Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > Special Interest Group (SIG) Forums > Large Reef Tanks
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 03/15/2018, 08:25 PM   #151
nightOwl
Premium Member
 
nightOwl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,799
General Updates

03/15/2018 - Display Tank Updates

As mentioned earlier I started cycling the main tank. My ammonia levels are starting to rise so the cycle is well underway. I am still not seeing any Nitrite yet but the tank is putting off a very strong smell. I have been dosing Seachem Stability as directed and my two shrimps are breaking down pretty good. One is pretty much gone as it somehow keeps "swimming" to the VorTechs. Currently pieces are stuck to two of the three Vortechs. The VorTech pumps are much stronger than I thought. Even when I put the shrimp at the opposite end of the tank within minutes they "swim" back to the side of the tank the VorTechs are mounted on. The tank smell is pretty bad at this point but my Simplicity 540 skimmer is working well. The skimmer is dead silent and my only issue is it requires 10 inches plus of water. The the bubbles are so fine and the skimmate stinks! I am really loving this skimmer. Simplicity has a great price point and outstanding customer service. Hopefully the tank cycles fast. I am already starting to make my fish list and have been looking at frags the past few days.

03/15/2018 - Cycled Rock Updates

I have two bins of rock that have been cycling for a long time now. The bins are in the garage and as such have really been getting a lot of dust and the occasional wood chip in them. Both bins measure no Ammonia and Nitrite so they are cycled. I need to measure for Nitrate this weekend. The Phosphate of bin one is down to .05 as I have started dosing LC this week. This weekend I plan to do a full water change and see how much Phosphate leaches out. The second bin is really high. I have not dosed with LC and when I tested earlier this week it was .38 or something high like that. It is also the container that I found some wood chips and it had sawdust in it as well. I thought I had the lids tight on both containers but they have been getting dust as well as wood chips...lol. Bin 1 this week measured .05 for Phosphates and hopefully means I am getting closer to adding rock to the tank. It will be done in two phases but I am trying to make sure the phosphate levels are non detectable before adding to the main display.



__________________
To check out my pictures of my tank and trips just click on my name and visit my homepage.
Tank Build Thread (Miracles Custom) - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2628737
nightOwl is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/16/2018, 08:33 AM   #152
SPotter
Registered Member
 
SPotter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Mt. Pleasant, SC
Posts: 5,691
more pictures would make this more exciting!!!!


__________________
Steve

Am I really doing all of this for a fish tank??????

Current Tank Info: 360g Envision Acrylic Tank, Closed Loops, Vectra L1's, MP40QD's, 400w Radiums, Regal 300ext, Dastaco Ext3 CaRx, Controlled by GHL Profilux
SPotter is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/16/2018, 12:12 PM   #153
eonflux123
Registered Member
 
eonflux123's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Orange County
Posts: 93
Great to see you back my man!


eonflux123 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/17/2018, 08:16 AM   #154
iced98lx
Registered Member
 
iced98lx's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 2,258
Nice! Very exciting.


iced98lx is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/18/2018, 09:56 PM   #155
nightOwl
Premium Member
 
nightOwl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,799
Quote:
Originally Posted by SPotter View Post
more pictures would make this more exciting!!!!
Steve - I will try to make sure future updates have pictures…lol.

Quote:
Originally Posted by eonflux123 View Post
Great to see you back my man!
eonflux123 - Glad to be back.

Quote:
Originally Posted by iced98lx View Post
Nice! Very exciting.
iced98lx - Thanks! Did they resolve your thread issue?


General Updates



03/18/2018 - ATO Updates

I made some modifications to the ATO for the main display. I added a cord slot to the lid area, installed a new 12V DC pump, and the bulk head for the top off water. For the bulkhead that will used for topping off with new RODI water I added a acrylic tube and two float switches. This will also eliminate the splashing sound when water is added. One float switch will let me know when the water in the reservoir is low and the other will notify me when the water level is getting high in the reservoir. The other bulkhead I used the acrylic tube to “hard wire” my pump. I ran a little test tonight and it is working as I expected. I know the little pump has great head pressure as I used it to empty the tank when I was trying to sell it. Finally I ran the line from my RODI unit along the wall to so that I can add water to the ATO reservoir directly from the unit since it will be hard to reach the reservoir where it is placed.

