martinphillip03
New member
Ange, I would love an update on how things are going
Marty
Marty
My JBJ 28gal Nano Build Thread
- Thread starter ange062
- Start date
ange062
New member
Nope, I ditched the stock lighting to go lidless the week the Radion was released. Thanks for the compliment!
Definitely had an increase in evap, it was very minimal with the stock hood. I have a 2.5gal ATO that I'd say lasts me 5-days on average, more or less depending on the temperature of my house and how much airflow (AC, fans, etc) is around.
Hey Marty, unfortunately, the tank took a big turn for the worse in the past couple of weeks. I was out of town for vacation and had someone watching it, but a pipe broke one day and the house proceeded to flood for most of the time I was out of town without that person noticing (had nothing to do with the tank, btw). So, upon return to home I was tasked with a huge cleanup effort, and contractors have been in and out nonstop rebuilding from the damage. As a result, I haven't been staying at the house, able to do water changes, and barely work on the tank at all. It's basically been a quick feed and leave.
I noticed today that my hyacinth BN, which has been invincible all these years, is showing a large amount of tissue loss. The purple stylo has tissue loss at the tips, and my yellow lantana monti is all but dead. Clams don't look bad, but my 2.5+ year old crocea jumped from the rock it's been attached to that whole time, which can't be a good sign. Softies and fish look normal.
The place is about 80% back together now, so I'm going to try to do a GFO/Carbon change tonight, and try to do water changes every other day for a week or so. Unfortunately, I can't make water right now so I am going to have to refill at the LFS and deal with the salinity / salt brand change.
Just another hurdle to jump through. May be a good time to restart the tank. I definitely want to keep my clowns, dottyback, clams, and rics, though I am not particularly partial to anything else.
What a bummer Ange. Sorry to hear about your house troubles. Sounds like maybe it is a good time to start fresh.
I'd love to see you start with almost a clean slate and see what you could create with all you've learned from your first reef build. There's gonna be some seriously high expectations after your past success on the first go around. :lol2:
I'd love to see you start with almost a clean slate and see what you could create with all you've learned from your first reef build. There's gonna be some seriously high expectations after your past success on the first go around. :lol2:
Whysoserious
New member
Sorry to hear Ange. Hope the recovery goes well and all the best to your JBJ. Maybe time to upgrade to a DB?
martinphillip03
New member
Ange, Sorry to here that. Good luck, hope everything turns out ok. Hope that clam survives.
Marty
Marty
ange062
New member
For sure man!! I'm honestly contemplating going with a 30RL and starting with dry sand and rock from total scratch, letting it cycle, and moving my clowns and clams over and selling everything else off. I've been talking about a big custom build for ages, but in all honesty I love the simplicity that comes with a small tank. 30g water changes sound AWEFUL!!
Appreciate the sentiments! The tank is actually looking better after the GFO/Carbon change, turns out they were all clogged up and no water was flowing through which explains the phosphate educed die-off. A few days after a fresh batch of GFO/GAC and the corals are starting to spring back.
Haha, I was thinking the same thing!! Though my tank is SO overrrun with old corals at this point I'm really leaning toward starting from a scratch dry rock build.
Thanks as always Marty. Clams seem to be doing well, and corals are coming back. Hyacinth probably has some irreversible damage but grows quick enough, purple stylo is almost back to normal already. Unfortunately, the ORA yellow lantana is toast, but what can you do... I tried selling that thing off a couple years back, apparently left a small piece on the rock, and ended up with a huge plating colony eventually. Guess it's finally gone like I originally intended.
Hey there!
The past few pages have just been a series of unfortunate events! I spent the past week reading over the entire thread, and I'm hoping your new plans pull through!
Your thread actually inspired me to finally register (I've had an NC28 since October, but the only residents are ceriths, nerites, nassarius, an emerald crab, and a lawnmower blenny) and post here! I'm convinced to go for the HOB-1 in a couple of weeks, too, but only non-photosynthetic corals are planned for now..
