Finally My Custom Miracle Build with Fish Room

shred5 said:
LOL I meant I never saw that reactor before..

I have been hearing some have issues with heat transfer to the reactors.. Have you had any issues and if not how did you prevent it?

I have reactor and I have ordered some led grow strip lights.
Click to expand...

shred5 - LOL. A little light bulb just came on about the reactor...lol. Avast Marine brand :). So with media reactors the ones that are thin walled there may be some heat transfer. Avast products are usually over engineered....lol so the acrylic of the model I have was not that thin stuff. No heat issues that I know of. I also left space between the rows so the lights can receive some passive cooling. I also run the reactor every four hours so that may help as well. For comparison I like the shiny new BioTech reactors I recently got but I don't think they would do well as the material seems to be a tad little thinner. What type of reactor do you have?
 
Thanks for picture of the sea swirl, appreciated. I'll have to do something with mine. They are using just the elbow at the moment. Your picture is giving me some ideas.

I also have pukani rock and you are right - phosphate holder. I had the rock outside in a bit and dosed LC daily rinsing in between and it is still reading .25 on my Hanna checker this am. I thought most of it would be gone but I guess the rock doesn't want to let it go completely. I'm going to do a water change this week so will measure again after that and see if it stays down. If not then I'll have to find a way to dose in the display.

Which brings me to a question if you don't mind. Are you dosing in the display and if so how are you capturing the residual? I don't have any filter socks so not sure how I can dose if so and contain the white film or whatever it is that occurs after.

Oh - one last question, sorry. It may be stupid at that. Does the reactor with cheto in it actually help at all? I mean is it pulling nutrients or enough I mean based on the flow rate though it or am I not understanding how it works? I'm guessing it works along the lines of a algae / turf scrubber.
 
saf1 said:
Thanks for picture of the sea swirl, appreciated. I'll have to do something with mine. They are using just the elbow at the moment. Your picture is giving me some ideas.

I also have pukani rock and you are right - phosphate holder. I had the rock outside in a bit and dosed LC daily rinsing in between and it is still reading .25 on my Hanna checker this am. I thought most of it would be gone but I guess the rock doesn't want to let it go completely. I'm going to do a water change this week so will measure again after that and see if it stays down. If not then I'll have to find a way to dose in the display.

Which brings me to a question if you don't mind. Are you dosing in the display and if so how are you capturing the residual? I don't have any filter socks so not sure how I can dose if so and contain the white film or whatever it is that occurs after.

Oh - one last question, sorry. It may be stupid at that. Does the reactor with cheto in it actually help at all? I mean is it pulling nutrients or enough I mean based on the flow rate though it or am I not understanding how it works? I'm guessing it works along the lines of a algae / turf scrubber.
Click to expand...

saf1 - I think my only issue with the sea swirls is that for the 1" version they are huge. The elbow I think comes in at 1-1/4" but it is threaded for 1". It's bulky but works :). Right now my return pump with the oceans motion and the sea swirls just creates gentle flow. The MP40's are my main method of turn over and I may swap one out for an MP60 to get more flow in the tank.

With the Pukani there are two things to keep in mind. Having crashed two tanks with it already the key is to be patient and don't rush....lol. Depending on the brand of LC you are using it may seem like it is taking forever. I like SeaKlear its a little more expensive but the concentration is higher. If you are using a trashcan like I was get a 10 micron filter sock to catch the particulate that will be created. I dosed 10 ml in a 30 gallon trash bin. Straight LC no diluting since it was not in a tank. The water will turn milky white for sure. Wait 4-5 days measure phosphate then do a 100% water change. When the phosphates starts to hold for a few days you are making progress. I found out that the once I did this a few times the levels started to equalize. When the phosphate held at a low level for more than 5 days I knew I was close. When I brought the ultra low tester and it stayed at 7 for a week I was very happy. The last water changed I did it think it was at 5 or something and i was cool with that. So far in the display my old tester still reads 0.00 ppm and based on past experience this is great. I am not currently dosing anything in the main display. I am running the chaeto reactor and that the other reactor has the GFO in it because I was scared from past experiences...lol. So to recap be patient...lol. Once you put it in your display (if it's not ready) it's a pain with algae and other issues if you rush it. I will dig up some old pictures to show how fast it goes downhill. If you choose to dose in your display I would suggest you use a 10 micron filter sock. I used a filter sock in conjunction with the Two Little Fishes reactor filled with cotton and that stuff still was present in the water in the trashcan. When I moved to main display I actually rinsed the rock off with fresh water to make there was not residue on the rock.

