Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Jonathan - Fish geek's LiveJournal:

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Wednesday, April 21st, 2004
2:23 pm	HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Boy has it been eons since I've update, huh? Well it's pretty much been eons since I've worked on my 180g as well. Of course, until last week. I've been real busy with school and picking up new hobbies. I took a break at looking at fish in my home, and started looking at fish in their homes. That's right, I a newly certified open water diver. I just came back from Kaua'i too (been too lazy to write about that, or even get my pics developed) and while I was there I got a sudden urge to finish up my tank. I was a little apprehensive because I was unsure of how longer I was going to live here, but it looks like at least 2 more years. Anyhoo, in between now and when I last left off, I actually did do some work here and there. I received my Sequence 10 pump from MDM. It's huge! I can't believe it's the "small" pump they sell. Well, that brought up some space issuses. My original plan was to have the center drain split, one going to the right to feed the sump, the other to the left to feed the fuge. Both would meet up at the middle where the pump would be. Initially I bought a 50 gal Rubbermaid tub, but the pump just woudln't fit, so I used a 40 gal. Still the space between the fuge and the sump was too small, but then I got the bright idea of elevating the fuge and having part of the pump underneath. Perfect fit! I used the scraps from the 2x4s that I bought for extra stand support and made a stool like configuration. So that's where I left off for about a month or two. When I got back in the beginning of the month, I pretty much had everything I needed, except for some flex pvc. I ordered that and it came a few days later, so then I started my plumbing job. I was a bit nervous at first, since I never used PVC, but I all the reading online I could and decided to give it a go. My first task was to assemble the fittings for the drain. I didn't know which would be the best way to tee it off without reducing too much flow. Another concern that i had was the more I angled it, the more parts I used and the lower the split would be. I had seen some pictures of people using a "vertical" tee, where the inlet is straight up and the outlets are to the side and straight down, like this ::: -I ::: But that seemed to me that none of the water would flow out to the side. I did a dry test and I was correct, or at least my test confirmed my hypothesis. So I decided to use the same configuration, but place a 45 elbow on the top, essentially created a Y fitting, which I'm happy to say, works. The next step was to start on the back, plumbing the returns. I had already dry assembled the fittings with the SCWDs and whatnot, so it was fairly easy to cement together. I felt like Rambo putting them together. :D Anyways, to keep I short, I only ran into one minor problem, and that was plumbing the pump outlet to the Tee in the returns. The problem with flex pvc is that it holds it's arc and isn't that flexible. None the less, with the addition of a few 45 elbows, i was able to complete the plumbing Tuesday night. So Wednesday the moment of truth came. I was so nervous filling up the tank. Not so much about the leaks, but about the tank itself holding up since I didn't test it before (since it was a manufactured tank). The results: NOT A SINGLE PVC LEAK. :D Almost 24 hours later, the tank is still up, the stand's holding up, there isn't a giant hole in my dining room, and furthermore, my carpet is dry! There were two minor leaks in between the nylon tubing and the SCWDs. I tightened them with no result, so dabbed them with super glue and baking soda. It's been dry ever since. The bulkhead from my sump to the pump was kinda moist too, however, it's been dry since midnight until now, so I'm not sure. I might try to fiddle with it once I drain the tank again. So I'm all ready to go now, except I'll be out of town this weekend. :( It's my 2 year anniversary with my girlfriend. Finally I'm putting her before my fish! :) Once I get back I'll start making some salt water (oh yeah, the RODI unit I got off ebay came in 2 days), and head to store or go online for some substrate and LR. Once I can find my uploading chord for my camera, I'll post pics. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 15th, 2003
3:39 pm	Someone had the nerve to call me this morning at 7:30. Granted, I should have left already for class, but I decided to skip it and sleep in. While I was about to damn this person to hell, it turned out to be someone from MDM!!!! They did all the work to the pump and sent it out today!!! How coincidental that I decided to write about it yesterday.... (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 14th, 2003
