I received a box of rocks today.

[Fudsey]

WOOOO HOOOOO ! ! ! !

 

[NY_Caveman]

I wanted to write a bit about what I was feeling today. It took us a long time to get to where we are now. That said, it all seemed to work out the best for us. Of the tanks I had delivered, this is my favorite. Best size, most beautiful and most of all, the best built. I note the glass is 2 mm thicker than the RL-45 with the rounded corners and that really puts my mind at ease.

The stand was not our favorite, but once built and set up, it is not bad. It will be on the left side of the room when looking from the couch (that will come soon). A television will be on the right side. I think the balance between the black stand with illuminated tank and the black glossy framed TV will work well.

The two tanks that came damaged have been sold with their stands. I was very clear about the damage and the buyers were experienced aquarists. They got great deals and my house that recently had three tanks and stands in storage is now wide open (to store new junk probably).

My lovely wife helped me carry the stand and tank into place and my older daughter helped with doors, keeping mats straight and flipping pump switches. They deserve a big thanks. Once the aquarium was set in place we all agreed it was the perfect size for the space.

I am going to run the return pumps overnight at least with the RO/DI with filter socks. For now I will continue setting up equipment and making sure everything is working.

 

[don_chuwish]

TIME IN: 9 Months
ROCKS WET: 6.5 Months
TANK WET: 1 DAY !!!

We have ignition!

After nine long months our tank is filling. The whole house is abuzz with excitement. There is still much to do, but the setup is well underway!

That ain't level enough. You need to build a new house first. ;Smuggrin

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

Wow look guys reefing is so easy a caveman can do it. (Finally I see purpose in that commercial). The tank looks really amazing, it will be exciting to see the final setup look with rocks etc. Did you decide if you were going to go with sand still or was that a nope? What kind of coral will you grow in it and, fishies .

 

[NY_Caveman]

Hello,

Wow look guys reefing is so easy a caveman can do it. (Finally I see purpose in that commercial). The tank looks really amazing, it will be exciting to see the final setup look with rocks etc. Did you decide if you were going to go with sand still or was that a nope? What kind of coral will you grow in it and, fishies .

In forty years of setting up and keeping fresh and marine aquariums, I have never used sand. I know I am in the minority, but it is not for me. I think of it blowing around, or getting pushed all over and it turns me off. I think of it collecting waste and wonder how long until I have to replace it all. Just my opinion.

I hear a lot that sand is natural. Most closed systems cannot come close to the biodiversity of the ocean floor. I do understand though that many aquarists like the aesthetics of sand. That alone is absolutely a valid reason for using it. In fact I enjoy seeing others’ tanks with sand. I just would not want to maintain a sand bed myself.

 

[SPR1968]

I suppose it’s one of those personal choice things, I like the look of it along the bottom myself, but I also like bare bottom as well.

And what do you ‘maintain a sand bed’. I haven’t touched mine in 2 years ! Lol

 

[NY_Caveman]

Going to add the matured 8.5 ponds of rock next. Light will not be running while the system continues to mature, but I set it up for light when needed. It is working very well. I will add pictures later after the rock goes in.

Only issue so far was the Tunze Osmolator 3155. It ran fine for an hour and then filled to the float switch triggering the alarm. I turned it off. Just tried it again, after power on it just started filling again. I held a 32 oz. cup under it (water level was past the optical sensor) and then powered it back off. I will need to investigate further. It is in the center return chamber which is the least turbulent spot.

 

[NY_Caveman]

All done for now. Satisfied for two days work.

I strive to avoid bristle worms (I have a lot of allergies too).

 

[Caravanshaka]

Always good to double bag it when you have suspicions!!

 

[Brew12]

All done for now. Satisfied for two days work.

I strive to avoid bristle worms (I have a lot of allergies too).

Looking good!

I should be better about wearing gloves when working in my tank.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Back Chambers

1. 150 W heater (on controller)
2. activated carbon, rock rubble (later, Chaeto), ATO pump line
3. dual returns, ATO, temperature probe, grounding pole
4. protein skimmer
5. 150 W heater (on same controller)

Equipment Notes

IceCap 1k Gyre is dead silent. Impressive compared to some posts I had read. I am running it constant mode at 100% to break it in. I bought this originally for the 30 gallon. I will have to see in time if it is enough flow for this 45. It does not look like the massive flow I imagined (with the tank mostly empty). More like it is softly pushing a large amount of water throughout. It seems to be reaching around the tank and back to itself.

Tunze Osmolator 3155 issue was figured out. The float switch redundancy has already saved me one flood. Seriously! I discovered if you turn it off, you need to make sure the water line is correct before turning it back on. In other words, run the pumps and other equipment first before restarting the unit. It also dumps some water to prime the pump and find the water level when turned on. My issue was I was turning it on with the optical sensor too submerged, so apparently it just kept pumping trying to raise the water to the optical sensor (yes, with the water level already past it). I let the water level get a little low to compensate for the water dump and when I flipped the switch, the sensor easily found the right level.

Tunze 9004 Skimmer is the loudest piece of equipment right now, but it is one day and I have done nothing to adjust it yet. It is actually not that loud at all, just the loudest of what is running. I note the skimmer just fit in the second or heater chamber which is really awesome for how I wanted to set the back compartments up. I could even run both filter socks if I wanted, or use the sock holders for quilt batting or anything really. Only issue I am concerned about is being near the Osmolator. I do not want to have to power down the Osmolator every time I empty the skimmer cup.

