Alan's 300g Marineland DD Reef

[alanmorehead]

It was the c02 I exhaled that caused that fish to eat. You don't have the right touch!!!!!

That may be Either way, I'm glad it's eating.

+1 on good news all around!...that firefish is going to disappear in that monster tank

Yeah, he's a small one too

That's awesome it's always nice when your fish start eating... it means you can relax (a little).

No doubt. I was really happy when he took that first bite :celeb1:

I just hope to god the silicone has had enough time to cure!:hmm3:

How long has it been?

It's been a few months and the livestock in there is doing great, so I think it's good.

I am in town this week. Let me know if you need any help with the skimmer.

Sounds good. The skimmer will just take some tuning over the next couple weeks while it's breaking in. I have a few other things to do (light rack, screen, etc.) and I would like to mess with the surge device some more.

 

[alanmorehead]

Good news all around! I think we're going to need an updated pic with the fish in the DT though...

Here is a pic and video:

 

[alanmorehead]

And a few skimmer videos...

Dry Assembled


Tap Water Rinse


Vinegar Bath

 

[Greenmaster]

That's awesome when are you getting more fish?

 

[alanmorehead]

That's awesome when are you getting more fish?

I have 14 fish in quarantine now. I should be able to add those around the end of the month. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to buy any more fish right now or if I want to add those QT fish and wait a while.

 

[ptr13]

Nice tank and nice set up with the storage tank,wish I had a 300 DD,that would be my dream tank.

 

[bohlke]

I have 14 fish in quarantine now. I should be able to add those around the end of the month. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to buy any more fish right now or if I want to add those QT fish and wait a while.

Cant wait to see those fish in the display tank, really gives you perspective on the size of the tank!

 

[alanmorehead]

The fish are in! :celeb3:

I moved all the fish from their 1 month QT this week and put them in the display. Everyone seems to be getting along pretty well and almost all the fish congregate together in one group. I haven't seen any major aggression from anyone, but the exquisite wrasse has shown a little bit. Unfortunately, I lost the Flavianalis wrasse a day before I moved them into the display and the powder blue tang didn't acclimate well and was dead the day after moving. Not sure what happened because those two fish seemed to eat really well and the other fish were fine. I moved the blonde naso into the 300g sump. I want to give him some more isolated time and there are a few patches of razor caulerpa that I'm hoping he will graze on. He has just been hiding out in the rocks and I haven't seen him swim in the open area yeat, even though no other fish are in there.

I also got my skimmer and return pump plumbed and they have both been running for most of the week. I added 3 zoa/paly plugs and a grape cap to the DT two days ago. I didn't want to add too much since the tank only had a 4 lamp 48" T5 retro on it. That changed last night and I got the new light rack built and installed.

I've been meaning to get these updates posted, but haven't had time this week. Pics, videos, and more info on the recent progress will be posted soon.

 

[nebraskareef]

good work, sorry to hear about the fish.

 

[alanmorehead]

Here are a few pics of the skimmer and return plumbing area:

- 1.5" return all the way to the DT
- Used spa flex as much as possible
- Union valves used on intake/output of the return pump
- Had to use two 22.5 degree elbows on the pump's intake to compensate for height and angle difference coming out of the sump's bulkhead
- Return pump needed to be turned down quite a bit, so I wasn't too worried about the loss of flow from the extra fittings
- 1.5" all the way to the surge valve to reduce friction loss
- Surge valve is plumbed with a 3/4" bushing in case it's need in the future. It has a 3/4"-1/2" bushing and 1/2" ball valve now
- Over-the-top fitting spray painted with black Krylon Phusion
- 1/2" ball valve next to skimmer is for the calcium reactor
- Skimmer is fed directly from the closest drain and has a 1" ball valve inline

Skimmer stand (Before valves and splits)

Return pump

Skimmer is running! (Calcium reactor will go next to/behind it)

Plumbing - showing the CSD feed line

Surge device valve

Over-the-top return line into DT

 

[alanmorehead]

good work, sorry to hear about the fish.

Thanks.
Yeah, it's frustrating to go for a month during QT and not make it right at the end

 

[alanmorehead]

Light rack build:

- 1/8" x 3/4" aluminum angle on the two 72" pieces
- 1/16" x 3/4" aluminum angle on the six 33" pieces
- Lights staggered 3" from center. Didn't want it fully staggered and figured this would give me a little extra coverage.
- The two rear lamps are not staggered due to the overflow chambers
- The two long pieces were used from my old 180g light rack
- All the 33" pieces are new
- Considering adding a center support piece once I break down the rest of my other light rack
- 12 endcaps taken from my 180g rack and 6 endcaps from my 4x48" retro setup
- All new 60" LET Miro4 (RG/AquaIllumination) reflectors
- All new lamps. ATI, KZ, and GE

 

[alanmorehead]

Let there be light! :celeb1:

Phase/Ballast #1 only (3 ATI Blue Plus)

Phase/Ballast #2 only (2 ATI Blue Plus, 1 KZ Fiji Purple)

Phase 1&2

Phase/Ballast #3 only (2 ATI Aquablue Special, 1 GE Daylight)

Full power

 

[alanmorehead]

I did get the fixture installed last night and tested it out. It was almost 1am when I was done, so I don't have any pics yet. I have some before pics that I can post when I get some new ones taken to compare against. It was really white when I lit up the display, so I ended up swapping out the GE with another KZ Fiji Purple. Here's what I ended up with:

FRONT
Ballast 1: Blue+
Ballast 3: ATI Aquablue Special
Ballast 2: Blue+
Ballast 3: KZ Fiji Purple
Ballast 1: Blue+
Ballast 2: KZ Fiji Purple
Ballast 2: Blue+
Ballast 3: ATI Aquablue Special
Ballast 1: Blue+
BACK

I don't think I have any pics of the fish yet, but I did take a few videos. Those are uploading/encoding now and should be up this afternoon

 

[BennyFrank]

Looking good Alan. Can't wait to see this thing in action! You've got a PM.

 

[builderguy]

good idea on "staggering" the tubes.

Thanks for the reminder on the surge device...I'll be plumbing my new system soon and I want that as an option later.

 

[Greenmaster]

What is the purpose of the "surge"?

 

[alanmorehead]

good idea on "staggering" the tubes.

Hopefully this will give me a little better coverage than before. My 180g light rack was centered and had 6"+ gaps at each end, so I put low light corals at the ends. The aquascaping on this tank goes up higher on the sides and I plan on putting SPS in those spots, which is why I chose to do the staggered lamps this time around.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the reminder on the surge device...I'll be plumbing my new system soon and I want that as an option later.

I still haven't worked out which type of surge system that I will use. The first two tests didn't work that well, but I have some modifications and ideas to try when I got back and try again.

What is the purpose of the "surge"?

There are a couple benefits like flow and aeration, but I like the effect that it adds to the tank during the surge. It's just something that I haven't done on any previous tanks, so I wanted to give it a shot.

 

[alanmorehead]

I got a couple more fish delivered today.

After a close inspection, the mandarin goby went into the display tank.

Green chromis and the following fish were added to QT for the next month:

Melanurus Wrasse:

Solerensis Wrasse:

Unconfirmed Wrasse (Is this really a McCosker's Wrasse?):

 

[alanmorehead]

A few random pics of the fish in the display tank: