150g Indio-Pacific Biome

[Sascha D.]

Let's get salty!

Front View

Front View

Back View

Aquascape

[Sascha D.]

Unfortunately, I had some plumbing issues.

First I had a leaky bulkhead that took some time to fix.

Second I have some problems with the sump. The barbs that were supplied with the return pump are 1"-3/4" so my 1" hose doesn't fit all the way causing a loss of pressure in the return line. There is also a kink in the return line that goes into the tank and the drain line is too short and makes a splashing sound.

Third, the overflow water line is about 2" below the weir causing the water to be pretty noisy. I think once the return line is fixed, then more flow will get into the tank and increase the water level.

Lastly, I'm not getting much flow from the Korlia 1500. It doesn't seem as powerful as I thought. I guess I can compare it to a MaxiJet powerhead. The red tube that is connected to the magnet doesn't go all the way in. Does that matter?

[Jmvanness]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought jawfish required a rather deep sand bed (4"+) and the large angel you chose isn't a coral safe fish. I love the stock list, just not sure about those two based on what I've been reading.

Love your plumbing and how professional everything under the tank looks. Wish mine was half that clean, but I get too excited about the top to pay enough attention to the underneath like I should. Lol.

Also like the rock work, but it looks a little empty to me. I would add a little more to fill it out and give myself more room for corals, though you did state that you are more fish focused. Can't wait to see her all filled out and alive!

One last thing: I love my wave box! You should definitely look into either controlable pumps or a wave box for that nice to and fro motion.

[Sascha D.]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought jawfish required a rather deep sand bed (4"+) and the large angel you chose isn't a coral safe fish. I love the stock list, just not sure about those two based on what I've been reading.

Love your plumbing and how professional everything under the tank looks. Wish mine was half that clean, but I get too excited about the top to pay enough attention to the underneath like I should. Lol.

Also like the rock work, but it looks a little empty to me. I would add a little more to fill it out and give myself more room for corals, though you did state that you are more fish focused. Can't wait to see her all filled out and alive!

One last thing: I love my wave box! You should definitely look into either controlable pumps or a wave box for that nice to and fro motion.

I haven't decided 100% on the fish yet, but whatever I decide to get will also decide my coral and invert stocking plan. The Emperor Angel isn't reef safe, but I have read that they aren't much trouble with corals. Below are a few pictures I took in 2010 at the Honolulu Aquarium of an Emperor Angel in a full mixed reef. I've got about 4" of quality sand in the tank right now for the jawfish, if I decide to get one. I've read you need a minimum of 3" of mixed substrate with rubble and shells for them to make their burrow, which I haven't added yet.

For the live rock, I think I agree that it looks a bit empty. I have about 110 pounds in there right now and another 100 in Rubbermaid totes. Right now there is about 5" of open space on each side, 5" on the back, and 4-10" in the front. I was looking to have plenty of room for flow around and across the LR to prevent detrius and cyano buildup. I haven't decided if I'll expand the LR yet, but I think I might sell what I have and buy some from other members in order to get more biodiversity.

[RobR]

The aquascape looks good. One thing to keep in mind is the more live rock you add the more swimming room you take away from the fish. With your planned stock list IMO you are going to want to leave some room, as a lot of the fish you have on your list are very active swimmers and will need the space. Also as you start adding corals that will fill out the tank as well. Build is looking great!

[jestep]

I am fan of the open scaping. Especially if you have SPS in there, the empty areas fill in quite a lot with coral over time.

[Sascha D.]

Thanks guys! I created some flat spaces that can be used for coral placement while also trying to build as many passthroughs as possible for water movement and fish habitat. I left a good 6-8" of sand space in the front for the placement of a GSP or Xenia rock, so that it can't spread to the main structure. It looks better in person than the picture shows.

What do you all think of the circ. pump locations?

[RobR]

Do you just have the one powerhead on the same side as your overflow/return? If so you could move the powerhead to the opposite side of the tank to oppose the flow of the return and get a bit more turbulent flow. Were you planning on adding any more power heads to the tank?

[Sascha D.]

I decided to get just one to start and gather others as I gather corals. It is currently on the same side as the overflow, blowing across the top of the LR.

I've seen people place them on either wall opposite the overflow and on the back wall blowing toward the front of the tank. I'm not sure of the benefits of either position.

In the past I have used one on each end of the tank. One blowing across the back and one across the middle.

[jestep]

A cheap way to get random flow which you are probably going to want is the JBJ 2 way wavemaker. Basically plug both pumps into it and position them on opposite sides of the tank. The wavemaker can be set to cycle from a few seconds to a few minutes.

[Sascha D.]

First test since the tank got set up 2 days ago.

Ammonia

• 0 ppm

Nitrites

• 0 ppm

Nitrates

• 10 ppm

These results are odd, but I tested twice and the test kit is brand new. it's strange not to register any ammonia. I'll have to add some shrimp.

[Niko's Reef]

Test kits are weird to me. I tested the tanks I was setting up with Nutrifin test kit this week, then I used Hanna Checker. Totally different results. I seen in the pic you had API test kits. Those always gave me varied results as well. Plus I would buy them and open them up and see they were expired.

[Sascha D.]

7-21-13

Salinity

• 1.021 - I added some salt to bring it up a little.

PH

• 8.4

Ammonia

• 0.1 ppm - Estimated. It to be higher than 0 but less than the first notch of 0.5 ppm.

Nitrates

• 0.25 ppm

Nitrites

• 5 ppm

[Sascha D.]

I got some work done on the aquarium while I'm waiting for it to cycle.

I installed a rack in the canopy to hold the T5's.

The next step is to extend my baffles to the my sump using eggcrate.

I measured, cut, and taped the baffles into the sump.

Three beads of 100% silicone to each side, above the water.

After curing, the barriers were installed.

Now I don't have to worry about the Chaeto that MrsHall gave me over the weekend getting swept into the return pump.

[Sascha D.]

The water is totally clear, except for some micro bubbles. I'm not exactly sure why there are bubbles in the tank. There are no bubbles in the return chamber of the sump. The water coming from the lockline is bubble free.

I'm also getting quite a bit of bubbles into the drain line. The durso is currently about 1" below the waters level. Would raising it up quiet the noise in the overflow box and reduce the bubbles in the sump?

[Sascha D.]

I think I know what is causing the bubbles in the display; the siphon break on the return line is above the water level. I guess I need to raise the durso about an inch.

I tested the water again this morning. No changes. Salinity 1.024.

[Sascha D.]

The initial cycle is complete, as outlined in The Clean Up Crew.

• The light schedule is set for a 12 hour reverse photoperiod.
• A healthy bunch of Chaetomorpha sp. has been added to the refugium. Thanks Yasmin!
• A group of Creamsicle Lyretail Mollies have been converted to saltwater and added to the display.

To convert the mollies, I used a 4 hour drip acclimation

1. The fish were put into a clean bucket with the water that came with them in the bag.
2. I started a drip from the main display at a rate of 1 drip per second for 2 hours.
3. On hour 3, I increased the drip to 2 drips per second.
4. On hour 4, I increased the drip to 4 drips per second.
5. The fish went into the display once the 4th hour was complete.

[Sascha D.]

So far so good. All of the mollies survived the transition and are happily exploring the tank and rockwork.

I didn't get much cycle with the rock and sand. Time to build my biodiversity by buying liverock! Anybody selling any?

I am having considerable trouble with the plumbing though.

1. The overflow sounds like Niagara! My first plan was to build a higher durso standpipe to raise the water level in the overflow. I had to transition from 1.5" to 1.25" in order to fit the 90 degree elbow. After 3 trips to HD I finally completed it and it didn't work! I decided to go back to my previous set-up and bought new 1.5" PVC. I cut it 2" higher than the previous standpipe and it helped a little.
2. Now that my standpipe is higher I'm having a bubbling sound coming from the drain line that wasn't there before. FmL! I'm going to try enclosing the flexible tubing into a 1.5" rigid pvc and see if that helps.
3. Next problem is my siphon break on the return line. It's above water and shooting out a constant stream that is super loud. I went to HD and bought a new 90 degree elbow to replace the one I have currently. Unfortunately, the one I bought was slip x slip and I need a threaded end for the lockline
4. When I plug my return pump in, the level of the return section drops dangerously low and doesn't refill. I suspect that the level drops due to evaporation, but I won't know until I install the ATO. If water isn't moving through the sump fast enough then I may have to redesign it.

[(Bio)³]

So far so good. All of the mollies survived the transition and are happily exploring the tank and rockwork.

I didn't get much cycle with the rock and sand. Time to build my biodiversity by buying liverock! Anybody selling any?

