Peace River's Found Parts Build

Mastiffsrule · Jan 25, 2020

Be interested to see a few shots of your plumbing to see how you are setting it up. Probably some really neat stuff going on there.

Peace River · Jan 25, 2020

Mastiffsrule said:
Be interested to see a few shots of your plumbing to see how you are setting it up. Probably some really neat stuff going on there.

Not at all. Function over form. Just boring old white PVC and a some cinder blocks for good measure. No DTs here at the moment.

OCTO Reef Sumps: We Chat with R2R Member Peace River!

OCTO Reef Sumps: We Chat with R2R Member @Peace River It's Friday - Time for Another Customer Profile! :D

www.reef2reef.com

The interesting plumbing stuff is still in design. ;Shy

Peace River · Feb 1, 2020

While the weather is cool I have continued to work on aquariums other than the 55g Found Parts Build. Throughout this past week I have finished the maintenance on the 5-tank rack system, the return pump is on, and water is flowing through the system. Additionally, I mocked up the live rock aquascape and now that I have it close I will move that into the tank soon.

Peace River · Feb 9, 2020

...the live rock has been moved into the 75g and I need to finish the plumbing before I can move on to adding water. Salt has been added to the 5-tank rack system and will start cycling that system this next week by moving Brightwell bio-blocks from another system and adding the Brightwell's bacteria product. On a side note, I picked up the ME Corals fish food at the Florida Frag Fest and all of my fish (FW and SW) go nuts with it - I will definitely need to do some more research but for now I am impressed with what is one the label and how the fish respond!

Mastiffsrule · Feb 9, 2020

Time for some pics I think ;Happy

Amazing keeping up on everything and finding time To do it all.

Peace River · Feb 9, 2020

Mastiffsrule said:
Time for some pics I think ;Happy

Amazing keeping up on everything and finding time To do it all.

Thanks. I'll see what I can do about pictures - most of may setups are designed for function over form so they are not at all picturesque. For me I have found that working out and keeping fish offset so many of the other whirlwinds in life.

crusso1993 · Feb 9, 2020

Not sure when you changed your profile pic but I like it!

Peace River · Feb 10, 2020

crusso1993 said:
Not sure when you changed your profile pic but I like it!

Thanks. The avatar is a work-in-progress so we'll see where it goes. Always good to here from you!

Peace River · Feb 15, 2020

In addition to the whirlwinds and demands of a pleasantly hectic life, this week was filled with normal maintenance and FW water changes. Weekend plans - In addition to SW water changes, I hope to finish the plumbing on the 75g and fill with water. Additionally hope to start the cycling process on both the 75g and the 5-tank rack system - I will move media from other existing tanks and the boost with Brightwell's Microbacter 7. I just received some clean chaeto from AlgaeBarn so I also plan to set up my Reef Octopus Lite Reactor (algae reactor) on another one of my clownfish systems (the current plan is to eventually move the light reactor to the 75g once the tank matures enough). Time to get busy!

crusso1993 · Feb 15, 2020

Peace River said:
In addition to the whirlwinds and demands of a pleasantly hectic life, this week was filled with normal maintenance and FW water changes. Weekend plans - In addition to SW water changes, I hope to finish the plumbing on the 75g and fill with water. Additionally hope to start the cycling process on both the 75g and the 5-tank rack system - I will move media from other existing tanks and the boost with Brightwell's Microbacter 7. I just received some clean chaeto from AlgaeBarn so I also plan to set up my Reef Octopus Lite Reactor (algae reactor) on another one of my clownfish systems (the current plan is to eventually move the light reactor to the 75g once the tank matures enough). Time to get busy!

It's been about 25 minutes since your post above. I imagine you're all finished now with margarita in hand! ;Hilarious

Have a great day!

Peace River · Feb 23, 2020

Since my last post, the plumbing is now complete, and both the 75g and 5-tank rack system are cycling and the Reef Octopus Light Reactor is set up and growing chaeto. BTW, the Reef Octopus Essence 130 skimmer was great to get dialed in (none of the extended fight from old school skimmers). I ordered an AutoAqua Smart ATO for the 75g and a good friend is making an ATO from scratch so I plan to use a beta version of that with the 5-rack system (when I say from scratch, I mean that he designed it all the way down to the PCB control board).

