Author Topic: It's been a long, hard road. (Pic intense) (Read 5818 times)

stickboy_107 · « **on:** October 23, 2009, 22:46:28 »

Ok. We keep telling everyone that we are going to post pics, and we never get around to it. So, finally we have gotten all of or pictures together so that we can show you all the tank progress. We started in the hobby 9 months ago with a 29 gallon tank. After having it for a month, we transfered everything to the 135 gallon. Since then, we have learned so many things, for example, the right equipment makes all the difference. We'd like to thank Justin at Aquatic Specialists for all the help when our tank nitrates reached 160+, three months later we are down to 20 and hopefully continuing to drop. Also, we'd like to thank Joel from Aquariums Etc. for the sale and all the advice and information that he has given to us, to the guys at Coral Ranch for putting up with my husband's endless questions about different corals, and last but not least, thank you to all the club members who have helped us by either selling or giving different things to us, and for the numerous times you have assisted us when we were totally clueless.

Day 1

Original aquascape

And now, this is how it looks as of today,

Got this frag at the Cinci swap and promised the guys at the last meeting to post a pic of it

Some of the corals in the tank

HUNGER · « **Reply #1 on:** October 23, 2009, 22:57:49 »

vary nice looken good

aquavista99 · « **Reply #2 on:** October 23, 2009, 22:58:49 »

Very nice setup, Scott! Are you sure you have only been in the hobby for 9 months? Your rock work and mix or corals/frags is amazing.Thanks for sharing!

stickboy_107 · « **Reply #3 on:** October 23, 2009, 23:02:20 »

Yep, 9 months, but lots of reading and research prior to setup.

lazylivin · « **Reply #4 on:** October 23, 2009, 23:44:31 »

That is a pretty impressive setup. Especially in such a short period of time. You both are well on your way to a very nice reef tank. Will be looking forward to seeing this one progressive. Especially your nice Zoanthid collection. Great Job

jd · « **Reply #5 on:** October 24, 2009, 01:50:55 »

Looks great guys, I envy your Zoa collection

Reefd Up · « **Reply #6 on:** October 24, 2009, 06:40:31 »

Awesome!

micki · « **Reply #7 on:** October 24, 2009, 07:47:50 »

Wow...Very Nice!

aquavista99 · « **Reply #8 on:** October 25, 2009, 01:14:53 »

Good plan with great results. I also like your Oceanic pine stand. During my freshwater days, I had the same type of stand but did not have the matching Oceanic tank like you.

Quote from: stickboy_107 on October 23, 2009, 23:02:20

Yep, 9 months, but lots of reading and research prior to setup.

jd · « **Reply #9 on:** October 25, 2009, 01:27:41 »

Can we see the sump?

stickboy_107 · « **Reply #10 on:** October 25, 2009, 09:41:08 »

I will try to get some pics of the sump and then post them later.

slandis3 · « **Reply #11 on:** October 25, 2009, 09:43:44 »

Hey your tank looks really good. So when are you going to host a meeting?

stickboy_107 · « **Reply #12 on:** October 25, 2009, 10:45:05 »

Quote from: slandis3 on October 25, 2009, 09:43:44

Hey your tank looks really good. So when are you going to host a meeting?

Our place is way to small to host a meeting right now. We will probably be moving into a bigger place this year, and when we do, we will host.

Quote from: aquavista99 on October 25, 2009, 01:14:53

Good plan with great results. I also like your Oceanic pine stand. During my freshwater days, I had the same type of stand but did not have the matching Oceanic tank like you.

Thanks. The stand is really well constructed, and I like it better than the satnd that we have for the 180g we are working on.

stickboy_107 · « **Reply #13 on:** October 25, 2009, 10:56:09 »

Quote from: jd on October 25, 2009, 01:27:41

Can we see the sump?

