Bess's Reef Tank
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C-Reefer
Well-Known Member
Hahahaha that is the most understated phrase ever here on R2R. Oh yeah, a few rocks came today. I think this build will be awesome! Great to have two perspectives on it, and one person that understands the coral/fish side of it and the other the tech side of it.
Dennis McGrath
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I'd contact UPS and complain. If it's their fault, they need to expedite the shipment so you have it MUCH sooner than the 9th.
I did contact UPS through multiple means. I'm concerned because it's shipping from Arizona to Virginia. Last time we had something shipped from the West Coast, we got the fake in transit message with a delivery date. When it didn't arrive they said it was delayed and would be 3 weeks. Then at three weeks latter they admitted they lost. Same thing the second time when we reordered, only they broke it. Over all it took 5 months for the freight item to be delivered.
If the tank is not here by the 9th I'll cancel and find somewhere closer to source the tank from.
Retro Reefer
Slow and steady wins the race!
Sounds like the makings of a great tank.. welcome to R2R!
Nother question.
So I saw somewhere that a guy was building baffles for splinting a sump in two for the 525 XL. Does anyone know if he is using a 3D printer? Always wanted a reason to buy a 3D printer.
So I saw somewhere that a guy was building baffles for splinting a sump in two for the 525 XL. Does anyone know if he is using a 3D printer? Always wanted a reason to buy a 3D printer.
Mjp83
Community Member
Welcome and you are at a great place to get started. I don’t know about the 3 D printer but it certainly is worth a try. I used plexiglass, and I’d did not cause any trouble for me.
Also, here is my advice:
1. Don’t sell the Rubi, I put a V8 in my 2011 JKU and wouldn’t give it up for anything.
2. I sanitize with a low bleach solution, 50-100 ppm is same as food service. I just rinse afterwards and let dry. I know peroxide can also be used without much trouble.
3. Take your time with plumbing and dry fit it all, before you glue!
4. I used about 50% base rock on my reef, and added real live rock from an existing tank for the rest. I found a nice reef which was being taken down, and bought all the rock out of it. I did cycle my tank, but it balanced out in three days! Live rock with an established culture is the best beginning.
5. Be patient. Coral and fish take a while to get used to your environment and water parameters. Don’t rush.
6. And as most have stated, get a fellow reefer to help you set up. I had a colleague help me and he had some neat little tricks up his sleeve.
7. Look up Randy-Holmes Farely, I use his simple reef method and have learned a lot from his awesome explanations on Reef Chemistry.
Best luck, and saltwater will blow the fresh water literally out of the water!
Also, here is my advice:
1. Don’t sell the Rubi, I put a V8 in my 2011 JKU and wouldn’t give it up for anything.
2. I sanitize with a low bleach solution, 50-100 ppm is same as food service. I just rinse afterwards and let dry. I know peroxide can also be used without much trouble.
3. Take your time with plumbing and dry fit it all, before you glue!
4. I used about 50% base rock on my reef, and added real live rock from an existing tank for the rest. I found a nice reef which was being taken down, and bought all the rock out of it. I did cycle my tank, but it balanced out in three days! Live rock with an established culture is the best beginning.
5. Be patient. Coral and fish take a while to get used to your environment and water parameters. Don’t rush.
6. And as most have stated, get a fellow reefer to help you set up. I had a colleague help me and he had some neat little tricks up his sleeve.
7. Look up Randy-Holmes Farely, I use his simple reef method and have learned a lot from his awesome explanations on Reef Chemistry.
Best luck, and saltwater will blow the fresh water literally out of the water!
As for the rubi, I use to go out wheeling all the time, but a 3 year old, means I got a few years until I do that again.
Were just now assembling the rock. We'll probably hand pick a few from a local reef store we found last night. I think that will be the hardest part, setting it up with out obstructing the water flow. My base rock is old fossilized coral pulled from the ground. Fairly porous, I'm also adding a couple 8x8x4 MarinePure ceramic blocks as living space for the microbiome. The rest is all stuff I'm experienced with.
Hopefully too much wont go wrong, but I'm sure some stuff will.
RtomKinMad
Well-Known Member
How about a quarantine tank for new fish?We didn’t when we started and have been doing ick management ever since for 300 gal reef. Now have a 20gal and 40gal quarantine tanks. we think our UV steriler helps also but the reviews on this are mixed. Hope you do a build threat. Have fun! My husband dose all our plumbing, electronics and coral placement.. I do the fish and health of them! It’s well!
300 Gallons, that's huge. If I went that big I'd have to put it in the basement, due to the weight. Quarantine tank is a good idea, we've already dealt with ick in the freshwater tank and the UV light worked real well. Thanks.
RtomKinMad
Well-Known Member
Good morning! When we started we got a 75 gal 4’ and I said, “wow that’s a really big tank”! But when we went to Chicago to the aquarium and I saw how big my little fish were going to get I said, “ we’re gonna need a bigger tank!” So we found the 300gal by accident on sale brand new and bought it but it took a year to get everything together we needed. Thank goodness we have a family room that is an addition to our house and is build on a crawl space instead of basement, we had to put 4 jacks up under the joices to support the weight. Just Incase! We drilled a whole in floor and plumbed down through the crawl space 20ft to regular basement and my husband built his own sump out of a 120gal fresh water tank we got in line for 100$. Works well and is super convenient for water changes and maintenance. We also have a 180gal fish only in the living room, wanted bigger but wasn’t sure about the weight. We also drilled the plumbing through the floor to basement. So we have two sumps in the basement, RODI water station and had a plumber install a large double utility sink! Have to give up Harley’s to pay for fish! Now I wish we had done a 500gal. Next house will for sure build in a 500gal tank. Maybe 5-7yrs! What state are you in? We are in Wisconsin and have a great LFS about 45 min from us. Owner has been to our house and helped with the sump and design. Good luck and have fun. Glad you are doing it together makes it so much better. The planning was fun for us. I am on call today and just watching my fish!
RtomKinMad
Well-Known Member
Flat pieces are nice too to make caves for the fish and stack the rocks. We’ve added more rock than what we started with!
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