@Vivid Creative Aquatics Random Flow Generator running on the dual returns. I note they fit on the JBJ RL-30, RL-45 and the newer 45 Flat Panel I have. The flow is as amazing in person as I have seen in videos. When I was mixing the salt the randomness was clear, even with only my dual 266 gallon pumps (I know, I should have taken video, I set up the LED after). I may just put my Cobalt MJ 1200s back there and see if I can crank up the randomness.

Ink Bird Temperature Controller seems to be working well. The probe is in the back and so are the heaters. The probe is set to 81*F and the heaters to 82*F (so the thermostats should not run unless the controller fails). The probe is reading at 80.4*F, or off by 0.6*F. I could calibrate, but as long as I know it is fine for now. The temperature at the front of the display by my trusty $5 glass thermometer is right where is want it at 79*F.

 

[Vivid Creative Aquatics]

@Vivid Creative Aquatics Random Flow Generator running on the dual returns. I note they fit on the JBJ RL-30, RL-45 and the newer 45 Flat Panel I have. The flow is as amazing in person as I have seen in videos. When I was mixing the salt the randomness was clear, even with only my dual 266 gallon pumps (I know, I should have taken video, I set up the LED after). I may just put my Cobalt MJ 1200s back there and see if I can crank up the randomness.

WOW - what an adventure!
Just read through your entire thread. I'm not sure many would have persevered, but you did and the payoff will be awesome! I think you have a created a perfect foundation for a very successful tank.

Thanks for choosing to include the Random Flow Generator Nozzles in your build. We are following along and and can't wait to see this one grow out.

Be sure to post a few pics, details and a link back to this build thread of your tank in our RFG users Show-off thread. The link is in the signature below.

 

[NY_Caveman]

WOW - what an adventure!
Just read through your entire thread. I'm not sure many would have persevered, but you did and the payoff will be awesome! I think you have a created a perfect foundation for a very successful tank.

Thanks for choosing to include the Random Flow Generator Nozzles in your build. We are following along and and can't wait to see this one grow out.

Be sure to post a few pics, details and a link back to this build thread of your tank in our RFG users Show-off thread. The link is in the signature below.

Will do. Thanks!

 

[Fudsey]

Why not get a titanium heater and ditch the grounding probe... ?

 

[NY_Caveman]

Why not get a titanium heater and ditch the grounding probe... ?

No reason really. I have never used one before. I had used the Cobalts with success in the past and did not really think past that. I also like using two heaters for redundancy. Triple redundancy with the controller. I have had heaters fail so am a bit wary of them.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Also, I have the grounding pole plugged directly into the GFCI outlet while everything else gets power from the ADJ Power Center on the same GFCI outlet.

 

[._Z_.]

Awesome stuff! Glad it’s finally getting good and wet. We have a lot of the same equipment.

I have to agree the icecap 1k gyre is super silent, though I’ve noticed the flow is pretty strong. To the point that my fish don’t usually hang out in the top of the tank anymore now that it’s there, I run it max at 80%.

The 9004 skimmer is also my loudest piece of equipment, I may one day upgrade to the DC version, but it’s not a major issue for me. Will let you know how it goes if I pull the trigger.

Also agree the RFG nozzles are pretty sweet, the flow is mostly drowned out by my gyre but my sps do benefit from the randomness I think.

I upgraded to the Varios 2 pump after my stock returns got louder, now they mix my salt. I’d definitely recommend this return if you do end up upgrading.

-James

 

[NY_Caveman]

Awesome stuff! Glad it’s finally getting good and wet. We have a lot of the same equipment.

I have to agree the icecap 1k gyre is super silent, though I’ve noticed the flow is pretty strong. To the point that my fish don’t usually hang out in the top of the tank anymore now that it’s there, I run it max at 80%.

The 9004 skimmer is also my loudest piece of equipment, I may one day upgrade to the DC version, but it’s not a major issue for me. Will let you know how it goes if I pull the trigger.

Also agree the RFG nozzles are pretty sweet, the flow is mostly drowned out by my gyre but my sps do benefit from the randomness I think.

I upgraded to the Varios 2 pump after my stock returns got louder, now they mix my salt. I’d definitely recommend this return if you do end up upgrading.

-James

Thanks James! A lot of good info in there. You have the 1k and the returns only correct? I plan on doing a test to visualize the flow better. Hard to tell with just the few rocks, but I felt I would be getting more flow on the bare bottom at 100% than it appears right now. I need to position the flow from the gyre better too perhaps.

 

[._Z_.]

Thanks James! A lot of good info in there. You have the 1k and the returns only correct? I plan on doing a test to visualize the flow better. Hard to tell with just the few rocks, but I felt I would be getting more flow on the bare bottom at 100% than it appears right now. I need to position the flow from the gyre better too perhaps.

Yup, just the 1k and the varios2 return on full power is plenty of flow for me. So much that my poor pompom crab can’t walk against the flow on the sandbed without grabbing rocks for help!

Here’s my current tank shot, I basically have my RFGs pointed straight at my little sticks, will likely need adjusting if they ever get big enough. You can see I have my 1k mounted horizontal at the top left corner. Forgive my cyano and dirty glass.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Yup, just the 1k and the varios2 return on full power is plenty of flow for me. So much that my poor pompom crab can’t walk against the flow on the sandbed without grabbing rocks for help!

Here’s my current tank shot, I basically have my RFGs pointed straight at my little sticks, will likely need adjusting if they ever get big enough. You can see I have my 1k mounted horizontal at the top left corner. Forgive my cyano and dirty glass.

Got it. I thought the vertical would give me the best flow across the bottom and back to clear detritus and such, but I should probably try horizontal as well when I test it out further.

Your tank is looking good and I still really like that aquascape.