Cook's 105 Planet Aquariums Crystaline Reef - 48x20

[Cook]

I've had my tank going for two years next month. I'm moving this build over from another forum, so the time stamps aren't going to reflect the original's. I will try to document the original dates as I go. It's also an opportunity to edit my build, there was so much at the beginning I didn't understand. These images are from February 17th, 2019.

 

[Cook]

Some background:

I had been out of the saltwater hobby for about 15 years before my son got interested in salt water fish. I had kept a freshwater tank since he was small. When I left the hobby, my system included metal halides and a wet dry system I built myself and I couldn't keep corals to save my life.

I bought and sold a few tanks until I found a format size I liked. I started with 74 gallon cubes which were too deep for me to get into without a step stool and ultimately bought this tank, stand, Trigger Systems 36 sump, and a Vertex Omega 130 protein skimmer off Craigslist. The stand had some water damage issues I was unaware of at the time, but it was cheap and only a few months old. I should add that Planet Aquariums was helpful and sent me touch up paint and as it turned out my local lfs had sold this system originally, so I had good support.

Because I bought used a couple of times, I accumulated 130+ lbs of live rock, a small snowflake eel, two clowns, and a green chromis, so this wasn't a from scratch startup which definitely made things easier and cost a fraction of what I would have spent otherwise. I converted the overflow from two Durso's to a Herbie and hard plumbed the two drains. I filled the system with water, let everything settle, and transferred the live rock and fish into it from a temporary tank.

 

[Cook]

Lighting: I went with an Aquatic life T5 Hybrid fixture and a Kessil AP700 that I bought new from my lfs.

Always begin with the end in mind. I originally wanted to mount my lights from the ceiling, but decided against that after I had the tank was in place and filled. That meant spending time determining how to install the Aquatic life brackets on the back of a stand that had only a 5" gap between it and the wall. My solution: I made templates from the mounting brackets, drilled holes though the stand from the inside, and bolted the mounts to the stand. This also involved disconnecting and draining the sump to drill the right side holes. This was about an 8 hour project, compared to maybe a 30 minute task before the tank was filled with water.

 

[Cook]

March 3rd, 2019

I had some issues with ATI Coral Plus bulbs which I still use, I couldn't get two of them to light in this fixture even though they were new. Aquatic Life was quick to respond to my email over the weekend even though it was outside of their business hours so kudo's to them, very nice people. I can say that for whatever reason, about 1 in four bulbs will not light and I need to exchange them to resolve. The tank had been dark for a month at this point.

 

[Cook]

Skimmer: Reef Octopus Regal 150 SSS (used purchase from local club member) - I love this skimmer. At the time I didn't have enough excess nutrients to really need it yet.

 

[Cook]

ATO: I Installed a 7.5 gallon auto top off system using the Tunze Osmolator after I got tired of adding water daily and also needing the tank to be more self sufficient for when I travel for work. I searched around online for the most reasonable acrylic option and bought one off ebay from luckreef. The icecap pictured below I sold because I didn't realize I would want two. I found a used pair of Maxspect 230 gyres that I went with instead.

 

[Cook]

May 17, 2019

Fuge light: AI Prime Fuge HD. I wouldn't do this one again for this size tank. The light itself is a great option for bigger refugiums in my opinion and the setup is easy. I have not had any issues with it, however, there is too much light scatter for my size sump. I had to add a shade to help direct the light and I still get algae in other compartments.

 

[Cook]

May 17, 2019

This is a shot of my tank as of two weeks ago. It is interesting to see the progress and even the eel came out for the occasion. I have a 40 gallon quarantine tank also that I am running for a couple fish at a time once a month. Since this pic, I have added a lawnmower blenny and a pigmy perchlet. In quarantine: 2 fire fish and a Valentini puffer. The eel is a homewrecker, but he's pretty fun and my son loves him.

Note to self: Either put the live rock in the tank before adding the substrate or support the live rock so that when the eel digs a bunch of caves, you're not in the situation I am now where the eel doesn't have a cave to live in anymore after two years. For me, my rock structure was stable so no issues there, but I'd like a do over for this one so I could add an eel cave.

 

[Cook]

June 23rd, 2019

I have been dealing with some minor algae issues, mostly bryopsis which keeps popping up in my sump. I can see the benefit of starting from scratch to try to control what one starts with. Scrubbing a couple of rocks with hydrogen peroxide took care of some hair algae I was having trouble with around my leather coral.

Here are some coral pics. The leather I got with the tank, it was just a stalk that had been cut in half. Pretty amazing how it has recovered.

 

[Cook]

November 6th, 2019

"And bad mistakes, I've made a few...." It's been a while since I updated this tanks progress. I have been struggling with a collection of algae's for the last two months. This stuff popped up in April and I was able to control it with the chaeto and Chemi Pure Elite. Some of this stuff came in on the rock from my Craigslist purchase of this tank. My main nemesis now is Green Hair Algae which also eventually overtook my chaeto in the sump.

Steps I have taken: I unplugged my T5's, did a 3 day black out, and set the Kessil and the AI Fuge lights to 50% power when I turned them back on. I added BRS high capacity GFO in place of the chaeto. My nitrates and phosphates are consistently 0. I feed pretty light. My protein skimmer is running 24/7. I'm using filter socks and changing 3 times a week. 20% weekly water changes which is what I have been doing since April. My RODI unit is new. I tried a reef cleaner pack online and I now have a roving gang of hermit crabs that attack and eat snails at will which is pretty amazing to witness. I have been doing a lot of scrubbing, sometimes using hydrogen peroxide for the stuff I am willing to remove from the tank. Since these images, I have cleaned the pumps, added a sea hare to the main tank, and a couple of emeralds in the refugium. I have a Tomini in the quarantine tank with a royal gramma for company.

