Nice. How long has the tank been up and running for?
GOFOR'S 52" X 36" X 26" CDA Peninsula & SoCal Tank Room Build
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- Thread starter gofor100
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Awesome build and beautiful tank so far! Love the aquascape!
gofor100
Active Member
Thanks!
I didn't get it completely plumbed and water running through it until about 1 month ago. Now I'm in the process of cycling the tank and getting it ready for the first group of fish that just got out of quarantine.
gofor100
Active Member
gofor100
Active Member
Thank you sir! Glad you were able to drop in on my build!
gofor100
Active Member
GETTING FISH!!!
So now that I have the core components for running a tank in place, I was able to get the cycle started with Brightwell’s products. The ammonia went down to from about 3ppm to zero in just a matter of days, but the dang Nitrite has been over 1ppm for several days now. Just waiting for that to go down to zero before introducing my first few fish.
Speaking of fish… they’re officially out of quarantine and just waiting for their new home.
For this first round of fish, I wasn’t expecting to get a Blue-spotted jawfish so early, but found one for a really good deal, and then brought home what my kids call the “pretty fish” (i.e., Royal Gramma) that my kids LOVE already, and two Bangaii Cardinalfish to add a different shape/color/pattern (not sure if they’ll pair up but I’m crossing my fingers).
So now that I have the core components for running a tank in place, I was able to get the cycle started with Brightwell’s products. The ammonia went down to from about 3ppm to zero in just a matter of days, but the dang Nitrite has been over 1ppm for several days now. Just waiting for that to go down to zero before introducing my first few fish.
Speaking of fish… they’re officially out of quarantine and just waiting for their new home.
For this first round of fish, I wasn’t expecting to get a Blue-spotted jawfish so early, but found one for a really good deal, and then brought home what my kids call the “pretty fish” (i.e., Royal Gramma) that my kids LOVE already, and two Bangaii Cardinalfish to add a different shape/color/pattern (not sure if they’ll pair up but I’m crossing my fingers).
gofor100
Active Member
FISH QUARANTINE PLAN
Something I have done in the past with success is quarantine my own fish. Except this time around, I’ve looked to the expert on this (Humblefish) and essentially copied the process from him. It might sound complicated if you haven't done it before, but after you go through one round of this treatment plan, you’ll soon realize it isn’t that bad.
The QT Process:
Something I have done in the past with success is quarantine my own fish. Except this time around, I’ve looked to the expert on this (Humblefish) and essentially copied the process from him. It might sound complicated if you haven't done it before, but after you go through one round of this treatment plan, you’ll soon realize it isn’t that bad.
The QT Process:
- Step 1: Set up quarantine tank a few days in advance and seed with bacteria
- My equipment list:
- 20 gallon long tank
- HOB Filter (with Bio Balls in the media compartment dosed with Dr. Tim’s Bacteria a few days before getting fish)
- Air pump with air stone (I place this in the HOB filter where the Bio Balls are- it is supposed to promote the good bacterial growth to keep ammonia processed)
- Powerhead
- Heater
- Thermometer
- Cheap LED light
- PVC Fittings
- Eggcrate with screen zip-tied to the top (so the jumpers don’t jump)
- Seachem Ammonia Alert badge
- My equipment list:
- Step 2: Acclimate the Fish
- Bring the QT water salinity up or down to match the salinity in the LFS bag
- Temp acclimate (I do this by dripping QT water into the bag, but some will just float the bag in the QT)
- For most fish, dose the Copper (I use Copper Power) to 1.0 ppm verified using Hanna Instruments High Range Copper Colorimeter)
- Note: some fish, such as wrasse and/or anthias might do better to be introduced without meds until they are feeding well, then slowly introducing Copper
- Step 3: Treat the Fish
- Over the next 48 hours after introduction at 1.0 ppm, raise the copper level to 1.5 ppm. At this point, I plan to continue to raise the copper level over another 48 hours to 2.0 ppm UNLESS the fish are not eating. If they are not eating, I plan to wait for them to begin eating before continuing to raise the copper. Then, continue to raise copper at this rate until at about 2.5 ppm.
