wakeboardgeek's rimless SPS build

[kodiak]

Looks better than netting and you still have easy access to your tank. Although netting is more of a guarantee to not lose a fish.

 

[reefhead]

Hmm, I think the netting looks good. and it is easily removed for viewing pleasure.

 

[wakeboardgeek]

I had a couple fish jump from my rimless tank and also had a major problem with fish splashing water out everyday, I ended up buying a piece of acrylic and cutting the middle out and siliconed it to the top of the tank leaving a 1.5 inch lip all the way around. It doesn't look as nice as rimless, but much better than netting. Ive had it like this for a while now, and haven't had a fish jump or any water splash out even when using a magfloat. I have a wrasse and goby among others.

There is about 1.5"-2" from the water line and the top of the glass. Hopefully my fish won't splash water out.

 

[wakeboardgeek]

I've been reading a lot of good reviews on the Jebo WP40 powerhead so I thought I'd give it a shot.

 

[DCG1286]

Definitely following along for this build! I LOVE the rimless tanks. Good luck! (Get that sucker filled up now! :wink

 

[wakeboardgeek]

Controller is hooked up. Just not sure which side of the sump I want to mount it so for now here is a picture of the power units. Please don't mind the current wire mess.

Aquascape is complete and water is going in. I will be adding an island in the bottom right corner.

 

[Lilmatty5dimes]

Oh yea. Coming along great.


Sent Via the R2R Forum APP

 

[wakeboardgeek]

The temporary Mag7 pump is much loader than I remember so I ordered a sound dampening pad. Hopefully it works or else I'll be buying the eheim sooner then planned.

Here's a picture of just the blue actinics.

Pardon the pic quality. It's from my phone.

 

[wakeboardgeek]

No exciting updates but several days ago I slowly raised the temp to 84 degrees to stimulate the bacterial metabolic rate. I've got bacteria blooms (noticeable by cloudy water) so I put the skimmer in this morning.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Looks good!

 

[wakeboardgeek]

I decided to give the Jebo WP40 a try and wow...what a powerful pump. Due to its power and size, I tried to hide the pump somewhat behind the rock work and have the wave setting scaled to pulse at 25%. Anything more and I was afraid water go over the top (even with the rock obstructions). Here is a quick video pulsing at 25%.

initialWP40 - YouTube

I don't currently have any livestock in the tank to see if hiding the pump behind the rock will provide enough flow everywhere, through out the tank. Only time will tell.

 

[salmonshutters]

I built a net for my 20 gallon rimless and it looks really nice when its flush and sits perfectly on top of the tank.

 

[wakeboardgeek]

I built a net for my 20 gallon rimless and it looks really nice when its flush and sits perfectly on top of the tank.

I still need to build my netting. Do you have pics you can share of your netting on your rimless tank?

 

[salmonshutters]

I have a picture in my build thread.

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/member-tanks/112884-shutters-20-gallon-rimless.html

 

[wakeboardgeek]

Just tested my parameters:

Salinity (refractometer) - 1.024
Ammonia (API) - 0
Nitrites (API) - 0
Nitrates (API) - 0
Phosphates (Hanna) - 0.03
Alkalinity (Hanna) - 7.22

My calcium and magnesium test kits are in the mail.

I want to raise my salinity to 1.025 and want to raise my alk somewhere between 8 and 9. I haven't tested freshly made reef crystals saltwater but I may do a water change to try and bring up the alkalinity...otherwise I may have to buffer.

 

[wakeboardgeek]

Did a quick test on some fresh water.

Salinity (refractometer) - 1.025
Alkalinity - 8.456 dKH

Looks like I may have to look into adding my doser sooner than I was expecting.

 

[wakeboardgeek]

I added alk to my tank yesterday and tested the alk today to be 8.1. I'm going to retest at the same time tomorrow to see how much my tank is currently consuming during a 24 hours period so I can dose accordingly (if necessary).

 

[wakeboardgeek]

My parameters have been sticking pretty steady so I added a few snails and a small Ponape Birdsnest frag to make sure the tank is ready for SPS.

 

[wakeboardgeek]

My controller logs my tank's temp and ph. The last 24 hour period has a 2.1 degree delta and 0.1 ph delta.

I'm going to move my fan from within the stand to blow across the surface of the DT to see if I can bring down the temperature swing.

 

[wakeboardgeek]

Sorry for the lack of pictures. The tank's parameters are very stead. ph only fluctuates by 0.1 and I've been able to control the temp to swing 1.2 degrees.

I've also had a chance to cleanup the wiring within the stand. Ignore the return pump cord. That return is to be replaced by the eheim pump that I've just purchased.

Here is a picture of the Ponape Birdsnest that I added several days ago. A small 1" frag just to make sure the tank is ready for SPS. Sorry for the amount of blue.

Here is the current rockwork. I'm so happy I was able to hide the powerhead behind the rockwork.