Gablami’s 260 gallon Rimless SPS Build

[Gablami]

If you move from Cali.... You can get double/triple the space for half the cost. Only down side not the same level of LFS's.

Is your other system still set up?

No other system is sold and moved out. My wife is glad to have only one tank in the living room now LOL.

 

[Gablami]

ELECTRICAL BACKUP

There really aren’t very many power outages here. In the 10+ years I’ve lived in this area, probably 2-3 outrages and none lasting more than a few hours. But you never know, and it’s good to be prepared (especially with these fires that California has been seeing!)

To start, I’ve got my ecotech battery backup from my last tank. Tested it, and still looks like the battery is good. Runs for over 24 hours when I unplug the pumps. Both of my mp40s are attached to this.

Second, I’ve just setup the tunze battery backup. I like the tunze system because you can basically buy any size battery you want. You don’t have to use the branded version which is significantly marked up for the same thing. You need to purchase the tunze safety connector; one for each pump:

Turbelle Safety Battery Backup Connector 6105.500

The Tunze Turbelle Safety Connector allows for a safe connection of your Tunze powerheads to most 12v batteries. It contains a 4 Amp fuse and permits normal operation with the Tunze power supply units. In case of a power failure, it will automatically switch over to a battery or another...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

You’ll need a deep cycle sealed lead acid battery (SLA). These are the batteries that are used on boats and are completely sealed, so should not leak or release gas. Just in case I also bought a battery box for it.

I ended up getting a 100ah battery. To compare, ecotech battery backup is an 18ah battery.

I bought an 1.25amp Battery Tender to keep it charged.

It’s pretty simple to wire up. Here’s the tunze cable with a breaker. Sorry it’s photographed in parts. Didn’t think to take photos while I was doing it.

You plug in the powerheads power supply into the safety connector which is also connected to the battery. If a loss of power occurs, it will quickly switch to battery power (tested, it takes a fraction of a

That red cable (is really two wires, one with a black stripe on it) goes to an electrical connector where you need to strip a couple wires from a cable and connect it to your red and black battery terminals.

Perhaps other people can check my rudimentary calculations. I read in another post that the tunze 6255 runs at 24v normally and when switched to battery (since it’s a 12V battery) it will run at half power of whatever it is set to. The pump is listed as a 58W max pump. I’m running it about half strength so 29W max. It’s also on pulse mode, so I bet it’s less than that. But to be on the conservative side, let’s say 30W. And since it will be running on 12v battery instead of 24v, it gets halved again? So 15W?

Watt = Volt x Amps, so 15W/12V= 1.25 amps. The battery is 100 amp hours, so it should run 80 hours. Since I have two pump, it should run at least 40 hours? Really not sure. Either 20 hours or 40 hours? HELP!

And then lastly I’ve got a couple battery powered air pumps connected airstones in the back left corner of the tank. If the electricity turns off, they automatically turn on.

I considered trying to run my return pump off battery backup, but that doesn’t make any sense. If I’m not running heaters or skimmer during an outtage, no need to provide power to the return pump.

 

[Gablami]

Whelp I finally bit the bullet and decided to go fallow. And truthfully, it’s all because of this Achilles. The ich never completely went away, and there was definitely more than a “couple” spots on it at all times. I figured this is the best time to go fallow, before I have any corals.

I setup two 45 gallon tubs, with heaters, flow and bubblers, put in some cycled siporax and started to catch some fish.

The first few fish were stupid easy to catch, wandered right into the trap.

Then I cut a large divider out of egg crate and got all the tangs on one side and netted them out.

The anthias and flame angels were the hardest, but eventually I got all but one caught. The last bugger was the hardest. Eventually I ended up draining the whole tank.

But it’s finally done. Today is day 1 of fallow! Yay.

I’m going to be using copper and then transferring the treated fish into this rubbermaid once treatment is done. I’m thinking I’ll do full copper for 3 weeks, just to have a safety margin.

Good time to get more fish too! Hmmm...

 

[rds85]

Smart choice!

3 weeks of copper and then going into a sterile rubbermaid correct !? Not old DT water that might have free swimmers in it, but fresh new salt water correct?
* Also make sure the fish are CLEAN for 2 weeks at therapeutic with no signs of anything before taking them out.

Best time to get new fish for sure. I would get all your fish up to 0.2ppm if you are using cupramine and get all your new fish then get to therapeutic. Then you do not have to re start the clock with each new fish or drop them in it at full therapeutic.

* IME really keep an eye on your anthias in copper and do it slow. Check for copper sensitivity on them daily!

 

[Gablami]

Smart choice!

3 weeks of copper and then going into a sterile rubbermaid correct !? Not old DT water that might have free swimmers in it, but fresh new salt water correct?
* Also make sure the fish are CLEAN for 2 weeks at therapeutic with no signs of anything before taking them out.

