My Caribbean Biotope Tank Build

[jraker]

I better stop making a million threads elsewhere, and just start a build thread.

The tank will be a 65 (36"x18"x24") with 10 gallon sump. It will be coming in about a week. This will be primarily a macroalgae tank, but also some gorgonians and rock flower anemones. For lighting, I plan to go with some sort of metal halide (6500k DE). I can't decide whether to go with the 150w or 250w of either this one or this one. I am not planning to grow anything that requires an immense amount of lighting, so I do not know which I should get. Any input on this?

Here is my aquascape:

Sand will be Carib sea special grade mixed with crushed coral and some rubble so my jawfish will be able to burrow.

For fish, I plan to have a pearly jawfish or two, some sort of blenny, some neon and masked gobies, a group of royal grammas, a blue reef chromis, and a pair of cherub angels.

So, yeah. Welcome to the build.

[rocksaus]

Really like the rockwork. Looking forward to the build

Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk

[Michael Hoaster]

Looks and sounds good, jraker!

If the tank is 24" tall, the 250w, if 18", the 150w.

[jraker]

Ok. The tank came, so pics will be coming soon.

[jraker]

[jraker]

With the sandbed- I am ordering 40 pounds of crushed coral (will not use it all). I am going to order 40 pounds of some other sand. With the jawfish, I want him to be able to be happy with the sand I use, so my question is what sand should I get and how should I arrange my sand? I can get 40 pounds of special grade sand or 20 pounds of special grade and 20 pounds of oolite. My next question is how should I arrange the sand? I can mix it together in a bucket, or I would probably layer it so crushed coral is on top, and finer sand goes on the bottom. I have seen this done with deep sand beds, where the oxygen gets trapped in the lower layers. Any input on this? Thanks.

[Michael Hoaster]

I like fine sand on the bottom, with coarser on top. That way, you get a gradient of oxygen levels, accommodating different types of bacteria. The jawfish is also going to want some rubble in the half inch range, to build its secret, underground lair.

[jraker]

Thanks for the reply. I was planning on getting 5-10 pounds of pukani and smashing it up into rubble. Either that, or my LFS sells rubble.

[jraker]

Well, I now know where I am going to get my anemones. Austin Aqua Farms only charges $30 for these beauties: https://austinaquafarms.com/product/...r-anemone-118/
https://austinaquafarms.com/product/...r-anemone-103/

They have insanely bright color, and at a good cost.

[Michael Hoaster]

How's it coming?

[jraker]

Well, the tank is currently sitting in my basement. I do not have the stand yet. My Grandfather (He built the stand) is bringing it down on Mother's Day. I will be ready to pull the trigger and start the cycling process as soon as I get the stand. But for now, it is just sitting by my other tank.

[jraker]

[IMG][/IMG]

And here is the stand. It looks really nice. There were some modifications that had to be done regarding the plumbing, but overall there weren't many problems. I will get the sump in, and then the tank will start to cycle. I am excited.

[Michael Hoaster]

Nice! I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

[nawilson89]

Impatiently waiting for this Jraker!

[jraker]

Lol sorry. Will post pics of the plumbing soon.

[jraker]

Yeah sorry. Finals week is soon and I am busy with school so when summer starts I should start to be more active on this build.

[nawilson89]

Originally Posted by jraker

Yeah sorry. Finals week is soon and I am busy with school so when summer starts I should start to be more active on this build.

No apologies necessary. I drop off my build all the time!

I just really can't wait to see what you come up with!

[jraker]

As promised, here are some pictures of the plumbing:


This is my drain line and return line. You can't see the pump because there is a big support in the way. I will glue another piece of PVC to the drain just above the water line.


Here is the pump hooked up to the ball valve and check valve.


Another view of the drain and return.


The overflow box in the aquarium. My aquarium is 65 gallons pre-drilled by the manufacturer.


This is the pump I am using, the Danner Mag 9.5. I have no idea why the picture is upside down. I will put some silicone silencers underneath it because when I ran the pump with freshwater, it made a lot of noise.

The plumbing is almost ready, and I should start to get rock/sand in the tank soon. Yay!

In other news, I broke my toe yesterday:

[nawilson89]

Somewhere there was a lead that was buried.

How did you break your toe?

