Tyler's 220 gallon in wall build thread!

[scott11106]

I thought about live rock, but to many horror stories of pests. So I just figured I'd start dry, that way it's best in my control to prevent hitchhikers

with REEL live rock it is artificial live rock so none of the bad stuff.
http://realreefrock.com/

 

[scott11106]

How long did you cycle for before adding fish? They say 3-6 weeks. I have patience, just not currently lol.

You will want to QT fish first so you can get that up and going and use DR Tims or i use FritzZyme TurboStart 900 Saltwater Live Nitrifying Bacteria and within a day you are up and running but they should be in QT 4-5 weeks or so and you can get display going during that time

 

[TK_KW]

Update.

So tank delivery didnt go as plan. Moving company almost walked away from it, as it had to go down stairs and weight came in above what manufacture thought. Weights about 620lbs. Good news though, it made it down safely lol. So glad I went with starphire glass, looks incredible.

Reno in basement is almost complete. Carpet in about a week, so dust levels in house will finally be subsided. In mean time I'm receiving all my product and Neptune order in next day or two, so I can start that install. Check out my control board I made for mounting all Neptune product, the orange and black, and I'm also mounting a tablet on it (I also thought of tablet ressessed or wall flushmount on basement room side, would look cool, still debating which to do).

Starting plumbing the tank this week also. Rock work I will do asap as I want to cycle rock. But figure I'd take the time to make perfect aquascape and plan it out properly. Then I'll fill and cure rock.

 

[scott11106]

LOOKS AWESOME !!!!
that really looks great and cant wait to see the back side progress also as that room will also be a show piece o presume. Everyone that comes in my house and sees the tanks falls in love but there blown away when they see the fish room and i presume yours will be the same.
great job

 

[TK_KW]

@scott11106 should you happen to know of hand. I thought I read something, somewhere, about keeping power cords and data away from each other when running electrical?

 

[scott11106]

@scott11106 should you happen to know of hand. I thought I read something, somewhere, about keeping power cords and data away from each other when running electrical?

it is always a good idea to separate the two if possible, but really, as far as i know, the power cords for what we are doing do not cause a problem. more than likely major power sources especially florescent lighting are a problem, i ran all mine together but i was running them tword the end of the build and was low on patience..lol

 

[TK_KW]

Well, I have about 95 percent of my products. What you all think. Am I ready? Did i miss anything lol

 

[scott11106]

Well, I have about 95 percent of my products. What you all think. Am I ready? Did i miss anything lol

wow, like christmas morning, that is great !!! almost makes me want to start another tank.lol

 

[TK_KW]

So I have couple questions.
- when I start to cycle and cure my rock. Do I just run my return pumps with heater on and that's it? Or do I also run skimmer and possibly UV also to help the process?
-when setting up multiple heaters for display/sump. I think I'm going to run 3 total as fail safe. Do I set them all at same temp? I was thinking two at same temp,and one low? Or is that wrong?

Also, my dog clearly wanted to help out apparently lol.

Thanks

 

[BroadBno615]

So I have couple questions.
- when I start to cycle and cure my rock. Do I just run my return pumps with heater on and that's it? Or do I also run skimmer and possibly UV also to help the process?
-when setting up multiple heaters for display/sump. I think I'm going to run 3 total as fail safe. Do I set them all at same temp? I was thinking two at same temp,and one low? Or is that wrong?

Also, my dog clearly wanted to help out apparently lol.

Thanks

I would run only the return and heater for about a week....then I would turn on the skimmer...not sure about the UV

As far as heaters. I would set one to the temp you want....then set the 2nd one a few degrees lower...then set the other one a few degrees lower... because once your tank gets to the right temp it shouldn't very to much so 1 should be enough and the others were just back up....and I would only personally run 2

 

[scott11106]

So I have couple questions.
- when I start to cycle and cure my rock. Do I just run my return pumps with heater on and that's it? Or do I also run skimmer and possibly UV also to help the process?
-when setting up multiple heaters for display/sump. I think I'm going to run 3 total as fail safe. Do I set them all at same temp? I was thinking two at same temp,and one low? Or is that wrong?

Also, my dog clearly wanted to help out apparently lol.

