Soulpatch's build thread (ongoing)
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soulpatch
New member
The center brace between the two doors is 4 screws and Steve from SC says they take that out to put in their sumps as well then just put it back on. So long as there is no water it is good to go. So I shall be doing that later today. I also think I will cut some slats into the back as there is only one small opening and I dont think that will be enough air exchange. So I am thinking of cutting some squares and mounting some PC fans to ensure airflow in the stand.
Going to do LED strip lighting in the stand so I can see whatever it is I am working on. And finally there will be an electronic "hub" in the rear for all plugs and switches with the apex controlling it all. The controller displays will mount to the front.
Waiting on black friday at this point to place some orders for plumbing, heaters, return pump, salt and potentially some power heads and maybe even the DOS. I was all about the Kore 5th but it is going to cost me nearly 150 in shipping alone which is too much and that places its pricing up in the 2 DOS territory so I might as well stay with that where I can have it serviced stateside if needed.
To the BC: I moved it last night to make some more room for the larger tank. IN doing so I cleaned the carpet from the couple spills I had had in the last year and rearranged some of the rock. This weekend is a massive drain on the tank for equipment cleaning and total cleanout of the rear chambers. Skimer needs to come offline for a vinegar bath and I might run the reactor pump through one as well. Black Friday I will be on the lookout for a Kessil sale for the tank as well as I would like a 160 above it as I move the current 360 to the larger tank. Also think I will switch the skimmer to the new aquamaxx so long as my measurements tell me it will fit.
Upcoming changes for the tank include marinepure spheres and a plate for the biofiltration, removal of most of the rock, transfer of coral to fresh plugs with dips in peroxide and bayer, and the purchase of a main frag rack for corals to go back onto. This is all to be done after the new tank is up and cycling. Fish and the corals I will be moving to the large tank will go in a small QT tank so the corals can be dipped and so they dont have to deal with any mini cycle I have in the cube.
Going to do LED strip lighting in the stand so I can see whatever it is I am working on. And finally there will be an electronic "hub" in the rear for all plugs and switches with the apex controlling it all. The controller displays will mount to the front.
Waiting on black friday at this point to place some orders for plumbing, heaters, return pump, salt and potentially some power heads and maybe even the DOS. I was all about the Kore 5th but it is going to cost me nearly 150 in shipping alone which is too much and that places its pricing up in the 2 DOS territory so I might as well stay with that where I can have it serviced stateside if needed.
To the BC: I moved it last night to make some more room for the larger tank. IN doing so I cleaned the carpet from the couple spills I had had in the last year and rearranged some of the rock. This weekend is a massive drain on the tank for equipment cleaning and total cleanout of the rear chambers. Skimer needs to come offline for a vinegar bath and I might run the reactor pump through one as well. Black Friday I will be on the lookout for a Kessil sale for the tank as well as I would like a 160 above it as I move the current 360 to the larger tank. Also think I will switch the skimmer to the new aquamaxx so long as my measurements tell me it will fit.
Upcoming changes for the tank include marinepure spheres and a plate for the biofiltration, removal of most of the rock, transfer of coral to fresh plugs with dips in peroxide and bayer, and the purchase of a main frag rack for corals to go back onto. This is all to be done after the new tank is up and cycling. Fish and the corals I will be moving to the large tank will go in a small QT tank so the corals can be dipped and so they dont have to deal with any mini cycle I have in the cube.
soulpatch
New member
Noticed my smaller clown hosting my torch today for the first time ever. Hopefully the move here shortly doesn't disrupt it too much. I might have to get a nem for it to make up for the move.
Large water change tomorrow on deck and probably a trip to Home Depot to look into sealing and painting the new stand's interior white for better viewing. I will caulk all of the joints to be safe as well. The stand does not have a lip at the doors so cant crate a catch pan of sorts so the paint and caulk will have to do. On top of that I will put some neoprene on the base to deaden the vibrations even more...
Fun times ahead.
Oh and to offset the costs in the wife's eyes she got herself a new dining room table, chairs, and a hutch today. Somehow going out for lunch turned into me coming home with new furniture. The scary part for me though is that she also grabbed a pamphlet for new kitchen cabinets while we were out. Damn you Ikea.... Damn you
Large water change tomorrow on deck and probably a trip to Home Depot to look into sealing and painting the new stand's interior white for better viewing. I will caulk all of the joints to be safe as well. The stand does not have a lip at the doors so cant crate a catch pan of sorts so the paint and caulk will have to do. On top of that I will put some neoprene on the base to deaden the vibrations even more...
