New Baby Reef Build

[Bubbabobobbrain]

So for the last few months I’ve been gathering equipment for a new low budget build and I’m almost ready to get it rolling. Fingers crossed that it goes better than my last build went, lol.
My last tank went straight to hell in a hand basket when the Dinos took over and no matter what I tried they just kept getting worse so I tore it down. Well I tossed all of the sand and bleached the bejesus out of my rock and I’m trying again.
This time around I’m going for a 20 long with hob equipment. Seachem tidal 55 hob filter, bubble magus qq1 hob skimmer are gonna be the filtration. Reef breeders 24” photon v2 for lighting (I might upgrade the board to make it the v2+ version). Icecap gyre 1k for the wave action.
The tank would’ve already been up and running by now but I’m going on vacation next week so I figured it’d be better to wait until I get back to get the ball rolling. Fingers crossed this time around I can get myself back to the days of old, lol.
I’ll obviously be posting picks once I start setting everything up after I get back from vacation so please stay tuned

 

[Peace River]

So for the last few months I’ve been gathering equipment for a new low budget build and I’m almost ready to get it rolling. Fingers crossed that it goes better than my last build went, lol.
My last tank went straight to hell in a hand basket when the Dinos took over and no matter what I tried they just kept getting worse so I tore it down. Well I tossed all of the sand and bleached the bejesus out of my rock and I’m trying again.
This time around I’m going for a 20 long with hob equipment. Seachem tidal 55 hob filter, bubble magus qq1 hob skimmer are gonna be the filtration. Reef breeders 24” photon v2 for lighting (I might upgrade the board to make it the v2+ version). Icecap gyre 1k for the wave action.
The tank would’ve already been up and running by now but I’m going on vacation next week so I figured it’d be better to wait until I get back to get the ball rolling. Fingers crossed this time around I can get myself back to the days of old, lol.
I’ll obviously be posting picks once I start setting everything up after I get back from vacation so please stay tuned

Good luck on the new build! Take your time, test your water, and QT everything you add.

 

[Bubbabobobbrain]

Good luck on the new build! Take your time, test your water, and QT everything you add.

Yeah that’s the plan. I’ve had numerous reef tanks over the last 7-8 years with a few breaks from the hobby here and there and the last one I fired up was nothing but trouble right from the beginning. Not sure what the problem was but the only thing I did differently from all of my previous tanks was to start with dry sand and dry rock. Not sure if that’s where the Dinos came from or not but they were relentless

 

[chevy4w]

Ugh...dinos! I had them in my first tank immediately after set up and they were a pita to get rid of. I finally had to resort to using Fauna Marin Algae-X and that got rid of it. Don't like using chemicals but it was either that or close up shop! After the treatment the tank went on to thrive for 5 years until I sold the whole set up. Here I am again after a short break, like you starting a new set up.
Welcome back!

 

[Bubbabobobbrain]

Ugh...dinos! I had them in my first tank immediately after set up and they were a pita to get rid of. I finally had to resort to using Fauna Marin Algae-X and that got rid of it. Don't like using chemicals but it was either that or close up shop! After the treatment the tank went on to thrive for 5 years until I sold the whole set up. Here I am again after a short break, like you starting a new set up.
Welcome back!

Yes they certainly are a massive nightmare, lol. And welcome back to you too. I’ve had dinos in new tanks before but always burned through them fairly quickly. The last tank I set up they just exploded covering the entire tank. I tried a 2 week blackout which helped a little bit only worked short term. I tried over feeding and took my skimmer offline for a few weeks hoping the extra nutrients would get rid of them and that did nothing. I was gonna try chemical treatments for it but by the time I got that far I just threw in the towel and broke the tank down. I still have no clue why they were so bad last time and the only thing I can think of is that it had something to do with starting the tank with dry sand and dry rock because other than that nothing was done differently than any other tank I’ve ever set up. Fingers crossed that this time around I do t have these issues

 

[Bubbabobobbrain]

Got the back of the tank painted up and put my scape together. I am running the ro/di now hoping to have my 20 gallons of water before 1amLol. Hoping to get my salt mixing before I crash and with any luck the cycling will start tomorrow.

