Taking it to the Next Level

[+brian.srock]

Hey everyone. First off thanks for checking out my tank and progress. I will try to keep the top picture current so I post my updates.

I became a member back in Dec 09 when I turned my freshwater tank into a saltwater tank when I was laid off since I had some extra cash from my severance package and lots of time on my hands. When I first joined I tried searching as much as I could and all I could find was people telling other people to search so I didn't really ask questions and just looked for info where I could on the net. I had recently bought a 47 gallon tall tank but guppies just weren't doing it for me any more. I guess I started with all the wrong ways of setting up a tank. My go-to place for pet supplies was Petsmart since I do have 2 beagles and get them food and treats there all the time. I asked some basic questions about setting up a tank and bought an Instant Ocean Hydrometer, 2 bags of live sand, and a bag of Instant Ocean salt. I used a long garden hose and filled up the tank then dumped the 2 bags of sand then measured the salt and dumped that in.

I was going to wait til mid January 2010 to get live rock since the cheapest I could find it for was $5 lbs. and I was unemployed but I found a deal on craiglist for $3 lb so as you can see I couldn't pass up this deal. Got 60 lbs. but could of done another 10 but I liked the way it turned out.

I spent countless hour messing with the rock work and the end results was a nice high very uneven, unsturdy pile which I liked. This was sometime around Jan 2010 so I checked my little test kits over and over and my tank was fully cycled using only live rock. Now it was time to go to the first real saltwater fish store so I plugged that into google on my iphone and made my way to first AquaTek then Gallery of Pets. I ended up with a clown fish pair, a couple of snails and some hermit crabs.

This was how the tank looked for 1 year! I topped off the water about once every week or 2 with tap water and fed the fish every 2-3 days.

I tried getting 2 different urchins but they never made it in my tank. I also bought a seaclone skimmer but it never really worked and I would empty the 1/4 full collection cup about every month.

So I guess that was my official introduction after a year of trolling.

[+Melissa]

Welcome! Have you discovered the rest of the "real" stores? I have a seaclone too, and ended up replacing the airline tube with silicone tubing so it was easier to tie into a knot. I pull out a lot more this way. It fills up about 1/2 way in about 5-7 days.

[+brian.srock]

Jan 01 2011 - The day the bug hit

I decided for my new years resolution that I would take better care of my tank and upgrade it as best as I could within my budget.

First off I was tired of the LR falling whenever I stuck my hand in the tank or accidently hit it when cleaning using the magnet so I took out 1/2 of the LR and put a trash bag out on the floor and with a bottle of gorilla glue I proceeded to glue these bad boys together.

I would of taken pictures but what happened was ...I got more glue on me than the rock. After probably an hour I had it all stuck together then it was on to the hard part. This sucker weighed 20 lbs and it was hard to get it in the tank using 1 hand so I had to use 2 hands and practically throw myself into the tank. Looking back I wish I would of started dry rock and drilled holes and used rods and glue to keep them stable.

Next I found a site that explained how to make the SeaClone skimmer actually work by dremeling the inner riser and adding an airstore. This worked a little but not really so I decided since I was waiting on selling my car I'd stick to some cheaper diy projects until that was done so I decided on turning my seaclone skimmer into a mini refugium. The main reason I wanted to do this was because since I had money coming I wanted to plan on what I wanted to put in my tank and I just had to have a blue mandarin so I researched everything I needed and learned their finicky eaters so I needed a way to feed them so decided on an easy DIY.

First I replaced the cheap suction cups with magnets and super glue.

Then I dremeled more of the inner riser as far as I could out and took out the tube on the inside and added smaller pieces of LR which I had picked up then used a chisel to break up even more for the size I wanted.

Then I had some cheato (which I was pronouncing as cha-toe) donated for free from Amazonia Aquariums

I also took a magnet from the boxes I bought and put some gel super glue on a side and let it lay on the cheato and now it's attached by a magnet off the side so it doesn't flow to the very top and into my display tank.

Then I got some Tigger Pods to help seed my new mini fuge

So now I have a mini refugium to help with providing an additional food supply and reduce nitrates.

Edited March 7, 2011 by brian.srock

[+brian.srock]

Not sure if I've found the real stores yet but I've been to most of them but everything is so far from me but as you can see the seaclone was the first to go.

