New Build JBJ 45 FOWLR

[badpvtdan]

Hi Gang,
Three years after breaking down my 90 Mixed Reef I am back with a tank half that size. I picked the tank, stand , and AI Prime light up from my LFS for a good price. I moved into a new apartment a few months ago and think the tank will provide a nice talking-piece and also give me something to do when I don't have the kids.

The tank and stand have been up for a couple of weeks. We passed the leak test. I have some pics but took them with my old iPhone which I since replaced as of two days ago. Most of the pictures were kind of blurry.

Here is the dry rock from Marco.

And here it is in the tank on top of some egg crate.

This is my first time using dry rock and Marco and I was really impressed with the selection and shipping. It might almost be too much rock for my purposes. I'm hoping to avoid rock on the glass and that mountain-o-rock look big I'm not sure how to avoid that in such a small place.

I also bought 40 lbs of dry sand from Marco that I'll put in once I am okay with the rock work. After that I will put in the water, a small shrimp, and let it go. I'm hoping to put my first fish in around July 1.

I'm still working on the fish list but have been thinking a pair of clowns (anything but maroons - pug nosed killers) and a flame angel/coral beauty. There may be one or two other small fish that I'll put in first. Perhaps y'all have some suggestions.

Anyhow, I hope to track my progress at least through the fall and what better place than here to do it. Have a good one.

 

[badpvtdan]

Well, I put the AI Prime on the mount and I have the same problem as many have reported. It droops like crazy. How could AI engineer something like this and then pass QA/QC? Oh well, I think I should be able to do a DIY fix. In theory, the mount is great because it's very clean but their execution leaves a lot to be desired.

Have a good one.

 

[badpvtdan]

Despite today being an awful weather day in central Texas I went out to Home Depot to get some washers to fix my drooping light. I didn't know what to get and had to browse through the entire store until I found what I was looking for.

These worked great but I had to use four of them between the light and the fixture. Once I put them in there it really WAI.

The light looks better on the tank. There are a great many shadows which should be good for fish. I have never been a SPS guy and this light will obviously not work in this tank for light intensive coral. I do wonder if zoos and ricordia would thrive in the lower light? That's something to think about and potentially test once I have everything running.

I was going to put in the dry sand but my animals were back at the ex wife's house and if you live in and around Austin you know it's terrible out. My plan is to get the sand in this week and then figure out what to do about water.

I have a RODI machine from Buckeye Field Supply (I think hey be changed names) but all the filters need to be changed. I wonder if it makes economic sense to just get a newer and better rig. I need to do the math. Otherwise, I'll still need to buy something to move water from the LFS to my apartment. My apartment is actually up and down two elevators and a long walk from the parking garage.

Have a good one.

 

[zechirian]

Very clean lookin, following.

 

[badpvtdan]

I haven't been to my apartment much over the past few days as I've been dog sitting and hunkering down from all the rain here in the Austin area. Hell, it's raining as I type this post!

I ordered new filters from Buckeye Hydro which should get here on Friday. I need to disassemble my 4 stage Buckeye Value RODI machine out in the garage here, get it all cleaned up, and transported to my place. The plan is to install it in the washer/dryer area. I need to get over there and figure out how to attach it to the faucet. I installed a sink in the garage the first time and can't remember how it's set up. Lucky for me, Home Depot is across the street from my complex. I'm still not sure how I am going to mix the salt. Can I just mix it in the tank? Can I put the sand in the first? I don't have anything big enough to hold 45 gallons at the apartment. I have water mixing barrels at the house but don't want to bring them over. I need to sell them soon.

So, this week the plan is to et the RODI set up an perhaps the sand and water mixing in the tank. I'll take pics and post updates when that is done.

Have a good one.

 

[moondoggy4]

Stay safe. Fill the tank with water than add the salt, gently agitation and do not put too much salt in at a time (slowly).

 

[badpvtdan]

That's a great idea, moondoggy4. That's my plan. I got true sand put in just now and that was a chore. With my last tank I had a DSB and the rocks were placed on top. Then, of course, when I had fish and shrimp who dug under the rocks things would inevitably move (no avalanches). So this time I decided to put the rocks in first but that made putting the sand in somewhat difficult. I was sweating! That may be more about the shape I'm in than anything but I'll blame the tank.

