Shell Island - Rookie Waterbox Reef 100.3 Build Thread

[DothanReefer]

Ok, so, I finally got everything set up. I plumbed the return with the Vectra M2 and installed drain pipes, installed Nyos 120 skimmer, created my aquascape and added my sand bed. I started filling the display tank until the water reached the overflow and continued until the water in the sump was about 8 inches high. Maybe that was the wrong way to fill a tank - i honestly do not know but that's what the internet taught me. But whatever I did, it is NOT working. I flipped the switch for power to the Vectra and the MP40 to get the tank flowing. For about 15 seconds it seemed perfect, then...the display tank water line started rising, water then started shooting down the emergency drain and escaping into the sump like it was a hot-tub!! Bubbling water and splashing everywhere in the cabinet!! I shut it all down and realized I had the main drain gate valve closed - geez....so, I completely opened the gate valve thinking i'd work it back once i turned the pump back on (fine-tune and all...). Well, same thing happened. Water everywhere in the cabinet, sump water level rising; so i shut it down again after about 20 seconds. At this point, i have no idea what to do and i'm at a loss as what i'm doing wrong. Someone PLEASE HELP!!!!

when i shut it all down, water drains from the display into the sump until the water line in the weir box is below the main drain pipe.

also, there is a slow dribble of water coming from the return line, just below the union before water goes back into the display tank. there is a plastic nut there, not sure what it's for, but it is leaking - though the sump is catching it, thank God. Is that normal? (see pic of where I'm talking about - about to post some of water levels..)

Do i have too much water?

 

[DothanReefer]

Pics of water levels and place where water is leaking from on return pipe...

 

[Charles4400]

Not familiar with your return pump but it sounds like it is on full blast and is pumping too much water into display especially if gate valve is already all the way open.

If I understand correctly, you have fully opened the gate valve and water is still going through the emergency drain pipe?

Is there a way to decrease power to that pump? Or check if there is some clog in your main drain pipe.

That nut looks like an extension for a manifold if you want to add one in there. You could unscrew the nut to add more pipe and extensions from that pipe to power reactors (carbon, gfo, uv etc). I personally hate manifolds.

Tighten that nut and the leak should stop. If not, unscrew it all the way and check for o-ring which may not be seated properly or may not be present.

I just set up my cabinet and my 100.3 is still in box in my driveway so when I start setting it up I can probably be more help. I'm a few days or a week behind you!

 

[Charles4400]

Also you might want to consider moving that skimmer away from the outlet in the back. It's a new tank and new skimmer so during break in it will most likely be flowing out of your skimmer cup like crazy or you might have to remove the cup and leave it off for awhile. Even after breaking I would move it away.

Lots of potential bubbles and small splashes near outlet if your skimmer ever overflows in the future.

 

[DothanReefer]

Not familiar with your return pump but it sounds like it is on full blast and is pumping too much water into display especially if gate valve is already all the way open.

If I understand correctly, you have fully opened the gate valve and water is still going through the emergency drain pipe?

Is there a way to decrease power to that pump? Or check if there is some clog in your main drain pipe.

That nut looks like an extension for a manifold if you want to add one in there. You could unscrew the nut to add more pipe and extensions from that pipe to power reactors (carbon, gfo, uv etc). I personally hate manifolds.

Tighten that nut and the leak should stop. If not, unscrew it all the way and check for o-ring which may not be seated properly or may not be present.

I just set up my cabinet and my 100.3 is still in box in my driveway so when I start setting it up I can probably be more help. I'm a few days or a week behind you!

thanks Charles! congrats on the new tank!!

it's a new day so i'm going to try it again. i'm pretty sure i turned the Vectra all the way down but we'll see. i'm gonna pump an inch or two out of the sump and see if that helps. it is a massive sump! there is only 4 inches of space to the side of it in the cabinet. I think i'm going to try moving the power bar to the rear of the cabinet behind it - there is just no room in there and even a small splash is playing with fire, much less the dang Niagara Falls i had last night. Hopefully, i can get it working properly this morning and get the cycle started.