Seriously, good luck!
The past few pages have just been a series of unfortunate events! I spent the past week reading over the entire thread, and I'm hoping your new plans pull through!
Your thread actually inspired me to finally register (I've had an NC28 since October, but the only residents are ceriths, nerites, nassarius, an emerald crab, and a lawnmower blenny) and post here! I'm convinced to go for the HOB-1 in a couple of weeks, too, but only non-photosynthetic corals are planned for now..
Seriously, good luck!
ange062
New member
Thanks a ton for the kind words, really means a lot! Welcome to RC!!!
Well the latest development, as of today, is that I am going to have to move as a result of the water damage. There is just too much damage and mold continues to be an issue, so the place is going to have to be completely vacated for renovations.
Unfortunately, this obviously means moving the tank for the first time in its 2.5-yr history, I'm super nervous! Thought about tearing it down and selling everything off, but when it came down to it I couldn't bear to part with my clowns and other prized livestock.
I know the tank won't go back together the same after I remove all of the liverock to transport it. So my current plan is to find a JBJ RL30 locally and set it up using dry rock and dry sand. It will be set up in my new location, and I'll force a cycle using shrimp and/or ammonia. The NC28 will also be setup at the new place, but I'll be selling off most of the corals in it so it will basically just be a temporary frag tank.
Once the RL30 finishes cycling, I'll move over my fish (except the angel), shrimp, clams, and rics. No plans to keep any other corals, the zoas and green shrooms have just been to invasive for this tank size over the years. New tank will be clams and SPS only (aside from the ric colony). Also plan on a potters angel in lieu of the coral beauty. I'm on a super-tight timeline as I have to move by the end of this week, hence the choice to go with an RL30 rather then a custom built tank. *fingers crossed*
Whysoserious
New member
Damn.. I am sorry to hear about your house. Hope the insurance coverage covers majority, if not all, expense wise.
But your corals are beautiful. I am sure you plan things out with research ahead of time but I do have a suggestion for you if it will help.
RubberMaid plastic storage box (blue box). Remove the SW from the tank into the RubberMaid, run a powerhead, and have the Radion hanging over it for the same light cycle. Make a frag rack (out of egg crates) to replicate your tank height of the corals you have. Do water change as needed (small volume).
For your fish you can transfer them as well into the holding box until your JBJ30 is not fully cycled. I believe the only thing you may not want to transfer is LS (live sand). That I am sure if you purchase new, you should be still fine.
This way you retain all your corals but now you actually have the option to replicate your tank (close enough) to the new tank, rock wise (since its never removed, per say). You will have more room in the JBJ 30, so having dry rock may not be necessary.
Just to be on the safe side, I would do another water change, new GFO and carbon before you make the transfer to the Rubbermaid box to have "purest" water you can have.
But I know your plans are different, but giving some help. Take care!
But your corals are beautiful. I am sure you plan things out with research ahead of time but I do have a suggestion for you if it will help.
RubberMaid plastic storage box (blue box). Remove the SW from the tank into the RubberMaid, run a powerhead, and have the Radion hanging over it for the same light cycle. Make a frag rack (out of egg crates) to replicate your tank height of the corals you have. Do water change as needed (small volume).
For your fish you can transfer them as well into the holding box until your JBJ30 is not fully cycled. I believe the only thing you may not want to transfer is LS (live sand). That I am sure if you purchase new, you should be still fine.
This way you retain all your corals but now you actually have the option to replicate your tank (close enough) to the new tank, rock wise (since its never removed, per say). You will have more room in the JBJ 30, so having dry rock may not be necessary.
Just to be on the safe side, I would do another water change, new GFO and carbon before you make the transfer to the Rubbermaid box to have "purest" water you can have.
But I know your plans are different, but giving some help. Take care!
ange062
New member
Thanks, fortunately the whole fiasco doesn't look like it's going to cost me much, if anything. Well, aside from a new tank anyway, LOL!
