Coral Beauty & the Clown Fish (Innovative EXT170)
- Build Thread
- Thread starter JM302
- Start date
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OP
OP
It's just so much work at times. I often look at things I do and think to myself....'why didn't I just let someone else do that?'.
OP
OP
Plumbing takes FOREVER. (if you go for level, plumb, and square). After thinking for a few hours last night, mocking stuff up most of the day today, 3 or 4 trips to Lowes and Home Depot, I've got a good jump on the plumbing.
Nothing is glued yet and I have a few last pipes to cut on the drains, but that'll be tomorrow.
I ended up with more 90's than I wanted... so I just kept the 1 1/4" pipe to minimize the impact of those 90 (as compared to running the same amount of 90's on 3/4" pipe for example)
I didn't reduce the 1 1/4" until I got to the 1" ball valve.
You'll notice a lack of unions..... I can't get to the back of this tank for the most part and the bulkheads are removable with the pipe in them. I really feel that unions behind the tank just increase the likelihood of a leak. If I have to take the plumbing apart, I have a big problem I'm dealing with and worrying about cutting and using a coupler will be the least of my concerns.
You'll also notice white pipe.... *gasp*. I'm not spending all that $$ on Schedule 80 fittings I don't need and furniture grade pipe that is a color x. Seems like a waste to me. Once I glue it up, I'll remove the pipe and spray paint it black. Same result and 1/4 the cost. The key is painting AFTER gluing and priming. Both quickly remove the paint.
Gluing tomorrow. If there's time, I'lll leak check.
Nothing is glued yet and I have a few last pipes to cut on the drains, but that'll be tomorrow.
I ended up with more 90's than I wanted... so I just kept the 1 1/4" pipe to minimize the impact of those 90 (as compared to running the same amount of 90's on 3/4" pipe for example)
I didn't reduce the 1 1/4" until I got to the 1" ball valve.
You'll notice a lack of unions..... I can't get to the back of this tank for the most part and the bulkheads are removable with the pipe in them. I really feel that unions behind the tank just increase the likelihood of a leak. If I have to take the plumbing apart, I have a big problem I'm dealing with and worrying about cutting and using a coupler will be the least of my concerns.
You'll also notice white pipe.... *gasp*. I'm not spending all that $$ on Schedule 80 fittings I don't need and furniture grade pipe that is a color x. Seems like a waste to me. Once I glue it up, I'll remove the pipe and spray paint it black. Same result and 1/4 the cost. The key is painting AFTER gluing and priming. Both quickly remove the paint.
Gluing tomorrow. If there's time, I'lll leak check.
Last edited:
OP
OP
No exciting pics... More or so the same as yesterday except it's glued! I'm very happy with the results.
.
I also got to do the leak check. That's always so stressful. Good news... no leaks anywhere. Tank is good, sump is good and the plumbing was perfect. I'm going to leave the tank running tonight (for no particular reason) and I'll drain it tomorrow. Just some tap water in there for the leak check.
One thing to note..... the return plumbing is very very efficient. For the first time in my life, my returns can out perform the drains. Anything over 75% on the L2 will engage the emergency drain with the gate valve wide open.
I settled at about 60% and the L2 is using 81.3 watts. Not too shabby. I'm happy to say that Mobius is reporting the wattage correctly. I'm also happy to report that Mobius actually worked.. lol
I also set the sump level and confirmed it can hold all the water with the pump off. I settled on 9". Need to build a 3" stand for the skimmer to keep it at 6".
Tasks for this week:
- Drain tank and disassemble plumbing
- Prep and paint pipes.
- Remove wood and paint
- Build face frames
I'm going to delay the TBS order a week - I think this week may be a bit premature if they are quick to fulfill the order.
. I also got to do the leak check. That's always so stressful. Good news... no leaks anywhere. Tank is good, sump is good and the plumbing was perfect. I'm going to leave the tank running tonight (for no particular reason) and I'll drain it tomorrow. Just some tap water in there for the leak check.
