Welcome to 2012, I certainly did not expect to start this year off with a bang !
At about 2h30 this morning, I heard a loud cracking noise which sounded like a fire cracker going off, followed by splashing watter. At first I thought we had popped a geyser, but as soon as I arrived in the lounge area, I was met with a stream of salt water gushing from our DT - 1,800x600x800
There was water everywhere, and my first instinct was to save my Profilux 3ex and in do doing, try and cut the power on the Battery backup Power Unit which consists of 2 x 12 Volt Deep Cell Battries connected to an Invertor.
The danger in doing this was that I was sitting down in one inch of saltwater on the tiled floor trying to disconnect the battery supply to the Invertor, because if the main Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker tripped, the Invertor would automatically kick in and supply the system with 230 volt power with no Earth Leakage option available. In other words you can't switch the power source off. Note to self - Build an earth leakage in on the battery backup system on our next installation.
Fortunately I was able to remove the cable from one of the batteries and in so doing, deactivate the Invertor. - Could have been fatal...
We spent the next six hours mopping up the 1,000 liters of salt water. Our house now smells like the seaside !
I managed to get the live rock, corals and fish into the sump below, albeit that it was a rather tight fit. Sofar so good, but I guess time will tell.
At this point in time, I believe we will start all over again, but most likely with a slightly smaller DT - perhaps 1,500x650x650 or so...
I guess we all have a disaster some time or other during this hobby. I just hope that ours is behind us.
I have attached a few pics of the unhappy event...
Have a great 2012 - I am certainly not going to allow this setback to get the better of me...
Take care now
Regards
ATHOL
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Items by athol@irender.co.za
Marine Aquariums of South Africa
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Marine Tank Burst !
Posted: January 4th, 2012, 9:33pm CST by athol@irender.co.za
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Why I support Dorry Pets in Centurion
Posted: October 19th, 2011, 4:34pm CDT by athol@irender.co.za
I started my Marine Tank (900 l) in September 2010. I have purchased ALL my equipment and ongoing supplies from Dorry Pets in Centurion. This included a Profilux Controller.
Yesterday, the pump on my Reef Octopus Skimmer started tripping the power. I called Dorry Pets for a quotation on a replacement unit, and was quoted just under R 2,000 - (A new full unit currently sells for about R 3,200)
After further discussions with Lanzo, I discovered that the 12 month Warranty expires in 10 x days time.
I popped along to Dorry Pets to ask them to take a look at the unit. On my arrival, Lanzo greeted me as normal with a big smile, and handed a new Replacement Pump to me at NO CHARGE.
I cannot think of any reason why you would want to purchase your Marine or Fresh Water equipment, stock or supplies anywhere else other than at Dorry Pets in Centurion.
Lanzo, Dewald, and Jacques - Thank you for your ongoing Professional Service - It is an absolute pleasure doing business with you guys.
Regards
ATHOL :) -
Yellow Tang Scratching himself
Posted: July 3rd, 2011, 3:13pm CDT by athol@irender.co.za
I recently acquired a Yellow Tang (a month ago) and today I noticed that he has started repeatedly rubbing himself against my Brain Coral... Why does he do this? -
New Member Introduction - Our journey thus far
Posted: May 23rd, 2011, 12:12am CDT by athol@irender.co.za
Great portal guys and girls, and glad to introduce myself to all the fellow reefers.
I am Athol Phillips, and I reside in Centurion with my lovely wife Shirley. I am a Business Owner of a company called iRender which specializes in providing Software Design Solutions to the Architectural and Interior Design market. This includes SketchUp, AutoCAD and the Artlantis Rendering application.
OUR JOURNEY THUS FAR
We previously ran a Fresh Water (bath water) tank for a few years until we relocated to a new home. We decide to take our set up with us to the new location because we have always wanted to switch to a marine tank. Well, eighteen months passed, and our old empty DT stood in our entrance hall catching moths and dust. In November last year, my good lady gave me an ultimatum, sell the whole DT, or go marine tomorrow. I took the plunge and we got cracking with all the new requirements.
At the time we started with the new marine set up, I was pleased to learn that Dorrey Pets had just relocated their premises to Centurion, which was great news for me. The service that I have received from both Lanzo and Dewald has been most professional. They also have the cleanest DT's that I have seen in any LFS so far.
We did not rush into the process, but rather adopted a slow and calculated step by step set up of the new environment, which has paid off hands down.
Early days - just added Salt Water and some Live Rock
Our DT is 1,800x800x600 - about 800 litres including the three compartment sump below. I have run a fair size DSP from start up, and also implemented a Reef Octopus 160 Extreme In-Sump with Bubble Plate Skimmer which has performed well to date.
About a month ago, we were hit with our first Cyno Bacteria outbreak. I dosed Phosphate-E for 5 x days, and this seemed to help. I then added a Seio 1500 Superflow Pump to increase the flow in the DT. This helped a lot to resolve the Cyno Bacteria problem.
