The JBJ 45 Slow Ride

[ENARP]

Glad to be a part of the JBJ Crew.

So far I am loving this tank!
Going to take it Easy ..Nice and Slow!

The set up :
JBJ 45 RL
Kessil 360 light with Controller
Cobalt MJ 1200 pumps
Apex Jr.
IM Nano Skimmer
In Tank Baskets
Tunze Osmolator ATO
Tunze 6045 Powerhead
Cobalt Heater
Marco Rocks
Carib Sea Special Grade Sand
Red Sea Pro Salt
running just Pond Matrix in Baskets during cycle...
and I am sure there is something else I forgot...

Always open to suggestions if you see anything wrong or advise to the operation of what I have......please let me know!

 

[Shep]

Looking good!!!!

 

[ENARP]

Under stand shots...I hate wires...

 

[Shep]

Under stand shots...I hate wires...

I feel your pain but you have a lot nicer setup than most people! Very sleek looking

 

[ENARP]

I feel your pain but you have a lot nicer setup than most people! Very sleek looking

Thanks. I mounted the Apex and the power bars to a board which can be removed as a whole or I can remove each individual piece. Was easier to set up that way. I also drilled a 3" hole in the center divider so that I could run wires between the two sides. There was some planning put in even if the end result looks like a total mess.

 

[Marktheshark83]

Very good start. Look forward to watching it evolve

 

[Bob Escher]

Do you have the stand that is with it? I just got mine and set up the stand but saw that it has the support in the middle but I want a icecap cube sump which won't fit with the middle

 

[ENARP]

I bought mine online and the stand was "free". I waited almost 8 months on a couple of local cabinet builders to make me a larger custom stand. They said they would get right on it and get back to me. Never happened. You can probably redrill the "very" cheaply made JBJ stand and move the center divider over. The JBJ stand is "so so" at best. I finally decided to use it only after getting fed up with waiting.

 

[Bob Escher]

I turned around and added 1x4's to each side ( 2 ea) and then across the top. The top 1x4's sit on top of the side ones very sturdy and level

 

[ENARP]

Got Diatoms?....

 

[Bob Escher]

Yep I got them not as much as you but got them in my JBJ 45 gal.
How many lbs of rock do you have?

 

[Tahoe61]

That is a pretty darn good scape. I have this tank.

 

[Bob Escher]

I like it as well my concern is there enough live rock in there? My 45 has about 45 lbs or so and now I'm wondering if it's too much

 

[ENARP]

I ordered two kinds of dry rock a year ago when this started. The first batch came in and looked more like concrete mud pies the kids would have made. I then found some better dry rock, what you see in the tank, and ordered 40 pounds of it. I was still thinking in terms of pounds of rock as I did back when I was ordering live rock. 40 lbs of dry rock is a bunch. There is probably 30 pounds of the dry rock in there now. It was in tubs curing out for 6 months before I had time to get things set up. After curing I bet the 30 lbs of dry rock weighed close to 40 pounds after soaking up the water. It is really porous and there is a lot of surface area for bacteria. Besides if I need to add some, I still got 10 pounds of this left plus the junk I got first time. I think I am good on rock and Bob I think you are just fine with the amount you have also.

 

[Bob Escher]

I got two different kinds of live rock totally about 12 lbs. one was all coral it looked good rough but good the other was a wash crappy looking. I then ordered about (twice) pukani rock and the first shipment I had cycling for three months. My worry was filtration you hear 40 gal of water then you need so much rock so I did that and looked liked a big wall. Well after seeing your I modified mine some, lowered it and I think it looks better. But will need more fine tuning I think
Two pics the first is what I just did and the second is old. I took out the flat rock ( sawed flat on both sides) and rearrange things. All the critters (3) are in the big tank and I'm tearing down the QT to reset it up

Thanks

 

[ENARP]

Bob, great set up. I arranged my rock in an "arena" so that I could clean the front glass on all 3 sides. There are flat areas on the rocks in back where I plan on having finger leathers and a toadstool leather grow up and fill in the water column towards the surface. The center of the "arena" will be for the showpeice coral or possibly a clam sometime way on down the road. Going to start slow with a few softies and leathers in a month or so. Right now there are just 4 small nerite snails munching on the brown stuff.

 

[Bob Escher]

I can clean my glass on all sides. They ( the people that know these things, meaning more than 3/4 of the people on this forum) say to leave room in the back to catch this fish that are impossible to catch. I understand that many a person needed to remove rock just to catch fish. I have the two clowns. A chocolate chip starfish ( in the left rear corner of the pic) I'm going to buy couple more fish probably cardinals and wait a while. Thanks by the way

 

[ENARP]

Bob I can remember years ago having to take out 50% of my rock trying to catch a %&@# trigger fish. Live and Learn. The best way not to have to have to catch a trouble maker is ..Don't put that in there! Again, we have it so much easier now with the internet and all the information that is available. Back then, we went to the LFS (another acronym I learned now) and said "hey that's pretty I'll take it". Now that I am in my 50's and not 20's the old saying "patience is a virtue" applies to this hobby more than ever. Happy Reefing! (That has a different meaning now also!!!)

 

[Bob Escher]

I agree but I don't know about the patience part ( LOL) I in my 60's ( my brain says no your not but my body says otherwise) and some things I do have patience and some things I don't. Oh well
Yep so I have the back area open.
So I think I posted my stuff elsewhere but here is mine

JBJ 45 gallon tank
Tunze ATO ( the smaller one)
A coralvue icecap PK 50 skimmer
Innovative marine mini reactor
Aquatop 36 watt UV sterilizer ( don't know if I will use it yet) came over from the freshwater tank
Jabao 4 head doser
Neptune Apex with:
Salinity probe
2 temp probes
ORP probe
PH probe
WXM box with 2 Ecotech Vortech MP10's
PM2 box
Advanced leak detector
Two EB8's
Current USA marine LED light ( need new light, not strong enough for corals)
I'll be saving a long time for a new light, almost everything above I got with the help of disability compensation check)
Also be saving up for a Vortech MP40 as a lot of people say the MP10's aren't strong enough for the tank ( although I wonder I don't put mine higher than 50% seems strong enough to me
Oh and saving up for a sump and overflow box
But what do I know.
I think that's it

 

[ENARP]

Bob As a fellow "old guy", my first reef tanks were from an era with Metal Halide and VHO Actinics lights that you could cook a steak under. The main reason I decided to get back into the hobby was LED lights. Here in Texas, when it is 100 plus degrees outside and the AC was working wide open, dealing with all the heat generated by the lights and ballasts back then was a problem. Don't overdue with all the equipment and gadgets available today. A knowledge of basic water chemistry and maintenance (water changes) and not overloading the system (too many fish at once) is key. My biggest problem has always been walking by a tank and thinking "that would look better over there"...someone could make a fortune building tops for reef tanks with locks....I will have fun watching your tank develop along with mine...Happy Reefing!