drummereef's 180g in-wall build

[drummereef]

I'm not sure what I'm going to do for a screen. I like coral more than fish so I'm having a hard time giving up some par that I feel screens take away. It might be minimal so I'll look into it.

On a side note since we have the same overflows, I would look into covering those

I woke yesterday morning to about 10g of water on the floor in my basement (luckily it's concrete) and my tank overflowing. I had a massive turbo snail crawl all the up into my drain pipe and slow the flow down enough to overflow. Just food for thought.

Wow, that's a little scary. I got rid of all my large Turbos so I only have some Trochus and maybe 1 or 2 Astreas at the moment. Overflow lids are on the growing to-do list. I've been thinking about how I would make the screen top and also cover the overflows. I was planning on buying some black acrylic and making some covers for the two corner overflows. My Durso's are taller than the tank rim so I'd need to cut a couple of strategically placed holes to accommodate those. But then I run into an issue on how to address the screen tops over the covered corner overflows. The corner overflows have a radius to them so bending the screen frame to match that radius is probably not going to work. Still researching how to do it cleanly... :reading:

Josh and Brett,

In regards to my experience and the wrasses I have had:
Blue Cleaner Wrasse --Labroides dimidiatus 1yr
Divided Leopard Wrasse---Macropharyngodon bipartitus 1yr
Melanurus Wrasse---Halichoeres melanurus 1yr
Leopard Wrasse---Macropharyngodon meleagris 6mos..(died on me??)
Sixline Wrasse----Pseudocheilinus hexataenia 2 yrs and mony other in multiple tanks.....

I have never used a net nor had any jump. Maybe I am lucky or maybe they are not likely jumpers???

I plan to replace the dead leopard wrasse, as well as maybe 2-3 more wrasses. The net for me will not be added.

However as how much a typical net setup that BRS sells can't affect PAR all that much. But just one more thing I don't feel like hassling with.

Why do you think they only lasted ~1yr? Was it a feeding issue you think? I dig the wrasses though.

For anyone interested in tops that don't trap humidity/block light, these guys are clear and have 1/4" openings. Comes with a DIY kit for making everything.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store...items/clear-1-4-screen-netting-6-5-x-6-5.html

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store...ems/diy-aquarium-screen-top-netting-kits.html

That's exactly the material I was planning on using Alex! Just trying to figure out a way to do the left/right corners where my overflows are located. Making it radius around the weir is posing a little bit of an issue...

Interesting you haven't had jumpers, I've had a 6 line for close to 3 years now who hasn't jumped but had a scotts/lineatus/lawnmower all jump. Let's just say I would have paid the 20$ for a DIY screen rather than buying those fish again.

Brett, If I can reccomend a wrasse...the lineatus was absolutely spectacular.

Your Lawnmower Blenny jumped??? I agree, the Lineatus is one of my favorite wrasses. I also really like the Melanurus Wrasse too. Both have great color. I'm more of a coral guy too so I'd probably be happy with a green coris or similar. :lol:

 

[Taqpol]

That netting I linked looks fused together at the vertice of every square, I would think you would be able to cut little holes in the screen to let the standpipes poke through without hurting the tension or strength too much.

 

[110galreef]

Why do you think they only lasted ~1yr? Was it a feeding issue you think? I dig the wrasses though.

I should have been more clear.:debi: These are all wrasses I HAVE / had. The one's with 1 yr means I have had 1 yr and are still with me! Was just stating that I have had for a while and no jumpers!:lol2:

In regards to my experience and the wrasses I have had:
Blue Cleaner Wrasse --Labroides dimidiatus 1yr AND COUNTING!
Divided Leopard Wrasse---Macropharyngodon bipartitus 1yr AND COUNTING!
Melanurus Wrasse---Halichoeres melanurus 1yr AND COUNTING!
Leopard Wrasse---Macropharyngodon meleagris 6mos..(died on me??)
Sixline Wrasse----Pseudocheilinus hexataenia 2 yrs and many other in multiple tanks....AND COUNTING!!

 

[drummereef]

That netting I linked looks fused together at the vertice of every square, I would think you would be able to cut little holes in the screen to let the standpipes poke through without hurting the tension or strength too much.