- Once at about 2.5 ppm copper level, I add both Metronidazole (MetroPlex) and Kanamycin (Kanaplex) which treat for internal parasites and external fungal/bacterial diseases
- If there are signs that the fish is actually dealing with internal parasites (e.g., white stringy poop), then I will also add MetroPlex to their food
- After about 3-5 days of treatment, I’ll do a larger water change (50%+), then treat with Prazipro
- After the first Prazipro treatment, I'll do another larger water change (50%+), then I will dose another round of Prazipro
- After a full 14 days of copper levels being 2.0 ppm or greater (I test every other day to make sure of this and keep it closer to 2.5 ppm), I transfer the fish into a completely separate QT with zero meds but ONLY IF the fish are showing no signs of disease; if fish look/act normal, then after a few days of observation (a full week is recommended by Humblefish), I will place into the DT.
Nice interesting build. I'm curious to know what the ambient air temperature swings in your sump shed end up being throughout the year.;Watching
gofor100
Active Member
Me too... I plan to hook up a temp probe to track that. So far so good though. Even during the 100+ degree temps we saw a few weeks ago, the tank didn't get higher than 78.
gofor100
Active Member
CORAL & INVERT QUARANTINE
While I'm on the topic of quarantine, I'm not stopping at my fish. The biggest pain the butt is having to treat parasites after they're in your DT, so I'm trying my hardest to simply never get any parasites in my DT to begin with.
Plus, with my sump outside, I need to put something in my stand that can double as a QT and a Frag tank in the future.
The plan is to quarantine everything for about 45 days so as to avoid not only coral pests, but also fish pests that may hitchhike onto the corals/inverts.
And since I plan on keeping an SPS-dominant mixed reef in the DT, I made sure my QT had enough light...
While I'm on the topic of quarantine, I'm not stopping at my fish. The biggest pain the butt is having to treat parasites after they're in your DT, so I'm trying my hardest to simply never get any parasites in my DT to begin with.
Plus, with my sump outside, I need to put something in my stand that can double as a QT and a Frag tank in the future.
The plan is to quarantine everything for about 45 days so as to avoid not only coral pests, but also fish pests that may hitchhike onto the corals/inverts.
And since I plan on keeping an SPS-dominant mixed reef in the DT, I made sure my QT had enough light...
gofor100
Active Member
Thanks! I'm just lucky CDA is only a 30 minute drive from my house.
Reef370
Active Member
That you are, saves a little stress not having to move the tank to far... mine went from California to Virginia..... I was anxiously waiting for its arrival... came in flawless... I’m planning on getting my frag tank from them as well... sooo... the anxiety will be back for that as well!! Lol
gofor100
Active Member
CYCLE COMPLETE/FISH ARE IN!
It seemed like it took forever (although, it only took about 3 weeks if I recall correctly), but my cycle finally finished up (Ammonia and Nitrites at zero), I did a 25%+ water change and added the first batch of fish this week. I’m sure they were as ready as I was to get them out of my post-quarantine holding tank. The little Blue Spotted Jawfish has already made himself a little home in the very front of the tank, so we’ll see if it stays put (I’ve read they will sometimes move around their burrow).
It seemed like it took forever (although, it only took about 3 weeks if I recall correctly), but my cycle finally finished up (Ammonia and Nitrites at zero), I did a 25%+ water change and added the first batch of fish this week. I’m sure they were as ready as I was to get them out of my post-quarantine holding tank. The little Blue Spotted Jawfish has already made himself a little home in the very front of the tank, so we’ll see if it stays put (I’ve read they will sometimes move around their burrow).
gofor100
Active Member
THE BRAINS/CONTROLLER
I know there are other options out there (like GHL), but, honestly, I’m not well-versed in programming or anything more than what the APEX Fusion interface asks of you. I needed something that was easy to program/use that has a good reputation within the hobby, so my decision on the controller was pretty easy. Here is the run-down how plan to monitor/control the tank (I’d say this is phase 1, since I’m sure I’ll find other functions down the road):
I know there are other options out there (like GHL), but, honestly, I’m not well-versed in programming or anything more than what the APEX Fusion interface asks of you. I needed something that was easy to program/use that has a good reputation within the hobby, so my decision on the controller was pretty easy. Here is the run-down how plan to monitor/control the tank (I’d say this is phase 1, since I’m sure I’ll find other functions down the road):
- APEX Controller:
- Programmed Functions:
- Return Pumps: I set these both up for Feed Mode (where they reduce speed or turn off during Feed Mode for 10 minutes)
- Heaters/Chiller/Fan: already explained the set up for these before
- Skimmer: I have this set up to turn off if either return pump is off, then delay turning it on after the return pumps turn on to avoid unnecessarily filling the skimmer cup when the water is too high in the sump. I also have a float switch in the skimmer cup (came with the skimmer) that automatically shuts off the skimmer if the skimmer cup is full.