I think the reactor is doing something it is similar to an algae/turf scrubber. I have a DIY version I may put on my frag tank that I had on my old 180. I am messing with the LED's to light it now. The Cheato reactor is just another nutrient export mechanism so you guessed correctly :). Based on some of the videos BRStv Investigates videos (I love this series) it can have some impact. I do not know how much of an impact it has currently, but I think its a good addition to the tank. I think once I start getting stuff in the tank and feeding heavy I will quickly find out. Also no question is stupid except the ones you don't ask. Part of the reason RC is so great is that we can share information with each other and its FREE :).
 
nightOwl said:
shred5 - LOL. A little light bulb just came on about the reactor...lol. Avast Marine brand :). So with media reactors the ones that are thin walled there may be some heat transfer. Avast products are usually over engineered....lol so the acrylic of the model I have was not that thin stuff. No heat issues that I know of. I also left space between the rows so the lights can receive some passive cooling. I also run the reactor every four hours so that may help as well. For comparison I like the shiny new BioTech reactors I recently got but I don't think they would do well as the material seems to be a tad little thinner. What type of reactor do you have?
Click to expand...

It is some cheap reactor.. Yea I have used Avast stuff before and very well built. I also have had the BioTech reactor.

i am planing on running mine reverse of my main light to help with ph.

Thank you very much, i am enjoying your build and it is giving me some ideas on my new build.
 
shred5 said:
It is some cheap reactor.. Yea I have used Avast stuff before and very well built. I also have had the BioTech reactor.

i am planing on running mine reverse of my main light to help with ph.

Thank you very much, i am enjoying your build and it is giving me some ideas on my new build.
Click to expand...

shred5 - Make sure to keep your LED strip away from the seams of the reactor at the top and bottom. I have an Kalk Reactor and Calcium reactor from when Avast was Grey Seas Aquatics...lol. They were some local guys from our local club and now they are up there with the big boys.

Since nothing is in my tank currently and I have not been running the lights I am just running every four hours. I did turn on the lights this past weekend when I picked up some new critters for the display. Did not take long at all for the pretty white rock to start turning brown...lol. Eventually with kalk I hope to keep the ph elevated. Once the tank is packed with corals I think I will try a calcium reactor.

Glad I could help!
 
Main display is coming along. I have been running the lights a few hours each day to get some algae growing to feed the snails I picked up recently. The chaeto reactor is humming along pretty nicely. The pods are doing well and the Ocean Magik is almost gone so once that is gone the pods should have been weened off of it. I can see them on the glass in both the display and the frag tank. My QT tanks tank needs to be plumbed and I am waiting on a glass drill bit to arrive. I will have a new update tomorrow but in the meantime here is what has happened in the last week or so.


General Updates
04/21/2018 - Critter Run/Frag Update
So I have been looking at my tank daily to see if anything is changing or growing and decided I wanted to go on a little critter run. There were a few LFS's I wanted to check out to start getting a lay of the land on who has good healthy fish within a reasonable driving distance. I hoped in my truck and Checked out Reef Escape, Centreville Aquarium, and Supreme Reef. I picked up a few things on my trip. All critters were placed in the main display. I also had a package arrive on Saturday with an Iron test, Magnesium supplement and some two part.

