Randy's Tank and Learn Thread

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Welcome to Randy's Tank and Learn Thread!

First, why that particular title?

I started my last reef tank in August of 1995, and ultimately took it down in March of 2016, after more than 20 years of enjoyment. I’ve learned a lot since then, but not nearly enough. The title reflects the idea that this tank thread will be different than most, and will be focused around learning, both for readers and for me. As I proceed to set up and maintain a new reef tank, I will encounter all sorts of challenges that I will address extensively in this thread.

Some recent days the list of challenges seemed endless. Some I’ve already encountered and gotten great help for, and will recount these in this thread. Future challenges will include things I’ve done before, and some I have not. For many of these topics, I will request input from readers on how to best do certain things, and what are the pros and cons of the various paths forward. Some will obviously be chemical challenges (e.g., what to dose and how and why, DIY materials of various sorts, etc.), but others will not be (e.g., what corals look best in white light).

My intent overall is to first tell folks what I'm thinking of doing, gathering suggestions of how others think I might go about it, then doing it, tracking if it seemed to work, etc. My hope is that a wide range of folks will follow this thread, both to learn things they do not know, and to help with things they do. In many cases, each post I make will have a heading that summarizes it in a “topic of the day” type of discussion.

I won’t belabor the reasons for taking down my previous tank, but electricity cost was a big factor. Fast forward to today, and there have been huge changes in the reefing world, not least of which is more electrically efficient equipment. Rev (revhtree, owner of Reef2Reef) asked me a couple of times if I had an interest in restarting a tank, and I decided last fall that the time was right to start again. In discussions with Rev, he suggested that perhaps some Reef2Reef sponsors might be willing to help out, and that has turned out to be true. I want to express a very big thank you to three companies:

TBS (Tampa Bay Saltwater), providing their “package” of rock, sand, and some clean up crew

Tunze, providing powerheads (Stream 6105 eco), a skimmer (9410), an Osmolator 3, and an RO controller (8555)

BRS (Bulk Reef Supply), discount on lighting.

As my tank story unfolds, there will be more about why I chose these specific items, how I’m using them, etc. An important thing to note is that these are the specific items I felt would best serve this tank. Folks may have noticed a bunch of threads I started recently asking for folks experiences with various things (e.g., lights, bulkheads, etc.). This tank is why. I made a wish list of items I wanted and Rev worked to find a way to help make it happen. Thanks, Rev! It was not the other way around, of a company trying to convince me to try something. I picked these things so it’s on me to have chosen correctly.

So let’s roll on, have fun, and learn together!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Randy’s Tank Guiding Principles

The tank itself is actually my old 120 gallon oceanic, 4’ x 2’ x 2’, that has been sitting the garage since 2016. Same for the stand and canopy that have been sitting in the basement. Hopefully, they have aged gracefully and will still function as expected, even if they have many old battle scars.

There are several important guiding principles for this system:

1. It is intended to mostly mimic a very shallow reef. That mainly impacts the lighting, which will be far less blue than most reef tanks, and will try to mimic the intense sunlight spectrum of shallow water, which also includes some UV. A prominent tank creature is intended to be an H. magnifica anemone, which can handle very high intensity sunlight. My wife and I also prefer the look of a sunny day in the tropics, as opposed to the cold blue of a deep dive. I found that my first reef tank looked best when lit by direct sunlight at those times of the year when it could be. That’s the look I’m aiming for.

2. The organisms will generally be mixed, including host anemones, SPS and other hard corals, soft corals, and even macroalgae in the display. That mix brings its own challenges that I hope we can overcome together. The lighting choice also has a big impact on which organisms will look and thrive the best.

3. The tank is in our living room, and thus needs to be as quiet as possible. That drives some equipment and design choices. Sump is in the basement, a floor down, which again has some challenges but also big advantages.

4. The tank needs to be largely self-sufficient for significant periods of time since I am not always there. That need drives some equipment choices, such as backup power, auto feeders, a security camera, and possibly devices that can tell me over the internet if they are working.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Current Status

The tank currently is empty, on the stand, and mostly plumbed up, but not entirely.

The sump and refugia in the basement consist of 4 x 44 gallon Brute cans in series. One of them currently has salt water, a small amount of old tank rock (more on that later, since it was outside and some was literally under dirt after 8 years outside), and macroalgae in it. I was hoping to have it up and working before the TBS sand and rock arrives (early April).

I picked up up some red macroalgae (gracilaria species) from a local reefer (afboundguy) about 10 days ago. I also collected a large amount of a few species from the local ocean to kick things off, though I do not know how well they will survive the change from 35 degree F water to 70 degree F water. More on those species later. I also had to start them on tap water since RO/DI was not ready (more on my tap water later).

I have an RO Buddie coming tomorrow to produce enough water to get the tank going before the TBS material starts to arrive. I estimate I need about 300 gallons to tide me over until I get a full sized RO/DI. My concerns with the tap water at the moment are chloramine and 4 ppm silica/silicate. Hoping the RO buddy helps significantly. I may remove the old water from the refugium and toss it, replace with new when the buddie is working.

Fish room looks like a war zone of boxes, tools, plastic dust from cutting pipes, PVC pipe fittings, devices getting ready (conductivity, pH, etc.), the canopy under maintenance, and Brute cans (the fish room has 9 of them; 4 sump/refugia, 3 for the ATO water, and 2 for new salt water on AWC).

 

[bubbgee]

This is exciting!

Anything you're chasing for this iteration of your tank in the hobby? Like any exclusive/exotic species or specializing it?

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Awesome! Following!!

 

[rhitee93]

Looking forward to the ride!

 

[JonoH]

Following this one :-)

 

[danreef55]

Randy, all the best of luck and enjoy the journey!