To actually transport the stuff, I plan to drain into 5gal buckets to make carrying easy (I'm moving from one townhome to another, so stairs are a major factor). Fish in one, clams in one, SPS in one, and all other liverock in the last. That way only the sand will be left for easy transport of the NC28.
The reason for going with dry sand/rock in the RL30 is that I want full control over a minimalist rockscape. As a lesson learned from this tank, the entire structure will be solidly mounted using epoxy to prevent landslides (or perhaps modular in 2-3 separate pieces). I definitely plan to leave much more room between the rock and the glass on the sides for easy cleaning. Minimalist rockwork is to create an open look with plenty of room for SPS growth. Finally, the last reason for dry rock is to get rid of all the soft corals which have overgrown most of the rock in my NC28 (and in the process killed off SPS).
The Rubbermaid is actually a really good idea, but I think I am going to just use the NC28 since I have that already. Anything rock with corals on it, plus the rest of my livestock, will go into the NC28 until the RL30 is ready. LR without corals will be kept in a bucket with a powerhead and sold off. I would use it to seed the new tank, but I really want to start completely clean and avoid as many pests as possible in the new tank. I've had numerous run-ins over the years with pyramid snails, AEFW, and a bunch of annoying but not harmful pests like astrea stars etc. Starting from a clean slate and implementing proper coral / clam dipping and QT techniques I hope to avoid repeating this on the RL30.
Whysoserious
New member
^I see and glad that you have a plan to have it all setup! Good luck! Will you be making a new thread? Will def be following it lol
Can you drill the rock (while wet), and then stick together with 3/8 diameter acrylic rod (Amazon, hacksaw)? Also drill and stick to bottom of final mass to lift it 1" off the tank floor.
I drilled and rodded my rock mass to lift off the tank floor, but I didn't connect the rocks this way. Instead I drilled and zip tie'd through those holes, and used epoxy/superGlue frag type combo to connect the rock. The zip ties kept it tight enough to cure and hold, but when I lift it slightly now to rip out hair algae, the whole thing wiggles a little. I think rodding the whole thing together would have been more rigid...
ange062
New member
Im debating whether to start a new thread or just continue in this one as an "ange062 history of reefing" journal, lol. The RL30 is so similar to the NC28 that it doesn't make much difference.
I do like the look of the RL30 better, and the design definitely fixes some of my gripes with the NC28. For example, the back chambers on the NC28 are so tiny you can't fit your hand back there to do anything. On the RL30 you can reach your whole arm down to the bottom of the chamber for maintenance, which is AWESOME. RL30 has the same two pumps as the NC28, but the dual overflow design is really cool IMO because I always felt the single center one was prone to protein slicks on the water surface is your flow wasn't dialed in JUST RIGHT. And even though it's not a JBJ thing, InTank makes a special version of their baskets which is only the top chamber for the floss, which is awesome for my application (where nothing is in the basket anyway due to the reactors). Way more room in the back chambers on the RL30 actually might make a fuge a legitimate thing, the tiny center basket of the NC28 as a fuge was useless.
Anyway, that's just on first observations of the tank. I can comment more once I'm a year deep into the RL30 and can REALLY comment on what I like and don't. Tank should be at the new place tomorrow morning, just as I start the teardown and move of the NC28. I also got a custom made stand which looks better and is a little larger than the JBJ RL30 stand. Looking forward to the extra room and open back that will allow the chiller to vent properly (unlike the NC28 stand that always needed a vent fan).
Yup, exactly what I plan to do is use a combination of PVC and epoxy in conjunction with BRS tonga complex multi-branch dry rock. I'll have to see how it all plays out when 40lbs of the rock shows up and I start piecing it together in the tank. I may get a few lbs of other types of rock as well (shelf tonga, Fiji, Pukani) so that I have more shapes to work with. Only plan to use about 20lbs of it, getting to overage so that I have enough pieces to choose from to accomplish my goals for rockscape.