One thing to note..... the return plumbing is very very efficient. For the first time in my life, my returns can out perform the drains. Anything over 75% on the L2 will engage the emergency drain with the gate valve wide open.
I settled at about 60% and the L2 is using 81.3 watts. Not too shabby. I'm happy to say that Mobius is reporting the wattage correctly. I'm also happy to report that Mobius actually worked.. lol
I also set the sump level and confirmed it can hold all the water with the pump off. I settled on 9". Need to build a 3" stand for the skimmer to keep it at 6".
Tasks for this week:
- Drain tank and disassemble plumbing
- Prep and paint pipes.
- Remove wood and paint
- Build face frames
I'm going to delay the TBS order a week - I think this week may be a bit premature if they are quick to fulfill the order.
OP
OP
Not a lot of time, so a simple 10 minute project today... Since the left side of the tank is only 7" from the wall, I've decided the best idea is to black that panel out. Walking in the room you'll get an almost peninsula effect, then of course the money shot from the front panel.
Purchased some blackout Window film (non adhesive, static cling) and installed it. I think it came out pretty perfect.
My tool kit (+ a brand new super sharp razor blade)
The result:
Used my tunze magnet on the underside of the euro brace to hold the light... pretty clever if you ask me.. hehe.
This is the film I used in case anyone needs / wants to do this. I'm happy with it. Went on easy, smoothed out, no bubbles whatsoever and seems quite durable.
Oh and I also drained the tank. That Sicce Ultrazero Utility / Drainage pump is quite the piece. I hooked it up to a phyton cleaner I had lying around and ran it to the sink. It does not flow very well IMO (nowhere near the 780gph with only 22" of head) but boy it's able to get 99% if the water out of the tank and sump. For that it's worth its weight in gold. Took a good 30 minutes to drain the tank. Also, it's REALLY noisy, not that it really matters. Check the second picture to see how much water it left behind... really impressive.
Purchased some blackout Window film (non adhesive, static cling) and installed it. I think it came out pretty perfect.
My tool kit (+ a brand new super sharp razor blade)
The result:
Used my tunze magnet on the underside of the euro brace to hold the light... pretty clever if you ask me.. hehe.
This is the film I used in case anyone needs / wants to do this. I'm happy with it. Went on easy, smoothed out, no bubbles whatsoever and seems quite durable.
Oh and I also drained the tank. That Sicce Ultrazero Utility / Drainage pump is quite the piece. I hooked it up to a phyton cleaner I had lying around and ran it to the sink. It does not flow very well IMO (nowhere near the 780gph with only 22" of head) but boy it's able to get 99% if the water out of the tank and sump. For that it's worth its weight in gold. Took a good 30 minutes to drain the tank. Also, it's REALLY noisy, not that it really matters. Check the second picture to see how much water it left behind... really impressive.
Loving this! I just purchased the 170 this morning.
OP
OP
Thanks! Welcome aboard! Lot's of new updates coming!
OP
OP
Alright - Lot's of updates this week. Spent the majority of Friday, Saturday and today working on the tank.
So first - I removed all the plumbing after I glued it all up, scuffed it up a little with 120 grit sand paper, taped it up, hung it in the door way of my shed and started to paint it. It took some time, but worth it. The results are fantastic.
I just want the pipes to be less obvious behind the tank. Due to the external overflow, the tank will be 6 inches or so off the wall. The panels I built for the back wall of the stand are black on the outside and white on the inside.
I actually used Flex Seal on the bottom. Let me tell you, that stuff looks (and smells) harsh when you're 'painting' it on. It does however seem to self level nicely. It takes forever to dry. Once I get the face frame on, I will caulk around the entire perimeter then paint flex seal up the wall about 2" or so to just have some protection from a minor leak. This should work. The flex seal feels like a rubber membrane on the wood. Pretty neat.