Best time to get new fish for sure. I would get all your fish up to 0.2ppm if you are using cupramine and get all your new fish then get to therapeutic. Then you do not have to re start the clock with each new fish or drop them in it at full therapeutic.

* IME really keep an eye on your anthias in copper and do it slow. Check for copper sensitivity on them daily!

Yup! New fresh sterilized Rubbermaid tub with newly cycled rocks.

The only thing about using these 45g smaller tubs for treatment is it’s hard to observe the fish. I have to turn off all flow to see if they’re eating, or even alive frankly. So it’s not ideal, though it is economical at $25 each. After this when I setup a regular copper treatment tank, I’ll get a 40b.

 

[rds85]

Yup! New fresh sterilized Rubbermaid tub with newly cycled rocks.

The only thing about using these 45g smaller tubs for treatment is it’s hard to observe the fish. I have to turn off all flow to see if they’re eating, or even alive frankly. So it’s not ideal, though it is economical at $25 each. After this when I setup a regular copper treatment tank, I’ll get a 40b.

Petco dollar per gallon sale. Take advantage when you can

 

[Gablami]

A few updates to share.

The copper tanks are now therapeutic at 0.5. Man, the high range copper Hanna is so easy to use. I wish the low range phosphate Hanna was that fast. Fish all seem fine. I’m not feeding much at this point though. My fish were all super fat prior to this treatment with my overfeedings. I don’t feed much during TTM, and that’s 12 days. Maybe once the biofilter gets more robust I’ll start feeding more.

I tried to turn this into somewhat of a positive and got some new fish and inverts. Threw a couple cleaner shrimp and tuxedo urchins into the DT. Found a beautiful Potters Angel pair to go with my flame angel pair, and 5 bimac anthias to school with the lyretails. Hopefully my tank is big enough to house two pairs of dwarf angels.

Beyond that, I’m just twiddling my thumbs ghost feeding and watching my chaeto grow.

 

[rds85]

A few updates to share.

The copper tanks are now therapeutic at 0.5. Man, the high range copper Hanna is so easy to use. I wish the low range phosphate Hanna was that fast. Fish all seem fine. I’m not feeding much at this point though. My fish were all super fat prior to this treatment with my overfeedings. I don’t feed much during TTM, and that’s 12 days. Maybe once the biofilter gets more robust I’ll start feeding more.

I tried to turn this into somewhat of a positive and got some new fish and inverts. Threw a couple cleaner shrimp and tuxedo urchins into the DT. Found a beautiful Potters Angel pair to go with my flame angel pair, and 5 bimac anthias to school with the lyretails. Hopefully my tank is big enough to house two pairs of dwarf angels.

Beyond that, I’m just twiddling my thumbs ghost feeding and watching my chaeto grow.

Where did you find a potters pair!?

 

[Gablami]

Where did you find a potters pair!?

I’ve got some good LFS around me . Got it from Aquatic Collection in Hayward. They ship too and prices are reasonable. The pair was $180. I was debating between a coral beauty pair they had for $100 vs the Potters. I got my flame angel pair from them for $150.

 

[rds85]

I’ve got some good LFS around me . Got it from Aquatic Collection in Hayward. They ship too and prices are reasonable. The pair was $180. I was debating between a coral beauty pair they had for $100 vs the Potters. I got my flame angel pair from them for $150.

Potters was a way better option. I am jealous of your local stuff.

 

[Gablami]

Every passing day I feel like I’m dodging a bullet when I check on my treatment tanks. So far none of my established fish have died. I bought a few new fish, and 1 bimac anthia and 1 female flame wrasse have died in copper.

I got my copper levels to therapeutic levels (cupramine 0.5) on 9/2. On 9/8 I had an inadvertent drop in levels to 0.30 and 0.28. But have been between 0.45 and 0.5 since then, checked daily.

My Achilles and copperband have not been eating. Neither is skinny, but makes me worried that I’ll come check on the tanks one morning and find a dead fish.

I might transfer all the fish out to the observation tank on Tuesday 9/15. I’ll get the fish eating and watch them carefully for weeks for any signs of disease. I’ll probably put in couple converted mollies to make sure. If necessary, I can treat again later. Since my main tank is running fallow, I’ve got awhile to observe and treat if necessary.

Crossing my fingers that all fish survive until Tuesday!

 

[Gablami]

I’ve also been thinking about what got through my TTM. I’m starting to think it might be a strain of velvet as opposed to ich. What I have read on the forums, is that ich is a slow but that velvet is super fast and deadly. But more reading has made my realize that while that might be the case in many infections, there are some strains that seem to have a more prolonged course and are less deadly? They may be harder to tell apart then conventional wisdom seems to state.

TTM obviously doesn’t work on velvet so perhaps that’s what slipped through. Either way, I think I’m sold on switching to copper instead of ttm.

 

[Shaka_Reefer]

Every passing day I feel like I’m dodging a bullet when I check on my treatment tanks. So far none of my established fish have died. I bought a few new fish, and 1 bimac anthia and 1 female flame wrasse have died in copper.

