Saint's 75g

[saintsreturn]

Still need to download some editing software on my phone, but for now... There is a white shell looking thing in the left corner of that pocket. I always thought it looked weird so today I went to pull it out. Turns out it's alive... I'm thinking barnacle... Any thoughts?

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[Squatch XXL]

what do you think?

One of the things that is always advised with PVC joints is that you apply primer, then glue and press the joints THEN turn them 90 degrees. This helps spread the glue evenly for a good plastic weld. I know I am a bit late, but I have been busy with work. It is not necessary to do this in EVERY situation, but it should be done this way every time. I am a licensed plumber, but don't practice the trade.

 

[saintsreturn]

One of the things that is always advised with PVC joints is that you apply primer, then glue and press the joints THEN turn them 90 degrees. This helps spread the glue evenly for a good plastic weld. I know I am a bit late, but I have been busy with work. It is not necessary to do this in EVERY situation, but it should be done this way every time. I am a licensed plumber, but don't practice the trade.

Thanks bud. I was using a cheap glue without primer and paid the price on that decision. I went back to buy something else and ended up buying some new product that was a primer and glue in one. To my surprise, it worked great!

I took a shortcut and it bit me, but now i know why so many of the glues come with a primer combo...

Next i am going to use this on my new pipe and fittings for my display, so that will be its final test. *fingers crossed*

 

[saintsreturn]

We decided to take a trip to the black hills in South Dakota to spend some much needed time with family and check in on my Uncle, who has been going through some "stuff." I started the vacation with this beautiful view and a hot cup of coffee to ensure i sit my tail down and relax.

During our travels, we stopped at a couple of breweries, including the knuckle in Sturgis. I convinced my non drinking wife to try a summer beer and therefore i ended up with 1.5.

From there we went to the historic town of Deadwood. Whenever we go here, i always stop at the Deadwood tobacco factory and pick up a few sticks for the trip.

Driving back was one of my favorite parts. As much as I love seeing the local residents, it really meant something special this time as my wife has never been out to this part of the world. She saw her first Tatonka and her face said it all. This guy here even came with the standard "bird on the back."

What we didnt expect to see was this local resident enjoying some ice cream. Ok so this was more for my kid sis, but i had to have some fun too

Back at the house, we got to sit back and take in the beautiful weather and views once again.

Well I almost forgot to mention, we stopped by to see some old timers and hear their stories as well.

One of the best stories at the park, is from the man who "invented" (or so claims) ice cream. So we had some his way... with a few modern twists.

After being my usual degenerate self, we stopped by a local winery to act classy for a little while.

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[saintsreturn]

After leaving the winery, we headed back to the house. We noticed a billboard that made us all laugh, so we updated our GPS to find this local brewery. Upon arrival, we learned that they were brand new and not selling anything other than beer at this time. After several minutes of tough negotiations, i landed this memorable shirt for the trip.

As i am driving through the land of Custer, my wife suddenly jolts up in her seat and tells me to stop. Hey now, i am the captain and only i give commands, i touted; as i pulled over. Turns out these two fellas wanted to get close enough for a picture (no wildlife was harmed or fed in the making of this adventure, besides the one suicidal bird who bounced off my windshield, but we wont talk about him)

Seeing all this wild game made me hungry, so after making a quick stop at the store, i cooked a Texas appetizer for my friends and family.

No good grilling should take place without the presence of a TSA approved torch and a classic stick for enjoyment.

The work was done for the day and i decided the view needed to get a little better to satisfy my desires. So the next morning i enjoyed another cigar (sorry this was posed for IG) and setup my new lounge area.

After a couple hours of nothing, and i mean nothing! It was time to prep the next few meals.

And sometimes you just hit the nail on the head.

With full bellies and sweaty bodies from the combination of meat sweats and 104 degree temps, a storm rolled in.

At this point, the temperatures dropped into the 50's and the skys opened with lighting and thunder that shook the house. My wife did something unexpected from her city girl side. She grabbed a cup of hot coca and cuddled up close to me to watch this gift from God.

