[ncdiablo]

Where are the pictures of the tank itself? Hmm, this thread is missing something, let me think...ah yes I know! More pictures!

Yeah I forgot to do that this weekend. I will post with the tank up. Not much of a change from the pic of just the stand but I will get it done. When a friend of mine not really a fish fanatic saw the pic of the redo on the stand she asked where do you put the fish. Gave me a good laugh.

So look for the pic in a few hours .... like 6 or so.

Really can't wait for the lights to get here.

Hopefully will have the energy to crawl under the house and look at the supports...

[ncdiablo]

Well guys busy weekend and I am very very sore. Wife didn't like the original set up in the living room that she had chosen after seeing the light set arrive. So lo' an behold she told me I needed to move it and she wanted to know my thoughts. I discussed the spots again like the first time and she allowed it to go back where I wanted it in the first place. I had to move everything in the house, it was literally a merry go round of furniture. I don't think there was a single room left untouched in the movement of furniture. Anyway got the lights installed, the tank filled with water and the pumps installed, one tunze arrived defective and they are sending me a replacement. However with just 1 tunze stream 6060 running the movement is very very nice, can't wait until later this week to get the other one in and running. Got the HOB protein skimmer running and will get the refugium installed tonight. The bulbs for the light should arrive tonight too so those will get them installed tonight. Was just too tired to take pictures but will get some shots tonight and post them. Very excited. Going to order my Live Rock today.

Steven

[ncdiablo]

Sorry for no pics, but been dealing with a bunch of hassles so far with the equipment ordered.

Received my 2 Tunze 6060 Turbelle Stream pumps but one is defective. Apparently there as a plastic issue that wouldn't allow the motor to turn. Roger at Tunze stated he thought they had pulled all the bad ones so he is sending me out a new motor unit that will hopefully arrive here soon. The one that is good is moving the water around very nicely but can't wait for the 2nd one to get in.

The light from Aquatinics arrived and I installed it and then the bulbs arrived on monday and I put those in. This has been a disappointing order so far but hopefully will turn out ok. They failed to put in two support screws in on one side of the lamp so the side panel got bent. They failed to include enough of the hanging hardware bolts so I had to run out to lowes and work that out. Then after getting the bulbs the next day I realized they failed to supply a light diagram so I could know what bulbs go in what slots and which were connected together per switch. I looked online and it wasn't on their website. So I just filled the slots without any real info and turned things on. Only 10/14 bulbs lit up and I re-arranged the bulbs to see if it was the bulbs but it was the slots. Apparently 1 ballast is bad. Called Aquatinics. He is trying to find one to replace my bad light. Unfortunately they are out of stock and they are going to start production on the lights again but that will take 4 weeks. So he is trying to find one at one of his stores or from other companies that have ordered from him. He will then issue a Call Tag and pick up the defective.

I have about 40 lbs of live rock in there starting the cycle while the other 160 lbs is going to be shipped here soon. So far I have seen 2 fairly large bristle worms, a ton of mini stripped serpent starfish, some various pods, a few feather dusters, a clam or 2, heard some rapid popping noises that could be a mantis shrimp but also possibly a pistol shrimp.

[robe25m]

Sucks about the lighting, My lighting is the only piece of hardware that came problem free, so far unit is sweet, and to think its the cheap no-name china model

My wet/dry filter came busted, week later new hardware, resolved. My refugium came pump didnt fit intake tube, the ole drill resolved that...

I will say all my hardware came without instructions hence alot of wasted time..

Sucks about the lighting, I'm also waiting for box o rock...

Oh I forgot I ordered my refugium from ORCA systems, great unit but I got the small one, i specifically ordered the large, so now i'm stuck with a 15in unit, I dont feel like dealing with anymore hassle so i will make do....

good luck, hopefully all gets resolved and soon....

[ncdiablo]

Well sadly, the problems continue. I sent out an email to check to see if Aquatinics could get ahold of a replacement light and unfortunately he hasn't been able to do so. So he has put out the offer to have me send back the light (would take 3 days) and he would then repair the light and send it back out that same day. So I would be without light on my tank taking in consideration weekends 10 days which I think would hurt the cycling of the live rock. Would the algea and other organisms be hurt by being kept in the dark for at least 10 days?

My thought is that he said he would have new ones in 3-4 weeks. Since I am running at 10/14 bulbs right now, I was going to suggest to him that I just hang onto the deffective light and keep things going working off 10/14 and when they have made another new one they could then send a new one to me and I would send the deffective lamp back. This seems to me more fair for all the headache I have had to go through with the lamp. However if it doesn't affect the cycling or wouldn't be detrimental to the live rock then I would go with his. So those in the know please let me know.

Steven

[Cela Vie]

Struggles!

Where are you getting the light from, directly from aquactinics?

[ncdiablo]

Nope but from someone that drop ships straight from Aquatinics. Many online people simply drop ship from them. That way they can sell it a low price because they don't have to stock it.

So I am going to tell him I would like to hold onto this light until he gets a fully working light to replace it.

