Ohio Reef
Site & Club Forums => Just Arrived => Topic started by: Straasha on May 03, 2020, 08:38:34
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Hi everyone, new to the area. Just moved in to Beavercreek Township. I am in the military and have moved a lot over the last 25 years. I have had freshwater aquariums most of my life but for the last 10 years, every house I lived in did not had a good location for a tank. Now that I am near the end of my military career, I finally have a house where I can put in an aquarium. I built a stand for an old 55 gallon tank and after I built it, I decided to go saltwater. Yeah, I now know that 55 gallon is not the best but I am pressing forward. The stand turned out quite well. I decided to ditch my 1981 era 55 gallon tank because, even though it held water, I was afraid it might leak eventually due to its age. Also, because it was 3/8 inch thick, it was pretty green. I didn't want the color to distract from the beauty of a reef. I bought a 55 gallon aqueon tank from Petco during their last sale and installed Fijicube's AIO DIY Kit, a Tunze 9004, and a pair of Noopsyche K7 pros. Now I am waiting for the tank to cycle. 2 weeks down so far and the wait is killing me. In the meantime, what do you think of my aquascape? Also, I want to add some LPS on the lower rocks and on the island on the right. Maybe in after a year, I will add some SPS up top. Any LPS suggestions @Lazy and my new Ohio Reef friends?
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Looks pretty nice. That location fits that tank as if it was made for it.
How are you cycling? Dr. Tim’s have a great ammonia product to add along with one of the bacteria in a bottle products will produce a strong and pretty quick cycle. As for corals many of us sell, just watch the ads or post up what you are looking for. Lazy’s is a great place but is closed right now due to the virus. In not sure about any of the stores but I think most wholesalers are closed so assuming it will be hard to find fish also. This is a great group, so post up any questions on your journey to addiction.
Jeff
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I am using Red Sea's Mature Reef Starter kit and following the directions. One questions I have about LPS corals is that I am not sure how close I can put them on a rock and which are compatible with another. The more I read sometimes the more I get confused. I am loving the start but there is a huge learning curve.
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That stand is gorgeous! Glad to see you are using the noopsyche lights, I have been using 1 on my tank for a few months now and I prefer it over the kessil I had.... as for coral placement, give plenty of room around them for growth, I have also learned that euphoria likes to stretch out and will sting corals like crazy! I have lost quite a few things already due to this.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Welcome! Nice aqua-scape. How are the pieces connected/stabilized? Your set up is very pleasing. I know very little and am enjoying the learning curve (roller coaster a better description). I look forward to seeing more.
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dbowman, I used epoxy putty to secure the arches together. The island on the right is just stacked together. My daughter and I initially laid everything out on the ground and came up with the idea. We epoxied the bases together, put them into the tank, and then secured the arches. Over at reef2reef, someone gave my the idea of putting LPS on the island and lower rocks and then putting SPS on top of the arch, nearest the light. So...that's my plan for now at least.
I have a QT setup in the basement and plan to go to Gerbers to pick up a couple of clownfish. I will quarantine them in coppersafe for the next 2-4 weeks while the tank finishes cycling. I also want to get a few corals started too. One question for the team, who quarantine's corals? I plan to get them from either Gerbers or Lazy's (I see he does allow local pickup from his front porch). Anyone have an issues with hitchhikers or anything else?
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I use Gerber's for fish and inverts. I can't say much about their corals. I would recommend Lazy's or watch this club for items, they are often offered. By going through the club you can ask questions. then you know who does what.
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Just got back from Gerber's a few hours ago. Picked up two fancy clown fish. They are in the quarantine tank until the display tank finishes cycling. Should be another week or so.
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nice
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Cycle is making progress. Here are this morning's stats:
Temp: 79.5
pH: 8.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0.25
Nitrate: 40
Alkalinity: 8.4
I do have one question for the group. I am using Red Sea's Reef Mature Starter Kit. Part of the instructions indicate that my alkalinity should be going down and to supplement daily with KH Coralline Gro to maintain it at 8.4. Mine hasn't changed in over a week. I haven't any KH Coralline Gro during that time. Is this bad?