OK cool. I might be able to add an 1/8" piece of black acrylic on to of that too, to block out the light in my overflows as well. Don't know if my halides will warp the acrylic though...

I should have been more clear.:debi: These are all wrasses I HAVE / had. The one's with 1 yr means I have had 1 yr and are still with me! Was just stating that I have had for a while and no jumpers!:lol2:

In regards to my experience and the wrasses I have had:
Blue Cleaner Wrasse --Labroides dimidiatus 1yr AND COUNTING!
Divided Leopard Wrasse---Macropharyngodon bipartitus 1yr AND COUNTING!
Melanurus Wrasse---Halichoeres melanurus 1yr AND COUNTING!
Leopard Wrasse---Macropharyngodon meleagris 6mos..(died on me??)
Sixline Wrasse----Pseudocheilinus hexataenia 2 yrs and many other in multiple tanks....AND COUNTING!!

Oh hahahahahaha! :lol: Thanks for clearing that up. I was getting worried that these wrasses are a lot harder to keep than I thought. Haha

 

[Lynnmw1208]

nice update! those corals are coloring up nicely! just a suggestion, have you tried the red sea coral pro tests yet? I found the API to be too wishy washy for me. I always got mixed results. I use the rsc pro test kits for calcium, alk, mag, nitrate and phosphate. They just seem to be more accurate to me. API always said 0 nitrate and red sea tells me 0.375-0.625 depending on how I feed.

I can't wait to see this mod on your reactor! That is the one I wanted to get for my tank

 

[dthelen]

Anything new with the sump/ room any new picks on that?

 

[drummereef]

nice update! those corals are coloring up nicely! just a suggestion, have you tried the red sea coral pro tests yet? I found the API to be too wishy washy for me. I always got mixed results. I use the rsc pro test kits for calcium, alk, mag, nitrate and phosphate. They just seem to be more accurate to me. API always said 0 nitrate and red sea tells me 0.375-0.625 depending on how I feed.

I can't wait to see this mod on your reactor! That is the one I wanted to get for my tank

I'm planning on trying the Red Sea Kit when my API runs out. Needed something fast and it's what the LFS had available this time. I have the Alkalinity and Phosphate Checkers from Hanna so I'll probably just do the Red Sea NO3 kit when I need to replace. That's pretty cool they are that accurate even for a color style test. Good to know, thanks! Still gathering parts for the reactor mod. I'll update as progress is made.

Anything new with the sump/ room any new picks on that?

I have a couple of new things I'll be adding shortly so an update is in order. I also need to make a mounting plate for one of my Vortech Battery Backups that's been sitting on the floor for the last year. :lol: Might have some time this weekend to finish that little project up. I'll get a new sump room video up once I get these couple odds and ends taken care of.

 

[Heliman]

Many Thanks

Many Thanks

Well Brett, I have finally come to the last page !! I have read with immense interest everything that has happened over the long time that your project has been maturing.

If ever there was a "Set-up bible"...your thread must qualify.

After many years of having various set-ups parked somewhere within a house, and having all the restrictions that this implies, I have finally got my new home which had a fish-room designed in from the get-go !

As you can imagine, a lot of what you have shown us here will be used as the basis for creating my own long awaited dream set-up.

I noted the early problems you had with what appears to have been a bacterial bloom, despite your totally new and squeaky clean set-up being virtually devoid of introduced "nasties", nutriments and/or toxicity....or was it ?

I have a theory...and it is only my own theory so I dont want to create any hostility, but I am interested to know what others think. I will soon have a chance to test it, and will report back...sometime after my initial set-up decides what it will do as it cycles.

Having spent many years as a research chemist in the Thermoplastics area, and I have a Chemistry Degree, I think there is an issue in new set-ups that may be contributing to problems despite all the usual testing we do that does not seem to indicate that any of our "critical parameters" are discrepant.

Any brand new set-up is made of virgin, unused products...glass, PVC tube, HDPE, Acrylic etc etc. I know for sure that most of these products would be considered inert and non-polluting. But I also know what a bewildering array of chemicals get added to raw mixes to enable them to be moulded, extruded, blown and all the other post-treatments that result in pipes, fittings and the like. Additionally, there is always a tiny amount of unreacted monomers (UM) in all of the "plastic" materials we used. By human food standards and legislation, all of these chemicals are safe and minor.