Fun times ahead.
Oh and to offset the costs in the wife's eyes she got herself a new dining room table, chairs, and a hutch today. Somehow going out for lunch turned into me coming home with new furniture. The scary part for me though is that she also grabbed a pamphlet for new kitchen cabinets while we were out. Damn you Ikea.... Damn you
You still got the good end of the deal :dance:
Too bad on the pan, but whatever, not a need to have, more a nice to have. Good luck, hope it's coming along well!
soulpatch
New member
I dont know man. Her purchases with the exercise bike, dining room table, hutch, Michael Korrs watch, clothes, and such is getting up there with my tank purchases. It is also pushing back water dates.
I mean I didn't help either the past week buying a second xbox one so I could have one in my man cave for Fallout 4 this past week... With my mini fridge stocked, a bathroom, fishtank, tv, computer, and a couple bottles of booze I am set for a few weeks down there.
Updates on the nano is that I am still fighting some cyano. water changes and increased flow is not enough out of what I have. I am contemplating a second rw4 or to move mine to other side of tank. The gyre does a great job moving the water column around but it struggles against providing enough flow through my rock work for where the cyano is getting a foot hold. Also going to treat some this week to knock it back. So every other day water changes.
Should give me a good opportunity to finish removing the couple pieces of rubble I have in the rear which I am sure if not helping things. Skimmer needs a vinegar bath this weekend as I did not get around to it the other day.
Nothing new on the new tank footprint save for the fact that I have a new door being sent to me by Steve at SC. Great company to work with. I need to finalize a plumbing order and where I am going to get stuff from. I think most of the valves and unions I will get from US Plastics as they seem the best priced.
Some of these for the ball valves: http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=75973&catid=853
Gate valves: http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=24447&catid=584
Or I might get the ones from BRS just so the gates are also grey like the unions. Vain I know but it needs to look good...
All of the PVC fittings and pipe I can get at my Home Depot. I will then spray it all so that it blends together. Have not decided on the color yet as the valves will be a red/grey and the sump is a ruby color on top. Might even do 2 colors so my return and drain are color coded. Who knows.
This weekend's project is to caulk and paint the base of the stand to seal it. Need to order in my neoprene so I can cut the size I need for the base of the stand. LED lighting needs to be ordered in as well for the stand and I want to get a small server rack so I can mount the power strips and use wire guards to hide the wiring. Need to plan that one out a bit more though.
As you can see in the pic above the cube is staying next to the 150 so I will be able to keep the EB8 on that tank and link the two together with the one controller. I need to get some leak detectors yet to add further security.
At this rate no water in the big tank till January/February which is fine by me. Rather spend the time up front to set it up right. Thankfully I have the cube to keep me busy.
And the cube itself is coming up on a year so I will have to take some pics and do a nice writeup.
I mean I didn't help either the past week buying a second xbox one so I could have one in my man cave for Fallout 4 this past week... With my mini fridge stocked, a bathroom, fishtank, tv, computer, and a couple bottles of booze I am set for a few weeks down there.
Updates on the nano is that I am still fighting some cyano. water changes and increased flow is not enough out of what I have. I am contemplating a second rw4 or to move mine to other side of tank. The gyre does a great job moving the water column around but it struggles against providing enough flow through my rock work for where the cyano is getting a foot hold. Also going to treat some this week to knock it back. So every other day water changes.
Should give me a good opportunity to finish removing the couple pieces of rubble I have in the rear which I am sure if not helping things. Skimmer needs a vinegar bath this weekend as I did not get around to it the other day.
Nothing new on the new tank footprint save for the fact that I have a new door being sent to me by Steve at SC. Great company to work with. I need to finalize a plumbing order and where I am going to get stuff from. I think most of the valves and unions I will get from US Plastics as they seem the best priced.
Some of these for the ball valves: http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=75973&catid=853
Gate valves: http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=24447&catid=584
Or I might get the ones from BRS just so the gates are also grey like the unions. Vain I know but it needs to look good...
All of the PVC fittings and pipe I can get at my Home Depot. I will then spray it all so that it blends together. Have not decided on the color yet as the valves will be a red/grey and the sump is a ruby color on top. Might even do 2 colors so my return and drain are color coded. Who knows.
