Reef or not to reef

[ylreefer]

Hi all. A little update, so after looking at the plumbing and ripping out the old heaters everything was in bits. I had a chance to rethink (again as you do) and there will now only be 2 returns to the DT, one from the return pump and 1 from the chiller. The UV return will now re route back to the sump. As I'm not using any unions (lack of stock) I've decided not to hard pvc plumb from the sump to the DT and instead use flexi hose that can be taken apart if necessary. Here's a few pics of that and the mess I've created in the process [emoji23].


One return is at the back another at the front. Not sure how this is going to work out exactly yet but they are both controllable with valves. Also the pipe inside the tank isn't glued so the 45* angles can be rotated if needed.

Work has been intense the past 3 weeks but I'm hoping next week to get shims to level the tank and start collecting RODI [emoji847]

 

[ylreefer]

OK guys. Yet another update. I won't bore you all with the pictures as there's not to much difference from the last ones. OK maybe I will. Lol.

So the plumbing is all glued in its final setting. I think [emoji848] well I hope anyway. All electrics are now finished so the only thing left to do is level the tank. I plan to do this by Wednesday next week so by Fri I should be doing the leak test. Man am I s*****g myself considering I managed to flood the entire 23rd floor of my block 2 years ago [emoji849]. Did I mention that when this tank was moved a sliver of glass chipped off the from panel[emoji85]. But I have faith lol. I'll be sure to film the initial fill and if s**t goes bad I'll post the video.. I can already hear a bunch of voices saying oh pleasssse. Lol. Anyway here's a few photos just so it's not all words.

Had some extra time today so decided to half diy an RO holder for the carbon reactor that's what u see here.
Enjoy.

 

[ylreefer]

Good afternoon reefer guys and girls.

So i finally got around to doing the leak test last night, and I did video is promised but no spectacular leaks I'm afraid [emoji23].

Manifold 1 was good but I had a small leak back into the sump on manifold 2. Just a drop per second. But I'm sure we all know what salt water can do so that had to come back out. I've now reglued around that joint with extra glue so once that's dry we shall see if that does the job. If not the manifold will be rebuilt[emoji85] . luckily plumbing parts are cheap in Hong Kong [emoji16].

This leak test was only on the manifolds at the moment so just 5g was in the return chamber. Once this is all good I'll build enough courage to fill the 110g [emoji847]. That should happen by Thursday If work allows. And finally by next Monday start collecting the RODI. Finallllly.

Apologies for the delay on this build but I've been changing the dang plan again and again. Just trying to get it right [emoji4]. If there is such thing. Lol I'm. Sure I'll set it up then want a 250g [emoji849]

Enjoy the pic of that darn water drop

Thanx for the interest and as always any questions it suggestions are very welcome. [emoji106]

 

[samnaz]

I think no leaks is something to be proud of ;Shamefullyembarrased

 

[ylreefer]

I think no leaks is something to be proud of ;Shamefullyembarrased

Haha well as long as it works in the end it's all good. [emoji106]. Anyways I decided to rebuild the manifold today. Which I have done. I managed to reuse about 50% of the old one so just waiting till it cures now. Should be able to retest it Friday, and hope it's leak free this time cos if I go to that shop again they will start to think I'm in the construction business [emoji23]

 

[Sumo Reef]

Nice setup and very neatly organized cabinet. Cant wait for this to get going!

 

[ylreefer]

Nice setup and very neatly organized cabinet. Cant wait for this to get going!

Thank you sumozuki. It's quiet a tight space so I had a lot of tinkering to do. I think the initial set up has a lot to do with longevity since the easier things are to maintain the more likely one is to maintain them.

 

[ylreefer]

Well guys and girls this morning I woke up and did the leak test on the new manifold and boom. No leaks. So I went out for breakfast just to try and put off filling it up a little longer lol. Anyway headed back home and had no excuses now right [emoji28].

Filled up all 110g of tap water, just to double check for flow rates, bubble issues (although just tap water) flow patterns and back syphon, ATO and...... Any leaks, cos you can never check for leaks enough [emoji4].

I'll be leaving it running for a few days with tap water and vinigar just to see how it actually works over time. Any adjustments can be made when I empty this lot.