Mastiffsrule · Mar 2, 2020

Evening,

Getting caught up. Interested in the reactor. Is this your first build using one. I saw one in a video from a Macna a year or so ago. Cool concept, interested to see your take on its performance.

The water calming down over there. TB saltwater was having a hard time getting out to dive for rock. Was wondering if you got a chance to use your nets yet. And put up some pics. Please

Peace River · Mar 2, 2020

Mastiffsrule said:
Evening,

Getting caught up. Interested in the reactor. Is this your first build using one. I saw one in a video from a Macna a year or so ago. Cool concept, interested to see your take on its performance.

The water calming down over there. TB saltwater was having a hard time getting out to dive for rock. Was wondering if you got a chance to use your nets yet. And put up some pics. Please

Yes, this is my first algae reactor and, even though I have been using it for a short time, I can tell that the growth in the reactor is overpower any growth in the tank. And yes, the weather here is better than virtually anywhere else in the country but still not warm enough for me to venture out in to it. The 55g Found Parts Build hasn't visually changed from the last pictures. I probably do need to start a separate build thread for the 75 so we'll see - still cycling for now.

Peace River · Mar 8, 2020

This meander away from the original 55g Found Parts build has extended further than originally anticipated and hopefully I can have a little more leeway before I start a new build thread for the 75g with asides for the 5-tank rack system. The weather will soon get warmer here in Florida and I will be able to start collecting in Tampa Bay again, although looking at my schedule I may or may not be able to get my nets wet until after Reef-a-Palooza in April. In the mean time I continue to keep up with water changes and the 55g has stayed at status quo.

The 75g and rack system are almost fully cycled and I will be adding livestock soon. The plan on the 75g is to start with a few fish and then add a few corals (zoas and maybe softies) and then start to stock up at RAP Orlando to begin filling out the tank. This past week I order two black box 165w lights for the 75g which should arrive this next week and hopefully I will be able to hang those next weekend. The original plan for the 5 tank rack system was to have the (3) 10g tanks on the top level and the 30g in the middle all house clowns (with the 30g for a larger pair or possibly split into sections). I plan to add at least a few more pair of clowns over then next few months, however since I still have more room in other systems for housing clowns I think that I will use the 30g on the middle level for RFAs for now until I can set up a fully dedicated shallow RFA tank (maybe a 50g lowboy?).

Peace River · Mar 15, 2020

The 75g tank appears to be fully cycled and the 5-tank rack is getting close. The black box lights for the 75g arrived this week so I plan to hang those this next week. Additionally, I changed out the T5s above the middle 30g tank on the rack system to full actinic 420nm bulbs. I also picked up the DIY ATO from a friend who built it from scratch (including designing the PCB board and having it printed) so that hopefully I will be able to set that up as well this next week. My life, like virtually everyone else's, has been disrupted so plans are constantly shifting right now, but somehow I do plan to start adding fish and coral soon!

Ruben's Reef · Mar 15, 2020

That’s great. Don’t forget to post some pics. Agee with you. Sometimes I planned to do something and then everything change out.

Peace River · Mar 15, 2020

spyder813 said:
That’s great. Don’t forget to post some pics. Agee with you. Sometimes I planned to do something and then everything change out.

Thank you for the nudge. I need to start a separate build thread for the 75g, but spent nearly the entire weekend working on a writing project to meet a deadline. Hopefully I will be able create the new thread in the next week or two and then I will add pictures. The original 55g tank remains unchanged and looks essentially exactly like it did in previous pictures.

Peace River · Mar 21, 2020

Still no pictures of the new system yet, but I did make some more progress on the 75g and the 5-tank rack system. On the 75g, I hung and programmed the two 165w black box lights, added a large cinnamon clownfish, and ordered a clean up crew. I will find and add a small mate soon. On the 5-tank system I setup the DIY ATO and will be adding fish soon. I also plan to be adding some coral and RFAs from WWC, The Aquatic Arsenal, and Flawless Reef soon.

jheidenthal · Mar 24, 2020

Following. New to the reef hobby, am planning a standard 55 gallon build (scared to drill) with 29g diy sump. I'm in Sarasota and would love to go collecting when I get my tank ready for life!