BeltedCoyote’s reboot: the birth of the leviathan

[BeltedCoyote]

So another small update. After discussing things with the wife to be and re-measuring the room my tank will be in, I think I may end up going with a 7ft tank that’s wider than 24in. That way there will be 4ft counters built in on either side of the tank.

also, we may possibly have a seahorse tank because wife to be loves them. I’ll take care of them of course but still, I’m a fan of the idea

 

[KingTideCorals]

So another small update. After discussing things with the wife to be and re-measuring the room my tank will be in, I think I may end up going with a 7ft tank that’s wider than 24in. That way there will be 4ft counters built in on either side of the tank.

also, we may possibly have a seahorse tank because wife to be loves them. I’ll take care of them of course but still, I’m a fan of the idea

Seahorse and gorgonian tank!!! MACROS too!

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Seahorse and gorgonian tank!!! MACROS too!

That is already the plan LOL

 

[BeltedCoyote]

As I sit here, contemplating my build I realize I haven’t posted in my thread for a while.

so I’m not sure if I’m going 7 or 8 foot. My wonderful better half has gotten my go ahead to have a “she shed” in part of the garage so apparently 8ft tank is back on the table.

I went ahead and did some more pricing out for the tank itself. I’ve decided I’m going with Glass Cages after all. Turns out the cost of either a 7 or 8 foot from them isn’t drastically different between the two sizes. And they’re far less than any of the other manufacturers I’ve looked at- even planet aquarium. That and @Joe Glass Cages is just good people who cares about hobbyists like you or me. What’s not to love?

I’ve been thinking about what will end up being my QT tank. As of now I have a FO 40b set up which I had planned on using as QT down the line. Now, however, I think I may go with a new 55g or so instead. There are a few reasons for this:

1) I plan on having tangs eventually and want to be able to provide as much room as I feasibly can so 55g>40b
2) the upper plastic rim on my 40b is really torn up. So much so that I can’t really get any sort of lid to fit. When I have wrasses and such down the line, this will inevitably be a problem.
3) it’s going to be a while yet before I get my big tank. I’m sorely tempted to go ahead and buy some LR from KP or similar, use it with some of the marco I have to get it seeded, and try my hand at keeping a mini reef that will eventually be transferred to the leviathan.

as for number three, I suppose I could just use the 120g I have and not sell it. But I really don’t want to do that to my coworker who’s ended up being a great friend

 

[swiss1939]

I would suggest doing a smaller tank while you wait. Its not an easy thing to maintain, so it would benefit you to start smaller and get used to it and go through some pitfalls with a smaller tank before jumping into the bigger one. Best part of it is you will already have the starter rock and livestock for the larger tank once you are ready for it.

I wiped out half my coral already just from trying to defeat dinos when they weren't bothering my corals to begin with. You want to make those types of learning mistakes before you spend a ton of money on a big tank.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

I would suggest doing a smaller tank while you wait. Its not an easy thing to maintain, so it would benefit you to start smaller and get used to it and go through some pitfalls with a smaller tank before jumping into the bigger one. Best part of it is you will already have the starter rock and livestock for the larger tank once you are ready for it.

I wiped out half my coral already just from trying to defeat dinos when they weren't bothering my corals to begin with. You want to make those types of learning mistakes before you spend a ton of money on a big tank.

When you say smaller, what size are you picturing. But yeah, that’s kind of where my minds at

 

[swiss1939]

When you say smaller, what size are you picturing. But yeah, that’s kind of where my minds at

Since you are doing dsr ez, i would think 20-30gal max. Since you aren't doing water changes as much and dosing, it would hopefully be a little more stable and not as much work as without dsr dosing.

I almost wish i went with a smaller tank and i only have 34 gal display, 43 gal total.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Since you are doing dsr ez, i would think 20-30gal max. Since you aren't doing water changes as much and dosing, it would hopefully be a little more stable and not as much work as without dsr dosing.

I almost wish i went with a smaller tank and i only have 34 gal display, 43 gal total.

30 or so gallons would be easier to sell with the SO as well. Time to get my pondering hat on

 

[KingTideCorals]

YES NANO!

Nano it now and I am enabling you to push for that EIGHT FEET!!! Love seeing the head tinkering!

 

[BeltedCoyote]

YES NANO!

Nano it now and I am enabling you to push for that EIGHT FEET!!! Love seeing the head tinkering!

