What happened to the Tucson reef community

[brettinteriors]

I have had to take a few year break from reefing. I see no posts in this tucson forum. Did everyone switch to a different forum?


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[AZRippster]

They are very active on the Facebook pages.

 

[brettinteriors]

They are very active on the Facebook pages.

Gotcha thank you


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[miguelp19]

Hey Brett!! It's a sad thing to see huh? I also took a break for a bit and am getting back into it now but this forum is nothing like it used to be before! We used to have tons of posts consistently and newcomers and such but now im surprised the actual group still exists. Yes theres some on FB but its more sales than anything else. Not like the old hang outs with Gary or even at the LFSs. Even Craigslist is empty now with no posts.. sad story.

 

[BonesCJ]

I was surprised as well when I came back a couple months ago, RC is still going but the Tucson forum is not very active.

 

[AZRippster]

I'm glad to see folks still check it from time to time. My wife is on Facebook and keeps me apprised of what's going on there (I don't have a FB account). I still utilize RC for its informative ability. Ya never stop learning in this hobby. Our 450G is down right now for a redesign and upgrades. This past Monday we took 8 coolers of coral and 4 five gallon buckets of fish to FishyBiz. It's been one helluva week.

 

[miguelp19]

wow!! hell of a week indeed! If you have some time, can you share a bit about your 450 and what you're changing please? I am about to start a 360gal build and am trying to get as much insight as possible as things have changed some in the past couple of years.

 

[AZRippster]

wow!! hell of a week indeed! If you have some time, can you share a bit about your 450 and what you're changing please? I am about to start a 360gal build and am trying to get as much insight as possible as things have changed some in the past couple of years.

I guess over the years you learn what works and what doesn't.

Our filtration system keeps the nutrients pretty low even though we had a fairly heavy bio load requiring us to feed generously. Due to the low nutrients, we're going to forego most LPS in the new build. We kept a few that seemed to do well in a lower nutrient environment and fragged out 25 of our favorite SPS coral as starters for when the tank is back up and running. They are currently growing out in a temporary tank we setup.

Another issue we've always dealt with is keeping the water temp lower than 80 (short of using a chiller). When we setup the tank we wanted to be sure to have reliable pumps, and my experience from the 80's and through the years meant Japanese motor Iwaki. Well, they'll run rock solid for years (even without cleaning), but they do transfer heat. We had a MD-70RLT as the main pump, MD-40RLT for the closed loop, and a MD-40RLXT on the skimmer. So in the new build we're dropping the closed loop due to a redesign in the aquascape. There is no longer a need. Secondly, the main and skimmer pumps are being replaced by Red Dragon DC pumps. We also had a Mag Drive 18 pushing the manifold in the sump that provided water flow requirements for the ATS, chiller, carbon/GFO chambers, and the calcium reactor. The Mag Drives are also very reliable but transfer allot of heat. This will also be replaced by a DC pump of some type. Still deciding on that one.

Fish"¦ In the new setup there will be only verifiable "œreef safe" fish. Although all of our fish were considered that, some included "œwith caution". Some had temperament issues as well that made life stressful for others. We kept all of the smaller fish we knew got along well. We did have to part with many due to the temporary holding tank we have to include a couple that really killed me to let go.

Coral"¦ Although I love encrusting and many Chalis, they spread rapidly taking over everything in their path. We had several that started the size of a dime that grew out bigger than large saucers. We will also avoid most bird's nest type SPS. We had several coral that simply grew too quickly and BIG. In fact, we basically had to throw away a bunch because it wouldn't fit in the coolers we took to FishyBiz. It sucked, but we didn't have a choice.

So there you have it, our big reasons for starting over. We love our tank and plan on having it approximately another 10-12 years, but we don't want to be a slave to it. I have another hobby that also consumes my time.

 

[miguelp19]

I guess over the years you learn what works and what doesn't.

Our filtration system keeps the nutrients pretty low even though we had a fairly heavy bio load requiring us to feed generously. Due to the low nutrients, we're going to forego most LPS in the new build. We kept a few that seemed to do well in a lower nutrient environment and fragged out 25 of our favorite SPS coral as starters for when the tank is back up and running. They are currently growing out in a temporary tank we setup.

Another issue we've always dealt with is keeping the water temp lower than 80 (short of using a chiller). When we setup the tank we wanted to be sure to have reliable pumps, and my experience from the 80's and through the years meant Japanese motor Iwaki. Well, they'll run rock solid for years (even without cleaning), but they do transfer heat. We had a MD-70RLT as the main pump, MD-40RLT for the closed loop, and a MD-40RLXT on the skimmer. So in the new build we're dropping the closed loop due to a redesign in the aquascape. There is no longer a need. Secondly, the main and skimmer pumps are being replaced by Red Dragon DC pumps. We also had a Mag Drive 18 pushing the manifold in the sump that provided water flow requirements for the ATS, chiller, carbon/GFO chambers, and the calcium reactor. The Mag Drives are also very reliable but transfer allot of heat. This will also be replaced by a DC pump of some type. Still deciding on that one.

