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DaveWC
08/18/2006, 10:03 PM
The last of my tanks are sold, fish are gone, I'm done with f/w. I've been doing the Discus breeding/growing/selling thing for about 6 years now and the joy of daily 50% water changes on 700g worth of tanks is gone. But I've got a hole in the wall of my office where a 36x18x18 50g tank sat and a stain on my carpet where a 180g tank lay. So rather then patch the hole and clean the carpet I have decided to get into reef keeping. I've been reading everything I can get my hands on and this forum is a simply resource. I can't believe the amount of threads & the number of members.

My first project will be the hole in the wall tank. The other side of the wall is a storage room where the bulk of my tanks used to be so there's a laundry sink, the sump for my house and plenty of power. I'm getting a new tank built to fit that hole but figured I had the room so I might as well make the tank a bit bigger. So I'm getting a 36x24x18 (LWH) tank made. It's going to be 3/8" glass so I can get away without any braces. No sps for this tank, just softies and eventually a quarantine tank for the bigger tank. Here's what I've got or have on order for this tank...

67g tank 36x24x18 (LWH)
- plain glass, corner overflow
- 36x24x16 (LWH) refugium/sump, 60g, glass
- Mag 5 return pump
- Euro-Reef RS135 skimmer
- 2 SEIO 620 powerheads
- Tek Retro 4x39w T5s

The tank & sump should arrive next week and I can start plumbing. And tonight I confirmed the order of the bulk of equipment for the other tank. It will be in the office that the 67g tank looks onto. Here's what I'm planning for the larger tank, which is going to house SPS...

210g tank 72x28x24 (LWH)
- starphire glass on front & sides, center overflow
- 48x24x16 (LWH) refugium/sump, 80g, acrylic
- Gen-X Mak 4 return pump
- Deltec APF-600 skimmer
- 2 Tunze 6100 streams on 7095 controller
- Infinity XR4 HQI 3x250w MH with 8x39w T5
- 3 of ACLS Lighting system
- Aquatronica Professional System with a few add'l gadgets
- Deltec PF-500 Calcium reactor
- Deltec KM-500 Kalkwasser mixer
- Deltec FR-509 Fluidized reactor

There's about a two month way for the tank so I've got some time to prepare for this one. The sump dimensions are a guess right now. I want to stick everything into the sump because I'm leery of leaks so it has to be big enough to accomodate this equipment. Hopefully there will be room for a refugium in there. I figure I'll wait until the equipment arrives and sit it in the stand and see how it fits.

The stand is being built by my father in law right now. It's going to be 1.5" tubular steel powder coated black with the dimensions 72x28x40 (LWH). I figure that 40" of height is more then enough and will allow for some shelving to be built to hold all of the garbage I might want to stick i there. I'll get a wooden shroud with rare earth magnets to cover the stand.

If anyone sees any problems or has any suggestions feel free to voice them now.

tgunn
08/19/2006, 07:14 PM
Howdy! Great to see someone else in Winnipeg doing something big! :)

I very much approve of the equipment list you've got so far. I think your decision to go with Tunze Streams or powerheads for the main circulation in your tank is wise decision. I set up my system using a large Sequence 1000 5000GPH pump for my closed loop. It kicks out the flow great, but it doesn't provide the random current that the Tunzes on the controller will give you, and it uses a LOT more power (400w).. Random current in the tank is a pretty important thing in my experience; I don't have very random flow because I don't have a wavemaker, oceans motion, etc. As a result some of my SPS tend to have very defined growth patterns dictated by the flow in my setup.

Seeing you're in Winnipeg, make sure to put a bit of thought into the humidity and heat the tanks will add to your home in the summer time. You probably have already figured that out from your freshwater ventures, but best to consider it now. My 140 gallon tank with 100g sump in a basement fish room adds a huge amount of humidity to the house in the winter. My house was builtin 89 so it's sealed quite tight. As a result I'm going to have to install a heat recovery ventilator. This last winter all my windows were sweating bad the whole winter and I had a few mold problems in cold corners in a closet. Not good.

Looks like you've got plenty of goodies on order though! Should be a great system to see built up!

