Soulpatch's build thread (ongoing)
- Thread starter soulpatch
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soulpatch
New member
Woke up this morning and saw the confirmation email and charge on my card so this is all real. Tank and stand should be delivered week of Nov 11. Not sure yet where I will be putting it but it is coming. HA HA. I need to clear some room in my basement and order in some pizza to pay off friends to help me move it.
:dance: :thumbsup:
soulpatch
New member
You obviously have not met my friends...
homer1475
New member
Very nice, moving along now. I think you'll have it wet long before 2016 hits.
Still can't decide how big I want to go yet. I know I'm limited on space, so been thinking I might do a 40 breeder DT, with a 40 breeder sump. Or even a 60/40, just can't decide exactly what I want to do yet. For that matter, I really don't have the funds to upgrade yet anyways. I want to get all the equipment before I order a tank, cause I know as soon as the tank arrives, the wife will want it setup right away.
Still can't decide how big I want to go yet. I know I'm limited on space, so been thinking I might do a 40 breeder DT, with a 40 breeder sump. Or even a 60/40, just can't decide exactly what I want to do yet. For that matter, I really don't have the funds to upgrade yet anyways. I want to get all the equipment before I order a tank, cause I know as soon as the tank arrives, the wife will want it setup right away.
soulpatch
New member
I am REALLY hoping there are some black friday deals this year to get me going. The tank WILL be wet before EOY but it may not have rock/sand in it to get going till early 2016. I only need heaters, return pump, and plumbing parts to get wet.
I will order a few RW8 and a jbwave or ask for them for Christmas. CABO - how many RWs can I operate off of the JBWave? Is it limited to 2?
I will order a few RW8 and a jbwave or ask for them for Christmas. CABO - how many RWs can I operate off of the JBWave? Is it limited to 2?
soulpatch
New member
So still battling cyano in the tank which has been a pain. Water changes are helping I assume but still not a win at this point. I need to syphon it up tonight and another water change.
On the other hand the extended and more frequent water changes have been wonderful for my one hammer as his 2 heads that were in decline are now once again starting to thrive again. My other hammer though is still not fully opening but he was badly damaged by my bugs a while ago so the fact that he is still alive is enough for me. I imagine he will come back eventually, if not in this tank then the next.
I am going to talk to my LFS to borrow his harlequin shrimp to attack my stars I currently have. no matter what I pick out they are still there. I see them on my corals at night and it worries me that they could be negatively impacting them.
New tank: Should be in next week and will most likely post some pics on here before I worry about a new build thread that I will link to. That said I have decided to go dry rock for this tank. I have some pests in my current tank that have angered me from my live rock and I want to better control the next tank. Dealing with GHA potential from the dry rock is not really a concern as the larger tank affords me more space for live stock to handle it, I am now well versed in peroxide (ha ha not a good thing but thanks bryopsis, culpera, and gha in current tank), and GFO. So I think I can have it handled. Cost savings would go towards livestock or pumps of some fashion.
On the other hand the extended and more frequent water changes have been wonderful for my one hammer as his 2 heads that were in decline are now once again starting to thrive again. My other hammer though is still not fully opening but he was badly damaged by my bugs a while ago so the fact that he is still alive is enough for me. I imagine he will come back eventually, if not in this tank then the next.
I am going to talk to my LFS to borrow his harlequin shrimp to attack my stars I currently have. no matter what I pick out they are still there. I see them on my corals at night and it worries me that they could be negatively impacting them.
New tank: Should be in next week and will most likely post some pics on here before I worry about a new build thread that I will link to. That said I have decided to go dry rock for this tank. I have some pests in my current tank that have angered me from my live rock and I want to better control the next tank. Dealing with GHA potential from the dry rock is not really a concern as the larger tank affords me more space for live stock to handle it, I am now well versed in peroxide (ha ha not a good thing but thanks bryopsis, culpera, and gha in current tank), and GFO. So I think I can have it handled. Cost savings would go towards livestock or pumps of some fashion.
Sorry the stars are trouble. I think you'll be okay with the dry rock. Not that you need any more info, but this month's Coral Magazine came yesterday, and it's all about liverock and coral hitchhikers, good and bad.
