My new 135 build!!
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Just fill the hole from the pilot bit with superglue gel a little at a time and it will be good. One side is like that and the other side a light bulb went off. I too the pilot out, used a slower speed and just started the but at an angle and worked it upright lol.
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Jedi1199
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Haha, I was thinking the pilot hole would be great as a mini-wier.. nothing wrong with water coming in through the pilot hole, as long as it keeps the fish out.
Yup. I have barnacle blennies, so even my weir has fine mesh on the back side lol.
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Jedi1199
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Another way to utilize the pilot hole... Cut the plug a bit larger than the knockout and then use a nylon screw and nut through the pilot hole to sandwich the overflow box between the 2 plug pieces.
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Jedi1199
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It has been 2 weeks now since I first got the tank wet. Here are some pictures from today to show how it is progressing.
@MarsReefer As you can see, I have a few spots of what appears to be diatoms, but nothing that is taking over.
Yesterday 7-21-22 I added a bunch of snails to the tank. Last week 7-13-22 I added a pair of sand sifting starfish.
As I stated yesterday, I am getting a LOT of film algae on my inside glass. I have been cleaning it off manually with my magnet cleaner, but it comes back in a matter of hours.
I actually have not tested any water parameters since I got the tank wet. I will run a test tonight to see where I am.
The fish and corals are happy and healthy. I did lose my beautiful Mamba Torch, but that was bleaching out before I made the upgrade so I am not too surprised by this.
Other than that one torch, it appears that the rest of the stock is rebounding nicely. Several of the Euphillia in particular have been rather annoyed by this process, but are starting to settle in now.
I fully realize that my upgrade is akin to a new build as far as most of what we consider a new build to be. The only difference is I was able to seamlessly skip-cycle due to the amount of rock I was able to transfer over.
Tomorrow, I will resume my normal weekly water chance schedule of 20%/wk.
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Jedi1199
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Today I had planned to break up all of my rocks and begin to build the mini structures I plan to use for my scape. Since I slept till about 8pm, that didn't happen. lol
I did however rearrange some of the rock work I have in the tank now and placed a few of the pieces that have been on frag racks for far too long.
I will likely move them again after I get the new rocks built and placed. For now, at least I have one of the frag racks cleared out so I can use it for the new pieces that will arrive in the morning.
Last night, I did a round of water testing on this tank. I am very lazy about testing, but I do it periodically just to see where things are. Here are the results...
7-28-22. 135g build. (tank filled on 7-10-22)
NO3 10-15
pH 8.3
Po4 0.03
Mg 1290
KH/Alk 7.5
Ca 435
Mg looks a tad low, but overall, everything is fine.
I did change out 20g of water on the 23rd. I will do another 20g on Saturday as part of my weekly schedule.
Still have to plug the knockouts in the overflows. Had to net out 3 fish again today. Definitely need to get this done asap!!
I will take some pics later, it's lights out right now and I really can't get decent pictures till after sundown.
I did however rearrange some of the rock work I have in the tank now and placed a few of the pieces that have been on frag racks for far too long.
I will likely move them again after I get the new rocks built and placed. For now, at least I have one of the frag racks cleared out so I can use it for the new pieces that will arrive in the morning.
Last night, I did a round of water testing on this tank. I am very lazy about testing, but I do it periodically just to see where things are. Here are the results...
7-28-22. 135g build. (tank filled on 7-10-22)
NO3 10-15
pH 8.3
Po4 0.03
Mg 1290
KH/Alk 7.5
Ca 435
Mg looks a tad low, but overall, everything is fine.
I did change out 20g of water on the 23rd. I will do another 20g on Saturday as part of my weekly schedule.
Still have to plug the knockouts in the overflows. Had to net out 3 fish again today. Definitely need to get this done asap!!
I will take some pics later, it's lights out right now and I really can't get decent pictures till after sundown.
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Jedi1199
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I got the knockouts patched up. After a week of trying to figure out the best way to get, cut and attach acryllic plugs, today I thought, just cut apart an empty milk jug and glue it over the hole. Well I actually did even better than that! On the inside of the overflow is an adjustable baffle to control the water level in the tank itself. You can see the line in the picture. I simply slid the milk jug piece between the baffle and the overflow. Simple and effective.
Gotta love it when the solotion is simple, easy, and free!! lol
Gotta love it when the solotion is simple, easy, and free!! lol
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Jedi1199
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Got 2 recent orders delivered today.
First pic is 5 gonis, a mystery frag, and 3 SPS pieces. The red one and yellow green one on the far right are existing pieces.
These next pictures are the 10 RFA's I ordered from RipTide several weeks ago.