DaveWC
08/19/2006, 07:41 PM
Believe me, with Discus tanks at 86ºF you get used to dealing with humidity. I've had a heat recovery unit for 4 years and every winter it saves me.

tgunn
08/20/2006, 08:36 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7972822#post7972822 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DaveWC
Believe me, with Discus tanks at 86ºF you get used to dealing with humidity. I've had a heat recovery unit for 4 years and every winter it saves me.

I only wish I had planned for this when I first got the tank; I never imagined it's have caused so much humidity to enter the house. In the winter it was dry; around 35% humidity or less. After getting the tank I was running around 65-75%.. Ouch! :)

Oh well, I'm going to put one in over the next few months; that should solve all the problems.

Tyler

thor32766
08/21/2006, 10:34 AM
wow keep us updated when you get them going

DaveWC
08/21/2006, 07:02 PM
Will do. My RO unit is now plumbed. Just waiting on the 67g tank. to start plumbing it. There's a 30" shelf that it sits on and peeks through the wall of my office so all I need to do is drill a hole in the shelf for the drain and run the hose to the sump.

DaveWC
08/23/2006, 09:15 AM
Here's the RO/DI unit. I've been using the RO for drinking water but the DI is untouched.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/DSCN9888.jpg

And I got a 70g holding tank for water changes. I plan to put a Mag 1200 in there to refill tanks and to recirculate water/mix salt. I figure one Ebo 200w heater should maintain the temp.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/DSCN9889.jpg

My 67g tank should be ready today or early tomorrow. The sump will be ready by the weekend. But like all tank builders, these guys never hit the deadline that they set. Go figure.

DaveWC
08/24/2006, 06:13 AM
I got the 67g tank yesterday. I get it home and I'm fitting the bulkheads in to make sure they fit and guess what? The holes are 1.75" instead of 1.5". The bulkheads are for 3/4" loc line. So I call the tank builder and he says that he saw I'd written 1.5" on the spot for the holes and he figured there's no way a 1.5" bulkhead will fit in a 1.5" hole so he goes up one drill bit size. Unreal. Now I've got to find a couple of 1" bulkheads and then find out what I'll need to fit the loc line into a 1" threaded hole. I have a suspicion/hope that the 3/4" bulkhead will thread into the 1" bulkhead but until I get the 1" I won't know. Does anyone out there know?

Anyway, here's the tank...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/Tank-67a.jpg

For some reason the bottom is made of tinted glass but that won't matter, the sand will cover it. It's just another indication that I need to find a more professional tank builder. But it's 3/8" glass so I can get away without a brace which will make it much easier to manouver in. It's hard enough to work on tanks built into wall without a brace complicating it.

I used a hole saw to drill a 3.5" hole through the plywood & stand that this tank will be sitting on. Not even close to being big enough. I can probably get the nut for the bulkhead through the hole but there's no way I can get it tight that way. I probably need a 4.5" hole. And that sucks as I had to get the tank up onto the stand and in position by myself and it's a very tight fit. Oh well, that's the project for today, that and getting some PVC to plumb this to the sump area.

DaveWC
08/24/2006, 06:14 AM
btw, the piece of glass over the front top edge of the tank is there because this tank fits into my wall. This will prevent salt & water from splashing into the drywall.

DaveWC
08/24/2006, 02:04 PM
Ok, the bulkhead is on now. Keep this in mind, if you're using a 2" bulkhead you need a minimum of a 4.5" hole in your stand. Why am I using a 2" bulkhead? Because that's what the tank builder had & used. I know, I'm smacking myself too. Needless to say he isn't building the 210g tank. No, that tank will be built by Aquarium Obsessed. Hopefully I'll learn from all of the goofs I make on this tank so when that one arrives it'll be a clean install.

Here's the tank in my office wall.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/DSCN9900.jpg

And with the lights on in the back room you can see all of the cluttered space available for the mess of a sump/skimmer etc.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/DSCN9899.jpg

I won't have that luxury with the 210g so sll of the equipment will have to sit underneath the tank. Hopefully the 40" height of the stand will help make that possible.

tgunn
08/24/2006, 02:50 PM
Looking good!

