A New Reef Begins

[IAreef]

Well after over a year of research and planning my journey in marine aquariums finally begins. This thread will follow me through the building and maintaining of my first reef setup, enjoy and feel free to comment.


My stand


http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1681.jpg

[IAreef]

And thanks to the miracle of the internet we jump ahead about 2 hours.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1684.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1685.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1686.jpg

[Phurst]

I'll be following along. Looks good so far.

[lReef lKeeper]

so will i !! lookin good

[CarmieJo]

I'm impressed already. From a pile of boards to a stand in 2 hours! I am looking forward to seeing your tank build.

[dkone]

Looks great so far, i can't wait to see more pictures as the journey into reef keeping continues!

[IAreef]

Well now that the main structure of the stand is built I thought it was time to start looking in to plumbing. So after looking at some plumbing setups online and scratching a few notes on paper it was off to Lowes. I never realized there was such a variety of fittings available for 1/2" and 3/4" pipe:o
Since I only had a partial idea of what it was I was going to do, and I didn't want to make any return trips for anything that I missed, I determined that the best possible idea was to grab a handful of all of the fittings available in the sizes I was going to use. (you should have seen the poor girls face at checkout:mrgreen:) So I'm sure I have fittings that I will prolly never use but hey they are there if I do. I'm hoping to get the plumbing mocked up in the next day or so, my skimmer and pump won't be here for a week or so, so I can't finalize anything until they arrive.

[CarmieJo]

Did you tell her why you wanted 37 different plumbing parts? Telling them that you want things for an aquarium always raises eyebrows.

[lReef lKeeper]

1/2" ?? and 3/4", what size drain and return do you have in that overflow ?? standard sizes are 3/4" return, and 1" drain.

[Coreyz]

Do you have your RO/DI unit, refugium/sump, do you plan on using a protein skimmer? Will you be going for fish & corals, or FWLRO? I sure wish I could go back in time and re prioritize the order in which I made my purchases. What will be the first live stock you plan on adding after cycling your tank?

[dkone]

I am sure you will find a good use for any spare fittings. I am always finding a use for more and realising I need yet more - fittings, it's like a disease, that spreads!

[IAreef]

lReef lKeeper the bulkheads that came with the tank had hose barbs on them so the guy at the LFS where I bought it traded a few bulkheads that he had laying around. How much is using smaller fittings going to hurt the performance of the tank? I haven't actually measured the hole size in the tank but I do know the bulkheads I have now drastically reduce down to the size of the pipe I am using. I can measure the holes tomorrow and pick up new bulkheads and fittings if need be.

Coreyz: yes I have a Ro/di unit ordered also along with skimmer and a few other odds and ends. I currently have 2 rubbermade containers one for a sump the other for a fuge, both hold around 20 gallons when full so I figure at normal levels they should add between 20 and 30 gallons to my overall tank volume. It will probably be a swlro (sand with live rock only:tongue2:) tank for a few months untill I decide/can afford the lights I want but it will end life as a mixed reef, I'm still playing with the stocking list.

[pvtdonut]

Did you tell her why you wanted 37 different plumbing parts? Telling them that you want things for an aquarium always raises eyebrows.

lol try going to a supermarket and going to the customer service saying that you need 75g of their RO/DI water from their machine that they have....for a aquarium....that really got em..lol and then going to the cashier and explaining to here when she asks why are you buying so much water...lmao.

[Skurvey Dog]

:goodjob: Looks like you're on the road to reefdom. Funny how pictures make things look so easy and fast to do, that is until you do them. You did a great job in 2 hours. Glad to hear your equipment purchasing is coming along nicely. Look forward to following your tank build.

[IAreef]

Upon closer inspection the tank will support larger diameter plumbing with new bulkheads. So I suppose that I will be ordering some of those also and putting the rest of the plumbing on hold for now. Thanks for the heads up lReef lKeeper. Any suggestions to where these would be available at reasonable prices.

[wildeone]

I found bulkheads a little tough to run down in town. I opted for Dr Foster and Smith online, I knew they had what I wanted. I see you are in TN, you may consider Premium Aquatics, they are probably a closer ship. Looks good so far, keep up the good work!

[lReef lKeeper]

wildeone is right ... F&S sells them and you can not beat their customer service.

with using smaller bulkheads you would have serious slowed down everything. a 1" drain can handle 600 gph at the bottom of the tank, but a 3/4" drain is more like 350 - 400 gph. so it would have thrown off the return pump size (because the drain could not keep up with what was being fed into the tank). and a 1/2" return would have had some serious pressure in the PVC that you will be running to get it back up to the tank, and the stuff we usually use is not rated for very high PSI inside the pipe at a certain temperature.

the holes are PROBABLY for a 1" drain and a 3/4" return. that is the "stock" size for most tanks.

