First build, some questions, and documenting my build

Glasswalker · Jun 8, 2016

Another couple pics:

Here is the GSP I'm trying to nurse to health. On it's new isolated island rock.

And here is another pic of my porcelain crab that's hiding in a rock crevasse (this time facing the camera, but hanging from the rock upside down, he seems to like being upside down lol)

More to come.

Glasswalker · Jun 26, 2016

Hey, so I know I've been a bit delinquent

I've honestly gone nearly a month without getting any of the woodworking done. Either work, or family events, or weather has gotten in the way. Hoping this coming up long weekend I can finally get the cabinetry done!

In the meantime, the clowns have been moved out of QT to the DT just today, and we got a frag of Hammer Coral as well.

Also we got our RODI system setup, and are producing our own clean water now.

So here are a batch of pics and even some videos of the new stuff in the tank! Enjoy!

First, here is an overview shot of the tank as it stands today:

And Here is the RODI system in my laundry room (it's mounted on a piece of plywood that I hang there, for easy portability)

One of my Scarlet Hermits booking it across the sand bed for some food:

The frag of Hammer I just added to the tank (I don't think it's fully extended in this pic, as it was just put in the tank an hour or two beforehand):

And here is another (clearer) shot of my Porcelain crab, again hanging upside down, he likes doing that lol:

One of my blue legged hermits:

And here is the new pair of clowns (they are proving difficult to photograph clearly lol, will get better shots soon):

Just the male Clown:

And just the female Clown:

And last but not least, a few videos!

Porcelain Crab Filter Feeding:

Porcelain Crab waving his arms at food:

And the clowns, shortly after adding them to their new home:

Anyway, more to come soon!

Glasswalker · Jun 27, 2016

A couple more (better) pics of the clowns, they are much calmer today, so easier to photograph.

Glasswalker · Jul 4, 2016

So another update:

We got some new friends to add to the tank:
- 2 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
- Red Sea Star (black tips)
- Rock/Flower Anemone (to try and get the porcelain crab to host)
- Exquisite Firefish

Also got my QT tank purchased (used) and cycling:

Bought the tank used, 30g long, with steel stand, and heater/hob filter, and some other random stuff for $100 cash.
Had some leaks, but I quickly resealed the tank, and it's all good now.
Got it nice and clean, cleaned up the heater, and bought a small powerhead.
Added 2 nice size hunks of live rock, and an eggcrate bottom to the tank.
It's now just getting the salt mixed (in-tank) up to 1.025 (started with RODI, adding salt slowly)
Once salt is up, I'll add one piece of seed live rock, and a bunch of live rubble in the hob filter.
I also have Aquavitro Seed bottled bacteria, as I had great luck with that on my DT, so will be using that to boost the cycle.

Here is a pic of the setup so far in my basement:

I'm planning on adding 2-3 small LED reef lights. Nothing fancy, just enough to keep any coral I QT alive...
And hob filter not pictured here yet, still cleaning it up from used tank to get it nice and clean.

Will post pics of the new critters shortly.

The Inverts I added direct to the tank after full aclimation with water replacement, and then a rinse in tank water (discarded). Friend advised he's used this method with no real issues for inverts, and I didn't want to over-stress the anemone with multiple transfers. All seem to be doing well, but I'm a bit concerned about the star, still keeping an eye on it.

The firefish is in my friends QT as mine isn't fully operational yet.

More pics to come!

Glasswalker · Jul 7, 2016

Another update post, pic heavy

Got the QT fully up and running, cycle been running a couple days now... Other than that, primarily a pic update

Here is a pic of the tank overall... Coraline starting to grow on the rocks now, big difference from my first pics of it after cycling

A few closer pics of the islands:

From this island, you can also see the Rock Flower Anemone, but he's quite small (And looks much better under actinics lol)

My new Skunk Cleaner Shrimp (and the new sea star):

Closer pics of the sea star:

Nessarius Snail, had him a while, just snapped a pic when he was out of the sand:

Another of the blue legged hermit crabs:

And another of the red legged hermit crabs:

And finally, here is the new QT tank, being cycled:

As always, more to come

Stay tuned!

Bronc · Jul 7, 2016

Looking great!!

kingston.buck · Jul 8, 2016

Coming along nicely bro

btdz · Jul 8, 2016

Awesome build so far, can't wait to see how it comes along!