[+Melissa]

My personal favorite is AquaDome. I just ask because you said you went to your "first real saltwater fish store". How is this skimmer working out as the fuge? That is a pretty neat idea. I got a bottle of the Tigger Pods too and put them into a modded fuge, so now i wait.. Have you noticed any new pods?

[+brian.srock]

The next issue was water quality.

Apparently I shouldn't be using tap water to fill my tank and I should be doing weekly water changes.

So I picked up a clear 5 gallon bucket for I think $8 at River City Aquatics and did my first water change in 1 year!

At first water changes were really hard for me to want to do because all the LFS were so far but I managed to prevail and one day while talking with a coworker he told me whole foods had RO/DI water for a fair price. I work right next door so this was awesome news.

I picked up a 42 gallon wheeled trash can at Lowes to mix and store my saltwater in the garage

Then went on a mini spluge for a couple other items needed

A mini 10 gallon heater since I'm only doing 5 gallon (10%)water changes weekly

Standing thermometer

So now I have my mixing station which now also include a koralia k2 I picked up from someone on here for $10

And for the tank a MarineLand Stealth Heater (which I know became recalled recently)

For the last year my tank was regulated by my house's temperature which was usually between 72 in the winter and 76 in the summer and those are the days that the heat or a/c was on and now it's at a constant 79 degrees

And I know what my temperature in the tank is now thanks to this thermometer

[+brian.srock]

My personal favorite is AquaDome. I just ask because you said you went to your "first real saltwater fish store". How is this skimmer working out as the fuge? That is a pretty neat idea. I got a bottle of the Tigger Pods too and put them into a modded fuge, so now i wait.. Have you noticed any new pods?

I'm on the fence with AquaDome. It is one of the closest along with Amazonia so that's a plus.

I had an issue while installing some of my other new toys and think I lost all my pods to my floor so I need to pick up another bottle after work today.

The stupid tube connecting the skimmer at the bottom came undone since it's not really a screw on.

I did manage to save the mini starfish hitchhiker that was in there and it's in my display tank now. The pods that made it in there were eaten quickly by my clowns.

[+KimP]

Wow, everything sounds much better! I bet your clowns are so happy now. Good job! Have you gotten in your new lights yet?

[+brian.srock]

Next issue to address was flow.

For the better part of a year I didn't have any until I managed to pick up a Koralia K2 for $10.

Lets just say it's better for my mixing station.

So the funds that I was waiting on came in and I got the itch back so I headed to Aqua Tek after work and picked up my current set up.

Originally I wanted 2 Vortech mp10s but I just couldn't justify the cost.

I came home with these 3 boxes

A Tunze 6045 to have a constant flow near the bottom half of my tank and a Tunze 6055 controllable pump for the top half.

To control the Tunze 6055 I got a Tunze 7091 Single controller.

I pretty much have pics of what was in the box but I am very satisfied with my choice

Tunze 6045 items in the box

Tunze 6045 everything attached

Tunze 6055 items in box

Tunze 7091 Single Controller

I still need to get the photo-electric cell for the controller to have it automatically go into night mode but for now I've been doing it manually.

I'll try to get a video up here soon but I am getting some nice water movement and waves at the top.

[+brian.srock]

Lights are on the way!

I figured I could start the build post and by the time I'm close to done they'll be in.

[+brian.srock]

Well now that I have a lot of flow in my tank the next issue that I decided I needed to address was evapoartion.

Between the heater in the tank, tunze pumps, and winter time I was losing a lot of water so after some research I decided on www.autotopoff.com

Well to tell you the truth I went to lowes first and tried to buy a float valve thing from there but it was a no-go so we'll ignore that happened

I purchased the FT-130 pump and their standard float value. I had some extra airline tubing lying around and bought a small clear trash can from Lowes

Here it is stuffed under my tank in the stand which barely has any room as it is

Here it is sitting in my tank on the back left wall.

Fuller tank shot

Notice i picked up a cleaner shrimp and watchman goby? Got those at River City

I just wish the goby would smile every once in a while

So I'm at probably a month of weekly water changes now and my tank looks so much cleaner and I'm sure my clowns are much more happy with me now.