So a few tiny issues I had. The 2 return pipes I drilled 5mm anti syphon holes into we're slightly above the waterline, resulting in a venturi effect. Didn't much care for big butt bubbles so had to lower them just under the waterline.

The DYI carbon reactor (if anyone remembers that) has a drip from the Bulkhead so that will need some more Teflon tape on it.

One of the return pipe fittings also has a, drip so will also need some more Teflon tape on that.

But all in all I'm pleased with how it has turned out. Its surprisingly pretty quiet. In fact the only thing I can hear is the jebao sw15 wave maker which is a bit annoying I have to say. I'll possibly change these out for a Gyre or something later. Just don't want to think about re routing a new cable right now [emoji85].

I'll share a few pics of the tank as it is now and try to upload a vid if I can.

If anyone has any suggestions or questions ask away. Once the salt is in and its cycled I'll post a list of equipment used on this build. Just in case I change anything out, in which case I'll let you know why.

OK that's about all for now. Happy reefing.

Unfortunately I cannot upload video sorry guys. I'm not a YouTube account holder so pics will have to do. [emoji85]

 

[samnaz]

Nice control board.

 

[ylreefer]

Nice control board.

Hey thnx [emoji4]. It's actually an old cupboard I made a while ago and was white. I've no idea why I decided to go out and buy a sheet of matt black Arcrylic and cover it lol. The tank is white [emoji849]. But hey. I ain't doing it again lol.

 

[ylreefer]

Good day everyone. Well, its done. At last, yep I finally got the 110 up and running after 5 long days of collecting RODI water for it [emoji30].

It's now up and running with nothing but seachem matrix in the 2 media reactors which have been seeded from the nano.

Added ammonium choloride and some Mb7, got the ammonia badge in so it's sit and wait time. This will be a bare bottom mixed reef and the decor will be bio active rock which I'll be picking up Wednesday night hopefully. If anyone isn't familiar with this type of rock it's pre fabricated ceramic material that has a purple color. A bit like real reef rock but more formed. First time using this stuff so I'll post my thought on this a bit later when I've had the chance to play with it.

I'll be setting up another qt tank at some point as the 5g ones I'm currently using won't really do for the bigger fish I plan to have.

I'm also looking into finding room at home for a shallow frag tank a little down the line to as I've got all the equipment needed already left over.

Will keep you all posted on how that turns out, but first I'll need to grow some corals to frag[emoji28]

Well that's all for now I guess. I expect the cycle will take 3 to 4 weeks, once this is ready I'll start to move the livestock over from the nano and that will allow me close the nano down and the 2 qt tanks and maybe get half my living room back [emoji23].



OK all happy reefing.

 

[ylreefer]

Hi guys and girls. I finally got around to picking up the rock for the tank so thought I do a little update on the build.

Since this is the first time I'll be starting off with all dry rock and no live sand, and there seem to be a good number of us out here now who like to go this route I thought I'd share how I'm doing this.

So the tank has been running for about a week now, fresh salt water, no mechanical or chemical media, just about 2ltrs of seachem matrix, about 1/3rd of which is from the nano so is already cycled, but at that little amount it probably won't do to much in 110g. Started off on day 1 with the media, Dr Tim's pure ammonia and microbactor7. No lighting.

Stuck in a seachem ammonia alert badge and it went right upto 5ppm on day 1, yep slightly overdosed ammonia but well to late now.

Been adding Mb7 daily so far and will do for 14 days as per Instructions, badges now showing 2ppm ammonia so something is working.

Today I added the decor in the form of Bio active rock from Aquarium system solutions. This is a type of pre fabricated ceramic rock so no curing needed. I simply hosed it down then dipped it in RODI water, allowed it to dry and got it in today. This stuff wasn't exactly cheap, in fact comparative to LR here in Hong Kong.

What you see in the image was a tad over $400USD. But I decided this would be a dry start. So what do I think so far, well this stuff is pretty easy to work with and fit together, it has flat bases so is stable enough, has flat shelves for placing coral so no real need to glue them on, it's light compared to any rock and I think once it's loaded with corals it'll look OK. It's also left a nice amount of room for fish to swim around.

