A Miracles in Roanoke - My New Tank Build

[eengmd]

Plumbing to Sump (multiply x 3 for the three drains)

1.5 inch bulkhead (slip/threaded)
1.5 NPT adapter
1.5 schedule 40 PVC
1.5 NPT adapter (these 3 could be replaced with a 1.5 nipple)
1.5 Cephex True Union Ball valve
1.5 Flex PVC
Into 1.5 slip/slip bulkhead
1.5 PVC to below water line in sump

Technically, I think only one ball valve required. It is very quiet. The only real noise the the hum of the pump and BK skimmer.

 

[eengmd]

Plumbing return from sump to tank

From the sump
1 inch bulkhead threaded threaded
1 inch nylon nipple
1 cephex true union ball valve
Short piece of flex PVC 1 inch
1 inch 90 elbow
1 inch flex PVC
1 union joint
Pump
True union ball valve
1 NPT adapter
1 inch Flex PVC
1 inch Tee leading to a upper and lower branch
Upper branch leading to left return
Flex PVC
1 inch NPT
Ball Valve threaded threaded (+GF brand)
1 inch NPT
1 inch PVC short piece
90 degree elbow
1 inch short piece PVC
1 inch NPT
Into Tank 1 inch bulkhead threaded threaded
1-1/2 inch threaded threaded adapter
Locline splitting into 2 branches
Side branch flows into manifold then to right return
Flex PVC into manifold
The manifold is attached via true unions (see previous post for manifold components)
The return then utilizes the same components as the Upper Branch

All those unions and ball valves made fixing minor leaks much easier. The bottom picture does not show the plumbing fixated yet. I did secure the manifold to a wooden bracket.

 

[4adam12]

Looks sharp Eugene. I can't tell from the pics, but will you be able to see your overflow from the front or is there something that covers it up?

 

[eengmd]

Looks sharp Eugene. I can't tell from the pics, but will you be able to see your overflow from the front or is there something that covers it up?

There is a black acrylic that contains the "teeth" that slips behind the overflow glass. I will post some aquascaping shots showing this soon. Actually you can see that it is pretty seemless in the picture in post 59. Miracles also provided an overflow box cover that helps further silence the tank. My wife commented how quiet the tank seems. Almost no overflow noise. All I hear is the re-circulating pump and the vortechs.

 

[eengmd]

Modified Bean Animal Drain

Ahh, very quiet. Very easy to dial in. Beananimal did a great job on his thread page describing how to plumb his drain. I tested the drain closing my main drain and the emergency worked just fine. I cannot imagine plumbing a future tank without using some variation of the ball valve to restrict airflow into the drain to lessen the noise. This tank is quieter than my Elos Midi.

 

[eengmd]

Obligatory Kid in Tank Shot

My kids were not too excited to do this. Actually the baby did the best. There is a handprint but I did not have long to get my shot or try to have them pose. Here is the best one.

 

[ade]

Looking good.

 

[eengmd]

Aquascaping Part 1

I have over 200 pounds of existing live rock, dried Fiji, Marshall Islands and BRS pukani. The dried rock from Fiji and MI was from over a decade ago when I first entered the hobby. There were several key things I did to prepare for the overall aquascaping. First, I washed and cured the dry rock. I have had issues with phosphate spikes with BRS rock so all the dry rock was washed, scrubbed and then bathed in salt water with a phosfree chemical drip. The rock was then rinsed and put into my kiddie pool to finish curing and be ready for aquascaping day. Secondly I took my existing live rock and scrubbed all the bubble algae and other undesirables. I despise spider worms personally. Finally, I look over and pick the nicer pieces to be on the outside of the scape. These pieces either have a unique look or a good natural place to set coral frags. Each outside rock is then predrilled to hold my homemade frag plugs. I make my own plugs using a 1cc syringe plunger, super glue and live rock rubble.

In my previous tank, I had all sorts of problems being able to cut frags and manage the colonies of SPS as they grew. By placing each frag on my easy to remove plug, I hope to be able to manage and frag more easily. I will not use all the holes I pre-drill but the holes give me options depending on the coral shape and size. I may use one or several pre-drilled holes. The plugs are also 1-3 inches in length so they stay pretty stable.

Here is a pick of an outside rock, ready for water and several SPS frags!

 

[lighthouze08]

update?

 

[eengmd]

Mistakes I Made

Sorry for the lack of updates. My tank has been aquascaped twice. However it remains fishless. All my fish are in a Q tank undergoing treatment for ich. They are being treated with quinine (crypto pro). I guess ich was present but just "under control" and the stress of being moved several times caused several of them to break out. It is odd to see a tank without fish in it. The other mistake I made was I pulled my skimmer one night to vinegar soak and I think that left my tank with less oxygen which added to the stress. I have a bunch of frags in the tank and hope to post a general aquascaping photo soon.

I have ramped up the intensity of the Radions. The par at just below the water line is 1000, top spots 600, mid spots 300-400, and floor 125. The radions are set at maximum 60% intensity right now. I will likely slowly ramp up the corals acclimate.

