another deep clean of the rockwork today. I went all out with the gear…
I dialed up my two jebao’s to full blast, dropped a Koralia K4 in there and put a HOB power filter on too.
I also went way deep into the arsenal and pulled out the old RemoraC Pro. She’s a beast!
Where’d you put your fish Adam?
[quote=“Kyle Mench, post:113, topic:5013”]
Where’d you put your fish Adam?[/quote]
Jaws is getting a round of antibiotics for a fungal infection. She’s in the QT. Figured it was a great time to make a mess.
I got new fish on 1/16 and they seem to be settling in just fine in the QT. I got them all eating after a day, which was a big relief. I switch between mysis shrimp, spirulina brine and live black worms. They aren’t really fans of the worms, but they eat a few each time. They’re on the second round of prazipro to treat for any parasites or flukes.
I’ve got a water change and running carbon slated for 1/29. On 1/30, I start my VERY slow rise to therapeutic copper levels. Wrasses are very sensitive to copper so it is reccomended to take 10 days to get up to therapeutic levels. Then it will be 30 days there and then another week or two of observation before they get to move into the DT. So sometime between March 18 and March 25 they’ll be in their new home.
That’s good timing because we’ve got a vacation planned in April
based on some of your pics and the presence of the nuisance algae in one shot-I’d say you have alot of excess organics in the tank…Major cleaning as you have done will help, skimmer will help…but running a polyfilter for a while would go a long way in pulling out the excess …I have been using polyfilters since 1976 and know the owner/inventor of the company.They are/can be your best friend in situations like this…also the Best way to prevent toxic buildup of heavy metals in a reef tank…
[quote=“hottuna, post:116, topic:5013”]
based on some of your pics and the presence of the nuisance algae in one shot-I’d say you have alot of excess organics in the tank…Major cleaning as you have done will help, skimmer will help…but running a polyfilter for a while would go a long way in pulling out the excess …I have been using polyfilters since 1976 and know the owner/inventor of the company.They are/can be your best friend in situations like this…also the Best way to prevent toxic buildup of heavy metals in a reef tank…[/quote]
Thanks. The algae is all the fault of a tank crash. Its finally going away though Just another ugly stage. Ha!
Welp… I’ve finally had it with the constant issues in this tank. I’ve thrown everything I can think of at it and it just hasn’t improved since my crash last year. I’ve gone as far as using “miracle in a bottle” approaches to try and get this thing under control. It’s time to throw in the towel and just reboot the thing.
I have an old NanoCube 24g that will house the fish during the transition period. I’m going to move my very few remaining corals into my coral QT along with the astrae snails still in here and my clam. I think the clam has attached to the bottom glass, so removing it shouldn’t be too bad.
My plan is to remove all of the sand and throw it out. I’m wondering if the black sand has been part of my problem all along. As for the rockwork, I don’t know what I’m going to do with it. I might just let it all dry out and buy new rock for the reboot. Not sure yet. I’ve toyed with the idea of going bare bottom on the new tank. I really like the look of having sand though.
I’m going to use this opportunity to paint my stand. It is cherry wood veneer and the rest of the furniture in my office is white. The plan is to do a nice white finish similar to the Red Sea reefer tanks. I’m going to also redo the front door to make it removable and get rid of the hinges.
I’m open to suggestions
My stand doesn’t have hinges on the doors. I used a piece of lightweight L bracket and magnets. 
Works great!
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