This is it. My last build thread

[exnisstech]

Update 7/1/25
Tank is still cruising along smoothly. Last test was NO3 33.5 and PO4 0.89
Kinda debunks the often repeated chatter that higher nutrients is the cause of nuisance algae I think.

The ATS was stalled but has started growing algae again. @VintageReefer suggested dosing Chaeto gro to help out so I did that. The tank looks good so I'm holding off on using artificial means to keep PO4 lower.

I had to increase my 2part from 10ml to 15ml to keep alk around 8.5 dkH. The orange monticap is plating out nicely and I think it is probably my biggest consumer of alk.

I brought the space invader pectinia up from the basement. One of the biota yellow tangs looked to be sampling the flesh but has since stopped. If this one does well I'll bring my rainbow pectinia up then try some of the duncans I have down there.

Basement 40g

I won the Hanna multi tester giveaway. YAY
Much to my surprise rather then send the tester saltwateraquarium.com issued a $475 credit to my account and told me to spend it on anything I wanted. I know I should have used the credit to buy the tester but I didn't. While it looks like an awesome piece of gear I only test N P and alk on a regular basis so I wouldn't use the tester even close to its full potential. So I have a baby Maxima and derasa coming to put in the 20g with the two crocea already in. I'll probably use the rest of the money for dry goods. I almost bought a reefmat 1200 for the 330 but decided against it. The socks are cheap and work. Mesh socks are easy enough to clean with a garden hose and I don't like crawling around under the tank these days so I passed. Sucks getting old.

 

[Stang67]

Update 7/1/25
Tank is still cruising along smoothly. Last test was NO3 33.5 and PO4 0.89
Kinda debunks the often repeated chatter that higher nutrients is the cause of nuisance algae I think.

The ATS was stalled but has started growing algae again. @VintageReefer suggested dosing Chaeto gro to help out so I did that. The tank looks good so I'm holding off on using artificial means to keep PO4 lower.

I had to increase my 2part from 10ml to 15ml to keep alk around 8.5 dkH. The orange monticap is plating out nicely and I think it is probably my biggest consumer of alk.

I brought the space invader pectinia up from the basement. One of the biota yellow tangs looked to be sampling the flesh but has since stopped. If this one does well I'll bring my rainbow pectinia up then try some of the duncans I have down there.

Basement 40g

I won the Hanna multi tester giveaway. YAY
Much to my surprise rather then send the tester saltwateraquarium.com issued a $475 credit to my account and told me to spend it on anything I wanted. I know I should have used the credit to buy the tester but I didn't. While it looks like an awesome piece of gear I only test N P and alk on a regular basis so I wouldn't use the tester even close to its full potential. So I have a baby Maxima and derasa coming to put in the 20g with the two crocea already in. I'll probably use the rest of the money for dry goods. I almost bought a reefmat 1200 for the 330 but decided against it. The socks are cheap and work. Mesh socks are easy enough to clean with a garden hose and I don't like crawling around under the tank these days so I passed. Sucks getting old.

I am replacing my socks this year. With new socks.

 

[twentyleagues]

I am replacing my socks this year. With new socks.

Socks what are those? lol

 

[exnisstech]

Socks what are those? lol

I run 200 micron mesh socks so I still have plenty of mulm I think its called through out the sump. Even being larger micron they still plug up about every 3 days. They usually overflow for a day or two before I get to them. I'm tempted to pull them and see how it goes but haven't talked myself into it yet. I'm not running anything in the two AIO tanks except some floss when I'm scraping glass or blowing off rocks and they seem to be fine.

 

[twentyleagues]

I run 200 micron mesh socks so I still have plenty of mulm I think its called through out the sump. Even being larger micron they still plug up about every 3 days. They usually overflow for a day or two before I get to them. I'm tempted to pull them and see how it goes but haven't talked myself into it yet. I'm not running anything in the two AIO tanks except some floss when I'm scraping glass or blowing off rocks and they seem to be fine.

I don't know what micron my socks are but they keep my toes toasty in the winter. I typically change them daily though. Lol

 

[Mohamed Ashfan]

Can you share the schedule for the noops?

 

[exnisstech]

Can you share the schedule for the noops?

I don't have a QR code to share but these are my settings.

 

[Dj City]

I still have a ways to go before I'm fully caught up but...

The tank build are amazing!

I wanted to stop by and say thank you once again.

Good people still exist and you sir, are one of them.

