**Rob's 155g SPS Reef**
- Thread starter phenom5
- Start date
phenom5
Member
Hey thanks Brett. Increasing the height of that standpipe didn't impact the water level in the tank, just in the overflow. Which I kinda knew, but I was hoping. I tried slowing the drain down, but again, no real impact, it just made my drains loud.
I will see how it bugs me, and decide what I want to do. I think a small strip of acrylic along the bottom of the teeth will do the trick.
I will see how it bugs me, and decide what I want to do. I think a small strip of acrylic along the bottom of the teeth will do the trick.
Copper miner AZ
New member
Man I'm envious of your build. Well thought out and very top notch work. Can't wait to see it complete. FB has lots of goodies to choose from in their new store. Great job and much good luck in the final stages.
phenom5
Member
Hey thanks Copper miner! Copper mining was what brought my family to southern AZ.
Stopped by Fishy Biz and picked up a little somethin'
:thumbsup:
Mix of Tonga and Marco Base rock. Tank is scaped...but my camera battery is dead. So pictures will follow. 85lbs...and I don't thnk I am going to add any more. I wanted more minimalistic look, but I'm surprised how far this rock went. Already have a few Asterina stars cruising around the glass.
Need to add sand. I was planning on using Seaflor Special grade, but Justin at Fishy Biz showed me some Pink Fiji they have/ are getting in. Seemed like it was a little heavy grain than some of the super fine stuff, but still has a bit of a finer grain than the Seaflor Special. As far as the look goes, I prefer finer grain, but it can be a PITA.
Anybody have thoughts/ opinions/ experience with Fiji pink in a high flow tank?
Getting some wicked micro bubbles right now, but I am going to wait and see how things shake out once the plumbing/ skimmer break in a bit.
Stopped by Fishy Biz and picked up a little somethin'
:thumbsup:
Mix of Tonga and Marco Base rock. Tank is scaped...but my camera battery is dead. So pictures will follow. 85lbs...and I don't thnk I am going to add any more. I wanted more minimalistic look, but I'm surprised how far this rock went. Already have a few Asterina stars cruising around the glass.
Need to add sand. I was planning on using Seaflor Special grade, but Justin at Fishy Biz showed me some Pink Fiji they have/ are getting in. Seemed like it was a little heavy grain than some of the super fine stuff, but still has a bit of a finer grain than the Seaflor Special. As far as the look goes, I prefer finer grain, but it can be a PITA.
Anybody have thoughts/ opinions/ experience with Fiji pink in a high flow tank?
Getting some wicked micro bubbles right now, but I am going to wait and see how things shake out once the plumbing/ skimmer break in a bit.
phenom5
Member
Alright...pictures. Lemme know what you think.
The shelf in the center stack...it's the perfect shelf piece. Justin let me have first pick of 4 or so boxes of rock in the FB warehouse. I actually said not to worry about opening up the last box, but he did, and he pulled out that shelf. I am thinking about putting an efflo on it. :thumbsup:
Lemme know what you think.
The shelf in the center stack...it's the perfect shelf piece. Justin let me have first pick of 4 or so boxes of rock in the FB warehouse. I actually said not to worry about opening up the last box, but he did, and he pulled out that shelf. I am thinking about putting an efflo on it. :thumbsup:
Copper miner AZ
New member
Looking awesome, so much room for corals and fish, I like the placing of the rock, looks zen like. Lol
phenom5
Member
I've read a lot of good about Reef Flakes. Any experience with the mini flakes?
With the Maxspect Gyre pump...it's a bit of an unknown how much sand it's going to kick up. Guess I'll find out soon enough.
On another note, I am really impressed with the ATB skimmer. With LR in for less than 24 hours, it's already pulling some gunk.
The only issue is the noise. The pump is pretty loud...that's relative I suppose since my drains and return pump are so quiet. I played around with it some. It's not the positioning, and it's not vibrating against anything. That just seems to be the normal operating noise.
Anybody have any suggestions on how to quiet a pump down, or what to look for?
With the Maxspect Gyre pump...it's a bit of an unknown how much sand it's going to kick up. Guess I'll find out soon enough.
On another note, I am really impressed with the ATB skimmer. With LR in for less than 24 hours, it's already pulling some gunk.
The only issue is the noise. The pump is pretty loud...that's relative I suppose since my drains and return pump are so quiet. I played around with it some. It's not the positioning, and it's not vibrating against anything. That just seems to be the normal operating noise.
Anybody have any suggestions on how to quiet a pump down, or what to look for?
phenom5
Member
I decided to go with the Seaflor Special. I talked to Justin about the Fiji Pink, but the consensus from RC, and Mike was it was a pain to deal with in high flow tanks.
I mixed some of my fine grain sand with the Seaflor Special. Tank is cloudy as shyte. I rinsed the fine grain when I took it out of my old tank, but it made the water cloudy. I decided to add 1 bag of the Seaflor Special...since the tank was cloudy anyway. I rinsed it pretty well, with an old pillow case. Waiting for things to clear up to see where we are at.
My skimmer broke in...literally and hour and a half ago. It's been overflowing, and throwing a ton of microbubbles into the tank. I literally took the cup off to dump it (I actually didn't mind it overflowing, it was helping with the cloudiness), fired it back up, and just like that...it broke in, stopped overflowing, and stopped throwing a bunch of microbubbles in the tank.
Also good news...my Maxspect Gyre XF150 will be at my front door tomorrow! Can't wait to see how this thing does on my tank. The potential of having a single pump in the DT would be really sweet.
Starting to think about fish, and corals...
I mixed some of my fine grain sand with the Seaflor Special. Tank is cloudy as shyte. I rinsed the fine grain when I took it out of my old tank, but it made the water cloudy. I decided to add 1 bag of the Seaflor Special...since the tank was cloudy anyway. I rinsed it pretty well, with an old pillow case. Waiting for things to clear up to see where we are at.
