Step-by-step account of my first reef (with lots of pics)

[melev]

Here's the link to my thread, as of a few days ago. I have a feeling you're unsubscribed for whatever reason. You can get caught up and enjoy a video in the process.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=7797717#post7797717

<b>Divetime</b> - if you have the funds, you might choose to go with the Oceans Motions device to alternate the return flow. That would be nice and varies the water movement in your tank. The SCWD worked great for me, and I never had a problem. Rumors of a 1" model were out for a long time, but I never saw a real one. The 1" model would have made our lives so much easier.

There is no reason you can't just have a closed loop that just pushes water out both outlets at once. It would provide flow in the tank, and you could attach locline to alter its direction each week if you really wanted to.

 

[Dudester]

bubblethumper - Come on now, don't be scared

Divetime - Thanks for reading and contributing. I often think this thread is getting too long for people to start reading, since seeing more than 20 pages can be a little intimidating. Hopefully the contents are valuable enough to continue to attract new subscribers.
Overall I'm happy with my closed loop. I would change a few things. First, for the drain pipe, I'd either use the material that Melev referenced several pages back instead of the drilled PVC, or I'd cut the PVC like a spray bar instead of with all of the holes. The holes become clogged with coraline algae, and that hinders the return a bit. Cleaning them out with a pipe cleaner is a royal PITA. Secondly, I would use the 1" OceansMotions Omniflex nozzles on the returns instead of the locline. Locline is 3/4", and this not only restricts flow a little, but it also increases the complexity of the plumbing a bit. I plan on plumbing the Omniflex nozzles onto my CL eventually. I agree with Melev that the OceansMotions device is quite nice, but for the price you really can't beat a SCWD. Sure, I've had problems with mine, but I seem to be in the minority. If I can't get mine to stop rattling, I'll just get another one. Afterall, they're only about $30. I wouldn't recommend you letting both sides of a closed loop flow continuously, since this wouldn't provide any random or chaotic currents. Changing the positions of the returns every week sounds like too much work to me, and turning ball valves on a regular basis sounds like torture. Some alternating current, either via a wavemaker device (like the ReefKeeper, Tunze multicontroller, etc.) is highly desirable, but not essential. I've been very happy with the Mag12 pump plumbed externally. Others have written about problems with this setup, but fortunately I've had none. It's easy to clean, and it seems to be quite reliable. I have no experience with alternate pumps, so I can't compare it to any others.

Marc - Yep, I must have gotten unsubscribed somehow. There were actually 2 videos for me to enjoy (nice work, by the way). I had over a month of catch-up to do. From now on, if I don't get a notice about your thread for more than a day, I'm just going to look for it on the Reef forum - a month is a lot of reading on your thread!

 

[techreef]

I wouldn't recommend you letting both sides of a closed loop flow continuously, since this wouldn't provide any random or chaotic currents.

I was reading a bunch of WetWeb threads and how-to's before I built my 9-nozzle CL, and understood that if you could direct some of the nozzles so that the flow coming out of them collided with each other, that would generate random, non-planar water flow. What do you guys think? Maybe this won't work?

 

[Divetime]

:bounce1: Thanks for the advise & information Dudester & Melev

 

[Dudester]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7834271#post7834271 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by techreef
I was reading a bunch of WetWeb threads and how-to's before I built my 9-nozzle CL

9-nozzle CL? ... please post pics (I'm not worthy).
Sure, the setup you describe would work just fine, but it would work even better if you control it with an OceansMotions 4-way or 8-way that would direct flow to different combinations of nozzles, thus increasing the randomness, randomification, randomosity, randomtude, uh, I mean, water would just go every which way. This would complicate the plumbing a little, but it's probably worth it, and it's another project :thumbsup:

Divetime - Don't mention it

 

[Dudester]

Just a quickie update (since I've been a slacker and haven't taken the much-overdue pics).

All of the fish are thriving! The sixline is fat and I haven't seen a flatworm in days. The chocolate tang has begun picking off of the rocks, and it's even eating bryopsis. I still haven't gotten it to eat romaine lettuce, but it loves nori off of a clip. The last fish news is that, for the first time, I saw the juvenile perc sleeping in the same frogspawn with the large female (awwww).

In other news, last night I saw a 1cm baby lettuce nudibranch. I don't know when this thing was bred, born, or whatever, since I've only had 1 mature lettuce nudi for many weeks. I'm not even sure how they breed offspring, or if they're capable of being cut like worms, creating 2 organisms from 1. At any rate, I'm excited to have seen it. If it gets washed away through the overflow it will end up in the sump and it'll never get back into the display tank unless it grows to a size large enough for me to find it and replace it. I thought this was cool, anyway. If I ever see it on the glass I'll get a picture of it - cute little bugger.