I'm sorry to read of the loss of your carpet.
I had a LARGE green carpet in my old 110gal reef.
It was beautiful but it cost me thousands in fish!

I will read the rest of your build soon and I'm following along.

 

[exnisstech]

I still have a ways to go before I'm fully caught up but...

The tank build are amazing!

I wanted to stop by and say thank you once again.

Good people still exist and you sir, are one of them.

I'm sorry to read of the loss of your carpet.
I had a LARGE green carpet in my old 110gal reef.
It was beautiful but it cost me thousands in fish!

I will read the rest of your build soon and I'm following along.

Thanks for stopping by.
I made the mistake of adding a large green haddoni to my 180g a few years back. I lost quite a few fish. It only ate one but something must have startled the fish at night because several died from stings.

 

[GoAskAlice]

Love this build thread. Lots of great information, pics, and a dose of humor too.

I'm getting ready to transfer three bta's and a pair of clownfish into a new tank. The tank I started them out in was never meant to be permanent and I decided to move them into a dedicated tank rather than adding them to my mixed reef.

Any tips for the move? Looks like you're the person to ask. The host nems and the clownfish are doing very well right now. Just want to keep it that way. Any advice will be appreciated.

 

[exnisstech]

Love this build thread. Lots of great information, pics, and a dose of humor too.

I'm getting ready to transfer three bta's and a pair of clownfish into a new tank. The tank I started them out in was never meant to be permanent and I decided to move them into a dedicated tank rather than adding them to my mixed reef.

Any tips for the move? Looks like you're the person to ask. The host nems and the clownfish are doing very well right now. Just want to keep it that way. Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks for stopping by.
Easiest way to move the nems would be to transfer the rock they are attached to if possible.

 

[tbrown]

Love this build thread. Lots of great information, pics, and a dose of humor too.

I'm getting ready to transfer three bta's and a pair of clownfish into a new tank. The tank I started them out in was never meant to be permanent and I decided to move them into a dedicated tank rather than adding them to my mixed reef.

Any tips for the move? Looks like you're the person to ask. The host nems and the clownfish are doing very well right now. Just want to keep it that way. Any advice will be appreciated.

I used the Eagle Steve Nem Cannon because I wasn't transferring the rock they were on. Ended up with 2 extras also.

 

[exnisstech]

Love this build thread. Lots of great information, pics, and a dose of humor too.

I'm getting ready to transfer three bta's and a pair of clownfish into a new tank. The tank I started them out in was never meant to be permanent and I decided to move them into a dedicated tank rather than adding them to my mixed reef.

Any tips for the move? Looks like you're the person to ask. The host nems and the clownfish are doing very well right now. Just want to keep it that way. Any advice will be appreciated.

This is what @tbrown is referring to.

Nem Canon

 

[likemike99]

This is the third time I've started a build thread so we'll see if I succeed. The first one my badge disappeared so I did another and sure enough my badge disappeared again. I didn't bother restoring the badges because I figured it was punishment for me being so poor at updating the threads :thinking-face: I'll try to do better this time but no promises ;) If this one disappears I'll take that as a sign.

New Tank is a Waterbox LX 330.7 I was going to go custom with a basement sump but decided I really didn't feel like doing the plumbing plus I'm getting tired of running up and down the stairs, sump is currently in the basement. I went with Waterbox because I was able to get the exact size I wanted. I really wanted at least 7ft of length and especially wanted the 30 inch front to back depth. The total height is more than I wanted but it was compromise or go full custom.

I want to keep my rodi storage and mixing station in the basement so figuring out how to keep that there and get water to the first floor will be part of the build. I'll be transferring most of the stuff from my 180g to the new tank. I'll do a full equipment list later.

Current tank that will be replaced

Delivery day

In with the stand. I was able to use the tractor to get it level with the entry way and slide it into the house and up onto a couple of furniture dollies. Rolled it into position and lifted it off. Easy peasy.

Time for the sump. Did it the same as the stand, up and in. Man I love the salesman that suggested adding the forks when I bought the tractor.

We set the tank today but didn't get pics. I had to help get it in and my Gal stayed in the bedroom. She said she couldn't stand to watch :rolling-on-the-floor-laughing: I hired a moving company to move the tank. First time in my life I've paid anyone to move anything. It was hard as I'm a do it yourself and usually do it alone kind of guy. I wish I would have hired laborers and ran the job myself. I wanted to bring it in the same as the stand and sump using the tractor sliding it in onto dollies then roll it to the stand and lift it on. Boss man wanted to lift into the house and it took all 5 of them and myself to do it. 604lbs ya I would have opted for the tractor but they were in charge. The door opening was 31" and tank 29.5" so it was tight but we made it in unscathed and up onto the stand. My arms are sore today.