ATO Project
IMG_1763 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Parts
IMG_1765 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Cord Slot
IMG_1768 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

12V DC Pump
IMG_1769 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Hi and Low Sensors
IMG_1772 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr




__________________
To check out my pictures of my tank and trips just click on my name and visit my homepage.
Tank Build Thread (Miracles Custom) - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2628737
nightOwl is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/18/2018, 10:20 PM   #156
nightOwl
Premium Member
 
nightOwl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,799
Continued

Tubing Run
IMG_1791 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Tubing Run Over Door
IMG_1792 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr


Tubing Run Under Stand
IMG_1793 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

03/18/2018 - Cycled Rock Updates

I performed a 100% water change on bin one on Sat 3/17. The Phosphate levels had been holding at .05 after my initial dosing of LC. The water looked pretty clear but once I started removing the rock it must have stirred up a lot of loose debris and the water became very murky. I am going to give the first bin a week or so and see what happens.

I updated my Two Little Fishes reactor to use some cotton coil to help when dosing the LC this week. Hopefully the cotton will help trap the precipitate that is created while dosing. If it does not work as expected I will just go back to using a filter sock.

After Removing Rock
20180317_163443 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Cotton Coil
IMG_1775 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Two Little Fishes
IMG_1777 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

After Dosing
IMG_1781 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr



03/18/2018 - Main Tank Updates

The main display is still cycling. Ammonia levels are still rising but I have yet to detect any Nitrite. The swimming shrimp seem to have disappeared. I guess the VorTech’s have shredded the shrimp to small bits. I checked the filter socks for any parts but did not see any pieces.

I also added a black background for days when I do not want the fish room to be seen from the main viewing area. I used some pieces of black foam board and in combination with the black overflow area it is going to look like a continuous back background. So far It is made of two parts that fold up nicely. Once I figure out how I will keep it on the back of the tank I will post some updated pictures.

I emptied the skimmer collection cup tonight as well. This the second time I have emptied since I started cycling the display. The skimmate by far is the nastiest I have smelt. I think it may be related to using multiple cycling products.

Skimmer
IMG_1782 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Inside of Lid
IMG_1783 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Chunky Skimmate
IMG_1784 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr



__________________
To check out my pictures of my tank and trips just click on my name and visit my homepage.
Tank Build Thread (Miracles Custom) - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2628737
nightOwl is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/20/2018, 04:41 PM   #157
SPotter
Registered Member
 
SPotter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Mt. Pleasant, SC
Posts: 5,691
Keep it going Henry! The attention to detail is awesome!


__________________
Steve

Am I really doing all of this for a fish tank??????

Current Tank Info: 360g Envision Acrylic Tank, Closed Loops, Vectra L1's, MP40QD's, 400w Radiums, Regal 300ext, Dastaco Ext3 CaRx, Controlled by GHL Profilux
SPotter is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/17/2018, 03:21 PM   #158
eonflux123
Registered Member
 
eonflux123's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Orange County
Posts: 93
How's it going Henry!?


eonflux123 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/17/2018, 10:27 PM   #159
nightOwl
Premium Member
 
nightOwl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,799
Quote:
Originally Posted by SPotter View Post
Keep it going Henry! The attention to detail is awesome!
Thanks Steve.

Quote:
Originally Posted by eonflux123 View Post
How's it going Henry!?
eonflux123 - It's been coming along slowly. I have been plugging away.

General Updates

03/19/2018 - Frag Tank Updates
My cheap EBay pH probe finally died. I thought it would last a bit longer but this cheap crap did not last long at all. For weeks it was giving off bad readings finally when I checked I realized it was dead. I guess you cannot expect much for $6.85. I replaced it with a new Pinpoint pH probe. The LED lights are still proving to be very challenging for me and the corals are not adjusting well.

Pinpoint pH Probe
IMG_1802 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr
03/24/2018- New Equipment
I like Simplicity products and as a result purchased a new Simplicity dosing container. The craftsmanship is amazing and the price is great too. Not too long after I placed my order I found out that they offered an accessory kit for it and since I have loads of float switches I added three to mine. I was thinking of building one of these but this price was too good to pass up.