My coral dip went much better this go around. Also I think I finally have the hang of LED's. In the back of the frag tank I have a new section called "White Walkers". I am not sure if they will come back at all but I want to just keep them until they turn brown and I know there is no chance the corals are alive. An update on my corals from 4/10 I am now down to three.

Rainbow Stylo - Recovering and healing
Donkey Kong - "White Walker"
Battle Corals Secale - "White Walker"
Leprechaun in Pergatory - "White Walker"
Premoberry - Recovering and healing
Jared's Red Devil Naustra - "White Walker"
Snipers Blue Something or Other - Recovering and healing​


Snails and Hermits
IMG_2080 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Emerald Crabs and Peppermint Shrimp
IMG_2081 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Couple of New Supplements
IMG_2107 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Online Orders
IMG_2124 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_2137 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr


Two New Frags
IMG_2128 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

​

04/24/2018 - QT Tank Stand
Since my back table has limited space I wanted a smaller footprint for QT. I have two 10 gal tanks I want to stack to use as my QT. My goal was to be able to break down the set up when not and use and have it not take up too much space. So I went to my workshop and played around with a few ideas until I sketched something that I thought would work. My first revision is pretty sturdy. I was able to stand on the stand and it held my weight. I am kinda happy with the results. I just need to paint/seal it. I needed some plumbing parts and ordered those as well. Below is my two part stand that folds to save space. Using a combination of pocket holes and dowel joinery I made a pretty sturdy stand.

My Two Part QT Stand
(Folded and Stacked)
IMG_2146 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

(Part A)
IMG_2147 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

(Part B)
IMG_2148 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_2149 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr
​
 
Frag Updates
04/29/2018 - Frag Tank Updates

I was finally able to pick up my frags/mini colonies from msaba (Mark) and to say I was very pleased is an extreme understatement. The corals in his tank have some amazing color and hopefully I will be able get them to keep the color over the next few weeks. I wish I would had taken my real camera with me when I went for my pickup. I did manage to take a pic with my phone but it does not do the tank justice at all. I hate to even post it because it is so bad but it will give you and idea of how great his tank looks. If you see a sale thread up by him make sure to jump on it.

Mark's Tank
20180429_111344_HDR by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr


Below are some of the corals I picked up for a great price. I took some pictures while I was acclimating them to show how big some of these frags are.

Frags Being Acclimated
IMG_2870 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

----- Row 1 -----
Pink Lemonade
Joe the Coral
Sapphire Milli
BC Rainbow
Red Planet

----- Row 2 -----
Jedi Mind Trick
Vivid Rainbow
Hawkins Echinata
Copps Cali Cali
Crayola Plana

IMG_2874 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr
----- Row 3 -----
Oregon Tort
BC Spainbow
Cali Tort
Sunset Monti
Red Dragon

IMG_2875 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

----- Row 4 -----
Hiller's Aquamarine Jewel
Tyree Something
Green Slimer
Tanzanite Terror
Yellow Polyp Cap

IMG_2877 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr


Frags Fully Acclimated
IMG_2882 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr


​
 
FireReeferSteve said:
Awesome build....definitely following!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Welcome to the I create White Walker's thread...lol. I think I seriously may have to change the name of my thread.


General Updates
Not too much has been going on. I have been killing more corals. I am giving up on them for a while until I can figure out what is the root case besides me...lol.

My Seneye arrived and I will use it sometime this week to figure out a light intensity that is not going to kill my corals. Currently I am just running the lights on a very low blue. I am excited to try out light meter based on the BRS review its pretty accurate so this will help with me getting the color and intensity I want.