I also made great progress with the face frame for the stand. I'm terrible at taking pictures WHILE I'm working.... but here's where I'm at.
I used all 1x6 poplar. I can't believe how expensive poplar got.... holy moly. $30 per 1x6x8. Luckily the frame only needed 5.
The stiles and rails are 4" - so with the extra ~1.5" scrap, I made a bull nose out of it and attached it to the top. It came out really good.
I didn't want to brush it, so I pulled out my sprayer to prime. What a disaster that was. The tip I had was WAYYY too big (which I knew) but it's what I had... so there was a ton of overspray on my driveway. Oops. And yes, I ended up having to powerwash the driveway.
That is just the primer, but it's factory smooth! I love it. Tomorrow I'll spray the top-coat. I went with Sherwin Williams Pro Classic Acrylic Alkyd Paint. We picked the same color as our kitchen cabinets which is Alabaster.
Lastly, I adjusted the stand for level. It was pretty close sitting on the floor with all the levelers threaded all the way in. I tweaked it just a little and I'm happy with this. So here's the obligatory level on the tank shot. This is a 6 foot level too - so that tank is perfect. (Yes, I leveled it in both directions.)
Tomorrow I'll spray the top-coats. Tuesday I'll install the face frame on the stand, caulk the gaps and then paint on the flex seal for some level of water proof.
What's next for the rest of the week?
Wednesday - Configure Sump
Thursday - Install sump (Flex seal will be cured and dry)
Friday - Order TBS!!!!!, Start making water.
Thanks for looking!
So first - I removed all the plumbing after I glued it all up, scuffed it up a little with 120 grit sand paper, taped it up, hung it in the door way of my shed and started to paint it. It took some time, but worth it. The results are fantastic.
I just want the pipes to be less obvious behind the tank. Due to the external overflow, the tank will be 6 inches or so off the wall. The panels I built for the back wall of the stand are black on the outside and white on the inside.
I actually used Flex Seal on the bottom. Let me tell you, that stuff looks (and smells) harsh when you're 'painting' it on. It does however seem to self level nicely. It takes forever to dry. Once I get the face frame on, I will caulk around the entire perimeter then paint flex seal up the wall about 2" or so to just have some protection from a minor leak. This should work. The flex seal feels like a rubber membrane on the wood. Pretty neat.
I also made great progress with the face frame for the stand. I'm terrible at taking pictures WHILE I'm working.... but here's where I'm at.
I used all 1x6 poplar. I can't believe how expensive poplar got.... holy moly. $30 per 1x6x8. Luckily the frame only needed 5.
The stiles and rails are 4" - so with the extra ~1.5" scrap, I made a bull nose out of it and attached it to the top. It came out really good.
I didn't want to brush it, so I pulled out my sprayer to prime. What a disaster that was. The tip I had was WAYYY too big (which I knew) but it's what I had... so there was a ton of overspray on my driveway. Oops. And yes, I ended up having to powerwash the driveway.
That is just the primer, but it's factory smooth! I love it. Tomorrow I'll spray the top-coat. I went with Sherwin Williams Pro Classic Acrylic Alkyd Paint. We picked the same color as our kitchen cabinets which is Alabaster.
Lastly, I adjusted the stand for level. It was pretty close sitting on the floor with all the levelers threaded all the way in. I tweaked it just a little and I'm happy with this. So here's the obligatory level on the tank shot. This is a 6 foot level too - so that tank is perfect. (Yes, I leveled it in both directions.)
Tomorrow I'll spray the top-coats. Tuesday I'll install the face frame on the stand, caulk the gaps and then paint on the flex seal for some level of water proof.
What's next for the rest of the week?
Wednesday - Configure Sump
Thursday - Install sump (Flex seal will be cured and dry)
Friday - Order TBS!!!!!, Start making water.
Thanks for looking!
