new (potential) reefer in the tucson area

[forrestcook]

Hi everyone... not too sure how many other Tucson folks we have that watch this board, but I'm local and setting up my first reef. I've been looking over at southwest aquatics for some toys and some answers.

I've got my 40 breeder on order and that's pretty much all I've done. It's coming it drilled with an overflow in the corner. I've also bought an empty 29 gallon tank so I can stick some baffles in there and make my sump. Here's what I still need:

-Lee Mar stand (will special order from Pet Land)
-Octopus in sump skimmer (will buy from Southwest Aquatics)
-return pump... I've done NO research on this at all. suggestions welcome. Southwest Aquatics suggested an eheim.
-Lights are going to be DIY LEDs. I've got a plan and an electrical engineer friend at work... it'll be fun!

I welcome suggestions/help with what I need here... been getting a lot of great LED info elsewhere in the forums.

I've been doing the freshwater planted thing for a while now, and had a pressurized CO2 system set up along with daily fertilizers and weekly prunings... I've been told I made freshwater more labor intensive than saltwater. I'd love to keep saltwater simpler! I guess that's it for my intro... hope to meet some good local sources for info/help!

Regards,

Forrest Cook

 

[BonesCJ]

Welcome to RC!

Your progression seems to be a pretty normal one in terms of aquarium keepers, I know I started with your basich FW fish tank then bigger then planted then heavily planted then finally reef tanks. Welcome to the addiction.

 

[Tucson Reef]

Hi Forrest, glad you came over, 54Corner here, when you get going if you want Acro's I'll give you some frags that are already started encrusting. That way you can test your system, lighting, flow and such without spending money. I don't have red bugs, flatworms or any known baddies in my tank. I use a Ehiem on my 54 corner, runs great, internal or external (look at going external to keep down heat transfer), comes in all flow rates, very low noise.

 

[forrestcook]

Very cool. Don't tell AAPE that I'm cheating on them! I'm trying to sell some other gear so I can jump start this project... hopefully I'll have it going sooner than I expected!

 

[Fitchguy]

First of all Welcome!! Southwest Aquatics is a very good starting point for any new Reefer and is considered by many, not all, the best store in Tucson. Eheim is a great return pump, but not the only brand pump, just keep that in mind. You do pay for the name EHEIM but from what I have heard their products are exactly whta you pay extra for, just like TUNZE. I would take your CO2 System and turn it into a calcium reactor. And not doubting your capabilities at all, but you may think of supplement lighting for back up, either T5's or MH in addition to LEDS.. Saltwater is highly corrosive and does not do well with electronics.

 

[forrestcook]

I've got a CURRENT 30" PC fixture with 10k and actinics... I can always throw that on there if the LEDs don't work out. It'll be short but it'll work. I'm not going to do the one massive stack look for my reef, but I will spray foam the back and make a few separated stacks of rocks...

I like open space and a yellow head jawfish or two are DEFINITE wants for this tank. Also shrimp gobie pair(s). I like the idea of things burrowing, apparently.

That being said, I'm not going to have a ton of coral-filled space on this one (at least not at first) so lighting isn't going to be that demanding.

 

[aquaph8]

Welcome, sounds like you got a good start
keep us updated and let us know how it goes

 

[jjk_reef00]

Sounds like your off to a good start. Ehiem are great pumps, and I will never buy another mag pump after using Ehiem.
I think jawfish like to jump so might want to look into a top for that 40.
I would recommend buying an RO system so you can mix your own water. For me it is much easier to make routine water changes if I don't have to go out to buy ro water.

The main difference I noticed when switching from fresh to saltwater was that reefs absolutely require regular water changes. My tank definetely hates me if I miss a water change. My freshwater tanks were much more tollerent if I missed a water change every now and then.

 

[aquaph8]

fitch, southwest is your daddy. LOL ha ha ha Rob loves you!!!!!!!

 

[dcantucson]

Welcome forrest to the world of saltwater. Glad to have another reefer in Tucson.

 

[forrestcook]

Lots happened in between the beginning and now... here's the most recent update that I've got.

Picked up a few more things... pretty much done. DIYing my sump tomorrow (with pics, of course)

Got the stand home today, all stained and sanded. I also picked up my bulkheads, which are 1" for the drain and 3/4" for the return. I'm running an eheim 1250 as my return pump, which has a 1/2" output... When I put LocLine on the end of it, the extra 1/4" shouldn't matter as long as I step it back down, right?

Without further delay, here are the pics:

The stand

The canopy

Tank/stand with open canopy

The reason I need a canopy and can't just go open top...

Egg crate cut to fit for jumping fish

My overflow w/ cover... problem with this further into the post

My "maggie muffler" instead or a regular Durso

bulkheads inside overflow... drain on left (top)

I have an issue concering my return. The drain is all set, I just need to go buy some PVC tomorrow to raise the maggie muffler to my desired level. Since my overflow has a cap I have a few options for the return line.