I caught a good sale on two BioTek media reactors. I like the design but was not thrilled about the color. I ordered the red and black ones and plan to use them for carbon and GFO. They might even work as bio-pellet reactors.

Since the rock was still leaching phosphates and my tests were old I brought a new ultra low phosphorous tester. My goal was to get the phosphates in the single digits on the ultra low and then just hope for the best.

Dosing Container
IMG_1795 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Float Switch
IMG_1933 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

New Media Reactors
IMG_1801 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_1940 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Ultra Low Phosphorus Tester
IMG_1797 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr
03/25/2018 -Main Tank Updates
I pulled the trigger and added some of the rock to the main display tank. I tested the phosphate levels before and they were 0.00 ppm over night and they were reading .05 ppm. I decided that I would wait a few more days and see how the tank reacted. I loaded up one of my new media reactors about 3/4 with GFO and hoped for the best.

First Batch of Rock
IMG_1822 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_1913 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr
03/25/2018 - Cabinet Updates
My local glass shop was able to cut my glass order and I installed the panes in the cabinet doors. I must say they look they really turned out nicely. I checked prices for granite and I am weighing the option of just adding a regular counter top from Lowes or Home Depot and be done with them. I picked up a bar sink so the sooner I get the counter top figured out the better.

Finished Cabinets
IMG_1824 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_1825 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr



__________________
To check out my pictures of my tank and trips just click on my name and visit my homepage.
Tank Build Thread (Miracles Custom) - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2628737
nightOwl is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/17/2018, 10:29 PM   #160
nightOwl
Premium Member
 
nightOwl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,799
Continued

03/27/2018 - Cycled Rock Phosphate Updates
Pukani rock is pretty but this stuff leaches phosphates like no other. I have been doing 100% water changes every 4- 5 days or so and dosing with the LC. Once the readings read zero on my old tester I wait a few days and when it starts to rise a bit I do a 100% water change. The numbers were staying at zero for over a week and when I last tested with my new tester I was reading something like 8 which when converted was not bad at all. Phosphates also were in the main tank but very low. I order Cheato to help reduce the phosphate as I figured the rock would keep leaching for for a while in the display. I am down to only one bin of rock and the last few pieces are my really huge pieces. These were neglected while in the garage but now I have all the remaining rock in the fish room I can give it the proper attention. One thing with LC it works great but this stuff is rough on the equipment. I am using a two little fishes reactor stuffed with cotton and Seachem PhosGuard to catch the particulate and its really nasty. The cotton was bright white and after less than 10 days of use it is a dark grayish.

Phosban 150 Reactor
IMG_1929 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

04/03/2018 - Main Tank Updates

I did not have any algae cleaning magnets on hand that would handle 3/4 glass and after a little research I fond that Tunze had a magnet that would work for me. They arrived and the design is different from my mag floats but it gets the job done nicely. These magnets are strong and are not finger friendly. I ordered one for the display and the frag.

My Cheato I ordered form jtrasap arrived after some issues with the post office none on the shipping by him. It was shipped as promised but the mail man did not deliver all the mail on the route. Sometimes our mail comes as late as 7 or 8 PM EST. If they are running too late they just deliver it the next day. It just so happened they delivered it a day late and some had started to die off. The bag was packed though and I had an old Avast Marine media reactor laying around that I had to modify after it had cracked. I cut it down by about 2 inches or so and glued it back together with some Weld-on #16 and #4. I made a Cheato reactor added some to the refugium area and set it up to run 4 hours on 4 hours off. Before adding the Cheato reactor the phosphates in he tank were reading around .03 ppm. The BRS buld GFO was working but not as well as I had hoped. I added more rock and crossed my fingers.

Thinking long term on the potential phosphates from the pukani I also ordered some Phosphate Rx after watching some videos on reducing phosphates on You Tube. I ran across a video by melevsreef and I was sold. After seeing how the LC worked I wanted something I did not have to dilute and could dose without issues. GFO could get expensive over time and this seems like a cheaper solution in the long run. Hopefully one of these approaches will keep the phosphates under control.