SR52012 · Jul 8, 2016

Great build! Can I ask why the foam under the tank? Im still new to this.

Glasswalker · Jul 8, 2016

SR52012 said:
Great build! Can I ask why the foam under the tank? Im still new to this.

Because it's a rimless tank, the glass is not supported by a frame, and the full face of the bottom pane is in contact with the stand. So the foam serves a few purposes:

support the tank without applying any point loads/stresses to the bottom glass pane
even out any variations/bumps/whatever in the plywood surface
handle any variations/whatever that may emerge over time as the stand settles under load

Bronc said:
Looking great!!

kingston.buck said:
Coming along nicely bro

btdz said:
Awesome build so far, can't wait to see how it comes along!

Thanks! I'm very happy with how it's coming along.

It's been an exciting ride!

SR52012 · Jul 8, 2016

Wouldnt the foam "crush" over time? Possible unevenly?

Glasswalker · Jul 8, 2016

SR52012 said:
Wouldnt the foam "crush" over time? Possible unevenly?

Possibly, but this is why you use fairly high-density foam. And consider that even if it crushes "unevenly" when considering the rigidity of the underlying plywood, and the glass panel of the tank, and the weights involved, there shouldn't be much risk of deformation in a way that creates point stresses on the glass. (the worst outcome you might see is slight settling of one end/corner resulting in a minor offset in the levelling of the tank)

That said I'm not an expert at all, I simply did my research (which there seems to be mixed opinion in the community as to which way is best, some say white high density foam, some say pink/blue insulation foam, some say no foam is better). Based on my findings I felt the white high density foam seemed to:

Have the most support from a logical argument perspective
Have the most anecdotal support of people claiming the manufacturer of a tank required it for warranty purposes
Have the most anecdotal support of people who did it, and had long-lived tanks with no issues of cracking/breaking/leaking

So based on that I felt that was my best course of action

SR52012 · Jul 8, 2016

Thanks! I was just wondering, like i said im still new to this...

Glasswalker · Sep 7, 2016

Just another quick update. Things have been a bit slow. But work will be picking up soon.

We've added the Fire Fish, and Foxface that were in QT to the display now. A pic of each below.

Also added some new Coral, an Orange Pavona, and some Montipora Plates (one Green, one Red).

this has in turn convinced me I need a new light, so new light was bought and has arrived. Have not installed it yet.
Also we're beginning an update to the Sump. So we'll be switching from a 20L to a 29G tank, with a different baffle layout resulting in easier serviceability, larger fuge, and overall ease of use. Also getting a new Skimmer.

So lots happening in the near future. In the coming month or two probably lots more build pics.

In the meantime, here are a few more pics from around the tank (I'll do an updated "overall tank shot" once I get the last couple pieces of woodwork installed and the new light installed).

Star Fish cleaning the glass:

Blue hermit motoring across the sand. He just moved into that shell

Porcelain Crab making a dash across the sand to grab some food:

Pavona Coral:

Fiddling with pics under Actinics, here is the Porcelain:

And the Rock Flower Anemone:

And here are the new members of the tank community, first the Fire Fish:

And the Foxface:

Anyway, more to come soon!

kingston.buck · Sep 14, 2016

What lighting are you switching too?

Glasswalker · Sep 14, 2016

So the light I had originally was the 48" version of this one from Coralife:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=34014

It was working very nicely, and was a surprisingly powerful light. I got it on sale for a good price from Big Als during grand-re-opening of their local store

But since I started adding some SPS, I found while it was keeping them alive, it wasn't really promoting growth. It did however work great for LPS/Soft coral, and I was starting to get some minor coraline growth even...

So, in my hunt for a new light, I was looking on Amazon Canada for a fixture with the 3W LEDs in it, preferably affordable. And was about to buy a pair of chinese $180 lights which were about 160 watt each... And I stumbled onto this light which at the time was listed at $280:
https://www.amazon.ca/Aquatic-34-Inch-164-Watt-Professional-Aquarium/dp/B00I2RVF9S

At first I couldn't figure out what the catch was... $280 for that light seemed really cheap after a bit of research. So I ordered it on a whim... turns out it was an Amazon pricing error, so I got the light for $280.

