Diggler's Weird 90 Gallon Reef Tank

crusso1993 · Feb 10, 2019

DirtDiggler2823 said:
My first frags find their almost forever homes. Hopefully they thrive in these places.

BOOM!

DirtDiggler2823 · Feb 10, 2019

crusso1993 said:
BOOM!

Took part in my first auction today as well. Dude is local so I can drive for pickup instead of paying for shipping, which is huge especially with the weather being so fickle.

crusso1993 · Feb 10, 2019

DirtDiggler2823 said:
Took part in my first auction today as well. Dude is local so I can drive for pickup instead of paying for shipping, which is huge especially with the weather being so fickle.

Cool and it's even cooler you can simply drive and pick up your winnings!

DirtDiggler2823 · Feb 18, 2019

Coral planning time! I have a few frags in the tank already, some softies, mushrooms, palys, and zoas. Now I need to plan out the rest of the scape. I build the rock features so they would allow me to add specific corals at specific places, but I did that without a firm understanding of what the different corals needed to survive. Below is what I'm planning on using as my guidelines for where I add my frags. As I understand, all of the corals I'm planning on using in this build should be encrusting corals, and should spread over time. I plan on having some distance between frags to allow for this. I'm already doing that with the frags I have. Please let me know where I can improve this layout. I'm sharing it so that folks with more experience can save me the trouble of having my frags suffer for various reasons. Thanks!

@Ranjib @Crabs Mcjones @Rakie @theatrus @crusso1993 @Hemmdog @Bigtrout @pickupman66 @rushbattle @b4tn

Ranjib · Feb 18, 2019

DirtDiggler2823 said:
Coral planning time! I have a few frags in the tank already, some softies, mushrooms, palys, and zoas. Now I need to plan out the rest of the scape. I build the rock features so they would allow me to add specific corals at specific places, but I did that without a firm understanding of what the different corals needed to survive. Below is what I'm planning on using as my guidelines for where I add my frags. As I understand, all of the corals I'm planning on using in this build should be encrusting corals, and should spread over time. I plan on having some distance between frags to allow for this. I'm already doing that with the frags I have. Please let me know where I can improve this layout. I'm sharing it so that folks with more experience can save me the trouble of having my frags suffer for various reasons. Thanks!

@Ranjib @Crabs Mcjones @Rakie @theatrus @crusso1993 @Hemmdog @Bigtrout @pickupman66 @rushbattle @b4tn

Acans will prefer less flow and less light. Particularly the lord varieties . You don’t want any sps ? I prefer to the top spot for sps /sticks. Other than this it looks ok. Palys can be invasive and it’s safer to isolate them in islands .

crusso1993 · Feb 18, 2019

DirtDiggler2823 said:
Coral planning time! I have a few frags in the tank already, some softies, mushrooms, palys, and zoas. Now I need to plan out the rest of the scape. I build the rock features so they would allow me to add specific corals at specific places, but I did that without a firm understanding of what the different corals needed to survive. Below is what I'm planning on using as my guidelines for where I add my frags. As I understand, all of the corals I'm planning on using in this build should be encrusting corals, and should spread over time. I plan on having some distance between frags to allow for this. I'm already doing that with the frags I have. Please let me know where I can improve this layout. I'm sharing it so that folks with more experience can save me the trouble of having my frags suffer for various reasons. Thanks!

@Ranjib @Crabs Mcjones @Rakie @theatrus @crusso1993 @Hemmdog @Bigtrout @pickupman66 @rushbattle @b4tn

Agree with Ranjib above. Also, it would be good to see/know what equipment and water flow patterns you will be employing.

DirtDiggler2823 · Feb 18, 2019

Ranjib said:
Acans will prefer less flow and less light. Particularly the lord varieties . You don’t want any sps ? I prefer to the top spot for sps /sticks. Other than this it looks ok. Palys can be invasive and it’s safer to isolate them in islands .

crusso1993 said:
Agree with Ranjib above. Also, it would be good to see/know what equipment and water flow patterns you will be employing.

Going with my 4 bulb T5 fixture, with the RFG nozzles I already have in the tank. I have no wavemakers right now, I'm only using my sump return. The return pump is a jebao DCP-10000 running at 100%. I already have some palys and zoas in there, and a few mushrooms as well.

crusso1993 · Feb 19, 2019

DirtDiggler2823 · Mar 17, 2019

Still going through the new reef uglies. Today I'm planning on addressing a couple spots of cyano that are on a single rock that is surprisingly in a high flow area. Planning on taking a toothbrush to the cyano, then applying H2O2 to those spots of the rock. Check it out, is this cyano?