I have them in small cups for today as I am building the new rock sculptures that will be going into the tank. I don't want these beauties attaching to rocks that I may cover up.
First pic is 5 gonis, a mystery frag, and 3 SPS pieces. The red one and yellow green one on the far right are existing pieces.
These next pictures are the 10 RFA's I ordered from RipTide several weeks ago.
I have them in small cups for today as I am building the new rock sculptures that will be going into the tank. I don't want these beauties attaching to rocks that I may cover up.
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Jedi1199
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Here are a couple shots of the new rock that I will be using.
Most of this rock was cured for 5 or 6 weeks. I forgot about a bag I had that was put away and also a large chunk that was under the stand of the 180g.
Today I broke most of it up into smaller bits to build the structures I plan for this build.
I did use a couple of the medium sized pieces as is that are in the tank now.
Tonight and tomorrow, I will be gluing these bits together to create my scape pieces. Once done, I will likely put them back in the can and cure them for another 5 weeks or so.
Most of this rock was cured for 5 or 6 weeks. I forgot about a bag I had that was put away and also a large chunk that was under the stand of the 180g.
Today I broke most of it up into smaller bits to build the structures I plan for this build.
I did use a couple of the medium sized pieces as is that are in the tank now.
Tonight and tomorrow, I will be gluing these bits together to create my scape pieces. Once done, I will likely put them back in the can and cure them for another 5 weeks or so.
tbrown
Nominated Cronie Intern - Might be failing?
My sand should be here Monday so I can start making rock soon! I'm hoping to get some nice pieces made and start soaking. I've got a conference in a couple of weekends from now so if I can get it formed, cured, and start a week or two of the freshwater cure before I leave I'm hoping by the time I'm back from the conference it'll be close to ready to start the saltwater cure.
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Jedi1199
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Why wait on the sand? I got enough powder from just breaking up the rocks to easily cover any joints I have to fill. Also, if you use the powder from breaking up the rocks, the joints will be invisible. Sand never matches exactly the color of the rocks.
I am not using the gluing method from the BRS videos. IE: gel glue and the hardening spray. I will use the method preferred in Europe, which I used for my NSA scape for the 55g. Baking soda and water thin glue. Its faster, easier and stronger.
The baking soda method eliminates the need to mortar the joints together after assembly. The joint is stronger than the rock itself!
Since I am planning several small interlocking pieces, I really won't need the added strength of mortar anyway.
Freshwater cure? That is a new one to me. I cured my rocks with waste water from a water change. In my 55g I normally changed about 12g/ wk. The new 135 I do 20g. Plenty of water to cure a can of rock. I also ghost fed that can every couple days to ensure I had all the cycling bacteria in place.
Since I had to dry all the rock out in order to cut it and glue it together, I assume I lost all of that bacteria. This is why I am going to re-cure it after I get the pieces built.
tbrown
Nominated Cronie Intern - Might be failing?
No... I'm building rocks from scratch. The DIY sand and concrete method. I've got 40 pounds of aragonite sand and 40 pounds of Portland coming. You mix 2-6 parts concrete to 1 part sand, make a sand mold and let it dry. After it's finished curing (2-3 days or so) you give it a freshwater soak to draw out the pH spike and then you saltwater cure it. Takes a while but I get to make my own rock the shape and dimensions I want. It's also significantly cheaper than I can buy uncycled rock for.
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Jedi1199
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I thought the ratio was the other way around, 1 part Portland to 3-6 sand. But I'm just learning about it too.
tbrown
Nominated Cronie Intern - Might be failing?
No, it seems like most people mix more Portland. Some mix 1:1 but the preferred method seems to be higher Portland 4:1 - 6:1 with some people down in the 2 or 3:1.
Thanks.
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Jedi1199
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Update time!!
Well it is my Saturday again. I actually am off work till next Thursday as this is bid change week. My days off switched from Thu, Fri and Sat, to Mon, Tue and Wed. Took a floater for Sunday so I have a lot of time to play with the tank!!
After I got home from work early this morning, I started gluing a few of the rock pieces together trying to come up with a decent scape that will give both habitat for the fish, and plenty of places for corals and RFA's to attach.
When I woke up this afternoon I went to check on my RODI can that I started filling when I got home and sure enough, it was overflowing. GGGRRR I really hate when I do that. The really bad part of that is I have an auto shutoff for that which I have never installed. Doh!!!
Was planning a water change for today. While cleaning up the mess from the overflowing RODI can, I looked into the SW mixing can. Now, I have always heard about the brown gunk from IORC salt. Truth be told, I have seen it in my mixing can almost since the start. It's never been an issue as far as my tank goes so I have never worried about it.
