WrasseyReefer
Valuable Member
HI everyone,
This is my first post on reef2reef. This is my build thread.
Photo is pre-removing rocks for NSA build and losing fish. Will update with new photo once NSA build is complete, and rock and fish are back in.
This is my first post on reef2reef. This is my build thread.
- 90g Visio tank, got for free on craigslist, had a lot of scratches, but it does the job. Upgraded from a 20g aqueon. I wanted more space for corals and wanted to get more fish. 20g was running for about 1 year and rocks, sand, fish, and corals were transferred into 90g (more rocks, sand, fish and corals added) which has been running for about a year now.
- 29g aqueon sump with fiji cube diy baffle kit siliconed into sump
- First chamber: two 4" filter socks
- Second chamber: Octopus Classic 150INT connected via tubing from skimmer pump to recirculating Octopus Universal CO2 Scrubber connected to Octopus CO2 Top Cover; bottom of skimmer cup drains into skimmer collection container (just a 1 gal water jug with lid and neptune optical sensor to detect liquid fullness); BRS reactor set up between skimmer and CO2 scrubber to collect excess liquid to prevent CO2 media from getting too wet
- Third chamber: refugium with sea lettuce and pom pom maroalgae glued onto rock to prevent it from clogging baffle, didn't have luck with chaeto, but might try again later; kessil H80 Tuna flora LED run at night alternating with display light; no copepods - I've tried in the past with no luck, but I plan to try again since my tank seems to be more stable now, which should increase success; plan to add copepods once rocks are back in tank
- Fourth chamber: foam filters before baffle then Sicce 4.0 return pump and Sicce 1.5 return pump for Aqua Ultraviolet 25-Watt UV sterilizer
- Monitoring/Control:
- Apex with temp and pH probes in second chamber; I'd like a salinity probe, but I've seen mixed reviews with Neptune's probe; 23" LLS for 16 gal ATO, leak detection sensor for inside cabinet floor, optical sensor for Trident waste container (just a 1 gal water bottle)
- EB832
- Trident
- Dos for alk and calc
- FMM for optical sensor for skimmer waste container, 15" LLS for sump water level in case of sock/baffle clogs, optical sensor for second tank's ATO to detect when ATO is low
- ESHOPPS Eclipse Slim Overflow Box Medium (main drain and emergency drain)
- Braided PVC tubing for ease of installation, gate valve on main drain to regulate gph
- Returns split off inside display using loc line Y fitting
- 4x Hydor Koralia 3G 2450Gph
- 100W heater
- AutoAqua Smart AWC Duo - Auto Water Changer + ATO (I don't use the ATO component)
- Tunze ATO
- 2x BRS Dosers: 1 for dosing neophosphate and 1 for dosing NoPox for carbon dosing
- Old non-dimmable ATI 8-bulb T5 that I got for dirt cheap (I think I paid like $100?) from a friend who upgraded to the dimmable version, had to replace the fans and the power supply and eventually replaced the bulbs
- I don't know how much live rock I have, but it's CaribSea South Sea Base rock; I had the boulders just stacked, but I've removed all my live rock and tried chiseling and puttying/super gluing (with baking soda) to create an NSA, but had a total disaster with the baking soda raising my alk, so that was since removed and I've started over from scratch with brand new rock, super glue, putty, and sand instead of baking soda - that is still in the works. Lost a ton of sponges, coralline, beneficial bacteria in the process, but it is what it is, that's the hobby.
- CaribSea Arag-Alive Fiji Pink Sand
- BRS 7 stage RODI
- Red Sea salt
- Corals: mixed reef, goniopora, cynarina, hammers, torch, goniastrea, montipora, zoas, sinularia, mushrooms, scoly, favia, toadstool, xenia, gorgonian, chalice, gsp, duncan, fungi plate, glove polyp, bubble, cabbage, candy cane, acan, blasto, war, palythoa, cyphastrea, brain, trachy, plating monti, branching monti, monti digitata, stylophora, acropora green slimer, and pocillipora, etc.
- Fish: (will rehome fish that outgrow tank) small one-spot foxface, small white tail bristletooth tang, small sailfin tang, lost 6 fish (midas blenny, small blue tang, cleaner wrasse, girdled fairy wrasse, blue star leopard wrasse male and female) to unknown infection even though everyone was qt'ed beforehand, think it was bacterial, fish have been in qt and treated, will go back into display once rocks are back in and tank accumulates some more beneficial bacteria
- Inverts: hermit crabs, 1 emerald crab, nassarius snails, Trochus snails, misc snails, fire shrimp, peppermint shrimp, had a cleaner shrimp that died recently from a phosphate overdose, sand sifting starfish, orange tile sea star, 3 tuxedo urchins that wear orange cone hats
- Inkbird to turn on/off my heater and/or two computer fans (each fan has two fans, so 4 total fans) that I bought on amazon that I place on top of the mesh lids to keep the tank cool (I'm in Los Angeles, and the summers get into the 105-110F); haven't wanted to spend the money on a chiller, but I probably should
- Parameters:
- Alk: 8.5
- Calc: 430-450
- Mag: 1350-1400
- pH: 8.3-8.5
- Temp: 78
- Nitrate: 1-10
- Phosphate: 0.03-0.08
- Salinity: 1.026
Photo is pre-removing rocks for NSA build and losing fish. Will update with new photo once NSA build is complete, and rock and fish are back in.
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