While I was fiddling with the tank today I decided the light fixture was proving a pain for access to the tank. Everytime I needed to get in I had to unscrew the securing nuts on the side brackets and lift the entire fitting off the tank. Which by the way is not idea as the aluminium rods are barely long enough to hold the light on as it is, a little movement left or right would see the light drop into the tank. Can't have that so I decided to go hunt down whatever material I could and make a lamp holder. I wanted something that would hold the light and allow me to move it to access the tank. I'm afraid I didn't document this but I'll explain best I can.

So each support is a aluminium tube with a grove channel, the LED has 4 holes in the top which I tapped for 3mm threads, I used some aluminium computer thumb screws as supports which slot into the channel on the supports. Allowing me to slide the light to the back of the tank giving me another 6" of access. If this isn't enough I can simply disconnect the cable and slide the lamp out from the front and remove it completely. Works as planned now it just needs painting black.

OK enough with the words time for some pictures [emoji2]. Including the codes for the bio active rock if anyone is interested.

I'll update as the cycle progresses but I'm. Guessing another 3 to 4 weeks yet.

 

[ylreefer]

Hi guys and girls. I finally got around to picking up the rock for the tank so thought I do a little update on the build.

Since this is the first time I'll be starting off with all dry rock and no live sand, and there seem to be a good number of us out here now who like to go this route I thought I'd share how I'm doing this.

So the tank has been running for about a week now, fresh salt water, no mechanical or chemical media, just about 2ltrs of seachem matrix, about 1/3rd of which is from the nano so is already cycled, but at that little amount it probably won't do to much in 110g. Started off on day 1 with the media, Dr Tim's pure ammonia and microbactor7. No lighting.

Stuck in a seachem ammonia alert badge and it went right upto 5ppm on day 1, yep slightly overdosed ammonia but well to late now.

Been adding Mb7 daily so far and will do for 14 days as per Instructions, badges now showing 2ppm ammonia so something is working.

Today I added the decor in the form of Bio active rock from Aquarium system solutions. This is a type of pre fabricated ceramic rock so no curing needed. I simply hosed it down then dipped it in RODI water, allowed it to dry and got it in today. This stuff wasn't exactly cheap, in fact comparative to LR here in Hong Kong.

What you see in the image was a tad over $400USD. But I decided this would be a dry start. So what do I think so far, well this stuff is pretty easy to work with and fit together, it has flat bases so is stable enough, has flat shelves for placing coral so no real need to glue them on, it's light compared to any rock and I think once it's loaded with corals it'll look OK. It's also left a nice amount of room for fish to swim around.

While I was fiddling with the tank today I decided the light fixture was proving a pain for access to the tank. Everytime I needed to get in I had to unscrew the securing nuts on the side brackets and lift the entire fitting off the tank. Which by the way is not idea as the aluminium rods are barely long enough to hold the light on as it is, a little movement left or right would see the light drop into the tank. Can't have that so I decided to go hunt down whatever material I could and make a lamp holder. I wanted something that would hold the light and allow me to move it to access the tank. I'm afraid I didn't document this but I'll explain best I can.

So each support is a aluminium tube with a grove channel, the LED has 4 holes in the top which I tapped for 3mm threads, I used some aluminium computer thumb screws as supports which slot into the channel on the supports. Allowing me to slide the light to the back of the tank giving me another 6" of access. If this isn't enough I can simply disconnect the cable and slide the lamp out from the front and remove it completely. Works as planned now it just needs painting black.

OK enough with the words time for some pictures [emoji2]. Including the codes for the bio active rock if anyone is interested.

I'll update as the cycle progresses but I'm. Guessing another 3 to 4 weeks yet.

Apologies for the seperated post. App wouldn't allow me to add photos to the initial post for some strange reason.

 

[ylreefer]

Just a tiny update for you all at 330am. Can't sleep [emoji30].

So after I made the light rack, I bolted it to the stand (with the helping hand of the wife) just to test fit. Plan was to remove it and spray paint it matt black to match the light unit. It fitted perfect. In fact so perfect I didn't want to remove it all again and refit it as its definitely a 2 person job. I also live in a high rise block so don't actually have anywhere I can spray paint[emoji85]. Yep should have thought that through before buying the spray can [emoji23].