I also got introduced to SPS AB+ lightening by Francis after complaining about my LED's issues. I set it up on the frag tank.

Tunze Magnets
IMG_1920 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Cheato Reactor
IMG_1921 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Phosphate Rx
IMG_1916 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

04/08/2018 - Main Display Updates

I finally got around to making some changes to my sump like using my router to add a cord relief slot to the refugium area and modified my 1/4" bulkhead holes. To do this I drained the sump completely and made the modifications. I also added my miracle mud to the refugium chamber and some of the rock pieces that did not go in the main display. I also added the rest of the cycled rock to the tank. Before adding it I rinsed it off under running sink water. I figured any killed bacteria would quickly come back once it was back in the salt water. The miracle mud made the tank cloudy for a bit but it cleared up pretty quickly.


Miracle Mud Cloudiness
IMG_1935 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_1938 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_1939 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr



04/10/2018 - First Coral Order Arrived

This was one a great first order. I ordered from Adam at Battle Corals and I could not be more pleased about his service and quality of the frags. I ordered a battle box and this a great way to get some nice gems. So this is where the excitement ends I was a little off on my measurements for my dipping formula and between that and the new SPS AB+ lighting schedule most of the corals below I am hoping will make it. Since then I have adjusted the lighting and really bring the intensity down. I have now given my self the moniker "Coral Killer" . In a few weeks if any are left I will take some new pictures.

Rainbow Stylo
Donkey Kong - dead
Battle Corals Secale - loosing flesh
Leprechaun in Pergatory
Premoberry
Jared's Red Devil Naustra - dead
Snipers Blue Something or Other


04/13/2018 - Main Display Updates

Phosphates have been reading zero and holding. I need to take a new picture of the Cheato reactor. I guess there is phosphate in the water because the reactor is getting full. I also seeded the tank with some pods from Algae Barn and these pods really look like they may take off. I ordered a 10560 pod package with 32 oz of Ocean Magik. I have been throwing in a few critters from the clean up crew I got for the frag tank. So I think the dwarf cerith or nassarius snails have laid the eggs.



Pods
IMG_1991 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Eggs
IMG_1993 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr



__________________
To check out my pictures of my tank and trips just click on my name and visit my homepage.
Tank Build Thread (Miracles Custom) - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2628737
nightOwl is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/18/2018, 05:47 AM   #161
SPotter
Registered Member
 
SPotter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Mt. Pleasant, SC
Posts: 5,691
awesome update Henry!!!!!!! how many more pounds of rock do you have left to add?


__________________
Steve

Am I really doing all of this for a fish tank??????

Current Tank Info: 360g Envision Acrylic Tank, Closed Loops, Vectra L1's, MP40QD's, 400w Radiums, Regal 300ext, Dastaco Ext3 CaRx, Controlled by GHL Profilux
SPotter is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/18/2018, 09:18 AM   #162
eonflux123
Registered Member
 
eonflux123's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Orange County
Posts: 93
Great update! Your detail in this makes it a great read! Phosphate was the bane of my existence with my old 75 gallon and I did a similar thing that you did with pukani! When I get enough income to get back into the hobby I'm doing a super long cure on my rocks before putting them int he tank! Your display is really sick looking! The depth is really interesting! What lights do you have? If the coral are not adjusting to the lights, I believe most manufacturers have an acclimation cycle for their systems.


eonflux123 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/18/2018, 09:47 AM   #163
nightOwl
Premium Member
 
nightOwl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,799
Quote:
Originally Posted by SPotter View Post
awesome update Henry!!!!!!! how many more pounds of rock do you have left to add?
Steve - It's all in there! There was like one medium piece that I put in the refugium. My aquascape is actually backwards from when I first did my initial platform design. I traced the outline and accidentally inverted it. I will take some pictures from inside the fish room and from overhead. I can already tell the inside of the fish room is gonna be my favorite. I am hoping it will give the fish some cool places to swim.