About an hour into the raw display of power, she went inside. Why so soon you ask? Well we happened to see something magnificent that we hope to never see again. A lightning bolt came from the sky and crashed down on a tree about 75 yards away from us, turning red with fury as it retreated back into the sky. Truly impressive and scary as hell all at the same time.

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[saintsreturn]

The time has come and it was not what we were looking forward to. We loaded up the car and drove back to Texas. My Mother's Golden was not happy either, she jumped in the car several times as we were loading and sat here while we said our goodbyes. There is something truly special about a person and their pooch.

I dont know why, but i have a thing for silos against a country sky.

We arrived in Pueblo, CO to stay for the night. We checked into our hotel and headed to town for some dinner and sight seeing. This is a truly beautiful area with a cute little river walk for our enjoyment.

The establishment we stopped at had a sign we are unfamiliar with, but had to laugh at. stupid vapes....

We made it home safely, barely. Our car decided it didnt want to leave Colorado, but we convinced her to push on. Upon our arrival, we found our tank in better shape than we left it. The algae has cleared up and it was time to find a new home for the sea hare.

Sally the sailfin has continued to show me her desire to stay alive. So we treated her to her favorite medicated food and some "fresh" seaweed to munch on. She said thank you and i went to check on our other friends.

To our brown dogs amusement, we picked her and her BFF up from the boarders and brought her to her new kiddie pool for the summer. Her appreciation came in some great poses, and some wet hugs. She still doesnt believe i would go through the trouble of getting her one of this kid toys, but she is enjoying in anyway.

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[saintsreturn]

Well the battle with algae continues and last night was a large WC that involved getting the sand bed free of the GHA that covered it. I am going to stop with my medicated food as i know this is the primary culprit, so i am excited to get it back to a good looking tank.

Scary thing is my wife is out shopping for me, but i have no idea what she will come back with LOL. Hopefully she doesnt spend as much as i do at the LFS

That said, I bought some wireless cameras due to some issues in the surrounding area and decided to put one on the tank so i can see what i miss during the day. Already surprised at the amount of sunlight on it.

 

[SPR]

We decided to take a trip to the black hills in South Dakota to spend some much needed time with family and check in on my Uncle, who has been going through some "stuff." I started the vacation with this beautiful view and a hot cup of coffee to ensure i sit my tail down and relax.

During our travels, we stopped at a couple of breweries, including the knuckle in Sturgis. I convinced my non drinking wife to try a summer beer and therefore i ended up with 1.5.

From there we went to the historic town of Deadwood. Whenever we go here, i always stop at the Deadwood tobacco factory and pick up a few sticks for the trip.

Driving back was one of my favorite parts. As much as I love seeing the local residents, it really meant something special this time as my wife has never been out to this part of the world. She saw her first Tatonka and her face said it all. This guy here even came with the standard "bird on the back."

What we didnt expect to see was this local resident enjoying some ice cream. Ok so this was more for my kid sis, but i had to have some fun too

Back at the house, we got to sit back and take in the beautiful weather and views once again.

Well I almost forgot to mention, we stopped by to see some old timers and hear their stories as well.

One of the best stories at the park, is from the man who "invented" (or so claims) ice cream. So we had some his way... with a few modern twists.

After being my usual degenerate self, we stopped by a local winery to act classy for a little while.

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This is a great area, Ive toured around the USA in RV’s over the years and the scenery is stunning.

Amongst others we did the tour from Colorado up through Wyoming, to custers last stand in Montana, and then back through Yellowstone, Utah, monument valley etc. Posh camping at its best. Basically a great big circle, I think about 2500-3000 miles in 2 weeks

I also visited Mount Rushmore (I thought it would be bigger than it was !?), and did you get to see the Crazy Horse monument carved out by the guy on his own ? Amazing.

 

[saintsreturn]

Yes sir I did. Mount Rushmore is a must, but it is underwhelming for sure. I am thankful I got to see it. I love it out that way. I used to live in Idaho/Nevada and would travel all around the surrounding states.

This is a great area, Ive toured around the USA in RV’s over the years and the scenery is stunning.

