The Radion Nano

[CRJ]

Well, I started my build in the wrong section.. :thumbdown

Short back story. In 2013, I setup a Miracles rimless 60, which I had for about 3 years. When we moved, I took it down and never got around to setting it back up. After two years of it sitting empty collecting dust, I sold it. That leads me to this project. I have a bunch of gear left from my previous tanks, so I decided to do a all-in-one tank out of the way and give my fish a better home.

My 60 Gal. I already miss this tank (The two Clowns in this picture are the same two clowns that will be in my new tank).

The Plan:
Radion G1 mounted under the hood
400gph return pump with dual output
Dual heaters
tunze 9001 skimmer
tunze osmolator nano
Maxspect Gyre or twin AC pumps.
APC Battery backup to run return pump and heater in the event of a power failure for about 2 hours (generator for longer periods).


I picked up my tank and stand used for $200. It was priced cheap as the lighting in it was a mess of wires and shoddy workmanship, but for me it was perfect! I started by cleaning everything and gutting the old lights to make room for my Radion G1.

First Test

After a vinegar bath and some scrubbing.

Below the tank I will keep my chemicals, ATO reservoir, battery backup and controllers.

I have been cycling old live rock that dried out for the past 5 weeks, and it finally has stabilized. Testing it every two days I watched each level spike the fall off, to which it is now 0-0.05 ammonia and 0 nitrite. Below are results I was getting.

Jan 29th. Rock scrubbed and washed. Started in tub with pump and heater. 1.021 Sal, 74*

Feb 1. 75.1*, 1.020 Sal, Ammonia 8ppm+, Nitrite 5ppm+, Nitrate 10ppm, Phosphate 2.50, Phosban media started.

Feb 3. 76.1*, 1.020 Sal, Ammonia 10ppm+, Nitrite 5ppm+, Nitrate 50ppm, Phosphate 1.04

Feb 5. 76*, 10.20 Sal, Ammonia 10ppm+, Phosphate 0.99. (At this point I stopped testing Nitrite and Nitrate as for now they aren't relevant)

Feb 10th. 76*, 1.020 Sal, Ammonia 10ppm+, Phosphate 1.10. (At this point I am seeing the Phosphate creep back up signalling the exhaustion of the GFO. I also chose to do a 100% water change of the tub to help speed up the process and remove much of the ammonia)

Feb 10th, 10PM that night, 12hrs after WC. 1.022 Sal, Ammonia 1.5ppm. I expect some of this was from rot, some from ammonia in the wet rocks.

Feb 13th. 1.022 Sal, 76*, Ammonia 0.25ppm, Nitrite 2.5ppm, Nitrate 5ppm, Phosphate 0.69. Phosphate media changed as new water has 0 phosphate, further confirming GFO exhaustion.


Last night I filled the tank and added my salt. Its very exciting to see it running finally!

Next up is the aquascape and sand.

 

[aaron86]

That radion will burn up in that hood


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LedZep fan2]

Looks great!

My recommendation would be to cut some slits into the top of the hood to allow a little better heat transfer to the Radion. There used to be a member here (taphil, I believe) who did the same thing but cut some openings into the top of the hood so that there would be better ventilation. You can always add computer fans to the back of the hood (where they were placed by the manufacturer).

That is my recommendation. Figured I would propose an adjustment rather than just tell you it will "burn up"

 

[CRJ]

That radion will burn up in that hood


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That was one concern I had. I addressed it by adding fans to the hood. The light runs at 40% peak, so it is running within its acceptable temperature range. It pulls fresh air from above the water and warm air leaves through the existing hood vents.

Looks great!

My recommendation would be to cut some slits into the top of the hood to allow a little better heat transfer to the Radion. There used to be a member here (taphil, I believe) who did the same thing but cut some openings into the top of the hood so that there would be better ventilation. You can always add computer fans to the back of the hood (where they were placed by the manufacturer).

That is my recommendation. Figured I would propose an adjustment rather than just tell you it will "burn up"

That is exactly what I was thinking. I will use the factory fans to help the Radion.