I am having considerable trouble with the plumbing though.

1. The overflow sounds like Niagara! My first plan was to build a higher durso standpipe to raise the water level in the overflow. I had to transition from 1.5" to 1.25" in order to fit the 90 degree elbow. After 3 trips to HD I finally completed it and it didn't work! I decided to go back to my previous set-up and bought new 1.5" PVC. I cut it 2" higher than the previous standpipe and it helped a little.
2. Now that my standpipe is higher I'm having a bubbling sound coming from the drain line that wasn't there before. FmL! I'm going to try enclosing the flexible tubing into a 1.5" rigid pvc and see if that helps.
3. Next problem is my siphon break on the return line. It's above water and shooting out a constant stream that is super loud. I went to HD and bought a new 90 degree elbow to replace the one I have currently. Unfortunately, the one I bought was slip x slip and I need a threaded end for the lockline
4. When I plug my return pump in, the level of the return section drops dangerously low and doesn't refill. I suspect that the level drops due to evaporation, but I won't know until I install the ATO. If water isn't moving through the sump fast enough then I may have to redesign it.

1. Buy the overflow kit I showed you on ebay, its adjustable and makes life a lot easier than trying to build up one and make it perfect.

2.the sound could calm down as slime builds inside the lines, make sure you have no lag spots, try bring the line above and under the water line in the sump to see if you can find a happy spot.

3. I set my locline verticle and allow it to aggitate the surface, it doubles as a siphon break when power fails. Can't help you with the wrong part purchase

4. Are you wanting the sump to flow faster so it fills that return section quicker?? Sounds to me like your seeing a non running system and then a running system. I'd get the ATO put on, and then start doing level tests with it running and then turn off the power to make sure it doesnt overflow your sump. You'll be able to then mark the high and low lines of the system. my water in the return section of my sump is only 2-3 inches above the intake of my mag 18 but it doesnt suck air and doesnt make noise so its totally fine since I have the ATO going. Before my ATO I had a 90 elbow on the pump inlet to force it to pull from deeper in case i forgot to top off one day.

[Planeden]

possibly stupid question alert. if your return is not filling up fast enough and you add the ATO to it, wont you just be dumping fresh water into your main tank? well, lower salinity at least. then wont it just end up raising the level in the non-return section and keep the return section kinda low?

[(Bio)³]

possibly stupid question alert. if your return is not filling up fast enough and you add the ATO to it, wont you just be dumping fresh water into your main tank? well, lower salinity at least. then wont it just end up raising the level in the non-return section and keep the return section kinda low?

Don't set the ATO float height to the powered off water level.... set it at the running water level and this isnt an issue.

[Sascha D.]

For number 4.

I'm running a QuietOne 6000 rated at 1600 gph. With 5.5 ft of head pressure I think I'm getting around 1000 gph through the sump. While the system is running I can see the water level in the return section drop slowly hour by hour. Either I'm getting a lot of evaporation or the flow through the sump is less than the return. I throttled back the return to temporarily fix the problem and the return section looks stable. Right now I'm running the return at about 50% power.

To increase the flow through the sump I would increase the spacing of the baffles? Right now they are 1" apart with a 1" gap on bottom for the middle baffle.

[(Bio)³]

if the return section is dropping hour by hour, whats the water level in the DT doing?

The water has to be going somewhere, its either not draining fast enough from the DT or evaporating.

[Planeden]

if the return section is dropping hour by hour, whats the water level in the DT doing?

The water has to be going somewhere, its either not draining fast enough from the DT or evaporating.

if the overflow is too slow then the DT would increase. If it's the baffles slow it down then the non-return side of the sump would increase. or a combination of the two. but, the relative increase will be significantly lower in the other sections compared to the drop due to the difference in area.

[(Bio)³]

if the return section is dropping hour by hour, whats the water level in the DT doing?

The water has to be going somewhere, its either not draining fast enough from the DT or evaporating.

if the overflow is too slow then the DT would increase. If it's the baffles slow it down then the non-return side of the sump would increase. or a combination of the two. but, the relative increase will be significantly lower in the other sections compared to the drop due to the difference in area.

Exactly. You could mark the water levels turn on the pump and then keep checking all the marks as the hours go. I suspect the DT isn't draining fast enough. I have 1 inch baffles in a sump and it can accept way more flow than my mag 18 can give.