Last edited:
OP
OP
Quick update - the stand is in its permanent spot and the plumbing is back in place. Face frame fist coat was done earlier. Second coat in an hour or so. The monochromatic theme wasn't on purpose but I'm a fan of how it all came together.
OP
OP
Lots of updates coming.... It's getting real now! TBS Order placed with a tentative delivery date of 7/31!!! Time to make the water.
Pics later. Stand is about done. The wood frame has been married to the steel stand. Doors are built, fit and being painted. I'll get the sump setup today and tomorrow and paint on the waterproofing membrane. After that - it's time to get wet.
Pics later. Stand is about done. The wood frame has been married to the steel stand. Doors are built, fit and being painted. I'll get the sump setup today and tomorrow and paint on the waterproofing membrane. After that - it's time to get wet.
OP
OP
Technically the tank is ready for water now. This has been a super fun project, but I'm ready to be done with painting, woodworking, plumbing, etc.
Last week I realized I was ahead of my schedule, so I decided to build the doors. I had originally planned on building them after the tank had water. Getting it done did make @LeeLoo Lola happy!
This was the end result:
I used to be heavy into woodworking. I had a shop full of every full-size tool you could think of. One day I got bored after 20 years of doing it and sold it all. I kept a few things, my router table being on of them.
Once I got the doors made, I brought them in to fit them. The frame was 99% dead on square, but since I don't have jointers and planers at my disposal, there were some adjustments to make. Nothing major, but the end result was pretty nice.
Once they were fit, I removed the three doors and primed them up, sanded them some more, primed them again and finally used HVLP to shoot them with the top-coat. I used Sherwin-Williams Pro Classic Acrylic-Alkyd paint which is amazing. With a 10% thin, it shot perfectly with a 2.2mm tip.
Here's the end result. I'm very happy with it. The doors are all push-to-open so I didn't need to install pulls. I like the sleek look
The sump is basically a 60b with aquamesh. I didn't install baffles, I just added some acrylic stops for the aquamesh to rest against. The acrylic was bonded to the glass using both CA and Silicone. Very very basic. My personal feelings are we in general totally overcomplicate sumps. If this doesn't work - I can always change it.
I won't get into cable management or my battery backup system until after it's running. I need to figure out how to manage all these cables!
7/31 is still the target date for my Tampa Bay Saltwater order.
Last week I realized I was ahead of my schedule, so I decided to build the doors. I had originally planned on building them after the tank had water. Getting it done did make @LeeLoo Lola happy!
This was the end result:
I used to be heavy into woodworking. I had a shop full of every full-size tool you could think of. One day I got bored after 20 years of doing it and sold it all. I kept a few things, my router table being on of them.
Once I got the doors made, I brought them in to fit them. The frame was 99% dead on square, but since I don't have jointers and planers at my disposal, there were some adjustments to make. Nothing major, but the end result was pretty nice.
Once they were fit, I removed the three doors and primed them up, sanded them some more, primed them again and finally used HVLP to shoot them with the top-coat. I used Sherwin-Williams Pro Classic Acrylic-Alkyd paint which is amazing. With a 10% thin, it shot perfectly with a 2.2mm tip.
Here's the end result. I'm very happy with it. The doors are all push-to-open so I didn't need to install pulls. I like the sleek look
The sump is basically a 60b with aquamesh. I didn't install baffles, I just added some acrylic stops for the aquamesh to rest against. The acrylic was bonded to the glass using both CA and Silicone. Very very basic. My personal feelings are we in general totally overcomplicate sumps. If this doesn't work - I can always change it.
I won't get into cable management or my battery backup system until after it's running. I need to figure out how to manage all these cables!
7/31 is still the target date for my Tampa Bay Saltwater order.
OP
OP
Quickie creative update:
Decided I'm going to use aluminum DIN Rail to mount my Neptune gear and other controllers. It's functional and neat. Gives me a little freedom to adjust and move things around without making a gaggle of holes in the stand.
I'll also print cable management hooks and tie downs to connect to the DIN rails.