Sounds like you had similar problems to what I had with my tank build. I had told the builder I wanted to use 1 1/2" bulkheads. He had to order a new diamond hold saw to drill those holes, but he did anyways. It turns out he got the WRONG size hole saw so the 1 1/2" bulkheads didn't actually fit; the hole was just a bit too snug. So he ended up machining down the threads on a bunch of bulkheads to make them fit. This was a total nightmare in every regard and I ended up siliconing the bulkheads such that I wasn't relying on the bulkhead's nut to hold it in; I just didn't trust the modified bulkheads. What a nightmare. Again, I got what I paid for...

Later,
Tyler

DaveWC
08/24/2006, 03:04 PM
I've always had a concern about leaks and overflows. For the 210 I'm getting a quote on an aluminum tray that the steel stand will sit in. The tray will be watertight and have a 4" apron on it. Couple that with a water detector and I should be able to sleep sound. It won't help if I'm out of the house but at least I'll know the second I walk in.

miwoodar
08/24/2006, 03:10 PM
Very nice start Dave. If only everyone started their projects/tanks off on the right foot...I'm excited for you!

DaveWC
08/24/2006, 03:19 PM
It doesn't feel like the right foot when stuff like this goes wrong... best laid plans and all. Not that it's the end of the world or the only setback I'll have to face. Everything takes time though. I'm trying to order the PVC fittings today, just waiting for a quote. None of the stuff I need is at Home Depot and I want to use proper fittings this time. For instance, how do you take a bulkhead fitting off of your tank if you glue PVC into it? Just cut it off? I assume you get a union with o-ring seals that disconnects. The same goes for ball valves... true union ball valves allow you to disconnect... is that correct?

Most of the sump is finished so I should get that by the weekend. Got some Reefbones yesterday for base rock. Seems like 40lbs won't be enough so I think I'll get another box. The box says to cure this rock if it's going into an inhabited tank. Is that the norm or do most people just toss it into a new tank and let the skimmer catch the crap? I've got time so I could soak it in a Rubbermaid for a couple of weeks.

DaveWC
08/25/2006, 04:44 PM
It turns out that a 3/4" bulkhead will fit into a 1" bulkhead pretty easy. The 1" was a slip fitting rather then threaded so all I did was cut down the 3/4" male to about 1/2" and sanded down the threads until it snugly fit in the 1" bulkhead. No worries about it leaking since it's inside the tank. I should get my PVC parts next week and the sump will be ready tomorrow. My lights for the 67g are coming in about a week but that's no rush. With any luck I'll be able to do a water test next weekend and then start curing some rock.

On the 210g front my stand is being built next week. The same goes for the aluminum tray. As soon as that arrives I can start working on the wooden shroud for that stand. My wife is an interior designer and has some contacts with cabinet makers that do excellent work. Sounds good to me. The fact that she's remotely interested in this project is a good sign.

RandalB
08/25/2006, 07:16 PM
Looking good Dave, Glad to see another Discus nut come over to the dark (Halide Illuminated?) side.....

RandalB

DaveWC
08/26/2006, 06:32 AM
Thanks Randal.

I got my sump for the 67g tank last night. It turned out quite nice. The dimensions are 36x24x16. The refugium portion is 12x24x14 giving me about 17.5g. There is a spot for a skimmer, some baffles for bubble removal and a pretty good sized sump left over.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/Sump-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/Sump-1.jpg

It sits on a piece of 1" styrofoam on my concrete floor in the room behind my office. You can see the tank that pokes through the office wall above the sump. Now I'm waiting for the PVC to plumb these things and I'll be good to go. There are two returns to the tank, the second one is behind the 2x4, but is not blocked by it... it's just the angle of the photo.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/Sump-3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/Sump-4.jpg

DaveWC
08/27/2006, 03:04 PM
I think I've got the plan for water changes for both tanks now. The sump section of the above sump/refugium will run at just over 15g normally. The sump/skimmer section of the sump I'm planning for the 210g tank will hold about 40g. And I've got a 70g holding tank.

I figure I'll run a length of spa flex 1/2" tubing from the holding tank to the 210g tank. That's about a 30' length, through the wall in my office and around the perimeter of the office (to avoid the doorway). On the way to the office that pipe will run right past the sump for the 67g tank. I'll tee off a line at that point to the 67g tank's sump and stick a ball valve on it. The return pump in that sump will also have a connection to this line to allow me to empty the sump.