Anyway, it's T-minus 12-hrs until I break down the NC28 for the first time in over 2.5-yrs. I've got my fingered crossed that all goes well and I don't lose any of my precious livestock. Wish me luck!! :eek2::worried:
martinphillip03
New member
Ange, instead of using dry sand, why not add the packaged cycled sand. Also you can go to the pet store and get some of their sand to innoculate your sand. Good luck, and maybe a new tank and SPS only will be great. A challange though.
Marty
Marty
Start a new thread! I think it would make sense as a guide for others, anyway. If they have a question on how you did one specific thing, in one specific tank, then they can look at your progress in it without going through another tank's information.
On the other hand, I suppose it's nice to have the entire experience in one thread, if only so that even more can be learned from it?
Will there be pictures of the moving process? I know it's already started, but I hope there are.. :bounce3:
ange062
New member
I want to start dry on everything in the new tank, less chance of pests that way. I love the challenge of SPS
At this point there may not be a "next" thread.
The move started out well, got everything sectioned into buckets and all looked no worse for wear...
While everything was apart I cleaned EVERYTHING from pumps to skimmer to stand. The old sand was discarded and the tank also fully cleaned.
Fish, clams, and corals all looked normal in there transport buckets. And then the move. To be continued....
Last edited:
ange062
New member
So let me take a step back. Before the move, I figured out a plan for ghetto rigging the Radion over the NC28. Some 1/4" threaded rod (10ft length) looked easy to setup so I picked that up and some of the sticky zip tie mounts (i.e. those that come with the MP10 to fasten the cord in place). Figured 3 for each side of the mount attached to the rear of the tank would suffice. Picked up a bunch of buckets with lids while I was there as well.
The last pics of the setup as it originally existed. Sorry for the awful quality, was too hectic a day to spend time on photog skills, haha.
So I moved the stand and tank to the new location first, no problem. Ghetto rigged the light up, and that seems to be working great so far. So where did things start going wrong? My mistakes:
1) Not getting 25gal of extra SW like I had originally planned (dumb)
2) Getting CaribSea Pukani sand instead of the reef sand I originally used
3) Putting the aggressive CBS in with the fish without thinking
Moving the buckets of livestock also went over well. One bucket had all fish, shrimp, a couple of lbs of LR, and my ORA kelley green. Another had my clams, rics, a plate coral recently taken from my work pico, along with some LR. Another had a ton of LR and all my snails. And the last had my big stylo and a bunch of zoas.
In the new setup I dumped some of the chunky shell based pukani sand in, and covered with what I had left from the bag of reef sand from the original setup, so far so good.
So the plan for draining and removing livestock from the top worked well. I hadn't thought far ahead enough to work out how I would refill the tank in the same fashion, it just straight up didn't work and I was scavenging for water to get filtration running. First I added the non-coral inhabited LR from one bucket, and threw in all the snails. I only had 7g extra SW on hand, but added that next. After that, I had to throw in all the soft corals so get the water out of the buckets to get the tank filled. I didn't quite get there, so had to scavenge from the clam bucket, then finally stockpile all my most important livestock (clams/fish) into a single bucket. With this I finally managed to get enough to get a single Eheim running again, as well as the skimmer.
The skimmer went nuts for 2 cups, then finally started to settle down. The skimmate smelled like straight up ****ed off coral, if you know what I mean. Decided I needed to get the reactors going (especially the GAC) to filter out whatever junk was in the water. The tank was a bit cloudy at first (I washed all the dry sand thoroughly first), and cleared quickly. The soft corals were ****ED though. Slime everywhere, and my rics have all enclosed on themselves just like if you have ever used aptasia-X on a mojano or aptasia. Not a good sign. Further, the nassarius and cerith snails can't borrow into the shell based sand, so they are just wondering around aimlessly. Stylo showed a bit of PE for a while, but now is also looking equally ****ed. The BN was just about dead so I tossed it.
I figured it was best to leave my important stuff in the 5g bucket for the next few hours. I'll see how the tank is looking in the AM and decide from there. LFS doesn't open till 12, but will be waiting at the door for some extra water. Good news is that water tests for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate all still are coming up zero on both the bucket and the tank.
