skot Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 Well this tank has had a shaky start. I missed having tanks since it was my main interest starting in early 2000. I don't know how i managed to stay married occupying a section of a house with 120g FW, 30g mixed reef, 20L frogfish pair, 72g bow mixed and a 7g Mantis tank in the kitchen. All where dissembled and sold off when i moved to Texas in 2006. Fast forward to 2010, buying a house and having a space to setup my aquatic addiction once again. I ended up buying a 58 gallon (36 x 18 x 20) Oceanic set up of Craigslist. Just the tank, rock, stand and old converted wet/dry plastic tub sump. I was all gung-ho and joined ARC a few months after moving in. I actually found a picture of it (thanks Google archiving) it will be the first listed below The water just circulated for maybe 6 months. Never bought corals, fish or even inverts. I have some old tonga i saved from back in the day. I've always loved the weird things, mainly Frogfish. The LFS's never seemed to have them and if they did it was the more common types i was not interested in. That was a real bummer since i've never had to order fish online and was sketchy of it in the first place. Frogfish especially. I lost my passion and never got back into it. While away for a work trip my wife thought it would be a good to start taking the tank down. Since i really wasn't going to start up with it. Unfortunately in the process her and her friend added a multitude of scratches int he front glass dragging the large live rock out I moved it in the garage where it sat for 8 years. Fast forward even further to the beginning of this year. I have no clue what triggered it but i got the bug again! I think i had a hobby void i needed to fill and it only seemed natural. I knew this time around i would focus more or coral keeping. I never really payed much attention, just threw stuff in an it mostly worked. I liked the idea of all the new controllers, theories and setups people were using. with the background story out of the way.... onto the tank stuffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skot Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 I'm a tinker and like equipment, gadgets and just plain building stuff. I knew i want a real sump that had proper sections. I went with a Trigger Systems 26" that would fit in the stand... barely. Im still using my old skimmer from many moons ago. Its a Top Fathom rated for over 100 gallons. It is not very efficient and uses outdated methods. I have a Mag7 pump on it and it utilizes a venturi effect for bubble production. I only have 1 fish so i think im getting by for now. Its on my lift if i ever stock the tank more. I try to stick with what i know and have worked with before. IMO simple and natural is better. In the fuge section i have just a little rock and lots of Chaeto. The algae houses the pod population for my Leopard Wrasse; which does not eat frozen yet. Return pump is a Sicce - syncra silent 714 gph. Seems to be providing enough turnover. I plumbed everything with 1.5" SH80. I need to redo the return line and take it down to 1.25 maybe. Need to try and create a little restriction to slow it down. The extra head pressure might make the power OFF to ON less sketchy. The tank fills up a bit faster then the drain allows. No overflows yet but its close. I have a single bulkhead drain which is mildly adjusted with a ball valve to quite it down. On a future tank i will be doing one of the 3 drain herby sp? style deals. I use a normal felt filter sock to clear the water up and change it when ever i remember which im bad about. Im using a PAR LED bulb for the fuge on an opposite day light cycle. It grows for sure. i can try to find the bulb name from amazon if anyone wants to try it. For an ATO im using the Neptune ATK. i have not had much luck with it. Its had failed sensors which i've had replaced and the module seems to error out a lot. I can not trust it and always have to look at the levels and manually set it to on via the Apex app to make sure its topped off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skot Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 The tank is still really young, maybe 6 months old? So i don't have any cool grow out yet. Just frags and stuff to try and fill it out. So the picture of the tank as it sits are lack luster but its been a fun ride so far. As to can see from the first picture of the tank i posted above i was using a compact florescent fixture from Odyssey. That was my first real light ever. I also had a PTO 250w HQI MH 20k which i loved, but i didn't have a bulb for it. I got around to getting a new bulb and ran it at first. Color and shimmer was great. The temp and evaporation that comes which that... not so much. Wanted to try new things and get caught up with the times so i looked into LEDs. Some of the fixtures people like are a bit beyond what i want to commit to right now. At 2k in just lighting that's hard to swallow for me right now with not much to grow. So i went with a pair of Kessil A360 tuna blues. I have to say the shimmer they give is very close to the MH (which i think is king). I need to look into a PAR meter later to really dial them in. I never thought about having to do that before. This is like the space age of reefing for me. In the past lots of light and boom you grew corals. Now with all the crazy colors and temperament of things i can see the need to dial them in to get the most out your corals. Now onto the controllers. WOW this is where my mind gets blown. I got a Apex and i love being able to program outlets, urn them off and on with my phone. Write programs and link things together. Its just awesome. Looking at all the eye candy i saw on YT i knew i wanted to build a cabinet to house all of it. So i looked around and found a good with with the foot print i wanted at IKEA. I didn't think about the screwing stuff part so i ended up adding a section of plywood to the back of it. Again with the gadgets i found a good deal on a used Neptune DOS on CL and bought that with the intention of using it later. I was just dosing kalk to bring things up. My stock is low so i switched back to normal RO water till levels drop off after items get added and start consuming more. For test kits a got a few of the Hanna checkers which are very easy to use. As of right now Alk 9.6 Calc 590 Mag 1300. Calcs a bit high but that's from a bump of my DOS primer which is setting back down. I recently installed a Maxspect Gyre 230. Its a bit overpowered for my tank so i have to tun it down really low to not blow my zoos of their rocks. With the controller i can add a 2nd one and might buy the smaller version one to run them in alternating patterns. So far im still liking it way more then the pair of Hydors i first installed in the tank. The varied turbulence seems much more natural. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skot Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 Again I'm not very happy with the current state of the tank besides the lack of nuisance algae. But i know it all comes with time and with saltwater patience is the golden rule. I hope to learn more about the inner workings and chemistry to try and provide the best environment for all the animals in the tank. Getting that extra edge on promoting growth will feel like using a cheat code. So here are some arbitrary shot of what currently in the tank to document that grown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skot Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 Ok last post. Now that all of thats out of the way i can just post update here is the last few shots of whats inside for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skot Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 One last thing to carry over from a post i made in another section. i struggled with steady PH perimeters . I monitored via the apex and double checked with a normal test kit. It would swing as low as mid 7's and get up to maybe 8 during the day. I wanted to keep it to 8 as a min. I got a C02 scrubber from Bulk Reef Supply and it has helped a ton. Minimum is 8 now and and the swings are very low 0.1 maybe, day and night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 Tank is looking good. I see you have a leopard wrasse, that's very cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skot Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 Yeah the Leopard wrasse is one of my all time favorites. I had a pair in the past and one decided to kamikaze out the tank. Luckily we heard it and was able to throw it back in. He lived and had no issues. I'd love to get a Mystery Wrasse one day. My wallet keeps holding me back lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 Great work on the tank and the build thread itself. Reading it was like enjoying a blast from the past as you discussed older equipment and but also was fun to hear your updates as to what you bought to replace that equipment.Looks like you've gotten a great start already and congrats on the gorgeous leopard wrasse! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Dogfish Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 21 hours ago, skot said: One last thing to carry over from a post i made in another section. i struggled with steady PH perimeters . I monitored via the apex and double checked with a normal test kit. It would swing as low as mid 7's and get up to maybe 8 during the day. I wanted to keep it to 8 as a min. I got a C02 scrubber from Bulk Reef Supply and it has helped a ton. Minimum is 8 now and and the swings are very low 0.1 maybe, day and night. Im having a PH issue with my new tank also. Its a steady decline. I think the room might have a high co2 issue. The only fresh air in the tank room is the house A/C. How much of an increase did you see as a daily average? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skot Posted March 26, 2018 Author Share Posted March 26, 2018 8 minutes ago, Dogfish said: Im having a PH issue with my new tank also. Its a steady decline. I think the room might have a high co2 issue. The only fresh air in the tank room is the house A/C. How much of an increase did you see as a daily average? around + .2 average. I like that it doesn't require anything being added to the tank (nothing to forget to do). I haven't had it long so i don't have much experience to speak on. You can also try dosing with kalk mix to raise it a little. but that would also have to fit in with he rest of your chemistry profile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Dogfish Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 42 minutes ago, skot said: around + .2 average. I like that it doesn't require anything being added to the tank (nothing to forget to do). I haven't had it long so i don't have much experience to speak on. You can also try dosing with kalk mix to raise it a little. but that would also have to fit in with he rest of your chemistry profile. I would like to do it without dosing. My first goal is to stop it from falling. Maybe .2 will be enough. Then water changes to maintain it. Do you have it plumbed to your skimmer air input? Is it drawing air from an enclosed area or the outside? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skot Posted March 26, 2018 Author Share Posted March 26, 2018 Yes its inline to the skimmer air intake. Also look into refugiums. the Macro algae will absorb C02. Thats also free; might want to look into different types like chaeto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skot Posted April 21, 2018 Author Share Posted April 21, 2018 Tank update.... just marinating. slow growth. Weekend plans to finally install an RO/DI unit under my sink in the bathroom. I have to redo the plumping since it has outdated fittings. Ill try to take some pics but if flood the house my wife killed me and i may not be posting for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 8 hours ago, skot said: Tank update.... just marinating. slow growth. Weekend plans to finally install an RO/DI unit under my sink in the bathroom. I have to redo the plumping since it has outdated fittings. Ill try to take some pics but if flood the house my wife killed me and i may not be posting for a while. Tank update without pics? You're not helping my reefing addiction. 😜 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skot Posted April 23, 2018 Author Share Posted April 23, 2018 Have some encrusting going on which im super happy with its been slow up until the past few weeks. RIP my Miami Hurricane chalice . first coral ive lost in this tank. Was going downhill since i got it 3 weeks ago. was 4 eyes now 1 is barely hanging on Full shot not much has changed but coraline is ramping up. Newish baby Ricordea Finally got the RO/DI installed. had to redo all the valves and lines to get it to tap into the bathroom sink. Also over the past 2 weeks looks like a have some STN starting on my Bonsai frag. Been meaning to glue over it but i dont want to put my hands in the tank since the last 2 weeks everything else has been doing super good. been keeping an eye on it hasn't hit a polyp yet but this week ill mess with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skot Posted April 23, 2018 Author Share Posted April 23, 2018 Also minor rant.... In the last pic you can see all my frags are crooked or i butchered the plugs to get them onto my rack. Why the heck did eshopps make the holes so small> hahah Again i plan on removing it to enlarge the holes but i really dont want to be putting my hands in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Bravo Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 These work great. I usually get two or three uses out of them: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06WRN98DD/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skot Posted April 23, 2018 Author Share Posted April 23, 2018 thanks ill have to get them out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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