Ok, here are the pictures of the sump. The design is from Melevsreef.com design F. Here is the link for the pictures on the RC forum

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1668107

jd · « **Reply #14 on:** October 25, 2009, 12:02:20 »

Awesome, thanks. I always like equip. pics

lazylivin · « **Reply #15 on:** October 25, 2009, 13:37:24 »

What are the three 1/4" tubes for?

rayviv · « **Reply #16 on:** October 25, 2009, 14:52:06 »

Quote from: Lazylivin on October 25, 2009, 13:37:24

What are the three 1/4" tubes for?

Yea, What are they 4?

Hey Guys I'm really impressed with all your set up.

What kind of pump is that?

Great Job!

stickboy_107 · « **Reply #17 on:** October 25, 2009, 15:38:18 »

Quote from: Lazylivin on October 25, 2009, 13:37:24

What are the three 1/4" tubes for?

Lazy are you referring to the blue, green and the red, if so they hook up to the calcium reactor that I picked up at Joels.
Im trying to find a better spot for them to hang. Any suggestions on where they should be would be greatly appreciated because this is the first time I have had a calcium reactor. From what I have found on the internet about this model Pro Calcium PCCR "very little" says that the blue line should be in the cleanest water because it is pulling water into the Ca+ reactor, the red line is excess CO2 blow off from the reactor, and the green line returns the effluent from the reactor back to the tank.

Ray, the return pump is an Iwaki model # WMD-40RLT that was purchased from Joel. I also run an Iwaki model # WMD-20RLT on the Ca+ reactor. As for noise, they are real quiet. I sit beside the tank and watch tv with no problems compared to the other pumps that we have had in the past that were really loud.

Wall_Tank · « **Reply #18 on:** October 25, 2009, 23:13:52 »

How are you adding Ca and Alk today? Assuming a two part, how much are you dosing. I would be very careful with a reactor with a low Ca Alk load.

I'm not familiar with that reactor, but typically you need a pump to supply water to the reactor. The pump on the reactor frame is probably just a recirculation pump. It looks like from the photo that your water into the reactor is hooked to the suction side of the pump. You need to be careful of that, if your pump shuts off, the reactor may drain back into your sump.

I have a "T" off of my main tank pump. This gives me a nice constant pressure to the reactor. Water enters high in the recirc tubing, so it cannot syphon back. The return line has a needle valve to control the effluent. And this line just goes into my sump in a convienient spot, which is downstream of my tank PH probe.

You'll probably also want to MOD the reactor to control the pH in the main reactor chamber. If you don't have a ph controller, if the water flow quits moving tank water into the reactor, you can end up with a very very low pH in your reactor and turn the media to mush. Also, I think you'll find that most people that have been running a reactor longer don't use the find media.

stickboy_107 · « **Reply #19 on:** October 26, 2009, 21:24:17 »

I stopped using two part about a month ago. I used two little fishies A and B. I never really liked it that much because I thought the directions were a little bit confusing on it. Once I got the Ca+ reactor up and running and dialed in, my Alk level has been staying around 11 and my Ca levels have been holding at 460. I also mix lime water in my topoff water and have been doing that for about a month which has really helped out, and my pH has been holding at about 8.3. Also when I do a water change, I make sure that my parameters match before putting the new water into the tank.
I would like to see how you have yours "T'd" off, Wall_Tank. I am interested in seeing if I could incorporate that into mine. It sounds like a much better design. I was kind of skeptical of it draining back into the sump. When I first got the reactor, I fired it up to see how it worked without the CO2 on it, and when I shut it off and came back the next day, the main chamber was drained half way down. Thank God it was just a trial run with only water. As for a pH controller, I don't have one right now,but I run a pH test everyday just to make sure my tank is holding at the same level. I am really looking into this controller.
http://www.finsdepot.com/product/SM122
I am also checking my Ca and Alk everyday to make sure it is holding at the right levels. As for the fine media, I am definitely going to be changing that out. I thought I would like the finer stuff but I don't. Any suggestions on what is a better choice?

Wall_Tank · « **Reply #20 on:** October 26, 2009, 23:50:20 »

Quote from: stickboy_107 on October 26, 2009, 21:24:17

I am really looking into this controller.
http://www.finsdepot.com/product/SM122
I am also checking my Ca and Alk everyday to make sure it is holding at the right levels. As for the fine media, I am definitely going to be changing that out. I thought I would like the finer stuff but I don't. Any suggestions on what is a better choice?