 

[Bubbabobobbrain]

Finally finished making ro/di water at 3:00am this morning, added my salt, and after a few hours sleep I tossed in a 20 pound bag of live sand put in my rock and filled it up. Now comes the waiting game. I only put the lights on for the pics. Don’t need any issues on day 1, lol

 

[Bubbabobobbrain]

I also got these nifty little WiFi power strips which are really cool. Kinda like a poor mans reef controller, lol

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

Love the aquascaping - good luck on the cycling!

I'm soon going to be setting up a new tank and it's been so long since I started one from scratch that I feel like a newbie (even though I've been reefing about 10 years). You said you suspect the dino problem in your last tank was from using dry sand and dry rock. That is my plan for this tank - now you've got me second guessing it. I've got a bunch of rock that I bleached, rinsed, and have been sun-baking for two weeks that I want to use, but do you think I should use live sand instead of dry sand?

Also, it looks like you did water first, then sand. I thought I did sand first, then rocks, then water. Does it matter?
Sue

 

[Bubbabobobbrain]

Love the aquascaping - good luck on the cycling!

I'm soon going to be setting up a new tank and it's been so long since I started one from scratch that I feel like a newbie (even though I've been reefing about 10 years). You said you suspect the dino problem in your last tank was from using dry sand and dry rock. That is my plan for this tank - now you've got me second guessing it. I've got a bunch of rock that I bleached, rinsed, and have been sun-baking for two weeks that I want to use, but do you think I should use live sand instead of dry sand?

Also, it looks like you did water first, then sand. I thought I did sand first, then rocks, then water. Does it matter?
Sue

Honestly I’m not 100% sure that dry rock and dry sand caused my Dino issue I just know that the only thing that was different with my last tank was the dry sand and rock. I am using the same dry rock from my last tank but I also bleached the bejesus out of it, dechlorinated it, and dried it out for a few weeks so I’m hoping that live sand mixed with the dry rock will make for a better outcome. If you don’t have your new tank set up in the next few weeks follow my thread and I’ll keep updating the whole process

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

Yes, please do keep updating. I am really taking my time with this one which is totally new to me. Doing tons of research and re-learning before I dive in.
Sue

 

[Bubbabobobbrain]

Yes, please do keep updating. I am really taking my time with this one which is totally new to me. Doing tons of research and re-learning before I dive in.
Sue

I’ll definitely keep the updates coming

 

[Bubbabobobbrain]

Well week 1 update on the cycling process. Daily addition of a small pinch of flake food and a cap full of seachem stability and these are the results. I know my salinity is a hair high but my refractometer calibration solution just came in last night and I used distilled water to Calibrate while I was waiting for it. Goes to show that calibrating to 0 instead of 35ppt can definitely make a difference. Anyways, slow and steady wins the race...right?

 

[Bubbabobobbrain]

Week 2 testing shows some definite signs of progression. Getting close to being able to get the clownfish I want. Hopefully another week or 2

 

[Bubbabobobbrain]

Week 3 results show the same forward progress. Gotta keep playing the waiting game, lol

 

[Bubbabobobbrain]

Well I’ve official hit the good to go mark and am super pumped. Of course no lfs near me has the clownfish I want so I’ll have to figure out when my wife has a day off during next week so I can schedule delivery. I seeded the tank with pods on Saturday so maybe waiting an extra week will be good for population building. I guess for now it’s get a water change ready for Saturday and keep on ghost feeding until I can schedule my fish delivery

 

[kgstei]

Waiting is the hardest part. Good luck.

 

[Bubbabobobbrain]

Waiting is the hardest part. Good luck.

Yes that is for sure, lol

 

[KYLECT]

Good luck, nice rock scape!

 

[Bubbabobobbrain]

Good luck, nice rock scape!

Thanks