Taller is better: Kev's 80g column

[Kevin Jaako]

I don't have much room inside my stand for things like power adapters or coils of cables so I bought some cargo netting and installed it around the inside of the stand, just below the bottom of the tank. I'm hoping to tuck away all my power bricks without it looking too messy... or falling into the sump!



KJ

 

[Just_Pete]

Great start to an awesome build.

 

[Greybeard]

For what it's worth, my pluming is mostly unsupported. There's a support shelf under the overflow box... I know you can't see it, but it's there. Aside from that, it's all hanging from bulkheads. Not much for weight, though.

The cargo net is a neat idea. I'd like to see how it's working out in a year or so. Seems a couple molded plastic shelves mounted high across the back might be a better option, only time will tell.

 

[Kevin Jaako]

The cargo net is a neat idea. I'd like to see how it's working out in a year or so. Seems a couple molded plastic shelves mounted high across the back might be a better option, only time will tell.

Yea, I'm hoping it doesn't turn into a total rat's nest of wires and cables... I'll do what I can to coil nicely and zap-strap things into tidy bundles! I did think of the shelf idea too, but between my Apex, EB8, DOS, Breakout Box, IceCap Gyre controller & WXM, I'm pressed for space! I've got a pretty neat idea for a work light in the stand I'll share

@Greybeard, looks like you've got a Vertex 180i too? How are you liking it? I'll be running mine way under the bioload rating for a loooong time while my tank gets up to speed - I'm hoping it'll work out! I've read a lot about the various challenges of running way-oversized skimmers.

KJ

 

[Greybeard]

@Greybeard, looks like you've got a Vertex 180i too? How are you liking it?

KJ

Mixed...

A friend bought this Vertex two years ago, black Friday special. Hooked it up, and couldn't get it to work right... put it on the shelf, and went back to his old skimmer. When I was setting up this system, I asked him about it, he said if I wanted to, I could take it and see if I could get it running. When I tore it down, I found a broken impeller shaft. Since I was not the original purchaser, and the skimmer was by that time, over a year old, I had to buy a new impeller assembly. $50, or something like that. With the new impeller, skimmer worked great. Paid my friend for it, and put it in service.

It'd been in service for nearly a year, and quit. Inspection determined that the motor had quit... no apparent reason. Contacted Vertex US support. They were 'out' of new pump assemblies. After a bit of run-around, I managed to convince them to break down a new skimmer, and send me the entire pump assembly. $200. Took me 8 days to get a new motor. I'm not unhappy with their service, but parts are a bit pricey.

IMHO, I got a unit with a bad pump, from the factory. I think the broken impeller scarred up the inside of the pump before I ever got it, and eventually, it quit running. Quality control being what it is these days, I can understand a bad pump... and since I didn't buy it new, well, I ended up paying the price.

On the other hand. I've owned many skimmers over the years. The Vertex, when it's running right, is easy to keep in adjustment, easy to clean, pulls gunk out of the water better than any (excepting perhaps my old PM Bullet2), and is near silent (the old Bullet sounded like a jet engine warming up!). Wish I'd had a bit better luck with the pump, but I like the skimmer.

You'll probably want to set it up to skim real dry, until you get some bio load in the tank.

 

[Kevin Jaako]

Bored of plumbing… time to glue rocks together.

I’ve been using ReefCrest Aquaweld to bond my aquascape together. (It’s a thermoplastic polymer that melts at 60º C and becomes rock-hard when cool) It’s okay. I don’t have anything to compare it to (never done this before!) but it’s both easy to work with and finicky at the same time. Since my rock work consists of tall columns, I wanted strength above what surface-bonding would provide alone, so I’ve been drilling holes and connecting rocks together with acrylic rods.

To avoid splitting rocks apart, I used 3 masonry drill bits (3/8”, 1/2”, 5/8”) and went progressively wider with my holes. I still cracked a few rocks in half, but it seemed to help a lot. I used 1/2” acrylic rods for most of the weight-bearing joints, and 1/4” rods to join the smaller, higher-up rocks. I angled short lengths of 1/2” rods out the bottom of each column to create a sort of “tripod” that would serve as a base and provide stability.