This weekend's project is to caulk and paint the base of the stand to seal it. Need to order in my neoprene so I can cut the size I need for the base of the stand. LED lighting needs to be ordered in as well for the stand and I want to get a small server rack so I can mount the power strips and use wire guards to hide the wiring. Need to plan that one out a bit more though.
As you can see in the pic above the cube is staying next to the 150 so I will be able to keep the EB8 on that tank and link the two together with the one controller. I need to get some leak detectors yet to add further security.
At this rate no water in the big tank till January/February which is fine by me. Rather spend the time up front to set it up right. Thankfully I have the cube to keep me busy.
And the cube itself is coming up on a year so I will have to take some pics and do a nice writeup.
soulpatch
New member
Well black friday deals have started on Marine depot and BRS so I just sunk an initial $600:
For 150 tank:
Fluval SP6 return pump
Union Ball valves
gate valves
neoprene for inside stand
rodi upgrade to 6 stage
marinepure plate
160 gallon box of HW Marinemix reefer salt (going to give this a try for new tank)
For small tank:
marinepure spheres to start seeding so the tank can be ready to have rock removed shortly as it transitions into frag tank.
Need to measure tonight as I might also add in the new aquamaxx skimmer to my order for the nano.
Items on my xmas list for the wife consist of:
brs nano reactor
brs deluxe reactor
BAO dosing containers with sensor
BAO ATO container with sensor
BAO coral viewer
RW8 (x2)
JBWave
Neptune leak detector and pads
Neptune DOS
Heaters
More HW Marine salt
Horizontal 35 gallon containers
rechargeable red flashlight for night time viewing...
For 150 tank:
Fluval SP6 return pump
Union Ball valves
gate valves
neoprene for inside stand
rodi upgrade to 6 stage
marinepure plate
160 gallon box of HW Marinemix reefer salt (going to give this a try for new tank)
For small tank:
marinepure spheres to start seeding so the tank can be ready to have rock removed shortly as it transitions into frag tank.
Need to measure tonight as I might also add in the new aquamaxx skimmer to my order for the nano.
Items on my xmas list for the wife consist of:
brs nano reactor
brs deluxe reactor
BAO dosing containers with sensor
BAO ATO container with sensor
BAO coral viewer
RW8 (x2)
JBWave
Neptune leak detector and pads
Neptune DOS
Heaters
More HW Marine salt
Horizontal 35 gallon containers
rechargeable red flashlight for night time viewing...
Sounds good. How do you like the HW marine salt? Why are you using that instead of IO/RC?
I thought about the marinepure, as I'm sold on it, but now that I have a good accurate nitrate test kit, and still test for 0 nitrates, I'm not going to bother. I think my coral coloration is because of funkyness with LEDs.
The list sounds good. One thing about the aforementioned cyano, is that even the best reefers I know, with the highest flow SPS tanks, still end up getting cyano. I'm not sure there is necessarily a fix for it unfortunately. I've been lucky to get it very very very rarely in my tank in only tiny spots, but I know it has been something that has always plagued my tanks in small ways, and does in most people's tanks.
The new tank is coming together... I'm still excited... I'm counting off the days until I'm in the position to get a new tank...
Also, I'm sure you saw in the other thread, but I think that there will be better deals, and actual deals on the MAP pricing items on Black Friday and through that weekend, FYI.
I thought about the marinepure, as I'm sold on it, but now that I have a good accurate nitrate test kit, and still test for 0 nitrates, I'm not going to bother. I think my coral coloration is because of funkyness with LEDs.
The list sounds good. One thing about the aforementioned cyano, is that even the best reefers I know, with the highest flow SPS tanks, still end up getting cyano. I'm not sure there is necessarily a fix for it unfortunately. I've been lucky to get it very very very rarely in my tank in only tiny spots, but I know it has been something that has always plagued my tanks in small ways, and does in most people's tanks.
The new tank is coming together... I'm still excited... I'm counting off the days until I'm in the position to get a new tank...
Also, I'm sure you saw in the other thread, but I think that there will be better deals, and actual deals on the MAP pricing items on Black Friday and through that weekend, FYI.
soulpatch
New member
yes I am awaiting the black friday deals and if something I just bought goes on a lower price I will complain to get it matched or simply repurchase and return the original purchase. The MAP pricing though is what I am really watching for. I want the leak detector from Neptune and might also purchase a DOS unit to use for AWC for the large tank. I have the BRS dosers I can use for dosing now as the new tank comes online and will save for a better doser down the road like a Kore 5th unit if they ever get US distribution again. (Their shipping is crazy at roughly 150 US to get a small box to the US. I have sent tradeshow materials around the world for less...)