Thanks

i would run 2 heaters, one at 78 degrees and one at 77 or so as a backup and then set your apex to send an alert if it goes below 77 and you can set the apex to send an alert if either heater goes out of the power parameter you set (in essence if the heater starts to fail the power consumption will rise or fall and alert you)
you can run three heaters but unless the one heater cannot keep up there is no need but you will want to replace the heater every year or two as they will fail, just a matter of when.
for your cycle i would run everything as a full system except the lights are not needed at first and not using the lights will limit the algae bloom and i would not run the skimmer at first as there is nothing to skim but once you see algae then run it and i would not run the UV until the system is fully running.

 

[TK_KW]

Also I forgot to ask. What about running carbon? And should i be doing water changes while cycling the rock? I just want to prevent algea bloom from happening at all costs if possible

 

[ngoodermuth]

First, your dog is adorable. Is it a beagle?

If you are using dry rock, I’m not sure I would trust bottled bacterial to be up to the task of using up all the ammonia of fish from day 1. Instead, I think I would add the bacteria and then test the ability of your tank to process the ammonia by dosing plain, unscented ammonia and testing the water.

I would just hate to misjudge the ability of the bottled bacteria and lose the fish. With live rock, wouldn’t be as worried, but still a good idea to test it first...

Great looking build, following along!

 

[ngoodermuth]

I wouldn’t do too many water changes during cycling. Since there is really no waste being added to the tank at that point, it wouldn’t really help anyway and you would just be wasting salt.

Once you can see the ammonia process, you can start normal water changes.

 

[TK_KW]

First, your dog is adorable. Is it a beagle?

If you are using dry rock, I’m not sure I would trust bottled bacterial to be up to the task of using up all the ammonia of fish from day 1. Instead, I think I would add the bacteria and then test the ability of your tank to process the ammonia by dosing plain, unscented ammonia and testing the water.

I would just hate to misjudge the ability of the bottled bacteria and lose the fish. With live rock, wouldn’t be as worried, but still a good idea to test it first...

Great looking build, following along!

Haha, most definitely a beagle. My little Houdini....

 

[scott11106]

Also I forgot to ask. What about running carbon? And should i be doing water changes while cycling the rock? I just want to prevent algae bloom from happening at all costs if possible

no carbon, no water changes until you see some algae, you want a small algae bloom as that is the cycle but keeping it to a minimum is good, i went with live rock and live sand and added fritz turbo start and all was perfect so will take a bit longer with dry rock. are you using live sand?

 

[TK_KW]

no carbon, no water changes until you see some algae, you want a small algae bloom as that is the cycle but keeping it to a minimum is good, i went with live rock and live sand and added fritz turbo start and all was perfect so will take a bit longer with dry rock. are you using live sand?

I wasnt going to use live sand, as I want to start with sterile tank, no pests etc. I'm adding bacteria day one and day two of cycling. Product off hand I cant recall, but it is what my local FS recommended. I just really wanted to start sterile to avoid future issues. Or is sand safer than live rock as far as that goes?
I think dry sand is my best choice. But question. Do I add sand before or after I cycle tank?

 

[scott11106]

I wasnt going to use live sand, as I want to start with sterile tank, no pests etc. I'm adding bacteria day one and day two of cycling. Product off hand I cant recall, but it is what my local FS recommended. I just really wanted to start sterile to avoid future issues. Or is sand safer than live rock as far as that goes?
I think dry sand is my best choice. But question. Do I add sand before or after I cycle tank?

sand is safe just use quality sand but it will not negatively affect your tank. i dont know if you have purchased your rock but REEL reef rock is also extremely safe as it is man made so not pests but has bacteria so it is great, it is what i have used on my tanks. By doing this your cycles will be fast and minimal. =fish and coral faster
do what you feel best but I do not have that patience and it is safe as far as hitchhikers go, its not like the live rock/sand purchased in the past from LFS that who knows where it came from and what it is...just my two cents

 

[scott11106]

and regardless what you use it all goes in before you cycle so you will build rock formations then put sand in and then add water and then add whatever you are going to use to cycle tank

 

[ngoodermuth]

Haha, most definitely a beagle. My little Houdini....

Mine too, he's been on Find Toby twice since I got him ‍ Awesome dogs, just too clever for their own good...