- Auto Fleece Filter Roller: I have this set up to turn off if either return pump is off (otherwise, the float switch that triggers the roller would unnecessarily turn on and waste clean fleece filter).
- ATO: I have this set up to turn off if either return pump is off and delay turning back on for 5 minutes
- Kalkwasser Dosing: I have this set up to turn off if the pH reads higher than 8.5
- EB832 x 2: each one of these is plugged into a separate 20 AMP circuit and I strategically will be splitting up specific pieces of equipment between the two power bars/circuits for redundancy and power consumption purposes. Specifically, I’m splitting up the two heaters, the two cooling units, and the two return pumps just in case one circuit gets tripped or something else goes wrong.
- I/O Breakout Box: I have some plans for this, but not 100% certain what just yet. I’ll likely have it connected to a light/switch so that when I open the shed doors, a light automatically comes on. I’m also considering adding a toggle box to be able to turn on/off certain pieces of equipment by a flip of a switch and/or to notify my when my ATO reservoir is getting low. Still mulling this one over, but its part of the arsenal of control.
- Programmed Functions:
gofor100
Active Member
AUTOMATION/MAINTENANCE REDUCTION
Again, one of my goals with this build is to minimize the daily/weekly/monthly maintenance so I can enjoy the tank more and have more time with the family. With that in mind, I tried to initially focus on some of the tasks that are either high frequency (need to occur multiple times per week/month), and the tasks that are simply time consuming per occurrence.
Auto Fleece Filter Roller:
I already discussed this before, but felt it was worth mentioning again under this section, since, from my experience so far, I LOVE not having to change filter socks at least weekly.
Auto Top-Off:
I've implemented this on all of my tanks before, but it is worth mentioning. However, something that is different with this ATO is that, with it being housed in my shed, and in close proximity to my FW reservoir, it is extremely easy to refill when the time comes.
Water Changes using DOS:
My plan here is to rely on a DOS to do my core water change daily (totaling about a 26 gallon water change weekly, or just over 10%), then, on top of that, I’ll likely still do some manual water changes once a month of another 10 gallons or so to keep the sand bed and sump clean. In all, about 115 gallons (or about 50% of total water volume) water being changed monthly.
Dosing using DOS and Ecotech Versa:
I’ll get into my plan for adding supplements (e.g., Calcium, Alkalinity, etc.) a bit more later, but I will, at least initially, be dosing the elements rather than using a Calcium Reactor. Obviously not wanting to do this by hand, I’ll be using two DOS pumps to add the Ca/Alk/Mag, and the Versa to add my Kalkwasser (separate from the ATO which is just fresh RODI water).
Auto Feeder Using the Eheim Automatic Twin Feeder
I ended up going this route (at least initially) since I do not have power cords running from inside the house to the sump shed, and, therefore, cannot connect the auto feeder to the APEX (otherwise, I would have just used the APEX Auto Feeder). Not a big deal though, as I now work from home, don’t travel nearly as much, and will likely only place this feeder on when I know that I’ll be away for most of the day or on vacation.
Future Expansion for Automation
APEX Trident: I’m really tempted to add the APEX Trident at some point in the future, as I know that testing can take up some daily/weekly time. So this would obviously be a pretty great timesaver.
Again, one of my goals with this build is to minimize the daily/weekly/monthly maintenance so I can enjoy the tank more and have more time with the family. With that in mind, I tried to initially focus on some of the tasks that are either high frequency (need to occur multiple times per week/month), and the tasks that are simply time consuming per occurrence.
Auto Fleece Filter Roller:
I already discussed this before, but felt it was worth mentioning again under this section, since, from my experience so far, I LOVE not having to change filter socks at least weekly.
