Michael's 150gal build thread

[mpderksen]

Michael's 150gal build thread

Yes, I've seen that episode. Great information there. I've decided to be semi-aggressive on the snails. Crush the ones I can, but not obsess.
This morning, of COURSE the first thing I did was check the tank. The water was perfectly clear already. And I saw 3 nasarrius cruising around that were as big as my thumb. Everything else was in a nook or cranny somewhere. Skimmer is bubbling along. Time for ammonia and nitrate tests...

 

[mpderksen]

Ammonia: 0.25-0.50
Nitrate: ~4ppm

 

[Bpb]

So 130 pounds of sand got you roughly about 2" depth all over? Did you place sand under the rocks too or just around them?


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[mpderksen]

Pretty close to that. Base rock, then sand, then upper rocks. No risk of critters undermining the structure that way. My foot print is 18" x 72". Tough to get it level, but worth it.

 

[Bpb]

May consider an order in the distant future rather than dry sand. Can't afford "the package" so debating on if just sand or just rocks would be preferable


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[mpderksen]

Michael's 150gal build thread

So, here's my experience: the live sand not only had a bunch of snails in it, but a small brittle star. For everything I've seen, I bet there is 3 I haven't, yet. Most notable was the lack of cycle. The project is about moving 2 existing tanks into one, right? The guy I bought the tank from gave me a bunch of dry rock, but that's different from cycled.
I had the rock in Saltwater in the garage for the last month. No real testing. When the TBS order came Friday, I put it in and waited overnight to do an Ammonia and Nitrate test. Then today, I did it again. Ammonia around 0.50ppm and Nitrate around 4.
Today was a long and difficult day. I put the corals and live rock from the 25 in the 150 first. Then the 4 fish. Then I started draining and transferring my 75. Remember I was asking about the Vermatids? Yeah, they are freaking everywhere, so I took no time to pick them off. I broke a lot of the fragile SPS, but also discovered I still had 4 peppermint shrimp that I hadn't seen in a year.... no wonder my Aiptasia never came back.
I made sure not to transfer an rock that had Xenia on it, but also use as much cycled rock as possible. I still have some serious cord management to do, plug in my dosers and mount everything cleanly. And I need to get to RapidLED and buy the third light. But after a few hours, all fish are looking fine, and most corals are extended. I have a ton of water for changes, just in case.
The only sad thing is my Gold Bar Maroon. She is in QT until I can find her a new home. I can't risk her killing the 2 snowflakes. Had her longer than any other fish, and I'm really sad to see her go. She will live in my office for now.

 

[JonezNReef]

Looking good. Things are moving along nicely. It's always fun to consolidate two systems into one but always hard to let things go that just don't mix with the final vision. I am still debating if I want to do that with some of the corals in my holding tank that I've had for years.

 

[fishresponse]

I did the tank consolidation a month or so ago myself. Looking good! Jumping on the ride.

 

[mpderksen]

Tonight I got the ATO connected and fixed my Apex code. The chiller and heater were battling. Now I'm running new lines to the 2-part bottles, and will need to remind myself how to code OSC commands....
ORP is rising, which is pretty expected. A big water change might be needed since I haven't reconnected the DOS AWC set up yet.
I get my third RapidLED fixture tomorrow. I can use the Meanwell drivers and a bunch of LEDs from the fixture that was on the 25gal tank. Total cost was only $120. I can even move the hanger kit to the new heat sink.
All fish still alive.

 

[mpderksen]

Michael's 150gal build thread

Back from an overnight at SF and Stanford. Text late last night, "I think you lost a clownfish!"
Me : "as in dying, or can't find?" (Thinking that if a clownfish is fading, my other fish are next for sure)
Wife: "don't see her anywhere"
Me: "#dreadingtheanswer, look behind the tank
Seconds pass, feeling like hours.
Wife: I found her on the tile behind the tank
Me: I had a month to build better screens, knowing there was a gap and I didn't...
Wife: how fast can you replace her? The little one looks so lonely!
Me: online, deliver on Thursday morning. $100 plus shipping.
Wife: order right NOW!
Me: (inside voice) no QT, RC is gonna judge me for sure on this one.....

Home, updated the covers

So yeah, a new snowflake clown arrives Thursday morning. She will NOT go through QT for reasons I don't have time to type.
I picked up my RapidLED parts while I was in SF. Half done with that build but ran out of screws! Bummer. New tank should be fully lit by Saturday.