After everyone left my Gal came out. Her first statement "wow it's big" :rolling-on-the-floor-laughing: It is big and makes the 180g look small. It's amazing how much difference the extra 6" of depth makes. I'm looking forward to scaping this. The tangs are gonna love the extra swim space.

Sump is in the stand now onto plumbing. You can see the two electrical outlets I added. I ran a dedicated circuit on its own breaker and attached the outlets to the wall, one outside on the end toward the corner and the second where I can reach it from inside the stand.

Leveled. I used a 4ft bubble level but really didn't have 100% confidence as the bubbles are a little hard for me to see. I added about 3/4" of tap water and checked the waterline. Nice and level.

Plumbing in and doors are on.
Next up to get lumber and build a beam and shore up the joists.
The tank is sitting perpendicular to the floor joists and the back almost on top of the house center beam. It would probably be fine but I already have two extra pole jacks so I'm going to build and run a support beam parallel to the center beam about 24" away which will give plenty of support I think.
More to follow.

My first AIO build. IM Nuvo 20 long

My AIO build IM Nuvo 20

The thread is to document my first AIO tank. I like having a tank in our bedroom and after having a reefer 170 for 6+ years it developed a seam failure so I broke it down and am replacing it with an innovative marine nuvo 20 long. IM is out if stock but thanks to @steveschuerger I found one in...

www.reef2reef.com

Reefer 300 Acro tank

1st Acro tank Reefer 300

I'm trying to document my tanks so I can watch the progress and maybe share some info. I've been poor at keeping track of things and doing so here just works for me. This is my first attempt at an acro dominant tank. Its a Reefer 300 and has been running for 2 years. This is the earliest image...

www.reef2reef.com

IOAIO 8g Nano build

AIO Build - IOAIO 8g Nano budget build

Figured it's time to start my own thread and stop cluttering up @tbrown thread 😉 which has quite a bit of activity with a lot of ideas. I received the tank as part if a promotion from one of our supporting vendors @IOAOI and my goal is to spend as little cash as necessary since I have a lot of...

www.reef2reef.com

may sound silly but man that sump is beautiful

 

[exnisstech]

may sound silly but man that sump is beautiful

It is pretty nice to work in. Much nicer than my cramped Reefer 300.
Simple but functional.

 

[exnisstech]

No news is good news August update.
Tank is cruising along. ATS is full every 7 days and NO3 is 30ish PO4 0.5ish but the tank is clean and coral look happy so we roll.
Added: I'm doing 25g weekly WCs
The two monticaps are starting to grow so I'm watching alk and am keeping it steady mid 8 dkH using 20ml ESV 2part a day dumped in when I do my morning tank chores.

I think my pan and zoom is pretty smooth for an old guy rolling around on a stool.

 

[ZzyzxRiver]

Don’t often read 23 pages of build thread but yours is super interesting! All caught up now!

 

[exnisstech]

Don’t often read 23 pages of build thread but yours is super interesting! All caught up now!

Wow! Thank you very much.
The tank is cruising along smoothly so there isn't much to report lately but I'll post some recent images since I can use some bonus contest entries lol.

Biota yellows are doing well. They're starting to hang out together more now and i haven't seen a sliced fin in a couple of weeks so maybe they are growing up and not feeling the need to challenge each other. I find it interesting that they have maintained the size difference that they've had since I got them. I'm wondering if it's something zebrasomas do, dominant fish grown faster/ larger? Years ago I had a nice sized wild yellow and added a purple maybe half the size of the yellow and the yellow seemed to stop growing and the purple is now close to twice the size of the yellow.

The babies

This months photo contest is pairs so I'm trying to get a contest worthy shot of my CBBs but so far this is the best I can get. 8 tangs photo bombing whenever I'm in front of the tank doesn't make good shots easy.

And the tank. Lights are dimming so the leathers aren't looking their finest.

Left side

Right

And a FTS

 

[ZzyzxRiver]

The scape really is stunning, well done. How many tanks are you keeping total? Also, how is that Zoa garden you started?

 

[tbrown]

The scape really is stunning, well done. How many tanks are you keeping total? Also, how is that Zoa garden you started?

Really??? That's like asking a doctor how much he makes or a lady how old she is...