Initial planning stages for tank and fish room
- Thread starter Bilk
- Start date
Bilk
New member
The panels are nothing more than 1/4" plexi. They sit on the outside and are hermetically sealed to the tank - ah just kidding. They are 1/4" plexi and pretty much sit up against the outside and are taped at the corners to one another and to the top rim of the eurobracing. Right now I don't have them on as I will be doing some aquascaping and would like to view the tank from all sides.
I'm not sure what I'll do down the road. It's nice to have the ability to remove them and view the tank from each side, but because they are behind the 3/4" acrylic, they produce more of a mirror effect than a colored background. I might try something else.
Bilk
New member
Haven't posted an update in quite a while. Had a bout of the flu and a whole lot of work projects that needed some attention.
After a pretty good breakout of red cyano, things cleared up and have remained that way for the last 10 days or so. There is just some patches of GHA that is slowly dying back, that occurred during the time the rocks were holding over in the breeder. I wasn't about to recycle them as there's tons of life in them I wanted in the new tank.
The tank is doing really well now. All the parameters are stable and things seem to have settled in nicely.
I completed two projects over the last few days - I finished the mixing station, complete with a Stenner pump for automatic water changes and installed a linear actuator to raise and lower the lights over the tank.
Right now I'm doing the water changes manually with the switch, as I still need to program the Apex for this. I think I'm going to have it change out 2GPD, which in my system equates to about 30% per month. I'm going to use the 200g bucket I have remaining of Red Sea Pro salt I bought to set up the tank, but I'm going back to ESV, which is what I used on the 50g. I just don't like the residue I see left in the mixing container. It also takes some time to clear as opposed to the ESV which mixes clear almost immediately.
Here's a pic of the Stenner pump and the linear actuator I installed for the lights. I have to say I love just flipping a switch to move the lights
It has 12" of travel, which is more than enough for me to service the tank and position the lights where I need them. As for the water changes, man, what's not to like about not having to lift buckets :spin3:
This is the tank as is sits today. Not doing anything fancy with the rock work. Hopefully the corals will "aquascape" the tank really well
I lost one fish during the transfer - the female mate to the clown fish. It was odd too, because she was in the tank two days and eating well. Not sure what happened. The only other tank mates are a single chromis and a Kole tang. The rest of the stock is made up of crabs and snails - a few emerald crabs, quite a few hermits of various varieties and the same for the snails which also include three fighting conchs.
When I have some time I'll post a video of the engine room and the works and my impressions of the Sea Sweeps and the ETSS 800XR skimmer, which so far has been working great.
Edit: Oh yeah I'm still not set on a background color or how I want to apply it - paint vs film vs acrylic panels. I was actually thinking of doing something mirrored or reflective. Has anyone done this done have seen it somewhere? I'm thinking it can serve two purposes - reflect the light and give some depth perception. Maybe I can do an experiment with this
After a pretty good breakout of red cyano, things cleared up and have remained that way for the last 10 days or so. There is just some patches of GHA that is slowly dying back, that occurred during the time the rocks were holding over in the breeder. I wasn't about to recycle them as there's tons of life in them I wanted in the new tank.
The tank is doing really well now. All the parameters are stable and things seem to have settled in nicely.
I completed two projects over the last few days - I finished the mixing station, complete with a Stenner pump for automatic water changes and installed a linear actuator to raise and lower the lights over the tank.
Right now I'm doing the water changes manually with the switch, as I still need to program the Apex for this. I think I'm going to have it change out 2GPD, which in my system equates to about 30% per month. I'm going to use the 200g bucket I have remaining of Red Sea Pro salt I bought to set up the tank, but I'm going back to ESV, which is what I used on the 50g. I just don't like the residue I see left in the mixing container. It also takes some time to clear as opposed to the ESV which mixes clear almost immediately.
Here's a pic of the Stenner pump and the linear actuator I installed for the lights. I have to say I love just flipping a switch to move the lights
It has 12" of travel, which is more than enough for me to service the tank and position the lights where I need them. As for the water changes, man, what's not to like about not having to lift buckets :spin3:
This is the tank as is sits today. Not doing anything fancy with the rock work. Hopefully the corals will "aquascape" the tank really well
I lost one fish during the transfer - the female mate to the clown fish. It was odd too, because she was in the tank two days and eating well. Not sure what happened. The only other tank mates are a single chromis and a Kole tang. The rest of the stock is made up of crabs and snails - a few emerald crabs, quite a few hermits of various varieties and the same for the snails which also include three fighting conchs.