__________________
To check out my pictures of my tank and trips just click on my name and visit my homepage.
Tank Build Thread (Miracles Custom) - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2628737
nightOwl is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/18/2018, 10:01 AM   #164
nightOwl
Premium Member
 
nightOwl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,799
Quote:
Originally Posted by eonflux123 View Post
Great update! Your detail in this makes it a great read! Phosphate was the bane of my existence with my old 75 gallon and I did a similar thing that you did with pukani! When I get enough income to get back into the hobby I'm doing a super long cure on my rocks before putting them int he tank! Your display is really sick looking! The depth is really interesting! What lights do you have? If the coral are not adjusting to the lights, I believe most manufacturers have an acclimation cycle for their systems.
eonflux123 - Thanks for the kind words. This is my second time with Pukani well third really. It was the reason I had issues with my old 180. The key is to be patient with the rock and LC is your new friend...lol. Treating with the LC and doing the 100% water changes allowed the phosphates to equalize in the water column. When they stayed a zero for a few days I did another 100% water change. I am running the Reefbreeders Photon V2 and LEDs are much brighter than they appear. I finally found my old par meter and realized the lights over the frag tank was putting out way too much par for how shallow the tank was without an adjustment period. The RBV2 do not have an acclimation cycle built in and its not like MH lights where you can just throw them in and they will be fine. I have now learned my lesson after killing off most of my Battle Corals. I made adjustments to the SPS AB+ light program and reduced everything in half. I still need to find an export of the program to see how they ramp up. Mine were set at 100% for UV, Blue, Royal Blue and 24% White, Green, and Red. I now have this at 50% and 12% respectively. But think I need to ramp up to that over the course of a hour or two set at max then ramp down. If the corals make it through I will place another other in the future but I have some more corals coming soon. This was just an expensive tough lesson to learn.


__________________
To check out my pictures of my tank and trips just click on my name and visit my homepage.
Tank Build Thread (Miracles Custom) - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2628737
nightOwl is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/18/2018, 02:46 PM   #165
nightOwl
Premium Member
 
nightOwl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,799
I can't get a good shot of the aquascape from above no matter what I do. Below are a few of the picture I tried to to capture. It's had to really get a sense of the the crevices from either side. But its basically going to be a cove area and an open swimming area for those that like to hang out in the open. I also added a picture of my one fish that is in the frag tank. I don't think he will be with me much longer. He does not swim very far anymore and looks like he is just trying to hold on. I have had him since 2004 or so...in fish years I guess he is pretty old. He has survived 3 tank crashes and 4 different females.

My One and Only Fish
IMG_2045 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

From Inside
IMG_2051 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Top Right
IMG_2055 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Top Left Side
IMG_2057 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Full Top Down
20180418_154519_HDR by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Extra Rock
IMG_2072 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Cheato Growth
Left is 4/3 right is 04/18
CheatoGrowth by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr


__________________
To check out my pictures of my tank and trips just click on my name and visit my homepage.
Tank Build Thread (Miracles Custom) - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2628737
nightOwl is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/18/2018, 07:57 PM   #166
SPotter
Registered Member
 
SPotter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Mt. Pleasant, SC
Posts: 5,691
love the aquascape Henry!!!!! lets get some fish in there!!!!!


__________________
Steve

Am I really doing all of this for a fish tank??????

Current Tank Info: 360g Envision Acrylic Tank, Closed Loops, Vectra L1's, MP40QD's, 400w Radiums, Regal 300ext, Dastaco Ext3 CaRx, Controlled by GHL Profilux
SPotter is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/19/2018, 07:34 AM   #167
nightOwl
Premium Member
 
nightOwl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,799
Quote:
Originally Posted by SPotter View Post
love the aquascape Henry!!!!! lets get some fish in there!!!!!
It's gonna be a while for the fish. I need to let he pods establish for a few weeks or so. I think I will be ordering a clean up crew soon. I have not run the the lights on the display since nothing is in there. The couple of snails and two hermit crabs will not be able to keep up with the algae once the lights are running.

This is how big my first harvest was....it filled the container.

20180418_185640 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

20180418_185627 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr


__________________
To check out my pictures of my tank and trips just click on my name and visit my homepage.
Tank Build Thread (Miracles Custom) - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2628737
nightOwl is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/19/2018, 07:02 PM   #168
saf1
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: California
Posts: 2,259
Great job. Question if you will on your 1" sea swirls. I am also using a pair and wondering if you have anything on the end / output to direct water. Or are you just leaving it with the default elbow? That is how mine are currently set. I was thinking about adding a random flow generator from Vivid but their current solution would extend it from the sea swirl elbow too much for me.