11:08 pm	Haven't updated in awhile, mainly because nothing's happened in awhile. A few weeks ago I got my return pump in (seq10), but since it's a pond pump I had to send it to the manufacturer to have saltwater seals installed. Yes, labelling the box with another address and writing a note on what I wanted done did take 2 weeks because the post office closes before I get off work, but mainly because during the free time I had, I was your average lazy Joe... errr, Jonathan. But anyhoo, last week I sent it so hopefully I'll get it within a few weeks. I'm kinda nervous. First of all, I never had to send anything that large or valuable (I insured it, don't worry), but what bugs me is what if the company loses it, or does something different than what I wanted? What if they just put it aside and forget about it? Ha, I'm so paranoid. That's pretty much it for the update. eviljohn suggested using PCs for lighting because of the option of corals, plus a lower elec bill. Unfortunately I already bought the NO fixtures, but there is still room for some PCs, so I might combine them both, or I could switch the NOs later on. (Comment on this)
Saturday, September 13th, 2003
8:55 pm	You know, people really piss me off sometimes. I mean, really. They ask for your advice, you give it to them, they heed, and then they turn around and do exactly the opposite of what you advised. I'm talking about this RC thread, where a gentlemen asked about his puffer. Another member and I went off topic, but both told him his tank was way too small for his fish (55g with a humuhumu, undulate, green wolf eel, and stars and stripes puffer). It sounded like he understood and would do the responsible thing. Now, two days later, he posts another question. "Can I add a purple tang?" Geezus!!!! People never learn. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
11:33 am	I got the SCWDs yesterday and started plumbing. They are small enough to plumb between the bulkheads, but only with the insert elbows. So I went to OSH and pick 4 up with some male adapters. They actually only had three elbows left, so I was very bummed, but I was determined to get the last one, so I started searching the other bins. Low and behold, I found one. :) I also got a clear tub for the fuge, same size (18g), but it's 2 inches wider. I hope I can still fit the pump in, if not, I'll reduce the sump size. Anyways, for those of you who don't know what a SCWD is, here's a pic of one in my hand: ( SWCD ) They're small, they weight about 1/1000000000000 an ounce, and it feels like they'll break apart in your hand. I can see what Chuck was saying about the "barb" which is more like a lip, which is more like a mis-manufactured bump! Good thing God invented the hose clamp. It basically works as a Tee, but switching current (Switching Current Water Director) between the left and right outputs. It's purely mechanical, no electricity involved. I don't know how it works, but I know it's pressure dependent. The higher the flow you put in, the faster is switches. So I started dry plumbing last night, then I went to the bars with my friends. I tossed and turned up until 4:30AM, so I just got up and started plumbing some more. :) LIGHTING I'm going to the fish store today. Might buy some light bulbs. I'm not sure what I want to do... I'm thinking 2 actinics, and 2 50/50s. I want more of a blue look, but I'm not sure how that set up will look. Actually, I'm thinking of buying another dual fixture, to mount onto the opening section of the canopy (kinda hard to explain, but I'll post pics later), because it's about 8" wide, so I could fit 3 fixtures in there. Then maybe I'll do some 6500K daylight bulbs. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, September 11th, 2003
8:30 pm	So I ordered some stuff from Marine Depot on Tuesday, AND IT CAME THE NEXT DAY!!!! Yes yes yes, I live an hour away from MD, but you'd think with all the processing and crap that it would take a bit longer. But nope! Of course, I don't have the stuff yet because the UPS guy is a wanker and left a note. Geeze, I was home all day yesterday! So I signed the back cause I was working today and it said he'd try again today. Nope, no package. God I hate wankers. UPS BE DAMNED! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 10th, 2003