Fish"¦ In the new setup there will be only verifiable "œreef safe" fish. Although all of our fish were considered that, some included "œwith caution". Some had temperament issues as well that made life stressful for others. We kept all of the smaller fish we knew got along well. We did have to part with many due to the temporary holding tank we have to include a couple that really killed me to let go.

Coral"¦ Although I love encrusting and many Chalis, they spread rapidly taking over everything in their path. We had several that started the size of a dime that grew out bigger than large saucers. We will also avoid most bird's nest type SPS. We had several coral that simply grew too quickly and BIG. In fact, we basically had to throw away a bunch because it wouldn't fit in the coolers we took to FishyBiz. It sucked, but we didn't have a choice.

So there you have it, our big reasons for starting over. We love our tank and plan on having it approximately another 10-12 years, but we don't want to be a slave to it. I have another hobby that also consumes my time.

All pretty good reasons to make changes I agree. Can you give more info on your filtration system? Your issue of it keeping nutrients too low is something many people would kill for lol

Since you won't be using a closed loop system, what are you going to use for flow?

Picture looks awesome! What lighting are you using?

Sorry for all of the questions:reading:

 

[AZRippster]

The filtration system has morphed over the years "due" to battling nutrients. When be moved from our 180G to the 450G, like many, we had our issues. I finally modded an AquaC RX-1 calc reactor into a sulfur denitrator. This work very well at knocking down the nutrient level, but in time it became fickle to maintain its balance. It was then I start investigating using an Algae Turf Scrubber (ATS). After coming up with the design, building it, and putting it into use is when things seemed to fall in line. Some of that could have been the tank settling in well due to maturity, but I must say the ATS really performed and has continued to perform. About every 2 weeks'ish, I clean it which takes a whopping 10 minutes. Other than that, the system was pretty much your basic sump, Life Reef skimmer (performs and you don't have to fiddle fart around with them), calcium reactor (I built), kalk reactor (Avast Marine kit), and dual carbon/GFO (Spectra Pure). In the next build I'll be keeping the carbon/GFO but in time will likely take it off-line but have it at the ready in the event I feel we need it.

Here is a link to my lighting build:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2568330&highlight=8+ati+hybrid+aurora

As far as no closed-loop, in our next build the aquascape will be in a 2-Island configuration that will support water movement around them removing the need for the closed loop. In the traditional "wall" design, getting movement behind the aquascape can be tough and thereby necessitates the closed-loop. Water movement will be provided by 2 Maxspect XF280s and the main return lines. If I need a little more between the islands, I'll slap a Jebao or something on the back wall.

Oh, and we'll never go back to sugar fine aragonite sand. That was a big mistake that won't happen again...

 

[miguelp19]

That is a sweeet lighting system! Now that I know you're going with the gyres that helped me make my decision to go with those also. Except I'll be doing 2 XF250s which I think should be good for the 360. I was between the gyres and MP40s but I like the spread of the gyre better.

Question, doesnt the calcium reactor do the same thing as the kalk reactor? Or am I missing something here? I thought both dose calcium and alkalinity. What advantage do you see in using both?

 

[AZRippster]

Question, doesnt the calcium reactor do the same thing as the kalk reactor? Or am I missing something here? I thought both dose calcium and alkalinity. What advantage do you see in using both?

The kalk reactor supplements balanced Calc/Alk, however it does so at a very high pH. A calc reactor supplements Calc/Alk and to some degree Mag along with trace elements.

In my setup, the calc reactor runs 24/7, however the Kalk reactor only supplements at set intervals through the night when the pH is at its lowest thereby offsetting the negative pH swing when bio activity is slow.

 

[miguelp19]

Got it. Makes perfect sense and is an efficient way to battle the pH negative swing while also supplementing your calc/alk. It looks lile I'll have to get a kalk reactor lol

 

[AZRippster]

Check out the K2 series from Avast Marine. They come as a kit, super reliable, and the motor for the stirrer very robust.

 

[miguelp19]

Awesome! Will do! Thank you for all of your help!!

 

[brettinteriors]

Hey Brett!! It's a sad thing to see huh? I also took a break for a bit and am getting back into it now but this forum is nothing like it used to be before! We used to have tons of posts consistently and newcomers and such but now im surprised the actual group still exists. Yes theres some on FB but its more sales than anything else. Not like the old hang outs with Gary or even at the LFSs. Even Craigslist is empty now with no posts.. sad story.

Yeah I miss Gary. Definitely sad that this forum slowed. There were so many good guys on it. I was surprised as well that cl was also dead.


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