Regarding the rock you are using, the dry Pukani. I ordered about 150lbs from them also and it is pretty interesting stuff. I didn't order the large sizes but at least one piece in each of the boxes I received easily exceeded 18" in size. My better half was teasing me asking if I accidently ordered landscape material for our front yard... My tank finished its cycle the end of February or first week of March. I only flipped the lights on this past weekend and transferred my 40 breeder over.

While I like the rock, and yours is also nice, I probably would never do it again. My routine was unbox, pressure wash, 24 hours in bleach, rinse, another 24 hours in bleach, rinse, 24 more hours in bleach, rinse, add lanthanum chloride, 24 hours, rinse, more lanthanum chloride, 24 hours, rinse, pressure wash, aquascape in tank, add ri/ro water, salt mix, extra heavy dose of dechlorinator to be safe, and rode it out for about a month before moving the tank or adding lights.

Again great setup - virtual High Five.


__________________
-saf1

Current Tank Info: 210 gallon mixed reef
saf1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/19/2018, 08:16 PM   #169
nightOwl
Premium Member
 
nightOwl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,799
Quote:
Originally Posted by saf1 View Post
Great job. Question if you will on your 1" sea swirls. I am also using a pair and wondering if you have anything on the end / output to direct water. Or are you just leaving it with the default elbow? That is how mine are currently set. I was thinking about adding a random flow generator from Vivid but their current solution would extend it from the sea swirl elbow too much for me.

Regarding the rock you are using, the dry Pukani. I ordered about 150lbs from them also and it is pretty interesting stuff. I didn't order the large sizes but at least one piece in each of the boxes I received easily exceeded 18" in size. My better half was teasing me asking if I accidently ordered landscape material for our front yard... My tank finished its cycle the end of February or first week of March. I only flipped the lights on this past weekend and transferred my 40 breeder over.

While I like the rock, and yours is also nice, I probably would never do it again. My routine was unbox, pressure wash, 24 hours in bleach, rinse, another 24 hours in bleach, rinse, 24 more hours in bleach, rinse, add lanthanum chloride, 24 hours, rinse, more lanthanum chloride, 24 hours, rinse, pressure wash, aquascape in tank, add ri/ro water, salt mix, extra heavy dose of dechlorinator to be safe, and rode it out for about a month before moving the tank or adding lights.

Again great setup - virtual High Five.

Thanks for the kind words. Not sure if you can see it or not in the picture below but the ones on the end I have a y split on them and then two fan nozzles. The two towards the overflow I only have one nozzle on currently. I have been too lazy to dig out the other nozzle. Maybe I will get that done sometime this weekend....lol. Let me know if you need a better picture. They extend further than I would like but I am hoping once all the pretty corals grown in (once I can keep them alive) people won't notice. I also plan to re-frame the tank. I want to bring the top part down a bit so you only see the water line.

Funny story about the Pukani...those big pieces are so amazing. I am crossing my fingers for you on the rock treatment. I have learned you can not rush this stuff. My first tank looked pretty when people first started using it then I fought phosphates until the tank crashed. What is your current phosphate reading?

Right back at you with the virtual high five .

IMG_1939 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr


__________________
To check out my pictures of my tank and trips just click on my name and visit my homepage.
Tank Build Thread (Miracles Custom) - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2628737
nightOwl is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/20/2018, 07:47 AM   #170
McPuff
Registered Member
 
McPuff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,735
Quote:
Originally Posted by nightOwl View Post
Just one suggestion with the rock work on the left side of the picture and that is to create a small "window" or arch in the rock work so you can see the lagoon area. It just seems like a large portion of the space is not viewable... or not very easily anyway. And there isn't much open space between the rock and the viewing panel.