I got the caliper out, took some measurements and modeled it in Fusion 360. Off to my 3D Printing buddy and out these came.
I made one for my PM1, MXM and FMM. Working on prototype for the Tunze Turbelle controllers and my Liquid level sensor. That clip on the level sensor is such a dumb design. I'm not sure what Neptune was thinking with that one.
This is for the Tunze ATO
Here's the mockup of the LLS mount. Designed to epoxy a magnet in it. It didn't fit quite right so it needs to be reworked a little. But this is the general idea.
I played with the MXM today and the G6 Radion. I was able to easily add the G6 and my Vectra and have full control. I programmed my light cycle in short order and it seemed pretty easy to create light groups. Only time will tell with regards to its reliability.
Lastly I hooked the skimmer up to the airline that runs into my crawl space. Since the crawl is ventilated and has great airflow, the CO2 levels are about the same as outside. It also eliminates the possibility of sucking up any bad stuff from outside. My tanks always suffer from low ph - like I can muster up 8.0 with kalk drip a fuge running 24/7 dosing nitrate. Fun times.
All in all a great day - but I'm getting anxious waiting for my TBS order.. I'm so ready to add the water!
Decided I'm going to use aluminum DIN Rail to mount my Neptune gear and other controllers. It's functional and neat. Gives me a little freedom to adjust and move things around without making a gaggle of holes in the stand.
I'll also print cable management hooks and tie downs to connect to the DIN rails.
I got the caliper out, took some measurements and modeled it in Fusion 360. Off to my 3D Printing buddy and out these came.
I made one for my PM1, MXM and FMM. Working on prototype for the Tunze Turbelle controllers and my Liquid level sensor. That clip on the level sensor is such a dumb design. I'm not sure what Neptune was thinking with that one.
This is for the Tunze ATO
Here's the mockup of the LLS mount. Designed to epoxy a magnet in it. It didn't fit quite right so it needs to be reworked a little. But this is the general idea.
I played with the MXM today and the G6 Radion. I was able to easily add the G6 and my Vectra and have full control. I programmed my light cycle in short order and it seemed pretty easy to create light groups. Only time will tell with regards to its reliability.
Lastly I hooked the skimmer up to the airline that runs into my crawl space. Since the crawl is ventilated and has great airflow, the CO2 levels are about the same as outside. It also eliminates the possibility of sucking up any bad stuff from outside. My tanks always suffer from low ph - like I can muster up 8.0 with kalk drip a fuge running 24/7 dosing nitrate. Fun times.
All in all a great day - but I'm getting anxious waiting for my TBS order.. I'm so ready to add the water!
LeeLoo Lola
Valuable Member
Us taking turns waiting for our TBS order!! Lol
I wish I could say that I have done more than provide company and provide input on stand aesthetics, but this has been all @JM302. You’re doing an awesome job!! The fun part is right around the corner!!!
Gumbies R Us
Certified Noob
Those doors are nice on that stand!!Technically the tank is ready for water now. This has been a super fun project, but I'm ready to be done with painting, woodworking, plumbing, etc.
Last week I realized I was ahead of my schedule, so I decided to build the doors. I had originally planned on building them after the tank had water. Getting it done did make @LeeLoo Lola happy!
This was the end result:
I used to be heavy into woodworking. I had a shop full of every full-size tool you could think of. One day I got bored after 20 years of doing it and sold it all. I kept a few things, my router table being on of them.
Once I got the doors made, I brought them in to fit them. The frame was 99% dead on square, but since I don't have jointers and planers at my disposal, there were some adjustments to make. Nothing major, but the end result was pretty nice.
Once they were fit, I removed the three doors and primed them up, sanded them some more, primed them again and finally used HVLP to shoot them with the top-coat. I used Sherwin-Williams Pro Classic Acrylic-Alkyd paint which is amazing. With a 10% thin, it shot perfectly with a 2.2mm tip.