Auto Top-Off:
I've implemented this on all of my tanks before, but it is worth mentioning. However, something that is different with this ATO is that, with it being housed in my shed, and in close proximity to my FW reservoir, it is extremely easy to refill when the time comes.
- Tunze ATO Osmolator 3155: I know there are other options out there, but this seemed to be one of the more reliable options on the market for a piece of equipment that can easily fail and in a bad way.
- Advanced Acrylics 18”L x 18”W x 18”T (approximately 25 gallons) ATO Reservoir: I figured I might as well get a matching ATO with my sump from Advanced Acrylics!
Water Changes using DOS:
My plan here is to rely on a DOS to do my core water change daily (totaling about a 26 gallon water change weekly, or just over 10%), then, on top of that, I’ll likely still do some manual water changes once a month of another 10 gallons or so to keep the sand bed and sump clean. In all, about 115 gallons (or about 50% of total water volume) water being changed monthly.
Dosing using DOS and Ecotech Versa:
I’ll get into my plan for adding supplements (e.g., Calcium, Alkalinity, etc.) a bit more later, but I will, at least initially, be dosing the elements rather than using a Calcium Reactor. Obviously not wanting to do this by hand, I’ll be using two DOS pumps to add the Ca/Alk/Mag, and the Versa to add my Kalkwasser (separate from the ATO which is just fresh RODI water).
Auto Feeder Using the Eheim Automatic Twin Feeder
I ended up going this route (at least initially) since I do not have power cords running from inside the house to the sump shed, and, therefore, cannot connect the auto feeder to the APEX (otherwise, I would have just used the APEX Auto Feeder). Not a big deal though, as I now work from home, don’t travel nearly as much, and will likely only place this feeder on when I know that I’ll be away for most of the day or on vacation.
Future Expansion for Automation
APEX Trident: I’m really tempted to add the APEX Trident at some point in the future, as I know that testing can take up some daily/weekly time. So this would obviously be a pretty great timesaver.
gofor100
Active Member
FIRST MEMBERS OF THE CUC
The first members of the coral/invert quarantine tank are in (I got them over the weekend), and my approach here is to get inverts that not only serve a purpose, but also are diverse and will gain the interest of my kids. I also don’t want to get too many inverts as I want to avoid (as much as possible) them starving or turning on each other (particularly the crabs) due to lack of food. So, I’ll be slowly adding them in small batches.
With that being said, since I don’t have any algae to speak of yet (I haven’t turned on my lights in hopes to avoid much of the ugly phase that often occurs at the beginning of the tank’s life), I selected inverts that are omnivores and can survive (at least initially) on pellets/food I feed them until they make it to the big show. They will be in the quarantine tank for at least 45 days in hopes that this will avoid transferring any fish parasites that may have landed on non-living tissue (e.g., shells).
The first of the inverts include several small, red-legged hermits, but my kids’ stars of the show are the Halloween Hermit Crab and the two Skunk Cleaner shrimp. And since the quarantine tank is in the DT’s stand (and easy for the kids to look at), the kids get to look at them whenever they want.
The first members of the coral/invert quarantine tank are in (I got them over the weekend), and my approach here is to get inverts that not only serve a purpose, but also are diverse and will gain the interest of my kids. I also don’t want to get too many inverts as I want to avoid (as much as possible) them starving or turning on each other (particularly the crabs) due to lack of food. So, I’ll be slowly adding them in small batches.
With that being said, since I don’t have any algae to speak of yet (I haven’t turned on my lights in hopes to avoid much of the ugly phase that often occurs at the beginning of the tank’s life), I selected inverts that are omnivores and can survive (at least initially) on pellets/food I feed them until they make it to the big show. They will be in the quarantine tank for at least 45 days in hopes that this will avoid transferring any fish parasites that may have landed on non-living tissue (e.g., shells).
