1000 Gallon Build- Here we go- Lots of Pictures

[vikinglord13]

I like the mountain/pyramid scape. The caves/holes on the left look like a great place for fish to swim through or hide. I wonder if placing plating montipora there in the future will make that section interesting.

[Socaltoaz]

We shall see. Maybe in the future. Just going very slowly with everything for the time being.

[Socaltoaz]

Calling the Apex experts.

I'm wanting to hook up the apex solenoid to control the washdown in my skimmer cup. I'm also wanting to add two float switches in the sump. If the water gets too high in the sump, the float switch will turn off skimmer pump. If the water gets too low, the return pumps shut off.

I'm going to order the following items:

Apex FMM module
Apex solenoid
Apex 24v plug for solenoid
Two apex optical float switches


The FMM will control the float switches and the solenoid.

Do I have this correct? The other option is a breakout box and float switches but then I need to control my solenoid also? Correct?

[mike810]

Do you have the EB832 or the old black EB8 power outlets? If you have the new orange power outlets, there is a port to control the solenoids. I have two solenoids which are run off the new orange/grey EB832 power outlets. If you have the new orange/grey power outlets, I would go with a break out box and float switches, it would be cheaper. FMM would also work for the optical sensors and the solenoid.

[Socaltoaz]

Originally Posted by mike810

Do you have the EB832 or the old black EB8 power outlets? If you have the new orange power outlets, there is a port to control the solenoids. I have two solenoids which are run off the new orange/grey EB832 power outlets. If you have the new orange/grey power outlets, I would go with a break out box and float switches, it would be cheaper. FMM would also work for the optical sensors and the solenoid.

I have the old EB8. I ordered a new EB4 as well as I needed a few more outlets. Is there any difference between FMM and a breakout box? Reliability? anything?

[mike810]

The difference with the FMM is you get a bit of extra coding built into the FMM I believe. So you can run the ATK as stand alone or you can run the flow sensors with the apex unit. The break out box is just that, run whatever switches, sensors you need to the break out box and program it. Can't speak much for the FMM on reliability but the break out box has been out forever without any issues.

[Redcar802]

Nice build

[Socaltoaz]

Originally Posted by Redcar802

Nice build

Thank you.


Question- more of a poll really- what is the optimal temp of a tank if you are running fish only. Also- what is the optimal temp if you are running a reef? Ty

[aquainas]

The range for fish only will vary based on the origin of the specimens. Since most fish acclimate to our normal ranges of 78-82F it might not seem critical, however metabolism and dissolved oxygen levels at higher temperatures should be considered.
Reefs are similar with the added caveat that corals are prone to issues at elevated temps. Some will say they acclimate to anything in the "normal range".
With that said I believe 78-79F is a happy medium once all variables are considered.

Cheers.
Shane.

[whyamisofly]

78-79°F is where I have always kept my tanks and have never encountered a problem.

[Socaltoaz]

Ph down to the 8.4 range- used to hover in the 8.5 range. No dosing being done. Any reason to work to get this down a bit lower or let it be?

[mike810]

Originally Posted by Socaltoaz

Ph down to the 8.4 range- used to hover in the 8.5 range. No dosing being done. Any reason to work to get this down a bit lower or let it be?

Let it be, your probe might even be off.

[Ojos22]

Originally Posted by Socaltoaz

After sitting on my *** the last few weeks recovering from a torn achilles tendon and healing from the surgery, I thought I would do a summary of where we are with the tank. I also wanted to reflect on things that have worked and things that have not in my tank journey in the last 20 or so months since the tank has been up and running.

Since my last bit of fish loss, Ive tested all the water from numerous sources and have thoroughly cleaned every last bit of the tank. Ive done weekly water changes and adjusted the fan in my fish room and have managed to get the temp stable between 80-80.5 in the summer. In the winter time I expect the tank temp to drop more.

We have not added any fish recently- and the good news is that we have not lost any more fish. Everyone that is in the tank is healthy, swimming and eating like a champ. So it seems that whatever issues we were having, seem to have settled down. Im planning on not having any more problems - Well, at least that is the plan.

So in looking back over the last year and a half, here are my lessons, the things I think we did well- and things that didnt go so well.


1- Do the type of tank that puts a smile on your face, not on the face of others. When I first started planning my tank, I had planned on doing a FOWLR. In posting my thread online, the community is very much into SPS. I got sucked in and tried to do an SPS tank with lots of corals. I had limited to no success. I tried dosing pumps, dosing calcium, Alk etc. I was just not able to keep my chemistry proper and therefore my corals didnt thrive like they should have. Likely it was a lack of experience and a lack of knowledge and in hindsight I put a lot of equipment in such as dosing pumps and reactors and such which just made the problem worse. I should have stuck to my plan of FOLWR and slowly over the years, added more coral. The good news is that I simplified my equipment- I sold my dosing pump, I sold my storage vats of calcium and frankly with just more frequent water changes, Im finding the water chemistry more stable than its ever been. Right now we are running a FOWLR but that may change if things remain stable.