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I looked up the product and it maintains salts that the corals use up. if the corals are not abundant the hardness will not go down very much. the hardness is a measure oof the abundance of salts and a buffer to prevent pH swings so not changing is good. IMO
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dbowman, thanks for the advice. I truly appreciate it.
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remember, i could be wrong; then when we hear from someone who really knows, we will both benefit from learning that you started.
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Couple things. The dKH is just a measure of the buffering capacity of saltwater. Buffers are basically systems (in the case of seawater that is mainly carbonate and bicarbonate) that maintain the pH of a solution at a certain level. Since these make up the majority of the buffer in seawater it is easy to measure their abundance using what we know as an alkalinity test. This basically neutralizes the buffer system using an acid, until it hits a certain pH that changes the color (an indicator solution does this).
So anyways sorry for the long explanation on alkalinity. The reason they claim your alkalinity should go down is because the bacteria require a carbon source for growth. In some cases the bacteria uses the carbonate and bicarbonate as a source and other times it doesn’t. It is possible there was some other convenient carbon source for the bacteria in your water therefore it did not need to use the buffer as a carbon source. I wouldn’t worry too much, looks like the cycle is going along very well based on your nitrates. I’d say ready for livestock after the nitrites disappear fully. Sorry for any typos as I’m on my phone.
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Thank you very much for that explanation.
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very well stated thanks dbjonesjr
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Starting to populate the aquarium. Yesterday put in an Engineer Goby, a female Yellow Watchman Goby, and a Pistol Shrimp. Getting excited!
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any updates on this? How is the tank doing? any CUC yet? or are they not needed
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Sorry for the delay. I did build a canopy for the tank. It was hard seeing the lights out of the corning of your eyes while watching TV. Wife likes the look better as well.
I did add a CUC from reefcleaners.org. Great service and would recommend them if you haven't used them.
Last week I added another clownfish, a yellow tang, a royal gamma who likes to hide, and a brittle starfish. I have a Coral Beauty, a Vrolik's Wrasse, a female Whip Fin Fairy Wrasse, and one starter coral, a Grape Cristata Coral, coming in on Thursday from LiveAquaria. One question: I have read multiple conflicting pieces of advice on adding corals to the tank. After I dip the coral in CoralRX, should I remove the coral from the frag plug and glue it to a rock; or simply clean the plug and glue the plug to a rock? Please help guide the noobie.
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I like the canopy, I’m old school and like the buttoned up look of a stand and canopy together
For me in the past I would remove my frags from their plug and glue to my rock, never cared for the frag plug look. I would however put the coral in my tank after dipping with it still on the plug for a week or two to get the coral really acclimated to the tank before I removed it and glued it - that was years ago so there might be a better way now
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Well, my Grape Cristata Coral didn't last more than two days before it died. It didn't look good when it arrived. That's the last time I order something on-line. I made a smarter option and looked towards my Ohio Reef members.
I picked up 4 corals from @Heinbaughb today. Put them in the tank and they quickly opened up and looking great. Whooohooo...lovin' it.
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OK team, need some advice. I am truly hating the Fijicube AIO Kit. Too cramped, hard to maintain right water level, frustrating to use with my Tunze 9004. Unfortunately, I siliconed it in the the side of the tank. Does anyone know of a way to get it out without killing all my fish/coral?
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silicone can be cut if you can get to the silicone. usually the bond to plastic is not as strong as that to glass. so may separate from the box then trim the silicone from the glass with razor. cured silicone is not toxic to fish if you were worried about that.
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So need some opinions an way to go.
Option 1. Remove Fijicube AIO and use HOB overflow and return to new sump.
Option 2. Buy new tank, drill it, and use internal overflow and returns to new sump.
With option 2, how hard is it to transfer everything to a new tank?