McPuff is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/20/2018, 08:37 AM   #171
nightOwl
Premium Member
 
nightOwl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,799
Quote:
Originally Posted by McPuff View Post
Just one suggestion with the rock work on the left side of the picture and that is to create a small "window" or arch in the rock work so you can see the lagoon area. It just seems like a large portion of the space is not viewable... or not very easily anyway. And there isn't much open space between the rock and the viewing panel.
McPuff - It's hard to tell from the the pictures but the lagoon is visible when you are standing in front of the tank . The distortion of 3/4 glass makes it hard for me to get a good picture. It is also really visible at the end of the tank...lol. From the inside of the fish room you can see it also. On the fish room side there is the "window/arch" you speak of too. It hard to get a good picture since it is not exactly perpendicular to the glass. Once I get some corals in there it will be easier to tell right now the Pukani rock just blends together in the photos. Lastly its kinda deceptive of how much space is between the rock and the viewing panel. In the front its about 4" at the closest point and on the backside its about 6". I may play around with the aquascape a bit to make it more visible but I am a little limited by the size of the rocks...lol. Thanks for the input it helps when trying to get it just right.


__________________
To check out my pictures of my tank and trips just click on my name and visit my homepage.
Tank Build Thread (Miracles Custom) - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2628737
nightOwl is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/20/2018, 09:28 AM   #172
McPuff
Registered Member
 
McPuff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,735
Quote:
Originally Posted by nightOwl View Post
McPuff - It's hard to tell from the the pictures but the lagoon is visible when you are standing in front of the tank . The distortion of 3/4 glass makes it hard for me to get a good picture. It is also really visible at the end of the tank...lol. From the inside of the fish room you can see it also. On the fish room side there is the "window/arch" you speak of too. It hard to get a good picture since it is not exactly perpendicular to the glass. Once I get some corals in there it will be easier to tell right now the Pukani rock just blends together in the photos. Lastly its kinda deceptive of how much space is between the rock and the viewing panel. In the front its about 4" at the closest point and on the backside its about 6". I may play around with the aquascape a bit to make it more visible but I am a little limited by the size of the rocks...lol. Thanks for the input it helps when trying to get it just right.
I didn't mean to be critical so I hope it wasn't taken that way. You're right that it's hard to tell with the white on white of the rock. In my tank, I must have re-arranged and/or removed a few rocks multiple times to get it where I now feel mostly happy with the result. It will be cool to see yours with the corals and fish. Will look terrific.


McPuff is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/20/2018, 10:36 AM   #173
shred5
Registered Member
 
shred5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Waukesha , WI
Posts: 4,998
Love the build.

Did you make the chaeto reactor? I am guessing you did If so what brand is the reactor?

did I miss what lights are you using?


__________________
David Polzin

Last edited by shred5; 04/20/2018 at 10:43 AM.
shred5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/20/2018, 12:45 PM   #174
nightOwl
Premium Member
 
nightOwl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,799
Quote:
Originally Posted by shred5 View Post
Love the build.

Did you make the chaeto reactor? or did you buy it? If so what brand is it?

did I miss what lights are you using?
shred5 - I made it myself from an old media reactor I had. Its made from an old Avast Marine media reactor I brought used. It cracked near the top and I just cut off the damaged part and glued it back together. I brought the light from Amazon and it has worked pretty good. Cheap little DIY project and as you can see I love them. The lights on the reactor can be found here. Couple of zip ties and you are good. For the tank I am using ReefBreeders V2 Photons.


__________________
To check out my pictures of my tank and trips just click on my name and visit my homepage.
Tank Build Thread (Miracles Custom) - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2628737
nightOwl is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/20/2018, 12:49 PM   #175
shred5
Registered Member
 
shred5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Waukesha , WI
Posts: 4,998
Quote:
Originally Posted by nightOwl View Post
shred5 - I made it myself from an old media reactor I had. Its made from an old Avast Marine media reactor I brought used. It cracked near the top and I just cut off the damaged part and glued it back together. I brought the light from Amazon and it has worked pretty good. Cheap little DIY project and as you can see I love them. The lights on the reactor can be found here. Couple of zip ties and you are good. For the tank I am using ReefBreeders V2 Photons.
Thanks
Yea I figured you made it i just never saw a reactor before.


__________________
David Polzin
shred5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:44 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.