When I have some time I'll post a video of the engine room and the works and my impressions of the Sea Sweeps and the ETSS 800XR skimmer, which so far has been working great.
Edit: Oh yeah I'm still not set on a background color or how I want to apply it - paint vs film vs acrylic panels. I was actually thinking of doing something mirrored or reflective. Has anyone done this done have seen it somewhere? I'm thinking it can serve two purposes - reflect the light and give some depth perception. Maybe I can do an experiment with this
Last edited:
owenspackman
New member
My first ever saltwater tank had a mirrored background, it was a used 30 gallon given to me.
the only benefit I can see to them, besides potential reflection of light, is depth perception as you mention BUT thats only going to appear that way when looking at the tank from certainly angles and positions, the rest of the time you'll see yourself and the rest of your room inside your reef, and you'll probably hate it just as much as I did.
Here is the tank in question from 2008. DONT DO IT!
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/11229715825/" title="DSCN2679 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5547/11229715825_f7ca2f829f_z.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSCN2679"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/11229759406/" title="IMG_0122 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7388/11229759406_327e5a055e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0122"></a>
the only benefit I can see to them, besides potential reflection of light, is depth perception as you mention BUT thats only going to appear that way when looking at the tank from certainly angles and positions, the rest of the time you'll see yourself and the rest of your room inside your reef, and you'll probably hate it just as much as I did.
Here is the tank in question from 2008. DONT DO IT!
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/11229715825/" title="DSCN2679 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5547/11229715825_f7ca2f829f_z.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSCN2679"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/11229759406/" title="IMG_0122 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7388/11229759406_327e5a055e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0122"></a>
Bilk
New member
Yeah I see what you mean. Ah well it was a thought I'll probably use a black background. I like have visibility from the back and sides so I'll probably use the piece of acrylic that's already cut to fit it.
Your system looks like it's really doing fine and the frag setup is killer. I might have to find some room to do something similar I have plenty of left over stuff to put one up.
I'll probably use a black background. I like have visibility from the back and sides so I'll probably use the piece of acrylic that's already cut to fit it. Your system looks like it's really doing fine and the frag setup is killer. I might have to find some room to do something similar
I have plenty of left over stuff to put one up.
Bilk
New member
So I found my missing percula. She was under the cabinets 
Not sure why she jumped, but I gave her a kind burial.
The system is really starting too fire on all cylinders now. After dealing with the cyao, the tank started to suffer from a valonia and bryopsis bout. I'm happy to say, that is now in recession.
After reading Glenn's thread and a few others on dosing nitrates to reduce phosphates, I decided to give it a try. Nitrates have been reading zero in the tank, but PO4 had been stable at .08. Not terrible, but not good if nuisance algae are present and especially the two above. So I mixed up a solution of sodium nitrate and began a dosing regimen. That along with really feeding the fish and corals, has PO4 reading zero and the two nuisance algae receding by the day. There are some pics below.
I'm just wondering where to go from here? I understand there is probably both PO4 and some NO3 present in the water column, but they're not detectable by any of the tests I have. I guess I can just keep feeding heavy and hope to manage the nutrients as I've been doing.
Well here are some pics. Have a Happy and a Merry everyone!
Oh my stocking list. Present in the tank:
I'd like some suggestions to add to this. I am probably going to pick up a Yellow Wrasse to hopefully clean up any unwanted pests.
Tank parameters:
Not sure why she jumped, but I gave her a kind burial.The system is really starting too fire on all cylinders now. After dealing with the cyao, the tank started to suffer from a valonia and bryopsis bout. I'm happy to say, that is now in recession.
After reading Glenn's thread and a few others on dosing nitrates to reduce phosphates, I decided to give it a try. Nitrates have been reading zero in the tank, but PO4 had been stable at .08. Not terrible, but not good if nuisance algae are present and especially the two above. So I mixed up a solution of sodium nitrate and began a dosing regimen. That along with really feeding the fish and corals, has PO4 reading zero and the two nuisance algae receding by the day. There are some pics below.
I'm just wondering where to go from here? I understand there is probably both PO4 and some NO3 present in the water column, but they're not detectable by any of the tests I have. I guess I can just keep feeding heavy and hope to manage the nutrients as I've been doing.
Well here are some pics. Have a Happy and a Merry everyone!
Oh my stocking list. Present in the tank:
- (1) Kole Tang
- (1) Percula Clown
- (1) Green Chromis
- (1) Bi-color Blenny
- (1) Yellow Belly Regal Blue Tang
- (4) Pajama Cardinals
I'd like some suggestions to add to this. I am probably going to pick up a Yellow Wrasse to hopefully clean up any unwanted pests.
