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I have that tank - its awesome - Curious - why are you cycling your rock in a trash can ? since its dry rock? Are you just trying to get a 'jump start'? Remember you need to keep adding 'ammonia' or 'something' (fish food is fine (and cheaper)) - to keep the rock 'fed' until you put it in your tank. One issue - just because the rock has 'cycled' in a trash can - doesn't mean it will be cycled 'enough' for you to add a bunch of stuff. Congrats though on the new tank (and the kids)Hi Everyone!
Just a little background, I had 75 gallon saltwater tank from 2003 - 2008. It was a mixed reef, no sump, hang on back refugium and protein skimmer. It was very successful and was setup with live rock and sand. It survived a whole tank move from one house to another. Had to take it down due to painting our basement. Got married in 2007 and it had to come down. I told my Wife that at some point I will be getting another tank!
And that brings us to today. 2 kids later and another on the way I am ready to start another tank! The older kids (5 and 4) are at a great age to enjoy it and help out. Hopefully stimulating their desires to become marine biologists, lol.
It seems somethings have changed in 11 years but a lot of the methods are the same. I am excited to have a controller and automate some of these processes. This will also be the first time I have a reef ready tank with sump.
I feel like the timing is great as I want to follow the BRS/WWC hybrid setup to a certain extent.
The current Plan:
Tank - Red Sea Reefer XXL 750
Sump - Red Seas Sump
Protein Skimmer - Reef Octopus 200 INT
Return Pump - Varios 8
Run the Compact Roller Mat instead of filter socks
Controller - Apex
DOS Pump for AWC - run remote to my water mixing station
Auto Top Off - Spectapure I want to run this remotely to my water mixing station
Tank Flow - 2 MP60's and MP40s for maximum flow
Lighting - T5 / 61" LED Hybrid - Currently looking at 4 Kessil 360X for the LED's
100 LBS of Reef Saver Rock
3 Bricks of Brightwell Bio Xport Ceramic Rock
Run a bare bottom setup
BRS Carbon Reactor
I purchased the rock last month and did a mock aquascape. Check on the attachments.
The rock is now in a Brute trash can with a heater and 2 power heads. I dosed Dr Tims and one other bacteria in a bottle. I then added Doctor Tims Ammonia to give the bacteria something to eat.
I am not sure exactly when I will get the tank but it will be sometime this year. I wanted to get the rock cycling as soon as I got the go ahead from my wife
Thanks for following along!
Agreed - the higher the flow the better imho. It will never hurt. It will always help (again My opinion).Thinking about the 2 - MP60s and 2 MP40s based on the WWC/BRS method for SPS. From their findings it seems like high flow is pretty important. I know it is their opinion but based on the video it seemed pretty legit. I was thinking of putting the two MP60s near the front and the MP40's in the back. Depending on the programming not all pumps will be running full blast at all times so flow will not be maxed out all of the time. I thought with the 4 I would be able to create random flow and keep all the detritus of the bottom. I will not be using sand so no worries there.
where is the bottom of the stand - or is that a new version? usually you can't see the carpet under the stand? Maybe I'm just confused. BTW - I would not put it on plywoodI got the tank on two furniture dollies last night with the help of my brother and his friend. I then proceeded to bring all of the stand pieces to the basement. The next day I assembled the stand. I am very satisfied with the quality of the stand and assembly tolerances. I spent 7 years of my career working with product similar to this and can say this the cam lock / dowel system / and the quality of the wood Red Sea used for the stand is top notch.
So I have a few questions about placement. Red Sea recommends 24" from a corner and at least 4" from the back wall. I placed the tank at 24" off the corner and 6" off the wall. 6" does not seem like to much but having that hutch next to it my throw that off visually. The hutch will be going some where else. My wife will probably want something a bit smaller to fill the open area on the back wall. Based on your experiences what is a good distance to keep the tank off the back wall? Of course from a looks perspective the closer the better but I also like the appeal of being able to get to my outlets.
Last question regarding carpet. I would say the carpet we have is a medium ply. Not short but not long. Is it ok for the tank to be on carpet when it comes to leveling it off? Or should I cut a sheet of nice plywood, round over all of the corners with a router and paint it black. Use it as a platform that the tank will sit on. I have always had my tanks directly on carpet before but this is the first tank over 75 gallons. If the tank is 4" to 6" off the wall the carpet tack strip should not be an issue I would think.
Seriously curious - why can you see the carpeting under your stand (inside)? Im not sure that's right - OR?
I have that tank - its awesome - Curious - why are you cycling your rock in a trash can ? since its dry rock? Are you just trying to get a 'jump start'? Remember you need to keep adding 'ammonia' or 'something' (fish food is fine (and cheaper)) - to keep the rock 'fed' until you put it in your tank. One issue - just because the rock has 'cycled' in a trash can - doesn't mean it will be cycled 'enough' for you to add a bunch of stuff. Congrats though on the new tank (and the kids)
I have not put the bottom panels down yet. You level the tank with small leveling feet which are accessible under the bottom shelf with a small wrench. The stand is designed to remove the bottom shelves in order to do this. The glass was just moved to the stand this week so I expect some settling on the carpet to occur.Seriously curious - why can you see the carpeting under your stand (inside)? Im not sure that's right - OR?
That is a bummer. Hope all goes well with the reboot.
Interesting - I didn't remember it that way. IN any case I thought that was the finished productIt’s normal. I just assembled the same tank. The floor of the sump and dry compartment are one of the last things to be installed.
LOL WOW - How stupid am I - I kept wondering - how the heck to I level the bolts on the back of the tank I was ready to pull my hair out. (i.e. I put in the bottom pieces before leveling).. You learn something new every day. you'll like the tankYes I am trying to get a jump start on populating beneficial bacteria on the rock. I am cycling it, not curing it. It has been in there since December, I have been feeding the bacteria about once a week. Also hoping this helps with the new tank uglies and algae once it goes into the tank. That probably will not happen but it does not hurt anything. This will not be an instant tank at all. Once the rock is in the tank it will be at least 30 days before fish anyways as they need to go through QT.
I have not put the bottom panels down yet. You level the tank with small leveling feet which are accessible under the bottom shelf with a small wrench. The stand is designed to remove the bottom shelves in order to do this. The glass was just moved to the stand this week so I expect some settling on the carpet to occur.