180 half cylinder

[mrlavalamp]

I'm glad the pool shock worked!

Me too. Was a bit hillarious to walk through the mostly barren cleaning products section, turn the corner to the outdoor area where they store all the pool stuff to see pallets of liquid pool shock sitting there.

Last night i rinsed each rock for a minute or two in the sink and then put them back in to sit overnight in a 10x dose of prime. Smelled strongly of chlorine still this morning so I put another 10x of prime in and mixed the water around. See how it smells tonight. Wondering if dropping a heater in the barrel would help the prime do a better/faster job or permeate the rock better, I know chlorine evaporates faster when the solution it is in is warmer, but from 60 degrees to 80 degrees and at low concentration this effect may be negligible.

Sump is done. I did the silicone quick and dirty so its not as pretty as I would normally like to leave it. Thinking this will be a short term sump anyways and likely go to a custom acrylic setup some time in the future once I know what kind of equipment is working for me and what is not necessary or helpful. For example, I never liked the refugium in sump when I used it before, so instead I want to make it easy to add in a self contained algae reactor or turf scrubber of some sort.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Me too. Was a bit hillarious to walk through the mostly barren cleaning products section, turn the corner to the outdoor area where they store all the pool stuff to see pallets of liquid pool shock sitting there.

Last night i rinsed each rock for a minute or two in the sink and then put them back in to sit overnight in a 10x dose of prime. Smelled strongly of chlorine still this morning so I put another 10x of prime in and mixed the water around. See how it smells tonight. Wondering if dropping a heater in the barrel would help the prime do a better/faster job or permeate the rock better, I know chlorine evaporates faster when the solution it is in is warmer, but from 60 degrees to 80 degrees and at low concentration this effect may be negligible.

Sump is done. I did the silicone quick and dirty so its not as pretty as I would normally like to leave it. Thinking this will be a short term sump anyways and likely go to a custom acrylic setup some time in the future once I know what kind of equipment is working for me and what is not necessary or helpful. For example, I never liked the refugium in sump when I used it before, so instead I want to make it easy to add in a self contained algae reactor or turf scrubber of some sort.

Sump looks great! I'd keep rinsing with prime until you don't really smell chlorine any longer.

 

[mrlavalamp]

Rocks are just about done drying on the garage floor, no chlorine smell remains and drying them completely would allow any remaining to evaporate away anyways. Going to start fitting together for aquascape on the garage floor tonight!

Plumbing is done.

One thing I have discovered about this tank.

Between the shape of the glass, and the water behind it.

It acts as a gigantic magnifier to the naked eye.
In the photos above you can get an idea of what I mean by comparing the overflow edge above and below the waterline on the glass.

This is going to be good because anything placed in the tank automatically seems really close the glass, and because of the magnification it really brings out the details too.
I am worried about this though because the depth element of aquariums is usually interesting to me and I am afraid this tank will become 2d if I am not careful. I think keeping the aquascape open and not piling a wall of rocks up will really help with this though.


I have had water in the tank for a couple days now and running the main pump to get an idea of what tuning the overflow is like. Found and repaired a couple leaks. The tap water that is in there is getting cloudy though, so need to drain it out and clean it up so I can start the aquascape.


Been thinking about livestock a lot lately too.

Here is my Fish list:
Banggai cardinal (thinking 4 of these)
Royal Gramma Basslet
wrasse (6 line?)
Purple Firefish
yellow tang
scooter blenny
Watchman Goby
lawnmower blenny
Oscelaris Clown Fish (2 of these at first, maybe more if possible)
Blue tang
Chinstrap Jawfish
Naso Tang
kole tang
Foxface LO
Mandarin dragonet
dragon face pipefish
neon dottyback

Inverts:
Typical cleanup crew (snails, hermits)
pistol shrimp (paired with goby ideally)
peppermint shrimps
emerald crab or decorator crab (possibly not reef safe)
urchin (not reef safe)

"Corals":
gorgonian/sea fan (photosynthetic)
green star polyps
colorful palythoas and zoa's
anemones (RBTA, magnifica)
hammer
frogspawn
duncan
candy cane
xenia


So cycle the tank up and once it can handle some fish, start at the top of the fish list and start working my way down. Add inverts/cuc as I see the need (why put in 100 snails and hermits when there is nothing for them to actually eat). Corals will come much later (6 months?) once I can save up for some lights and get the tank established and stable.