[sanjaypawar]

Originally Posted by ncdiablo

Ok so I have 120 lbs of argonite sand waiting by the tank, 100g of salt ready to be mixed with water. A h.o.b. refugium hooked up on the back of the tank.

72" Constellation series 7 light on order and should be here in a week.
14 bulbs ordered for the light and should be here in a week.
2 Tunze 6060 stream circulation powerheads ordered and should be here in a week.
A H.O.B. AquaC Remora pro Protein skimmer on order and should be here in a week.

So now this week I will go under the house to see how easy it would be to put in some support for the floor. Not super worried but better safe than sorry since it is 120gallons. Might as well shore up that area.

After I shore it up or see if it even needs it then I will begin filling the tank to get ready for everything.

The week after I will head to ohio and buy 200lbs of live rock from Saltycritters it looks like.

Let the fun begin.

Hi!

I saw your list and didn't see a chiller or a fan. I just build a 180g tank and I think a chiller or a fan is needed with lights on. If the tank runs too hot there is algae growth.

Also do you have course argonite sand? With a high flow rate (which you need) course sand will not blow over your rocks and coral.

Also do you have a spray bar. If you do use atleast a 3100 mag drive pump on either end.

Goodluck with the live rock. Make sure you get some flat surface rocks for the polyps.

[ncdiablo]

My temp right now with 10/14 bulbs running and with the two Tunze 6060's flowing, and the pump for the HOB refugium running and the pump for the HOB protein skimmer running goes to a high of 77.7 degrees and then drops to 75.6 at night when the protein skimmer and the lights are turned off. The drop takes most of the night to occur as well so it's not a swift drop in temp.

I went with Carib-Sea Argonite Special Grade Reef floor which is a size of 1.0 mm to 2.0 mm.

With my two Tunze in place there is great water circulation going on and I think the argonite will be fine. I am going with a deep bed of around 4-5".

I don't have a spray bar.

I only currently have 40lbs of live rock in there but I will have 140 lbs on the way.
I bought a 14"x 12"x 7" wide shelf live rock and will work it into the coral probably in the center because of the 14" wide glass support up at the center. This weakens the light in that area and will make it a good place for shrooms and other mid light areas. The left and right will be for my higher light needs corals and inverts.

[sanjaypawar]

I think your temp is fine. Powerheads do not add much heat to the tank. It is the metal halides and the main pump that add a lot of heat. But I think if your canopy is a least 6" above the tank and with fans in it you should be fie without a chiller.

Flat shelf rock is great (a bit heavy huh!). Try to keep the protein skimmer and powerheads running 24 hrs, atleast while the tank is cycling. Keep the lighting low while the tank is cycling so that you don't have unwanted algae growth.

Your sand grain size is perfect. I am not a big fan of the h.o.b refugium for a big tank but I gues it is fine. Do you have a sump where the protein skimmer is?

[ncdiablo]

I didn't go with MH because of heat issues so I went looking for one of the best T-5 VHO lights I could find. The Constellation so far has been great except for the damage that occured in shipping. They are letting me keep this one for 3-4 weeks while they get their parts in to build a new one for me. Then they will send the replacement and I will send back the damaged one.

The HOB is the best protein skimmer I could find and so far it's doing a great job so no complaints there. It's the Remora Pro.

The reason for a HOB skimmer and Refugium is two part. The base doesn't allow enough space for a proper sump and refugium.

The more important reason is that I have 2 cats and a 21 month old that are just too darn inquisitive and it would be dangerous to have that down there where he will drop things into the refugium or sump and damage the tank. He's my little helper and if he sees me do something he tries to "help". It's fun to watch him try to move a 5 gallon jug of RO water and I am often impressed at how much he can move it since it's almost 2 times his weight.

So anyway a third reason is that down the road (3-4 years) when we move from this house I will be building a 240-300 gallon tank and this 120 will eventually be the sump and refugium. I might use a part of the tank to create a pipefish / seahorse area.

But back to reality.

Yeah the shelf rock right now is covered in hair algea but that will just provide some food for the snails and crabs and tang when they get in there in a few months.

When the 160 lbs of live rock arrives I will take the shelf out for some quick algea cleaning and possibly a bit of cutting down to properly work into the design since it's a monster for the tank. The LFS has another one and I may try to trade a peice of my live rock that comes in for that other peice so that I can create a double shelf that may look attractive.

Can't wait for the rock to show up next week. Uaniva Live Rock from Salty Critters. Will go pick it up from the airport next week. They fly it airport to airport which means I will get it the same day they ship it and will be cheaper (usually) than UPS next day air.

[sanjaypawar]

Your 300-400G tank plan sounds great.

Its funny to read about your 21 month old. Kids are awesome and fish for some reason are the best pets that little kids like.

Howz the pump noise? My pump makes a little too much noise for the living room I should have put rubber padding underneath.....Jack and I are going to work on that.

Also experts say that it is better to have two smaller pumps than one so that if one fails while you are away the other one will keep working.

