SCA 150g Build - First Saltwater Tank - Come Watch Me Learn!

[Adam_M]

Looks like other folks beat me to the punch but yes move the heaters and the drain lines over one chamber to the left, drain that chamber and fill it with rodi for top offs! Good looking build !

Thanks!

Yeah, I ordered a pair of Ehim 200W that will fit flat on the bottom of the sump, so that should resolve the issue.

I'm also glad I can use that last chamber as an ATO--I'm pretty sure I'm losing a gallon and a half to evaporation daily.

 

[APX90]

Thanks!

Yeah, I ordered a pair of Ehim 200W that will fit flat on the bottom of the sump, so that should resolve the issue.

I'm also glad I can use that last chamber as an ATO--I'm pretty sure I'm losing a gallon and a half to evaporation daily.

very nice! on a reef that size you can expect even more evaporation in the hotter months. I live in southern california and my small rsr 170 blows through about 2-3 gallons a day with a set of cooling fans on it

 

[Adam_M]

Small update:

Cycling seems to be going well. Amonmia goes from 2ppm to < .5ppm in 48 hours. Nitrites are sitting around 2ppm, and nitrates finally started registering (40ppm).

Started noticing an orange-brown film on the powerhead and sand, see the attached photos:

Any thoughts on what it might be? Maybe it's brown algae?

 

[APX90]

start of diatoms, they'll die off on their own once all the available silicates in the water have been exhausted

 

[Onewolf]

start of diatoms, they'll die off on their own once all the available silicates in the water have been exhausted

That's where my new 90 gal tank is as well....

 

[Adam_M]

First fish and (one) coral are in the tank!

Current FTS and some fish photos:

There's also a Melanarus Wrasse, 2 blue hermits, and 2 Trochus snails. Still learning how to take good pictures of fish, so I don't have one to share of the Wrasse at the moment.

Going to give it a few weeks to see how the water chemistry does before adding anything else!

 

[Adam_M]

Update as of 11/17/19:

FTS:

I also added a firefish and lawnmower Blenny, along with some Xenia and a few red mushrooms (and pink star polyps). Got the rock from a reputable source, but there are obviously some potential hazards involved, and we'll see if I made the right choice in time. I still did a dip. Diatoms are intense, but appear to be in the downward decline.

I worked out a pump system for water changes, which has made my job much easier. Really enjoying my progress thus far.

 

[boacvh]

Looking great. Following along.

 

[Adam_M]

New Year Update!

FTS 1/2/20:

Side shot:

Tank has been coming along, with some bumps in the road. I somehow managed to order the wrong Red Sea salt (I got the aquarium stuff, not the coral salt), which resulted in a 5.5 alkalinity, some very upset zoas and xenia, and a dead clownfish and firefish. Lesson learned, I dosed everything back up to normal levels and everything has taken off again.

Coralwise I ordered a 10 zoa pack from Tidal Gardens, which I have been very impressed with. I picked up a hammer, a green fungia plate, a ORA Birdsnest, a green leather, and a red plating Monti.

Next goal is to get the algae under control. I just received my refugium lights, and my chaeto is on its way.

 

[GabeM]

Looks good! Did you figure out the ATO section?

Also I would not advise putting SPS in until the tank is mature - even though I know you will because I did. They will likely all perish.

 

[Adam_M]

Looks good! Did you figure out the ATO section?

Also I would not advise putting SPS in until the tank is mature - even though I know you will because I did. They will likely all perish.

Yeah I got the ATO sorted out, and it's been working like a charm.

Birdsnest has been doing well, and I've always heard they're pretty safe to get early. It's already split off some new branches.

Monti is a different story, but I figured it would be a decent litmus test. If it doesn't do well, I'll forgo any further SPS for awhile.

 

[GabeM]

Yeah I got the ATO sorted out, and it's been working like a charm.

Birdsnest has been doing well, and I've always heard they're pretty safe to get early. It's already split off some new branches.

Monti is a different story, but I figured it would be a decent litmus test. If it doesn't do well, I'll forgo any further SPS for awhile.

If you can keep your parameters very stable then not a problem to grow SPS.

They really really hate swings in pretty much any parameter is the issue.

You have a lot of water which helps a lot as far as managing swings goes

 

[donniesusan5]

I also bought the SCA 150. It’s been cycling for about 5 months. I put some copepods in a couple of weeks ago and hope to have a couple fish in it very soon. I haven’t decided whether or not to do a build thread or not. I’m enjoying watching yours. Thanks for posting.

 

[Lilmatty5dimes]

New Year Update!

FTS 1/2/20:

Side shot:

Tank has been coming along, with some bumps in the road. I somehow managed to order the wrong Red Sea salt (I got the aquarium stuff, not the coral salt), which resulted in a 5.5 alkalinity, some very upset zoas and xenia, and a dead clownfish and firefish. Lesson learned, I dosed everything back up to normal levels and everything has taken off again.

Coralwise I ordered a 10 zoa pack from Tidal Gardens, which I have been very impressed with. I picked up a hammer, a green fungia plate, a ORA Birdsnest, a green leather, and a red plating Monti.

Next goal is to get the algae under control. I just received my refugium lights, and my chaeto is on its way.

Tank looks great. Sorry to hear about the fish lost. Sadly Happens to all of us once or twice in the hobby.

 

[Adam_M]

End of Jan. update:

FTS:

Some of my new corals on the rack:

couple of the new mushrooms! I'm loving mushrooms right now.

 

[jguerin88]

do you like the sump, skimmer and return it came with ?

 

[Adam_M]

do you like the sump, skimmer and return it came with ?

Yeah, they do the job. No issues with any of them, but they obviously aren't top of the line. I'm happy with them for the price.

 

[codycolina707]

I love the size/shape of the SCA 150. What astonishes me is the HUGE price increase to go from the 60" long 150 ($999) to the 72" long 180 ($1999?) .

im guessing going from 1/2 to 3/4 glass cost a bit more

 

[Adam_M]

I haven't updated this in awhile because I decided to do my updates on my tank as a weekly youtube video. Feel free to check it out if you're interested:

 

[a4edwin]

Any updates on this?