The only thing with the dry rock is to make sure that the pH is stabilized before you start moving your livestock over. While I appreciate what artificial rock is and how it can impact the hobby, I still read a number of horror stories about uncured manmade dry rock that holds its pH for a number of months, and/or depresses alkalinity, or some other weird bugs. No way to win with starting a new tank!
I would definitely also start up the refugium the minute your cycle is over. I think that really helped me stave off the worst parts of the end of the cycle, namely the algae, cyano, and dinoflagellate takeover that usually happens.
You know where to reach me if you have any Qs or want to bounce ideas as you're setting up. Very exciting time!
soulpatch
New member
I will most likely cure and cycle at the same time. Still deciding on what rock I want to use as I am looking at the BRS reef saver or the reef cleaners florida rock. I assume they are pretty much from same spot but the BRS looks a bit more porous. Maybe a mix of the two so who knows. Probably order in one box of the reef cleaners to see what it looks like and if good will order in more. Can't go wrong with 1.80 a pound... If it snaps together as well as the BRS stuff is supposed to then I will have a winner.
Probably drill some rock and such to create overhangs and whatnot. I want more "open" space for the fish to swim but will need space for my corals as well. So overhangs and pass throughs should accomplish giving both swimming space and areas for corals.
Once the rock is in I will actually move my apex over and calibrate the PH probe I have never used. The sump will be going of course and I will have the refugium going. Thinking of using fiji mud, bit of sand, and chateo in there. The sand and mud more as nurtients and area for pods to grow. Maybe a couple small rubble rocks as well. But mainly use it for chateo. Dont know of any other macro I want to use at this time that woudl nto be a risk to hit the system.
I really need to start to figure out stock list other then my clowns, tailspot blenny, and eventually a mandarin. Really looking hard at a zebra eel as they are supposed to be harmless and reef safe. Still tossing idea of blue spotted puffer as well. So shall see. I also have to figure out what my larger "focus of the tank" fish will be.
Probably drill some rock and such to create overhangs and whatnot. I want more "open" space for the fish to swim but will need space for my corals as well. So overhangs and pass throughs should accomplish giving both swimming space and areas for corals.
Once the rock is in I will actually move my apex over and calibrate the PH probe I have never used. The sump will be going of course and I will have the refugium going. Thinking of using fiji mud, bit of sand, and chateo in there. The sand and mud more as nurtients and area for pods to grow. Maybe a couple small rubble rocks as well. But mainly use it for chateo. Dont know of any other macro I want to use at this time that woudl nto be a risk to hit the system.
I really need to start to figure out stock list other then my clowns, tailspot blenny, and eventually a mandarin. Really looking hard at a zebra eel as they are supposed to be harmless and reef safe. Still tossing idea of blue spotted puffer as well. So shall see. I also have to figure out what my larger "focus of the tank" fish will be.
Yea, the best part of getting dry rock (okay, one of the good parts) is that you can pre-arrange everything without worrying about dieoff, so you can do the drilling and stacking either with acrylic rods for rock-to-rock or do some stacking with a PVC platform and center post. Lots of options (and the way to go, IMO).
My problem is always that I'll buy someone else's old setup for dirt cheap that is already running, and never get around to "doing it right" because I won't spend the time or want to dry out any of the liverock. Maybe some day I'll do it right!
As far as the fishes go, I would just make sure to focus on one of the "probably not great for reef tank" citizens, as it might be tough balancing a few. Though I'm totally okay with having at least one. As long as you get a giant skimmer and it won't destroy your reef, I'm all for it.
I'd like a pair+ of butterfly fishes in my next big tank
My problem is always that I'll buy someone else's old setup for dirt cheap that is already running, and never get around to "doing it right" because I won't spend the time or want to dry out any of the liverock. Maybe some day I'll do it right!
As far as the fishes go, I would just make sure to focus on one of the "probably not great for reef tank" citizens, as it might be tough balancing a few. Though I'm totally okay with having at least one. As long as you get a giant skimmer and it won't destroy your reef, I'm all for it.