Since day one, I have battled with high Nitrate and high Phosphate levels. Two weeks ago, I purchased a Reef Octopus N/P Pellet Reactor 110 from Dorrey Pets, and as with everything I do, I introduced this new unit slowly into the system, adding only 125 g of Bio Pellets per week. So far, the results look promising.
GO BIG OR GO HOME
Working in the IT environment, I enjoy marrying IT with my new hobby. So when I stumbled across the Profilux III EX Controller, I had no choice but to raid the bank account and purchase the unit. Although I have only touched the surface as regards all the functionality this unit has to offer, I cannot wait to explore its full potential, i.e. Thunder storms, Automatic Water Change via Dosing Pumps etc.
SALT WATER PLANT
It only took me a few months to get tired of mopping up the kitchen floor due to the 25 litre drums of RO/DI water overflowing because I forgot to switch the unit off. The schlep of having to carry heavy drums of top up water to the DT became very tiresome, and I needed to find an easier solution. With some guidance from fellow reefer Jean van Niekerk, I sourced all the components to build my own 250 litre Salt Water / 250 litre RO/DI Water Plant. Although I have automated the RO/DI top up to replace evaporated water using an Optical Level Sensor connected to my Profilux III EX unit, my next step will be to implement an automated daily Water Change. I am still considering a few options for the Pumps, and part of the process may include LiterMeter Pumps, but have not made a final call on this equipment yet.
LIVE STOCK, ROCK AND CORALS
To date, we have the following tank inhabitants: View pics on Facebook
CORAL: -
x1 - Open Brain Coral (doing very well)
x1 - Doughnut Coral LPS (doing very well)
x2 - Bubble Coral (doing extremely well)
x1 - Kenya Tree (took a knock, but slowly recovering)
x3 - Pulsing Xenia (battling with them at the moment)
x1 - Zoanthid (but something has devoured this one)
x1 - Cluster of Mushrooms (doing well)
x1 - Clam (doing well)
x1 - Anemone Red Base (doing very well)
x1 - Tongue Slipper Coral (doing well)
x1 - Gorgonia (not doing great at all)
x1 - Plate Coral - (doing well)
x1 - Goniopora Flower Pot Coral
FISH: -
x2 - Captive Bred Ocelaris Clowns
x2 - Fire Fish
x1 - Sailfin Tang
x1 - Sufin
x2 - Cleaner Shrimp (one has subsequently gone to Fish Heaven)
x1 - Coral Beauty (also moved on to Fish Heaven)
x1 - Fox Face
x1 - Coral Banded Shrimp (Boxer Shrimp)
x5 - Banggai (but have since been reduced to a single mating pair)
x2 - Algae Eating Snails
x1 - Dendrophyllia Turret Coral (Returned to LFS)
ROCK: -
5.4 kg Fiji Rock
8 kg CaribSea South Sea Base Rock
Aragonite Sand Bed 2 inches thick
LESSONS LEARNT SO FAR
- Find yourself a professional LFS, and build a mutually beneficial and rewarding business relationship with them. This marine hobby is not for sissies, so be prepared to spend a lot of that hard earned cash on your new addiction. If you support your LFS, they are more likely to offer you a Customer Loyalty Discount, and believe me, every cent you can save helps. You will also be able to develop a "relationship of trust". I recently purchased a Dendrophyllia Turret Coral from an out of town LFS just because I liked its bright red colouring. I was told by the LFS salesman that it was a "low maintenance" coral, only to find out a week later after doing some research on the Internet, that this specimen was indeed a "high maintenance" coral requiring a lot of attention and patience. I was fortunate enough to return the said coral to the LFS for a Full Refund for which I was most grateful. Moral of the story: "Find a coral you fancy, and then research everything you possibly can about its care etc before you purchase it, even if you have to go back to the LFS a week later.
- Research, research, research.... everybody has a different opinion and solution to your current problem. I have found the Internet to be a great source of information for any topic relating to this hobby.
- Patience, and more patience... Take your time with every facet of your marine project... DO NOT RUSH INTO IT....
- Be prepared for losses... it comes with the territory...just make sure you learn from each loss so as not to repeat the same mistake again.
- Don't be afraid to ask questions... Even the gurus were once all Newby's
Purchased some Reef Glue and modified my Plate Coral to look like a thatched beach umbrella...
Well, that's our experience thus far...still have so much to learn !!!
Time to get back to the business of earning a living so that I can afford my next expensive piece of kit for this new addiction of ours.
I look forward to interfacing with the Members of this Forum, and hope to learn a lot from you all.
Warmest regards
ATHOL PHILLIPS -
Please ID Pink Creepy Crawley
Posted: May 23rd, 2011, 7:18pm CDT by athol@irender.co.za
Hello fellow Reefers
I have recently found four of these little pink furry monsters in my tank.
They are small in size, about 20mm long and 8mm wide, and seem to travel all around the reef.
Being new to this environment, I have been unable to identify them through any other means, and would therefore appreciate it if someone could tell me what they are.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Warmest regards
ATHOL
Centurion