Since I went all better-safe-than-sorry with the Aquaweld, I had a bunch of sloppy white joints to cover up. Generally, that’s my biggest complaint with the stuff… It oozes out of the joints and is pretty visible against the rock– though, that could just as easily be user error (I’m sure I used way too much). Anyway, I used a heat gun to melt the exposed polymer and shoved small rock fragments into the excess to fill the gaps. It's comin' along!

 

[Kevin Jaako]

Pillars 2.0

 

[Kevin Jaako]

Structural testing: PASSED.
KJ

 

[Kevin Jaako]

Off we go! July 19, 2018: the tank is wet.

I lined the inside of the tank with bubble wrap, took a few deep breaths, climbed up the ladder and lowered in my aquascape. 20 mins later I was pumping in my first batch of RODI. I was about to dump in my sand and decided to do a quick google first to see if fresh water would wipe out the bacteria population in the wet sand and I'm glad I did... the concensus seems to be that it would! Change of plans– salt first, sand later.

New-to-the-hobby comment #5: holy smokes it takes a lot of salt... half a bucket for 80 gallons! wow. Anyway, I hooked up my Gyre xf250, sat back, opened a beer and had a proud moment as I stared at a cloudy, empty tank.





KJ

 

[Kevin Jaako]

As I'm generally still building my airplane while I learn to fly it, I don't have any float switches or sensors or fancy mixing stations for my RO water; just an adapter to an outdoor garden hose and an iPhone timer. I started my second-ever batch of RODI when I went to bed, knowing that my kiddos would either wake me up in time or my backyard would get a bit of a rinsing with some very very pure water. Since we're pretty lucky in Vancouver to have amazing water (~11 TDS), I was humming and hawwing about whether or not I'd get an RO unit at all. A local ex-reefer donated his to a good home and that put an end to that decision. I've got a few leaky push-connect fittings to figure out so the RO unit will have to live outside for a bit longer.

My 80g DT took just over 2 brutes to fill. I decided not to fill the sump yet, since I have a bit more work to do in the stand that will be made easier without having to worry about getting things wet. I had filled the tank right up to the overflow before learning just how much salt it takes to make saltwater... The displacement from all that salt sent a bunch of water over the weir and into the overflow box. I'd planned on giving my overflow a bit of a vacuum before I filled it but I guess I'll have to give it a siphon instead!

A few dead spiders floated out of the rocks which should help kickstart my cycle

After Brute #1:


After Brute #2: (it's kinda neat how the bubbles show the water line)


KJ

 

[mch1984]

Tank is looking good, My wife would be a little jealous of the column tank. She has always liked the taller tanks and I have always like the shorter ones. I think scaping them is probably one of the harder aspects of it and you pulled it off very nicely. I like the columns and you managed to still leave some swimming room for fish. I think the net in the top was pretty genius. Looking forward to following along.

 

[Kevin Jaako]

Shimmy shimmy ya, shimmy yam, shimmy yay; Gimme the mic so I can take it away.

A few pics I forgot to upload from before I filled the tank. I have no idea how you're actually supposed to shim furniture, but my tank is level...

I like the columns and you managed to still leave some swimming room for fish. I think the net in the top was pretty genius. Looking forward to following along.

Thanks @mch1984!


KJ

 

[Kevin Jaako]

Last night I added about 50 lbs of sand- a mix between Caribsea Special Grade and Fiji Pink live sand. I temporarily drained half my tank back into a brute container so I could ladle in the sand without it raining down all over my rocks from a height of 3 feet. It got pretty cloudy pretty quick, which made it impossible to see how much I was getting in & around the rocks. I ended up just rolling up my sleeve and using my hand to push sand into the little crevaces between the rocks.

KJ

 

[Kevin Jaako]

Ah, the difference a day can make...
KJ

 

[svanur]

Nice tank.

 

[Kevin Jaako]

I dosed ammonia to 2ppm and have been adding Microbacter7 daily... Just saw the slightest little blip of purple on the Nitrite test kit last night!
KJ

 

[Fin]

Pretty neat build. Following along...

 

[Kevin Jaako]

Finished painting the door.
KJ

 

[Jay Duke]

I’ve never considered a column tank but it’s pretty cool looking the way you’ve done it. More “art piece” than a standard tank.

Following along. Interested to see your coral, placement and fish choices.

 

[Kevin Jaako]

Thanks @Jay Duke, @Fin, @svanur. The QT tank is up and running which means it's time for.......



FISH!!!
KJ