Tank parameters:
- Temp > 78-80
- SG > 1.026
- pH > 8.25
- Ca > 400ppm
- Alkalinity > 8.4dkh
- Mg > 1400ppm
- NO3 > 0 detectable
- PO4 > 0 detectable
Bilk
New member
You know that's probably not a bad idea. I'm wondering if it will stick to the acrylic panels electrostatically? That would have a better appearance than if it were just hanging behind. I'm sure there's a film that's made for this application that can be removed and replaced when needed.
Psxerholic
New member
Man awesome lighted frame. What did you use for that? Link would be appreciated.
I building a skirt and would like to use something similar that I can hide behind frameparts.
THX
Nice project!!!
I building a skirt and would like to use something similar that I can hide behind frameparts.
THX
Nice project!!!
Bilk
New member
It's a multicolor led strip. It comes with the transformer and a control so you can change the colors. I think I got these from Amazon, but *bay and lots of places have them. These seemed to be the best price. I ordered a second reel without the transformer and controller as I needed more than the 16'. I also ordered the splicing components.
prop-frags
SPS Slave
Impressive build, Bill. The engineering that you put into this is inspiring for many DIY projects we'd like to do. Good to see the livestock going in!
rottloverr
Member
How do you like your Genesis system? Any pictures of it set up?
Bilk
New member
Thanks orangegsx and Mike & Terry. I tried to set things up that will make the system as user friendly as I can, even though there is limited space in the fishroom. The room is pretty small and even smaller with the tank in it
I see some room for improvement, but I do have to admit, things are basically working as intended - maintenance has been simplified and I can't tell you how invaluable the two reservoirs are. A few hours before I know a delivery will arrive, I overfill the system by a few gallons so when it's time for drip acclimating, I have the normal level of water remaining in the system after the acclimation is complete. This acts an additional water change. I like having the ability to obtain either RO/DI or saltwater directly from the reservoirs via the spigots that came with them. Something I didn't have before.
Mechanizing the light structure at first seemed like an unnecessary luxury, but that too has served things well, allowing me to raise the lights for access to the tank and then lower them to the exact same position they were prior.
rottloverr, I didn't go with the Genesis. I purchased a Stenner dual head peristaltic pump that is tasked to do a one gallon water change every 12 hours. I guess it's achieving the same thing the Genesis would. I know the Genesis allows one to program for any volume of change, but I figured if I needed to do a larger change, the Genesis would be very inefficient as would the Stenner pump. For that I have ready made saltwater in the reservoir, an Eheim pump and an outlet from the main system return to drain water. The Genesis would have to go thru its drain and fill cycles many times to achieve the same and the Stenner pump would have to run for a long time. Both would take many hours.
I see some room for improvement, but I do have to admit, things are basically working as intended - maintenance has been simplified and I can't tell you how invaluable the two reservoirs are. A few hours before I know a delivery will arrive, I overfill the system by a few gallons so when it's time for drip acclimating, I have the normal level of water remaining in the system after the acclimation is complete. This acts an additional water change. I like having the ability to obtain either RO/DI or saltwater directly from the reservoirs via the spigots that came with them. Something I didn't have before.
Mechanizing the light structure at first seemed like an unnecessary luxury, but that too has served things well, allowing me to raise the lights for access to the tank and then lower them to the exact same position they were prior.
rottloverr, I didn't go with the Genesis. I purchased a Stenner dual head peristaltic pump that is tasked to do a one gallon water change every 12 hours. I guess it's achieving the same thing the Genesis would. I know the Genesis allows one to program for any volume of change, but I figured if I needed to do a larger change, the Genesis would be very inefficient as would the Stenner pump. For that I have ready made saltwater in the reservoir, an Eheim pump and an outlet from the main system return to drain water. The Genesis would have to go thru its drain and fill cycles many times to achieve the same and the Stenner pump would have to run for a long time. Both would take many hours.
Bilk
New member
Yes it's a Colonial. Not sure it would work mounted vertically. The check valve came with specific instructions that it should be mounted with the flow running horizontally. There are no metal parts internally. Obtained from US Plastics.
You mentioned you were thinking of getting a yellow wrasse. Do you mean yellow coris wrasse? I have one in my tank with a shallow sand bed. It sleeps under the sand and is constantly moving sand bed around. Something to think about if you have a DSB. Love the tank build. We are moving into a bigger house next month and will finally have my dream tank, you have given me some good ideas with your build.