I'll also tee a line off as the pipe goes past the sump (drain) for my house for draining the tanks. This will also have a ball valve for when I'm refilling.

At the sump for the 210g I'll have a hole drilled at the bottom of the sump & skimmer section and tee them together and connect them to the pipe from the holding tank. I'll have a tee on the return pump in that sump that will connect to the hole in the sump section for emptying.

The net result of all of this is that I should be able to turn a few valves and redirect the sump return for either tank to my house drain rather then to the tank that they are servicing. Once the sump/skimmer section is empty I turn off the pump and switch a few more valves and turn on the pump in my holding tank and the refilling takes place. Turn the pump in the sump back to normal and the tank operates again.

This can be done at either tank with very little effort and accomplish a 40g water change in my 210g system and a 15g water change in my 67g system. Much easier then when I used to have to unroll a 50 hose from the holding tank, through the basement living area to my tank in my office, empty slowly by siphon, then refill and recoil the hose. Shouldn't cost too much in fittings either... about $100 I figure.

Clear as mud eh?

Mishap
08/27/2006, 03:18 PM
Great looking setup!


Nice bengal! I got one myself!

DaveWC
08/27/2006, 03:30 PM
Yeah, they're a very cool breed of cat.

Mishap
08/27/2006, 04:12 PM
Heh, a bit nutty at times though. Of all the cats I have had, the bengal is by far the most personable.....and spiteful.

DaveWC
08/29/2006, 01:56 PM
Well, I've been fairly busy and this stuff is starting to come together. I received the pump for holding tank for water changes so I can plumb that. As well I found all of the fittings I needed to do all of the plumbing. I also got the light kits for the 67g tank. I went two of the T5 Tek Retro kits coupled with two 11000K Aquablue Plus, one Actinic / Blue Plus and one Pure Actinic bulb all from Giesemann. I mounted the kits on a piece of plywood. Now I've got to decide how I want to suspend this over the tank. Looks don't count for much as this tank is behind a wall...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/Lights-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/Lights-1.jpg

And here's a description of the plumbing. Starting at my holding tank (I'm an old Discus guy so everything starts & ends with changing water... sue me) I can turn a ball inside & out of the tank to either recirculate water or refill a tank.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/Plumb-4.jpg

If I open the outside valve I can send water to the sump for my 67g tank...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/Plumb-5.jpg

The ball valve to the far right will allow the water to continue to my next tank, in the next room, or to the house sump for draining when I remove water from either tank.

If you look at the plumbing within the tank (it's a tight fit but it's all I've got to work with... I'm no plumber) a closed valve D will force water from the holding tank to go to this sump. An open valve D will let the water continue to my other tank, or will allow me to empty water from this tank. Valve C determines whether the pump in the sump is sending water to my tank or to the house drain. Valve A & B are for water coming from the tank (it's a big 1.5" drain... way overkill). Valve B goes to the skimmer section and A goes to my refugium.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/Plumb-1.jpg

And here's the return lines to the tank.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/Plumb-3.jpg

The durso that I built for the tank was huge. So huge that it wouldn't fit in the relatively small overflow box. It was a diagonal corner box and was made as small as possible to waste as little space as possible. Even with the street elbow it was too tight a fit so I stuck a couple of 45º elbows in and it made for a very easy fit. It's still a beast... hope it works though.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/Plumb-2.jpg

Everything has been cemented and is drying. Tomorrow I'll do a leak test and then fill with RO/salt. If you look back at the first picture you can see that my 70g holding tank is filling with RO water right now and will be ready to go by tomorrow. I've got live rock coming in on Thursday so this system has to be operational.

Rick00
08/29/2006, 05:31 PM
Looking good Dave..

Rick

Waxxiemann
08/29/2006, 06:01 PM
Dave,

I'm in Winnipeg as well .... and my name is Tyler too! What are the odds of that hey Tgunn?

Did Yew Wing build your sump? Looks like his work.

Anyway, your equipment list looks awesome (and expensive). I'll be sure and follow your thread. Good luck man. Maybe I can come over and check it out whe you are all done.

I am running a 90 in my basement and I had to buy a big dehumidifier to alleviate the humidity problems. It works though.

I wish I had planned for water changes as well as you did but I will for my next tank (this is my first reef). I'm hoping to be getting a 225 in the works for this time next year (we'll see though).