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kind of depends on what direction you want to go.
I made a pilot system to try out diy ideas with the plan to transfer everything to a larger set up and use the equipment on it. I could not see an easy way to tear the old system down and cycle the new one with the old equipment while the livestock did what, sit in a bucket for weeks?
I bought all new stuff for the new set up including upgrading from a DIY over-the-top-siphon-to-sump to an Eshopps drilled overflow. 45 gal system to 100 gal. now i have two systems. i did move my fish and inverts to the new system. i didn't have any corals yet so i can't speak to that, but the stuff i had took the move easily. since then i have a few corals that i have moved between the systems and from sump to DT with no problems. holding everything to the same salinity/temp but the rest is a crapshoot. there is no ultimate system that you can build. so i don't have too much heartburn when i realize i could have gone a different path. We are both new to this site so I can relate to trying to figure out the way forward. The classic advice is "when you come to a fork in the road, take it.
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Not sure how I missed this thread. Love the stand! I would go for option 2. You can install the sump and drill the tank and install overflow. Then when ready do the transfer in a couple hours. If you need to borrow some brute trash cans I have two on wheels that may help with the transfer.
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Lazy, I think that is the approach I may take. It will be a pain in the short term but overall happier in the long term. Any suggestions for a favorite overflow? and Sump? I don't have a lot of room the tank stand. The back is open so plumbing will be easy.
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My favorite overflow is the eshopps eclipse. But dang the prices have gone up quite a bit. They medium were originally $89 which was an incredible value for the quality. As far as sumps I have only ever built my own using $1 gallon sale tanks with acrylic baffles. There are a lot of nice sumps out there prebuilt if you don’t mind spending the funds. Otherwise building your own is most economical.
https://premiumaquatics.com/products/eshopps-eclipse-overflow-kit-1.html
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My favorite overflow is the eshopps eclipse. But dang the prices have gone up quite a bit. They medium were originally $89 which was an incredible value for the quality. As far as sumps I have only ever built my own using $1 gallon sale tanks with acrylic baffles. There are a lot of nice sumps out there prebuilt if you don’t mind spending the funds. Otherwise building your own is most economical.
https://premiumaquatics.com/products/eshopps-eclipse-overflow-kit-1.html
Agreed Brian. It’s the Eshopps brand that has skyrocketed. Marine Depot has an exact replica of the eshopps medium but it’s only $88. I’ve bought 2 of them in the last 6 months. Comes with a template and hole saw bit too. You can’t beat it.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200612/0506c2c95d5635fc679503de9064131c.jpg)
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Life is hard. :( After taking measurements inside my stand, I only have about 12x18x12 to work with. Additionally, it would be really cramped. I think I would be trading one problem for another. Thanks everyone for the advice. Reefing is an adventure not a destination, right???? Just like dbowman, this will be my learning tank and eventually upgrade to a dream tank.
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That is a nice alternative with a much better price Jesse.
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OK Team, I feel like I am acting like my wife trying to pick something to watch on Netflix. I changed my mind again and bought a new 55 gallon tank last night. Thanks everyone on the suggestions for overflows. Few question. When I calculate the water volume inside the tank minus rock/sand. I get about 40ish gallons of water. Many of your overflow suggestions are for the medium sized overflows which flow 600-800 GPH. I would think the small that flow around 400 GPH is sufficient to allow somewhere between a 5x-10x sump turnover. This would require the small sized overflow. Am I missing something (which I have many times)?
Also, thoughts and opinions of pvc pipe versus Reinforced PVC Braided Vinyl Tubing? Thanks for the help and advice.
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what kind of drain set up are you trying to set up? if you are going for a single full siphon the small would work. that would be a short pipe with a dry emergency pipe. if you wanted to have a durso type it needs a wider width so that you can elbow over. I chose the large to have 3 drains so i could have a bean animal.
did you buy a non-tempered tank? i used pvc for mine. i used the braided pvc for my pilot system to reduce vibration but adapted to pvc for the parts on the DT
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dbowman, I bought the Aqueon 55 gallon tank which I believe is only tempered on the bottom. Between sale and discount codes I got it for $60 total at Pet Supplies Plus. I plan to go with the overflow style that SweetReefOH Ohio recommended that creates a Herbie-style return. I am extremely limited on space for a sump. It will actually hang off the back of the stand by about 4-5 inches but I can support it and it will also be out of sight. I am debating between the two sumps:
1: Eschopps Aquafuge Cube Medium
https://www.eshopps.com/filters/aqua-fuge/cube-medium
2: Fijicube Fiji-15 Sump
https://www.fijicube.com/collections/fiji-advanced-sump/products/fiji-15-advanced-reef-sump-2nd-gen-fiji-cube
I leaning towards the Fiji-15.
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Why not build your own sump? May pet supplies plus has tanks for 1 dollar a gallon - then you could build it how you want and find a size to fit in your stand
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The largest tank I can fit in my stand is only 10 gallons and I believe that it will be too little.
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did you want a refugium?
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A refugium would be nice but not a deal maker.
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the lack of one is what i noticed about the fuji cube but both look good
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Thanks, dbowman. Also, I plan to have two returns at each end of the tank with the overflow in the middle. How many of you run dual smaller return pumps versus having one large pump?
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not i said the dog
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This gets me thinking. Is it overkill to have the overflow in the middle with two returns on the sides or should I put the return on one side with the overflow on the other?
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are you planning on wave makers?
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I have two Hydor Koralia 3rd Gen 1350 powerheads using their smart wave controller. I have them in the rear corner pointing in towards the front. They alternate every minute.
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the reason i ask is that if you plan on all of the movement that your pumps provide it might give you the answer of what return set up to have. if you have a 400 gph drain what kind of return would you get to balance that without blowing everything around. I have a 2400 variable that i use on low with the overflow on the left rear and the return on the right.
the spray bar pvc return provides a cross tank flow toward the overflow. my wave makers are on each end pushing water around the central rock work. i am thinking of getting a gyre but right now i have to be careful where i aim the wave makers so that the sand doesn't get fluffed around. I had the bar breaking the surface but that caused skim to accumulate behind it. i lowered it to under the surface now it allows the water to flow over it and it works better.
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Originally I had planned to T the return and have two nozzles coming from the back wall; one centered and one in the right corner. The lock-line doesn't come in large so I would have had 3/4" nozzles. The other thing is that to drill the return it had to be away from the top of the tank so that it would not crack the glass. This brought the return below the surface so I had to come up with something to break siphon and prevent livestock from swimming in. The return is threaded/dryfit and I am still moving it around. I left it white while I was considering how it worked so I could adjust the pieces. Now I might just let it get encrusted or get a new set of fittings and paint them black. Happy Sunday and Happy building!
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OK Team, I feel like I am acting like my wife trying to pick something to watch on Netflix. I changed my mind again and bought a new 55 gallon tank last night. Thanks everyone on the suggestions for overflows. Few question. When I calculate the water volume inside the tank minus rock/sand. I get about 40ish gallons of water. Many of your overflow suggestions are for the medium sized overflows which flow 600-800 GPH. I would think the small that flow around 400 GPH is sufficient to allow somewhere between a 5x-10x sump turnover. This would require the small sized overflow. Am I missing something (which I have many times)?
Also, thoughts and opinions of pvc pipe versus Reinforced PVC Braided Vinyl Tubing? Thanks for the help and advice.
The quick answer to your question is that you install a gate valve on the main siphon drain. This allows you to adjust the flow in order to get the proper water height in the overflow box, so it doesn’t sound like a toilet constantly flushing.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200614/a8d5f52a50803296236bf46b48fe9d95.jpg)
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Thanks everyone for your help. It definitely gives me a lot to think about. I truly appreciate it.