Anyway I decided to paint it in place. Went to local hardware shop and long and behold no black paint [emoji849]. So I bought the next best thing.

Black duct tape [emoji28]. It's not an A1 finish but it definitely saved me a lot of time and smell. It's also over 6ft high so noone can actually see the rack apart from me. So, just incase anyone needs a quick fix solution this is mine [emoji6]

 

[ylreefer]

Welcome to another update. Sort of [emoji12]. OK so it's still cycling and I got bored so I decided to do something but wasn't sure what lol. I know I know, I had a few free hours today so made use of them by building an ATO Container. I would have posted this in the DIY section but as its not 100% complete yet I thought I'd share it with you guys and girls first [emoji6]. Still have the power line hole cover to make and the front panel graphics for water volume.

As you may know the 110 sump did have a built in fuge which I'm currently using as an ATO, mainly because I didn't have time to build a seperate container and the fact I'm running bio pellets so Im hoping I won't need a place for algea to grow. After thinking about it it's always nice to have the option of a fuge just in case the pellets don't work out for me or I simply want to grow pods for food, or even have a seperate solitary tank for fish or corals. I dunno but hey I like options lol.

Right so here's a few pics of what I made today. It's a 5g with 2 outlets so I can use 2 pumps incase I add a frag tank nearby in the future, that way I won't have to make another one [emoji23]. If anyone wants the sizing plans I'll post them with the build thread in the diy section once it's finished and tested.

OK all thnx for stopping by and happy reefing.

 

[ylreefer]

Hi all, so I thought I'd post these just incase anyone can get some ideas on how to use it modify these for their own uses.


First up is the finished 5g ATO Container. Minus the water level markings. I figured if its empty I'll know so no point on adding them [emoji23]. Next up just a very simple 5 line dosing tube holder as I'll need 8 in total and the sump only has 3. Just made with some left over Arcrylic I had lying around.
Lastly and even simpler frag rack made from 1 piece of orange Arcrylic drilled for plugs and glued to a tank devider holder.

Well I guess that's all I'll be making for now. As for the 110 ammonia still at 0.02 so cycling still underway. This is the boring period guys so apologies but the updates will be slow for while [emoji30].

Keep reefing and have a nice day

 

[ylreefer]

OK I think it's time for another update here so here's goes. Not so much on the 110 but since we're here, cycle is getting along. Ammonia badge now Reading 0.04ppm approximate so I've started collecting 60g of RODI for the initial waterchange. Not long now he hopes lol.

Anyways in the mean time I decided I wanted to use the new ATO Container that you may remember I made a week or so back, only trouble is I had no place to put that since I want planning on it. But have since decided I want to use the internal ato in the sump for other uses. So I had to build a cabinet for it. And while I was at it decided this cabinet would house the dosing system and the QT tank that will be here Tuesday hopefully, 18" cube that will replace the 2 5g qt tanks Im currently using.

So this isn't exactly a build thread as it's simply just wood knocked together and the pic steps pretty much tell the story. but if anyone would like any details I'm happy to oblige. The frame is made from 2x1. Legs from 2x1 plus 1x1 glued together and the cladding is 1/2" ply.

So that's about all for now I guess.

Keep reefing [emoji6]

 

[samnaz]

That is not simply just wood knocked together if you ask me, it takes skill. May come easy to you but I’m impressed. Wish I could whip up an ato cabinet like that (oh and a beautiful ato reservoir too). I’m really struggling trying to find one that suits my needs, I’m too picky... say, do you take custom orders? Lol.

 

[ylreefer]

That is not simply just wood knocked together if you ask me, it takes skill. May come easy to you but I’m impressed. Wish I could whip up an ato cabinet like that (oh and a beautiful ato reservoir too). I’m really struggling trying to find one that suits my needs, I’m too picky... say, do you take custom orders? Lol.

[emoji23] I'd be happy to build you something if I were anywhere near you. I guess im lucky my father was in the design and build industry. Got to Lear a bit from him over the years [emoji28]

 

[Ray 713]

Great build thread...really enjoying it. I love your cabinet idea. I’ve run out of space under my DT and an ATO is in my future.