360 Gal DIY Reef Tank

[DaJMasta]

And so it begins..... for such a new and empty tank it sure looks nice

[don duncan]

Looks great Dale. Let me know when it's time to move things and the tank

[acropoorer]

Looks great Dale. Let me know when it's time to move things and the tank

Hey Don,

Could be a while before there is a major move as the dry rock has been very slow to come up. Still high nitrates so little or no anaerobic bacteria (at 6 weeks now). At the point where I may be ready to contaminate the rock with my old stuff and stick a bunch in there to get things going. Can't wait all summer as the chiller costs will kill me running two tanks with one in a very hot garage. Anyway, I put a few lps and zoas in the tank. Pretty! Watching closely, but they don't seem to mind the Nitates at 10 ppm. Here's a few pics.

[mdavis735]

holy cow.look at those colors pop.nice!!

[+ACampbell]

That's quite a line up.

[+mcallahan]

have you tried a bacteria in a bottle product like SeaChem's Stability? It worked well on my 90G that was taking forever to cycle. Once I added it, the cycle completed in 3 days.

[Brooks]

Hey Don,

Could be a while before there is a major move as the dry rock has been very slow to come up. Still high nitrates so little or no anaerobic bacteria (at 6 weeks now). At the point where I may be ready to contaminate the rock with my old stuff and stick a bunch in there to get things going. Can't wait all summer as the chiller costs will kill me running two tanks with one in a very hot garage. Anyway, I put a few lps and zoas in the tank. Pretty! Watching closely, but they don't seem to mind the Nitates at 10 ppm. Here's a few pics.

SO PRETTY! I can't wait to see it with all the SPS in it!

[Christian]

Nice corals. Love the colors.

[acropoorer]

have you tried a bacteria in a bottle product like SeaChem's Stability? It worked well on my 90G that was taking forever to cycle. Once I added it, the cycle completed in 3 days.

Hey Mark,

Where did you get it? I'm willing to try whatever it takes and would prefer not to add rock from my existing tank. Summer is closing in and I need to get this stuff moving so I can get the tank in the house.

[+mcallahan]

Hey Mark,

Where did you get it? I'm willing to try whatever it takes and would prefer not to add rock from my existing tank. Summer is closing in and I need to get this stuff moving so I can get the tank in the house.

Aquatek has it, or at least they did a couple of months ago. I don't know about the other LFS in town.

[mdavis735]

Dale,what did you put on your back glass?i know it is a film,but what kind?i have always painted mine,but on the new tank i'd like to try something different.

[acropoorer]

Dale,what did you put on your back glass?i know it is a film,but what kind?i have always painted mine,but on the new tank i'd like to try something different.

Aquatek has it in blue and black. Not sure of the name of the film but it is similar to the tint films in how its applied and removed.

[Brooks]

Any new pictures or additions, Dale?!

I'm dying to see it in person!

[atxmandarin]

aqua dome has stability and all other seachem products in stock all the time

[acropoorer]

Any new pictures or additions, Dale?!

I'm dying to see it in person!

Nothing new, still waiting... and waiting...

[acropoorer]

aqua dome has stability and all other seachem products in stock all the time

Thanks, already picked some up at aquatek and have been using it. No change in the nitrates. Aquatek Bruce suggested dosing vodka, may try small doses. He didn't think the stability would help much with nitrates, though seachem makes some claims to help.

[Brooks]

Thanks, already picked some up at aquatek and have been using it. No change in the nitrates. Aquatek Bruce suggested dosing vodka, may try small doses. He didn't think the stability would help much with nitrates, though seachem makes some claims to help.

I'm doing the Vodka dosing method in the tank right now and I've seen an improvement in growth and color. Not to mention 0 NO3 and PO4!

[acropoorer]

I'm doing the Vodka dosing method in the tank right now and I've seen an improvement in growth and color. Not to mention 0 NO3 and PO4!

Details? How did you start it? How much? Did you start before you had established rock? How long have you used it? And what did your parents say? It's for your reef tank, Yea Right!

[Brooks]

Details? How did you start it? How much? Did you start before you had established rock? How long have you used it? And what did your parents say? It's for your reef tank, Yea Right!

I'm in my 4th (I think) week of dosing. I started out with .1ml/25g, and slowly increased to my current dosage of 1.2 ml/25g. I'm using 80 Proof, 40% Ethanol DISTILLED Vodka. I used it after I already had established rock, and was battling some NO3 that my corals weren't taking a liking to.

The parents understood and I let my Dad read this article: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

That is by far the best article on the subject. Read it at least 2 times through!

[+mcallahan]

Vodka dosing can be useful, but there is too much variability in things going wrong.

I'd go the tested/measured/proven carbon dosing route such as the Polyp Lab Reefresh or the Brightwell System. Tested, proven and much safer. For example, the Reefresh system says you can double the daily dose with no ill effects.

[+mcallahan]

i forgot to mention that you could try carbon dosing pellets as well.

[acropoorer]

I'm in my 4th (I think) week of dosing. I started out with .1ml/25g, and slowly increased to my current dosage of 1.2 ml/25g. I'm using 80 Proof, 40% Ethanol DISTILLED Vodka. I used it after I already had established rock, and was battling some NO3 that my corals weren't taking a liking to.

The parents understood and I let my Dad read this article: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

That is by far the best article on the subject. Read it at least 2 times through!

Thanks for the link Brooks, and I was joking about your parents. I fully expect they would trust you without the article. Thanks again, Dale

[acropoorer]

Vodka dosing can be useful, but there is too much variability in things going wrong.

I'd go the tested/measured/proven carbon dosing route such as the Polyp Lab Reefresh or the Brightwell System. Tested, proven and much safer. For example, the Reefresh system says you can double the daily dose with no ill effects.

Thanks for the info Mark. For now, the tank is mostly empty and I'm looking for a quick kick start (preferably cheap). This dry live rock thing is new to me, but sooner or later it has to go live. My goal is to make it live, not sure that vodka or polyp labs will do that for me and if I try either it will be to get the rock established so I can quit additives -- don't want to do any long term dosing. Seen to many complex systems with periodic issues. I am hoping that the stability will kick in and get things moving. We'll see...

Thanks again,

Dale

[Brooks]

Thanks for the link Brooks, and I was joking about your parents. I fully expect they would trust you without the article. Thanks again, Dale

Hah don't worry I get jokes all the time!

[acropoorer]

Here's a quick update on recent developements. I have installed all my lights into the hood and moved most of my corals into the new tank in the garage. So far, chilling hasn't been so bad as I am running a night cycle with lots of fans. Water quality is still poor -- missing the magic yet so corals are not well colored but I haven't lost any. I still have 10 to 15 corals to move and not a lot of room left. Some of my SPS still has decent color but others are not so hot yet. LPS and softies are all doing well. Here's a few iphone pics from whats moved in so far.