Kodski's 80gal office lagoon

[Kodski]

Hello my fellow reefers!

I was in the process of setting up a 180 gallon tank with a basement fishroom, however, plans have changed a bit. Over the last few months I've started my own business and have been super busy with that. Knowing I'm going to be dedicating a lot of my time and money to my business in the coming months, that build is now on hold. I'd be content with my 20gal nano and would just wait until the time is right to setup the 180 gal tank, but my 20gal is so crammed full of corals that anymore growth is going to start to cause issues. So you could say I'm in dire need of a larger tank. I just so happen to have a Deep Blue 80gal RR tank in the garage that I had planned on using for a frag tank in the new fishroom. So I'll be setting that up for the time being, with the idea, that I'll be upgrading to the 180gal tank down the road, when the time is right. I also have a skimz up34 sump that I got when I bought my 180gal tank that I'll be using as my sump. I just ordered a single Reefi Uno to replace my Kessil A360x thats over my 20gal tank. I have no doubt that I'll love the Reefi Uno even more than my Kessil so I'll order a second light for the new build once I get closer to needing it. I also found a decent deal on a Royal Exclusiv Buble King Double Cone 150, and decided to pick that up for my skimmer. Aside from everything needing a good cleaning, its all in good shape. The skimmer has no bottom plate to the pump though, and it doesn't look like you can buy just the plate. So I may pick up a new pump with plate and use this pump as a backup for now. Or I may just set the pump on a piece of rubber or foam, we will see.

Here is my equipment list. I have pretty much everything on the list minus the wavemakers.


Tank & Sump:
Deep Blue 80gal RR tank. 48"x24"x16"
Skimz up34
Possibly adding 20gal tank as a refugium

Lights:
Reefi Uno x2
Reef Breeders 24" Blue/UV Hybrid x2

Other Equipment:
Jebao SLW-30 x2 or Jebao SCP-150M x2 or a combo of the two
Sicce Syncra SDC 9.0
BRS 5-stage RODI with Smart Buddy booster pump
Tunze 3155 ATO
Royal Exclusiv Bubble King Double Cone 150

The plan for the tank is to have it as a peninsula in my office, away from where I plan on setting up the 180gal tank. This way when the time comes to set up the 180gal tank, I wont have to dismantle this tank in order to set it up. I'm also more than likely going to drill the tank for a ghost overflow box and return line. The goal is to have the pumps on the back wall with no pump on either of the three sides of the tank. In a 4' tank, I think this will be fairly easy. Doing this should also allow me the ability to place lower flow corals on one end of the tank, and higher flow corals towards the wall end of the tank. Being that I have a love for all corals, this tank will be heavily mixed like my 20gal is currently. So everything will be planned around multiple types of flow and lighting requirements, the aquascape included. Also, while the sump does have a refugium chamber, I'd like to try and fit a 20gal tall tank under the stand along with the sump. I'm hoping this will give a little more stability as I plan on having a heavy stocking list.

For now, I need to finish a few projects around the house before I'll be able to actually set up the tank, but I'm doing my best to get everything finished up asap so this tank can start cycling before my corals in the 20 gal nano start growing too much and killing each other. I'll be building the stand myself and hope to start on that soon. In the meantime, I've got a bunch of rock that I'm going to throw in a brute trashcan and start curing it for a bit. I also need to get everything cleaned up, and the tank drilled for the overflow. I hope to have updates soon.



Current (10/14/22) Equipment List:

Sump: DIY 40 Breeder
Skimmer: RO Regal 250-EXT
Lights: 48" ATI 6 bulb sunpower with 2 reefbright actinic XHO bars
Flow: 2x 3/4" RFG, 1 Jebao MCP-90, 1 Jebao MCP-120
Return Pump: Sicce SDC 9.0

Current (10/14/22) Stocking List:

Gold Line Rabbit Fish
Sailfin Tang
Gold Rim Tang
Purple Tang
Pintail Fairy Wrasse
Christmas Wrasse
Pair of half naked mochaccino clown fish
2x Female Lyretail Anthias
Male Lyretail Anthias
Midas Blenny
Pink Spot Goby
Blue Mandarin
Royal Gramma
Female Spot Breast Swallowtail Angel
Male Spot Breast Swallowtail Angel

 

[lapin]

Nice

 

[count krunk]

Good plan. What business are you in?