My skimmer broke in...literally and hour and a half ago. It's been overflowing, and throwing a ton of microbubbles into the tank. I literally took the cup off to dump it (I actually didn't mind it overflowing, it was helping with the cloudiness), fired it back up, and just like that...it broke in, stopped overflowing, and stopped throwing a bunch of microbubbles in the tank.
Also good news...my Maxspect Gyre XF150 will be at my front door tomorrow! Can't wait to see how this thing does on my tank. The potential of having a single pump in the DT would be really sweet.
Starting to think about fish, and corals...
phenom5
Member
Maxspect pump is in. I am really pretty impressed with the flow. For a full blown 6' SPS reef, one pump may not be enough. I've added a little Tunze pump I have at the opposite end. The pump gets pretty loud at higher speeds, so running it wide open may be okay on a 6' tank, but I haven't really tested it out. The flow seems to die off around 4-5'. Either way, not a big deal. The noise on the other, is not so great. Around 50% is okay, but over that and it gets loud. It's a hum, or on pulse it's a little louder than an MP40, but it is suppose to quiet down as it breaks in.
Pulse mode seems the best at this point, but not a sloshing back and forth "wave" pulse. A little longer pulse. If I can get to 70%-80% with a 6-10 second pulse, I will be really happy with the pump. A more advanced controller that allows you to control the on and the off times independent would make this thing incredible. I am considering a second, and I would definitely recommend.
In other, not so exciting news...the relay in my ATO is bad. The switch itself isn't getting stuck, the relay has just gone bad. So I am going to replace my ATO.
I have all but settled on the Avast ATO kit. I know Tunze gets a ton of positive reviews, and the Innovative Marine Autofill looks really nice, but the price is a bit steep for an ATO.
Other than that, my cycle is definitely under way. The tank looks rather ugly by the time I get home in the evenings. I will try to get a decent video this weekend.
Pulse mode seems the best at this point, but not a sloshing back and forth "wave" pulse. A little longer pulse. If I can get to 70%-80% with a 6-10 second pulse, I will be really happy with the pump. A more advanced controller that allows you to control the on and the off times independent would make this thing incredible. I am considering a second, and I would definitely recommend.
In other, not so exciting news...the relay in my ATO is bad. The switch itself isn't getting stuck, the relay has just gone bad. So I am going to replace my ATO.
I have all but settled on the Avast ATO kit. I know Tunze gets a ton of positive reviews, and the Innovative Marine Autofill looks really nice, but the price is a bit steep for an ATO.
Other than that, my cycle is definitely under way. The tank looks rather ugly by the time I get home in the evenings. I will try to get a decent video this weekend.
phenom5
Member
1/2" - 3/4" Wave
1/2" - 3/4" Wave
Late November Update
Hey guys, tank is cruising along. No real interesting updates. The cycle is moving along, and I think I'm cycled. I was feeding the tank, and added about a half of a raw shrimp a few weeks back. I watched my ammonia peak, and it has since dropped to 0. That was about 2 weeks ago. I never tested nitrite, but nitrate is low, so I assume I am good to go. I think the live rock from the cycled/ cured "vat" at Fishy Biz that helped speed the cycle along.
I did a water change this morning, and everything is looking good. The diatom bloom has subsided, and I'm starting to see signs of life.
Making waves
The real reason I posted, I have my Gyre pump running @ 70% on a 3 second pulse. Now, in smaller tanks, I don't particularly like the flow of pumps on pulse mode. But on this tank, with this pump, I'm really digging the surge-like flow of the pulse.
I am getting a 1/2-3/4" "wave" on the surface. What's the consensus on the impact of this kind of flow on the seams of the tank?
I always just kind of assumed that it was legal CYA on the part of the pump manufacturers, but with a 3 second, 3500 gph surge...I figure it couldn't hurt to ask.
1/2" - 3/4" Wave
Late November Update
Hey guys, tank is cruising along. No real interesting updates. The cycle is moving along, and I think I'm cycled. I was feeding the tank, and added about a half of a raw shrimp a few weeks back. I watched my ammonia peak, and it has since dropped to 0. That was about 2 weeks ago. I never tested nitrite, but nitrate is low, so I assume I am good to go. I think the live rock from the cycled/ cured "vat" at Fishy Biz that helped speed the cycle along.
I did a water change this morning, and everything is looking good. The diatom bloom has subsided, and I'm starting to see signs of life.
Making waves
The real reason I posted, I have my Gyre pump running @ 70% on a 3 second pulse. Now, in smaller tanks, I don't particularly like the flow of pumps on pulse mode. But on this tank, with this pump, I'm really digging the surge-like flow of the pulse.
I am getting a 1/2-3/4" "wave" on the surface. What's the consensus on the impact of this kind of flow on the seams of the tank?
I always just kind of assumed that it was legal CYA on the part of the pump manufacturers, but with a 3 second, 3500 gph surge...I figure it couldn't hurt to ask.
Teenreefer15
New member
your plans look great!
phenom5
Member
Hey thanks nbyron! I think it's coming together.
I am going to grab my cleanup crew, or at least the start of my clean up crew tomorrow. Then it's on to fish, and slowly adding corals.
I'll snap some pics at some point, but there isn't really too much interesting stuff at this point. I did get excited about a feather duster this morning...my wife laughed at me.
I am going to grab my cleanup crew, or at least the start of my clean up crew tomorrow. Then it's on to fish, and slowly adding corals.
I'll snap some pics at some point, but there isn't really too much interesting stuff at this point. I did get excited about a feather duster this morning...my wife laughed at me.
