MolaMola
Supporting Member
Sorry I never responded to your generous offer! I almost called on you for the water, but the situation changed over the course of that day. I have been stressed out and slammed since then, like everybody else.
Maureen's Classroom DSA 105
- Thread starter MolaMola
- Start date
MolaMola
Supporting Member
In preparing big tank for shutdown, I may have discovered one factor contributing to algae issue. Obscured by dirty column and collection cup, skimmer was not skimming properly. Here's your problem:
Impeller shaft holder in pump cover was gone - broken and stuck in spray nozzle. I was super lucky that I had planned ahead and had spare cover. Also lucky the impeller was okay bc my spare is a fractionating impeller I thought would be better than regular but I found out it will not make enough pressure for the spray nozzle to work properly.
Also found the reason the water level in frag tank seemed lower - water disturbance from circ pump hid the fact that the little return pump in overflow box (in section where ATO sensor is) had slipped off its tubing and was not pushing water. So lucky that was an easy fix.
Impeller shaft holder in pump cover was gone - broken and stuck in spray nozzle. I was super lucky that I had planned ahead and had spare cover. Also lucky the impeller was okay bc my spare is a fractionating impeller I thought would be better than regular but I found out it will not make enough pressure for the spray nozzle to work properly.
Also found the reason the water level in frag tank seemed lower - water disturbance from circ pump hid the fact that the little return pump in overflow box (in section where ATO sensor is) had slipped off its tubing and was not pushing water. So lucky that was an easy fix.
MolaMola
Supporting Member
Whelp, over a year later the tanks are what they are. In perspective, the pandemic did not hit people I know or our school community nearly as hard as I had feared, so that is the most important. The tanks mainly ended up suffering from overcrowding and lack of maintenance and attention. I did not properly maintain water quality, light schedules, dosing, skimming, water changes, and lots of other tasks. Lots of days I considered tank teardowns so I wouldn't have to feel guilty and overwhelmed looking at them, but I knew my ocean elective class would be offered again in the fall and maybe I would feel more upbeat then, so I had better keep them up since they were still pretty stable. So, the next couple posts will show the current state. Hopefully, great changes will be seen over the next months.
MolaMola
Supporting Member
105g looking better with cleaning crew and more attention though still misc algae. Fuge set up couple weeks ago with chaeto from @JVU. Apex still not connecting with Fusion but Neptune CS will help figure it out with phone appt since my IT says it is not a network security issue. Started cleaning sandbed with no ill effects. Most bleached corals have been gradually coloring up. Need to stop minor salt leak somewhere in plumbing, guessing from valve stem replacement few months back.
Big news is we have fish! 4 green chromis and a reclusive orchid dottyback from @ddrueckh tank! They are starting to show themselves more frequently when people aren’t standing and moving right in front of the tank. Next, I need to find time to take PAR readings.
Big news is we have fish! 4 green chromis and a reclusive orchid dottyback from @ddrueckh tank! They are starting to show themselves more frequently when people aren’t standing and moving right in front of the tank. Next, I need to find time to take PAR readings.
MolaMola
Supporting Member
It’s been a long time since most anyone has been in, but they are definitely surprised. Most do not recognize coral so ask if we have fish. If students are there to show and tell about the care jobs they do, parents get wide eyed and impressed by their kids. Everyone asks if open tops are a huge problem but can’t stop looking in from above. Everyone also shares a memory about having a little fish tank, visiting a public aquarium, or ocean visit experiences, which is a great example of why classroom tanks are important - gives young people way more experiences to carry through their lives. Visitor from one of Ballard’s deep sea exploration vessels Nautilus was super excited and wanted to get more schools having tanks.
Afternoon shift custodian spends his break and dinner time in front of a tank and has shown me videos of fish and coral activity I do not get to see during the day. Previous custodian was my bandsaw fragging buddy a couple times. Tech, plumbing and HVAC team people coming in to fix all the problems of the awesome looking but poorly made science building like coming in and checking stuff out and compare to old photos they took. Sometimes they have touched inverts, fed fish or viewed plankton with microscope.