Here's a quick question for all of you tang owners: How long is it acceptable to leave nori on a clip in the tank? I understand there are phosphates in nori, so it probably shouldn't stay there indefinitely. I've left it in for about 1-2 hours and when the tang no longer shows interest, I've removed it. Does this seem OK?

 

[divecj5]

Hey Dudester, funny that you said that you thought you got somehow unsubscribed to Melev's thread because I think that same thing happened to me. I was just thinking yesterday that I hadn't heard anything from your thread in a while and wondered what was going on so needless to say I had some catching up to do (about 2 weeks worth).

Sounds like you've made some great acquisitions and things are thriving in your tank. Glad to hear that this six-line is fairing better than the last one/two (?) and that the clown is doing great as well with his mate.

Thanks for the updates and glad to hear things are going great. I'll be waiting for more pics (maybe some of the ricordia since I've come to really like them). What is the link to your other thread?

Adam

 

[techreef]

Hey Dudester,

To have you be interested in my tank is great. My CL isn't a work of art, so don't get too excited. I don't have pics of it yet, but if you're interested, I've started a new tank thread w/ pics of my setup so far over on MR. http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/reefs-beginners/14289-saying-hi-mr-new-arrival.html

I haven't had the time to duplicate everything over on a thread here on RC yet. Right now I'm cycling Part I of my TBS live rock and LS, freaking out about my water temp during this &$%( heat wave. (talk about terrific timing on my part to take delivery of my first living organisms right before the year's worst heat wave. :mad2: )

I'm a bit taken aback at how much work it is getting all the new doohickys dialed in and functioning correctly. It's taken me 2 days just to scoop some LS from my display and put it down in my refugium. I still need to wiggle my base rocks down into the sand bed so they touch the glass on the bottom of my tank.

 

[Dudester]

divecj5 - I'm still surprised I haven't gotten the old "this thread is worthless without pics" banner, since it has been too long. Now that I mentioned it, I can predict we'll be seeing that banner in no time. I'll definitely include pics of the ricordia when I do get to taking photos, as I am quite proud of their recovery after relocating them. They almost look as good as they did in my avatar.

As far as the other thread link, well, that's a little outdated, when I was planning on a 180-250g tank for my office. It's now drawn out at 450g, and I'll start the thread soon. You can rest assured that I'll post a link here once it's started. I'll probably put it in the large tank forum, or maybe the reef forum, not sure yet. Any votes out there?

techreef - I checked out your thread. Looks like a great local club you have there - that'll make all the difference in the world for you. I'm anxious to see your closed loop so let me know once you have the pics. You might want to consider mounting your RK2 inside one of the cabinet doors instead of having it out, since the unit and wire distracts from the nice cabinet and furnishings in your apartment.

 

[alexk3954]

While we wait for dudester to post some more pictures, I'll show you guys my aquarium. I have been fiddling around with the manual focus which has helped a lot, but I still need some advice on using my camera.

A full tank shot

My clam (recovering well from when it jumped right next to my tube anemone)

my green star polyps are opening up after being closed for a few days.

Does anyone know what the white things are next to the mushrooms? (baby mushrooms maybe)?

Is my urchin laying eggs or pooping on my mushrooms? This urchin really picks up anything, and even has some GSP on it.

Does anyone know what type of algae this is? It grows in small patches and is a little tough, but not slimy or hairy.

A shot from the left side

My zoos have started to spread!

My percula clownfish loves to be in pictures

My dream tank

( snorkeling in Kauai)

I also have a rainsford goby who bolts under the open brain when the camera is out.

Hopefully these pictures are good enough to inspire Dudester to take some more pictures

 

[melev]

The green stuff is Valonia.
The white stuff is sponge.

 

[alexk3954]

I thought that valonia was bubble algae, and I have a little of that so I now what it looks like. The stuff in question kind of branches out in multiple strands. Is it just another type of valonia? Is it a nuisant algae that I should remove?

 

[Dudester]

I think it's just another kind of valonia. Some are bubbly, some are more conical and clustered, and some are like yours, little patches of thick grassy matts. The "grassy" kind is quite easy to remove, although it often comes back. I've never seen my emerald crab eat the grassy form of valonia, either.

The pics are nice, so maybe tonight I'll convince my photographer (wife) to get some images of my tank and tankmates.

 

[divecj5]

Sounds great Dudester....we will be waiting

 

[alexk3954]

I joined a reef club and attended my first meeting tonight. I was talking with the president for a while and he mentioned he had a 55 gal acrylic tank that he was trying to get rid of and he said I could come by and see it and have it if I want. If I do take it I plan on drilling it and adding a sump/refugium. My question is will I be able to use my HOB remora skimmer in the sump. I seem to remember dudester having some sort of compartment in his sump where the water level was higher so that he could use his remora. What type of sump was this? Did you have to special order it?