 

[Kodski]

Good plan. What business are you in?

I started a construction business, mainly doing bathroom and kitchen remodels. Here is one of the kitchens I just recently completed.

 

[Kodski]

So things are finally starting to settle into their groove now, and you all know what that means! Progress!
Started getting the tank cleaned up the other day and took out the corner overflow.

Went to my lfs and picked up a large eshopps overflow which is probably too big for this tank, but I wanted a bean animal overflow for the extra e-drain. When I got home I opened the box and was a bit surprised, I was expecting a black overflow box, however this one was blue. I’d have exchanged it for the black one but this was their last one. Also I highly doubt I’ll ever see it. The internal weir is still black and that’s all I care about.

Today I started working on the sump, I had originally planned on using the skimz sump I had but I just can’t get myself to accept filtersocks. For me I’d much rather change out filter floss or have a roller mat. Unfortunately a roller mat isn’t in the budget right now, but it’s one the upgrade list down the road. So I decided to DIY my own sump out of a new 40breeder I had on hand. My new plan is to use the 40 breeder for equipment and mechanical filtration. I want the ability to put any and all equipment I may need into my sump as opposed to regretting not going larger down the road like I see in so many other build threads. Besides, if I don’t need the space it’s at least more water volume. So here is the sump all mocked up with cardboard. The box in the corner is a bubble tower that will flow over onto some filter floss and sponge. I plan on having rubble between the two baffles before the pump, hopefully creating more space for pods to grow and breed. Also hopefully getting them sucked into the display more.

As for creating the baffles and corner tower, I had noticed a nice piece of glass in the basement of our house when we bought it. I’ve been hanging onto it ever since for this exact purpose. It was just large enough to where I can get an extra baffle out of it if need be.
At first I tried cutting the glass with your typical cutter but this glass seemed a bit too thick for that to work well. At least with my glass cutting experience. (Zero to be exact) then I saw my manual tile cutter sitting on the bench.

OH MOMMA
Using a manual tile cutter to cut glass is a SNAP! (Haha pun intended)

in no time at all I had all my pieces cut and all the edges sanded.

Im hoping to get the sump assembled tonight yet or possibly tomorrow. Then work on the stand begins.

 

[Kodski]

Well I’ve been working on things here and there. Not much progress for being a week but at least it’s progress.

I got the sump finished up, the silicone didn’t turn out as clean as I had hoped even with taping everything off. Things were sliding around as I was trying to pull off the tape. So I just went and cleaned up the silicone with a razor blade. I really like the amount of room I have for everything.

Once that was all finished up I started on the stand. I knew I wanted to build a plywood stand as I prefer them over dimensional lumber. Lighter, and easier to build and make look nice IMO. Also plywood is just stronger all around. But the big one for me was that plywood ultimately gives me more room inside the stand. Also with the great lumber shortage of 2021 the quality of dimensional lumber is not something I’d be willing to bet a broken tank on. Luckily I knew I’d be setting up a tank quite a while ago, so I had purchased two full sheets of cabinet grade 3/4” birch plywood when they were $60ish a sheet. Versus the $95+ a sheet they are currently. So far I’ve only used one but I will have to cut into the second sheet to make the controller board and bottom of the stand.
when I build stuff I usually do a rough sketch of what I’ve got in my head and then make up the rest as I go. Not the best way to do things sometimes but hey, it works for me. So I got all the pieces cut and ready to go.

After this I glued and screwed two pieces of plywood together to make the “beams” for the upper portion of the stand. This way I wont need a center brace and so can easily get the sump in/out if need be. From there I got all the pocket holes drilled and started assembly using Kreg 1 1/4” course thread outdoor coated screws and Tightbond III glue.