The first of the inverts include several small, red-legged hermits, but my kids’ stars of the show are the Halloween Hermit Crab and the two Skunk Cleaner shrimp. And since the quarantine tank is in the DT’s stand (and easy for the kids to look at), the kids get to look at them whenever they want.
gofor100
Active Member
Also, here's a quick picture of my jawfish in the morning daylight... I figured he was on the search for small pebbles to reinforce his den, so I crushed up some rock and sprinkled them in front of his den and he went right to work.
gofor100
Active Member
REDUNDANCIES
Hey All… at this point, while I continue to quarantine and add fish (which I will post some pics of as soon as I can get a decent picture of each) to build up the bio-load in the tank, I’m really just fine tuning some stuff so that this can be as “set-it-and-forget-it”, or, more like “set-it-and-stop-messing-with-it”, as I can get it before I turn the lights on the real fun (and work) begins. The first thing on my list is making sure I have as many redundancies/back-ups as I can, so that when I’m not near the tank, my fish (and eventually corals) will still live on when something fails… so here are the steps I’ve taken so far (and would be interested to hear what you guys have done):
).
Hey All… at this point, while I continue to quarantine and add fish (which I will post some pics of as soon as I can get a decent picture of each) to build up the bio-load in the tank, I’m really just fine tuning some stuff so that this can be as “set-it-and-forget-it”, or, more like “set-it-and-stop-messing-with-it”, as I can get it before I turn the lights on the real fun (and work) begins. The first thing on my list is making sure I have as many redundancies/back-ups as I can, so that when I’m not near the tank, my fish (and eventually corals) will still live on when something fails… so here are the steps I’ve taken so far (and would be interested to hear what you guys have done):
- 2 Return Pumps: As I’ve discussed before, I wanted to have two Return Pumps (one handling the manifold and the other going directly to the DT) so that if one ever goes out, I at least have something pumping water through the sump and into the DT.
- Electrical Redundancies:
- Battery Backups:
- 2 X MP40: I have two Ecotech Battery Backups, one each dedicated to each of the two MP40’s located at the top of the tank so that gas exchange can still occur for up to 36 hours when the electricity goes out.
- 1 X Vectra M2: I wanted to add another redundancy to my return pumps and have at least the Vectra pumping water to the DT in times of an electrical outage.
- Two Tank-Dedicated 20 AMP Electrical Circuits (and a third non-dedicated 15 AMP circuit): the last thing I want to have happen is that one of the circuits trip, and the whole tank shuts down. So, not only is the tank running on multiple circuits, I’ve also strategically placed key pieces of equipment on separate circuits.
- 20 AMP Circuit A:
- Return Pump 1
- Heater 1
- Fan
- 20 AMP Circuit B:
- Return Pump 2
- Heater 2
- Chiller
- 15 AMP Shared Circuit C:
- Lights
- Powerheads
- 20 AMP Circuit A:
- Battery Backups:
- Temperature Redundancies:
- 2 Heaters/Controllers with APEX as Backup Controller: I’m still undecided on how to approach this. I started with the approach of relying on the BRS Heater Controller to control the heat, and only have the APEX Controller act as a back-up (turning the heaters off if the tank goes over a certain temp), but I’m thinking of switching this so that the heaters thermostat is always on if the APEX tells it to be on. Positives/negatives you guys have found with each approach?
- 2 Cooling Elements- Fan and Chiller: I actually have not even had to plumb my Chiller into the system yet despite some really warm days in August and September (although it is just sitting there ready to be plumbed), but I do plan to run both fans and the chiller so that if one fails (or if the heaters fail on), the redundancy will at least buy me time to fix/correct things.
- Multiple Sources for Dosing Ca/Alk: I think I’ve decided on using at least two sources for my Alk/Ca. One, mostly for the pH benefits and added redundancy, will be kalkwasser (dosed separately from my ATO so as to avoid fluctuations). The other will be the Balling Method (using BRS two-part paired with Tropic Marin Part C). I realize this could also increase the risk of overdosing, but I’ll be using two elements that increase pH (Kalkwasser and Soda Ash), so my thought is that I’ll be notified by my APEX if my pH is higher than normal before a lethal overdose occurs. I’m still figuring this one out, but I have some time before I place all of the supplementation on line.
- Multiple Tunable Filtration Components: As I had mentioned before, one of my goals with this build was to make things tunable. Aside from my auto fleece filter roller, everything else that helps remove excess nutrients is tunable (the skimmer, the refugium light, and my auto-WC system). This not only, in theory, will help me better tune my filtration to fit the bio-load of my tank at any given time, but also creates redundancies so that if one piece of equipment fails, the other pieces of equipment can be tuned to pick up the slack.
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