Planet Aquarium 60X20X21

[Gort]

It was in the beginning, but seems to have settled out over time. I have a 10g RO reservoir and it gets close to empty every week, so I would guess 9 gallons per week.

What volume / % of water changes are you doing?

 

[bpbonds]

FOLLOWING

 

[HD_Reefer]

About 30 gallons per week for the 1st two months, now I'm doing the same every other week. I shut the pumps down and drain the sump for the water change, nice and easy.

 

[ssunthar]

Day 8 of the cycle and ammonia is almost gone. Nitrite is a little higher than I would have expected at this point, but it's on the decline now. I'm guessing it will be complete by the end of the weekend.

May I know what testing kit are you using?

 

[ssunthar]

Replaced about 1/2 the sand with special grade. It still swirls a little, but it’s tolerable now. Cycle officially started this morning!

Have a few questions on cycling hope you don't mind. What you do when cycling? What are the things you are looking for or tracking? Many suggested that cycling should be done for min 6-8 weeks... how you know your tank is cycled?

 

[ssunthar]

Now that’s a thing of beauty! The CoralBox is mounted and lines ran. Since I’ll be using Fritz Alk, Calc & Mag, their bottles worked perfectly for containers. Built a little holder so the bottles are velcro’d nice and tight. It worked out well, everything is out of the way! Little bit of cable management left and the tank will be on test autopilot probably until next weekend.

May I know what are you dosing?

 

[ssunthar]

Still fiddling with the scape....have another thread running to get more opinions SCAPE OPINIONS

Some questions on rocks and scaping... how did the rocks came when you purchased small pieces or already partially shaped?

 

[ssunthar]

Bulk Reef Supply Super Glue Gel Extra Thick and accelerator.

10 oz. Bottle BRS Extra Thick Gel Super Glue

Why does BRS recommend this? The extra thick gel super glue is a great value and is one of the easiest glues to work with. Employees at BRS choose to use the 20-gram tube for its ease of use and the ability to get every last drop out of the tube. The extra thick gel super glue is slightly...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Insta-set Super Glue Accelerator

Insta-set accelerator will help speed up the set time of any cyanoacrylate super glue. The most frustrating thing about fragging coral is the time you need to wait for the glue to set, or the frag may simply just fall over and get glue all over. With the accelerator that time spent waiting will...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

A follow on questions... using the glue alone will be strong enough to hold the rocks in place (especially when moving it around)? Seen others drilling the rocks and joining it with a metal rod. Your thoughts please. Thanks.

 

[ssunthar]

About 30 gallons per week for the 1st two months, now I'm doing the same every other week. I shut the pumps down and drain the sump for the water change, nice and easy.

Anxious to see how your tank look like now, please share any latest pics. Thanks.

 

[HD_Reefer]

May I know what testing kit are you using?

Started with API kit, but it's not as accurate as it should be. I have a RedSea kit, but using up the remaining API before I switch over.

 

[HD_Reefer]

Have a few questions on cycling hope you don't mind. What you do when cycling? What are the things you are looking for or tracking? Many suggested that cycling should be done for min 6-8 weeks... how you know your tank is cycled?

Cycling can be done several ways and everyone has their opinion. If you go with dry rock like I did, I would use the Microbacter StartXLM and Microbacter QuikCycl like I did. Add the bacteria and ammonia per the recommendations on the bottle. Once the Ammonia gets to 0 and you have nitrates registering, it's cycled far enough to handle hardy fish. It's important to understand that the 'cycle' goes on for a long time as the rocks mature and the bacteria take a strong hold. Dumping a ton of fish or anything non-hardy in there early is a recipe for disaster!

A follow on questions... using the glue alone will be strong enough to hold the rocks in place (especially when moving it around)? Seen others drilling the rocks and joining it with a metal rod. Your thoughts please. Thanks.

