Aquaculture Tank Build

[jdhuyvetter]

Well, finally, the thread I know that all of you have been waiting so anxiously for.......all aquacultured critter tank build.

First, the tank....its a 120 XH. This used to be my FW plant tank. Now that I am down to two discus, last weekend, I moved them and the plants into a 60 cube I had sitting empty.

I painted the background to match the water color from a pic I took several years ago while snorkeling off a ledge in about 15 feet of water in the Keys. The color was the water from the inside looking out past the ledge into the Atlantic Ocean.

Note that the stand is a short stand with a single door. Doesn't work too well for a traditional sump. So, I contacted Next Reef and they custom built a two piece sump that I could slide in and out from the back.

Nice thing about custom built is you get exactly what you want. I am no longer going to use filter socks. So, I had them build a "tray" to slide in and out under the sump intake for filter floss. I can change it out every couple of days and throw it away. No more washing socks!!! This pic is the first chamber from the tank. Floss and refugium.

 

[jdhuyvetter]

Well, one trip to Home Depot and one trip to ACE and the drain lines are complete. I use couplers on everything. Sump is set up so I can disconnect the drain lines and the individual sump compartments for cleaning, maintenance or a move. I also like to use shower drains for internal overflows. They pop out to clean very easily. One should be sufficient, but I put in two "just in case".

 

[freetareef]

looks good so far!!

 

[freetareef]

what direction are you planning on going with the tank?

 

[freetareef]

did you pick out a skimmer yet? lol...new ?'s occur as soon as i post...lol

 

[jdhuyvetter]

As far as corals, it is going to be a mix of SPS, LPS and zoas.

Skimmer is a Next Reef. You can see it in the back of one of the pics.

Return pump (as of right now) is a Mag 5. Once everything is up and running, this will probably be swapped out for a Mag 7. I just happen to have the Mag 5 right now. Fittings are the same so it won't be a big deal to change out.

 

[freetareef]

i see it now...

 

[freetareef]

your sump looks great, they did a great job =)

 

[TheFishTeen]

So how exactly is this an Aquaculture tank?

Will you be breeding inverts or something?

 

[Luiz Rocha]

I am assuming he is planning to put only aquacultured animals in it... Would be nice if it was a "low energy" tank too, with LED lights and so on.

 

[TheFishTeen]

I am assuming he is planning to put only aquacultured animals in it... Would be nice if it was a "low energy" tank too, with LED lights and so on.

Or even better, a sunlit tank

 

[jdhuyvetter]

I have a sunlit tank already.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1574694

And yes, I am trying to put in all aquacultured critters. This is not intended to be a aquaculture tank from the perspective of breeding anything. But, the Bangai cardinals that are going in it are a bonded pair. The clowns that are going in it are young, but if the breed, I'll try to raise the fry.

Going with T-5's, not LED's. I actually like the look better. Tried a LED only tank a couple years ago and didn't like it with the SPS. Loved it with zoas and palys though. (Hmmm another tank build?)

 

[jdhuyvetter]

OK, after another trip to ACE, got most of the return plumbed and the skimmer partially hooked up. Also got a shelf put up for the power and Korallia controller.

Circulation will be a combination of:

Sea Swirl on the return
Tunze Nano Wavebox
4xKorallia 3, controllable pumps


Return Bank

 

[jimmy frag]

im not big on the over flow, i would feel more at rest if they had t,s with 2 caps each and also a breather on the back side line of the over flow. they also look like you have 1 inch fitting on them. but im a firm believer that if something can go wrong it will. looks like a fun build. good job

 

[jdhuyvetter]

Yeah, they are 1-inch. Used what I had (glass bit and bulkheads).

But, I put them together in such a way that I can remove them without tearing the tank down. So, in the future, if I need to go bigger, I will. I went with two for the same reason (if something can go wrong, it will).

 

[jdhuyvetter]

Also, they are 1" going directly into 1.5" PVC. The "T" is a 1.5 x 1.5 x 2. So, coming out of the "T" it increases again to 2-inch and then into the sump. Shouldn't be too much flow restriction.

 

[jdhuyvetter]

Another 2 trips to ACE yesterday and today and the tank is now back against the wall and the lights are hung. Even got two of them turned on!

Water is about 70 gallons of "aged" water from my other system added last weekend and yesterday and 20 gallons of new water added tonight. Sand is Caribsea live sand "in a bag". "Rock" is a mix of ceramic rocks from Cerameco and The Alternative Reef. What is in the pics is new "rock" I picked up at MACNA. There is another, slightly larger piece and two small pieces from The Alternative Reef that I picked up at MACNA 2010. This rock has been "curing" in my other system for about a year.

I also have 4 or 5 pieces of Aquamag rocks that have been "curing" in my other system for about 10 months. My Foxface was kind enough to eat all of the nice brand name zoas off of the rocks and keep them clean for me. Of course, he left the no name zoas that grow like weeds completely alone. Three of the Aquamags are currently in the frag tank with new zoas and the others are just sitting in the 300 waiting for the move. There is also another "new" piece from the Alternative Reef in the frag tank growing some Pink Lady and Armaggedon Palys.

Cerameco Rock

Ceramec Rock

The Alternative Reef Rock

The Alternative Reef Rock

You may also notice a couple small pieces of paly rock on the sand and a plug on the front glass. Last weekend, after I put the first 50 gallons from the old system, I pulled these out of the frag tank and tossed them into this tank. These and a few other corals that I have lots of (tricolor pocillipora) will be my "guinea pigs" before I put any other corals in the tank.

 

[Johanv]

Any updates????????

 

[jdhuyvetter]

I stopped by Travis's last night and grabbed some fish he has been holding for me. Still only have two bulbs (both actinics) on the tank. So pics are really blue.

ORA Blue Assesssor

ORA Neon Goby

Travis's Sump Cardinals (he didn't know they were breeding until one day he pulled 7 babies out of the sump. These are two of those babies...now young adults)

 

[jdhuyvetter]

Tonight I hope to add two clowns currently residing in the frag tank. To date I have four ORA fish (Snowflake Clown, Assessor, Neon Goby), and three local bred fish (two Banggai's and an Onyx/black ocellaris cross)


Future fish will include:
Pajama Cardinals (two)
Yellow line Gobies (two)
Green Bar Gobies (two)
Mandarin Goby (one)
Yellow Watchman (one)
ORA Indigo Basslet (maybe...he's been in the sump for over two years....I may never catch him!)