Here's a short vid I made of the ATO in action

I also just purchased a very yellow plant waterer for $0.79 that allows me to fill my mini ATO bucket easier since space is limited in the stand

This allows me to fill what I need when I need it from my next item I picked up without having to mess with the bucket since it's hard to move back and forth with the tubing and pump in there.

Edited March 7, 2011 by brian.srock

[+brian.srock]

Well it looks like I won't be able to update the very first picture when I do have updates so I suggest subscribing since I am updating a lot of things.

So as I preluded with my little water bucket the next thing on my list was an RO/DI unit so I didn't have to lug the 5 gallon container through the store and in and out of my suv. After watching several videos of Mr.Saltwater on youtube (except the miliary training one was just weird) I decided on getting one.

Lucky for me Mad Reefer decided to put together a group buy through bulkreefsupply.

I originally was just going to get a 75gph RO/DI unit but when I saw the price in my cart I decided to get the additional 5 gallon drinking set up too

Thats a HUGE box!

I also picked up 3 reef safer rocks to fill in some voids that I've been meaning to address. These rocks are awesome! They are very porous and super light and easy to find ways to stack themselves. You'll see from my very first pic one of these pieces are at the very top of my rock pile and although it's still white it beautifully fills in the vision I had for my rockscape.

Going painfully slow I got everything hooked up under my sink.

I didn't know how big this thing was but it all fit and with the 5 gallon storage container I still have space for kitchen cleaning supplies.

I also picked up a TDS meter off amazon for $10 which I forgot to mention when I did my mixing station info.

Here's a pic of my standard straight from the faucet drinking water

See 16h. It wasn't that bad after all...

Ummm thats 492 upside down. Did I mention we don't drink the water here? Too hard and chalky.

Here is my reading though my RO drinking water storage container

Thats 76 PPM for drinking water! We have actually starting drinking the water and my 2 beagles too.I will say that I think this will greatly improve the health of my old dog hunter since I think the hard water was an issue for him and his hacking up spit.

I guess I failed to snap a pic of the water test once it went through the DI system but it was 000 all across!

Here I am filling my ATO with fresh RO/DI water

Edited March 7, 2011 by brian.srock

[+brian.srock]

Next on my list was a skimmer. After tons of research I decided the Aqua C Remora was the way to go.

Since I had some extra money and saved a bunch on choosing the Tunzes rather than the Vortech I upped it to the Pro model.

I bought it off of MarineDepot.com for $256 which included the skimmer box thats suppose to improve skimming by 20%.

So pictures online don't do this thing justice. Here it is when I got it it in dropped off.

It comes with a rio pump and it's very easy to set up. (although figuring out how to get the skimmer box attached was a different story)

So here's where I didn't think about what I had and what I needed.

I knew I needed a good skimmer and wanted one rated for 2x what my tank is.

I also knew, but forgot I didn't have any clearance on the back of my tank which is why my mini fuge is hanging on the side.

I tried hanging this on the left side. I tried hanging this on the right side. Just wouldn't work for me, why?

This skimmer is huge. Much too huge for my tank and I was trying to trade it out for a standard on day one.

No takers though and I didn't want to be out the shipping and have to all the drama of returning.

Thanks to KimP who has the exact same tank as I do she informed me that with help she was able to move her tank around so I decided to do a 10 gallon water change ( I can make as much saltwater as I want now!) and with the water level down I lifted with all my strength and was able to move my tank the 1 1/2 inch forward. Thankfully having concrete floors helped because I haven't hit the weights in quite some time now.

This meant that I could put the Skimmer on the back of the tank and not have to hang it on the side. I'm so much more happier with it now although it does take up some room in the back I don't plan on getting any high or mid tank level fishes. I do want to get a blue mandarin sometime this month. I'm trying to get an ORA Blue Mandarin but no one has them in stock so I'm seeing if Amazonia will order them for me. I'd rather have an ORA and feed it pods as snacks then try to make their whole diet out of pods because in my mini fuge I don't think it'll produce enough to make a diet out of it and I don't want it to die of starvation like they usually do.

Here's a pic of the skimmer sitting in it's location with everything else crammed back there.

I plan on hanging my lights somewhere in between the top of the skimmer so I'm hoping it'll appear to disappear with the lights up.

The only issue I have with the Aqua C Remora is it's a tad noisy. I didn't come across this issue researching but thanks to google I was able to quickly find a solution. It was the inlet pump that was making all the noise

I cut a piece of my butter top ( I actually got in trouble for this since I should of "asked" before stealing the top)

and super glued some excess airline tubing around it for support

Here it is over the inlet valve with the collection cup on top. Whisper quiet now.

I forgot to mention that once I pulled the tank forward I was able to paint the back black. I used rustoleum flat black acrylic with a roller and it looks so much better now. You can barely make out the black skimmer box from the front.

I can't wait for the super white rock to get some coralline on it now.

Which does take me to my next research project of Kalk and adding it to my ATO. I need something to be able to test what I'm at to what I need to be so please feel free to chime in with your expertise. I've researched many tanks of the month and the consensus is measuring alkalinity is key to coral growth.

Here is a current FTS of everything as it sits today 03/07/2011

Here's my watchman goby out an about, still not giving me a smile....

[subsea]

Brian,

I must congradulate you on your patince and percistance. You have traveled a long way in one year. Your last comment that alkalinity is the key to growing coral is not clear. You would have to explain that in better detail for me to agree with you. I think that feeding your coral is paramount to growing coral. Alkalinity is integral in the chemistry of the process, but it is very basic. I like what you have done with this thread.

Patrick

[offroadodge]

looking good, now when u go to get corals DIP them all...Dont take a chance on some1 saying "there arent any bugs in my tank", DO IT!!! even when i sell corals to people i tell them to dip as a good habbit to get into doing. Good progress in a year.

[RobR]

Looking good!!! Can't wait to see it when you get the new lighting.... what did you decide on for your new lights?

[+brian.srock]

Brian,

I must congradulate you on your patince and percistance. You have traveled a long way in one year. Your last comment that alkalinity is the key to growing coral is not clear. You would have to explain that in better detail for me to agree with you. I think that feeding your coral is paramount to growing coral. Alkalinity is integral in the chemistry of the process, but it is very basic. I like what you have done with this thread.

Patrick

Thanks Patrick. To tell you the truth the tank was just sitting there half ignored for a year. I only really got the bug late December. I haven't put much time into researching Alkalinity yet. It's on my to-do list so if you have any tips on how I can make a good tank great please let me know.

Here is an except from a Dec 10 ROTM on reef2reef.com that I read up on and need to understand some more:

http://www.reef2reef...reef-month.html

"Words of Wisdom: Proper Calcium and Alkalinity supplementation as well as strong lighting have always been key ingredients to my success. Additionally, I believe in high import/export of nutrients via large water changes, heavy skimming and heavy feeding of fish and corals. "Every tank differs, so it does take time to find that balance between removing the right amount of waste and feeding the tank. I advocate keeping a slightly "dirty" tank (slightly detectable nitrates and phosphates) vs. one that is sterile (0 nitrates and phosphates) so being a bit heavier on the import side seems to work for me. Faded, less colorful corals can be an indication that corals are starving from too much nutrient export.I also believe that stability is another very important factor in keeping a successful reef. I personally have a hard time with change and corals are the same way. "Stable" is defined in the dictionary as "firmly established, fixed, steadfast, not changing or fluctuating, unvarying, permanent, enduring". For reef keeping, this text book definition applies to such parameters as salinity, nitrate, magnesium, and calcium. And perhaps most important in my book for SPS is keeping alkalinity at a consistent level. My tank is happiest when alkalinity is in a certain range, but doing so on a consistent, stable basis is just as important. I do everything I can to keep this parameter rock solid and not let it swing significantly over a short period of time.

Last but not least on my list is maintenance. I can't stress how important it is to have a regular routine to keep on top of those water changes, check parameters, and perform any necessary maintenance on equipment. Keeping and maintaining SPS in a reef is a lot of work, but putting the necessary time in can reap substantial rewards." -Paul_PSU

Edited March 8, 2011 by brian.srock

[+brian.srock]

looking good, now when u go to get corals DIP them all...Dont take a chance on some1 saying "there arent any bugs in my tank", DO IT!!! even when i sell corals to people i tell them to dip as a good habbit to get into doing. Good progress in a year.