12:59 pm	I just ordered the SCWDS and bid on the pump on ebay yesterday. It closes in 2 hours and 23 minutes. I went with the Seq 10. I don't want to start plumbing or anything yet without these parts because I'd hate to make any measurement mistakes. I already have. :( First of all, I realized that even though I have enough space between the sump and fuge for the pump, I might not have enough space for the plumbing to the pump (ballvalve and union). The intake is 2", which is freakin HUGE, so the ball valve itself will be about 6" in length. If I can squeeze it in, I'll use a 90 right before the pump intake. I hope it won't restrict flow too much. I went to Home Depot last week again and bought the PVC pipes and 8, 2x4"s. I went with the 2x4s instead of 4x4s because the extra two inches would push the sump and fuge 4 inches closer, which would leave room for nothing. Plus, installing the 4s would be a pain, because from top to bottom is 35", yet there is a lip around the stand, so I would have to angle it in, then force it in straight. This means from corner to corner is 35.23", and I'd have to squeeze that into a 35" space. With the 2x4, it would only be 35.06". Alright, enough math. I was able to easily place a 2x4 in each corner. I was going to place the other 4 in the center (2 in the back, 2 in the front), but that would cut off the opening by a few inches, making it hard to remove the sump. Since I might exchange the 50g to a 40, I didn't want to lock in the 50g. So that's the first measurement mistake, and here's the second: The SCWDs. I made the store drill the returns hole evenly in the back, for symmetry, not even thinking about the size of the SCWDs. I know they're relatively small, but after putting the vinly tubing adapters together with the pvc female adapters, I realized that doesn't leave me with much space because I haven't even included the 90s yet. To my relief, I found that they make the VT adapters with a 90 built in, which is much smaller. If they still don't fit, here are my solutions (2 and 3 are far fetched and are last case senarios): 1) Use flex pvc to gently curve the lines coming out of the SCWDs. The only problem that migh exists is that I'm not sure if HD carries the 3/4" flex pvc. I've seen 1" for sure, but I hope the changing in diameter doesn't reduce flow too much. 2) Use 45s. This will restrict flow. Boo. 3) Rather than having each SCWD on the sides, have them in the middle, with one supplying the inside returns, and the other supply the outsides. Plumbing would be a nightmare! Not to mention this would reduce flow the most. Yeah, just a silly thought. Anyways, as I mentioned, more parts will becoming soon. If I do get a smaller sump, which is likely, then I can get the clear fuge, which was slightly larger than the one I have now. ************************************************************************ And now for something different. I totally aced my volunteer interview. How do I know? Well, besides the fact that they contacted me the day after, I was the only one who kept a SW tank and knew about the questions they asked. It was a group interview, 4 of us who were interested in husbandry broke off and sat by one of the first takes you see as you walk in. The interviewer asked the normal questions, "why do you want to volunteer here, blah blah." Then she asked more techincal questions. First one was "What do you think of the tank behind me? Is it too big, too small, healthy?" The tank was about 3,000g, I'd say, with maybe 50 hippo tangs, half a dozen unicorns, many other smaller fish, and a baby humphead wrasse. She asked us individually, keeping the techincal Qs last for me. Everyone said they thought it was fine, but I disagreed. I noticed that a few of the hippo tangs were starting to show signs of HLLE, but I really touched upon the fact that in a few years some of the fish, espeicially the humphead will out grow the tank and probably won't be able to turn around. She asked other questions, but I'll spare you. Last question she asked was if we knew what the nitrogen cycle was and how to properly acclimate a fish. The other didn't know the cycle, and they said they just stablize the temp then release the fish. She made a point to ask, "do you release the water in the bag?" All of them said yes. I answered differently. Then she threw me alast question, which wasn't on the questionaire. "How do you feel about protein skimmers, wet/dry filters, undergravel filters, and fluvals." I hit it on the head. ;) *EDIT* I forgot to tell about the email I got yesterday. Well, I've been accepted into the volunteer program, but not as an aquarist yet. First, I have to take a 2 day course, teaching me about the facility and their regulations. Then I have to go for a 2nd interview with the husbandry staff. The class (Aquarium 101) is the 13th and 20th, but I'll be gone on the 20th. The next one is Nov. 1st and 8th... SO FAR AWAY! :( :( :( Oh well, it's worth the wait. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, September 8th, 2003