And this is where everything is as of tonight. A few key points of design on the stand. Everything is 3 1/2” wide to mimic a standard 2x4. I doubled up plywood for the top so it’s the same size as dimensional 2x4 but way stronger since it’s plywood. The legs are designed for direct weight transfer. Meaning the weight goes from the tank to the 3 1/2”x 1 1/2” beams directly into the legs. The legs themselves go straight to the floor so that when I shimm the weight isn’t going anywhere but straight down into the floor. This makes it easier to shim because the stand isn’t trying to pull itself out of square when more weight is applied unlike most other stand designs where there is a board under the legs. The boards between the legs are just there to keep everything squared up and technically see little to no weight from the tank itself. Now the legs are technically “doubled up” plywood, just in a different orientation instead of glued and screwed together forming a single block of wood. I did this to strengthen the stand and prevent any racking from occurring in either direction. I know technically it’s not quite as strong as glueing and screwing two pieces of plywood together in terms of the amount of weight it can hold before buckling but the plywood is plenty strong for a tank of this size to begin with so I’m not worried about it.

I need to put the bottom in it yet and then give it a good sanding. I’m not sure if I’m going to do doors or just panels but I’ll probably end up working on those down the road after the tank is starting it’s cycle.
I’ll be painting the inside and I think I’ll go with a nice natural oil based finish on the outside.
I’m hoping to have the tank up and filled with water by the end of next weekend.

 

[Kodski]

Overflow holes done! Two more yet to do for the returns!

 

[Kodski]

Got all 4 holes drilled. They turned out great! It’s my second or third time drilling holes but that first hole always seems like it takes an hour to do then 5min each for the rest. Lol

I’m off to the store to pick up some plugs for the bulkheads on the bottom of the tank. I chose this route to plug the holes vs a piece of glass because I only had 3/16” (5mm) glass and didn’t want to risk that cracking. So I siliconed the bottom side of the bulkheads to make sure they won’t leak. Then each one will get two plugs glued in to make sure there are no leaks.

I gotta order two more bulkheads for the returns. I picked up every combination of threaded/slip but the one that I need. Lol I’m gonna use threaded on the inside and slip on the backside so I can glue my plumbing in place. I prefer this method as opposed to threaded/threaded or slip/slip because it allows me to use locline but also eliminates the threat of over tightening a pvc threaded adapter and cracking a bulkhead. Also it’s a lot easier to get a leak free joint that lasts a long time by gluing as opposed to Teflon tape.

 

[Kodski]

Oh boy, finally progress again! Just finished putting a coat of primer/sealer on the stand. I'll let that dry overnight and the silicone the inside edges to create a sealed bottom from spills.

I also started messing around with my aquascape. I had come up with this structure which I really like. I'll more than likely add another structure or two. I also picked up 7 buckets and a box full of beautiful live rock from our very own @vetteguy53081 last weekend. It was an absolute killer deal that I just couldn't say no to and is now soaking in a 100g Rubbermaid stock bin. So despite having enough live rock to fill this tank 4 -5 times over, I think I'm still going to keep this rock structure. In turn I'll end up using the live rock for the other structures and in the sump/refugium. Which brings me to my biggest plan change. I'm going to now be plumbing the tank into my basement where I'll be using a 50 gal Rubbermaid bin as a mangrove lagoon tank, and my 65 gal tank which will serve as my refugium. These will all dump into my 40 breeder sump that I made where it will get pumped back into the display in my office.

 

[Kodski]

Got the tank in the house today! I also got the hole in the floor cut to run all the plumbing down into basement, no turning back now! I made sure to cut the hole so that I can put a vent plate over the hole in the event that we sell the house and move.

Excuse the mess, there was a large shelf where the tank now is that got taken down right before this picture. But this is the view as I look over my shoulder while sitting at my desk.

I also ran to the store and picked up 38 cement block and a bunch of plumbing supplies for tomorrow. I started messing around with placement of the sumps and I think this is the layout I'll go with. In the corner to the right of the 50 gal rubbermaid will be a 65 gal refugium. The 50 gal rubbermaid will be a mangrove tank. I think the plan is to have the 80gal display drain down into the 65 gal tank, which will then drain into the 50gal rubbermaid and then into the 40 breeder sump. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Kodski]

Decided to change around the layout of the sump room a bit. Originally I was going to have the display drain into the 65 gallon tank then into the 50 gallon tank, and finally into the sump. I decided I'd rather control the amount of flow to the fuges independently of the display. I also made a few placement changes based on how the plumbing would be laid out. I'm hoping to tomorrow to finish leveling the 40 breeder and then tackle the plumbing. Maybe the tanks will even see water by the end of the day.

 

[Kodski]

Guess who has the day off and guess what the plan for the day is? Here, a picture or two might help!

 

[Kodski]

And we have a running system! Had a leaky bulkhead but after a turn everything seems to be leak free so far. Filled with RO/di and mixing salt as it comes up to temperature. Sump room is a disaster and I still need to plumb in the manifold to feed the skimmer but that should be easy enough. Hopefully live sand and live rocks go in tomorrow. Then I’ll check the cycle and see if we can’t put our first fish in!

 

[Kodski]

Got the sand in the other day and the Aquascape done tonight. Super happy with how it turned out. With my goal to keep a heavy mix of corals and as many fish as possible it was definitely a challenge. I wanted to create lots of real estate for corals and plenty of hiding spots for fish all while keeping it open. I sorted through over 400 lbs of dry and live rock I have on hand till some inspiration hit me. I knew my initial aquascape was the general idea of what I wanted but I wasn’t happy with how it looked from the sides. Tank is cloudy from adding sand a few days ago still and then messing with the rock. So I’ll post one picture for now. Hopefully I can get more tomorrow.
Basically the idea is two large flat plates pointed at each other. A garden of coral on each, I’m thinking hammers and torches. On the Tonga branches I’d like to have sps branch off. Then Various gardens on the other rocks, zoa, acans, goni’s, etc. I left enough room to add a few more rocks as needed for anemones and possibly a plate coral. I do have a small elegance that will probably find its home on the sand as well.

 

[Kodski]

The water is finally clearing up. I used 3 20lbs bags or CaribSea original grade ocean direct sand. I personally feel that I could have used 4 or even 5 bags but there is a good 1.5-2” sand bed and I’ll live with it. This stuff has a good grain mixture and I’m really happy with it so far. It definitely was the dustiest sand I’ve ever added to the tank. Even with switching filter floss out 2-3 times a day it’s still slightly cloudy 5 days later.

the rock I added in the tank is a mixture of live rock I got from Vetteguy and dead rock I had. I also added some live rock rubble and some marine pure bio balls I have had in my nano tank for the last few months. I added 4 drops of ammonia chloride per gallon of water and have been watching it fall slowly while my nitrites rise. Once nitrites reach zero I’ll start adding fish. I’m undecided if I want to transfer my nano over into this tank right away or if I should wait a while before doing so. Since I started with quite a bit of live rock I can’t see too much harm in transferring all my corals over. As far as fish, I’d be transferring two clowns and a purple fire fish over.
Here are a few pictures of the scape to try and give a good sense of all the overhangs and hidey holes there are.

 

[Kodski]

I just realized I never posted a picture of the sump area. After lots of talk with the owner of a LFS. I decided that I’m going to keep my system small and simple for now. I had originally wanted to bump up my water volume and bio load to be able to justify using my Reef Octopus 250ext skimmer. But after a long discussion with my LFS’ owner (whom through his tanks his knowledge shows that he’s been studying marine biology his entire life and been reefing for over 30 years) I’ve decided to try a reef his way. Super simple with heavy nutrient export through a very large protein skimmer. This allows him to control phosphate and nitrate levels while keeping things from sludge and detritus from building up over time. You can really tell how well it works too. I’ve never seen tanks cleaner than his. Every time I stop in there (I’ve been going there for well over a year now) I just can’t get over how clean his tanks are. He runs two reef Octopus 300ext skimmer on a 700 gallon system with about 10-12 tangs. So I’m gonna give it a shot with my system and a 250ext. I may end up plumbing in a refugium down the road but for now K.I.S.S.

 

[Kodski]

What an exciting weekend! After watching the ammonia drop and Nitrite rise all week, Ehen I tested my water Friday I was pleasantly surprised to see 0ppm Ammonia, 0ppm Nitrite, and 10-20ppm Nitrate. The cycle is complete! I was going to give it another few days or so before transferring the contents of the 20gal tank over. Spending that time getting ALK, PH, and Calc to all match.

