JCOLE's ACRO Dominant Build

[Ro Bow]

FTS as of 04/01/2022

Hello everyone,

My name is Josh. I recently got back into the hobby a year ago after taking 8 years off! Moving from Florida to North Carolina for a job transfer forced me to sell my 150 gallon reef tank :-(. I moved into a rental for 4 years and was unable to have any pets, fish, etc. Bought a house in the country with my wife but was not looking to add a fish tank because we had subfloors and I was worried about the weight. After a year of painful back-breaking work renovating the entire house from floors, stairs, kitchen, bathrooms, etc we decided to sell the house. We sold the house a year later and bought a house in the same neighborhood we were originally renting . With that being said....I finally fixed the urge and bought a 55 gallon aquarium. The aquarium is going strong. Learned and tried some new things after stepping away for 8 years. I just recently bought an Apex controller (2) weeks ago(Where has this been my whole life!!), plumbed my tank into the garage a month ago(always wanted to do this), and started dosing Kalwasser, etc.

It's time to upgrade the 55 as I want to start throwing in some SPS and the 55 is already getting crowded as it is. I purchased a used 125 AGA tank over the weekend from a guy getting out of the hobby for now. He bought the tank to move his 75 gallon into and a month later had a crash and lost everything in the 75 gallon. He doesn't have the time or money to invest in starting over again.

2/16/19 - Picked up the tank from the previous owner

I feel like a got a good deal as this included the tank, stand, canopy, and large sump. He also threw in 6 bags of sand, 200 lbs of dry rock, calcium reactor, older skimmer, dc pumps, about 5 media reactors, 5 stage RO/DI filter, Cal-ALK-Phosphate Hanna Checkers, (3) 150w halides, APEX Classic system, and misc supplies.

Now the fun part. Cleaning everything and painting. The tank was sitting in his house for 8 months without water. A lot of dust and found a couple of kids toys, hot wheels, etc in the overflows. Bought 5 gallons of Cleaning Vinegar and spent all day yesterday using some elbow grease to clean the tank. I removed about 95% of old calcium build up on the dual overflows and glass. Filled up the tank and let it sit overnight. No leaks and everything seems to be holding water well. I am going to let it sit for a couple days to make sure. After I drain the tank then I am going to try my hand at removing some of the scratches with Cerium Oxide. Never done this before so it ought to be fun.

2/17/19 - Filling the tank with water for the first time. No leaks!

The stand and canopy color aren't ugly but it just isn't a color that goes with our house. I picked up a quart of Semi-Gloss black cabinet paint this weekend. Going to start sanding and painting stand and canopy this week so hopefully, I can move it into the house this weekend or next.

I will post pictures of my room that the fish tank is in now when I get home from work today. Would love to get some advice on moving the existing tank around for this tank, etc.

This is my first tank build thread so any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks everyone and I will post pictures.

beautiful!

 

[JCOLE]

 

[Sean Clark]

Milka?

 

[JCOLE]

Milka?

Yes. Purple Milka Stylo.

 

[JCOLE]

Well everyone it has been fun, but I won't be sending pretty coral pictures for a little while. After a lot of thought, I have decided to do a full reset on my existing system. Things just haven't been right since my first crash and even though corals have looked good, they just haven't done anything other than look pretty. A couple of months ago a lot of my pieces started to lose their color and then some started to turn pale(I will post pictures later). Something happened to the system and my nutrients started to climb and they are now at the highest they have ever been. NO3 is around 75ppm and PO4 is around .25ppm. I know that might not be a big number for some but that is extremely high for my tank.

The baffling thing is why are they like this? I can only assume that something is wrong with my Biome and nitrogen filter. I have been dosing ALOT of MB7 over the last two months. Installed a huge Bashea BIO-Reactor and carbon dosing for over a month and they haven't budged. Not to mention my Chaeto is growing like gangbusters. Just doesn't make sense why they are not coming down.

