45 Gallon Lionfish Tank Journal

[drsquirrel]

With a pipe on the top, it will suck in air and make gargling sounds.

Durso is supposed to stop this, although all it really does its silence it, they still tend to suck down a lot of air, which itself can cause noise in the sump.

You need to have more flow in your outlet than your pump can push in, hence why the outlet is often larger, otherwise you'd flood the display tank.


I'd rather put a filter sock on the end of the pipe in the sump, so I can catch all of the big pieces to be removed rather than floating on the top of the tank.

 

[injektion]

Oh I am putting a filter sock in the sump where the water comes in from the main tank. I think I called it a pre-filter bag in my previous reply.

I don't really mind the gargling noise actually. My 70 gallon tank already makes those noises so it couldn't be worse lol.

I've thought about the flow of the pump and I'm trying to accommodate the small outlet by getting a smaller pump (around 300-400 GPH) and have a valve prior to the pipe entering the display so I can fine tune the amount of water coming back in. I know this is not good for the pump but it's really the only thing I can do without making major readjustments.

 

[drsquirrel]

If you don't mind the noise, I just wouldn't bother with a durso then.

The pump can take some stress, after all, all you are doing is putting on the same strain as some extra head height, though... if you get a pump under the rating for your pipe size flow max (I can't remember these, I am still looking for that info right now!) then the head height should kill enough of it not to flood the display.

 

[Morri]

Durso`s can be silenced with some 6mm air line fed deep into the pipe then adjusted till silent but Twin Standpipes are out and out the quietest solution plus you get an emergency

 

[injektion]

On the weekend, I didn't get to do much because I was busy Saturday and Sunday, so yesterday (Monday) I finally go to visit the fish store and got a few things. First item was an internal pump, because I couldn't find a used one. Second item is a powerhead, which I am hesitant in opening up because I don't know if I really need it or not. I'm hoping the return pump will produce enough surface agitation otherwise I'm going to have to use my new powerhead. I also bought some silicone as I ran out and couldn't complete my sump on Friday, so now I have to wait 48 hours before I can fill the sump. Lastly, I got some live rock that my cousin was holding on to for me in his established tank, so I'm hoping the it will reduce the duration of my cycle (no hurry though I suppose).

So when I got home the first thing I did was finish up with the sump. Then I finished up with the piping and unfortunately now I have to play the waiting game. Seeing as the display tank has had at least 48 hours to cure the silicone on the weir, I filled it up with pre-mixed saltwater and put the live rock in. As I was removing the rock from the styrofoam box, I noticed a few bristle worms on the rock. I hate seeing these things (don't honestly know why ) so I scraped them off into the box. Then, to my horror, I noticed a big ol' worm in the box (I guess it fell off the rock when I picked it up). I think it was a big bristle worm, as it had clear bristle-ish things sticking out from its sides. Here is a picture I took of it.

here is a picture of it compared to a more common bristle worm size (as hitch hikers in live rock anyway)

I also found this dark green/blue pod (or at least I think it's a pod). It kind of looks like an amphipod but the amphipods I usually see in my other tank are tan/light brown in colour. Here is a picture of it (kinda blurry though).

I haven't got any pictures of the tank yet as I was quite mesmerized by the worm lol. I'll get one up later on today (it's 1:40 am ). So off I go to sleep!

 

[injektion]

Here is the FTS I promised.

That's 40 pounds of live rock according to the scale. 4 big pieces. I guess I'll get some smaller pieces if I can find some in the future but for now I suppose it's alright.

I still haven't decided which lights to install yet, but that can come a little later I suppose.

 

[injektion]

Whoa it seems like forever since my last reply! Not much has happened so I don't have much to update you guys on.

I can see how Durso's help with silencing the gargling noise now. I had the pipes up in a vertical fashion, turned on the pumps, and it sounded like a fish store . So I changed it into a Durso, and the noise level went from 10 to 1. The flow, however, was severely cut. I had to limit the pump from full blast with the vertical pipe, to about half the flow with the Durso. If I had known this would happen I would have opened another hole for a second Durso. But regardless, it's too late now and I don't want to remove all the water so that I can drill another hole.

I tested the water params yesterday and the stats were as follows:

nitrites - 0 ppm
nitrates - 0
ammonia - 0
pH - 8.3
phosphates - 0 - 0.25
SG - 1.023

I also installed some decorative LED lights (I honestly don't think they can serve much of a purpose to photosynthetic organisms, although I'll give it a try with a mushroom or zoa I'll frag from my other tank).

So nothing to do but wait. I'm not sure if my tank will go through a cycle or not. The live rock was still live (no decay smell or anything) when I put it in the tank, although I can assume there was at least some die-off during the transfer. The water was about 20% water from my other tank and 80% newly mixed water so I'm hoping by next week I can test it and still have 0 on the nasties lol. The sand (or the little bit of it) is from when I do water changes in my other tank, and I accidentally suck up some of it. Instead of putting it back I decided to add some to this tank.

So for now, a picture. And yes, I do realize the wires are a mess but I don't have any more of those wire mounting brackets so I'm off to buy some today.

 

[injektion]

It's been a couple weeks since I last posted. Not much happened last week, just put a damsel in for kicks. The water params were perfect after 3 or so weeks so I decided it was time to buy my lionfish. So on the weekend I went to the fish store looking for the Fu Manchu lionfish I saw last week. When I got to the store, they told me they sold it a few days ago, so I was a little disappointed. Then, one of the employees came up to me and asked if I had a predator tank and I told him I was making this tank, so he asked if I wanted a free scorpionfish!. The catch though (there's always a catch! ) was that it was missing its right eye. I forgot why it was lost but he said I could take it home so I did. The name of it escapes me but here is a picture. Maybe someone here can provide the exact name.

It's been 2 days since I put it into the tank and it still hasn't eaten the damsel that's in the tank. I guess I'll try to feed it some frozen (doubt it will take it though).

 

[Donya]

so he asked if I wanted a free scorpionfish!. The catch though (there's always a catch! ) was that it was missing its right eye

Holy smokes dude! That's awesome. Neither of my one-eyed fish were free...

 

[seffieuk]

Holy smokes dude! That's awesome. Neither of my one-eyed fish were free...

Have to agree, awsome! Wish Andywg was here, he could of told you in an instant what the fish is - try pm-ing him, he is around sometimes

Seffie x

I have a one eyed chromis

 

[Morri]

Looks like a Orange Rhinopius Scorpion Fish to me