2:32 am	Not tank related, but fish related Tomorrow I have my interview/orientation for a volunteer position at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. I'm so excited! I've been there multiple times (ok, only twice, but I spent hours there at each tank, practically), so I'm pretty familiar with it. I'll be applying for the aquarist or enducation volunteer position. I'd LOVE to be a dive volunteer, but you need certification and 50 hours logged in already. Maybe something for the future. I'd like to be a fish-education volunteer. Get to meet people, answer questions, look smart. :) I'd really rather not teach people about brine shrimp. :\ Being an aquarist would be awesome too. Feeding fish, observing them, testing the water, etc. Geez, I hope I'm qualified for the position! :D (Comment on this)
Saturday, September 6th, 2003
11:02 am	I went to Home Depot last night. Got all the PVC fittings. Checked out the lighting, and I think I know what I'm going to get. 2 dual 48" 40w fittings, with a pretty large reflector and on/off switches. :) I was going to get some 4x4's cut, but no one would come to the saw to cut it. It's like they purposely ignored the page. I didn't get the PVC either. I was going to, but then I realized that I should go to Target after to get tubs for my sump. I wouldn't want long pipe hanging out of my car. ( This is what $202 of PVC fittings look like ) I inspected every part, because mnay people (including myself) just throw back the parts they don't want in any bin. Gotta be careful because many times, they're the same type of fitting, just different sizes. I almost got some 1/2" 45 elbows, instead of 3/4". Also, I checked each union making sure the gasket was in good shape. Same with the ball valves. They didn't have the adapters to attach the vinyl tubing to the pvc, only copper ones, so I got those instead.... JUST KIDDING! I'm lame. I saw them at OSH the other day, so I'll get them there, along with the PVC and 6 more hose clamps (forgot that the scwds need to be clamped, as well as the adapters!). Maybe I'll get the 4x4's there too. So I went to Target afterwards and picked up three tubs to use as a sump and fuge. ( Here are pictures (lots of them) and explanations ) (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, September 5th, 2003
4:11 pm	Sooooo, obviously I'm excited about my new tank, but now it's time to get down to business. First of all, they did cut out the drain hole in the stand... and, like I imagined, this took a huge chunk out of the back/center support, so basically it serves as nothing now. I think I'll place 2 4x4's ajacent to where the old support used to be. I'll be doing a separate sump and fuge, so I'll be able to place some supports in the center as well. This will be nice because my return pump will be in the center of the stand, so I'll have equal flow on each side, unlike most tanks which have the pump on the far end of the stand. As far as a return pump, I'm still unsure on which one to get. Here are my top choices; 1) Sequence, 24000SEQ10, 1/8 H.P., 1200 gph @ 7', and the really nice part 104 watts, for $165. RC member moonpod has a seq pump for his tank, and he loves it. It has a low rmp, which extends pod life, and it doesn't eat up electricity. The bad part of this is that it's a freshwater pond pump, and they are no longer made. I found a company that still sells them (discountpondsupplies), so I could buy it from them, then have the saltwater seals installed by the manufacturing company(MDM), but that costs $58. So, I would have to pay for DAPS to send the pump to me, then pay to have it shipped to MDM, then pay to have them install the seals and ship it back to me. As you can see, the cost adds up. 2) GRI 518. Main issue is that it's too expensive, over $250, and draws a higher wattage. 3) Velocity T4. Inexpensive, already saltwater made, and I can get it a Marine Depot. Bad part is that it draws high watts, and it's max flow is 1225gph at 3'. Alright, I'm off to Home Depot now. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
4:06 pm	This picture is more accurate when it comes to sizing my tank... (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, September 4th, 2003
11:40 am	IT'S HEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! My precious.... These pictures make it look so small. :( (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2003
8:26 pm	TOMORROW!!! TOMORROW!!!!! I LOVE YA!!!!! TOMORROW!!!!! YOU'RE ONLY A DAY AWAY!!!! Current Mood: excited (Comment on this)
Monday, September 1st, 2003