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Well. Not the greatest luck today. Tried to drill my new Aqueon tank. The drill bit was out of round. As I started out slow, I didn't think too much of it. As I sped it up to full speed, the wobble was very bad and caused the side of the tank to explode. Off to buy another tank and find a new bit. Unfortunately it is about a 2 1/4 inch bit.
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Is it tempered?
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It did not say it was tempered. When I looked at it with polarized sunglasses, it didn't have the "marks" of tempered glass.
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ouch
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OK, so I got another Aqueon tank today. So, these are tempered on the front and back but not the sides. When I checked before, I just checked the sides and thought all 4 would be the same. Boy, was I wrong. Now to take it back. Has anyone used/drilled a Seapora tank before?
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Ugh, more drama. I am still waiting for my new tank to arrive at Gerbers. In the meantime, I have an ich or something outbreak that has killed my coral beauty and two clownfish. I am thinking of when I get my new tank to just buy all new rock and sand and start from scratch again. I can put my corals in a small frag tank for 76 days to be sure they are clear then move them to the DT. I can move my current fish (goby, fairy wrasse, and engineer goby) to a small tank and treat with copper while I wait for the new tank to cycle. Is this too drastic?
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Absolutely not. An ounce of prevention....
you know the rest.
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Reboot has begun. System checked, no leaks. Now to put everything in and start back up.
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Looking good!
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So, I give up. what is the blue mounted equipment on your return line?
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That is a Vecton 600 UV Filter.
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Filled and starting well.
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thanks for the reply i thought it might be some sort of UV but could not find it on the web. how is it mounted?
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It is only connected to the tubing. The pipe below is supporting it up and it the other side is holding it up. Make sense? Hopefully won't be a problem.
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thanks for explaining, it looked like some kind of blue brace behind it. it should be ok the way it is.
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Yes, it is enclosed in a blue case.
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lol the way you have it rigged i see the back side of the promo picture! it threw me.
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I purchased a Fijicube-15 Sump https://www.fijicube.com/collections/fiji-advanced-sump/products/fiji-15-advanced-reef-sump-2nd-gen-fiji-cube (https://www.fijicube.com/collections/fiji-advanced-sump/products/fiji-15-advanced-reef-sump-2nd-gen-fiji-cube). When it came, the drain lines extended down to about 8 inches below the water line. After reading GMAC Reef's website https://gmacreef.com/herbie-overflow-reef-tank-plumbing-method-basics/ (https://gmacreef.com/herbie-overflow-reef-tank-plumbing-method-basics/), it said to cut the drain line to 1 inch below the waterline, which I did, and the tank is up and running. I am now thinking it may not have been the right decision for this sump. I am thinking that detritus will build up in the small chamber below the drain lines (which is next to the filter sock). My thought is that there may not be enough disturbance/flow below the drain lines to keep it stirred up so detritus can be filtered by the sock. What is everyone's thoughts?
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Tank setup and going well. I do like the Seapora tank better than the Aqueon. The glass is clearer and is 5/16 inch thick versus 1/4 inch. I also like the black silicon look as well.
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Nice clean setup. I like the cabinetry a lot. Hope things grow well for you.
Jim
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Great start! Looks nice!
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You can use inexpensive power heads in the sump to prevent any detritus build up.
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Thanks guys. And great suggestion, I will try a cheap powerhead.
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Tank update. It has been a while since I have posted. I finally was able to move my corals up from the Frag tank after 76 days going fallow. Also, I quarantined and moved in a Melanurus wrasse and two clownfish(snowflake and onyx). Things are finally looking good.
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Tank is looking good and corals healthy. :-ThumbUpsm
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the fish must really like all the swim-throughs!
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@dbowman. Yes, the two wrasses and the yellow tang love swimming through them. When we placed the rock, we tried to make as many cubbies and pass-throughs as possible.
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Looks great! Is that one of my torches back there?
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Yes, it is. Looking great. Thanks.
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Yeh! He looks quite happy!