[jraker]

It caught on the edge of a box, and bent too far. Toes break very easily.

[jraker]

Some goodies came in the mail today:



MH reflector and hanging kit




ATO




My return pump is really loud and vibrates a lot against the sump so I got this.

[Michael Hoaster]

Sweet! Let us know how they work out.

[jraker]

Well, I changed around the aquascape. Earlier today I started thinking about what I really wanted out of this tank, and I decided that I wanted something that depicts what I saw when I was in Key Largo. When I went diving, my most vivid memory was when we were in a sandy, rubble-strewn flat in the middle of some rocks, slightly lower than them. Image a sandbed beveled into the ground about 10 feet or so. What was really cool about it was that there was this huge overhang. So, I decided to try to replicate that with the new aquascape. Here is is:




As you can see, the left side has an overhang, and the right side has an arch. I like this design much better than the old one. In the center, I will have lots of rubble, and hopefully the jawfish will make its burrow there. I do plan on having lots of gorgonians on the rocks, and some shoal grass in the back and maybe a little in the front. I will have to see. I want this tank to be more gorgonians than anything, so I have decided to not put as much macro in the tank at first. I might order a few species at first, then add some later, but I really want this tank to focus on the back and forth tidal motion of gorgonians. You can really see the movement that I am talking about in this video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3Lu...youtu.be&t=25s. I will try to have some sponges, but I really have never had any before, so I will probably try some ball sponges. I considered a sponge-dominant system, but I came to the realization that sponges are a LOT more work than photosynthetic gorgonians, and really, if I wanted to have sponges, I would make more of a shoreline biotope, not a rubble reef. My jebao RW-8 should be coming soon, and I will experiment with different modes to achieve the tidal current I want.

Otherwise, my rock is in a vinegar bath, because there was so much gunk and dead organisms on it. All I have to get now is sand, a ballast, and then I can start on livestock.

[Michael Hoaster]

Nice job on the rock work! Excellent use of your time, while you wait for the rest of your stuff to come in. That overhang is sweet!

I'm particularly interested in seeing how you'll achieve back and forth water motion with just one pump.

I do disagree with some of your statements. First off, gorgonians are HARD to keep, longterm. Even photosynthetic ones require feeding. I've spoken with a guy at my LFS who has kept a gorgonian tank, and he said it was a huge PITA, target feeding them, using Reef Roids. I have two gorgonian frags that I've managed to keep alive, but I've yet to see very impressive growth. I'm avoiding target feeding anything (lazy), except my anemone, so I'm playing around with different zooplankton foods in my "tank brew". If you've had good luck with them in the past, I'd love to hear your secrets to success.

Sponges are fairly easy, if kept out of the light. There is no special feeding required, as all aquariums have plenty of dissolved organics. I do add phytoplankton to the water column for them and other filter feeders. The key to good growth with sponges is to dose sodium silicate, as silicates are sponge's building blocks, and are quickly used up otherwise.

I also question your choice to wait on macros. Without them, you may be in for battle with micro algae, if you feed enough to keep gorgonia happy. With super clean dry rock, you leave a lot of available real estate for algae to colonize. However, in my experience an algae phase is pretty much unavoidable anyway. But having a fast growing caulerpa is a great nutrient sponge, and easily exportable.

Shoal grass should do very well for you. With the height of your tank, you could try manatee grass also. I find seagrasses to have a more pleasing sway in the current than gorgonia, in the confines of aquariums. I think it's because they are less rigid.

Jawfish are great! I'd add more than one. They'll feel more secure and their interactions are very entertaining!

I hope I haven't bee too critical. Since we have similar tanks, I'd like to be helpful. I also hope to learn from your experience! Best of luck!

[jraker]

I understand what you are saying, and I was doing a little wishful thinking, maybe a little too much wishful thinking. I didn't think over my choice of when to add macros, and I now realize that I definitely should add stuff like caulerpa earlier on.

I actually just received my pump today. Here it is:



It has a similar controller to the Vortech MP-10, which I have fooled around with on my other tank, and with some trial and error, I actually was able to make a back-and-forth motion with it. I will try to fool around with the new RW-8 in a tub filled with water, and I will report my findings.

I also got about 6 pounds of tonga branch rock (which I will smash up) and some rubble. I think it will be enough for the jawfish.