I'm trying to increase the pH in the 55g reeftank, so today I hooked up an airpump in the garage that pushes in "fresh" air into the tank. The outlet of the tubing blows into the intake of the protein skimmer, but I'm not sure if that will make much of a difference. If this doesn't work, I'll have to patch a pencil-sized hole in the wall. ;)
This evening, I pulled out the sump/refugium under the 29g reef to make a couple of alterations. I needed to trim the baffle before the return section about half an inch, to create a slight downhill momentum so the water in the refugium would not tend to stagnate. Microbubbles have been collecting there on a daily basis, and I've been swishing around a piece of plastic to stir up the surface daily. Once the sump was drained of most of the water, I took it into the garage and masked off as much as possible to avoid dropping any acrylic shavings into the refugium.
Finally! The BTA is done splitting. It only took about two months for it to finish.
I now have three baby BTAs in my 29g. I would have had four, but one disintegrated due to lack of food. My mistake... I was waiting for it to come out in the open to be fed and didn't make it a priority to feed it, and it just melted away one afternoon to my surprise.
I feed the BTAs every other day with krill or shrimp. Now I'll make sure to feed each one of these guys.
All the return pumps were cleaned tonight. While working on that, I pulled out the Aqua C Ev-200 protein skimmer and cleaned it thoroughly, because it wasn't pulling out enough junk for the past few weeks.
When I removed the spray injectors, I found a shell in one - possibly a stomatella shell. That was enough of an obstruction to impede the amount of spray injection, which is why the foam couldn't build up in the tower properly. I replaced some of the plastic hoseclamps on the tubing running from the pump to the skimmer.
My 10,000K XM bulbs arrived today, so I swapped them out with the one year old 10,000K Ushios. I got them for a good price, and now I just hope they have the right coloration so the tank looks good again.
All the powerheads were cleaned today. Next project is all the return pumps.
What is the difference between a Whelk and a Nassarius snail? Here's an image below. The creature on the left is a Nassarius, the one on the right is a whelk. Btw, whelks get much larger, while Nassarius don't.
If you look at the texture of their snouts, there is a specific pattern tatooed onto the flesh of the Whelk. Also, the whelk has a protective shell on its tail that it uses to seal itself in its shell when in danger. This gives it a water tight seal.
Here's a webpage about cooling your tank, if you feel the need. Summer is almost here, and this method is cheaper than buying a chiller.
Running the T-5s today, I noticed two things. The tank looked the same as when I've run VHO actinics, so the new bulbs are working out perfectly. The other thing I noticed is the tank is running a half degree lower than usual, and that is a good thing. Less heat, less wattage, same look! So far, I'm happy. :)
Two new things to share today:
I installed the new High Output lighting to supplement my Metal Halides, because I felt they would save me money in bulbs and in wattage consumed each day: T-5 Lighting
I fell in love with a baby Tridacna maxima clam, and traded in a rock covered with more than 30 red mushrooms in exchange.
I added some cooling fans to the 55g's canopy finally. Since the water temperature has been reaching 83F and we aren't even in summer yet, I knew it was time to get this done. Over the weekend, I modified the woodwork and reflector to allow for the cooling fans.
These are 24v fans, with a powersupply that can run up to four at a time.
