240g Blair Reef Project

[SteveG_inDC]

i thought I was going to have all pretty colored pipe with grey schedule 80 fittings but alas I didn’t plan well. Decided not to hold up the project for aesthetics of stuff that’s hidden away.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Aquascape!! What do you think?
Video here on Instagram

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Looking back over the last two months, I can finally cross some things off the list. Making progress!

I am going insane waiting.
I look at other build threads and it feels like other reefers place some orders, do some plumbing, and bing bang boom they are pouring water into the tank.

This is my chain of events that has to happen, in reverse chronological order. Read this list as <item> "but before that, I have to..." <next item>

Fill tank, but before that I have to...
Aquascape quickly before the bacteria on the rock I've been curing for 6 months dies off, but before that...
Put in sand and rock
Plumb water (water-changing and ATO) to sump tank to floor drain or laundry sink
Test plumbing with 200+ gallons of water
Plumb a bean animal and plumb DT to sump tank
Mount tank on stand
Assemble stand & level
Move water changing station back into place, mount RO/DI on wall
Patch and paint walls, install PVC base molding (requires moving everything including water changing station and laundry sink)
Install new half-walls around tank area (this will close off existing doorway, leaving only smaller entrance)
Move any large items that will be hard to maneuver through the new smaller doorway, e.g. workbench, QT stand, dehumidifer
Move 6' tank into the fishroom
Electrical: install two new circuits and place new GFI outlets strategically; replace ceiling light fixture with track lighting
Demolition 2: remove existing door and open up walls and new doorway area, remove existing drywall from fishroom
Demolition 1: jackhammer slab floor to create a sump pit and drain with sump pump plumbed to house waste line
Get city permits for basement renovation
Repair window well outside the fishroom window (2' below grade), which floods during heavy rains

Other things I can do while waiting:
- Finish plumbing and test water mixing station
- Finish building and water-testing sump (done, but I can upgrade some more using existing bulkheads)
- Research and purchase lights, wavemakers, and controllers
- Set up Q-tank and get additives, conditioners, and test kits/monitors/probes (calibrate or update reagents for ones I already have)

When this is all done I'll be too exhausted and broke to bother with fish or corals. An expensive Live Rock Only tank!

My prediction about being tired and having spent too much money is coming true. I have a tally of expenses but I'm afraid to look at it. Biggest surprise was how much I've spent on plumbing.

Next up, finish aquascape, put in tank, and add sand and water.
But before that, I have to rinse hundreds of pounds of sand and make ~280 gallons of salt water. So far I've made about 60 gallons and have two 55g drums filling up for the next two batches. Then I'll need more NSW for the Q tank which I need to move from temporary location to the far end of the fish room. (I wish I could ensure 10' distance to avoid aerosols contamination risk, but the room is only so big).

 

[SteveG_inDC]

I noticed I don't get a lot of comments on my build thread, so I tend to post questions about the build in the other forums.

Question seeking advice on flow
Question seeking feedback on my stocking plan
Question seeking feedback on my bean animal drain plumbing
Question about plumbing aesthetics.
Question about aquascaping with live rock

 

[SteveG_inDC]

New gear purchases:
* Skimmer: RO 250 EXT coming next week. Woo hoo. I won't need it right away, but excited.
* Grounding probe coming tomorrow. I am afraid to touch my water until then!
* Tunze ATO. It was on sale at BRS. Could not resist.

To buy:
* cover for the tank and two Q-tanks (20g and 30g)
* wavemaker: big dilemma here. My preference is MP-60 on right wall, but I don't want a big fat dryside on the viewing pane.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

This has been a huge week. Being Thanksgiving, I'd say I have much to be thankful for. Focusing on the reef tank, I'm happy that I got the aquascape done and rocks put in tank. Between the glue, mortar, broken bits of rock, and dust, and especially all the seawater I used to keep the live rock alive, that was a messy job! Putting it into the tank was fun.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Took a while to make 200+ gallons of seawater even with a 2x55 gallon mixing station, but here is the tank empty then filled with sand and rock. Rinsing 200+ lbs. of sand was messy too. Still sweeping up sand from that job two days later.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Now that the tank is up and running, I have to turn out the lights and wait. Time to organize the fish room. Also, need to move the media and contents of a QT running in the other room to the QT here. THinking about using the one

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Now that the tank is up and running, I have to turn out the lights and wait. Time to organize the fish room. Also, need to move the media and contents of a QT running in the other room to the QT here. THinking about using the one

Not pictured is my pride and joy, the 5-foot long floor drain. Also, there's a small freezer under the table for food. Track lights above can be re-angled to wherever I need light for a task, including the sump. Still need to set up the control board which will go next to tank, lower right of this photo, and organize those messy shelves above the water mixing station.