[IAreef]

Well after a few days of tinkering and playing with things I think I have finally reached what I want to call plumbing V 0.1 I am sure it will change in the future however for now I think this will get me going. Any sugestions or obvious mistakes pointed out will be greatly apreciated.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1688.jpg


http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1690e.jpg

[lReef lKeeper]

those tubs really NEED to be connected. if they are not, and the power shuts off, one will likely overflow. if they are connected ... the water will even itself out between the 2 containers.

[IAreef]

Guess I should have mentioned that after reading your post in my other thread I ordered a few more bulkheads they should be here in a few days to connect the containers. Thanks for checking up on me though, its nice to know there are people that are looking out for others just because it is the right thing to do not because they have something to gain from it, and thankfully there are many here at TR that will do this. I only hope some day I have the knowhow to be one of those looking out for others. Thanks again to all those that have helped me get this far and for those that will help me in the future.

[lReef lKeeper]

you got it !! we are all FRIENDS here ... and friends look out for each other. i am sure one day you will return the favor.

[V]

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1690e.jpg


yup, few questions. reds from display, fuge tub on the left, sump on the right correct.? blues returning to the DT & you've taped off the return pipe to go to the fuge bucket yeah? If this is the case can i ask why you employed a bi pass, & second, forget thepower shut off factor- cause as soon as you fire that puppy up from your pump in the right sump, no matter how much you throttle the bi-pass bit, its going to continue to fill the left compartment. Water will not be drawn up you bi-pass natrally, & considering you have force coming from the right sump section, id say even less of a chance..lol

So firstly the guys are correct, bridging the 2 will solve the issue. bridge them staggered in my option, one at work horse level, & a redundancy at critical comfort level to be safe.

nice clean plumbing job though - did you use glue ? lol

[IAreef]

I had to add the return bypass because the return pump I am using is rated at a little more flow than what my overflow is going to provide so it was recommended by a few people to dump some of that return back into the fuge to get a little more flow in there. To your second question nothing was glued at first I wanted to put it all together to see what I thought of it and get an opinion from the forums since then I have glued about half of it and I hope to get the other half glued tonight or tomorrow.

[V]

:up: sweet, keep up the good work

[Small Fry]

Very impressed with all your work here IAREEF. Our stand designs are pretty much identical (accept for the size difference :p). Look forward to seeing your proggress on this one.

Have any plans for the future as far as filtration and lighting goes??

Skimmer??

Look forward to watching

[IAreef]

I have a SeaClone skimmer, I know they aren't the greatest skimmer on the market but I think it will do untill I try my hand at building my own skimmer in the spring. As far as lighting goes for right now it is simply a 48" shop light with NO bulbs. I am currently saving up for a more reef friendly setup and I think I'm leaning towards a T5 setup.
As for filtration I plan on around 100lbs of rock mostly base rock seeded with some live from a few local reef friends, I've decided to go with a SSB in the DT due to height limitations and have a DSB in the fuge with some rubble.

[IAreef]

Well all of the plumbing is complete and the tank has been running fresh water through it for about 3 hours now and so far no leaks or anything out of the ordinary. As so as my ro/di gets here, and i get sand, and rock, oh and a couple heaters, refractometer, couple a powerheads....wow and to think my wife thought that we were almost ready...:mrgreen:if only she knew:rotfl:

[CarmieJo]

Hey IA, getting it wet is good! I am looking forward to seeing it with some saltwater in it. :)

[IAreef]

Well its up and running with salt water and sand now. I just ordered my first batch of base rock from marco, also ordered all those little odds and ends that I knew I needed but never got around to buying also, refractometer, powerheads, heaters, etc. I know that there will be some water displaced when I add the rock but I figure I can use this for the QT tank and to have a little extra on hand. Which brings me to my next question does saltwater "expire" I was planning on keeping some in a 20g container with a small heater and a powerhead just in case I was wandering how often it would need replaced or if I use it for my regular water changes will that keep it fresh enough?

[CarmieJo]

If you keep it circulating you will be OK for a while. I have found that my pump heats the water enough that I don't need a heater in my mixing vat (a Brute trash can).

[IAreef]

Well I received my first batch of rock from Marco a few days ago, I must say while this is the first time I have ever bought this type of product I was very impressed by the quality and must say keep up the good work,:thumbs: and I would recommend to anyone. I scrubbed the rock down when I received it and then let it soak for a few days in a tub. Well tonight I couldn't resist any longer and decided to add it to my tank. I still have no idea what the finished product will look like until I get my LR (hopefully early next week) but this is what I have ended up with so far

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1732.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1730.jpg


The filter on the back of the tank was added to speed up the removal of some sediment left over from adding the sand.