 

[Fish Fan]

Following: good luck with your new tank!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Return Pump

I’m planning to get a Sicce SDC 7 or 9 to pump water from the basement fish room up about 10 vertical feet and through several fittings and turns to get to the display.

I do not intend it to provide much flow via the return, so the turnover can be reasonably low. The 7 may be plenty. Thoughts on that choice are welcome. The fact that it can communicate over the internet is a plus. Can it tell me anything except temperature?

Before I get one of these, I’m likely to get a Jebao from Amazon to use right away, and then it can become an emergency backup. I was thinking of the DCP-6500. Thoughts on that choice?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

This is exciting!

Anything you're chasing for this iteration of your tank in the hobby? Like any exclusive/exotic species or specializing it?

Nothing particularly unusual at this point. A widely mixed array of organisms that look and do well in white light. :)

 

[areefer01]

Before I get one of these, I’m likely to get a Jebao from Amazon to use right away, and then it can become an emergency backup. I was thinking of the DCP-6500. Thoughts on that choice?

Out of curiosity, why the Jebao before the Sicce? Ignoring the brands for a minute they may, or may not, have the same fittings or use the same diameter pipes. Swapping may not be direct and require a fitting change. Not to mention reducing or enlarging could change flow.

I use all of the same pumps for return, skimmer, and spare so I can swap in case of emergency as well making my life easier when cleaning. Turn off, undo the union, swap, turn on, and it is that simple. Emergency I can go to the cold spare or take the skimmer off line and use that pump.

Nothing you don't already know and I understand I am stating the obvious but was just curious is all. I'd buy the final solution first to make sure plumbing is correct and everything fits but I understand that is just me.

Hope your day is well.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Out of curiosity, why the Jebao before the Sicce? Ignoring the brands for a minute they may, or may not, have the same fittings or use the same diameter pipes. Swapping may not be direct and require a fitting change. Not to mention reducing or enlarging could change flow.

I use all of the same pumps for return, skimmer, and spare so I can swap in case of emergency as well making my life easier when cleaning. Turn off, undo the union, swap, turn on, and it is that simple. Emergency I can go to the cold spare or take the skimmer off line and use that pump.

Nothing you don't already know and I understand I am stating the obvious but was just curious is all. I'd buy the final solution first to make sure plumbing is correct and everything fits but I understand that is just me.

Hope your day is well.

The tubing from the return pump is 1” silicone flexible tubing. I think I can attach that to either pump, possibly with an adapter, if needed. The Sicce has a barb adapter and I expect I can use things I already have on the Jebao.

I’d just get the Sicce now, but I’m hoping to get it from BRS once that is set up.

 

[threebuoys]

I look forward to following your project. Some of the issues you intend to tackle will be relevant to my efforts. Glad you are back in the game. Good luck!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The tubing from the return pump is 1” silicone flexible tubing. I think I can attach that to either pump, possibly with an adapter, if needed. The Sicce has a barb adapter and I expect I can use things I already have on the Jebao.

I’d just get the Sicce now, but I’m hoping to get it from BRS once that is set up.

Forget to mention, both pumps will be submerged in my sump. If that’s an issue, please tell me now. lol

 

[JerryB1232]

Looking forward to this build! Everyday I get closer to wanting to setup a tank like this. I am Interested to see how the lighting goes, do you have any plans?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Looking forward to this build! Everyday I get closer to wanting to setup a tank like this. I am Interested to see how the lighting goes, do you have any plans?

I’ll have some significant lighting discussion to follow, but current plan is very nontraditional with 3x48” AI blade freshwater and one 48” AI blade coral glow (not grow). :)

Fit inside the canopy is extremely tight end to end. lol

 

[Imrahilwjz]

Forget to mention, both pumps will be submerged in my sump. If that’s an issue, please tell me now. lol

I don't think it happens often at all, but a submerged pump can crack and contaminate the water with copper/iron/zinc etc. I haven't had a return pump do so, but did have a skimmer pump crack. My local LFS owner warned me of the possibility of a pump getting water in the windings and still working for a while (when I was having an issue with copper). I checked my return pumps, but wasn't taking the idea too seriously. I only found the cracked skimmer pump once the skimmer failed. I've switched to an external pump, but I understand that those have their drawbacks too, and most people use submersible pumps with no issue.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I don't think it happens often at all, but a submerged pump can crack and contaminate the water with copper/iron/zinc etc. I haven't had a return pump do so, but did have a skimmer pump crack. My local LFS owner warned me of the possibility of a pump getting water in the windings and still working for a while. I checked my return pumps, but wasn't taking the idea too seriously. I only found the cracked skimmer pump once the skimmer failed. I've switched to an external pump, but I understand that those have their drawbacks too, and most people use submersible pumps with no issue.

Thanks. I used external Iwakis for 20 years, but the efficiency was poor. I’d also like to use the heat from the submersible.

Anyone know of an actual case of a tank problem from a Sicce or Jebao breaking open and releasing metals?

I do not recall seeing an example. Just more fails of Jebao pumps than Sicce, but correspondingly less expensive too.

 

[rishma]

4. The tank needs to be largely self-sufficient for significant periods of time since I am not always there. That need drives some equipment choices, such as backup power, auto feeders, a security camera, and possibly devices that can tell me over the internet if they are working.

I have spent a lot of time working on this particular set of challenges.

Before you get too far down the road, I suggest defining what largely self-sufficient means. It drives design choices, equipment choices, etc. I had to adapt my current system to this lifestyle. I would have made different choices if starting from scratch.

Key considerations:
How long will the tank be left with no human eyes checking on things?

Will the checker be a total novice or have some knowledge?

Is emergency intervention by a competent resource possible if called upon?

I could make a whole forum on this particular topic :)