05/13/2018 - Triton Water Results Frag Tank

I received my water test results for my frag tank. After killing so many corals I figured I would try a new approach and have the water professionally tested. There are a few issues that I am going to be correcting over the next few weeks. The results give you some ideas and steps to address any item that is in the red area. I really like the test breakdown and how fast it came back. I have two other tests and will probably need to order more. I plan on getting the Frag tank stable and once that is pretty stable try to recreate the parameters in the main display. My wife says I can not buy any more corals until the ones in there die or I can see they are growing. I have attached a few screen shots to give an idea of how the data is reported. The individual results are broken down into 4 tabs. The tabs are as follows:

Data - Your results

Help - Two sub tabs (Detection and Action)

Dose - Two sub tabs (Detection and Action)

Visual- I need to email about this one nothing seems to happen when I hit download
 
Took me a few days, but finally read every post in this thread! Your attention to detail and craftsmanship is astounding! Now I'll be waiting for updates!
 
AOmegaX said:
Thank you for doing this! Your build quality is inspiring!
Click to expand...
AOmegaX - Thanks for the kind words.

shred5 said:
Any updates?
Click to expand...
shred5 - I have been a little behind but slowly making progress.

jwheeler said:
Took me a few days, but finally read every post in this thread! Your attention to detail and craftsmanship is astounding! Now I'll be waiting for updates!
Click to expand...
jwheeler - Thanks for the kind words and tagging along.
 
biecacka said:
Looking very good!

Corey
Click to expand...

biecacka - Thanks for the kind words!


It's been a while and it's that time of the year where things are pretty hectic so things may be a little slow but I am still plugging along. I have been keeping up with water changes on the frag tank and monitoring the water quality. I have been fighting elevated levels of Alk in the frag tank and can't figure out why since regular IO is so low. I have stopped dosing daily amounts of Alk, Cal, and Mag and recently the Alk levels have subsided. Also for any reefer using LEDs the Seneye is the best thing since sliced bread for accurately finding your par readings and for only $200 its way more accurate than the Apogee meter. Like I mentioned before BRS did a head to head test with a very expensive meter and it held its own.

Frags in the frog tank are sorta in a limbo state where they are not dying but not thriving. Coralline algae is starting to appear on the bottom of the tank and some of the corals are encrusting. Everything is very pale but it has been weeks since I created a new soldier to the arm. With the help of the Seneye I have brought the par down to a reasonable level. The main display is plugging along as well. My LC treatment really helped with the Pukani rock. So far I have not had a huge algae outbreak. In the past with the amount of light I am using the main tank would have been a great green mound by now. I keep testing the phosphate levels and when they rise a bit I swap out the GFO to bring them back down. The rock must not be leaching as much anymore because the Cheato is not really growing much and I feed the tank daily.

So a few updates"¦

05/05/2018 - Used MP10 Wireless and Bubble Magnus Doser

I am always looking for a deal on equipment even when I really don't need it. I ran across a thread on my local club forum for a MP10 Wireless pump for a good price. I rode out to my old stomping grounds in VA and picked up the pump and while I was there he showed me a doser. I knew I already had a AquaMedic doser somewhere in a box but could not find it. I also knew I had plans to build my own but I could not pass up the deal on this one so I added it to my list. At the time I knew I needed several dosing nipples but I picked up the doser just the same. I still plan on making my own for the main tank. With the MP10 on the frag tank it gave me a good variety of flow. Once the corals are really growing I will be able to use the doser to keep all the elements up to the correct levels without having to manually dose daily.


MP10
IMG_3056 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Doser
IMG_3055 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr
​

05/15/2018 - 748S911 Stopped By

My buddy Jesse stopped by to visit the tank and see my progress. It was good to bounce some ideas off of him and get some feedback on my progress. My rock structure had the effect I had hoped also. When he stepped in the fish room and say the view I will have from the fish room he liked it too. We ended up bsing for a while and I shared with him some of my ideas for what I planned to do. His tank is filled with greedy fish and I was throwing away some Cheeto so Jesse took it off my hands. It was fun to take a break from working on the tank and talk some ideas over and get some feedback in real time. There is still a lot of work to do but I am still making progress.

