Pressing the RestStart Button: JonezNReef 180g 2.0 (plus 120g breeding system)

[JonezNReef]

Pressing the RestStart Button: JonezNReef 180g 2.0 (plus 120g breeding system)

So yesterday my skimmer pump died. It was a quick and quiet death that happened some time through the day. I'm not sure how old the pump was since I got the skimmer used. Luckily I had a return pump sitting around, so I had to improvise and take the Sedra 15000 off of the return and replace it with a smaller return.

The Sedra is rated at 1500gph and was originally bought to power a 5g bucket skimmer I had made for my old system. When I shut down that skimmer I used it as a return pump on the 120.

I took and added the venturi back on the Sedra so I could use it on the skimmer and raised the skimmer body up to the point the bubble plate was almost above the water line. Then opened the drain all the way and made a loop on the inlet with 90s to drop the gph's down. So far it seems to be working surprisingly well but I will just have to keep and eye on it.

So now I guess I will be getting a new return pump a little sooner than expected. I planned on getting a new one anyway with the new system so I could have more flow than I have had in the past. I atleast know I want a DC pump but im not sure which one yet

 

[worm5406]

What ones are you interested in?

 

[JonezNReef]

Top choice would be a Ecotech Vectra M1 because of its controllablity and great customer reviews but Im not sure I can justify spending that much on a return pump at the moment. Between the other million thing I need to complete this build (such as the 200 to 400lbs of sand) plus house remodeling, money is tighter than I had really hoped.

Another pump that caught my eye was a Reef Octopus VarioS-6 but its flow rate is lower than I would like, also Deepwater Aquatics BLDC15 which is nice but if I am going to spend the money on it then I should just spend the little extra and get the Vectra. More than likely I might lean towards something like a Jebao DCP-10000 which may not be the most highly reviewed band but at the price I could buy about 3 of them for the price of one Vectra. :worried2:

So mostly it boils down to reliability and over all cost. If the Jebao's are so bad I will have to replace it 3 times in a year or so then I should just hold off and get the Vectra. If the Jebao can hold up for at least a year and preform close to its specs then I might just get it for now and upgrade later on.

Another thing I need to figure out is if I am going to do a closed loop on this system or not. I know if I do a closed loop I will want a Vectra on it for sure. But with Gyre's these days are closed loops more effective or just a higher risk way (drilling glass)of getting what I would from a Gyre?:debi:

 

[worm5406]

What about the L1 vs the M1 ??

A L1 would be better on a closed loop from what I read. (I might have read too quick too)

 

[JonezNReef]

Pressing the RestStart Button: JonezNReef 180g 2.0 (plus 120g breeding system)

If I had the extra money I would really like an L1 on a closed loop but I don't know if I am going to do a closed loop on this tank after all. If the tank was much larger I would definitely go with that. Which could be sooner than later LOL.

For the time being I am just going to go with a Jabeo return and some kind of current pumps....possibly a cheap cross flow or something for now.
I still have a lot of things to get so I can get this system up and going and some of these house renovations aren't exactly cheap. So I will get what's needed to get it up and cycling and once we take a break on the house I can start up grading to better equipment.

For now here's a couple of crappy cell phone videos of a couple of corals in the 120g holding tank after feeding the fish.
Acans
https://vimeo.com/202307330
Brain Coral (about the size of half a football)https://vimeo.com/202307569

 

[JonezNReef]

Pressing the RestStart Button: JonezNReef 180g 2.0 (plus 120g breeding system)

So a quick update. Skimmer is working great with the new pump even though the pump is rated at almost twice the gph than the old pump...went from 880gph to 1500gph.
Here is only a couple days of skimming after I cleaned it

I was able to get the legs on the stand and some added supports. I also mudded, taped, and sanded the wall. I also was able to start painting the wall and stand. Hoping to finish painting everything this week. Then I want to add a water proof barrier around the bottom of the fishroom. Just as and extra precaution for the unthinkable lol.
Here what is look like at the moment
Fishroom side

Bedroom side

 

[JonezNReef]

So I have finally made up my mind and have decided to go with a closed loop on this tank after all. I want to use this to have good flow towards the bottom of the tank without having powerheads sitting low. Now to decide on what pump. I can use either an external or a submersible so I have quite the options on this. I can run a submersible pump because the rock structure that I made is hollow and would hide the pump and bulk head behind it.
I also need to figure out if I would also like to run penductor/eductors on the closed loop because if I go that route I will need to have a pressure rated pump which would be external more than likely. Or I could go with a DC controllable pump which I could hook up to a controller in the future and randomize the flow...unless I went with the Ecotech Vectra pump which has a random reef closed loop setting on it. Decisions decisions.

Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[JonezNReef]

Just as soon as I think I have everything figured out I change my mind lol. I have decided not to do a closed loop today after drilling the returns. Everything went well with drilling the returns I am just going to go with 2 gyres instead so I don't have to drill holes for the closed loop. So since the returns are drilled and I'm not going with the CL I went ahead and got the 2 180s and in place

 

[JonezNReef]

Pressing the RestStart Button: JonezNReef 180g 2.0 (plus 120g breeding system)

Now that is know it all fits I will take the lower tank back out and paint the floor and then I will start the plumbing which will be quite easy since the drains will be straight down and the return will be straight up. I will just be waiting on ordering sand and the new pumps. Still researching to make sure I get what I want the first time as far as sand and pumps.