The BRS glue is all that I used. I used an ample amount during the build phase, then went back and added more to each glue joint after it was dry. I also added smaller pieces of rock in the crevices of each joint to help shore it up. My structures are super solid and have zero risk of breaking unless I do it intentionally! Please, whatever direction you end up going on your rock, DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT use metal rods in the structure! If you feel the need for rods, use Acrylic or Polycarbonate rods....absolutely nothing metal in the reef!

Some questions on rocks and scaping... how did the rocks came when you purchased small pieces or already partially shaped?

The rocks came in large chunks. I used a hammer and chisel to break them into smaller pieces, then glued them back together the way I wanted them. Nothing came preassembled.

Anxious to see how your tank look like now, please share any latest pics. Thanks.

I will post some current pics later today. That will be a good update, glad you asked!

 

[HD_Reefer]

May I know what are you dosing?

Fritz RPM Alkalinity, Calcium and Magnesium

 

[Gort]

About 30 gallons per week for the 1st two months, now I'm doing the same every other week. I shut the pumps down and drain the sump for the water change, nice and easy.

I'm hoping that after the initial fill and cycle-required water changes, I can get away using a 32-gallon Brute on casters for RO/DI storage. My best indoor water source for the RO/DI system is in the upstairs laundry but the tank is one the main floor.

 

[HD_Reefer]

Update pics....and for the record, I didn’t clean or tidy anything up first!

 

[HD_Reefer]

I'm hoping that after the initial fill and cycle-required water changes, I can get away using a 32-gallon Brute on casters for RO/DI storage. My best indoor water source for the RO/DI system is in the upstairs laundry but the tank is one the main floor.

Where is your water heater? I tapped into mine in the garage.

 

[Gort]

Where is your water heater? I tapped into mine in the garage.

The water heater is in the garage, a few yards away & several steps down from the main floor. I thought of doing the RO/DI station there, and still may. Wherever the storage tank / Brute is, I'll need to pump the water out to the salt mix container for water changes. I guess I could pump the RO/DI water back up from storage to the salt station on the main level. The garage gets cold in winter, but never freezing ;Stig

 

[HD_Reefer]

The water heater is in the garage, a few yards away & several steps down from the main floor. I thought of doing the RO/DI station there, and still may. Wherever the storage tank / Brute is, I'll need to pump the water out to the salt mix container for water changes. I guess I could pump the RO/DI water back up from storage to the salt station on the main level. The garage gets cold in winter, but never freezing ;Stig

Through a heater in the mixing tank and you're all set!

 

[ssunthar]

Started with API kit, but it's not as accurate as it should be. I have a RedSea kit, but using up the remaining API before I switch over.

Thank you very much.

 

[ssunthar]

Cycling can be done several ways and everyone has their opinion. If you go with dry rock like I did, I would use the Microbacter StartXLM and Microbacter QuikCycl like I did. Add the bacteria and ammonia per the recommendations on the bottle. Once the Ammonia gets to 0 and you have nitrates registering, it's cycled far enough to handle hardy fish. It's important to understand that the 'cycle' goes on for a long time as the rocks mature and the bacteria take a strong hold. Dumping a ton of fish or anything non-hardy in there early is a recipe for disaster!



The BRS glue is all that I used. I used an ample amount during the build phase, then went back and added more to each glue joint after it was dry. I also added smaller pieces of rock in the crevices of each joint to help shore it up. My structures are super solid and have zero risk of breaking unless I do it intentionally! Please, whatever direction you end up going on your rock, DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT use metal rods in the structure! If you feel the need for rods, use Acrylic or Polycarbonate rods....absolutely nothing metal in the reef!


The rocks came in large chunks. I used a hammer and chisel to break them into smaller pieces, then glued them back together the way I wanted them. Nothing came preassembled.


I will post some current pics later today. That will be a good update, glad you asked!

Cool, thank you very much.

 

[ssunthar]

Update pics....and for the record, I didn’t clean or tidy anything up first!

Wow... it looks amazing.