​


05/23/2018 - QT Set-up

So my QT was finally fully set up and I had been trying to figure out what my first fish would be. I cycled the tank with some Instant Ocean BIO-Spira. I threw some food in for a few days and after a few days tested to make sure there was no Ammonia, Nitrite, or Nitrate. Once I was sure it was good I started my fish search. I was leaning towards buying a tang but in my infinite wisdom I figured I could do three in one shot if the tank was divided properly. I decided that a divider in the top would help me do two then the third would be in the bottom. I had some left over acrylic and after some time with the table saw and router I made a divider. To help filter the tank I brought a cheap Aqueon Power Filter. The replacement filters were not that expensive and they even have a little ammonia reducer sponge. I may upgrade later and add a small protein skimmer since my current HOB skimmer the ceramic shaft was broken on the impeller.

Divider
IMG_3043 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_3044 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_3046 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Aqueon Power Filter
IMG_3039 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

QT
IMG_3000 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr​

IMG_3047 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

I will update more tomorrow..
 
nightOwl said:
shred5 - I have been a little behind but slowly making progress.

.
Click to expand...


I understand completely. My new system has been set up since January. I didn't even turn the lights on for two months. I still have only a few fish and do not think I will get to it till fall now.

Was worried though something went wrong with your system.
 
shred5 said:
I understand completely. My new system has been set up since January. I didn't even turn the lights on for two months. I still have only a few fish and do not think I will get to it till fall now.

Was worried though something went wrong with your system.
Click to expand...

Shred5 - So far so good! Thanks for checking in on me. I am just hoping things continue to proceed on a path of progression. I run downstairs every morning waiting to see algae appear overnight in the main display. LC really works with Pukani Rock :).


General Updates


05/29/2018 - Water Defectors
I am still tweaking the water levels in the main display. I have not figured out the exact water level but I plan to keep tweaking until I get to where I feel there is not an excessive amount of water draining back into the sump when I turn the pump off. The issue presents itself when I try to create a syphon break above the lowest point on the weir. It keeps the water from draining back into the sump but when the water comes back on there was too much splashing. To combat that I created some water deflectors to go on top on the returns. I will try to get better pictures of the deflectors. The ones I have were way too blurry. They are basically large triangles that allow me to keep the two returns closest to the weirs out of the water without splashing too much. I glued them in place and hopefully they will stay on since I only used some super glue gel.​


06/01/2018 - BRS Order Arrived
I "œneeded" a few things for the main tank so for Mother's Day I placed and order :). I'm sure there are some mothers in the tank that would be very happy I cared enough to think of them"¦lol. BRS Investigates gets the credit for me switching to multiple stage DI resin. The water in the area of MD where I am is very hard on filters and resin. When I used just the standard mixed resin my machine would burn through the resin much faster. Now that I am using three stages I am seeing much better results and my TDS meter is still reading 0. I am really happy I decided to try the new approach. I ordered some new filters, resin, Amino Acid, Hanna Cuvettes, Hanna Alk Reagent, a Potassium Test, tips for the doser I picked up, and an Avast Marine Works Kalk Stirrer. I plan on using the Kalk Stirrer on the main display and repairing my old one for the Frag tank.

Resin and Filters
IMG_3050 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Miss Items
IMG_3051 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Kalk Stirrer
IMG_3059 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr​

06/02/2018 - First Fish Arrive

My fish were supposed to arrive on Friday 06/01 but due to bad weather in Kentucky they were rescheduled for Sat. All day on Friday I was waiting like a kid at Christmas then I received text saying my package was rescheduled for Sat. My heart dropped and I immediately called LiveAquaria to double check. Customer service was very understanding about the whole situation. They informed me everyone had been upgraded to Sat delivery at no extra charge which I thought was impressive. This was my first order from LiveAquaria and the only thing I do not like is that you can not see your order history. Whoever designed their website and forgot that feature should be fired! I was worried that the extra day would lead to me having a floater in the bag but all arrived healthy. My wife gave each fish a name"¦lol. So I present the latest members of the family.

