TheKingInYellow goes bare black bottom - 50g SPS dominant!

[TheKingInYellow]

Finally have the tank and sump in my possession!










Silicone looks good, although a bit sloppy around the eurobrace. Not too concerning. Chipping on the return holes was worse than I would have liked but it's on the exterior so opposite of the gasket. Nothing to worry about.





Getting the back painted tonight and I can start plumbing it tomorrow!

 

[TheKingInYellow]

Builder screwed up, no way this front is low iron.

Unless they built the bottom from low iron as well which I doubt.

 

[TheKingInYellow]

...and I just spoke to the builder. He did the whole tank in low iron because of the delay.

Free upgrades!

 

[TheKingInYellow]

Tank painted and the sump test fit into the stand.

 

[TheKingInYellow]

I got the textured ABS cut for the bottom and I've been working through plumbing. Hopefully everything can be finished up there tomorrow, I'll give it a day to cure and start adding water Monday night.

There is a gap around the edges of the ABS but I'm debating leaving it so that I'll have a convenient place for detritus to collect and be suctioned out. I could seal it but the black silicone I was using blew out the back of the tube while I was putting a bead down under the ABS sheet to hold it. Exploded all over the side panel but I think I managed to get it all off with wet paper towels. Fun!

 

[TheKingInYellow]

Plumbing is underway but I didn't get it all completed just yet.

 

[TheKingInYellow]

Shopping spree round one came in today.

Apex leak kit, WXM, a second EB8, Koralia for the QT tank, hanging hardware for the Radions, my second Nero 5 and the feed pump for my Algae Scrubber.

I decided that I want to do a coral QT as well so I brought in a Koralia and a Prime HD for that as well.

Radions are sadly back ordered but hopefully they'll be in next week. Tonight's goal is to finish the plumbing and install the sump.

 

[TheKingInYellow]

Will it's not as elegant as I had planned but it's plumbed!

 

[TheKingInYellow]

Posted my first attempt at the scape here:

Need help with your aquascape?

If you exchange the position of the 2 structures you will get a more dramatic valley between them and another advantage is that the tank will open up to the sides, creating more space around the rocks. Don't put the valley right in the middle, put it a bit off to the side. I would try moving...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[TheKingInYellow]

Tanks about 75% full, making another batch of SW tonight to finish filling.

Dr Tim's is in along with some ammonium chloride. Let the second cycle attempt begin!

 

[TheKingInYellow]

Finished filling the tank this morning, got a small leak in the secondary overflow but it's minor and drips directly into the sump. I did what any talented reefer would do and wrapped it in Flextape

Honestly, not a big deal because I need to redo the overflow plumbing anyhow. I sorta ordered a Clarisea SK-3000. I figure this tank is already heavily automated, and taking filter socks out of the equation is the biggest thing I could do at this point to cut down maintenance.

 

[TheKingInYellow]

Woohoo about 2ppm nitrate!

Ammonia is still high but I'm still dosing so that's not surprising. Haven't seen a nitrite spike though?

Regardless any nitrate is a good sign.

Keep cycling little tank!

 

[TheKingInYellow]

It's Christmas in August!

 

[TheKingInYellow]

Also having no luck with the cycle. Lots of ammonia, no nitrite and the barest of pinks for nitrate which I suspect may be a bit of a false positive from the Red Sea kit.

It's been a solid ten days with the Dr Tim's, so I've ordered a bottle of Biospira to double down on the bacterial boost.

 

[Redfoxtang]

Great build man everything looks good. Wish i had your woodworking skills! Excellent job so far!!!

 

[TheKingInYellow]

Great build man everything looks good. Wish i had your woodworking skills! Excellent job so far!!!

Cheers, thanks for coming along on the ride!

 

[Sako338]

Great build, love your attention to detail. Following along for the adventure!

 

[TheKingInYellow]

Great build, love your attention to detail. Following along for the adventure!

Hey the more the merrier. This is my first tank in a good while so advice and opinions are always welcome.

 

[TheKingInYellow]

Still no movement in the cycle, maybe a hint of nitrite in tonight's water testing. I added a dose is Seachem stability and I'll run through their seven day dosing cycle to see if I can get it kickstarted.

My LFS got in a tiny but healthy looking one spot foxface and I've asked them to hold it for a week or two and I'm going to get my QT set up and running. Ideally I'll have some cycled media soon but I can run the 10g QT with just water changes and an ammonia alert badge if necessary.

 

[Blutspitze]

Tank is looking great so far! Aquascaping is gorgeous and glad to see it getting wet and cycling. Looking forward to seeing some livestock inside.