Also a small chance a WAV unit comes to my house if the pricing drops enough to make me go that route as opposed to the RW8 and JBWave...
The HW salt is synthetic and BRS seems to love it so I figured I would give it a shot. I have salt now as I am still buring through my IO RC and Red Sea pro. but it was a great deal on it (though IO RC was also same price) that I figured it was worth a shot.
I think I will have a better handle on the cyano as I transition that tank to a frag tank so I am not overly concerned. The rock will be replaced as well in lieu for the marinepure spheres and a couple pieces of newer dry rock to be seeded. I think it will be a game changer for the small tank to replace the rock with new stuff. The corals and fish will be in the qt tank for a while anyway during the transition so I can safely confirm no harsh cycle.
Also a small chance a WAV unit comes to my house if the pricing drops enough to make me go that route as opposed to the RW8 and JBWave...
The HW salt is synthetic and BRS seems to love it so I figured I would give it a shot. I have salt now as I am still buring through my IO RC and Red Sea pro. but it was a great deal on it (though IO RC was also same price) that I figured it was worth a shot.
I think I will have a better handle on the cyano as I transition that tank to a frag tank so I am not overly concerned. The rock will be replaced as well in lieu for the marinepure spheres and a couple pieces of newer dry rock to be seeded. I think it will be a game changer for the small tank to replace the rock with new stuff. The corals and fish will be in the qt tank for a while anyway during the transition so I can safely confirm no harsh cycle.
Acans are looking great, just need to space them out more so they can grow into giant acan balls.
Staining and sealing look nice! And the sump with the LR skimmer looks like a perfect fit (I'm sure not by accident).
That green montipora is still looking good! Great coloration. Oh yea, and the LPS too
Are you adding zoas/palys into the new tank?
Staining and sealing look nice! And the sump with the LR skimmer looks like a perfect fit (I'm sure not by accident).
That green montipora is still looking good! Great coloration. Oh yea, and the LPS too
Are you adding zoas/palys into the new tank?
soulpatch
New member
GSP and Palys will NOT find their way into the new tank. Only pklace they are going is to the trash can or to be turned in for some other shlub to buy...
The utter chaos and darth mauls I have will get into the new tank on isolated rocks so I can make a zoa rock and trade it in. I have gotten one more head on my utter chaos but it is growing slowly though that one head pays back my purchase for the frag if I were to sell it...
I didnt stain the stand as it came that way. I bought the finished wood stand. The sanding and such you see in the one pic was for me to scuff the poly coating they had on the wood inside for the primer to hold. It will be getting white appliance paint this weekend after I spend time to tape it off again. I have the LED lights coming today as well as the return pump and most of the valves I will need.
I made a run to HD and Lowes last weekend to get pipe and some other fittings. I need to cut and fit everything then I will disassemble and paint the plumbing. Ideas for what color are more then welcome!!!! I was thinking like a silver for the main drains, red for the emergency, and blue for return/manifold. That way everything would be color coded so I know *** is going on under there.
Yes the skimmer fits though tighter then I thought it would be. This will work for now but since I went much larger for tank footprint I can see a custom sump being on order within the next year. Probably a custom synergy or building an obsession sump with a bigger refugium built into it. I can easily give 48x24 of space up for the sump and still have room for my other equipment.
In the nano the acans are spaced about what they will get for now. They are a driving force for the new tank to hurry up and get done. I could have some serious money fragging them once they have the space to mature.
You know I had no idea that was a monti for the longest time. Nor did it have any polyps till I switched to the Kessil. It was very bland and I thought it was dead as my cousin gave it to me. It just was a cool thing stickig out off of my rocks. Then it exploded with these nice green polyps and the skeleton took on a great purple color. It could easily be mistaken for a bonsai almost.
I still need to get the cyano under control though. In a way the new tank getting up and running will be an instant fix as all livestock I am keeping will go into the qt tank after dipping so I can change over the nano to a frag and finish the cycle on the main tank.