Here are some pics with the light mounted and sand in.

The light gives off a weird shimmer when trying to take a picture so my apologies for the bad pics.

Here is my old RKL that I need to put to use. I plugged it in and everything seems to work. What else can I get to hook up to the RKL?

 

[badpvtdan]

Just started filling up the tank. It took awhile to get everything together for my RODI. Really, I should've just bought a new one. I've spent just about the cost of the same system brand new.

Oh well, I knew better. My one issue is that I'm not getting 0 on my TDS meter and thats frustrating. It's at 7 and I'm wondering if it just needs to break in some more. That still won't stop me from filling up.

If all goes as planned I should be starting a cycle tomorrow.

Have a good one.

 

[badpvtdan]

I'm old school so I dropped a small shrimp to start the cycle today. Perhaps I should buy some tests?

 

[moondoggy4]

Looking good. Keep the pictures coming.

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

If you're installing your RODI in a laundry area, that means you have access to a cold water hose bib (a hose bib is the brass valve to which you would screw a garden hose).

If you first screw on a hose bib splitter, and then a hose bib adapter, one side of the splitter can still feed your washing machine, and the 1/4" tube that feeds the RODI will push into the hose bib adapter screwed onto the other side of the splitter.

Russ

 

[Devaji108]

nice set up I was thinking about 2 AI primes for my 40br but ended up going with another light. also was thinking about the JBJ 45 too. ha so i am fallowing.
I just like longer than taller tanks...but man i did think about it for a day or so...

GL

 

[Chrisq0904]

I like the build so far! I might be getting the same light for my nano I just started that will be strictly LPS and softies, I'll keep the sps in my big tank. Hope all goes well on your new startup!

 

[badpvtdan]

Thanks everyone. The build goes slow as the cycle does its thing. I'm at .5 ammonia with a dusting of diatoms. I won't make my July 1 target to get fish in the tank, mostly because of my procrastination. I'm poor at the moment so it's probably a good thing.

I also haven't looked at trying to square away the wires in the stand. I may think about to this week and formulate a plan. Without a dump I don't have to get in there too much - out of sight out of mind.

One thing I don't care for on the JBJ are the two filter cartridges. There doesn't appear to be any real directed flow into them so to say that it's passive is really an understatement. I need to think about what to do with them. I have a BRS filter I will use for carbon and/or phosphate media song don't "need" them but...I don't know. It might be nice to put some filter floss in there.

The RODI is all set up. It took a million trips to Lowes but it's done. I don't have a washer in place because as a new bachelor I am splurging and have someone do my laundry

Here is the latest tank pic.

 

[Devaji108]

yeah i heard the filter cartridges where not the best...
santa Monica filtration mast som pretty cool "drop in ATS that could fit in there. is the back walls of the tank tanked up could go a upflow ATS to I bet it would be a better filtration than the passive baskets...any way just a thought.

 

[badpvtdan]

yeah i heard the filter cartridges where not the best...
santa Monica filtration mast som pretty cool "drop in ATS that could fit in there. is the back walls of the tank tanked up could go a upflow ATS to I bet it would be a better filtration than the passive baskets...any way just a thought.

Those seem pretty cool. I need to do some research and see what reviews are available. I like the idea of just dropping something like that in the back of the tank. I have always been interested in algae scrubbers but am not a DIY guy.

At some point I'd also like to get a digital refractometer. I hate looking into mine and guessing what the number is.

Any ideas for a first fish? It can't be a jumper as I have no top.

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

I hate looking into mine and guessing what the number is.

Hmm. Should be no doubt at all what the reading is...

 

[badpvtdan]

Deaf, dumb, and blind in my twilight years.

 

[badpvtdan]

It's kind of hard to tell in this picture but nitrites are high. Both ammonia and nitrate are reading zero. I've got a good case of diatoms. The cycle is going slloooooowwwwwwww.

 

[badpvtdan]

Two weeks later and nitrites are still high. I'm at a loss. I think I'm going to get some nitrifying bacteria in a bottle and see if I can give this a kick in the pants.