But are these tiny amounts non-toxic for fish and other marine organisms ?

So we have a cocktail of chemicals in our new equipment...plasticisers, mould release agents, flow enhancers, lubricants and many more. Many of these chemical additives are Glycol based but in any event are mainly organic (carbon based) compounds. I stress again that these are NOT toxic in any human sense. But what happens when we start pumping warm sea water around our new system...... minor amounts of these residuals will slowly leach into our water, aided by fast flows increasing the dialysis affect.

I do believe that this is where a lot of the initial issues arise in new set-ups...maybe your Yellow Tang problem ?? and the first Anthiad ??, maybe this added chemical loading also fuels bacterial growth.

So...what to do...firstly, I will soak my whole new system in fresh RO/DI water and let it sit, with circulation for at least 1 week, then I will re-fill with RO/DI water and add the same amount of common human grade table salt (Iodine free) to make similar density to NSW. I will heat this to 84 degrees and circulate it for another week. I will empty this out and then consider adding rock, sand and "real" water, hopefully all/most of these additives will have leached out. Arguably, I have no way of knowing what leached out of the pipework....but know that whatever it is, it is likely to be undesirable.

Anyway, thanks again for your meticulous description and method, beautifully done.

 

[drummereef]

Well Brett, I have finally come to the last page !! I have read with immense interest everything that has happened over the long time that your project has been maturing.

If ever there was a "Set-up bible"...your thread must qualify.

After many years of having various set-ups parked somewhere within a house, and having all the restrictions that this implies, I have finally got my new home which had a fish-room designed in from the get-go !

As you can imagine, a lot of what you have shown us here will be used as the basis for creating my own long awaited dream set-up.

I noted the early problems you had with what appears to have been a bacterial bloom, despite your totally new and squeaky clean set-up being virtually devoid of introduced "nasties", nutriments and/or toxicity....or was it ?

I have a theory...and it is only my own theory so I dont want to create any hostility, but I am interested to know what others think. I will soon have a chance to test it, and will report back...sometime after my initial set-up decides what it will do as it cycles.

Having spent many years as a research chemist in the Thermoplastics area, and I have a Chemistry Degree, I think there is an issue in new set-ups that may be contributing to problems despite all the usual testing we do that does not seem to indicate that any of our "critical parameters" are discrepant.

Any brand new set-up is made of virgin, unused products...glass, PVC tube, HDPE, Acrylic etc etc. I know for sure that most of these products would be considered inert and non-polluting. But I also know what a bewildering array of chemicals get added to raw mixes to enable them to be moulded, extruded, blown and all the other post-treatments that result in pipes, fittings and the like. Additionally, there is always a tiny amount of unreacted monomers (UM) in all of the "plastic" materials we used. By human food standards and legislation, all of these chemicals are safe and minor.

But are these tiny amounts non-toxic for fish and other marine organisms ?

So we have a cocktail of chemicals in our new equipment...plasticisers, mould release agents, flow enhancers, lubricants and many more. Many of these chemical additives are Glycol based but in any event are mainly organic (carbon based) compounds. I stress again that these are NOT toxic in any human sense. But what happens when we start pumping warm sea water around our new system...... minor amounts of these residuals will slowly leach into our water, aided by fast flows increasing the dialysis affect.

I do believe that this is where a lot of the initial issues arise in new set-ups...maybe your Yellow Tang problem ?? and the first Anthiad ??, maybe this added chemical loading also fuels bacterial growth.

So...what to do...firstly, I will soak my whole new system in fresh RO/DI water and let it sit, with circulation for at least 1 week, then I will re-fill with RO/DI water and add the same amount of common human grade table salt (Iodine free) to make similar density to NSW. I will heat this to 84 degrees and circulate it for another week. I will empty this out and then consider adding rock, sand and "real" water, hopefully all/most of these additives will have leached out. Arguably, I have no way of knowing what leached out of the pipework....but know that whatever it is, it is likely to be undesirable.

Anyway, thanks again for your meticulous description and method, beautifully done.