I have a new 480 peninsula that should be here within a month and honestly, I have lost my drive because of everything that is happening. I spend a lot of time with the tank instead of my family and this situation has stressed me out during work. I feel a full reset, even though it sucks to say, is what is needed. I can start fresh and take it slow to make it right.

Ok, enough of the sob story. The new tank will be here shortly and I will be posting some pictures and updates very soon of the new system.

Here's to the next chapter.

 

[Jacked Reefer]

Well everyone it has been fun, but I won't be sending pretty coral pictures for a little while. After a lot of thought, I have decided to do a full reset on my existing system. Things just haven't been right since my first crash and even though corals have looked good, they just haven't done anything other than look pretty. A couple of months ago a lot of my pieces started to lose their color and then some started to turn pale(I will post pictures later). Something happened to the system and my nutrients started to climb and they are now at the highest they have ever been. NO3 is around 75ppm and PO4 is around .25ppm. I know that might now be a big number for some but that is extremely high for my tank.

The baffling thing is why are they like this? I can only assume that something is wrong with my Biome and nitrogen filter. I have been dosing ALOT of MB7 over the last two months. Installed a huge Bashea BIO-Reactor and been carbon dosing for over a month and they haven't budged. Not to mention my Chaeto is growing like gangbusters. Just doesn't make sense why they are not coming down.

I have a new 480 peninsula that should be here within a month and honestly, I have lost my drive because of everything that is happening. I spend a lot of time with the tank instead of my family and this situation has stressed me out during work. I feel a full reset, even though it sucks to say, is what is needed. I can start fresh and take it slow to make it right.

Ok, enough of the sob story. The new tank will be here shortly and I will be posting some pictures and updates very soon of the new system.

Here's to the next chapter.

Sorry about the coral troubles. But I’ve found that sometimes creating a blank slate is what’s best for ourselves and our tanks. The good news is is that you will have so much more knowledge this time around to create a system better than the last. I can’t wait to see the progress!

 

[Perry]

Well everyone it has been fun, but I won't be sending pretty coral pictures for a little while. After a lot of thought, I have decided to do a full reset on my existing system. Things just haven't been right since my first crash and even though corals have looked good, they just haven't done anything other than look pretty. A couple of months ago a lot of my pieces started to lose their color and then some started to turn pale(I will post pictures later). Something happened to the system and my nutrients started to climb and they are now at the highest they have ever been. NO3 is around 75ppm and PO4 is around .25ppm. I know that might not be a big number for some but that is extremely high for my tank.

The baffling thing is why are they like this? I can only assume that something is wrong with my Biome and nitrogen filter. I have been dosing ALOT of MB7 over the last two months. Installed a huge Bashea BIO-Reactor and carbon dosing for over a month and they haven't budged. Not to mention my Chaeto is growing like gangbusters. Just doesn't make sense why they are not coming down.

I have a new 480 peninsula that should be here within a month and honestly, I have lost my drive because of everything that is happening. I spend a lot of time with the tank instead of my family and this situation has stressed me out during work. I feel a full reset, even though it sucks to say, is what is needed. I can start fresh and take it slow to make it right.

Ok, enough of the sob story. The new tank will be here shortly and I will be posting some pictures and updates very soon of the new system.

Here's to the next chapter.

Hi Josh
Stick with it, lol, get the pun? You are way too important to the community, perhaps chill for a minute, but come back stronger and better! I too had crazy high nitrates, no ill effects, but after updating my skimmer, and bac/carbon dosing, I am down to 25ppm, after last test. The hobby can be rewarding, but also frustrating. You have a knack for this Josh, so take a breath, and then get that stoke, please let me know if I can be of assistance
Cheers

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Well everyone it has been fun, but I won't be sending pretty coral pictures for a little while. After a lot of thought, I have decided to do a full reset on my existing system. Things just haven't been right since my first crash and even though corals have looked good, they just haven't done anything other than look pretty. A couple of months ago a lot of my pieces started to lose their color and then some started to turn pale(I will post pictures later). Something happened to the system and my nutrients started to climb and they are now at the highest they have ever been. NO3 is around 75ppm and PO4 is around .25ppm. I know that might not be a big number for some but that is extremely high for my tank.

