New To Reefing - Build Thread - From The Beginning
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Captain Quint
Plank Owner of the Orca
- Joined
- May 5, 2018
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- Carolina
- What state or country do you live in
- North Carolina
My Black Friday orders start arriving tomorrow so things are finally getting moving.
Lovin' what I've seen in your build thread.
Is Jeff and Ryan on the screen in the background? lol, that is cool.
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SilverCityReef
Active Member
I dont remember where I got it from, I've had it for years but it's a Belkin surge protector. I like it because you can rotate each of the plugs individually which I need so I could put door on once everything was plugged in.
LOL. Yes, that is Ryan but I think its Randy that's with him. That was during all the Black Friday Giveaways.
hockeyhead019
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- Pennsylvania
Looking really good!! Keep the picture updates coming
Looking good, I like the stand. Looking forward to watching the progression.
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SilverCityReef
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I thought I would post a quick update to let you all know how my 40 Breeder Build has been going.
During a water change last weekend, I was attempting to suck up detritus from bottom of sump with a hose on a powerhead but the hose fell off and landed on my Chaeto. The Chaeto starting spreading throughout the chamber in very small pieces, roughly 1/8" to 1/2" strands. I'm not sure what caused the Chaeto to breakdown or if it was sent to me like that when I purchased it, but it clogged up my sump and caused my ATO to keep kicking on. I ended up having to drain entire sump, vacuum all the detritus and Chaeto out, rearrange and refil. This took over 24hrs because I had to make water 5 gallons at a time. I decided I'm going to buy a large mesh breeding box and place the Chaeto in that inside the sump. I have been searching for good quality Chaeto where I can get 1 large clump rather than multiple smaller clumps.
Additionally, I wanted to make some improvements to the stability and filtration of my system. To do this, I added some filter floss to the first sump chamber until I can spring for either a filter sock holder or the roller mat. I also added a digital thermometer so I can monitor the temperature inside the display tank to ensure the heater in sump is adequately heating the entire water volume. As a back up, I added an Aqueon 150w heater that I bought for water changes to the display tank while it's not being used elsewhere.
There are a few components that I've been waiting to add and I finally was able to purchase them. I picked up a used Jebao DP-4 dosing pump from a R2R member to use with BRS 2-part which will hopefully help stabilize calcium, Alkalinity, & magnesium levels once I get them down to the desired levels from the elevated Red Sea Coral Pro levels. I also picked up a used Tunze Comline DOC 9004 protein skimmer from another site. It's the AC version and is obviously made for smaller setups but I think it will be plenty for what I require at this point in time. With added filtration & the refugium, I shouldn't need the protein skimmer to work that hard.
Livestock Update: My 3 Acropora frags are not doing great, they are pretty much just maintaining. I dipped the 2 that were looking the worst for a second time last weekend and I plan to dip all 3 again this weekend just to ensure there are no AEFW left. I'm not sure if these are going to survive or if I should just call them a loss now and let my tank sit empty for a couple weeks while fish finish quarantine. I will post some pics in next comment. Not sure if maybe the elevated levels are making them unhappy, I know they are the hardest coral and NOT a good first coral BUT I knew the risk and unfortunately, I'm expecting them not to make it. My 2 Firefish that have been in QT for just about 2 weeks now are doing well. They are eating well, not hiding or overly skittish, and have no signs of illness. I hope to get them in the DT in a couple weeks but will need to pick up a mesh or glass top for DT first.
During a water change last weekend, I was attempting to suck up detritus from bottom of sump with a hose on a powerhead but the hose fell off and landed on my Chaeto. The Chaeto starting spreading throughout the chamber in very small pieces, roughly 1/8" to 1/2" strands. I'm not sure what caused the Chaeto to breakdown or if it was sent to me like that when I purchased it, but it clogged up my sump and caused my ATO to keep kicking on. I ended up having to drain entire sump, vacuum all the detritus and Chaeto out, rearrange and refil. This took over 24hrs because I had to make water 5 gallons at a time. I decided I'm going to buy a large mesh breeding box and place the Chaeto in that inside the sump. I have been searching for good quality Chaeto where I can get 1 large clump rather than multiple smaller clumps.
