Budget 14g Breeder

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

Fair Enough, for the xenia you said you wanted, you'd need an island because xenia is like a weed and I think I sent you to the wrong website for the Euphyllia, I meant Ocean Reefs Marine. I might have been correct though.

Yer theres an island in the aquascape already

 

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Yer theres an island in the aquascape already

Nice,

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

Aquaknight A029, it seems to have appropriate PAR for this size tank to grow mixed reef with consideration for SPS positioning.

The fixture is $60US, which pretty good value for money especially if it suits the tank size and depth

Heres a link for PAR readings that someone did on youtube

Finally got delivered today along with the wavemaker. Not in a rush to set up but will switch on and take some pics for demonstration purposes later on.

#budget build at it's best $60 light & $12 wavemaker . Hope they work and don't end up being a waste of money.

 

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G

Finally got delivered today along with the wavemaker. Not in a rush to set up but will switch on and take some pics for demonstration purposes later on.

#budget build at it's best $60 light & $12 wavemaker . Hope they work and don't end up being a waste of money.

Good luck on the products! May I see what they look like on your tank?

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

G

Good luck on the products! May I see what they look like on your tank?

Yes sure, I'll end up doing a detailed review on each once I set them up

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

Cycling Update

Dosing Day 14 of 30 - Patience is a virtue ;Shifty
No sign of any algae or diatoms as yet. No lights and no livestock

 

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Cycling is a pain, but longer cycling is much better than bottled bacteria but a hybrid of both is amazing! When I get my 360 gallon (In later years) I plan on a 4 month cycle

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

#Heaters

Ok for the heaters I got 2x 50W heaters to create a back up heating situation in case the main fails in the off position.

Sizing a heater for your tank is approx 3W per gallon

Basically 1 heater is set to 78°F/25.5°C running as primary and the 2nd heater is set to 76°F/24.5°C as a backup and as overnight heating support for when the house temperature really drops.

Unfortunately I don't have an external controller to switch off the heating in case the heaters fail in the on position. However, being in a cold climate, a single 50W heater for this size tank is just sufficient to heat to the set temperature. So even if the main heater is stuck in the on position I doubt it can heat beyond 80°F/26.6°C.

Until my heaters got delivered a few days ago I was using my old 100W heater from 20 years ago. The heater didn't have a thermostat to set so it was always in the on position which maxed out at 82°F/28°C. This gave me the confidence that my 50W heater, even if it fails in the on position, it will not overheat and cook the tank. So all in all, I'm happy to know that I wont need a temperature controller and this simple setup will suffice.

The 100W heater will be used to bring the water temp up when doing water changes.

 

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Australia is cold isn't it, I'll need another heater but anyway, you should still get a heater controller because 25 Celsius to 28 will likely stress out everything in your tank and resulting in coral polyp bailout. Love seeing progress by the way!

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

Australia is cold isn't it, I'll need another heater but anyway, you should still get a heater controller because 25 Celsius to 28 will likely stress out everything in your tank and resulting in coral polyp bailout. Love seeing progress by the way!

What temp do you suggest or recommend?

 

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25 Degrees for sure... We rarely get those Arizona like days, maybe once or twice a year but I say every night its either freezing or boiling or I have a sore stomach and cannot even sleep but besides the horrible invert section and lack of SOME equipment, we have a good aquarium trade.

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

25 Degrees for sure... We rarely get those Arizona like days, maybe once or twice a year but I say every night its either freezing or boiling or I have a sore stomach and cannot even sleep but besides the horrible invert section and lack of SOME equipment, we have a good aquarium trade.

Ok so my current settings are on point. Cheers

 

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Hows your tank doing.?

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

Hows your tank doing.?

Waiting for the bacteria cycle to finish in about a week or 10 day. So now I'm starting to think about what CUC to put in, considering I'll have to feed them as theres no fish waste or algae.

Gotta get a move on with finishing the DIY cabinet. I sorted the electrics out over the weekend. I used a smart grid power board that's programmed over wifi so I can control lights and an AC wavemaker to emulate, hi and low tide. Still need to tidy up the cables.