I got my copper levels to therapeutic levels (cupramine 0.5) on 9/2. On 9/8 I had an inadvertent drop in levels to 0.30 and 0.28. But have been between 0.45 and 0.5 since then, checked daily.

My Achilles and copperband have not been eating. Neither is skinny, but makes me worried that I’ll come check on the tanks one morning and find a dead fish.

I might transfer all the fish out to the observation tank on Tuesday 9/15. I’ll get the fish eating and watch them carefully for weeks for any signs of disease. I’ll probably put in couple converted mollies to make sure. If necessary, I can treat again later. Since my main tank is running fallow, I’ve got awhile to observe and treat if necessary.

Crossing my fingers that all fish survive until Tuesday!

They’re not even my fish and I’m stressed! Hoping all of your fish start eating and make it through the QT!

 

[cmaxwell39]

Been a while since I caught up on your build thread. So sorry to hear about the struggles, but I think you did the right thing pulling and treating to rid of ich (or velvet if that is what it is.) Hope everything pulls through for you. You have a head start beginning with healthy fat fish, rather than fish that just went through shipping, etc.

I like the simplicity and effectiveness of your water change system. When water changes are easy to do, you are more likely to do them consistently.

 

[rds85]

I’ve also been thinking about what got through my TTM. I’m starting to think it might be a strain of velvet as opposed to ich. What I have read on the forums, is that ich is a slow but that velvet is super fast and deadly. But more reading has made my realize that while that might be the case in many infections, there are some strains that seem to have a more prolonged course and are less deadly? They may be harder to tell apart then conventional wisdom seems to state.

TTM obviously doesn’t work on velvet so perhaps that’s what slipped through. Either way, I think I’m sold on switching to copper instead of ttm.

Honestly if you find out/ confirm velvet let me know.... I have a feeling you might already know why.

Two fish is way better than the entire fish population. I would recommend switching to Copper Power after this run for future fish, easier to control the levels without have a very narrow working window.

Anthias and hard to QT, some do fine, others are extremely Copper sensitive.

 

[Gablami]

Further updates:

I lost two fish during copper, and another two right after I transferred into the observation tank. I always thought that fish will swim away from pump, and I always had maxijet-sized pumps in tanks to provide flow.

In the Rubbermaid I had a sicce silent 5.0, and I left the 1” inlet pipe on the pump. I transferred over the fish and everything was good, and a few minutes later came back to check and noticed that the pump was not putting out much water. I fiddled with it for awhile and then opened up the pump and found a clown and a male anthia sucked into the inlet. Learned a lesson there, and found the included grating to keep fish from getting sucked in.

All fish are in the main tub and eating EXCEPT the mandarin and the Achilles. The Achilles looks way better than before and is swimming around rapidly but has not shown any interest in food. The moment I see him definitely take a bite I’ll be so happy. Until then, I’m not sure what will happen.

 

[Shaka_Reefer]

Sorry to hear about your fish!

Instead of putting the nori in the clip, rubber-band it in a piece of live rock. That’s how I trained mine (when I used to have one many years ago) to eat the nori, and I soaked the nori in garlic, selcon, and other vitamins for a couple of hours.

 

[Gablami]

Sorry to hear about your fish!

Instead of putting the nori in the clip, rubber-band it in a piece of live rock. That’s how I trained mine (when I used to have one many years ago) to eat the nori, and I soaked the nori in garlic, selcon, and other vitamins for a couple of hours.

Ok I’ll give that a try tomorrow. He’s been eating from a clip for 3 years though! Can 3 weeks in a treatment tank make him forget?! These Achilles....shaking my head.

 

[Wen]

Further updates:

I lost two fish during copper, and another two right after I transferred into the observation tank. I always thought that fish will swim away from pump, and I always had maxijet-sized pumps in tanks to provide flow.

In the Rubbermaid I had a sicce silent 5.0, and I left the 1” inlet pipe on the pump. I transferred over the fish and everything was good, and a few minutes later came back to check and noticed that the pump was not putting out much water. I fiddled with it for awhile and then opened up the pump and found a clown and a male anthia sucked into the inlet. Learned a lesson there, and found the included grating to keep fish from getting sucked in.

All fish are in the main tub and eating EXCEPT the mandarin and the Achilles. The Achilles looks way better than before and is swimming around rapidly but has not shown any interest in food. The moment I see him definitely take a bite I’ll be so happy. Until then, I’m not sure what will happen.

Glad the Achilles is looking better and relieved that it wasn't one of the potters in the pump.
I am taking notes for my Rubbermaid for when it's observation time. You had a spare skimmer? or is that the one for your new tank, it looks pretty fresh!
What have you been working on for the DT?

 

[rds85]

I hope the achillies will eat soon, but glad he is doing much better! Copper is a food suppressant to most fish.