I am thinking that I should still quarantine the first fish just like I would in the future so that I can treat and medicate them separately from the rock-work/tank and ensure I do not bring in anything.

Would really like to hear any thoughts on livestock choices. I know some of these may not work out and plan to continue research as I add, this list is a wish list of sorts.

 

[brandon429]

I must advise backwards stocking from above based on the quality of that system and the SIZE you arent going to want to be part-cleaning that bad boy when its dense filled up and $

-reverse the fish order. save them till way last, add in the order you like though when its fish time. Have corals, cuc, early invasions and manually controlled and in place then go fallow, then add QT fish. the way you describe loads your initial water system with + fertilizer before corals are set in place to help exclude algae, and you're adding fish before hardscapes which directly undoes QT fish you might purchase. hard scapes have to come first, then QT fish if Im reading your intended flow correctly

-if you are going to use real live rock at least as a top cover to inert/dry rock it will greatly enhance your feeding and food web success for the corals, but its not required. Fish are not required to do well with corals, and frankly they're less fertilizer when not there for a while as you really tune things. Corals want feed, light, decent params and they'll grow-fish are incidental. You being able to slowly add the tank of hardscape items and corals and CUC and manually kill certain zones of expected algae so they dont take over is the right move, then fish after some cruise control has been earned. I can't see how a different order of ops attains fish disease prevention here

decide if you're going deep sand bed untouched (not recommended) or no sandbed or sandbed that is disturbed and kept clean. Rinse your new sandbed 1000% clear before starting, have a no cloud new reef.

 

[mrlavalamp]

Thank you Brandon. I have already got my sand snow-globe ready and plan to keep it clean, around 2" deep maybe 3".

I may be able to scare up enough for a single higher power light, that would mean I could support corals sooner (my current coralife light is something like 30 watts, not going to do much). Then add more lights later when I can.

Here is my first attempt at the rock work. The highest point is about 5" below the surface of the water. Considering removing some of the rock. I have around 180lbs total in the stack currently, and wondering if it will make it look a little full when in the tank.
I also left a small gap behind the rock and considering shrinking this where I can to have a smaller gap to the back wall (around 2" to 3" where it is around 4"+ now).

 

[mrlavalamp]

Overdue for an update.

So I waffled on the rockwork a lot, I must have stacked and restacked it 2 dozen times in the garage. In the end, the design I worked out did not pan out in the tank LOL! It was like the pieces fit perfect in the garage, but then carrying them in and building in the tank, they no longer locked together as easily/the same.

Here is the tank as it is today:

It has been cycling for 6 days now. I am only using API test kits so accuracy in my testing is less trustworthy than I would like, but for cycling I think it has been fine so far.

To start the cycle, I added ammonia and ended up at 2ppm, and then added in dr. tims bottle bac. Yesterday ammonia dropped to 1ppm, and my cycle guide (card I got at lfs made by dr tims) calls to add ammonia today.

Once ammonia drops to zero, I plan to run the 24 hr test just to be sure before adding any livestock in.

In other news, purchased a skimmer used but it showed up damaged. The main body was cracked pretty severely, and the flange where it connects to the base was shattered in pieces, but with some weld-on and a little patience I have been able to glue it back together and initial testing shows promise (not running it very much during the cycle though). Long term reliability may be another issue so looking into alternatives for a backup.

Really looking into Jebao pp-20 for the flow/wavemakers. I think they may be a good middle of the road for me.