I'd like a pair+ of butterfly fishes in my next big tank
ian09
New member
What's up soulpatch, just thought I'd chime in hehe! I read that you want more free space for fish to swim around. I'm a fan of minimal aquascaping and if you want more surface area for beneficial bacteria to occupy and thrive in I would look into dry pukani rock (I got mine from brs and I read about all the die off but I wasn't too worried as I blasted and scrubbed the hell out them plus I thought any die off could feed the ammonia and help your cycle along). They're said to have lots of surface area compared to their other rocks. Also, I placed an 8"x8" of their marine pure (I cut it in half and placed it in my sump) and I think it's worth looking into as well as its super duper porous and contains so much surface area for bacteria. I believe this will allow for minimal aquascaping without the loss of surface area for bacteria. So far this is working for me. Can't wait to see your new tank pics [emoji106]
I dunno if soulpatch has been following the marine pure thread or not but after reading it, I'm still on the fence. Great if you want/need it, but I prefer other ways of promoting natural denitrification. Particularly since nobody mentioned that this doesn't get rid of phosphates, and the jury is still out on the aluminum base.
I'm running 2 quarts of the 1.5" spheres in my sump now. At first I didn't really notice much of a difference, but after a few months, I'm seeing my nitrates fall nicely to where I want them even with heavy feeding.
Up until this past weekend, I hadn't added any LR/DR to allow for more "surface area" for bacteria to grow, so I'm guessing they're doing their job.
Up until this past weekend, I hadn't added any LR/DR to allow for more "surface area" for bacteria to grow, so I'm guessing they're doing their job.
soulpatch
New member
My sump will be lined with the marinepure plates which further allows me to go with minimal aquascape. Anything we add to our tanks that has ceramic and such in it has aluminum silicate to it and for the most part has been found to be mainly "fine" In that thread and others people point that it gives it off as it breaks down which is all well and good but it has not been proven to affect anything any more or less then everything else we do in our tanks. I would consider them safe to use and will be using a decent amount of them to line my 30 inch sump... The refugium might have some spheres placed in with the chateo instead of rock but I think I prefer the look of the small rubble rock.
I am not a huge fan of the pukani look and the additional curing I would have to go through. I do however think I might add a piece of the tonga shelf or at least order one in to see how I could incorporate it to my scheme. Get some form of PITA coral or anem and put it on the shelf rock. Or make it one hell of a mixed ricordea rock. Dunno still thinking it over.
I am not a huge fan of the pukani look and the additional curing I would have to go through. I do however think I might add a piece of the tonga shelf or at least order one in to see how I could incorporate it to my scheme. Get some form of PITA coral or anem and put it on the shelf rock. Or make it one hell of a mixed ricordea rock. Dunno still thinking it over.
soulpatch
New member
BOOM!!!!!
Tank stand has a very small chip in the one door I am seeing if they will replace and my Kessil was not in the box but otherwise it is in my hands and in the house which was FAR from a small feat. Thankfully one of my friend's cousins was able to skip daily time in the gym to help us. He almost single handedly lifted the tank for us...
Tank stand has a very small chip in the one door I am seeing if they will replace and my Kessil was not in the box but otherwise it is in my hands and in the house which was FAR from a small feat. Thankfully one of my friend's cousins was able to skip daily time in the gym to help us. He almost single handedly lifted the tank for us...
soulpatch
New member
Now the real money drain starts to happen. I have to get all new plumbing so as to run a bean animal and a ton of valves and such to build my manifold and route everything as needed. I also need to get some of the other reactors and such so I can set everything up before the tank ever sees water just so I can more "easily" (not really easy to manhandle a 600 pound tank) move the tank to get to things.
Oh and the Kessil was in the box but it was in different packagaing.
My issue now is how to get my darn sump into the stand. LOL. I think I have to remove the one support between the double doors to get it in then I will replace the support. Without water and such in the tank it shouldn't be an issue. Technically since it is a solid wood stand removing that brace for good shouldn't be an issue but I will replace it just to be safe.
Oh and the Kessil was in the box but it was in different packagaing.
My issue now is how to get my darn sump into the stand. LOL. I think I have to remove the one support between the double doors to get it in then I will replace the support. Without water and such in the tank it shouldn't be an issue. Technically since it is a solid wood stand removing that brace for good shouldn't be an issue but I will replace it just to be safe.
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