It's peak is closer to 190Watt with all channels at 100%... But I can say it's FAR more powerful than the Coralife model. And has way better flexibility, the programming capability is fantastic, can make some really cool spectrum ramp up and down cycles, sunrise/sunset, and all the fancy stuff. With a ton of flexibility. Also is easy to handle acclimation of the coral to the new light (setup a program with desired spectrum and intensity, and you can ramp it down overall to "match" the old light, and slowly increase over time with an overall intensity controller on the remote)

I measured the lux using a lux meter, both are LEDs and both were same distance/position to the light (about 3 feet away). The meter maxed out at 10,000 lux.
The Coralife light hit about 2500lux peak at 100% all channels.
The Aquatic Life light hit 10,000 at 100% all channels. Had to turn the overall intensity down to 10% to just get it to read less than max... Which came out at 5500lux...

I know lux doesn't translate at all to PAR really, but according to research this one should put out 5-6 times the PAR at depth. So I'm running it at 20% output right now, coral seems happy, no signs of bleaching.
the Orange Pavona, and I have both red and green plating Montipora, both are now showing better polyp extension, and color is nicer with this light even at 20% output. I'll ramp it up slowly to prob 50% or so over the next month or so, and keep an eye out for bleaching. If so that should be good to promote lots of growth (at least the light won't be the bottle-neck, next up is to ensure nutrients and water quality are all good to support growth as well).

Anyway, so that's why I'm switching.

As for the other changes coming up:
- Sump is hard to do mechanical filtering due to cramped layout, new layout allows me much easier access, easy drop-in filter sock ability, and improves my fuge footprint significantly.
- Change in plumbing reduces horizontal runs, and improves simplicity again for easier maintenance
- New lighting for the sump to improve Chaeto growth
A few other minor tweaks.

Not to mention FINALLY getting around to finishing the cabinets lol...

Anyway, hopefully more pics coming soon

kingston.buck · Sep 15, 2016

Awesome, sounds like you scored big on amazon. All the pics look great too. FTS once you get the lights in?

Glasswalker · Oct 15, 2016

Sorry it's been so long. Lights have been on the tank for about a month, been slowly ramping them up.

Still adjusting to taking photos under the new lighting. (so apologies some of the pics are a little off on exposure)

Also finally getting more work done on the stand, it's nearly finished being enclosed (still need to do the trim, fittings, and detailing). And need gas assist on the front door, right now using a 2x2 to brace it open when working lol...

Also some plumbing changes, soon to be some more, and getting ready to install new Sump probably next month.

Oh and we're battling a little bit of hair algae, we think we have it under control now, but still waiting for it to fully clear up. Still one rock, and a few spots around the tank still.

Anyway, some full tank shots as requested, as well as more critter shots, including the new additions

Full Tank showing new light and plumbing:

Full tank, with door closed:

Another shot of the firefish, he's at-home here never strays more than 12" from his cave.

Foxface, still being camera shy, his coloration isn't as bright as usual as he's being shy. Will try to get better pics of him soon:

Hammer Coral, has been moved to the sand bed. with the new light it was likely getting too much up high, and the clowns have taken up residence in it, and kept knocking it off the rock anyway, seems more stable here:

As mentioned, clowns near their new friend:

New BTA(s)... We added one new RBTA finally after much battling with it in QT... Shortly after adding it, he split into 3. Both one and two are shown here, and have recovered fully it appears, but #3 has been MIA for some time... Also the Porcelain crab took immediately to the RBTA... (we were hoping the clowns would host in it and the crab would take the rock-flower, but what can you do lol)

Red Plating Montipora Coral (added it with old light, just wasn't enough, new light it seems very happy and is growing very rapidly, have had at least 5mm of growth in past 3 weeks)

Green Plating Montipora Coral (basically same story as the red one, color has improved drastically on both of them under this light too)

And a couple Mushrooms we're trying to get to spread:

That's it for now, I know I've been somewhat negligent lately, will try to post more updates as I can.

Oh and here is a couple teasers of the new addition who's in QT right now, our new Decorated Goby, who will help with Sand sifting. He has a ton of personality and is fun to watch his antics:
(sorry these are phone pics, so not the greatest)