SuncrestReef Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 I removed the weir from my overflow for 2 minutes to clean it, and of course my pipefish got swept down when I wasn't looking. Now he's stuck at the bottom of the overflow and I'm not sure how I can get him out. This is on a Red Sea Reefer which has 3 pipes that take up most of the space, so there's no way I can fit my hand or a net inside. Any ideas to rescue it, or just accept the overflow as his new home? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmas_one Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 Take the pipe off and dump him out? Run your return into the pipe he’s stuck in and blow him out the top? Pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 1 minute ago, xmas_one said: Take the pipe off and dump him out? If he is small enough to fit through the drain this is what I do although I don't know exactly how the Red Sea is put together. In a "normal" overflow, I just unscrew the stand pipe from the bulkhead in the bottom of the overflow so the whole volume drains out. You may want to keep some flow going to help flush him through the drain. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted August 2, 2019 Author Share Posted August 2, 2019 22 minutes ago, xmas_one said: Take the pipe off and dump him out? Run your return into the pipe he’s stuck in and blow him out the top? Pics? He's actually stuck at the bottom of the overflow box, not inside a pipe: This box is 20" deep and has 3 pipes from the top connected to bulkheads drilled through the bottom. There's no safe way to remove the pipes from above. I'd need to pull out my sump and unscrew the bulkheads from the bottom, which is more work than I'm willing to do. I'm planning to use a 1" hose to try to siphon him out into a bucket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazyreefer Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 I had the same exact thing keep happening but in my 45 gallon they will find literally any hole to get through I was sure I had made it “pipefish proof” for them but they found a way. I really love the look of them though they’re such cool fish but I feel your pain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmas_one Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 Seems like you should be able to get him out with a little patience and an appropriately sized net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrabbyCrabs Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 The reefer pipes unscrew from the top of the overflow box, just turn the return pump off and unscrew one. The pipe fish should be flushed into the sump with the water. You can siphon most of the water out of the overflow before if you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted August 2, 2019 Author Share Posted August 2, 2019 1 hour ago, xmas_one said: Seems like you should be able to get him out with a little patience and an appropriately sized net. Not as easy as it sounds. Here's a diagram of the situation. He's 20" down in a narrow box, in between 3 vertical pipes limiting access: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrabbyCrabs Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 (edited) I've got a 350 and a 170, those pipes come right out from the top but it will siphon the overflow and what's above the weir grates. Do NOT remove the bulkhead nuts from the bottom. Those appear glued in place from the factory. Edited August 2, 2019 by CrabbyCrabs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 2 minutes ago, CrabbyCrabs said: I've got a 350 and a 170, those pipes come right out from the top but it will siphon the overflow and what's above the weir grates. Do NOT remove the bulkhead nuts from the bottom. Those appear glued in place from the factory. This is what I was suggesting above but didn’t know if it was possible with the Red Sea - sounds like it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrabbyCrabs Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 Yes, just remember counter clockwise to loosen. Going back together they only need to be slightly snug, any more and you risk breaking the cheap as! plastic red sea chose to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted August 2, 2019 Author Share Posted August 2, 2019 This morning I can’t find the pipefish. I think it may have found its way down the drain pipe, but I can’t find it in the sump either. I’m worried it got stuck in the diaphragm valve that controls the flow from the tank to the sump. 😞 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CuttleFishandCoral Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 Pull it off and check. If possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted August 2, 2019 Author Share Posted August 2, 2019 I used my endoscope and found him stuck in the valve. I opened the valve all the way and that flushed him down into the sump where I can now see him, but he’s not moving. I’ll need to empty and remove the refugium tank to be able to get him out. Here's the video from inside the overflow pipe, and you can see at 1:24 where I opened the diaphragm valve to release him: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted August 2, 2019 Author Share Posted August 2, 2019 He didn't make it. 😥 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danlu_gt Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 [emoji22]Sent from my SM-N950U1 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaywood Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 what was your experience with this type of pipefish? Did he get along with other fish, and vice-versa? Did you have any problem getting them to start eating? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted August 3, 2019 Author Share Posted August 3, 2019 26 minutes ago, shaywood said: what was your experience with this type of pipefish? Did he get along with other fish, and vice-versa? Did you have any problem getting them to start eating? The pipefish was great. Everyone got along, and he was eating live pods from day 1 with no problems. I originally got the pipefish to combat my red bug infestation, but he rarely went near the corals so that didn't necessarily work out. He just spent all day sucking up pods off the rocks, sand, and glass. Just very fun to watch. At the last meeting I saw they had some larger pipefish at All Things Aquarium. I might pick up a couple to see how they do with the red bugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 23 hours ago, SuncrestReef said: He didn't make it. 😥 Bummer. First thing I came on to check this morning. Sorry to hear. I saw some at Seahorse and at ATA when we were down there if you want to get your other one a new buddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaywood Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 My reef tank is 3 and 1/2 years old, how do I know if it has enough pods to support the pipefish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrabbyCrabs Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 Do they eat Frozen or other foods? Have a tank raised Mandarin that eats frozen but hunts pods all day. Do they need low flow tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 46 minutes ago, CrabbyCrabs said: Do they eat Frozen or other foods? Have a tank raised Mandarin that eats frozen but hunts pods all day. Do they need low flow tank? I don't have one but have been told by an LFS that they eat frozen for them and also do OK in high flow since they don't tend to swim much compared to other pipe fish and, instead, crawl around on rocks and substrate - sort matches what Suncrest has seen with his. FWIW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted August 3, 2019 Author Share Posted August 3, 2019 1 hour ago, shaywood said: My reef tank is 3 and 1/2 years old, how do I know if it has enough pods to support the pipefish? Take a close look at your rocks with a flashlight at night. You should see quite a few tiny pods scurrying around and scattering when the light hits them. Some will be barely big enough to see with the naked eye. Also, if you have a refugium you probably have a pod factory in there. If you don't have pods you can always seed your tank with a jar of pods from Algae Barn or other vendors. The jar you receive will just look like water with a few specs of dust. But under a microscope, you'd see thousands of tiny pods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted August 3, 2019 Author Share Posted August 3, 2019 1 hour ago, CrabbyCrabs said: Do they eat Frozen or other foods? Have a tank raised Mandarin that eats frozen but hunts pods all day. Do they need low flow tank? Mine never ate any frozen food, but then again they had plenty of live pods to pick from in my tank. Maybe if they didn't have their preferred food source they would eventually eat frozen, but I don't have any first hand experience with that. They seem do do fine even in higher flow. While they're not great swimmers, they are good at navigating out of the direct flow and shelter themselves behind rocks or corals that block the flow. From there they just stay low against the rocks and get around fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaywood Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 What type did you have SuncrestReef? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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