Yellow Tang aka Scoot and Boots -smallest of the bunch 2" including tail (was very skittish)
Purple Tang aka Raven - 3" including tail (I think its a Ravens thing)
Kole Tang aka She-Ra - 3.5" including tail (Not sure on her logic here)

I am not sure why these names were chosen but these were the names given to each of them as I acclimated them.

My Fish
IMG_3061 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Yellow Tang - Zebrasoma flavescens
IMG_3088 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Purple Tang - Zebrasoma xanthurum
IMG_3077 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Kole Tang - Ctenochaetus strigosus
IMG_3063 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr
​
 
General Updates

06/03/2018 - Lunch and Field Trip

So a few of my fish buddies and I try to meet periodically to just shot the breeze, visit each others tanks, or some type of fun activity. Richard - RJT, Larry - worm5406, and Tom - Tom39 and I started our tank visit group I think back in 2013. On Sunday Richard, Tom, and I met up for lunch and a field trip. Larry could not make this outing. We meet at Mike's American Restaurant then visited two local fish stores. Sometimes we have items to trade amongst ourselves so I managed to score a UV Sterilizer from Tom. He did not need two of the same. I picked up some PE Mysis from one of the stores and then some LRS Herbivore Frenzy from the other.

UV Sterilizer - Coralife Turbo-Twist Ultraviolet Sterilizer -36 watt
IMG_9842 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr
​

06/11/2018 - More Projects and Critter Transfer to Display

So I have been keeping a list of small projects I could complete in a few hours or less that would help make my life easier in the fish room. I figured I could start with the three below and make great progress in a short period of time.

  1. Top-off Container for QT
  2. Algae Reactor and Kalk Platform
  3. Ecotech Controller Holder

While going through QT for my new fish I realized I needed a small top-off container for the QT. Adding water is boooooring. I keep scraps of acrylic sitting around so I cut the pieces for the top-off container. I will find time to assemble in the next few weeks but the step one is done. Once assembled it will go below the top tank in front of the bottom tank. When I built the collapsable platform to hold the tank I designed it so I could eventually have a small container that would hold top-off water.

When we got solar installed Solar City gave us a fancy box that held the gateway that gets connected to our router. The box was fairly fancy for what it was holding and very heavy duty. It just happened that the box was just the right size to be a stand for my algae reactor. When my Kalk Stirrer arrived I quickly realized I would need to raise it about the same height as the algae reactor to allow the saturated solution to drain into the return area of the sump. Once I measured the two base widths I calculated the overall dimensions and headed off to the garage.

Now that I have two Vortech pumps on the frag tank it occurred to me that I needed a new holder for the controllers. Currently the two controllers are just laying on the back table in a pile of cords. I had a little spill form the QT and came to the conclusion getting shocked would not be a good thing so they needed to be mounted"¦lol. I pulled the original off the wall by the display and carried it to the garage. Within 20 mins or so I had all my parts I needed.


While trying to remove the last of the critters from my old temp set up I found a starfish that I thought had died. I took a picture and it reminded me that I did not post a picture of when I transferred the first brittle starfish. To compare the two the first picture is of the most recent brittle starfish I transfer the second is Tiny. Tiny was in the main part of my temp setup and collected food daily. The other two that I transferred were in the 100 tub that I did not feed that often after I was down to only the clown fish. I guess you can tell when starfish are well fed.

Projects in Progress
IMG_9834 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Top Off Container
IMG_9835 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Kalk and Algae Reactor Platform
IMG_9836 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Before
IMG_9849 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

After
IMG_9851 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr


Parts for WP Controller Holder
IMG_9843 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Assembled (New One on Top)
IMG_9845 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Last Brittle Star
IMG_9841 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Tiny
IMG_2911 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr
​
 
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