Kevdogg's 265g

[kevdogg]

A little history for everyone as to why I got my tank.

Two and a half years ago my wife and I got a new dog, bull mastiff. Soon afterwards we found out that we were expecting another addition to our family! After my son was born he started having allergic reactions to something... turned out to be the dog. We gave it a year and every test that we did proved that it really was the dog. So long story short we found a new home for her. Since I had a huge void in time without the dog we decided to get a new larger tank. Previously I had a 46g freshwater planted tank. After a little research I decided to take the plunge and go with saltwater. Unfortunately I did very little research and relied a lot on what my LFS said...

I ended up getting a 265 gallon tank and 2 Fluval FX5s. When water quality started becoming an issue I set up a sump and got a skimmer. Little by little I have been upgrading minor pieces.

Here is my setup as is stands now:
2 FX5 Canister filters (all media has been removed, they are being used for circulation at the moment) 1800 gph
Circulation pump - 2x Aqueon 1250 (a total of 2500 gph)
Skimmer - RedSea C-Skim 1800
Lighting - ecoxotic stunner strips, I am FOWLER right now so lighting is not an issue
Moon light - 2x R2 solutions Extreme moonlight LED
Heater - 750 total running watts on 3 heaters
Digital aquatics controller running the heaters and lighting
Sump 15 gallons running and a mag7 return
240 lbs of rock

I am currently building a new stand so I can put a new sump under the tank along with a new skimmer.

I will post pics soon

Kevin

 

[chichimom79]

watching :)

 

[kevdogg]

Pics of DT

 

[kevdogg]

Sump pics, Unorganized at the moment...:frustrat:

 

[kevdogg]

Livestock. The emperor looks really bad due to HLLE. Since the issue he has changed to the adult coloration. Not sure why his fins are deteriorating... Nothing in the tank has changed except adding a grounding probe... The blue angel had a little issue with HLLE but is now good, other then the lateral line that is scar tissue now.

 

[MikeG]

Beautiful Angels, sorry to hear about the HLLE. Hope everyone recovers 100% for you. Can wait to see new pics when they do. :D

 

[Samhain]

tagging along!

 

[lilmatty5dimes]

Very nice tank. I'll tag alone to see it grow.

 

[little_fish]

How long did you run carbon media for in the canister filters? Carbon has been shown to contribute to HLLE. Also what are you feeding the angels?

 

[kevdogg]

I ran carbon for the first 9 months... Once I started having issues it was removed, and I have not used it since. Both angels have improved significantly since the carbon was removed.
I feed a 4"x8" sheet of seaweed every morning. Along with Newlife Spectrum marine 2x a day. Every other day the spectrum is mixed with formula 2 pellets and soaked in garlic. 3x a week I am feeding 3 cubes of angel formula (frozen). then on those same days I feed about the same amount of mysis/krill. I also feed bloodworms on occasion as well as brine shrimp, 1-2 times a month.

I know that I feed a lot BUT all of my fish eat all of the foods and every bit is gone within 5-10 minutes.

 

[little_fish]

considering the fish you have, i think that is a good feeding plan. How is your water quality?

 

[jr7168]

now tagging along!

 

[JustinsReefTank]

I'm in for the ride. Looks good

 

[kevdogg]

considering the fish you have, i think that is a good feeding plan. How is your water quality?

nitrate 0
nitrite 0
ammonia 0
SG 1.023
PH 7.8

My ph reading is low @ 4hours into my lighting. I added a little buffer to try to get it up and I'll retest in the morning. Normally my tank stays right around 8.0 any ideas what might have happened?

 

[little_fish]

the pH will naturally drop over night and then rise while the lights are on, I wouldnt worry about it.

Have you checked for stray voltage?

 

[kevdogg]

I'll need to check in the morning.

 

[kevdogg]

No stray voltage. Ph is up to normal now. Any other ideas?

 

[tonyg]

Love the pirate ship!

How do you check for stray voltage?
What kind of problems does that cause?

 

[kevdogg]

I took a voltmeter and stuck one end in the ground hole in the outlet and the other probe in the water. Salt water conducts electricity very well. Besides possibly electrocuting anything that touches the water, it is thought that it could be a cause of Head and Lateral Line erosion (HLLE).

My wife found the ship for $50 at the LFS. Not my idea on decorating the tank that way but it keeps her happy! It also gives me a reason to get a larger tank in the future! I'm sure that I can find a larger one... -Pirate-

 

[kevdogg]

I decided to remove the grounding probe for the time being. No stray voltage to hunt down so why even use it? At least it wasn't expensive.