Still have some shopping to do online for the tank. Going to order in a kore 5th doser through reefomania as he is only US distributor at the moment. With BF sale it is quite a bit cheaper then even the lightly used on in the for sale section and it can handle AWC either with the current pumps or its add on module I will be buying to control 2 external DC pumps.
Need the wife to order in some reactors for me and a few of the other things I have on the BRS wish list. I told her to use my account for the points but I think she knows I will see the emails and instantly know what I am getting. Though when you give a list for someone to go off of how surprised can you really be come Xmas morning???
still needed items:
second reactor for main tank
mini reactor for nano
ATO and dosing containers from BAO since they have sensors built in
powerheads (really trying to decide between WAV and RW here. WAV more expensive but better quality I would imagine...)
heaters
frag rack for nano
water storage tanks from tractor supply
The utter chaos and darth mauls I have will get into the new tank on isolated rocks so I can make a zoa rock and trade it in. I have gotten one more head on my utter chaos but it is growing slowly though that one head pays back my purchase for the frag if I were to sell it...
I didnt stain the stand as it came that way. I bought the finished wood stand. The sanding and such you see in the one pic was for me to scuff the poly coating they had on the wood inside for the primer to hold. It will be getting white appliance paint this weekend after I spend time to tape it off again. I have the LED lights coming today as well as the return pump and most of the valves I will need.
I made a run to HD and Lowes last weekend to get pipe and some other fittings. I need to cut and fit everything then I will disassemble and paint the plumbing. Ideas for what color are more then welcome!!!! I was thinking like a silver for the main drains, red for the emergency, and blue for return/manifold. That way everything would be color coded so I know *** is going on under there.
Yes the skimmer fits though tighter then I thought it would be. This will work for now but since I went much larger for tank footprint I can see a custom sump being on order within the next year. Probably a custom synergy or building an obsession sump with a bigger refugium built into it. I can easily give 48x24 of space up for the sump and still have room for my other equipment.
In the nano the acans are spaced about what they will get for now. They are a driving force for the new tank to hurry up and get done. I could have some serious money fragging them once they have the space to mature.
You know I had no idea that was a monti for the longest time. Nor did it have any polyps till I switched to the Kessil. It was very bland and I thought it was dead as my cousin gave it to me. It just was a cool thing stickig out off of my rocks. Then it exploded with these nice green polyps and the skeleton took on a great purple color. It could easily be mistaken for a bonsai almost.
I still need to get the cyano under control though. In a way the new tank getting up and running will be an instant fix as all livestock I am keeping will go into the qt tank after dipping so I can change over the nano to a frag and finish the cycle on the main tank.
Still have some shopping to do online for the tank. Going to order in a kore 5th doser through reefomania as he is only US distributor at the moment. With BF sale it is quite a bit cheaper then even the lightly used on in the for sale section and it can handle AWC either with the current pumps or its add on module I will be buying to control 2 external DC pumps.
Need the wife to order in some reactors for me and a few of the other things I have on the BRS wish list. I told her to use my account for the points but I think she knows I will see the emails and instantly know what I am getting. Though when you give a list for someone to go off of how surprised can you really be come Xmas morning???
still needed items:
second reactor for main tank
mini reactor for nano
ATO and dosing containers from BAO since they have sensors built in
powerheads (really trying to decide between WAV and RW here. WAV more expensive but better quality I would imagine...)
heaters
frag rack for nano
water storage tanks from tractor supply
soulpatch
New member
At the top click thread tools then subscribe.
THat said eventually I will split these two tanks so the large tank has its own build thread. That will happen shortly as more parts are coming in and I will be transferring my efforts to the large build.
timfederwitz
New member
I'd be interested in the GSP"¦ my wife said she'd like the whole tank to be GSP. While that ain't happenin', I could add more.
What are the Palys?
soulpatch
New member
you can have as much gsp as you want Tim. The palys are the zoa looking things with eye lashes almost. LOL. They are the things covering the rock to the left of my acans.
Well ordered my kore 5th doser today with awc module. Also planning on ordering a WAV unit today as well. My budget for the remainder of the year is BLOWN. Need rock, heaters, and other things yet. Though I think I should have everything I need to get the tank assembled for the most part.
Well ordered my kore 5th doser today with awc module. Also planning on ordering a WAV unit today as well. My budget for the remainder of the year is BLOWN. Need rock, heaters, and other things yet. Though I think I should have everything I need to get the tank assembled for the most part.
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