 

[Benson0219]

So, any new updates? Did you get the plumbing done?

 

[JonezNReef]

Not yet. Just got the tanks in place yesterday

 

[JonezNReef]

Ok so I decided to give everything a quick test with some freshwater. I just through together some pipes I had sitting around and just pushed everything together. The diy overflow box isn't leaking anywhere. The true test though will be when I get it all plumbed together with the actually return pump hooked up to see if the overflow can handle high flow. For now I have a pump I had sitting around hooked up just to test the gaskets out a little more on the overflow over a little bit of time and also to see how much the stand settles over the next couple of days. Next I need to order the pumps, pipe and fittings, and sand to get the tank up and cycling. Here's the overflow at work

And this is how much space it takes up in the tank

 

[JonezNReef]

Recently started getting a few things in to hopefully get things started soon
240lbs of sand

I haven't been a big fan of sand since the tank crash of 2015. Of course that was from being new and misinformed without researching on my own. But I have learned a few things over time and plus my family has been requesting it. So I will do a shallow sand bed in both tanks.
Also got my return pump in. Went with the Jebeo DCP 10000.

I tested it out on the temp tank and it seems nice. I didn't run it past 75% since the drains were blocked by things and didn't feel like moving it at the time. I can't wait to really try it out once I get the tanks going.
This weekend I hope to get a few things done like plumbing the drains and return and work on the wall on the bedroom side and get the front of the tank framed in. Hoping to start filling the tank starting Tuesday. Will take about 3 days or so to fill it will 100gpd RODI. All depends on what I can get done with life happening too LOL

 

[JonezNReef]

Wow it's been a while since I last updated anything. I will get some pictures of some of the things I did when time avails.
So far I have almost finished the bedroom side wall. I framed in tank and planked half the wall. Hope to finish that this weekend. Also I was able to move sump on the 120 holding tank and re plumb it. Then I moved the 40gB sump into place for the new system. Of course that wasn't easy at all. I had to jack up the stand on the 120 and remove the center brace, remove the sump for the 120 and replace with the sump for the new system. But before that could go where it needed I had to cut a part of the stand out of the 120. After I got it in place I put the center brace in and moved the other sump in its new place. That turned into quite the chore real quick but with that finished I was able to get the return pump in place and plumbed, added water, salt, sand.... bought more sand and added that and some new rock I picked up and some rocks out of the holding tank. It has now been cycling just over a week.

In the mean time I will start working on the lights for the bottom 180 soon. Also I would like to get the skimmer in place and running.

For now atleast there is proof of life in the top(there is still a silt layer on the glass since I haven't got around to cleaning the glass 100% since the dust settled)

Here is a rock I bought for the top tank

This is what some of the wood planks look like stained

I will get tank shots up soon

 

[JonezNReef]

Pressing the RestStart Button: JonezNReef 180g 2.0 (plus 120g breeding system)

Well I've been feeding the new system for almost 2 weeks at 3 times a day when I feed my fish in the holding tank.
I'm finding more and more micro life in the tank

These guys are all over the glass

And these guys are all over my rocks

 

[Darthv247]

looks like tunicates and a snail both are good signs. the bristleworms are like unstoppable though, they can sting corals and kill clams.

 

[JonezNReef]

Pressing the RestStart Button: JonezNReef 180g 2.0 (plus 120g breeding system)

Yea hopefully the bristle worm doesn't poss any future problems but I haven't had an issue with them yet. I went ahead and tossed in two snails and a hermit crab to clean up some of the food Im feeding the tank. They've been in there 2 days so far. Also all the sponges are still doing good
These are the ones in the cave

These are on the back of my big rock

Here is what the fishroom looks like at the moment

 

[JonezNReef]

Here is a FTS. I don't have the lights over the tank yet since they are over the holding tank.

The middle rock has tri color valida acro encrusted on it that I hoped was going to die durning the cycle but so far it's still alive. It has been growing like a weed in my tank and already has a rock covered in it and I didn't really want it to take over that rock. In fact when I put it in the tank I broke off all the points and it has grown back... its browner in color due to it getting such little light.

 

[JonezNReef]

Since the tank is at the end of its cycle I went ahead and a couple of bangai cardinals. The fish store owner and I walked around for a little while trying to determine the gender in an attempt to possibly pair them. Took a minute but we think we found a male and female. So far they are close in the QT.

Also I got a few new inverts for the new system.
Strawberry Conch Snail

Also picked up a Turbo Snail, Sea Urchin and the dreadful SS Starfish.

 

[JonezNReef]

Also today my new room exhaust fan came in. Hope to install that this weekend.
Here is the old one

And this will be the new one

Also my Ice Cap Gyre came in today. Hope to get that in this weekend and then play around with the settings and see if I like it. If so I will consider getting a second one or even upgrading to a larger maxspect