I would not spend $100 on just a PH controller. For just a bit more you can get a more functional controller. Look at the Reefkeeper series or a Neptune system Aquacontroller.

As for media, have only heard good thing about the Gen-X. I will be swtiching to that very soon.

rayviv · « **Reply #21 on:** October 27, 2009, 11:35:36 »

Quote from: stickboy_107 on October 26, 2009, 21:24:17

I stopped using two part about a month ago. I used two little fishies A and B. I never really liked it that much because I thought the directions were a little bit confusing on it. Once I got the Ca+ reactor up and running and dialed in, my Alk level has been staying around 11 and my Ca levels have been holding at 460. I also mix lime water in my topoff water and have been doing that for about a month which has really helped out, and my pH has been holding at about 8.3. Also when I do a water change, I make sure that my parameters match before putting the new water into the tank.
I would like to see how you have yours "T'd" off, Wall_Tank. I am interested in seeing if I could incorporate that into mine. It sounds like a much better design. I was kind of skeptical of it draining back into the sump. When I first got the reactor, I fired it up to see how it worked without the CO2 on it, and when I shut it off and came back the next day, the main chamber was drained half way down. Thank God it was just a trial run with only water. As for a pH controller, I don't have one right now,but I run a pH test everyday just to make sure my tank is holding at the same level. I am really looking into this controller.
http://www.finsdepot.com/product/SM122
I am also checking my Ca and Alk everyday to make sure it is holding at the right levels. As for the fine media, I am definitely going to be changing that out. I thought I would like the finer stuff but I don't. Any suggestions on what is a better choice?

OK, NOW I AM JELOUS!
See thats what happens when you think your smarter than the next someone elses' 5th grader

You have gone hi-tech with equipment and verbage. My knowledge was all the way up to TDS and you have gone all the way up to Ca=reactor/~alk/cat#%^*!

I think I missed class.

stickboy_107 · « **Reply #22 on:** October 27, 2009, 13:24:26 »

LOL! Sorry Ray. I do all the typing and Scott decides what to say. I am taking Chemistry this quarter, and I forget that not everyone has a table of elements to reference when I start using the symbols from it. I'll try to type it all out from now on. And believe me when I tel you "I am not smarter than a fifth grader".

rayviv · « **Reply #23 on:** October 27, 2009, 14:52:18 »

Quote from: stickboy_107 on October 27, 2009, 13:24:26

LOL! Sorry Ray. I do all the typing and Scott decides what to say. I am taking Chemistry this quarter, and I forget that not everyone has a table of elements to reference when I start using the symbols from it. I'll try to type it all out from now on. And believe me when I tel you "I am not smarter than a fifth grader".

YEA,YEA and all that. Your just toying with me. Rub it in while you can

jeremyt · « **Reply #24 on:** October 27, 2009, 14:57:12 »

looks great....those zoas from the cinci swap are real nice

Bstare01 · « **Reply #25 on:** October 30, 2009, 13:13:03 »

Looks like its come quite a long way sickboy. I really need to do a tank profile thread for my systems.

Aquatic Specialists · « **Reply #26 on:** October 30, 2009, 15:56:49 »

Everything is looking really nice guys! Keep up the good work and you will be successful.

stickboy_107 · « **Reply #27 on:** October 30, 2009, 17:06:12 »

Thanks guys. Hope that everything will start spreading out. It's been growing pretty quickly for the last couple of weeks, I just want it to grow outward now. Thanks Justin for all your help when we were having problems.

Aquatic Specialists · « **Reply #28 on:** October 31, 2009, 02:40:54 »

your welcome, thats a good reason why were all here...to help each other when in need and share ideas and experiences.

2024 Ohio Reef Frag Swap

Author Topic: It's been a long, hard road. (Pic intense) (Read 5818 times)

Reefd Up

slandis3

Bstare01