Another 225 Tank Project!

[Foster]

wow - Thanks for such recognition - Perhaps I will make TOTM after it has been going and has some stable life in it!

 

[Foster]

04/30/04: Cycling Tank: The cycle has begun, going through first algae bloom all over sand and LR. After just one week Im begining to see alot of life, including parisites, worms, copepods....and alot a 1/2" mini white brittle stars. The new LR seems to have alot of die off, the skimmers are pumping waste out constantly. All in all everything seems to be running great so far.

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/cure1.jpg>

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/cure2.jpg>

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/cure3.jpg>

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/cure4.jpg>

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/cure5.jpg>

 

[Foster]

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/cure6.jpg>

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/cure17.jpg>

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/cure8.jpg>

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/cure9.jpg>

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/cure10.jpg>

 

[seaker]

u fockin rock!!!!! teach me ol wise one!!!!!!

 

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

an absolute unbelivable system i will never be i that leage in th 4 seeable future AWESOME !

 

[steve68]

nice
just wanted 2 know if u have heat issues right now can u feel moisture or smell the tank?
also how about noise with the pumps?
looks like everything is working great u proud PaPa.......
:beer:

 

[Foster]

nice
just wanted 2 know if u have heat issues right now can u feel moisture or smell the tank?
also how about noise with the pumps?
looks like everything is working great u proud PaPa.......
:beer:

We just went through a heat wave in the high eighties - low ninties, the tank got up to about 89 for a little bit, I shut down the skimmers pump MAG 2400 and 1 MH which which allowed the temp to drop to about 85. Im going to install a couple of vornado fans in the sump for hot days like this.....IF that doesnt help keep it in check, then I will shell out for a chiller.

The smell is in the air :lol: during the the cycling phase you can smell a hint of ..... skimmate? I have a charcoal filter for the skimmer overflow container but it is not installed yet (needs new charcoal). This really helps with smelly skimmate.

The pumps really arent that noisey, the noisiest part of the tank is the white noise of all the water in motion, plus with all the doors on it is suprisingly very quiet...MDF is very dense and seems to work as a good sound barrier.

 

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

we have 4 sliders in the bedroom so that will vent it on a hot day would hate to buy a chiller !!

 

[steve68]

cool
i as wondering cuz my whole set up is in my garage & it is getting very hot in there i have a bunch of fans & im going to install ac as for my noise im glad i have the pumps in there cuz the iwaki is kind of loud the sequence is not bad & the skimate makes my garage smell like the ocean.

 

[capescuba]

So whats the latest Platapus? As I am on a very similar timeline I assume your cycle is almost done now too? I am planning to put a clean up crew in this weekend and move my current fish from the 65g I have. I have little in terms of load so I can't see any problems. I tried your web site, but no luck ...

 

[Foster]

Sorry about the site...I will fix it tonight!

My tank is taking off. The spikes seems to be gone....although the rock still seems to have a little die off. Small algae blooms are showing up on the LR and sand. I have beefed up my clean up crew and they are working hard but not able to keep up, I will add more.

I am seeing mini brittle stars, amphipods, copepods all over the place! worms also. I noticed last night before I went to bed that the sand has thousands of these microscopic parasites /bugs all over it!

Im not going to introduce any sort or preditors for a couple of months so that the ecosystems has a solid chance to stabilize itself.

 

[capescuba]

I am down to .25 ppm on the Nitrite / 0 Ammonia so nearing the end. I am heading away on vacation in a few weeks so don't want to leave a neighbor in charge of 2 tanks! Besides I think the newer one is much more self sustaining and easier to look after.

I only have 2 x Maroon Clowns, 1 x Bicolor Blenny (if I can ever catch him!) and a Royal Gramma to put in so the load is very minimal.

Where are you getting your cleanup crew(s)?

 

[Foster]

I have a couple of fish left over from my 100 gallon. Cardnal Bang, and bicolors. They are harmless.

I had some cleanup crew left over from the old tank.... I have been going out and buying hermits and snails from all about fish in pleasant hill. I also ordered the 9 for $99 from ipsf.com a month ago, that included workms, clams, hermit, small snails, and macro algae.

I currently have

10 large Turbo snails
10 astrea snails
about 40 sm hermits
10 large hermits
2 queen conches

 

[i1justin]

if you can count your snails and hermits, you dont have enough

 

[Foster]

lol - that is what I added - I didnt count them, But I agree I need more.

 

[i1justin]

so you have setup your system so that nothing goes behing the tank? your returns come up throught the cabinetry? is this correct?

 

[Foster]

That is correct!

 

[i1justin]

just saying great job again than with making a quality setup with out the huge space usually used by large reef tanks

 

[www.180gallontank.co]

hey platapus,

I am almost done. check out my link. I just put the rock in and the Acro back. www.180gallontank.com/projects.htm

 

[Foster]

wooo! look at that guy using a level and all....almost looks like he knows what hes doing

wow - looks very nice! Is that oak finish? When are you going to install the lights?