Well, today I looked into the can of fresh SW and realized I can barely even see the LED display on the heater at the bottom. "Hmmmm.. What's going on here?". Got a clean white 5g old salt bucket and filled it halfway with "clean" water from the mixing can. The water was almost as dark as a cup of tea!!
Needless to say, today became a day of maintaining the "behind the scenes" stuff. Dumped out all 30g of SW. Cleaned the can fully. Cleaned the mixing pump completely... Cleaned off the heater and started mixing new water. Since I had used all of the water in the fresh storage can for the new SW mix, I went ahead and cleaned that can too. Everything is all nice and squeaky clean now so I can feel comfortable that I am not adding anything unwanted into the tank.
Not a whole lot new with the tank itself. I did, as I mentioned above, add in a few pieces of rock to the tank, moved a bunch of frags off of the racks and onto their own new rocks. I accidently killed one of my new RFA's :-( The others are doing fine although 3 of them have escaped the custard cups they were in and did exactly what I didn't want them to do. Why oh WHY do they want to go UNDER the rocks???? ggrrr!!!
Anyway.. I took a few pics of the tank as it sits today... I hope you enjoy
Green plate Monti, and Talbot's Damsel. Got the Monti as part of a "grow-out tile" about 8 months ago or so. It is more than quadrupled in size since I have had it. It's bigger than the tile it came on now!
This one is one of my favorite pieces. I still don't know what it is lol. That neon green is stunning though. When I bought it, it looked pretty much as it does here. After I placed it in my old tank, it slowly started to recede and was basically down to one small head with just a few stripes of neon left. I was about to give up on it entirely till I added the Kessil lights on the old tank. As soon as I did that, it began to recover. In 8 months it went from almost dead to what you see here!!
This one is a Purple plating Monti. The orange filter I have on my cell cam really messes up the color. Notice the whiter ridge around the outside? That is new growth JUST since it went into the new tank. Almost 1/8 of an inch in 3 weeks??!!! Outstanding!!
Blue tipped torch. My Wyoming White clown calls this home. Not sure if the Torch is happy with this arrangement.
Bottom left is one of the very first corals I ever got. Its a GSP that I got as a frag that was about the size of a dime and looked dead when I got it. about the size of a baseball now. In the back is my Toadstool leather. This one is mad at me. It hasn't opened up at all since the new build. Still looks alive and healthy, but I need to find a place where it will be happier than where it is.
This is a "Watermelon" Psammacora. This piece loves the new digs. I can clearly see new growth and polyp extension. Don't know if the photo will enlarge enough to see on here but it is definitely looking much happier than in the old tank.
Well it is my Saturday again. I actually am off work till next Thursday as this is bid change week. My days off switched from Thu, Fri and Sat, to Mon, Tue and Wed. Took a floater for Sunday so I have a lot of time to play with the tank!!
After I got home from work early this morning, I started gluing a few of the rock pieces together trying to come up with a decent scape that will give both habitat for the fish, and plenty of places for corals and RFA's to attach.
When I woke up this afternoon I went to check on my RODI can that I started filling when I got home and sure enough, it was overflowing. GGGRRR I really hate when I do that. The really bad part of that is I have an auto shutoff for that which I have never installed. Doh!!!
Was planning a water change for today. While cleaning up the mess from the overflowing RODI can, I looked into the SW mixing can. Now, I have always heard about the brown gunk from IORC salt. Truth be told, I have seen it in my mixing can almost since the start. It's never been an issue as far as my tank goes so I have never worried about it.
Well, today I looked into the can of fresh SW and realized I can barely even see the LED display on the heater at the bottom. "Hmmmm.. What's going on here?". Got a clean white 5g old salt bucket and filled it halfway with "clean" water from the mixing can. The water was almost as dark as a cup of tea!!
Needless to say, today became a day of maintaining the "behind the scenes" stuff. Dumped out all 30g of SW. Cleaned the can fully. Cleaned the mixing pump completely... Cleaned off the heater and started mixing new water. Since I had used all of the water in the fresh storage can for the new SW mix, I went ahead and cleaned that can too. Everything is all nice and squeaky clean now so I can feel comfortable that I am not adding anything unwanted into the tank.
Not a whole lot new with the tank itself. I did, as I mentioned above, add in a few pieces of rock to the tank, moved a bunch of frags off of the racks and onto their own new rocks. I accidently killed one of my new RFA's :-( The others are doing fine although 3 of them have escaped the custard cups they were in and did exactly what I didn't want them to do. Why oh WHY do they want to go UNDER the rocks???? ggrrr!!!