Additionally, I wanted to make some improvements to the stability and filtration of my system. To do this, I added some filter floss to the first sump chamber until I can spring for either a filter sock holder or the roller mat. I also added a digital thermometer so I can monitor the temperature inside the display tank to ensure the heater in sump is adequately heating the entire water volume. As a back up, I added an Aqueon 150w heater that I bought for water changes to the display tank while it's not being used elsewhere.
There are a few components that I've been waiting to add and I finally was able to purchase them. I picked up a used Jebao DP-4 dosing pump from a R2R member to use with BRS 2-part which will hopefully help stabilize calcium, Alkalinity, & magnesium levels once I get them down to the desired levels from the elevated Red Sea Coral Pro levels. I also picked up a used Tunze Comline DOC 9004 protein skimmer from another site. It's the AC version and is obviously made for smaller setups but I think it will be plenty for what I require at this point in time. With added filtration & the refugium, I shouldn't need the protein skimmer to work that hard.
Livestock Update: My 3 Acropora frags are not doing great, they are pretty much just maintaining. I dipped the 2 that were looking the worst for a second time last weekend and I plan to dip all 3 again this weekend just to ensure there are no AEFW left. I'm not sure if these are going to survive or if I should just call them a loss now and let my tank sit empty for a couple weeks while fish finish quarantine. I will post some pics in next comment. Not sure if maybe the elevated levels are making them unhappy, I know they are the hardest coral and NOT a good first coral BUT I knew the risk and unfortunately, I'm expecting them not to make it. My 2 Firefish that have been in QT for just about 2 weeks now are doing well. They are eating well, not hiding or overly skittish, and have no signs of illness. I hope to get them in the DT in a couple weeks but will need to pick up a mesh or glass top for DT first.
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SilverCityReef
Active Member
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SilverCityReef
Active Member
So I figured I would throw up another update on how my 40 Breeder Build is progressing. I've added a few new pieces of equipment along with a few other small things. I also added a few new frags that I ordered during the Tidal Gardens Live Sale.
New Equipment:
- Tunze Comline DOC 9004 Skimmer
- Jebao DP-4 Dosing Pump
- Mesh Breeder Box For Chaeto
Other:
- New Ball Of Chaeto (3/4 of Freezer Bag)
New Frags (See Next Post For Pics):
- Blue Pavona
- Midnight Princess Favites
- Ultra Leptoseris
New Test Kits:
- Hanna Calcium Checker
- Red Sea Alkalinity Pro
- Red Sea Calcium Pro
New Equipment:
- Tunze Comline DOC 9004 Skimmer
- Jebao DP-4 Dosing Pump
- Mesh Breeder Box For Chaeto
Other:
- New Ball Of Chaeto (3/4 of Freezer Bag)
New Frags (See Next Post For Pics):
- Blue Pavona
- Midnight Princess Favites
- Ultra Leptoseris
New Test Kits:
- Hanna Calcium Checker
- Red Sea Alkalinity Pro
- Red Sea Calcium Pro
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SilverCityReef
Active Member
Here's some pics of the new frags but forgive the quality, still trying to take photos with S7 until I can afford a DSLR.
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View attachment 20190226_143656.jpg
View attachment 20190301_085905.jpg
View attachment 20190301_085943.jpg
View attachment 20190301_085706.jpg
View attachment 20190301_085840.jpg
View attachment 20190301_085844.jpg
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SilverCityReef
Active Member
Thanks! Found the idea on here and just modified it slightly so it would hold 2 lights. I will say it's a little loose when it comes to positioning. I'm probably going to try adding another washer to see if I can get it to tighten up a bit more because it wont let me move them any higher so they're only 7 or 8" AWL.