Cheers.
Waxx

Waxxiemann
08/29/2006, 06:07 PM
those Sfiligoi fixtures are SWEET. Did you get them from AquariumObsessed?

Do you think that the APF 600 is going to be big enough? What is the plan for stocking?

DaveWC
08/29/2006, 08:53 PM
Yeah, he built the sump. He built the tank too. By all means come around after I get the tanks running.

As for the APF-600, I did think it would be enough but last week I changed my order to an AP-701. Plenty of room for it and not that big an upgrade cost. But then none of this is cheap eh?

DaveWC
08/30/2006, 06:12 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8039281#post8039281 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Waxxiemann
those Sfiligoi fixtures are SWEET. Did you get them from AquariumObsessed?

That's where I have ordered them from. I should get most of the equipment from AO some time before Halloween. By then the 67g tank will be up & running and I will have learned from a bunch of mistakes I've made in planning these tanks and hopefully I won't make them on the 210g. That's the theory at least.

tgunn
08/30/2006, 07:13 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8039252#post8039252 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Waxxiemann
Dave,

I'm in Winnipeg as well .... and my name is Tyler too! What are the odds of that hey Tgunn?

I am running a 90 in my basement and I had to buy a big dehumidifier to alleviate the humidity problems. It works though.


Heh, what are the odds of another reefkeeper in Winnipeg named Tyler? Lol. At least I'm finally discovering a few more reefkeepers in the city...

Heh, I only wish I could run just a dehumidifier for my system. I've just started running ducts through my walls for the HRV I'm going to be installing. Ugh, lots of work and cost..

Tyler

tgunn
08/30/2006, 07:36 AM
I'm not sure how much 1 1/2" plumbing will be on your tank, but if you're using some, I would highly recommend the 1 1/2" Schedule 80 unions from Sprayer Parts. They're cheaper than the 1 1/2" Schedule 40 unions and sooooooo much better built.

Tyler

smokinprice
08/30/2006, 09:22 AM
Lookin good Dave

Waxxiemann
08/30/2006, 11:54 AM
Good idea going with the bigger Deltec.

DaveWC
08/30/2006, 05:59 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8042368#post8042368 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tgunn
I'm not sure how much 1 1/2" plumbing will be on your tank, but if you're using some, I would highly recommend the 1 1/2" Schedule 80 unions from Sprayer Parts. They're cheaper than the 1 1/2" Schedule 40 unions and sooooooo much better built.

Tyler

I did a bit and used a sched 40 union. I'll look into it when I do the bigger tank. I noticed how much thicker the 80 parts are then the 40 and I've read how many people on the RC neighborhood use 80's but why is that? I know you can crack these things if you overtighten, but I've never had a problem with my f/w tanks using 40's. Is there something unique to salt that I should be aware of? Seems like overkill to me. And they're huuuge, not to mention expensive.

DaveWC
08/30/2006, 06:07 PM
So I did the leak test with f/w today and that went fine. There were a few untightened unions that sprayed water everywhere and I had to tighten a bulkhead, but that's it. I ran it for about 4 hours and then drained the tank & sump, put in sand & some base rock and refilled with RO water. I promptly turned on the skimmer and watched it overflow the collection cup with foam in about 2 minutes. So I've switched off the skimmer until the water clears.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/Tank-67f.jpg

I hung my lights on chains for now and I'll see how I like that. It was easy enough to do & cheap so it works for now. Tomorrow I'm getting another 40lbs of base rock and 50lbs of live.

tgunn
08/31/2006, 10:14 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8046596#post8046596 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DaveWC
I did a bit and used a sched 40 union. I'll look into it when I do the bigger tank. I noticed how much thicker the 80 parts are then the 40 and I've read how many people on the RC neighborhood use 80's but why is that? I know you can crack these things if you overtighten, but I've never had a problem with my f/w tanks using 40's. Is there something unique to salt that I should be aware of? Seems like overkill to me. And they're huuuge, not to mention expensive.

I only got the schedule 80 unions because they were cheaper than the schedule 40s. I agree, they're extremely overkill, but since they were cheaper that's the main reason I got 'em.