Thanks for the input on the skimmer also! I wasn't planning to run it until i had fish, just wanted it to be in so that i knew what kind of room i was dealing with. I'll certainly move it forward in the sump and away from that outlet. Speaking of, i had the electrician out on Wednesday to look at it and put it on its own circuit - i'd already changed it over to GFCI. The electrician looked at the equipment i'd be running and said it'd all be fine. Hope he's right!

I'll update later today once i've either electrocuted myself or tuned it in....wish me luck.

 

[Charles4400]

Look forward to the update I'm sure you will figure it out! And at least you got an electrician, Im still going with plug and pray lol!

 

[DothanReefer]

Got it! Thanks Charles, tightening that manifold nut and fine tuning the gate valve did the trick. I have the Vectra M2 on the lowest setting, I'm afraid to turn it up until I get it connected to the Mobius app and have time to watch it. But, it's running- and the whole thing is silent so far. Of course still have to turn on the skimmer and add the ATO, so we'll see if the silence holds.

But, I'm cycling!! Now, time to find two disease free clownfish. Anyone with online fish ordering suggestions, please comment!

Still to go:
Lights
ATO
Skimmer

 

[DothanReefer]

Still a little cloudy but should clear up quickly with the bio magnet stuff that comes with the sand...hopefully anyway.

 

[ISFNick]

+1 On places to find clean clownfish!
I love this tank! Following

What corals are you thinking of getting?

 

[DothanReefer]

Thanks @AyeNick !!! Yeah, I reached out to Ocean Devotion, but they said all wholesalers are shut down right now but that they'd contact me as soon as they have a pipeline again.

Corals? Geez...haven't really pinpointed any specifics yet. Though, I know I want a hammer and a torch. I like a lot of the LPS stuff. In time may try an SPS or two - not sure if I have the setup for that, we'll see. I've got more research to do on selecting the exact corals - I've got a mental picture, just not sure what they are called. Maybe I should get the pictures and post them here before buying, just to be sure I can handle them with this setup..? Suggestions?

 

[Charles4400]

Awesome glad you got it worked out and tank is up and running! (And silently at that!)

If you are looking for designer clownfish this is the place to go:

Clownfish – Cultivated Reef

They are awesome and their clowns have always come in super healthy and colorful. The clowns are top notch, you pay for it, but the quality is very very good.

My mocha Vinci clown pairs are from there and Ive been very happy with them.

 

[DothanReefer]

I started the cycle with Fritz Turbostart 900 - poured the entire bottle in the display on Saturday, April 4th. Before doing so, i removed the filter socks and made sure salinity and temp were on target. Also, i tested PH, Nitrites, Nitrates, Ammonia and dKH. Zeros across the board for ammonia and nitrate/nitrite. PH was 8.4. dKH was 6 - though, i think from what i've read, that isn't as important currently as we wont be introducing any coral for a while.

anyway, tank has been running with bacteria now for almost 3 days with no lights and low-mid flow. we ordered our first fish from LA Diver's Den - two Dot Clowns. From all the research i've done, i felt like cycling with our primary desired fish (NEMO) was an okay method as 1) clowns are notoriously a hardy fish and 2) i've seen many people recommend cycling with bottle bacteria and a fish or two for ammonia to get it really going.

well, i have been super excited all weekend about our first fish coming. but then i get on this site tonight and one of the top threads is about quarantining - a topic i've been trying to figure out for our setup but just haven't succeeded as of yet. the thread included a few reefers saying they've spoken with wholesalers who claim that velvet and ich are running wild throughout supply chains and that it is worse than its been in 10 years!! dang IT. Ya know? this is just my luck. all the time, all the money, all the research, all the late nights....and now i feel like if i don't throw together some sort of quarantine plan before 10:30 AM CST tomorrow, it'll all be for nothing - basically just end up having to tear it all back down again and start over....ugh.