Comments: The sea hare died, because I didn't see him buried in the sand when I was trying to siphon an area of the sand bed and he was hurt. Ultimately he died from his injuries. I had a lawnmower blenny that the Tomini terrorized from day 1 and eventually killed. Also, at the time, I didn't understand that algae was something we all have to deal with and while I skipped forward with having bought established live rock, the tank still needed to stabilize once it was moved.

 

[Cook]

January 4th, 2020

Here is a full tank shot. Things were looking pretty good, the GHA was mostly contained within my refugium and overflow. I've been spot scrubbing the in tank clumps that pop up. The Tomini and royal gramma are all settled in and the Tomini is definitely helping. I still can't rid myself of the Kenya tree that came in on a rock almost a year ago. I keep removing it and it keeps coming right back. I did have one casualty while I was out of town. The royal gramma displaced my fire fish causing some angst. I came home to a dried out firefish stuck in the netting of my screen top.

 

[Cook]

August 23rd 2020

So, 8 months passed. I now have 6 rainbow bubble tips I need to do something about. Pretty much everything has grown. There are a few additions here and there. I didn't realize how lucky I was with our lawnmower blenny until he disappeared and I tried to replace him. The first one was an omnivore. The other two from what I can tell starved to death. They just wouldn't eat. I'm losing the algae war it's a short turf variety. I have Flux Rx up next for that one. I've removed all adsorption media and still barely registering nitrate and phosphate.

Comments: I've used Vibrant and Flux Rx separately. I haven't been able to reduce the algae significantly though it's mainly in my sump and after these separate treatments what's in the sump is the hardier stuff. I need to update my clean up crew.

 

[JayRozzer]

Nice tank setup. Are you happy with the Planet Aquarium system?

 

[Cook]

Yes I'm happy overall with this system. The build quality is good and the one time I needed support, they were very helpful. If I had a complaint, it's that the the low iron glass can be easy to scratch, but I don't think that's limited to any one brand.

 

[JayRozzer]

Yes I'm happy overall with this system. The build quality is good and the one time I needed support, they were very helpful. If I had a complaint, it's that the the low iron glass can be easy to scratch, but I don't think that's limited to any one brand.

Cool. Appreciate it. I’m back and forth between this tank or a RS 425XL.

 

[Cook]

I'm losing the algae battle. Luckily it appears to be mostly green hair algae, but it's relentless. @brandon429 , I've been following and reading the rip clean threads, so I'm going to give this a shot. I'm going to start with some images of where the tank is now. I've been preparing for a few weeks, I have some new sand to add to the existing cleaned sand once I get to that point and I have built a PVC structure for my eel that will also serve as a foundation for my rock work.

 

[Cook]

This is the PVC structure and egg crate for the base.

 

[brandon429]

Cook yes pls want that work thread detail that reef is solid cash and time. I mean that's a lot of maturation on the line, truly a big deal job.

we gotta test rock that bad boy first. before the rip. not that the biology isn't safe but we want to make sure one test rock removed, detail rasped with a knife precision vs brush...then peroxide detail applied on the former algae spots, surgically rinsed away with saltwater exactly like reef dentistry

we need to see how this one scale test works/sustains when its set back. this is the least impact, highest predictability establishing move we can make with all that cash above

extremely nice reef.

 

[brandon429]

in preps: I see no lysmata shrimp, all those are perox tolerant but in the way a rip clean works we aren't dosing the water anyway. just naming worst case exposures.


those nice anemones don't like peroxide but they can be surgically worked around, and dribbled in saltwater as you dentistry the surrounding target areas. everything we do on the test model and eventually that whole reef will put the reef back as aged and matured as it is now. dips and tank dosings are not as exacting, and they can't eject waste like a rip clean can.

once we see how a target rock holds out in the company of the dirty ones, we'll know if this method works well before we even begin. if not we can cheat and use fluconazole lol

any algae alterations on a tank of that stature need to be sub tested in dilution buckets with targets and nontargets present. we should not experiment with the system as a whole, that degree of algae its making is the right amount for true reef grazer balance. its only our trained eyes/ that hate the look but that's reef-perfect tang feed balance.

we don't want to touch peroxide on every spot of that rock, its aging and pigmenting out nicely. we want to be targeting exactly like a dentist would do to avoid gums but press harshly where needed with metal, and scrape, then burn out with perox and rinse away.

the rip clean handles the underside/ up under rock to remove the waste and the re assembly process skip cycle puts the whole reef back, without waste and without algae.

see how the reef grows the algae in little tufts its not blanketing across the whole surface, this is ideal.

to make the tank not produce that ideal amount of plant is the unnatural part, isn't it funny how we've trained ourselves to reef.

Im guilty just the same, if that was in my reef I'd burn it out with 35% as a direct treatment and post the vid on utbe

*I actually wouldn't scrape the coralline keep the walls just like that, and mist the coralline in saltwater as the tank is drained eventually. that's like a proud reef beard you need to sasquatch grow that coralline

 

[brandon429]

and then once we put it all back, the lights need to be dropped about 40% lower than current intensity, and slowly brought back up like it was a cloudy reef week. perfect bleach tuning prevention

you'll be able to leave your corals attached, the anems attached, just mist them in saltwater as they sit on the counter for dentistry and work around them.