Christi's 85 gallon reef

Discussion in 'New Tank Builds' started by LJC6780, Apr 9, 2017.

  1. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

  2. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

  3. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    Sorry for the pic overload! Quite a few are still recovering from the damage during transit and being crammed into the temp housing. Still gotta rearrange a bit and find a spot for the ones I have left in the tub. I also have a bunch of zoas in the tub that need to be furan dipped again before going into the DT. I think I'll be putting them on the magnetic rock shelf on the back right wall. I think it might make a nice zoa garden! And if not there, I've ordered a plug rock that I can put them on. I've also got some Duncans, acans, mushrooms and some other random frags to move. Hopefully I can get that done this week now that I've gotten rid of the tang and tube anemone. Still have the bluefin damsel to rehome then I can get the last of the critters out of that tank and tear it down.
     
  4. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    ALMOST done with the water changing station, and I think I picked the most humid day to get out there and finally get it finished up! I just need to exchange a bushing because I picked up a 2" by mistake I guess. Everything else is done besides that. Well, I have to mount the power switches on the black board that the pump is on. Just a long box with switches on top and plugs on the bottom. Will make it easier to just switch on the RODI pump, in-can pump for RODI water to the salt can, wet vac, fan (for when I inevitably spill water everywhere) and whatever else might need to be turned on and off easily.

    IMG_1602.JPG IMG_1600.JPG IMG_1601.JPG
     
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  5. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    Where did you get your power switches? Can you post pictures of them? I want to be able to turn my pump on and off from the man cave and I can't figure out how to do that yet.
     
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  6. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    It actually came with the setup. It's long metal box with toggle switches on the top and plugs for each on the bottom. Like a power strip with individual switches. I'll try to get a pic tomorrow.

    And I'm going to have to do something different with the dang plumbing! :mad::mad: I leak tested but apparently I didn't test with enough water because once it got pretty full it started dripping. :(:confused: So. It's either find something that will seal it or buy a hole saw and make a hole for the 2" uniseals. And if that doesn't work I'm just going to have to start over. I'll see what I can come up with tomorrow and get some uniseals ordered. Other than that part the plumbing works perfectly! I really like the cleaner setup and the pipe going down through the hole keeps the water from splashing so much. I might even make it slightly longer so it's a bit more directed by it works well. Anyway.. off to order some uniseals I guess. :eek:
     
  7. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    Ok got the uniseals and hole saws ordered. Here's hoping I'm able to get some good clean, accurately sized cuts and that it all fits like a charm! I'll update when I'm finished.

    On a good note, Benny the Blenny and the banggai pair are doing well in the qt. I've seen no signs of stress or disease and they are all eating. I've been rotating between pellets, flake and frozen. I've seen Benny munching on his rock and around the tank floor. He's also been coming out of his hole and laying on the rock when I'm around rather than hiding immediately. My cardinals seem to prefer to not be together now so maybe they were just sticking together because they were stressed together. One stays under the frag rack and the other usually up by the mushroom rock on top of the rack.

    On a less great note, I'm fairly certain I need to dip or treat my zoas again. I've done 2 furan dips but they were pretty far apart so I'm not sure it really counts as two. I thought they were in the clear but I've been watching them closely this week and I'm still seeing some brown algae (don't think the slime stuff though) and white spots here and there. More on a specific rock that was in with the tube anemone.. I didn't realize they were on the rock and didn't give them a ton of light because tubes prefer to be nocturnal. Anyway. They are recovering but are super stressed still. I'll probably set it all up and dip them again tomorrow.

    I've also got some bright green zoas that are growing off the frag plug and I need to separate them out. Maybe I can get that done tomorrow too. I'm coming to find that I've got some really cool colors between ones I've purchased, the ones that were with the tank and the coral club picks! And my clam/mussel (whatever it is) is still alive and covered in zoas! Is there anything I should be feeding it or does it just filter feed?

    IMG_1604.JPG IMG_1605.JPG IMG_1606.JPG IMG_1620.JPG IMG_1622.JPG IMG_1633.JPG

    Paly? Zoa pox or sand @Deton8it
    IMG_1617.JPG

    Zoa pox? IMG_1640.JPG IMG_1641.JPG

    What kind of mushroom is this? It's not fluorescent if that helps. IMG_1632.JPG
     
    Last edited: May 19, 2017
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  8. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    Hate it didn't seal for you!

    Yep the bivalves are filter feeders. They do better in mature tanks for that reason but I've had several survive in new setups.
     
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  9. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    Well I'm hoping it's not completely considered a new setup since almost all of my rock was already very mature.. it seems to be doing well so far! Here's hoping I don't kill it! Lol

    So I've been doing some reading and found mixed reviews ... what are your thoughts on adding sand in the sump? Since I don't have sand in the tank, I was hoping sand in the sump would help with denitrification and pod population. Plus it would give myconch and Nassarius a sandy spot if they don't seem to like the bare bottom.
     
  10. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    I can't think of any real advantage of sand in the sump. In your case I guess it would be a good thing for the conch and nassarius as they are sand dwellers(when they're sleeping).

    I don't think sand is an important source of denitrification unless it's a deep sand bed with anoxic areas. Disturbing a deep sand bed is likely to crash the tank and one thing I like about a sump is a place for detritus to accumulate and be easily removed.
     
  11. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    Well I run 2 Filter Socks and skim so there really isn't too much that makes it to the sump. I change twice a week, and this is confirmed with a recent BRS video on nitrate reduction compared to how often socks are changed. It was interesting but what I was already doing was said to be the most reduction.