2- Less is more. I have the best equipment money can buy. And when first starting out with the tank, I thought I had everything I would need. But then I started reading about dosing pumps and algae scrubbers and all sorts of other little gadgets. I added them to the tank. I started to get wires all over my clean and beautiful fish room. I poked holes in the walls as I mounted one piece of equipment after another. What I found was most of this while fine and dandy, isn't critical. I got rid of it all. all I have now is filter socks, massive protein skimmer and carbon and GFO reactors. This and frequent water changes seems to have settled down the tank significantly and water is more clear than its ever been.

3- Quarantine- nothing more needs to be said. I ignored the warnings. I thought I was buying from a trusted source. Until at one point where I had my tank full of some GSP and hammer corals and a few others and then one of my tangs got ich. I panicked. If I ran medication, the coral would die. If I didnt the fish would die. I screwed up and lost both fish and coral. Never again.

4- Go slow- It became a weekly adventure to visit the local fish stores and just buy whatever I felt I needed to buy to add to the tank. There is no fast way to grow a tank. go slow. Take your time. These are your fish that become a part of you and will be with you hopefully for a very long time. dont rush it. Take your time.

5- Learn from others. There have been some great people on this thread that have provided countless bits of wisdom and advice. You are all too kind and too numerous for me to mention one by one but just know that I am eternally grateful to you for helping me with my tank

6- Acrylic scratches. Man oh man, I tried so hard to avoid it. But after about 2 years, I need to get someone in and polish the tank on the inside. Just little scratches everywhere driving me crazy. Luckily I have thick enough acrylic that it wont be an issue but good lord acrylic scratches easily.

7- Planning is key- as much as I screwed up on the tank as we got it to mature, I have to say that all of the planning on the front end (once I figured out not to keep adding random crap to the tank)paid off. We have had no leaks, no issues with plumbing or any of the equipment. Buy the right equipment- most of it from Royal Exclusive- and you dont have to worry about coming home to a broken pump or cracked sump. the equipment has performed flawlessly.

8- Set up a good water change system - I was first using the Renew from Reef Genesis and while there was nothing wrong with it, i dumped it. Im still using the Storm auto top off which is fantastic but I just wanted to clean up some of the pipes and tubes in the fish room and getting rid of the Renew helped to do that. Now water changes take about 5 minutes. Im doing about 150-200 gallons a month. Super easy - flip a few valves. Let the water drain into the sump from the tank. Drain the sump and then fill the sump back up with water from my salt water mixing container.

9- APEX is your friend. I tried to avoid it for the longest time. Why, i have no idea- just to be stubborn and I didnt want to learn how to program it. Part of the reason is that my fish room is remote and I couldn't get my head around setting up the APEX but not being able to control my powerheads and lights. I finally just set it up in the fish room and left the lights off it. It was a bit of a learning curve but now I use it to monitor my ph, tank temp, turn my pumps on and off. Its great. some day Ill figure out how to do float values and shut off my skimmer and return pumps if the water level drops- really not super critical right now but I am enjoying the capabilities of the APEX. Highly recommended and as some of you know, you can go crazy with this equipment.

10- No one takes care of the tank as well as you do. Ive had a few folks come in and help maintain the tank. Even though I set it up to be fairly self sufficient, the gravel needs to be vacuumed, the acrylic needs to be cleaned. So to solve this, we lowered the gravel level significantly. Now i can easily clean the glass, do my water changes and clean out skimmer and filter socks. I do have a service that comes in once a month now just to verify water chemistry and make sure Im not doing anything wrong but most of the maintainance I do myself. Its rewarding and its fun.


Thanks for allowing me to share. Its been quite a journey. I think (hope) that all the bad things are behind me now and really to make the tank thrive I just needed to slow down. Just needed to not try to do everything at once and let the water changes maintain the chemistry of the tank. If they didnt make it so difficult to post pictures and videos, Id post more here but honestly its a serious pain in the ***.

This is such a great post. Everyone in the hobby has dealt with some sort of adversity at some point or another. That is what makes this hobby so amazing. If is was easy it would be boring. It would be just like going to YouTube and watching fish videos. It is the people that learn from their mistakes that thrive in this hobby. I absolutely agree with you on keeping things simple and do what you enjoy doing. If you don't want to keep any corals, don't.