Also in the few hours since adding the rock my skimmer has went into overdrive and there is also white foam coming from my drain into my sump. Is this normal, did I not wait long enough to put the rock in. I figured any left over biological matter on the rock would simply get my cycle started a little earlier than waiting on my LR, any thoughts would be appreciated.

[CarmieJo]

I would not worry about having added the rock. Letting the foam go back into the tank is counterproductive. My skimmer has an overflow tube that I run into an empty bottle. Can you do this with yours?

[Skurvey Dog]

I have a large plastic measuring cup(4 cup) that I hang on the side of my sump and have my skimmer drain line in that. :D Works great for me.

[IAreef]

Well I tested the water parameters tonight for the first time since adding the LR/BR about 1 week ago.

Temp 79.9
SG 1.026
Ammonia 2.5ppm
Nitrite .1ppm
Nitrate 0
PH 8.2
ALK ~2 Milli equaivalents per liter ????

the tests I used are a combination of red sea (PH and ALK) and seachem (everything else) I have not seen ALK measured in this b4 is there a conversion to dkh. I have also heard some disaproving of the red sea test kits however my wife heard me talking about it and "surprised" me with them after work one night. All in all I think the tank is where I expected it to be so early in its initial cycle.

[lReef lKeeper]

sounds like you are on your way to a great tank. i guess i am going to have to order rock from Marco ... everyone else seems to love it !! i guess i will do that when i get the 200 up and running, but that is another thread. lol

[Skurvey Dog]

I'm happy for you. I hope you used that to your advantage and gained "Matress" points with your other half'! :D

[Skurvey Dog]

"Did I say that?" :D

[CarmieJo]

It is not uncommon to see alk in milliequivalents per liter or meq/L. Here is a handy conversion tool SaltyZoo's Alkalinity Reading Conversion (meq/l / dKH / ppm CaCO3) Utility (http://www.saltyzoo.com/SaltyCalcs/AlkConv.php). The recommended range is 2.5-4.0 but I would not worry too much about adjusting it until you initial cycle is complete.

[IAreef]

Tested the tank for the second time tonight.

Temp 79
SG 1.025
Ammonia .1ppm
Nitrite off the scale
Nitrate 20ppm
Ph 8.2
Alk 2.5 meq/l

Also I have seen the first few signs of life over the last few days. I saw a furry pink football shaped creature swimming around the tank the other day, and have also seen numerous white "bugs" climbing around the LR. I have what I believe to be sponges growing on the LR also and I believe a tiny spot of what looks like Bubble algae comprised of 4 small green bubbles clumped together. So all in all I think the cycle is going pretty well.

[CarmieJo]

You are definitely on the way! I would attempt to siphon the bubble algae off without breaking the bubbles. You don't want it to get a foothold in your tank!

[IAreef]

Well all of the parameters zeroed out around the first of April, then the diatoms came, they are all but gone now so today while at a LFS in Memphis I decided to pick up my first livestock a pair of small Ocellaris Clowns. They survived the trip home and acclimation and are now playing in the stream from a power head. I'll try and get some pictures soon.

[mike_777]

Fantastic start so far. You build stands like I do......strong enough to drive a truck onto.

[CarmieJo]

Well all of the parameters zeroed out around the first of April, then the diatoms came, they are all but gone now so today while at a LFS in Memphis I decided to pick up my first livestock a pair of small Ocellaris Clowns. They survived the trip home and acclimation and are now playing in the stream from a power head. I'll try and get some pictures soon.
:pic:????

[IAreef]

OK here ya go...

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1876.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1837.jpg


http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1839.jpg

[IAreef]

After hiding out in the bottom corner of the tank for about the first hour they have been getting on nicely since last night, chasing and eating pods suspended in the water and feasting on some BBS tonight.

[CarmieJo]

They are looking good!

[Skurvey Dog]

The proud Papa! I love 'em! They are absolutely gorgeous. :up:

[IAreef]

Thank you all for the kind comments, it has been quite a while since I last updated this thread, the tank is doing well I started seeing the first signs of coraline growth about 2 weeks ago. But the big news is this.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1947.jpg
http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1947.jpg%5B/IMG%5D
It arrived from Reef Specialty yesterday.

250w 12k reeflux with dimmable ballast. I hope to get it installed this weekend, this will light the left side of my tank until funds become available for another.

[CarmieJo]

That's nice! Let us know what you think of the dimmable ballast.

[IAreef]

After a couple of hours in the wood shop I have the canopy built. It still needs to be stained and sealed but I wanted to give it a trial run to make sure everything is where I want it before finalizing. The back is open and the sides slide up for access to the tank. The pendant is hung with quick links on a piece of angle iron with holes about every inch so I can dial in just where I need the light. The top lifts off along with the pendant and then the rest of the canopy will lift of when I need more access. I think the dimmable ballast is going to be very nice allowing me to acclimate new species without having to move them around the tank or putting screens on the top of the tank. The only other thing I have noticed about the ballast so far is that when dimmed it seems to put of more and more blues as it gets dimmer, I don't know if this is the result of the bulb or the ballast but I found it interesting.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1970.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1971.jpg

[CarmieJo]

Where are you mounting the ballast?