To sump or not to sump?! So many questions!!

also, is it such that I should make a nano thread as well?

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Hello all.

I’ve been away for a while and just dealing with life. I’ve had some time to think about things in the interim. And I’ve made a few decisions. First of all, I’m still going to work towards my dream tank. But I’m going to take my time with it, as I mentioned before. I find myself still wanting to have a slice of ocean in my house so in the meantime I’m thinking I’m going to run with my 120g and use it as a learning experience.

I have a few reasons behind this. First is, I have just about everything I need to get it going, just missing some actual maricultured rock, a cover, and I will probably grab a tank from a local dollar per gallon sale for a larger sump. That and I need to get it moved to the house.

eventually I also want to add a hydros system. But that can wait a little bit.

this way at least I can still get my coral and fish fix while I slowly work towards the dream lol.

so next thing I’m going to do is get my RoDI set up at the house and start curing/cycling the marco rock I have while I wait for the approval of my better half to get the tank, stand, etc moved.

thanks so much for everyone’s patience!

 

[Reefer of Oz]

Good to see you are alive and still pondering all this brother! Especially when you are talking about “dream tanks” in this craft, that seems like it is a hard ask for a first setup. Getting the learning curve out of the way on a smaller (read: cheaper with less potential for large scale heartbreak) system sounds like a good plan dude. Stay the course, nothing good in reefing happens quickly! Keep us posted on progress. Seems like you had it all dialed for a nice system.

By the way, I had great experiences with rock from GulfLiverock, Liverock n Reef and KP Aquatics when I started up my system. Great rock from all 3.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

So I’m going to pose a question for the folks who follow my build. I’m looking at getting a controller (main things I want are the security blanket of being able to remotely shut of malfunctioning equipment, as well as the monitoring of things like Params and water level).

as of now I’m torn between two manufacturers: Neptune and coralvue.

overall I’m leaning towards HYDROS. I just really like the idea of the trident from Neptune. Auto testing seems like a dream and a big part of keeping things stable.

thing is, the trident is the only reason I can come up with to go with Neptune. Otherwise I’m hydros all the way.

what does everyone else think?

 

[BeltedCoyote]

I did a thing LOL

I have purchased the last bit of equipment I want/need for the coyote 120g.

finally paid off a hospital bill that was two years in the making, so I decided to follow the advice:

So what did you do Coyote?! (People would ask if my life was interesting enough to be a YouTube star)

Welllll....since I’m pretending you asked lol:
Hydros control 4 starter kit
Extra power strip
Hydros ato kit
Hydros rope leak detector
Hydros wave engine
Second Max spect xf330
(Went with hydros after all ;Woot)

the only purchases/to-do-list-things that remain are:
Another 40b for the sump
Baffles for the above
Getting gfci set up
Finally setting up my 7 stage RoDI
Moving tank here
Deciding where I’ll snag 30lbs of LR
Also a good lid
Dosing pumps
Maybe a Ca reactor if I decide to pretend I’m fancy lol
And finally an ATS down the line


I’m going to be taking my time once the tank is here. I plan on doing my best to plumb my build like the glorious old salts here about. I also want to give the ecosystem plenty of time to stabilize. Especially because I’ll be starting with dry rock and adding LR in most likely after the tank is wet.

as of right now I just have 3 fish and a few hermits to move over. So they’ll get there new home and then that’ll be it for a while.

did I mention I’m excited? Lol

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Also, behold my fuzzy son!!!

(we adopted a pup a couple months ago)

 

[fishguy242]

hey,congrats on both..just love the last pic...

 

[BeltedCoyote]

hey,congrats on both..just love the last pic...

Thanks Frank! Yeah, Rusty is his name and he is the best combo of playful, goofy, loving, and scary smart. Just what I like in a dog. As far as the first bit, I’m excited. Two years of paying that Bill, well, makes me even more thankful I never went with student loans. As far as the gear.......

anyway, I appreciate you and everyone else following along. I’ve got about 200 pages worth to catch up on your build LOL.

 

[fishguy242]

Rusty ...
only 200..not bad..;Facepalm

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Rusty ...
only 200..not bad..;Facepalm

Haha yeah, well, I did take a bit of a hiatus from R2R and pursuing my build. Give me a few days, I’ll get caught up

 

[BeltedCoyote]

So although I’m under the weather, a package showed up.... getting more excited...

anyway, here’s a quick pick of what showed up: