Jimbo's CDA 250 Build

[Jimbo327]

Thanks! I really like this lid. The aluminum is lightweight and fits well onto my top.

This will help me keep some leopard wrasses without fear of jumping.

 

[Jimbo327]

It's weird but I feel the more fish there is in my tank, the more calm all of the fishes are. I think some fishes have ADHD like my Powder Brown Tang. So when there is a lot of fishes, they are distracted and don't try to terrorize the tank.

I'm going to focus on getting some inverts like Pitho Crabs and Peppermint Shrimps. I just hope that my hawkfish don't eat them. Now I have my mesh lid in place, I'm going to add a couple QT'ed leopard wrasses by end of the year.

 

[Jimbo327]

I tested the my fresh RODI water barrel with ATI ICP, and the silicon is 600 µg/l. No bueno. The more water changes that I've been doing may be counterproductive.

Anyways, time to address my RODI issue. My source water is hot garbage, so nothing I can do about that. The current mixed bed resin get exhausted in less than 2 months. I remembered the used BRS chloramine buster that I bought at the start of summer from another reefer, and I was surprised at how huge the 4.5" x 20" filter housing is. So my gameplan is:

1. Split the Cation and Anion DI resin into its own filter. Silicon is attracted to the anion DI, so I don't waste a mixed bed DI resin when only the anion should be exhausted prematurely.
2. Upgrade the DI resin filters to the larger size. I can save time by doing less frequency of change, and I can save money by buying the bulk BRS resin sizes.

Although it's like 500 degrees weather outside in this crazy heat wave, I went ahead and started doing the RODI fix.

 

[Jimbo327]

I always joke that my tank is like Fight Club. The PBT and Scopas is always attacking the Desjardini. And my Anthias is harassing and chasing the chromis.

I released the small Gem tang into the DT. I put the mirror on the tank and photos of other tangs. That definitely helped. The big scopas and my crazy powder brown tang gave her a bit of harassment for a few days…I was afraid that the Desjardini would go nuts with the new Gem tang, but he didn’t even care and seem to help fend off the Scopas. Now they are all swimming together and the overall aggression has gone down. I’m pleasantly surprised that the Gem tang was accepted quite easily and helped calm the tank. Even the Anthias is chilling out!

I need to keep an eye out for the gem’s fin and tail, and see if there is any healing. Feeding frozen and nori with selcon.

 

[Jimbo327]

I'm having major bubble algae, hair algae, and aiptasia outbreak. Bubble algae are growing everywhere, all of the frag plug holes are filled with bubble algae. Hair algae is making a comeback fast. And aiptasia is exploding...

And I have seen aiptasia that is 1.5" across growing on rocks that I can't reach. It's just staring me in the face. You know it is bad when you find aiptasia growing on your glass. Geez. what the heck!

I will need to get some CUCs to stop the spread.

 

[Jimbo327]

Ordered a couple peppermint shrimps to control the aiptasias specifically from Reefcleaners, and some other CUCs filler to meet $75 minimum for free USPS shipping.

And after it was shipped, I received a partial refund for missing peppermint shrimps. What?

I don't feel this is right to ship me only a partial order without first informing me of the missing items. I would have waited until they had the peppermint shrimps in stock (mind you there were plenty in stock when I placed the order a week ago). I've sent them an email and also started a vendor feedback on this issue here:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/reefcleaners-issue-what-to-think-of-this.1073657/

Let's see how they resolve this. Not a happy reefer right now.

 

[Jimbo327]

I realized that I placed my crocea clam way too low on my tank. But it was already attached to the base rock. So I decided to cut the clam off the rock with a kitchen knife. I followed the directions in the link below.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/h...clams-and-how-to-remove-them-from-rock.47651/

Wow, it was a lot easier than I thought (scary when its your first time cutting). I put the crocea clam onto its own rock cradle (so I can move it if I need to) and placed it higher on my rockwork. Hopefully, it'll be happier in its new location with more light and room to grow.

 

[Jimbo327]

I'm fully back in the office, and the only time I have to work on the tank is on the weekends or at night...and it is dark in the outside shed where I store my ATO water, dosers, dosing containers, etc. So I decided to install the same motion controlled LED strip in my shed (that I installed in my stand). Finally, I can see what's in my water barrels and dosing containers without a flashlight.

Don't mind the mess in the shed. It's still a work in progress. I'm definitely not Mr. OCD, but I do make things functional and ease of use. Besides, I might be able to do more shed cleaning now that I can see.

 

[Jimbo327]

Ordered a couple peppermint shrimps to control the aiptasias specifically from Reefcleaners, and some other CUCs filler to meet $75 minimum for free USPS shipping.

And after it was shipped, I received a partial refund for missing peppermint shrimps. What?

I don't feel this is right to ship me only a partial order without first informing me of the missing items. I would have waited until they had the peppermint shrimps in stock (mind you there were plenty in stock when I placed the order a week ago). I've sent them an email and also started a vendor feedback on this issue here:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/reefcleaners-issue-what-to-think-of-this.1073657/

Let's see how they resolve this. Not a happy reefer right now.

Got my partial Reefcleaners order today. After acclimation, 1 of the pitho crabs didn't make it. I got a bunch of super tiny snails, emerald crab and a couple hermits, nothing that I really needed.

So I'm asking if Reefcleaners will send the 3 peppermint shrimp when it is back in stock or is the unwanted partial refund their solution for not sending me what I ordered. This is my first time ordering directly from Reefcleaners, so I dont' know what their policy is. I've never had a vendor send me partial order, and not fulfill the whole order without first confirming with me.

Anyways, I dropped the pitho and emerald crab into my observation tank. The rest of the CUC went into the main tank.

This poor guy didn't make it.

 

[JoJosReef]

Got my partial Reefcleaners order today. After acclimation, 1 of the pitho crabs didn't make it. I got a bunch of super tiny snails, emerald crab and a couple hermits, nothing that I really needed.

So I'm asking if Reefcleaners will send the 3 peppermint shrimp when it is back in stock or is the unwanted partial refund their solution for not sending me what I ordered. This is my first time ordering directly from Reefcleaners, so I dont' know what their policy is. I've never had a vendor send me partial order, and not fulfill the whole order without first confirming with me.

Anyways, I dropped the pitho and emerald crab into my observation tank. The rest of the CUC went into the main tank.

This poor guy didn't make it.

Crabs have a pretty poor track record with USPS shipping. When I do my next group buy, I can get you some pepps added to my order. I order with overnight UPS shipping and split the cost between buyers.

As a side note, I have noticed many of the snails coming in very small in the last order or two.

 

[danreef55]

 

[Jimbo327]

Crabs have a pretty poor track record with USPS shipping. When I do my next group buy, I can get you some pepps added to my order. I order with overnight UPS shipping and split the cost between buyers.

As a side note, I have noticed many of the snails coming in very small in the last order or two.

Seriously, some of the snails were slightly bigger than a grain of sand. I can't even tell if they are dead or alive. Not happy with the sizes for sure.

Normally, most vendors will communicate with the buyer to whether to wait for the out of stock inverts or partial refund BEFORE they ship out the order. This is the not the case with them, and it seems like it is the norm. I don't think they understand this is very poor customer service as my whole order was based on the missing item. And frankly, it is not my fault that there are out of stock, when it was clearly in stock when order was placed.

I don't think I will be ordering from Reefcleaners anymore. I may just get the peppermint shrimps from the LFS. Tired of ordering online and not really know what I'm getting until it shows up (or not show up in my case).

 

[JoJosReef]

Seriously, some of the snails were slightly bigger than a grain of sand. I can't even tell if they are dead or alive. Not happy with the sizes for sure.

Normally, most vendors will communicate with the buyer to whether to wait for the out of stock inverts or partial refund BEFORE they ship out the order. This is the not the case with them, and it seems like it is the norm. I don't think they understand this is very poor customer service as my whole order was based on the missing item. And frankly, it is not my fault that there are out of stock, when it was clearly in stock when order was placed.

I don't think I will be ordering from Reefcleaners anymore. I may just get the peppermint shrimps from the LFS. Tired of ordering online and not really know what I'm getting until it shows up (or not show up in my case).

That I understand. I'd like a good local source of inverts, but I prefer them from a fishless system. I could quarantine them, I guess, but then I have to have a QT tank set up...

 

[Jimbo327]

Thanks Dan. Looking forward to see your tank build thread. It looks like it will be a meticulous no expense spared kind of build.