Fire marshal is in a special category of visitor bc every year we have to take down more student work and posters (flammable paper), no hanging projects (trip hazard in earthquake), and I was threatened with having to take down big tank from only possible spot due to moving the fire extinguisher a few feet. Can’t imagine they like seeing saltwater and cords but strangely that never comes up even though I have never installed the cable raceway and clips I purchased. During school closure the contracted chemical hygiene inspectors dinged me for having salt mix, soda ash, calcium chloride, citric acid in unlocked cabinets. Also said the 2-part dosing jugs in my stand from BRS that say Mr. Chili’s Mixing Jug sound like they could be beverages, so got written up for that. ??? Shows how much $ is involved in those chem inspection and disposal contracts. But I digress.
To end on a positive note, the little daycare on the elementary campus near my room and afterschool city little league team young siblings used to come in for visits before COVID. One year we did joint wildlife projects with different grade levels next door by providing observation visits with my hedgehog (not a school/daytime pet), next door teacher’s rats, tarantulas and geckos, our insects, or a tank tour. We also have an intensive autism class on campus and when I don’t have a class they sometimes bring in a student or two to chill out with lights off and Kessil shimmer on. An afternoon visit with friends to explore the tanks, feed the animals and do some activities also brings in donations to school auction. Twice I have hosted an intro to saltwater tanks for school families but had only a couple attendees.
That is my long answer to your thoughtful question!
Kensington Reefer
Supporting Member
Hey Maureen
The coral that you say might be Moseleya.... looks like acan bowerbanki
But I’ve been wrong before
The coral that you say might be Moseleya.... looks like acan bowerbanki
But I’ve been wrong before
MolaMola
Supporting Member
Super nice of you! I actually have some of that BTA backed up in an old tank at my MIL's house. Wedged the powerhead cover next to the rock and am hoping the nem wants to move to the rock and can extricate its foot. We shall see.
MolaMola
Supporting Member
What a week.
Something else got out of whack in BioCube 29. BTA is recovering well from injury. Cabbage leather coral is usually pinkish brown but suddenly became yellow-green on the edges. Very busy cleanup crew has eaten up nearly all valonia and hair algae. There may be a bit of cyano on the sand in low-flow areas of the back. A couple weeks ago I added a small bag of chemipure and a ball of chaeto in a back chamber on reverse light cycle. Not sure what is up. Maybe I am stripping the water of everything. Nem is looking good.
Also, last week I finally had time to look into the proliferation of algae in our frag tank. Out of control and looking weird. Discovered main powerhead and one that is on and for battery backup were both not working. Skimmer was not skimming. Tiny return pump in little internal overflow was mostly disconnected from return pipe and was only rippling the surface. Yikes. So spent weekend soaking and working on various pumps. While most of the equipment was out of the tiny overflow, I cleaned and sucked out the water and gunk in the bottom - wow, the water was brown! Got it all back in working order, preparing to do a frag and tank deep clean. Light (long Current USA LED fixture that had moisture in it in the past) was flickering on Tuesday, so I unplugged it. Plugged it in yesterday and POP - I thought power strip had tripped. Unplugged everything else. I plugged it into a nearby outlet. Also tripped that GFCI. Found new power strip to use to get tank going again sans light. Now I see the extent of the problem: the usual GFCI outlet and standard one after it do not work. The second circuit's GFCI and another outlet are also out. Breakers did not trip but neither GFCI will reset. One of the circuits also has outlets on a different wall, which work fine. I guess I fried the GFCI outlets and each had one protected outlet following it.
So I have to request a work order. AND I panic that my tank areas are salty and dusty and have cords running everywhere - not what an electrician wants to see. Stayed super late cleaning up frag tank area and running cord from new power strip to nearest working outlet. Also tidied up BioCube area and saw salt creep down the back - not a good look. Plus RO/booster pump area.
Tomorrow I must fix some stuff around the big tank when I can (pretty sure I have to sub during my prep period bc there are basically no subs these days). Hopefully it all works out.
Tonight I installed replacement light we had gotten and mounts that keep it above the tank and more protected from water. This used to be my favorite tank; it would be great to bring it back.
I wish I had replaced that light sooner. Learned my lesson.