And as to the comment on "no next tank", after this 14-hr moving debacle which is far from complete, the thought of setting up another tank in a 6-mo temporary residence seems absolutely insane to me. At this point I'm ready to sell everything off and start from scratch once I have a permanent residence.
Sorry for the ramble, I'm sure most won't read, but that's my overview of the happenings today.
The last pics of the setup as it originally existed. Sorry for the awful quality, was too hectic a day to spend time on photog skills, haha.
So I moved the stand and tank to the new location first, no problem. Ghetto rigged the light up, and that seems to be working great so far. So where did things start going wrong? My mistakes:
1) Not getting 25gal of extra SW like I had originally planned (dumb)
2) Getting CaribSea Pukani sand instead of the reef sand I originally used
3) Putting the aggressive CBS in with the fish without thinking
Moving the buckets of livestock also went over well. One bucket had all fish, shrimp, a couple of lbs of LR, and my ORA kelley green. Another had my clams, rics, a plate coral recently taken from my work pico, along with some LR. Another had a ton of LR and all my snails. And the last had my big stylo and a bunch of zoas.
In the new setup I dumped some of the chunky shell based pukani sand in, and covered with what I had left from the bag of reef sand from the original setup, so far so good.
So the plan for draining and removing livestock from the top worked well. I hadn't thought far ahead enough to work out how I would refill the tank in the same fashion, it just straight up didn't work and I was scavenging for water to get filtration running. First I added the non-coral inhabited LR from one bucket, and threw in all the snails. I only had 7g extra SW on hand, but added that next. After that, I had to throw in all the soft corals so get the water out of the buckets to get the tank filled. I didn't quite get there, so had to scavenge from the clam bucket, then finally stockpile all my most important livestock (clams/fish) into a single bucket. With this I finally managed to get enough to get a single Eheim running again, as well as the skimmer.
The skimmer went nuts for 2 cups, then finally started to settle down. The skimmate smelled like straight up ****ed off coral, if you know what I mean. Decided I needed to get the reactors going (especially the GAC) to filter out whatever junk was in the water. The tank was a bit cloudy at first (I washed all the dry sand thoroughly first), and cleared quickly. The soft corals were ****ED though. Slime everywhere, and my rics have all enclosed on themselves just like if you have ever used aptasia-X on a mojano or aptasia. Not a good sign. Further, the nassarius and cerith snails can't borrow into the shell based sand, so they are just wondering around aimlessly. Stylo showed a bit of PE for a while, but now is also looking equally ****ed. The BN was just about dead so I tossed it.
I figured it was best to leave my important stuff in the 5g bucket for the next few hours. I'll see how the tank is looking in the AM and decide from there. LFS doesn't open till 12, but will be waiting at the door for some extra water. Good news is that water tests for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate all still are coming up zero on both the bucket and the tank.
And as to the comment on "no next tank", after this 14-hr moving debacle which is far from complete, the thought of setting up another tank in a 6-mo temporary residence seems absolutely insane to me. At this point I'm ready to sell everything off and start from scratch once I have a permanent residence.
Sorry for the ramble, I'm sure most won't read, but that's my overview of the happenings today.
Gagonzalez
Reef Fanatic
I understand your frustration having done a move 8 weeks ago myself. I did something that I thought worked out great, especially after thinking about it after I moved.
I used a 10g to hold all my fish, coral and as much rock that would fit along with an HOB filter w/rox carbon, purigen, sponge, heater set to same temp, etc.... I transferred 5g of tank water to it and had another 5g of new SW made up for it. I set it up on the counter at the new place and moved everything into it the day before the move. After that, it was pretty smooth. I moved the tank, water, rock and anything else that was there over in 5g buckets as quickly as possible. Once I setup the tank and stand, ditched old sand, put new sand in,, etc...... I then waited 24hrs for the sand to settle with whatever rock I had left over in my buckets along with about 10g of new made up saltwater. Meanwhile all my critters and stuff were safe and sound in my 10g hiding away in pretty much perfect water conditions with all that rock in a 10g. I must say the water was crystal clear!