 

[Linkfalcon]

keep up the good work man I'm also in the nova area

 

[SteveG_inDC]

First Fish!


Just added 6 banggai cardinal fish.

For the past month I’ve been cycling a quarantine tank (QT) and lowered the specific gravity to 1.018. Will gradually raise it and observe the fish. On day 2 they are eating well and look good. Will try to observe for two weeks without medication. They were in the LFS system with 0.5 copper.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Update:
While the cardinalfish are chilling in the quarantine tank (observation only for now), I'm making some upgrades to the display tank.

• Installed Tunze ATO in an old 3.5 gallon reservoir that I used on my old reef tank. The float valve was trashed so I bought a new one and will be plumbing it to some tubing tee'd off from my RO/DI output line.
• Installed Tunze Turbelle wavemaker. Thing is a beast. I also have deep sand, so that's being rearranged LOL. I don't mind the uneven distribution. Looks like the ocean. Even has wave patterns, just from the pump set at 20% power.
• Set up the skimmer: Reef Octopus 250 EXT Royale edition. It leaks big time, so I have to check all the connections. Also, the supplied output line doesn't reach the water line and I can't figure out how to extend it. The pipe dimension appears non-standard.
• Installed two Kasa automated switches, so now all my lights are on one and all my QT equipment is on another and I can voice-control them all (and schedule them) through Amazon Alexa. I'm trying to stick it to The Man by not getting an Apex controller.
• Two 300 watt heaters are on an Inkbird controller.

I also started to cycle this bad boy. Big disappointment is that the rock I was trying to cure for 9 months in bins ended up completely sterile. Maybe I didn't dose enough ammonia (I hardly dosed any), maybe I left it out in the air too long while aquascaping, but it provided zero ammonia reduction. So I bought 16 oz. of Dr. Tim's One-and-only and a bottle of ammonium chloride and I've started his fishless cycle method. So far, I've spiked the ammonia, but it's not come down. Hope I get better test results tomorrow.

Too bad because my QT cycled just fine with ghost feeding it flakes. Maybe I should move the sponge to the DT since it's new and I've never treated it with copper. But I did buy it used and who knows what the previous guy used it with. I should have sterilized it first. Oh well. At least I won't risk moving my QT sponge to the DT.

I started feeding the cardinals and it looks like they'll take frozen mysid, but they are a bit big, so maybe I can get each fish to eat one mysid at a time. They spit out the pellet food, but I made some live brine and they went crazy for that.

All my family and friends keep asking when the display tank will be full of fish. They don't understand how important it is to go slow. It's hard. I was at the LFS and they have a really nice clown tang that I would love to add, but not ready. Trying to put aggressive fish in later.

 

[Poseidon's snail]

following!

 

[Mydoghasfleas]

Love the aquascape and build man. Good work!

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

Looking good. I’m suprised the rock from the bins didn’t have any signs of life. Your scape is looking great. You don’t need an apex to have a killer reef. I bought one for dosing and testing while Im traveling this winter, but dreading the rewire job and re work of the fire hazard wiring of mine.. lol.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Love the aquascape and build man. Good work!

Thanks! It was a lot of work. Rewarding by itself but nice to get recognition from fellow reefers.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Looking good. I’m suprised the rock from the bins didn’t have any signs of life. Your scape is looking great. You don’t need an apex to have a killer reef. I bought one for dosing and testing while Im traveling this winter, but dreading the rewire job and re work of the fire hazard wiring of mine.. lol.

My two Kasa power strips are working out great so far and my reef is all voice activated. I’m not as thrilled with the Inkbird but it’s fine. I use tunze’s stock controller for my wave maker. I’ll post pics when I have the cord management problem solved.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

I thought my rock was all sterile from spending 9 months in a bin with no food source, but after spending a week in the QT where I've been feeding generously, this little bristleworm made an appearance. Wow, what a survivor!

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Just installed a solution for the back glass. Right now you see straight through to the fishroom, which my wife would rather keep hidden, so I bought a blackout rollershade shade from BlindsDirect and installed it in the ceiling behind the tank. This lets me pull it down for a neat black background as seen from the family room, or I can raise it and see the tank from the fishroom when I'm in there working (or having a cold beverage listening to music).

Here is the tank shot where you can see the fishroom through the back glass.

Here is the shot, but with the shade pulled down.

Here is the view from the fishroom with the shade up and then down.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Livestock additions:

5 female lyretail anthias
CUC from reef cleaners (~260 snails of various types and a peppermint shrimp)