The baffling thing is why are they like this? I can only assume that something is wrong with my Biome and nitrogen filter. I have been dosing ALOT of MB7 over the last two months. Installed a huge Bashea BIO-Reactor and carbon dosing for over a month and they haven't budged. Not to mention my Chaeto is growing like gangbusters. Just doesn't make sense why they are not coming down.

I have a new 480 peninsula that should be here within a month and honestly, I have lost my drive because of everything that is happening. I spend a lot of time with the tank instead of my family and this situation has stressed me out during work. I feel a full reset, even though it sucks to say, is what is needed. I can start fresh and take it slow to make it right.

Ok, enough of the sob story. The new tank will be here shortly and I will be posting some pictures and updates very soon of the new system.

Here's to the next chapter.

I'm sorry to see you have to reset, but I'm looking forward to your new tank. You're one of those reefers I like to follow. You have great skills, and I'm sure you'll get things going the right direction!

 

[JCOLE]

Hi Josh
Stick with it, lol, get the pun? You are way too important to the community, perhaps chill for a minute, but come back stronger and better! I too had crazy high nitrates, no ill effects, but after updating my skimmer, and bac/carbon dosing, I am down to 25ppm, after last test. The hobby can be rewarding, but also frustrating. You have a knack for this Josh, so take a breath, and then get that stoke, please let me know if I can be of assistance
Cheers

Thanks Perry! I am not going anywhere. I guess my message did come across like I was about to jump! I was just giving an update on where I am at with this system and the new one. I have a TON of work ahead of me with the new system and the last thing I need right now is to be stressing about losing corals in the move. It is just better for me to have a clean slate and start fresh.

I am still going to keep a backup of as many as I can in my frag tank which will be separate from the new system. If they do come back to life down the road then I will move them over to the new system.

I have no doubt the new system will be the best I have ever had. It is a dream build and one that will be with me for at least 10+ years. I just need to take my time and focus.

 

[JCOLE]

I'm sorry to see you have to reset, but I'm looking forward to your new tank. You're one of those reefers I like to follow. You have great skills, and I'm sure you'll get things going the right direction!

Thanks Daniel! It is a decision I am not super excited about but one that needs to happen to make the new tank the best one yet. I will be back at it very soon!

 

[JCOLE]

Update: Builder reached out this morning. The tank is done and they are shipping today or tomorrow. Should be in my area mid-next week so maybe a Friday delivery. So much still to do. Beast mode activated!

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Update: Builder reached out this morning. The tank is done and they are shipping today to tomorrow. Should be in my area mid-next week so maybe a Friday delivery. So much still to do. Beast mode activated!

I exepect a fully functioning and running tank 1 week after you take delivery!!!!!!!

Kidding, but looking forward to pics and updates as thing progress.

 

[JCOLE]

I exepect a fully functioning and running tank 1 week after you take delivery!!!!!!!

Kidding, but looking forward to pics and updates as thing progress.

Well, then it looks like I will let you down. Give me two weeks!!

I will definitely post progress updates. There will be a lot of them!

 

[JCOLE]

She's ready. It will be here next week

 

[jhuntstl]

She's ready. It will be here next week

Beautiful. What are the holes on top for? Returns?

 

[Eagle_Steve]

She's ready. It will be here next week

OK, So 1 week from time of arrival to done it will be complete?????

Kidding, but look forward to the build.

 

[JCOLE]

Beautiful. What are the holes on top for? Returns?

Yes. I will have two return pumps. One for each side.

 

[JCOLE]

OK, So 1 week from time of arrival to done it will be complete?????

Kidding, but look forward to the build.

Of course. I am confident I will have the tank filled up and ready within a week.

 

[jhuntstl]

Yes. I will have two return pumps. One for each side.

Very nice. Great idea for a peninsula. Don't suppose you're going to put a seaswirl on each one? =)

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Of course. I am confident I will have the tank filled up and ready within a week.

I insta-tank a biocube in 2 hours. You got this!!!!!! lol