Disaster...Again

[tava716]

Charlie,

Where abouts in NW Montana do you live? I am from Colstrip (south eastern plains near Billings) and my father is in Stevensville (outside of Missoula). I am presently in Buffalo, NY.

 

[CarlaW]

Charlie,

Where abouts in NW Montana do you live? I am from Colstrip (south eastern plains near Billings) and my father is in Stevensville (outside of Missoula). I am presently in Buffalo, NY.

Columbia Falls, near Kalispell and Whitefish.

 

[Scooterman]

OK, sorreee Nikki, back to your thread!
(darn Charlie always messing things up)

 

[tava716]

No. Sorry. That was me messing things up. I sorta hijacked the thread for a second with my question to Charlie.

Sorry all!

 

[CarlaW]

No. Sorry. That was me messing things up. I sorta hijacked the thread for a second with my question to Charlie.

Sorry all!

No, I don't think it was your deal. That was me and Scooter, and to be honest, I don't think Nikki is gonna mind to much, at least I hope not

 

[tava716]

Nikki is a good egg. I think she will be fine

 

[big t]

Is there a update yet nikki? I am sure you have been busy with tank moving shananagins.

 

[NaH2O]

The sump leak test went perfectly. Everything was put back in place last night, and the rocks were scrubbed. Big thanks to Nick for sticking around to help...and Katrina for helping tear everything down. Nick says I need to dump the rock because it is so gross with algae. I didn't realize how bad it was until we took it out. I did not add back some of the rock from the display, and used alot of rock from the sump. I took a hammer and chisel to a lot of the rock, in order to break off the really bad pieces. So far, the only loss suffered was my LS Urchin . I have to work this morning and later this evening, so sometime today I will get the corals back in the tank. I am less than thrilled with the aquascaping, too.....and if you can't tell, I'm pretty frustrated right now.

 

[szidls]

Chin Up Nikki! You will get the tank under control. Sounds like time for a trip to PA for a few hand picked pieces of LR. Sorry about your urchin.
Scott

 

[Scooterman]

So the skimmer was the problem?
Sorry for such sad problems Nikki, hope it get better, I'm sure it sucks but maybe it was good you caught it now than later.

 

[sryder]

nikki, im sorry all of this happened to you. I am glad though that you figured it all out. Ive been follwing along on this thread and have picked up a couple of things here. I just bought an asm g-3 a few days ago and love it. I havnt luckily seen mt etna yet but now I know to clean my airline...I also did not know you could valve the skimmer off. I havent figured out why you would yet but i know now you can. Ive also learned I should talk my brother(never thought of him before) into buying and leaving a much larger tank than mine in my garage just incase of an eruption. Ive tried that one on my wife (buying a new and better tank) but she said something in reply as to a divorce...lol so as you can see your little fiasco has inspired and informed the rest of us to the pleasures and agony of reefkeeping. youve helped so many here if you were close there would be a line at your door of hundreds of people all holding just 1 piece of your reeftank.... well maybe not hundreds..lol you get the picture and remeber the new set up pictures as well..... steve

 

[NaH2O]

Thanks again everyone for the support and advice! Its going to be awhile before I get any pictures taken (well, maybe I'll show you one of it being ghetto-fabulous). Here's what was done and what I'm going to do. All my pumps were taken off and thoroughly cleaned (run in a tub with vinegar overnight), inspected, and rinsed. The ball valves on the closed loop were checked to make sure they still cycled properly. The skimmer pump had a major clean done. The area on the sump where the output water from the skimmer ran out, there is now a piece of acrlyic that goes to the top of the stand.....kind of like an acrylic shield. I think I might also do Don's idea of the big cup suspended over the output, as a precaution. The rock was disgusting....so I removed most of it (I have a low bioload for my system anyway). As I posted before, I chiseled off a bunch of algae on the pieces I put back in the tank. The plan now is to boil (boil..not cook) the rocks that I didn't put back in and add them to the system. I'll let them be in there for a week or so to get populated with bacteria, then I'll, one by one, take out the really bad rock pieces from the display and boil them, too. Some, as of now, don't need to get boiled because they were in the sump. The corals are temporarily on an eggcrate shelf, and when I get a chance, I'll place them....I'm not in a big hurry right now. I figure it will be a couple of months before I am ready reaquascape the tank. I am not happy with what I've done so far.

So, the tank is going, and the skimmer is skimming like mad....the way it is supposed to. All fish are accounted for....added bonus

 

[DonW]

Nikki,

Sounds like your skimmer is not keeping up. Possibly just due to the lack of air. I'd find yourself a drill bit or coat hanger that you can use on the venturi on a regular basis (weekly). Also remember to suck warm water through it. With the cold weather furnaces really dry out the air and cause salt creep. I loose at least 10% air flow per day due to salt creep on the beckett.

Don

 

[NaH2O]

Nikki,

Sounds like your skimmer is not keeping up. Possibly just due to the lack of air. I'd find yourself a drill bit or coat hanger that you can use on the venturi on a regular basis (weekly). Also remember to suck warm water through it. With the cold weather furnaces really dry out the air and cause salt creep. I loose at least 10% air flow per day due to salt creep on the beckett.

Don

Don - do I just put the end of the airline in a cup of warmed RO/DI....that will suck it through? I just want to double check my understanding. How often do you do the cleaning with warmed water?

Thanks!

 

[DonW]

Don - do I just put the end of the airline in a cup of warmed RO/DI....that will suck it through? I just want to double check my understanding. How often do you do the cleaning with warmed water?

Thanks!

Lately Ive had to do mine every other day. You may want to think about a cheap air flow meter. This way you can see it when your doing your daily task.

Don

 

[Maxx]

Nikki,
I clean my venturi weekly, minimum. Just like you posted, One cup of RODI water, (about the size of the new rocks glasses y'all have for Carmella...you know, the ones that came in the box she wanted to play house with?), warmed in the microwave for 45 seconds. Almost hot, but not quite. The hose will suck the water through it. Once the water is pulled through the hose, you should have a cleaned out venturi.

The tank will recover just fine. I think boiling the rock is a good idea.

Nick

BTW, thanks for the book and the sandwiches...they rocked!

 

[wrightme43]

Thats what I do on my air intake line as well. Hot rodi water. I just use a coffe cup though, I like the handle it keeps me from getting burned. LOL I am glad you got it figured out, but sad that it made such a mess of your tank. Thanks for posting it though, it will probley save some other people the hassle of learning the hard way.

 

[FishinInTheDark]

I'm so sorry for your troubles, Nikki. It seems like these things come down on us all at once. I'm glad you used the opportunity to clean up and make the tank better for it.

I think your aquaria karma must be back in line by now. It should be smooth sailing for several years to come!

 

[daytonaconnecti]

hey nikki iam glad that you have it fixed,and for taking the time out to share your progress, it may help others in the future, or the ones the are haveing the same trouble.....

 

[NaH2O]

Well, I had reported only the loss of my large long spined urchin in the ordeal of tearing down and setting up again. But, here I am 4 weeks later and I've now lost 6 SPS (RTN)....including my favorite table . I'm not sure if its related to the tear down and set-up, but thought I'd add it to the great luck I seem to have . The latest coral to go was the first acro I introduced, a tri color that's been with me for over a year. So goes the continued "hands-on" learning experiences..... .

Installed in the sump is a "splash guard" that is located in the area where the water must have dumped over the edge. Its just an acrylic piece zip tied to some plumbing to keep water from ever doing that again. I've also been keeping up with the venturi cleaning.