Make sure you have great arrangements to change water or keep adding water to compensate for evaporation. Something I still have to work on with Jack (JVharding)

[ncdiablo]

The Tunze streams are incredibly quiet, the tank is incredibly quiet even with the HOB protein skimmer and the refugium running. The only thing that really kicks up the noise are the fans on the lights.

He loves fish tanks ever since we took him to our state aquarium. So that's how we bought our first tank a 30 gal freshwater. Then one day I said you will never believe what our son said today (at 19 months). My wife was said, "What?" He said, "Daddy please buy me a full reef saltwater system!!!!" My wife seemed a bit suspicious but I got the green light and it's been moving along ever since. Can't wait to get fish in the tank. He has a limited attention span staring at live rock.
Steven

[dfurbee]

Steven, you are lucky to have such a wonderful wife! Even if my kid wanted a bigger tank, my husband would probably not agree. Better hang on to her

[ncdiablo]

Yeah I do have a wonderful wife, but I will say that it was hard for her to say no after I bought her a macked out mommy mobile (Honda Odyssey).

[sanjaypawar]

Originally Posted by ncdiablo

Yeah I do have a wonderful wife, but I will say that it was hard for her to say no after I bought her a macked out mommy mobile (Honda Odyssey).

I like the "son said" idea. The little guy is helping more than he knows about. Please make sure that the son doesn't say, " I need a new mommy". You do seem to have a great wife that supports your hobbies (actually I think a reef tank is a part time job). As Debra says, hang on to her.

You didn't mention arrangements for water change. My tank looses 4-5 gallons every 2-3 days and I wish I had an easy arrangement to replenish the tank. Kalwasser doesn't do it for me. Unless I had a 10 gallon one.

[ncdiablo]

Originally Posted by sanjaypawar

I like the "son said" idea. The little guy is helping more than he knows about. Please make sure that the son doesn't say, " I need a new mommy". You do seem to have a great wife that supports your hobbies (actually I think a reef tank is a part time job). As Debra says, hang on to her.

You didn't mention arrangements for water change. My tank looses 4-5 gallons every 2-3 days and I wish I had an easy arrangement to replenish the tank. Kalwasser doesn't do it for me. Unless I had a 10 gallon one.

Yeah but I may try to get him to say, "Mommy we need a hot french maid to clean the house for you." Just to make you realize my son isn't much of a talker so he didn't really say anything about reef tanks. One of his first words was fishhhh (it's really cute). Yes I am an evil dad using my son's cuteness to gain my desires. But I know he will love it so maybe I am more the diet coke of evil.....

My tank losses per day seems less than 1 gallon a day. I have been researching and may have stumbled onto a solution.

Kent Marine AquaDose - Aquarium Dosing System

I would get the 5 gallon model and then put a shelf or box up in the corner of the room above the tank. Making it as inconspicuous as possible. Then calculate a drip amount to keep the tank balanced.

I would then get a much smaller one to feed Kalwasser if it's needed in my setup.

[sanjaypawar]

You had mentioned that your son was 21 months. So I knew he wasn't saying other than Daaaaddy, Mooommy!.
But I like the hot french maid idea!!! Even the fish might like a hot maid cleaning the algae!!!

[ncdiablo]

Well after many many delays Saltycritter finally shipped my live rock. It got here late friday afternoon. By the time I got home with it, it was early evening. I cleaned it and just got it into the tank. Unfortunately it wasn't packed well and arrived fairly dry and smelled very skunky. The corraline will hopefully make a comeback because it had so many wonderful colors. Peach, pink, electric pink, maroon, green, white were the colors. So far as I can see pretty much nothing else survived. Haven't seen anything crawl out or blossom.

On the good side the rocks were huge and nicely shaped. Here are some pics. Water is still fairly foggy from the argonite being put in. I heard stronium helps corraline growth so I wanted to give it the boost. I realize I could get some bloom on the sand but I figure my eventual cleaning team would take care of it.



left side close up:


right side close up:


Three shots to cover left, center, and right:





Will post some better pics once everything settles down in the next few days.

[dfurbee]

Those rocks, rock!

[jimw369]

Lots of good places to put stuff in that tank!

[Tonz of fun]

I approve. And are all those T5s I see??? Amen to that. Remora pro as well? Nice skimmer I would just watch the bio load if thats all your going with. Very nice dude!!!

[ncdiablo]

Yep 10 of 14 T5's running. Waiting on them to build a new light to replace my defective one. Yep that's a Remora Pro. I plan on keeping my fish on a low load but may add a second skimmer down the road. Went with 2bls of live rock per gallon to help with bio load. Going with deep sand bed to help with bio load too.

[e_baer]

so, in that first tank pic, that is 120 lbs of LR?

[ncdiablo]

200lbs in the first picture. This morning the tank has cleared up a ton. Still smells fairly skunky but at least it has cleared up. Will post some pics later after I add 40 more lbs of argonite. Just need to buy a funnel and some wide gauge tubing to get the argonite in some tough to reach places.