Also considering current USA Loop based systems. wavemakers primarily, but still trying to decide if their lights have enough power to be worth it for the depth of my tank, they seem somewhat lacking in par at least for the packaged designs. I could always build something from the individual "truelumen" strips they sell and work out power supply requirements.

Either way, looking for opinions on current USA gear in terms of saltwater and reef keeping, they seem to cater more to fresh water.

 

[New Jersey REEF]

I love what you’ve done with that aquascape! This is going to be a beauty! Following along!

 

[mrlavalamp]

I love what you’ve done with that aquascape! This is going to be a beauty! Following along!

Thank you, my goal was to have a way to see behind most if not all of it by moving around the tank and looking through the arches.

Adjustment is inevitable, but I am really happy with this as a start.

Your tank is amazing!

 

[mrlavalamp]

Just started reading nitrites on the test kit, still no nitrate and ammonia still around 2ppm, but lighter I think (probably wishful thinking).

 

[mrlavalamp]

A little update.

Ammonia has been down for some time now, nitrite and nitrate sinking like a rock.

Getting some phosphate readings (.25ppm) but not trying to chase numbers so leaving that for now.

Couldn't wait any longer and added the first fish this weekend.

3 Pajama Cardinals and an engineer goby.

Acclimated and they appear to be doing well.

Getting them to eat has been interesting. They will eat frozen shrimp, but any flake/pellet I have tried the Cardinals just ignore completely or spit back out and the goby wont even come out for them.

I just need to dilute the cubes down, an entire cube is WAY too much food right now, 1/4 of the cube would be ideal, but attempts to do so while frozen have proved dangerous. Considering just melting a couple down and diluting with RO and refrezing in small ice cube trays. need to search here for a thread or recipe, there is probably a better way to do this.

 

[Katrina71]

I use a steak knife and shave the cubes down.

 

[mrlavalamp]

I use a steak knife and shave the cubes down.

That's what I was using and the cube slipped all over before it actually started to cut, i have a plastic cutting board so maybe that didn't help either, was in a rush in the morning before work so didn't spend a lot of time messing with it.

going to try setting it on a rag too to keep the cube from sliding.

 

[Katrina71]

That's what I was using and the cube slipped all over before it actually started to cut, i have a plastic cutting board so maybe that didn't help either, was in a rush in the morning before work so didn't spend a lot of time messing with it.

going to try setting it on a rag too to keep the cube from sliding.

Start on the corner at a diagonal. It helps. The serrated blade is easiest for me.

 

[mrlavalamp]

Start on the corner at a diagonal. It helps. The serrated blade is easiest for me.

good point! I have some of those "forever sharp" knives at home that should do the trick.

 

[dvp95]

Don't get the current lights. I have them for my coral QT and the PAR is terrible. At full 100% blues and whites you get barely 110 par and that is on a 20L tank with the light sitting on the rim and only 12-13 inches from the bottom. On your tank, which is the same dimensions as mine and half cylinder, I had (4) kessil A360x at 100% with the reflectors and was getting 100 on the sand and 250s midway. I added T5s to the kessils and now I turn my kessils down to 40% and still get 250+ PAR which I will turn up when I get my SPS in. I had to buy the DIY retrofit kits from BRS to do my hybrid cause they do not make one for a half cylinder (I got the 36" and 48" kits)

 

[mrlavalamp]

Don't get the current lights. I have them for my coral QT and the PAR is terrible. At full 100% blues and whites you get barely 110 par and that is on a 20L tank with the light sitting on the rim and only 12-13 inches from the bottom. On your tank, which is the same dimensions as mine and half cylinder, I had (4) kessil A360x at 100% with the reflectors and was getting 100 on the sand and 250s midway. I added T5s to the kessils and now I turn my kessils down to 40% and still get 250+ PAR which I will turn up when I get my SPS in. I had to buy the DIY retrofit kits from BRS to do my hybrid cause they do not make one for a half cylinder (I got the 36" and 48" kits)

Thanks for the advice, just from a straight watts output standpoint I was worried.