They're only cheaper in 1 1/4" and larger:
Prices from SP Warehouse:
Sch40 1" : 3.82
Sch80 1" : 4.35

Sch 40 1 1/2": 13.32
Sch 80 1 1/2": 6.31

The unions are the only schedule 80 parts I have. The rest is schedule 40 in my system because it's overall cheaper.

I think some people are just over overkill. :) Afterall, Schedule 40 can handle a huge amount of pressure; more than our tanks will ever generate.

DaveWC
09/01/2006, 03:00 PM
It's been a few days now and the water is getting clear. I ended up sticking an Aquaclear 300 filled with foam on the back to remove some of the floating matter. And today I got my skimmer working so it doesn't fill the cup in minutes. I also drilled the collection cup and ran a hose to a bucket. Next week I'll do the gate valve mod so I can control this thing easier then moving the pipe up and down. Here's what it looks like today. The base & lve rock has just been dumped in there so don't judge the arrangement.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/Tank-67g.jpg

Waxxiemann
09/01/2006, 05:01 PM
You should use the other strainer that came with that maxi jet. THat one is for ehan you have a UG filter. It clogs way easier.

Looking sharp there. Have a good long weekend!

DaveWC
09/03/2006, 06:37 AM
I've got this tank looking the way I like it now. The base rocks are a little oversized for the tank but it's the best I can come up with.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/Tank-67j.jpg

ambaratur
09/03/2006, 08:08 PM
Great job - and once the life starts filling in I don't think the base rock will look all that out of place.

I really think it would be cool to have a tank right next to my desk... well done.

yoboyjdizz
09/03/2006, 08:12 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8072130#post8072130 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ambaratur
Great job - and once the life starts filling in I don't think the base rock will look all that out of place.

I really think it would be cool to have a tank right next to my desk... well done.

Yeah that looks really cool! So much for getting work done. haha

DaveWC
09/08/2006, 03:22 PM
I finally got around to testing my tank water today. I didn't want to do it earlier because I didn't want to rush out and get fish. Here's where it stands today...

Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0.5
Nitrate - 25-50
Salinity - 1.025
pH - 8.0-8.3
KH - 8.4
Alkalinity - 3.03
Calcium - 375
Phosphate - 0.03

I figure that nitrite will drop within the week.

DaveWC
09/24/2006, 12:56 PM
My tank has been steadily improving. But algae has set in as well. Big time. I added some hermits & snails over the last few weeks. There's about 45 between Scarlet & Blue hermits. I've also got about 40 Turbos, 10 Pink Margaritas & 10 Nassarius snails. Lately the algae is receding somewhat. I have been running a Phosban with carbon since last week & I put some filter socks on the pipes going into the sump. The effect of those two things has definitely cleared the tank significantly, though my skimmer is pulling less out of the water. A few days ago I put two clown perculas in so those are the only two fish in the tank. My weekly water changes are a snap... takes about 5 minutes to swap 15g of water... and easy means that it will continue to get done.

Here's where I'm at right now...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/DSCN0083.jpg

DaveWC
09/30/2006, 06:08 PM
Another week goes by and the algae is almost completely gone. My sand is much cleaner now and the glass is spotless.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/DSCN0130.jpg

nottheone
10/04/2006, 10:35 PM
Hey Dave,

enjoying this thread. Can you give an update on all latest water tests? I would just like to see the correlation between the tank development and water conditions.

drummereef
10/04/2006, 10:37 PM
Tank is looking sweeeeet! Nice Job. :thumbsup:

DaveWC
10/05/2006, 05:25 AM
My water parameters as of yesterday are:

Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 5
Salinity - 1.025
pH - 8.4
KH - 8
Alkalinity - 2.86
Calcium - 410
Phosphate - 0
Magnesium - 1280

I've continued changing about 15g a week. It takes so little time it's a no-brainer. My skimmer is really dialled in now and produces a good amount of crap. I've also been running carbon in a Phosban 24/7 for 2 weeks and a UV sterilizer for a week. The effect of all of this has been to produce very clear water and very little algae.

DaveWC
11/17/2006, 04:46 PM
I've neglected this tank a bit as I get the other one going but other then a bit of cyano that I'm battling, it's doing pretty good. There are some frags of zoos, ricordia & yuma that I've been collecting for the new tank.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/New%20Tanks/DSCN0373.jpg