 

[Cencalreefer56]

Waiting for the bacteria cycle to finish in about a week or 10 day. So now I'm starting to think about what CUC to put in, considering I'll have to feed them as theres no fish waste or algae.

Gotta get a move on with finishing the DIY cabinet. I sorted the electrics out over the weekend. I used a smart grid power board that's programmed over wifi so I can control lights and an AC wavemaker to emulate, hi and low tide. Still need to tidy up the cables.

Looks good! I advise you wait on a CUC, your tank will go through an ugly phase and by then your CUC may have starved to death before the algae sprouts up, maybe add a fish after the cycle to really get things going and then CUC. Just my two cents, love the diy build so far!!

 

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Awesome!

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

Looks good! I advise you wait on a CUC, your tank will go through an ugly phase and by then your CUC may have starved to death before the algae sprouts up, maybe add a fish after the cycle to really get things going and then CUC. Just my two cents, love the diy build so far!!

Thanks, yer that's the big debate and research for me over the last week or so, which one goes in first, fish or CUC?

Basically I had watched the BRS/WWC Hybrid method series and its proposed 4 month cycle, which I liked but could work out the logic behind putting in the CUC at 1 month (completion of cycle), then fish at 2.5 months, then corals at 4 months (once coraline starts to appear).
After a bit more research into the method and sequence logic, I discovered that the reason for the CUC first is to continue progression of the tank stabilization and maturity without dramatic increase of bio load through fish introduction. This also minimises the potential of the ugly phase and algae outbreaks. It also allows natural seeding of coraline that comes into the tank on CUC shells. Thus coraline should start to grow by month 4 naturally without any additives ready for coral additions.
When the algae starts, the CUC will already be in place to eat it. Meanwhile feed the CUC nori and occasionally some pellets.
Another advantage is that the fish go into a more stable and mature tank, increasing their immortality.

Any views on this are very welcome as it's not too late to change the sequence.

 

[Cencalreefer56]

Thanks, yer that's the big debate and research for me over the last week or so, which one goes in first, fish or CUC?

Basically I had watched the BRS/WWC Hybrid method series and its proposed 4 month cycle, which I liked but could work out the logic behind putting in the CUC at 1 month (completion of cycle), then fish at 2.5 months, then corals at 4 months (once coraline starts to appear).
After a bit more research into the method and sequence logic, I discovered that the reason for the CUC first is to continue progression of the tank stabilization and maturity without dramatic increase of bio load through fish introduction. This also minimises the potential of the ugly phase and algae outbreaks. It also allows natural seeding of coraline that comes into the tank on CUC shells. Thus coraline should start to grow by month 4 naturally without any additives ready for coral additions.
When the algae starts, the CUC will already be in place to eat it. Meanwhile feed the CUC nori and occasionally some pellets.
Another advantage is that the fish go into a more stable and mature tank, increasing their immortality.

Any views on this are very welcome as it's not too late to change the sequence.

That makes sense, I’ve always been back and forth as well, I’ve done CUC first in previous tanks and didn’t have problems, I think it’s all about preference, regardless you’re bound to get algae at some point in the tanks life it’s just being able to manage it that is the real question. I think the slow 4 month process may be the way to go if you’re new to the saltwater hobby, nothing good happens fast! Learned that the hard way yearsssss ago lol

 

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Yes, also clownfish are good at stability, and microfauna etc, you could feed CUC but imagine you being on an island by your self and people dropping cakes and treats at your island and then more people come and than you start to eat leftovers and poop. If I were, when ammonia is 0, nitrite and nitrate to a certain extent add some microfauna with phyto and maybe add a fish that is hardy, then add some CuC

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

Yes, also clownfish are good at stability, and microfauna etc, you could feed CUC but imagine you being on an island by your self and people dropping cakes and treats at your island and then more people come and than you start to eat leftovers and poop. If I were, when ammonia is 0, nitrite and nitrate to a certain extent add some microfauna with phyto and maybe add a fish that is hardy, then add some CuC

Yes, the next stage is to get a HOB refugium with some sort of macro algae once the tank bio-load has increased over time. I'd like to add pods and feed phyto, in preparation for a mandarin. But both of these things require alot more research which I'll do when I'm closer to the time. I'm guessing around 5 or 6 months in.