Thank you for the kind comments, Heliman. The only bacterial bloom I had was during the fresh water testing phase of my tank, I believe this is the one you were referring to. I let the system run with tap water for a few days to test the plumbing of the system. During this time there was a fairly large bacterial bloom of some kind, possibly fueled by the organics in the tap water and/or feed by the toxins in the new plumbing - who knows... :hmm5:

I did however, drain the system, cleaned, let dry, and refilled with saltwater and let cycle for a few weeks before adding the Yellow Tang. I believe the stress to the Yellow Tang and the loss of the Anthias were directly related to the initial Lyngbya bloom. That stuff let off an incredible amount of toxins that irritated the gills of the fish in the tank during that algae cycle. Could the cycle have been fueled by organics in the new plumbing, possibly, but I would have no idea how to measure or calculate that. All I knew for sure was the Marco Rock I used was leaching a large amount of phosphate that was feeding the Lyngbya.

Please update me on your progress with your new build. I would love to see the data you collect on this subject. The rock you use will possibly negate a lot of cycling issues though, so just take that into account along the way. Thanks for posting!

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


Finished the mounting panel for my other Vortech Battery Backup today. Basically it's the exact same size as the opposing panel so there is extra space for expansion. I might add another EB8 to the panel at some point so I have control for accessories on the left side of the room.


Here's where the Battery Backup was living for the last year. :facepalm:

And here's the new panel with the Battery Backup mounted on the wall.

And for reference, here's the right side panels.

 

[cromedogg33]

Yeah.... I'm slightly embarrased to show my fish room.....

I better hope my tank grows out before yours with better colors

You must have the most well behaved young one on the planet

 

[fishcatdog66]

Thank you,thank you,thank you! I've been waiting for pics like those for a long time.Sorry if I missed it somewhere but what do you have your Vortech Mp40 set at?

 

[fishcatdog66]

Also like the peace sign in the balast cables

 

[DanielJay]

Brett, What connectors are you using on the bottom of your manifold? The item that fits between your hose and your valve? Did you get those from a home improvement store?

I am just now finishing my plumbing under my tank and getting ready to build my sump. Needing the last few items before water test!

 

[drummereef]

Yeah.... I'm slightly embarrased to show my fish room.....

I better hope my tank grows out before yours with better colors

You must have the most well behaved young one on the planet

Hahahaha! He is the best but I've learned to make very good use of nap time.

Thank you,thank you,thank you! I've been waiting for pics like those for a long time.Sorry if I missed it somewhere but what do you have your Vortech Mp40 set at?

Also like the peace sign in the balast cables

You are welcome, more updated pics to come. Right now I have my Vortechs running on Anti-Sync Lagoon Mode at 85% Max flow when the lights are ON. During sunrise and sunset - 1 hour, they Short Pulse for 9 seconds alternating. I'm able to do this via the WXM module with the Apex controller.

Brett, What connectors are you using on the bottom of your manifold? The item that fits between your hose and your valve? Did you get those from a home improvement store?

I am just now finishing my plumbing under my tank and getting ready to build my sump. Needing the last few items before water test!

I'm currently using threaded insert fittings. They usually have some at the local hardware store, like HD or Lowes but www.savco.com has everything you'd need. Search their Poly Insert Fittings. I have 1/2" NPT to 1/2" hose barb, and also 3/4" NPT to 5/8" hose barb fittings. If you use threaded valves on the manifold you'll have the option to swap out hose barb or push connection (Mur-Lok/John Guest) fittings as you need. Makes it easy to swap out reactors and such as you go. If you want gray color insert fittings then look on http://www.aquaticeco.com/

 

[psteeleb]

nice clean work as usual :thumbsup:

 

[drummereef]

nice clean work as usual :thumbsup:

Thanks Pete!

 

[prop-frags]

So clean and well-designed. Brett, you are still the KING!

 

[drummereef]

So clean and well-designed. Brett, you are still the KING!

Ha! I learn from the best.

 

[drummereef]

So I'm wanting to drill a couple 1-1/4" holes in the body of my pellet reactor to fit some 1/2" UniSeals so I can plumb it to recirculate. I talked with the guys at NextReef today and they were concerned I might crack the reactor if I used a hole saw, so they recommended using a Unibit instead.

Any thoughts here from the acrylic wizards out there? If I went super slow and ran some cool water over the acrylic as I was cutting with the hole saw, would this prevent cracking? Or am I better off using the Unibit instead?