    When you say disturbing do you mean by me cleaning or by the critters?

    Does the sand give the pod population a better place to live? I do have some rubble and frag plugs in there and plan to move my bag of Matrix from the other tank soon. I actually probably could go ahead and do it now as I've already moved all of the corals and several critters from the bc29. There are still a couple big rocks in there so I don't think it will crash the tank.
     
  12. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    Believe me a lot gets by skimmers and filter socks. I run 3 filter socks and an over sized skimmer and my tank has already accumulated a large amount of detritis in the middle chamber of the sump (in 5 months).

    Critters don't go in the deeper anoxic areas of deep sand beds....you wouldn't want them to. That would make those areas aerobic instead of anaerobic and they wouldn't reduce nitrate. If you try to clean a deep sand bed you'll nuke your tank. That's why people that use them often use a 5 gallon bucket that they can simply take off line when it get's nasty and put a new one in.

    Sand is a great place for worms to thrive but that's not where pods usually live. If you want a house for pods, you cant beat a big ball of chaeto. Rock ruble is also a great place for pods...gives them lots of places to hide.
     
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  13. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    I have a ball of chaeto but I think it's about half the size as when I got it. For some reason I can't get it to grow! I looked in there today and saw some pods climbing around so I was excited about that!

    If I had any more room under the cabinet I might do a separate sand bed but it's pretty tight in there! I also have a uv filter I was thinking of hooking up but I honestly have no idea where it would even go!
     
  14. Kim

    Kim Secretary Staff Member

    Hiya,

    How do you like the bare bottom? I've tossed around setting one of those up.
     
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  15. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    I actually sort of like it. The bottom is getting covered in diatoms and algae but I'm leaving that alone for the clean up critters. I am wiping walls though.

    I seriously need to rescape though. It's just too cluttered. And the sand does make it easier to plant a plug on the bottom.. now it all has to be flat bottom or on a rock. And it just seems chaotic. I do like being able to adjust flow to whatever I want rather than adjusting to keep sand still. That is a major plus!
     
    Kim likes this.
  16. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    So I ordered my stuff from BRS last week and checked the tracking and it won't be here til tomorrow. :mad: I should only need to get 2 more pieces to finish the bins. Since I glued the 1.5" to the elbow I'll have to buy a 2" bushing (since I still have the one I got before) and a new 3/4" elbow for the large can. I also think I might buy a coupler to make an extension piece for filling my jugs. Since the opening is so small, it's hard to gauge where the water will flow and I think having a longer piece I could slide on would be a perfect fix. I bet it would reduce overall splatter too. I've got a ton of pvc left so it's really no big deal.
     
  17. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    So I guess I forgot to update. Got my uniseals and hole saw kit. It was only delayed a day due to a broken truck. Anyway ...

    It took a bit of trying to get the saw to cut in the right spot as it kept wanting to creep when I started the drill. (Only because I was cutting a hole over an existing hole, nothing for the drill bit to grab) so I ended up going pretty high speed and sort of holding it at an angle so it dug into one side a bit then once I got a groove I straightened it out and cut the hole in a few seconds. I then got my sand paper and made sure all of the extra plastic bits were off and the edges were smooth. (The previous holes hadn't been smoothed out at all.) installed uniseals and pipes. Well. The small can uniseal (same size as the other one) was hard as it could be to get the pipe in! I could barely get it in out of the can, much less in it! I tried again later or the next day and FINALLY got it in. Glued the elbows in place and attached the rest of the "arm" to each tank. Since I used a smaller pipe, there was a bit of space between the pipe and the board so I put a little shim of the board I cut off to fit the cans correctly but would like to find a more stable, permanent solution. For some reason, the ball valves are a bit hard to turn sometimes. I may try some silicone lube (from online fish supply, supposedly safe) to see if that will keep them moving freely.

    Anyway, I just need to hang the brackets and attach the power switches so it's up out of the way. But for now everything is working as it should!

    I filled the rodi can and the shut off worked perfectly (after I replaced the shut off valve) and then used the pump to fill the Saltwater can. Flipped on the powerhead and added salt.

    I have only found 1 thing I still need to fix and that is the notch for the power cord to the pump on the large can. It needs to be slightly bigger to fit the lid snugly. I may try to use a drill bit to bore it out a little more. I really don't want to grow mosquitos so I want as little access to the trash can full of water as possible!

    So here are the pics.
    IMG_1775.JPG IMG_1776.JPG IMG_1777.JPG
     
  18. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    @huntindoc here are mine. Can't figure out how to send a pic in messages.
    That's my sun coral I got from @NatalieMadison on the left. The center one has 2 smaller heads, one on each side.
    IMG_1720.JPG
    This is the one on the right.
    IMG_1401.JPG
     
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  19. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    After much color change and assumed decline in health, I redipped my zoas and transferred them to the DT. Hopefully I didn't transfer any critters too! I dipped in Coral Rx, rinsed, then rinsed again before placing. There was funk in every single container! Yuck!

    Everything in the QT was turning bright neon pink and green. Zoas were not wanting to open and everything just looks bad! Water is not bad. Lights suck!

    Since moving the zoas they have already started to open and color is starting to return to normal! Some are still a little more neon and bleached looking but they all look better than they did!!
     
  20. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    Oh.. and just for fun, here is Wrassy saying hi..
    "Here, get my good side!"
    IMG_1946.JPG
     
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