Thanks for the tip offroadodge. I do plan on dipping but I did have one question that maybe you can help with. Do I dip everything? SPS, LPS, and Anemones?

Specifically a torch coral that I'm buying off Melissa since that is probably going to be the first one in my tank.

[+brian.srock]

So last night I hit up lowes for 2 new items. One is a 8 outlet Timer controlled power surge for $20

It's not too bad but the directions are a little retarded.

Basically everything on the right side is always on. Everything on the left side turns on with the timer function.

There are 7 programmable functions but I only need one really so I've set it to turn on at 8am and off at 8pm.

I'll have my lights on it as well as my controllable tunze pump

On the always on side I have my heater, aqua c, ATO, and the non-controllable tunze pump

Here it is tucked away out of site

I also bought a 120v xenon light for $10.

I think my cheato wasn't looking that good and after reading a bunch of info it looks like the little betta moonlight wasn't providing it with ample lighting. I got out my trust dremel and took some more plastic off the collection cup lid and super glued it to the top.

Hopefully this will help my cheato regain it's health and put it back to work on cleaning my tank and hosting pods

Does anyone have more info to care for the cheato and if this fuzzy looking stuff is bad for it?

[mooric]

Enjoyed reading your thread. I wouldn't worry about dosing Alkalinity or Calcium until you have a bit of Coral in your tank. Your weekly water changes should help to maintain your parameters for a while. It's only when your coral is consuming more than the water change replenishes that you need to worry about dosing.

Btw - I would recommend a closed top container for your water top-off since RO/DI water can absorb things right out of the air. I have a small stand as well and use a small plastic 3gallon gas can I bought at Home Depot.

Keep up the good work.

Charles

[+KimP]

One thing I noticed in your picture is it doesn't look like you have things plugged into a gfci, or do you (sorry if I'm mistaken )? Also, doesn't look like you have drip loops, at least not on that top plug. Just in case you're not plugged into one, they are super cheap at lowe's/home depot and could save your house or life from fire. Cheap and easy insurance.

[+brian.srock]

One thing I noticed in your picture is it doesn't look like you have things plugged into a gfci, or do you (sorry if I'm mistaken )? Also, doesn't look like you have drip loops, at least not on that top plug. Just in case you're not plugged into one, they are super cheap at lowe's/home depot and could save your house or life from fire. Cheap and easy insurance.

Your right Kim, no gfci. I'll put it on my to-do list though. Thanks for pointing it out. The top plug is from the ATO system which is the only one without a drip loop but it's not in the tank and doesn't intersect the other lines so I think i'm good with that one.

[offroadodge]

looking good, now when u go to get corals DIP them all...Dont take a chance on some1 saying "there arent any bugs in my tank", DO IT!!! even when i sell corals to people i tell them to dip as a good habbit to get into doing. Good progress in a year.

Thanks for the tip offroadodge. I do plan on dipping but I did have one question that maybe you can help with. Do I dip everything? SPS, LPS, and Anemones?

Specifically a torch coral that I'm buying off Melissa since that is probably going to be the first one in my tank.

I dont have many LPS so i couldnt say 4sure but stonies yes, someone else will chime in and can tell ya more on the LPS side. But as i would imagine some kinda dip is probably in order.

[cMidd]

brian, its great to hear you got everything updated!

super glad you went with the goby i recommended a while back

[+brian.srock]

Had something waiting on at my door yesterday

No wasn't my lights unfortunately. Should be coming in Thursday though and I'm refreshing the tracking number every minute

But I did get a Whisper 40i since I've read up that activated carbon will help clear your water up and make it crystal clear,

plus it'll help with the now floating everywhere cheato and large particle stuff that the skimmer won't take out

Pretty easy to assemble. Just plop the 2 cartridges in and turn it on

Real Estate is now tapped out on the back of the tank

Here are some side views of my tank. If you look real carefully under my tunze pumps you will see the needles from my last sea urchin that I lost probably 6 months ago along with some cheato. I need to get some super long tongs to grab them though so i'm not putting my whole body into the tank

Edited March 9, 2011 by brian.srock