[IAreef]

The ballast is mounted in an old stand from a 29 that currently sits next to the main display, that also houses 9 switched outlets for all of the equipment, my DIY ATO controller, and my lighting controller. After I recover the bottom of the stand to match the hood I hope to build a matching cabinet to hold all the various odds and ends that one acquires over time in this hobby.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1973.jpg

[IAreef]

Well in celebration of my new light I decided to go purchase my first ever corals. I picked up a nice green favia and a pink and purple plate coral. Pics to follow...but the interesting story is while I was there I met a fellow local reefer who had helped me out when I was getting started. He, had enough and was getting out of the hobby. He was donating/selling his tank inhabitants to the LFS, long story short I left with 3 green chromis and a midas blenny. I wasn't exactly planning on adding any fish at this stage but it has been a while since I added the clowns and both of these fish were on my short list, so I just couldn't resist.

[IAreef]

The favia

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1974.jpg

The plate

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1983.jpg

The chromis about 3/4" right now
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1982.jpg

The blenny still a little shy and hiding in the rock

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_1978.jpg

[V]

sweet bud, your tank is shaping up to be pretty #$^@#ing good actually. keep up the great effort! :up:

[IAreef]

Well after a long hiatus from the boards I have returned, I won't get in to what kept me away. Aside from a vermitid outbreak I'm currently fighting the tank is doing well. The coral I purchased from lReef lKeeper is showing good growth since arriving partially fragged, which was awesome because it looks like I am going to be able to trade a few of those frags to some local club members for a few others. I will try to get a few pics up soon.

[CarmieJo]

Hi Jason, it's good to have you back!

[bbl_nk]

Hey Jason, Looking forward to your pics. How is the favia progressing?

[IAreef]

well about 2 days after my last post the tank suffered a near complete crash, I lost the midas blenny, nearly all of the snail and hermits in the tank, all of the macro algae in the fuge, the largest piece of orange digi and I had written off the favia for dead. For those keeping track that left the 3 chromis, 2 clowns, and plate coral unefected. I tested everything I could think of and also took some water to the LFS to verify my results neither of us could find anything out of the ordinary. I did 15% water changes every other day for a week while continuing testing and other than a very small spike in nitrates, I'm guessing from the few bodies that I couldn't get out, nothing ever seemed out of place. I was ready to throw in the towel, I kept up with my regular water changes and daily feedings but that was about it the tank was in a holding pattern untill about 1 month ago when a coworker begged me to take her to the LFS to help her begin planning her first FOWLR tank. Well I think I was rebitten by the bug and now 1 month or so later I have added 1 firefish, a sandsifting star, and a CB shrimp, all are doing well so far about 1/3 of the favia has returned to life,while not as vibrant as before it gets better almost daily, the orange digi is showing some nice growth as well as excelent coloration, and I have also discoverd a "orange something" growing in a clump behind the rock work that I hope we can identify together. barring another tank calamity pics to follow.

[CarmieJo]

Man Jason, that stinks! I am really sorry to hear of your tank crash but I'm glad you are back!

[IAreef]

thank you carmie its good to be back catching up on everyone's progress and seeing all of the new members has been fun.

[IAreef]

Well here they are not much to look at now but compared to a few months ago they look like ToTM material to me.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_0017.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_0018.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_0019.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_0021.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_0015.jpg

I have no idea what that is in the last picture it just kind of showed up behind the rocks when I was cleaning one day.

[IAreef]

While at a customers home performing an install today, I came across a very beautiful 125g tank. After speaking with the fellow reefer I found a new LFS of sorts, a local reef enthusiast turned aquaculturalist. Well a few dollars later I was on my way home to introduce a new GBTA and a few mushrooms. The GBTA stayed put for all of two minutes before deciding to explore the rockwork, pics if/when he finds a new home.:D

[IAreef]

Here are a few additions over the last few weeks...

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_0069.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_0065.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_0078.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_0085.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_0088.jpg

I'm looking at getting a new camera before our vacation next month so hopefully my pics will improve soon :up:

[rayme07]

Very cool additions. Thanks for the updates and :pic:

[PhotoJohn]

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/jdbreef/IMG_0018.jpg

isnt this coral upside down?

[Apache]

lol. it looks good even if it is upside down!
You got some pretty nice rics IAreef.

[IAreef]

No, it's been in the tank for nearly a year, shown moderate growth, and the tentacles extend from the side that is up.