1) Dont use the lid.
pros:
no drilling
easy
cons:
not as pretty
cant use my egg crate "lid" without modifications (locline would have to go over edge of overflow and make the lid unstable)
critters can get into overflow MUCH easier
light gets into my overflow and creates an algae issue
greater noise due to no cover... (possibly)

2) Use the lid and drill a hole for my locline
pros:
looks better (personal preference... locline coming out of the side of the overflow looks nice IMO)
can use both overflow lid and egg crate lid unhindered (and all the benefits therein)
will make me feel good about my mcguyver skillz
cons:
not sure how to do it yet... plumbing could be tricky
possibility of breaking my tank? (never drilled acrylic before... is it difficult?)
irreversible

In the overflow photo above, there are two "O" shapes superimposed where in theory I would drill it. I have a power drill and the bits that make holes (no idea what their real name is) so tools shouldn't be an issue. The way I figure it I would drill a hole to the outer diameter of a short piece of black PVC which would serve as my "pass-through"... possibly a slip/female fitting. I'd silicone it in there and plumb my return line to it from the inside... PVC cementing the return into the slip end. the loc line I assume has a male ended adapter to screw into a female fitting which I would teflon tape. I figure the PVC and acrylic don't truly "bond" with silicone so the plumbing could always be taken out at a later date, the hole being the only permanent portion of the operation. Of course the PVC cement would be permanent... I just don't have a better idea for that end given the tiny workspace I have in there.

I also need to drill some holes in my return line, right? To prevent backflow in the event of a power outtage? Won't that kill my water pressure through the locline?

On a final note, I didn't like the idea of my old 30" fixture sitting on just egg crate suspended above my tank, so I ordered one of the eventual two sunlight supply retro kits (tek 2 reflectors) with a daylight and a super actinic bulb from reefgeek. Should be fun! What type of mounting screws do you recommend for use inside of a canopy?

 

[Tanque Verde]

Good looking cabinetry. A nice change from oak or black.

 

[scubabum1983]

i made a overflow cover out of eggcrate and screen, havent had a fish in thee in 6 years. ill post a pic when i get home on the 2nd. welcome to the hobby

 

[AcroButcher]

its really easy forrest. what size bulkhead you using for that return? just go buy another one. take the appropriate sized hole saw. cut a hole in the acrylic with a non hammer drill. insert bulk head. plumb. the negative to this style is it looks much better but if you arent using a check valve on the return line you will siphon water all the way down to your new return hole.

 

[forrestcook]

I figured out that the outer diameter of the 1/2" loc line system is JUST small enough to fit through my overflow teeth if I cut one out. Easiest method so far for sure!

 

[rwtucker]

Return Line

Return Line

That is how I ended up running my return line, removed one of the teeth in the overflow, but then used a fine stone dremmel bit and rounded the teeth on each side of the return line so it would allow for a better flow into the overflow, because it was a fairly tight fit without increasing the width just a little.

 

[forrestcook]

now for some DIY fun updates! First off the first two of the eventual four lights came in.

Here is the first endcap installed on the underside of the canopy. It's threaded for a cap with a gasket to make it waterproof.

Here's the bulb with the endcap on it.

...and screwed on

My tek 2 reflectors

my wired ballast mounted into my stand

let there be light!

and with the reflectors... notice the camera can't meter correctly anymore once the reflectors are on.

canopy on top, lights on

These two bulbs are installed on a horizontal board that doesn't move when the lid is opened. the next two will move with the lid but I needed these to be lighting the tank when I'm working inside

 

[forrestcook]

Now for the rest of my DIY day.

I drilled out a tooth from my overflow so I can eventually put loc-line through there. No Loc-line yet, so for now I'm just pointing an elbow out the hole.

Now for the sump. I'm using a standard 20H tank and siliconing some baffles in. I had initially planned on using a three pane bubble trap, but I really don't see why a two pane wouldn't work. Over and under followed by a bunch of LR rubble and a shorter over baffle that leads into the return chamber.

Quick note: Measure twice, act once. I did all three baffles and then had to pull two out when I realized that the skimmer wouldn't QUITE fit inside. The second try is curing as I type.

The tools you'll need... Silicone: (this type says not for aquariums, so I wouldn't use it for seams, but a no pressure application should be just fine.)

A mask... this stuff is SMELLY. Use gloves too.

and snacks

get a good bead of silicone in the corners and then smooth it out with a gloved finger, making sure to push it between the glass pane and your tank.

for the "under" part of the bubble trap, I used PVC to keep a level gap on the bottom, and bookends to keep it straight up and down.

and the three all set in.

That's it for now! tomorrow or the day after I'm going to fill and leak test it.

 

[aquaph8]

Seems to be coming along nicely. I bet you cant wait to get some water in that sucker. Keep up the good work and let us know how it goes.

 

[forrestcook]

I've neglected this thread for a long time...

Since setting this tank up, I've bought a house and moved... Great planning on my part to start a reef tank less than a month before I move! Everything made it through the move just fine, helped by the fact that the only living creatures were my CUC, a peppermint shrimp and some palys.

I'm now completely set up in the new place and the tank is coming along nicely. I've got a buddy helping me out with figuring out a dosing regimen catered to my particular needs and things are looking happy.

As far as fish - I'm almost done stocking. I've got two black/white ocellaris clowns, a hybrid between a yellow and blue neon goby (yellow on the head, blue on the body), a diamond goby and new today, a rainsford's goby.

As far as corals go, I've got the following:
a couple plates of green cap (not so green yet... maybe not enough light).
a frag of birdsnest
some electric green star polyps
wild orchid palys
unknown type of paly... purple head/skirt with green mouth
nuclear green zoas
dragons eye zoas
a couple unnamed ones... maroon skirt with blue head and some with a green skirt and bluish head
a ricordia with two mouths that refuses to split...
various mushrooms, including one big guy that mysteriously disappeared... seriously, 4-5 inch diameter and NOWHERE to be found.
about a 9-10 head piece of hammer coral

It's a very exciting world for me so far, learning lots and loving it. I took some pictures a few minutes ago and when I get them uploaded I'll post them here. One note - i havent seen my rainsford's since I put him in there... I hope he's okay!