i have no idea what to do when these fish get here. my plan was to drip acclimate them in a 5 gallon bucket for at least an hour (depending on the range of differences in water parameters) and then add them to the display. now, i'm not so sure. hell, i can't even go to petsmart and buy a small quarantine tank because i have no way to cycle it. i guess i'm just going to have pray that they come in healthy and stay that way.

i am beyond nervous....and no clue how to mitigate my situation.


sorry this post is me just needing to vent some frustration with myself for being ill-prepared and me leaving a written statement of my mental state during this time that i will reflect on in a year or two once i've had some success and can look back on this night as the turning point. dang. it.

as always, open to suggestions...but that's all i got for now.

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

Congrats on the tank, fellow Alabama reefer. Have you looked into the store in Montgomery? I went when they first opened about a year ago but they may have closed by now. Budman is also in Montgomery for whenever you’re ready to stock corals. He’s great about hooking up locals with good deals.

 

[DothanReefer]

Thanks @Tuffyyyyy !!! Nice to find another yellow hammer!!

Had no idea there was a shop in Montgomery. I thought the closest was ATL - 4hr drive for me. Any idea what the name was/is?

I'll certainly look @Budman's Corals up when the time comes!! Thanks for the referral!!

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

I just looked it up, it’s called Living Arts Aquarium and it seems to still be open. There’s also High Tide Aquariums in Tallahassee which looks like it’s about the same distance. Also SB Reef is in Pensacola, I think they do corals now too.

 

[dohc97]

i am beyond nervous....and no clue how to mitigate my situation.


sorry this post is me just needing to vent some frustration with myself for being ill-prepared and me leaving a written statement of my mental state during this time that i will reflect on in a year or two once i've had some success and can look back on this night as the turning point. dang. it.

as always, open to suggestions...but that's all i got for now.

Breathe, there are a million ways to do things in this hobby but what I always tell people is not to try and speed everything up. The cycle should have been started with some type of ammonia, I am not the biggest fan of doing it with fish but I have done it early on and it does work so you should be fine. As far as qt, let your display be the qt, I do not believe in treating fish if they are not sick unless it's something like an angel (usually have flukes). I run more of an observation tank, if something goes wrong I treat but otherwise my fish spend a month in isolation and then join display. Your tank has nothing, about to start a cycle, almost anything you would need to medicate can be done in your display if needed except for copper.

 

[DothanReefer]

Breathe, there are a million ways to do things in this hobby but what I always tell people is not to try and speed everything up. The cycle should have been started with some type of ammonia, I am not the biggest fan of doing it with fish but I have done it early on and it does work so you should be fine. As far as qt, let your display be the qt, I do not believe in treating fish if they are not sick unless it's something like an angel (usually have flukes). I run more of an observation tank, if something goes wrong I treat but otherwise my fish spend a month in isolation and then join display. Your tank has nothing, about to start a cycle, almost anything you would need to medicate can be done in your display if needed except for copper.

Thanks for the boost of confidence. I needed that this morning!

 

[DothanReefer]

They are here too! Drip acclimating now. One thing I'm very concerned about now though is while I was floating the bags for the 15min temp match, one of them sprung a small leak in the bottom corner. It must have released 20ml or so of the bag water into display. It seems some lessons in this hobby are only learned the hard way. Geeeeez....

But, we got our first fish and the little is super fired up!! And to me, that's all that really matters right now.

The fish are alive and seem to be well. Swimming around, actually look hungry...but that might just be me. I'll offer them some mysis when they get into the DT.

Wish us luck.

- my 2yo daughter, Lawsen, already prayed over them while in the drip acclimating bucket. (That will melt your heart, I don't care who you are)

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

Getting bag water in your tank happens sometimes. Just do the best you can, there's not really anything else you can do.

 

[dohc97]

congrats on the fish, i myself am trying to scramble to find fish but it is looking like ill have to wait until the virus issues die down.