Something else got out of whack in BioCube 29. BTA is recovering well from injury. Cabbage leather coral is usually pinkish brown but suddenly became yellow-green on the edges. Very busy cleanup crew has eaten up nearly all valonia and hair algae. There may be a bit of cyano on the sand in low-flow areas of the back. A couple weeks ago I added a small bag of chemipure and a ball of chaeto in a back chamber on reverse light cycle. Not sure what is up. Maybe I am stripping the water of everything. Nem is looking good.
Also, last week I finally had time to look into the proliferation of algae in our frag tank. Out of control and looking weird. Discovered main powerhead and one that is on and for battery backup were both not working. Skimmer was not skimming. Tiny return pump in little internal overflow was mostly disconnected from return pipe and was only rippling the surface. Yikes. So spent weekend soaking and working on various pumps. While most of the equipment was out of the tiny overflow, I cleaned and sucked out the water and gunk in the bottom - wow, the water was brown! Got it all back in working order, preparing to do a frag and tank deep clean. Light (long Current USA LED fixture that had moisture in it in the past) was flickering on Tuesday, so I unplugged it. Plugged it in yesterday and POP - I thought power strip had tripped. Unplugged everything else. I plugged it into a nearby outlet. Also tripped that GFCI. Found new power strip to use to get tank going again sans light. Now I see the extent of the problem: the usual GFCI outlet and standard one after it do not work. The second circuit's GFCI and another outlet are also out. Breakers did not trip but neither GFCI will reset. One of the circuits also has outlets on a different wall, which work fine. I guess I fried the GFCI outlets and each had one protected outlet following it.
So I have to request a work order. AND I panic that my tank areas are salty and dusty and have cords running everywhere - not what an electrician wants to see. Stayed super late cleaning up frag tank area and running cord from new power strip to nearest working outlet. Also tidied up BioCube area and saw salt creep down the back - not a good look. Plus RO/booster pump area.
Tomorrow I must fix some stuff around the big tank when I can (pretty sure I have to sub during my prep period bc there are basically no subs these days). Hopefully it all works out.
Tonight I installed replacement light we had gotten and mounts that keep it above the tank and more protected from water. This used to be my favorite tank; it would be great to bring it back.
I wish I had replaced that light sooner. Learned my lesson.
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BAYMAC
Guest
I'm so sorry you teachers are not given the proper equipment, or support, from the school. My GF is a 4th grade teacher. They of course give her 30 laptops for her students, but no way to charge 30 laptops.. the room has only a handful of plugs. She bought a couple charging stations that I spent an afternoon setting up for her. I secured the cords, mounted the racks to the wall etc. I'll see if it passes the fire marshal. Like yours, they make her take student work off the wall, etc.
MolaMola
Supporting Member
Decided on exact spot for lowboy frag tank and started on its only plumbing - tiny overflow to skimmer. Fortunate to have a weird dropdown counter (has partial water supply and waste lines but no sink was installed) so plumbing will fit. Also, since I am forbidden to drill through epoxy resin counter I thought I needed a big reservoir on the counter. Nope! I think I can route the water line into the under-counter space to a reservoir to serve two tanks - woohoo. Need to get a longer piece of tubing and one fitting, then maybe I can fill tank Monday when I will be there to be sure there are no leaks.
Heehee - Earlier, I asked a group of students to tape over the gaps in the plastic cover of the wall wiring and use thick plastic to seal off an outlet behind the tank. I came back to get them started and they were already finished. Wow, they used a lot of tape. And were not concerned about looks.
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Heehee - Earlier, I asked a group of students to tape over the gaps in the plastic cover of the wall wiring and use thick plastic to seal off an outlet behind the tank. I came back to get them started and they were already finished. Wow, they used a lot of tape. And were not concerned about looks.
MolaMola
Supporting Member
Pom pom crab in the house!
We have seen it brandish its anemone fists at a hermit crab and porcelain crab who got too close.
And it has been hanging out in and around the Calfo pulsing pink sinularia I got from @Apon at the swap!
Wow, long time no updates. Crazy busy and stressful year. No time now, but we have recently obtained a variety of fascinating inverts. More pics to come soon...
We have seen it brandish its anemone fists at a hermit crab and porcelain crab who got too close.
And it has been hanging out in and around the Calfo pulsing pink sinularia I got from @Apon at the swap!
Wow, long time no updates. Crazy busy and stressful year. No time now, but we have recently obtained a variety of fascinating inverts. More pics to come soon...