I actually picked up a 165w blackbox and have had it up there for a couple days now. Pretty happy with it so far, and at 25%blue,1% white it puts the existing coralife fixture I have to shame (it is a FOWLR light and only pulls 15 watts max, and I keep the RGB channel off because its stuck in color changing "party mode" lol). I know "brightness" isn't always good indicator, but dont have a par meter.

Going to get 2 more of the 165's and add them next week.

I haven't measured PAR for the one I have, but I am planning to go low needs corals anyways so if its low at the sand bend that doesnt bother me. I have a sort of shelf at the top of my rockwork that woudl let me put any high needs corals about 6 to 10" below the surface while I figure it out.

worse case I can add a 4th and change up the layout to fit them closer together. Even with 4, I am still lower cost than a single one of a lot of the name brand led reef lights. I expect to have some trouble with the blackboxes, but I am sure I can fix them if need be (if a high priced fixture broke I would be pi$$ed at having to lift a finger lol)

I am tending towards more smaller units so I can match the curve of the tank better.

 

[mrlavalamp]

wow.....its been too long.

The tank has been coming along nicely. Some ups and downs, issues with hair algae, followed by some sort of brown slime that completely covered the sand, looked like brown cyano, manual removal and a couple dark days helped and it hasnt been back.

I have a crazy amount of snails and small star fish now too. I guess I picked up a couple hitchhikers and turns out these both reproduce in the tank. I have tried to ID them, but it doesnt seem that either are bothering my corals or clams, yet.

I do have something eating my zoas, something strong enough to dislodge frag plugs and rip entire zoa heads off the rock as I have found them floating around the sand in the morning, frag plug ripped out of the rock or off my rack and sitting in the sand. so far whatever it is only seems to care about zoas, hasnt bothered my GSP, clove polyps, galaxea, duncan, or rock anemone.

My primary suspects are the lawnmower blenny, the engineer goby (which is HUGE now), and a very shy crab that showed up randomly.

I have tried to trap and ID the crab several times with no success, he cannot get to the frag rack where things have been eaten though (but I have had zoas in the rocks eaten too).

The lawnmower blenny is my number 1 suspect though, I have seem him perched on the zoas many times, and my kids saw him pecking at them once.

Going to clean the glass and take some pictures today, got a lot of catching up to do.

 

[mrlavalamp]

My questionable hitchikers:
These snails breed like crazy and are in the hundreds now. They dont seem to both my corals though.

This is the best shot I could get of the stars.

neither seem to bother anything so I haven't worked too hard on ID'ing them. The stars I know I could get harlequin shrimp to control, but the snails, I have no idea what to do if I need to get rid of those.

My green star polyps when first added in July.

Today:

Galaxea added in July as well:

today:

My favorite coral so far: this Duncan was added in May, but this shot was in July once I mounted it to the rockwork. Three or four heads at first.

Today: I think it has more than 10 heads now, but they are so tightly packed its hard to tell.

My primary suspect, looking guilty I think:

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

Any more updates? This thing is awesome!

 

[mrlavalamp]

Way overdue for an update huh? Been pretty busy this year. Changed jobs, got married, and even getting ready to go on our honeymoon in Kauai next week. All the while I have been making slow improvement on the tank.

FTS (I didn't clean the glass before this shot, sorry):

Controller board I installed a couple months ago. The rats nest of cords was getting to me.

Bashsea ATO tank with a water bottle so I can go on vacation without it running empty (lasts about 10 days like this).

Last but not least: This is Bob (the builder), added him some months ago and he has been really neat to watch. Underneath those mountains of sand is a good size rock you can see earlier in my build, he dug under it and it sank down some, he then moved every shell he could find to stack up around it and piled all the sand back on to make this mountain.

When I get back from Kauai I will be looking at adding a couple corals and maybe a fish or two. Thinking of adding some more euphylia, some xenia to the left corner, a few zoas or palys to fill in.