Some of the best looking tanks out there have little to no equipment running them. There are many different ways to enjoy this hobby. If you want to try corals, revert back to lesson number 4. Go slow, try a couple of soft hardy corals and see how they do.

My advice, try not to chase numbers. If your PH drops a little don't worry about it. As long as it is in a range that should be normal. 7.8 to 8.2. Yours does seem a little high even at 8.4. My guess is your probe just needs to be re-calibrated. I use the PH probes through the APEX and they do need to be re-calibrated at least once a year. Normally I know mine needs to be re-calibrated when my PH keeps creeping up to a level that is not normal. I also have something to back up the probe. I have PH test kits and the Hanna PH Checker to back me up. Really easy to turn on and stick the probe in the water and read. Even that needs to be re-calibrated though. Ultimately how does the livestock look? Are they swimming around and happy? Are they breathing normal? Does anything look off? If everything looks normal don't worry about the PH.

I saw you asked about temperature as well. You do need to consider the livestock you are keeping and what they are used to. 78-82 degrees is normal for most tropical fish. What is really more important in that range is keeping the temp stable at what ever degree you choose. Fluctuating from high to low will stress your fish, inverts, corals. I usually keep mine at 78.0 to 78.5. My apex controls my heaters as a secondary backup. Heaters are allowed to come on <78 degrees and heaters shut off at 78.5 degrees.

Keep up the great work and keep us in the loop on how things progress!

[Socaltoaz]

Thank you very much. It's been a fun ride for sure. Really enjoying he tank!

[Socaltoaz]

Getting the tank polished due to all the scratches in the acrylic.

http://www.seeclear.co

Matt Conrad is the owner. I cannot recommend these guys enough. Tank looks pristine. better than the day it was installed!

[tastyfish]

Hey,

Just catching up with the tank after losing the thread for a few months! The new scape looks great!

Sorry to hear about the fish losses, did you ever get to the bottom of that? I was wondering if you noticed a temperature spike before you lost your fish? Sometimes spikes in temperature can certainly give a boost to parasites and pathogens allowing them to multiply and infect rapidly.

In any case, hopefully you’ve not lost any more and you can start to enjoy the tank a little more now.

Reading through the posts, I read that you were selling your home? Surely not this one though?

Cheers

Rob

[jd_bamd2k]

wow thats a sweet build. Nice tank!

[Socaltoaz]

Originally Posted by tastyfish

Hey,

Just catching up with the tank after losing the thread for a few months! The new scape looks great!

Sorry to hear about the fish losses, did you ever get to the bottom of that? I was wondering if you noticed a temperature spike before you lost your fish? Sometimes spikes in temperature can certainly give a boost to parasites and pathogens allowing them to multiply and infect rapidly.

In any case, hopefully you’ve not lost any more and you can start to enjoy the tank a little more now.

Reading through the posts, I read that you were selling your home? Surely not this one though?

Cheers

Rob

never did get to the bottom but everything has been totally stable the past few months. Still chugging along. Thanks for asking.

Originally Posted by jd_bamd2k

wow thats a sweet build. Nice tank!

Thank you!

[brett559]

Socaltoaz, you a Dodgers fan?

[RRA]

Beautiful set up

[Socaltoaz]

Originally Posted by brett559

Socaltoaz, you a Dodgers fan?

I am. Still
Have a house in LA but have been a long time dodger fan despite my transition to the dessert.

[brett559]

Originally Posted by Socaltoaz

I am. Still
Have a house in LA but have been a long time dodger fan despite my transition to the dessert.

Game 7!

[Socaltoaz]

Not a good game so far at all for the dodgers.

[BillNye]

Can we get a tank update?!

[Socaltoaz]

Originally Posted by tastyfish

Hey,

Just catching up with the tank after losing the thread for a few months! The new scape looks great!

Sorry to hear about the fish losses, did you ever get to the bottom of that? I was wondering if you noticed a temperature spike before you lost your fish? Sometimes spikes in temperature can certainly give a boost to parasites and pathogens allowing them to multiply and infect rapidly.

In any case, hopefully you’ve not lost any more and you can start to enjoy the tank a little more now.

Reading through the posts, I read that you were selling your home? Surely not this one though?

Cheers

Rob

So an update- yes we did get to the bottom of the issue. After losing a beautiful Gray angel, I had it autopsied. Parasites and Ich! apparently there were trace amounts of ich in the tank and essentially I nuked the tank. Removed everything, left fallow and set up a proper QT. Since then everything has been stable and no issues at all. Still a FOWLER but this summer Im planning on slowly introducing some corals and see how we do.