1:53 pm	I just realized a few things. First of all, the drain hole might interfere with the center/back brace of my stand. No biggie, i can just remove it and replace 2 2x4s, or 4x4s flanking it. That would actually better support. Secondly, I think I drilled my returns too high because I was so paranoid about the siphoning in a poweroutage. Oh well, good thing for loc lines! (Comment on this)
Sunday, August 31st, 2003
8:46 pm	Went to get my tank drilled today. The whole thing is going to be pretty tall, around 5'5. I'm excited, yet nervous at the same time. I had them drill 4 returns through the back of the tank. I brought my own bulkheads, but I'm thinking of not using them anymore. They're grey, while the back is black, and they're also slip v. thread, rather than thread v. slip. Therefore, if I place the gasket inside the tank, that side will be slip, and the other threaded. I've heard reports of threads leaking, but I can also seal it with epoxy. But loc-lines are threaded as well, so I'd either have to make an adapter, rotate the bulkhead around and have the gasket on the outside, or buy new bulkheads. But here are the con's. Adapter: I'd have to use PVC and the white would show through. It's bad enough having grey and black, but then to add white... I'll build up the back high, so hopefully I can cover the returns, but that's 2 feet in vertical height. Inside-out bulkhead: Looks ugly. Rather than being round like the head, the "tail" has a hexagonal end to it. But it's threaded so I can easily screw in the loc-line. New bulkheads: First of all I'm not sure if they'll fit, but they probably will. The current BHs I have now are heavy duty, schedule 80s, and the hole size is 1 and 5/8. Most standard 3/4 BHs have a hole size of 1.5. The 1/8 of an inch shouldn't be much, but the hole drilled was slightly bigger than 1 5/8. Plus there's the cost issue. The BHs I have now cost about $10, so there's $40 wasted, and the additional $6 extra for the new ones. Anyways, on with the drilling. The "standard" method of drilling returns that the store does is a number of 1/2 inch through the overflow box. Not a bad idea, but if I figured if I wanted SCWDS, ball valves, unions, etc, it would be too clumped in my stand. Secondly, they like drilling the returns LOW and use checkvalves. I told the guy I've heard of them failing, and he assured me that in his 18 years of experience, he's never witnessed that. Well, I'll take Anthony Calfo's advice and not go with them. Just goes to show you people, DO YOUR RESEARCH! The holes cost me $7 each, so a total of $35 and $75 for shipping. It will be here Thursday. As I was driving home, I realized that I totally forgot about having them cut out a hole in the stand for the drain. I hope they're smart enough to do so. If not, I guess I'll just do it myself. They'd probably charge me for that too, all 30 seconds of labor. Sheesh! (Comment on this)
Friday, August 29th, 2003
5:51 pm	Just got a phone call. :) My tank is in! I'm going in Sunday to tell them where to drill it. Yippie!!!!!! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, August 25th, 2003
8:23 pm	Things I did yesterday Went to the fish store to get water. Went to Home Depot to look at plumbing parts. I should have looked at lighting too, oh well. Went to Target to look at tubs for my sump/fuge. It was chaos in there. Did a really, really good water change when I got home. I took 5 gallons from the tank, skimming the top of the water to get all this gunk out. I don't know why my overflow doesn't do it. :\ Then I took the other 5gs out of the sump. Let me tell you, years of detritus build up has been gone! It was seriously half an inch thick, and in the corners, behind the center brace of my stand, so i never really saw it. I started to scoop it out with a cup, but it would mix it with the water and I'd get mainly water. Then I took a net and actually scooped most of it out (yuck!). The remaining water in the sump was pretty murky, so I used a powerhead to suck out as much as possible. At the end, my bucket looked like 5 gallons of frappuccino!!!!!! :) So now that I'm going to change my 55g into a QT, what do I do with my exisiting 20g QT? Well, the thought dawned on me today of getting an OCTOPUS!!!!!!!!! But the more I read about it, the more daunting it is. Recommended min tank is 30, and plus all those escape precautions. Plus the need for water movement/gas exchange, but the dangers of powerheads. On top of that they're cold water and it gets too hot in LA for that. So maybe I'll do a nano reef or something. We'll see. Also, I saw the saddest thing on reef central today. A porky puffer with prolapse. :( That's where the large intestine can't be held in any longer, and protrudes through the anus. Poor fish. So sad. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=232759 (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, August 24th, 2003