My next question was the lights. I am trying to decide on a fixture w/ MH and actinic suplements or a t5 fixture. Does anyone want to push me in any direction with the lights? I want to be able to have more clams and an anemone without having to worry about wether I have enough lighting or not.

 

[Dudester]

Alex - I'm not able to give you any advice regarding lights. I will say this, however. Do not get this tank unless it's something you truly want. Avoid the urge just because it's free. Trust me, to equip this tank with everything you'll want/need will end up costing you a significant amount of money, and a 55g acrylic tank may not be what you truly want. You may end up investing a lot of time and money into this tank, then realize that you really wanted a 75g, or on the other hand, maybe you don't have the resources to maintain another tank or a tank that's larger than your current setup. I'm not trying to discourage you, just trying to make sure you think about it before you take it.

Regarding the HOB skimmer, yes you can use the Remora in the sump, although I'd consider a more powerful skimmer for a 55g tank if I were you. My skimmer hangs on my sump in a compartment that receives "raw" water from the tank. The skimmer compartment isn't otherwise anything special, and the water level isn't higher. The skimmer does have a little plumbing modification so that the MJ1200 powerhead is submerged beneath the water line. My sump was custom made, but I did this because I had a limited amount of space to store it in the cabinet, not to accomodate the Remora.


OK, I have a few questions of my own.

1. Regarding nori and veg for the tang, should I soak this in garlic or Selcon with each feeding (I have both already)?
2. The tang loves my food mix, and this has some macroalgae in it but not much. How often should I feed nori/veg?
3. Still waiting for an answer about how long it's safe to leave a sheet of nori in the tank?

In other news, I started replenishing the Mg in my tank with ESV B-Ionic Magnesium. My level was 1200 ppm. Last night I added 250ml of the stuff, and tonight I'm adding another 200ml. According to Randy's calculator this should increase the level to 350 ppm.

Lastly, I received a new SCWD and I'm going to try to plumb it in this weekend. I solved the loud fan issue already, and replacing my current SCWD should solve the current noise and vibration issue that I'm dealing with. I emailed 3iq (the company that makes the SCWD) 3 times and called them twice, but they never responded. Thumbs down for their current level of customer service. Maybe I should return the SCWD and get an OceansMotions Squirt instead. Hmm, now that's not a bad idea ...

 

[melev]

Just remember that Nori is a sheet of phosphate. You have a herbivorous fish in your tank that is willing to pick at the rocks. I used to put two sheets of nori in my tank daily for the six tangs, but that just made things worse over time. Now I put in 1/2 a sheet twice a week, at the most. The tangs pick at the rocks and eat dinner with the rest of the fish each night at 9pm.

Don't leave food in the tank for 24 hours. In my case, the tangs eat what is on the clip, and later that day you see nothing but the clip. The next day I'll hold the clip open for Spock, and she'll dart in and pull out the compressed speck of nori that is left over. She loves that treat.

Don't overfeed this stuff, especially in a small tank.

Magnesium - the Mg level should be three times that of the calcium. What is your current Ca reading?

I rarely get any replies from 3iQ. Strange.

 

[alexk3954]

I kind of feel like I made a mistake going with the 37 galllon. I bought it just because it fit on a stand that I already had. After a while I started to want tangs, but there was not enough room to swim. Then I fell in love with copepod eating fish like the bluestar leopard wrasse, but there was no refugium. THen I really started to like high light creatures that need more than power compacts. Its my birthday and my dad is starting to get into reefs so he said he would pay for a 4x54 t5 light setup, I have spare tanks for a refugium/sump. Then I have some birthday money from relatives to tie up the odds and ends like acrylic for the sump, return pump, and I'm starting a job when school starts, so it shouldn't be too big a problem financially to set up the tank. Then everything from the 37 is going in the 55 so I don't need to buy rock over again. My dad was also fond of the idea of easier maintenance of a larger tank with a refugium, because it's his tank after I go to college in a year. As you can see I have thought about upgrading and am not just jumping into it because of a free tank.


But getting back to your tank, why did you need to replace your scwd? Do they just go bad after a while? I was considering adding one to the 55 for more random flow.

 

[techreef]

Dudester,

For you, and anyone else who looking at the pics might help out, here are some shots of my closed loop system. I agree that I'm not wild about the Marlin pump being exposed like it is to viewing. I will eventually figure out something to cover it up. It has a neat cooling method which "encases" the hot cylinder of the pump with a wash of air generated by the fan blowing air towards the volute end of the pump, so I think I could enclose it somewhat w/ no negative temp issues.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m26/techreef/115-1530_IMG.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m26/techreef/115-1531_IMG.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m26/techreef/115-1526_IMG.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

 

[melev]

The Marlin pump uses 310w of power. That's pretty significant, compared to the Dart that only uses 160w. Looking at once site, it states the Marlin is a pressure rated pump with 1" in/out, while the Sequence is not but moves 3600gph.

I like the black plumbing.