Anyway.. I took a few pics of the tank as it sits today... I hope you enjoy
Green plate Monti, and Talbot's Damsel. Got the Monti as part of a "grow-out tile" about 8 months ago or so. It is more than quadrupled in size since I have had it. It's bigger than the tile it came on now!
This one is one of my favorite pieces. I still don't know what it is lol. That neon green is stunning though. When I bought it, it looked pretty much as it does here. After I placed it in my old tank, it slowly started to recede and was basically down to one small head with just a few stripes of neon left. I was about to give up on it entirely till I added the Kessil lights on the old tank. As soon as I did that, it began to recover. In 8 months it went from almost dead to what you see here!!
This one is a Purple plating Monti. The orange filter I have on my cell cam really messes up the color. Notice the whiter ridge around the outside? That is new growth JUST since it went into the new tank. Almost 1/8 of an inch in 3 weeks??!!! Outstanding!!
Blue tipped torch. My Wyoming White clown calls this home. Not sure if the Torch is happy with this arrangement.
Bottom left is one of the very first corals I ever got. Its a GSP that I got as a frag that was about the size of a dime and looked dead when I got it. about the size of a baseball now. In the back is my Toadstool leather. This one is mad at me. It hasn't opened up at all since the new build. Still looks alive and healthy, but I need to find a place where it will be happier than where it is.
This is a "Watermelon" Psammacora. This piece loves the new digs. I can clearly see new growth and polyp extension. Don't know if the photo will enlarge enough to see on here but it is definitely looking much happier than in the old tank.
tbrown
Nominated Cronie Intern - Might be failing?
Looking good! You're now ahead of me by quite a bit.
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Jedi1199
2500 Club Member
Been busy today....
I got 4 decent pieces made for my scape. Forgot to snap pics before I dropped them in the can to soak for a couple days, sorry. I still have quite a few bits of rock left to work with. Once I get the new pieces into the tank and the current stuff rearranged, I will decide if I need to build more, or just place the smaller pieces to build things up.
Got a full 30g of new fresh SW mixed up and almost ready to go.. still a bit cooler than I want for doing my WC. I should have it about right in another couple hours.
Last night, I turned off 2 of my more powerful wave makers. Tinkering with the flow in this tank. I have a feeling this is something I will have to play with for a while as I add and rearrange rocks so I get it just right for everything. I have a bad feeling that I will probably replace these 2 units. I want something with a bit more control. The ones I have are too strong and there is no way to turn them down. *sigh*
I have been battling the brown algae film on my glass for a while now. You all know the gunk I mean. It has been a twice a day fight just to keep the glass clean enough to see through. Today, is the first day I have not had to clean the inside glass the first thing after I pour my coffee. I did clean it a while ago, but it is not anywhere near as bad as it's been. I wonder if turning off the flow makers is part of this?
26 days into the new build/upgrade. So far so good. I have TONS of Asterina Stars and lots of small snails that are doing exactly what they are supposed to do.
I am thinking I need to add a couple herbivorous fish to the tank. The Yellow Tang does his best nibbling at whatever he finds, but I am seeing an increase in unwanted algae starting to pop up. Not really sure what I want for this job. I suppose I could get a couple urchins, but I am not thrilled with the idea of remounting coral frags every day...
I got 4 decent pieces made for my scape. Forgot to snap pics before I dropped them in the can to soak for a couple days, sorry. I still have quite a few bits of rock left to work with. Once I get the new pieces into the tank and the current stuff rearranged, I will decide if I need to build more, or just place the smaller pieces to build things up.
Got a full 30g of new fresh SW mixed up and almost ready to go.. still a bit cooler than I want for doing my WC. I should have it about right in another couple hours.
Last night, I turned off 2 of my more powerful wave makers. Tinkering with the flow in this tank. I have a feeling this is something I will have to play with for a while as I add and rearrange rocks so I get it just right for everything. I have a bad feeling that I will probably replace these 2 units. I want something with a bit more control. The ones I have are too strong and there is no way to turn them down. *sigh*
I have been battling the brown algae film on my glass for a while now. You all know the gunk I mean. It has been a twice a day fight just to keep the glass clean enough to see through. Today, is the first day I have not had to clean the inside glass the first thing after I pour my coffee. I did clean it a while ago, but it is not anywhere near as bad as it's been. I wonder if turning off the flow makers is part of this?
26 days into the new build/upgrade. So far so good. I have TONS of Asterina Stars and lots of small snails that are doing exactly what they are supposed to do.
I am thinking I need to add a couple herbivorous fish to the tank. The Yellow Tang does his best nibbling at whatever he finds, but I am seeing an increase in unwanted algae starting to pop up. Not really sure what I want for this job. I suppose I could get a couple urchins, but I am not thrilled with the idea of remounting coral frags every day...
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