Once everything was stable in the new tank location, I moved all the rock back, scaped and waited another 4 hrs or so for the sand to settle again. After that, I moved everything else over. Done.
I must say, it was much easier to work and think straight without having to worry about all my critters and fish. And everyone survived except for all my nassarius snails which became lethargic and didn't eat after the move. They all ended up dying about 3 weeks after the move. Very weird considering my florida ceriths are all ok.
Oh well. It happens. I think your next move will probably be a lot better now that you know what your dealing with so I wouldn't worry too much about moving again. I would, however, keep from adding anything new in the next 6 months and just wait it out until your back in to your place on a much more permanent basis to start your new tank up. You could get it up and cycle it with all your sand, rock and equipment but not get any livestock into it until you move. It is only 6 months and if you could possibly overlap your move-in with your move-out by a week, you could move the new cycled tank up and use it as the transfer tank. Would make it much easier. Good Luck!
I used a 10g to hold all my fish, coral and as much rock that would fit along with an HOB filter w/rox carbon, purigen, sponge, heater set to same temp, etc.... I transferred 5g of tank water to it and had another 5g of new SW made up for it. I set it up on the counter at the new place and moved everything into it the day before the move. After that, it was pretty smooth. I moved the tank, water, rock and anything else that was there over in 5g buckets as quickly as possible. Once I setup the tank and stand, ditched old sand, put new sand in,, etc...... I then waited 24hrs for the sand to settle with whatever rock I had left over in my buckets along with about 10g of new made up saltwater. Meanwhile all my critters and stuff were safe and sound in my 10g hiding away in pretty much perfect water conditions with all that rock in a 10g. I must say the water was crystal clear!
Once everything was stable in the new tank location, I moved all the rock back, scaped and waited another 4 hrs or so for the sand to settle again. After that, I moved everything else over. Done.
I must say, it was much easier to work and think straight without having to worry about all my critters and fish. And everyone survived except for all my nassarius snails which became lethargic and didn't eat after the move. They all ended up dying about 3 weeks after the move. Very weird considering my florida ceriths are all ok.
Oh well. It happens. I think your next move will probably be a lot better now that you know what your dealing with so I wouldn't worry too much about moving again. I would, however, keep from adding anything new in the next 6 months and just wait it out until your back in to your place on a much more permanent basis to start your new tank up. You could get it up and cycle it with all your sand, rock and equipment but not get any livestock into it until you move. It is only 6 months and if you could possibly overlap your move-in with your move-out by a week, you could move the new cycled tank up and use it as the transfer tank. Would make it much easier. Good Luck!
martinphillip03
New member
And as to the comment on "no next tank", after this 14-hr moving debacle which is far from complete, the thought of setting up another tank in a 6-mo temporary residence seems absolutely insane to me. At this point I'm ready to sell everything off and start from scratch once I have a permanent residence.
That isn't a bad idea. maybe you can get store credit from your local fish store.
Just keep the equiptment for the next tank. You can relax for six months and plan your next tank. Maybe a small sump is in your future.
Sorry for the ramble, I'm sure most won't read, but that's my overview of the happenings today.
I doubt that. This is a great thread. Every saltwater person has had their share of problems. I am sure the is alot of empthy for you at this time.
Good luck, Stay strong.
Marty
You will be suprised. This is a great thread.
That isn't a bad idea. maybe you can get store credit from your local fish store.
Just keep the equiptment for the next tank. You can relax for six months and plan your next tank. Maybe a small sump is in your future.
Sorry for the ramble, I'm sure most won't read, but that's my overview of the happenings today.
I doubt that. This is a great thread. Every saltwater person has had their share of problems. I am sure the is alot of empthy for you at this time.
Good luck, Stay strong.
Marty
You will be suprised. This is a great thread.