 

[eengmd]

Crypto Pro

So I have debated over and over does ich just live in my system or can it be completely eliminated. I have always been in the camp of ich can be "held back" with good quality food, supplementation and high water quality. Obviously the stresses of moving back and forth got the ich kicked up. I spent one evening taking out all the rock and capturing the fish and placing them into a q tank. The crypto pro looks to be working. I'm 10 days into going fallow. I am debating how long to go, 4 weeks, 6 weeks, 8 weeks or longer. After this everything will get Q tanked. The fish will undergo prazipro, crypto pro then observation. With the prevelence of AEFW and red bugs, all corals will also be treated with interceptor and levamisole for some time period.

I have noticed a slight increase in pigmentation in my copperband on the quinine. I know that quinine derivative can cause some hyperpigmentation as one of the side effects of a relative chloroquine is something I frequently have to check for in my patients taking it or a related drug. I guess my fish may be at risk for macula retinopathy. No vision complaints from them yet though.

 

[eengmd]

Reef Gently Acclimate

I did purchase a while back the Reef Gently acclimator which worked very well. It is well constructed and easy to use. It allows for a real slow or speedy acclimation depending on the species. The suctions cups are very strong! I usually put a towel over the acclimator which I obviously removed for these pictures. It can also double as a trap but the door does not close easily. Anybody with suggestions for a good fish trap?

 

[eengmd]

The Best Reef Tip I Learned This Year

Thanks to Gary Parr and Christine Williams for this tip. They do an awesome podcast called Reef Threads which I listen when mowing or on a long drive. They were discussing grocery store items that are awesome reef tools. They both talked about Magic Eraser. Typically my glass cleaning regimen comprises of my magnet followed by my scrapper along the edges and glass hoping to not nick my silicone edge. Since I have a brand new tank, my goal was to preserve those seems best possible. This is a picture of a Magic Eraser (original-not antibacterial) that has been cut into 4 "slices." The overlap allows me to go along the egdes where the silicone is and cleans even the corners incredibly well. I still use a scrapper at the sand edge but it has made cleaning much easier and less frequent. I guess the Magic Eraser can get into the porous glass much easier getting the microscopic "foot-holds" of the algae film that exists on our glass. I can also take the edge and clean around my vortech. There are not many 2$ reef tips out there but thanks again to Gary and Christine.

 

[WillM]

I just had a chance to see this in person. It's amazing! You would never believe that much water is being moved because even though I saw it in person, I didn't hear it. The ATS that he had running off of one of the ports on the manifold was louder than the 1000GPH running over the overflows and through the sump. And it was not loud unless you got up under the tank and listened for it. I also was there for a cloud. Let me explain, when I first got there the lights were a little dim, and I figured they were winding down for the evening, but in fact it was simulated cloud cover for about 15 minutes. Good stuff. Picked up the last of the 150G tank parts and can tell I'm going to need to step up my game to fill the previous owner's shoes! Thanks for having me over, Eugene, and thanks for all the "goodies" for my new tank

 

[eengmd]

Purple Tang

I noticed in my Q tank my wrasses and twinspot hogfish were becoming more secluded. I witnessed my purple tang nipping at each one of them. Looks like I'm going to have to make a 3rd Q tank to isolate him. As far as the crypto pro is going, the long term dose seems to work better than the 1/8 tsp per 10 gallons with frequent water changes and redosing. I decided to stop doing daily changes with new medications and performed 1/4 tsp per 10 gallons and the spots vanished within 48 hours. Two weeks into this and no new spots. Now they have been prazi-pro-ed and crypto-pro-ed.

 

[eengmd]

Algae Turf Scrubber

Here it is package just opened. Amazingly well packed.

The lighting is LEDs in a 6x660 nm red with 1x455nm blue supplement plant growing spectrum on each side for a total of 14 LEDs. The box measures 9x7x7.5. The water enters from my manifold into the pipe holding the slot screen and falls like a waterfall over the screen. There is a false bottom screen that helps algae to not block the bottom drain and "silences" the waterfall. The side also has an emergency drain which will only be used if tremendous algae growth occurs and blocks the bottom drain.

One month in, the ATS screen is becoming cured. It grows pretty thick algae. I run it about 14 hours a day and have approximately 250 gallons per hour running over the screen. There is no odor coming from the ATS which Will can attest. The biggest sign are PO4 is very stable despite heavy coral feeding. I have also had to increase the BK skimmer bubble height as it is definitely not working nearly as hard. The skimmate is also "lightening." This particular ATS is designed to neutralize about 2 cubes of food. Hopefully along with the BK skimmer and GFO, I can keep PO4 to a minimum.

 

[eengmd]

Despite being fallow I did add somethings yesterday. Check out one of the new additions. iPhone picture.

 

[tekjunkie28]

Oh wow. Nice to see there is serious reefers in the roanoke area. Im in salem and just go into reefing about 4 months ago. I have my tank up and running but its no where near 'done.'

 

[WillM]

Is that little acan one you got from me? How they looking/doing?

 

[cayenne]

Despite being fallow I did add somethings yesterday. Check out one of the new additions. iPhone picture.

Be careful, technically a fallow tank is one that is fish-less, however adding anything, including frags, inverts, clams, rock, etc... breaks this cycle. If it's something that touches water, you can bring organisms with it.

If you are concerned about pests, including crypt this could reset the cycle if a new addition carried any in with it.