Zoo Med "Low Boy"/Deep Blue -160 gallon frag tank system

[BZOFIQ]

Clips look like something I'm getting next Thank you.

 

[tippin.turtle]

It's been three whole months since my last update. I'm happy to report that things are going pretty well. I decided to scrap my original plan of using frag racks; as they were not visually appealing or interesting to me.
Instead I chose to add dry rock and see where the journey takes me. Sorta like a lagoon, perhaps a tad bit more shallow. Never the less, I like the new direction.
I ordered Marco base rock, the flat bottom shaved pieces in different sizes. Expensive to say the least!
(disclaimer): I will "ALWAYS" ***** and complain about the ridiculous cost of this hobby. You greedy jerks!
Should I ever do this again, I'll order regular Marco rock and cut it myself for cost reduction.
So, one tank with Marco rock and the other tank was filled with Pukani rock, and whatever else I had
lying around. Can't really say I prefer one over the other, as it all grows green hair algae just the same.;Joyful
As I subtly mentioned before, I have real issues with expense; so it should come as no surprise as to
the wave pumps I purchased.

Rather buy three of these over one of the other more ridiculously priced options. No need for name dropping, we all know who they are.
After procuring that last few items of reef gear required, it was finally time to add water!

Added Dr. Tims "all in one" to start the cycle process. After four days, the tank water had cleared and we were off to the races! Shortly there after, fish began showing up! Who knew? Build it and they will come...

Just to kick start things a wee bit more, I got some algae in a bottle.

So here we are today.

 

[tippin.turtle]

In an effort to avoid potential issues down the road I decided it wise to setup a quarantine tank.
Who doesn't want another fish tank right? Just a little something else I've been working on since my last update.

 

[tippin.turtle]

Instant gratification this project was not. Three years of acquisition; a piece here and there. Countless trips to Home Depot, Lowes, and Ace Hardware. Monthly deliveries from
Fed-Ex, USPS, UPS, and Amazon. Scrimping and saving for that next piece of gear.
So what did I get out of it you may ask? Well in short, a fish tank. A better answer might be
patience; which will serve anyone well who pursues this hobby. Another would be an appreciation
for just how unjustifiably expensive this hobby actually is. There is no shortage unscrupulous companies and those who promote them who will gladly attempt to suck the very last dollar out of your wallet. It's a 'pay to play" hobby and yes, i'm a bit bitter about it. I once heard if you want a reef tank simply place all your cash in a pile and set it on fire. I believe this to be accurate.
I'll keep reefing along with the rest of you, as i'm too invested at this point to bow out now.
Would I recommend this hobby to someone? Absolutely not and that's a shame.

 

[tippin.turtle]

So now that my tank is up and running I've had the opportunity to finally start using the equipment; which has taken me several years to acquire and incorporate into my build.
One such item was the ConeS 2 Protein skimmer from Aquamaxx.
While cleaning the skimmer cup, the inside funnel portion separated completely from the cup.
An imperfection in the gluing process which could completely escape any visual inspection.
AquaMaxx products are warrantied for one year after purchase for any such defects. My skimmer was purchased in 2016, being my first piece of equipment for this build.

I reached out to Aquamaxx customer support to let them know about the problem in which I had encountered. This was their response:

Hi Shawn,
Thanks for reaching out to us and I apologize for the issues. I checked with Marine Depot and while the skimmer was purchased back in 2016 we do understand your frustration in this matter. While normally this would be out of warranty, I have asked Marine Depot to ship a replacement to you. They mentioned you hadn't ordered in a little while so they wanted me to verify that your ship to address is still valid:

Not only does AquaMaxx produce great products, they also have great customer service!
Despite this recently discovered defect in my skimmer, it has performed greater than
my expectations.
I couldn't be more pleased with my decision to purchase Aquamaxx! Thanks so much for being
Awesome!

 

[Semisonyx]

Have any updates? What type of t5 fixture are those?

 

[tippin.turtle]

Have any updates? What type of t5 fixture are those?

Hey semisonyx!
I do have some updates; although not very exciting I suppose.
I purchased chaeto algae from Algae Barn and placed it in my refugium after cycling my tank.
I wanted to give it a boost so I purchased Chaeto Grow made by Brightwell Aquatics.
Can't say it did much for the chaeto, but believe it may have gave the rest of the algae that formed on my dry rock a bit of help.
That's ok as it has given an ample food supply to my new little friends.

 

[tippin.turtle]

As for my lights, I am running T5 fixtures similar to this one, which can be found on Amazon.
I purchased ATI bulbs (aqua blue special,actinic,blue+) to replace the grow bulbs that come standard
with these lights.

 

[tippin.turtle]

Another update has been the addition of soft coral, multiple anemones,LPS, and a few pieces of SPS to "test the waters" a bit. So far everything is doing great! I couldn't be happier on how this system is performing.
I did run into one issue(middle of the night), which was the unexpected "clogging" of my filter socks in the refugium.
Luckily the float switch engaged, shutting off the main pump, preventing a huge fish tank catastrophe!
The downside of this event was my protein skimmer over filled and I had salt spray all over my sump area and equipment.
My next purchase will be this lil gem, saving me a time consuming clean up should this ever happen in the future.

 

[tippin.turtle]

 

[tippin.turtle]

I forgot about this, I decided to remove the poly carbonate tops over the tanks for better gas exchange. I went with these light diffusers/egg crates found at Lowes. Being that this setup is in a basement I was experiencing low Ph (7.6) and was in hopes that by allowing better air exchange with the water surface that this would improve.... It did NOT...lol.

 

[najer]

Another update has been the addition of soft coral, multiple anemones,LPS, and a few pieces of SPS to "test the waters" a bit. So far everything is doing great! I couldn't be happier on how this system is performing.
I did run into one issue(middle of the night), which was the unexpected "clogging" of my filter socks in the refugium.
Luckily the float switch engaged, shutting off the main pump, preventing a huge fish tank catastrophe!
The downside of this event was my protein skimmer over filled and I had salt spray all over my sump area and equipment.
My next purchase will be this lil gem, saving me a time consuming clean up should this ever happen in the future.

I saw a similar device over here in England last week and am ordering one today, as you said worth every penny to stop the aggravation of cleaning up and also not having a week of skimate dumped back in!

 

[tippin.turtle]

A new direction for the QT tank...not sure everyone is impressed with the new look.

 

[tippin.turtle]

Just a bit over 4 months and still in the "ugly phase"...of life. Brightwell's Chaeto grow and Ferrion supplement has given things a nice yellow green glow...lol! Dosed only 1/4th recommended amounts; can only imagine the horror at full strength! ;Joyful

 

[tippin.turtle]

Just an update here. Equipment somehow slowly continues to creep in over time. I installed the Auto Aqua "auto shut off" onto my protein skimmer and couldn't be happier.
I also installed the CO2 scrubber by BRS. At first I plumbed the air inlet to the outside room air. This turns out to be the least efficient use of the CO2 media; lasting only five days in my case.
So I am now on day seven since converting to the "recirculating skimmer" principal without a need for media replacement as of yet.

 

[tippin.turtle]

 

[tippin.turtle]

 

[tippin.turtle]

Just a little video...

 

[tippin.turtle]

One more video for fun...

 

[Everything Aquatics]

One more video for fun...

I love this build hoping to do a dual lowboy build myself but I can’t find them anywhere