 

[CRJ]

Just a quick update. The tank is up to temp, salinity is a little low at 1.023 but I will raise it, the sand is rinsed and I am working on the rock. I was inspired by a minimalistic approach combined with negative space and a floating ledge look. I have always taken up most of the space with a low large surface area, which I like, but I think sections the tank off too much. While I don't want a centre vertical tower, I do want there to be around 2-3" of space between the rock and wall/glass for easy cleaning, great flow and lots of swimming room. Here is where I am at now.

 

[CRJ]

A few clearer shots. Thoughts?

My inspiration, but scaled down to Biocube size.

 

[RonV]

Nice start, it will look great after it's cycled and you have corals in there.

You need to get your glass cleaner out of the sand.

 

[CRJ]

Nice start, it will look great after it's cycled and you have corals in there.

You need to get your glass cleaner out of the sand.

Thanks! The magnet cleaner stays far away from the sand, I learned that quickly on my first tank! With the rock cycled in another container for 6 weeks it should be ready shortly, testing it tonight though to check!

I am debating if I should go higher with the rock or leave it alone.

 

[RonV]

Thanks! The magnet cleaner stays far away from the sand, I learned that quickly on my first tank! With the rock cycled in another container for 6 weeks it should be ready shortly, testing it tonight though to check!

I am debating if I should go higher with the rock or leave it alone.

It just looked like it was in the sand to me, sorry old man with bad eyes here.

Personally, I would leave the rock as it is. It will fill out a lot when you get your corals in there and growing. A 100 people can tell you how much rock to put in or take out But, it's how you want It that counts.

 

[CRJ]

Things are going well. Levels are where they should be, even after feeding the tank. I have started my refugium with cheato and a led lamp on the back of the tank. My pre-refugium Phosphate as per hanna checker was 0.16ppm. I will try the cheato out for the week and test every couple days to see if its helping. Nitrates are currently undetectable. I am doing this to get in front of any algae growth in the display as I now have the light on its schedule.

I've moved my angel and a few hermits over to the display, as water conditions are showing cycled rock, but will continue to test every other day for the next 2 weeks to monitor ammonia and nitrite levels.

 

[CRJ]

Well we came home yesterday afternoon to my temp monitor freaking out. My heater stuck off in my old tank, and the new tank is running my spare, so I have moved the clowns to the cube. Going to grab another spare tonight.

Quick shot before the clowns went in. I have been testing and everything is looking good.
Ammonia is at 0ppm and I am keeping an eye on it with water already mixed. Nitrite 0, Nitrate undetectable. PH is sitting at 8.0. I am very excited to test phosphate tonight and see if the cheato is helping it. The test before adding it was 0.16ppm on my hanna checker.

I am considering a reefkeeper type system that can notify me of power loss, water leak or temp and ph swings. The house is setup with a few smart devices like lights and smoke detectors, which is too handy for making changes or monitoring things from anywhere. any advise on which platform is a good value for the money? I have heard on power outages the apex isnt great to restart?

 

[jgal912]

my apex has saved me many times

 

[CRJ]

So far first month in, I have been having great success! It shows nothing beats experience.

I started the tank with 6 week cured dead live rock, and still had some phosphate from the rock. I started the tank also with a small baseball size of cheato. My levels were 5ppm Nitrate and 0.61ppm Phosphate after week 1. I noticed week two I was getting some algae growth on the rock, so i removed the red spectrum of light from my radio schedule.

The rock algae is now gone, the glass needs cleaning once every two weeks. My cheato has exploded and grown probably 5X its original size. its almost outgrown the second chamber of the overflow!

Phosphates are down to a reasonable 0.19.

And I did find a little speck of hair algae in the cheato which I removed, none in the chamber.

I am running the cheato on this 13W work light. It was $30 CAD, 120* beam and 1000 Lumens. It is stuck directly to the back of the chamber on the outside, one a timer that is opposite my lighting to keep a level PH and great growth. My tank has a 11hr light schedule and a 13 hr refugium schedule.
http://www.tscstores.com/WORKLIGHT-LED-1000-LUMENS-P49049.aspx

 

[CRJ]

Its been great to finally have a maintenance free system, besides topping up water. once the RODi unit is ordered, the only husbandry will be glass cleaning weekly and daily feeding!

And that is some loose cheato growing on the rock.

 

[OceanJack]

Awesome setup! Makes me miss my nuvo fusion