DirtDiggler2823 · Mar 17, 2019

Took the cyano off, and gave those areas a quick splash of H2O2, and noticed some coraline growth. Exciting times! Check how barren the backside is to where the light was!

crusso1993 · Mar 17, 2019

DirtDiggler2823 said:
Took the cyano off, and gave those areas a quick splash of H2O2, and noticed some coraline growth. Exciting times! Check how barren the backside is to where the light was!

Down with cyano!

DirtDiggler2823 · Mar 17, 2019

crusso1993 said:
Down with cyano!

YES! BUT UP WITH CORALINE!

DirtDiggler2823 · Mar 30, 2019

Got my first BTA today, and a few hitchhikers. Any idea what these are?

DirtDiggler2823 · Apr 20, 2019

Placed an order for a kalk stirrer for this tank. Ordered some pickling lime from amazon as well. Hopefully this helps bring some additional balance to my reef.

DirtDiggler2823 · Apr 28, 2019

Just added a second wavemaker and a kalk reactor/stirrer. I initially went with stockings on the wavemakers but they really slowed the flow down. So I cut up some large, unused nylon media bags I had purchased for use on my FW tanks, and since the mesh is more rigid, and the holes are bigger, the flow is much better. I would love to get some 3D printed wavemaker covers, but I don't know anyone with a 3D printer, nor anyone who would spend the time to design some for some cheap jebao wavemakers. The kalk reactor was a bit of a nightmare to get going, as my DIY ATO system uses 1/4 inch tubing, and the kalk reactor uses 1/2 inch tubing. I had to get new tubing, and a reducer fitting from amazon, which is where the problems started. The reducer was a smidge too small for the 1/4 inch tubing, and I got water all over the place. I used a clamp and some silicone to address that, and I hope it holds up. The kalk reactor also didn't attach to the sump all that well, so I had to put it on the floor and hope for the best. All in all, I think with the addition of a pH probe, that this is the final state for hardware on this build. There really isn't anything else that ought to be added to keep this tank stable and happy. Now the challenge is whether to stick with this 125 gallon tank for my next project, or really pursue something bigger. If you know anyone in the Maryland area who is trying to part with a 180 gallon tank that hold water, send them my way.

count krunk · Apr 28, 2019

If you are willing to work with him, joint effort to a degree.

I think @dantimdad or jdowns (on mobile sorry) could help you out with that 3d print request

crusso1993 · Apr 28, 2019

DirtDiggler2823 said:
Just added a second wavemaker and a kalk reactor/stirrer. I initially went with stockings on the wavemakers but they really slowed the flow down. So I cut up some large, unused nylon media bags I had purchased for use on my FW tanks, and since the mesh is more rigid, and the holes are bigger, the flow is much better. I would love to get some 3D printed wavemaker covers, but I don't know anyone with a 3D printer, nor anyone who would spend the time to design some for some cheap jebao wavemakers. The kalk reactor was a bit of a nightmare to get going, as my DIY ATO system uses 1/4 inch tubing, and the kalk reactor uses 1/2 inch tubing. I had to get new tubing, and a reducer fitting from amazon, which is where the problems started. The reducer was a smidge too small for the 1/4 inch tubing, and I got water all over the place. I used a clamp and some silicone to address that, and I hope it holds up. The kalk reactor also didn't attach to the sump all that well, so I had to put it on the floor and hope for the best. All in all, I think with the addition of a pH probe, that this is the final state for hardware on this build. There really isn't anything else that ought to be added to keep this tank stable and happy. Now the challenge is whether to stick with this 125 gallon tank for my next project, or really pursue something bigger. If you know anyone in the Maryland area who is trying to part with a 180 gallon tank that hold water, send them my way.

Um, I'm not 100% positive but while reading your post above I started hearing a very, very high pitched sound. Almost like a high-pitched WHINING sound!

+1 on @dantimdad or @JDowns being worth contacting about the 3D stuff needed. If they cannot get you what you're looking for then it's probably not worth the hassle. I know there are some wavemaker covers on thingiverse but do not know if there are any posted for Jebaos. Probably worth a search to see what's on thingiverse. Also, if you're in a hurry to get something printed, @dantimdad is probably not your guy as he'll be "indisposed" for about the next week.

As for finding a bigger tank, I'd recommend starting with Craigslist, OfferUp and LetGo. I have scored some pretty sweet deals on each of those. Granted, I live in Chicago and probably have a much larger listing base than DC or Baltimore but, hey, you never know!
Just for kicks, I'll keep my eyes open for you.