12:35 am	I HAVE CRABS!!!!!! (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, August 22nd, 2003
6:13 pm	After much contemplation, I've decided to not turn my 55g into a reef tank. :( Sad, very sad, and why? Cost of course. But there's more to it, than just having to maintain 2 large tanks. Turns out the skimmer on my 55g is an AquaC EV-180, the same model I want(ed) for my 180g. Moving the skimmer will save me $400 off the bat. Secondly I can take all my LR and LS from my 55 and use it in my 180, and combined with the LR that Charles gave me, I practically don't even need to buy anymore LR, except for aesthetic reasons (tonga branch... Mmmmm); more money saved. On top of that, I need quarantine tank as well. True, I have a 20g that's been sitting in my living room for months without having a drop of water in it, but a large QT would be so much better for the fish. And I might be able to get by without a heater on the 55 (Yay CA!), so I can put it on my 180. And here's the real kicker: Turns out that Adam (the previous owner of the condo and tank) initially used a CPR Bak Pak skimmer, and he never threw it out. It's been sitting in my closet for a year, waiting to be discovered (ok, I first saw it when i moved in, not knowing what the hell it was, so I just threw it in the closet and forgot about it). All I need to do is hook up a RIO 600 (which is already in the tank as a powerhead) and I'm good to go. I also found a few bulkheads, 90 elbows, and other small plumbing supplies. The only bad thing about this is that the EV-180 skimmer is hooked up externally to my sump, withtout unions and/or ballvalves. This means I have to cut it off, and once that's done, it's final. So how am I supposed to move it with fish in my tank? Here's my plan: Start cycling the 180g with a lot of LR and seed the sand bed with LS from my 55g. This should reduce the cycling period. Secondly, use the BakPak on the 180g. Granted, this is like using a toothbrush to clean Grand Central Station bathrooms, but it's better than nothing. Once the tank is cycled, cut off and drain the sump, remove the EV-180 and use it on the 180g (sorry if this is getting confusing) and move the BakPak to the 55g. In other words, switch skimmers. Let both tanks stand for about a week, then switch the fish. How does that sound? Another alternative would be to switch te EV-180 in the first place, and just not have a sump on my 55g. I wonder how this would affect my fish. I'll have to ask some professionals for their opinion. So I'm left with the 55 and the sump. The skimmer return hole is 7" high, not allowing much water in the sump, so I could either find a way to plug this hole, or just go sumpless. It's a QT, so I don't think it would matter much. **************************** As far as my 180 updates, none really. The store hasn't called me, and it'll be 2 weeks this Sunday. He said it could take up to 3, so no biggie. I did get my 3 buckets of Instand Ocean! 180 lbs of salt. Yay!!! (Comment on this)
Friday, August 15th, 2003
4:53 pm	Leak! YIKES! I was adjusting the water level in my skimmer today, to make it higher so the skimmate reaches the collection cup. I went too high, so I backed it off, but then my soup was ready! Ran to the kitchen, sat down and started eating (Wolfgang Puck's canned soup is really good!), then I heard a gurgling noise, something I'm way too familiar with. Ran to my tank to see the carpet soaked, but not that much. What had happened was that the water level in my skimmer was still too high. When that happens, water will leak out of the air intake. I have a pitcher underneath this to catch the water, but I tilted it ever so slightly so that the water missed. Oh no! I only lost about a gallon. Now the water level in the sump is low and I have to go buy some water. I need to go grocery shopping anyways, so I was thinking of getting some shellfish, clams or muscles, for my guys. We'll see how expensive they are. Update on my 180g. I ordered bulkheads from plumbingsupply.com so I could have them when they drill the tank, just to make sure they drill the right size holes. I got them today. The 1.5" bulkhead is HUGE!!! Good ol' heavy duty. I now understand exactly what "standard" is. Half of the inside is threaded, the other half not. Hopefully the threaded end won't leak. I was planning on ordering all my fittings from plumbing supply, because each one is about 50 cents cheaper than Home Depot. Well, they neglected to tell me that in addition to the $3.50 shipping charge, there's an 8% shipping charge as well as a 7.25% CA tax charge. I think Home Depot it is. (3 Comments |Comment on this)