 

[JonezNReef]

Sorry to hear about your clown. I had that happen before too with a couple of fish and it does suck. In my first reef tank I had a pair of Black Darwin's that were chased out by the devil fish aka Damsel. Also I had a Kole Tang do the same on my last 180...needless to say I have a screen on my new system. As far as QT goes I hope all goes well with the fish so it doesn't effect any of your other stock. I wish you luck and keep us updated

 

[mpderksen]

New clown is paired up nicely with the other already. Hopefully it's not a kiss of death... All critters seem to have made the transfer well enough. Getting some SPS bleaching. Fairly expected, actually. I got the third LED up and humming.
I decided to mod the BRS dosing pumps to accept John Guest fittings like the DOS. The fittings are on order from Amazon, so it will be a weekend project.
Currently feeding Rod's more than PE mysis and Spectrum pellets. I don't have any algae in this tank to sustain my herbivores, and feel Rod's is one of the better balanced foods.
Still leaving most of the coral in the sand until I see what will survive.

 

[mpderksen]

New screens done. Took under an hour. If I had done it before, I wouldn't have lost my little buddy. Lesson learned.
The lights are hanging a bit crooked because the wires that connect them to the drivers is just a bit short. That will get fixed later when the cabinets are built. I plan to mount them on an 80-20 rail instead of hang from wires.

 

[mpderksen]

A big part of the fun for me is the DIY projects. I bought a small box and some Molex kits. I the first picture you can see I glued in a jumper. The plan is to have all 3 LEDs get their 1-10V from the Apex Var outlet. This way, I've run a single CAT-5 to the box, and it will handle both the blue and white channels. Since I tend to forget stuff, I labeled the ports.
Picture 2 is the newest DIY LED project from Rapid. They have totally redesigned their heatsinks. In some ways, its harder to put on the LEDS, but the channels give much better flexibility than the old, pre-drilled version. Also, the port for the cooling fan is a really nice feature. However, the 80° optics are a real issue. They really don't fit like they should. Maybe I should have adhered them to the LED before screwing them to the heatsink, but the plastic washers seem to keep them from really seating. Still the best option in the market for me. I've built kits for 4 different tanks and will certainly go back again. The people are first rate, and I've been successful with them to grow SPS. This 20" fixture was $120 with actual CREEs since I had a bunch of the parts already (like the Meanwell drivers). Beat that Radeon!
I crimped on a Molex plug too. In the past, I just soldered and covered with heat shrink. That meant that the light, wires and driver were permanently connected. The Molex kit was cheap and the perfect solution. The crimper was $18, but it will last forever.
I plan to mod the first 2 fixtures with the Molex option, as well as route them through the project box. But today I'm happy with the progress.

 

[JonezNReef]

Very nice. What color LEDs did you go with and is the fixture a single channel? I too am a big fan of DIY ( I think it's what keeps me interested in the hobby)and am in the works of making a fixture for my refugium. I like those Molex kit you are using and might have to look into them.

 

[mpderksen]

Very nice. What color LEDs did you go with and is the fixture a single channel? I too am a big fan of DIY ( I think it's what keeps me interested in the hobby)and am in the works of making a fixture for my refugium. I like those Molex kit you are using and might have to look into them.

That's the kit I bought. I'm running Red/Black for the blue channel, then Red/Black for the white channel. So a total of 4 wires. The blue is 10 Royal Blue Crees. This is run by a Meanwell driver tuned to a full 1500 mA. The white channel has 3 UV, 1 each of red and green, and 9 pure white. The UVs can only handle 700 mA, so that driver is detuned. Once you've done it a few times, it's super easy.
I have the blues on Var channel 1 on my Apex. The White (plus the UV etc) is on Var 2. I run the CAT-5,cable to the project box to control the intensity.

And here is my profile:

 

[mpderksen]

Here is the fixture layout.

 

[JonezNReef]

I like how clean it looks over all. I really need to step up my game because my fixtures are a bit crazy with wire and LED placement. I will say that this inspired me enough to work on my LED fixture that will be going over my frag tank tonight and I might put it over my holding tank for now so I can get my big fixture over my 180

 

[Bpb]

May have missed it. What's your diode layout?


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[mpderksen]

May have missed it. What's your diode layout?
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I have 10 Royal blue Crees in 1 channel on a 1,500mA MeanWell. The second channel has 9 White, a red and green and 3 UV. This runs at 700mA. In the picture above, the ones that look off are the UV. Note that I cut the power cord and spliced 4 of them into a single to reduce codes and outlets. The new 2 are also joined. If I cared, I could plug all 6 together. I've also combined the blue drivers with the project box so all 3 can run off a single 1-10v outlet on the Apex main unit. Same for the White/red/green/UV on Variable channel 2.