Amongst others we did the tour from Colorado up through Wyoming, to custers last stand in Montana, and then back through Yellowstone, Utah, monument valley etc. Posh camping at its best. Basically a great big circle, I think about 2500-3000 miles in 2 weeks

I also visited Mount Rushmore (I thought it would be bigger than it was !?), and did you get to see the Crazy Horse monument carved out by the guy on his own ? Amazing.

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[saintsreturn]

I see one of the new residents!

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[saintsreturn]

Modified my waste water collector today to allow for one handed operations while filling water cans and such.

Wife still won't let me put a hose on it because "I need the exercise" when walking back and forth with the can.

If she wasn't right I would be so mad [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

Anyway, just an idea for those of you running a mixing station.

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[saintsreturn]

Just ordered a stand alone TDS meter to check my RODI water after it is produced. My reader is showing 2-3 TDS in and 0 out currently, but some things are making me question this. 1) my waste water has a lot of hard water buildup in the tank for such a short period of time. 2) my filters changed colors very quickly, and that should not be the case yet. 3) Algae has started popping up in my second tank (never have been an issue in the past and i do not put the medicated food in that system) so it is not longer an isolated event.

Hopeful that the new meter will help cross off some potential issues. With that said, the new tank residents appear to be happy

1) cleaner shrimp
2) 2 conchs
3) blenny
4) 2 more emerald crabs

 

[saintsreturn]

TDS test came back clear so I have narrowed my issue down to feeding that darn medicated food. Great news as I quit doing that already. Hopefully the algae self corrects in the next month or so.

PS if you want to take an indoor camera and put it out a window for cost savings... Don't.

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[Squatch XXL]

Next i am going to use this on my new pipe and fittings for my display, so that will be its final test.

For the basic & low pressure applications we do, a primer + glue is more then sufficient. I professionally avoid PVC like the plague. I HATE the smell of the glues, and they are quite toxic. When I am FORCED to work with it for money, it usually is schedule 80 and 8" and larger. We use paint rollers to apply primer and glue in that situation.

Good luck and the tank is coming along nice! I always loved 75g. They are a perfect size.

 

[saintsreturn]

Completed another water change a few days ago and have been feeding my regular food. All fast growth has seemed to have stopped and the emeralds are working away at the existing algae. Much happier now...

It still amazes me how much light comes through the closed blinds.

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[saintsreturn]

So things have been fairly quiet regarding the tank. The algae is coming back so I need to start making changes to the system to find a solution. That said, for the first time in months, my nem decided to relocate himself to a spot I have not had one go to before.

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[saintsreturn]

Added a new friend today. Not blemo... He is the tanks OG.

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[saintsreturn]

What a weekend! I decided to change out my filters on my RODI system and give everything a good flush before making the next algae ending batch of water. My system went from 0 TDS to 6 and the fun began. After several hours of messing around with it, i gave up and ordered new DI cartridges and put out a call for help in our local groups. I then moved 42 gallons of water from 5 miles away and started making water. at 130am local time, i called it a night.

I woke up to find that my water system was still in pieces from me rinsing and checking connections and my new mix was sitting where i left it in the garage. Salinity is right where i want it and all is good. Well... not really.

I put my hand in the water to adjust my eductors and thought "this feels warm." Checked the temp on the mix and found it at 92 degrees F. So i called off the water change and am going to pick up some ice today to try to bring the temp down before i change the system and scrub my rocks.

Apparently my awesome setup is going to run warm in the Texas garage and i am not about to put a chiller in the mix station. So now on to explore new options

 

[saintsreturn]

Water change is done and i scrubbed every rock with my contraption. The suction toothbrush worked pretty well and the damage to my setup was minimal. I had a couple corals self frag, but they were wrapped in GHA.

I also pulled out all of my stuff, changed the filter sock and added fresh carbon. I also decided to run phosgaurd for a couple of days before i pull that method. Luckily, today we are making the hike to the LFS and i am going to look for some working additions to the setup so i can avoid any further disturbances (if i am lucky).

 

[saintsreturn]

Added some new friends to the system.

1) restocking some snails
2) added two more emerald crabs
3) found a perfect sized foxface
4) picked up the beautiful mushroom

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