Then I ended up making an hour long trip to another town. Figured since I was there I’d stop in a few of the LFS and just browse, I needed wavemakers anyways but I had no intention of buying fish quite yet despite being ready for a few fish in the new tank. The first LFS had a few nice fish, but nothing that would have made a good first addition, but more importantly they had a single Nero 5 left. I ended up walking out with that. The second LFS we had never been to before, they specialize more in fish than anything else. They do a 14day in-house quarantine for all fish. I was really impressed with the health and overall quality of what they had. Their prices were more than fair in my opinion as well. Some fish were less than I’ve seen at other LFS that don’t quarantine. As I was browsing through their stock two fish in particular stood out to me. A gorgeous Spot Breast Swallowtail Angel fish which is a fish I’ve wanted for a very long time but never really see them around here that much. The second was a fish that I’ve never seen in person but knew I needed it once I saw it, an Orange Striped Bristletooth tang.

I walked out of there giddy as a kid on Christmas Day. I’ve never had a large saltwater tank before, my 20gal is the largest I’ve had, so it’s a totally new experience walking into the LFS and seeing these larger fish that I can now actually consider for my tank. I do have an idea of a stocking list for the tank but I’m sure it will go through a few iterations by the time we fish. For now, the two new additions are doing great after acclimating them to match salinity, they were both picking at rocks within minutes. I fed them later that night and they both ate healthily. I can’t stop watching them.

Another exciting thing happened Sunday. I picked up some new lighting! Thanks to a fellow reefer, I got 2x 30” ReefBright Actinic Blues and 2x 30” ReefBright 50/50 bars. I really want a nice blanket of light over this tank, especially with all the overhangs of the aquascape. I was hoping with 4 bars I’d be able to get away with a single Reefi Uno over where I plan to put SPS to bump up the par. The guy I bought the bars from said he was seeing around 200 par with just the bars. So I’m thinking that with such a shallow tank my LPS should be just fine without another source of light. I need to get ahold of a par meter once I move everything over but that will probably be a bit yet. I’ll try to get pics of the new fish tomorrow since it’s kinda boring to just stare at text. Lol

 

[Kodski]

Managed to get a few pictures of the new fish today during feeding time. The tang’s color makes it difficult to capture the orange stripes and spots on his body. Along with the fact that being a tang he never stays still for long.

I’ve been feeding them Frozen Spirulina Brine Shrimp on the recommendation of the LFS I purchased them from. I’ve also been taking some nori and attaching it to a large frag tile with a rubber band. The plan is a half sheet put in the tank in the morning and taken out in the evening everyday to encourage the tang to pick at rocks. So far I see him picking at rocks just as much as the nori which is a good sign. I may dial it back to three days a week in the future but for now, being a newer tank, there isn’t any algae for him really.

On another note, I got my skimmer plumbed in last night and is now running. Even with such a small bio load, I’m seeing skimmate in the cup right away. Running the feed pump on its Lowest setting and have the ball vale half closed. The Venturi pump is on power level 2 on the controller. Really liking this skimmer so far.

 

[Kodski]

Still a bit messy but figured I’d add a picture of my office.

 

[Kodski]

I absolutely love how well you can tune this skimmer. Two fish, two and a half days worth of skimming from a brand new skimmer. I don’t know why external skimmers aren’t more popular. Or at least skimmers that have a separate feed pump.

Everything is running great so far! I’m hoping this weekend I can work on getting a controller board made and all the wiring cleaned up properly. I bought some very coarse aqua mesh from BRS to put into my overflow weir as it sounded like a waterfall in my office. Seems to have taken about 80% of the noise away. I’m running my rerun pump at 67% so I’m pushing some serious water flow through my overflow. When I was originally messing with the flow, this was the sweet spot, for sound. It seemed to get louder as I went for less flow until I got around 20% which I wanted a bit more flow than that. But I’ll have to play with it more. I don’t want to go with a less coarse mesh as I don’t want to impede the passage of larger particulates. Or have the large particulates clog the overflow and cause a flood. I also threw some in the sump for some mechanical filtration but honestly I’ll probably order the finer mesh for the sump. I’ve been using some filter floss from the fabric store but it seems to trap air under it after a few hours and then the water just flows right over the other side of the baffle. I don’t know if I’ll need mechanical filtration or not though as the skimmer seems to take bigger chunks out of the water column just fine.