Here's the end result. I'm very happy with it. The doors are all push-to-open so I didn't need to install pulls. I like the sleek look
The sump is basically a 60b with aquamesh. I didn't install baffles, I just added some acrylic stops for the aquamesh to rest against. The acrylic was bonded to the glass using both CA and Silicone. Very very basic. My personal feelings are we in general totally overcomplicate sumps. If this doesn't work - I can always change it.
I won't get into cable management or my battery backup system until after it's running. I need to figure out how to manage all these cables!
7/31 is still the target date for my Tampa Bay Saltwater order.
OP
OP
Thanks! I HATE building inset doors. The slightest imperfection is so obvious in the gap. I'm ready to go back to 'retired' when it comes time to woodworking!
Gumbies R Us
Certified Noob
Haha, better than what I can do with woodworking. Probably would have a crooked door with a huge gap if it was me making it.
OP
OP
Today was cable day. I wanted to use a large LiFePO4 battery to provide backup power to my two MP40s and my Tunze pumps. I wasn't spending $200+ for an 18ah lead-acid battery from Ecotech so this turned into a DIY project.
I picked up this battery on Prime Day for $300. It's 100ah (more than 5x the capacity of the Ecotech) and made a few cables. I need to put an ammeter on the lines to see how much all the pumps draw, but I expect this battery to easily be able to run them all for a week.
Normally I'd solder the 3.5mm x 1.35mm connector, but I could not find one that accepted the larger diameter wire I wanted to use. I found these which accepted the 16gauge wire and they were easy as pie.
I also want to use short wires between the Apex modules to keep wire management.. manageable. I made 6 of these:
They're 10" long and perfect to go from module to module.
Lastly I gave the RO/DI a workout and made myself ~195 Gallons of water. It's all salted up and ready to go in the tank!
(1) 44 Gallon Brute, (1) 100 Gallon Rubbermaid and (2) 25 Gallon Norwesco containers.
I am using my 6095's to mix in the brute can and the rubbermaid. Unfortunately I think the 6095 in the garbage can is defective. It's randomly turning off for no reason. May have to call BRS on that one.
I'm ready for Monday to come!
I picked up this battery on Prime Day for $300. It's 100ah (more than 5x the capacity of the Ecotech) and made a few cables. I need to put an ammeter on the lines to see how much all the pumps draw, but I expect this battery to easily be able to run them all for a week.
Normally I'd solder the 3.5mm x 1.35mm connector, but I could not find one that accepted the larger diameter wire I wanted to use. I found these which accepted the 16gauge wire and they were easy as pie.
I also want to use short wires between the Apex modules to keep wire management.. manageable. I made 6 of these:
They're 10" long and perfect to go from module to module.
Lastly I gave the RO/DI a workout and made myself ~195 Gallons of water. It's all salted up and ready to go in the tank!
(1) 44 Gallon Brute, (1) 100 Gallon Rubbermaid and (2) 25 Gallon Norwesco containers.
I am using my 6095's to mix in the brute can and the rubbermaid. Unfortunately I think the 6095 in the garbage can is defective. It's randomly turning off for no reason. May have to call BRS on that one.
I'm ready for Monday to come!
OP
OP
What a day. The Tampa Bay Saltwater order showed up as scheduled in Charlotte at around 11:00am yesterday. Made my way to the Southwest Airlines Cargo center, paid the shipping and loaded 9 boxes into the truck. This was for 170lbs of live sand and 100lbs of their base rock. Total shipping weight was 425lbs.
We got home, unloaded everything in the garage and started preparing. First was filling the tank. I had ~200 gallons @ 77f ready to go. Hooked up my handy python cleaner, hooked it to the Sicce pump and began the process.
I went through all the boxes determined which were sand and which were rock. Found a large hermit labeled FREE, some stickers and of course, poprocks.
I pulled the first bag of sand out, and as I was bringing it over to the sink to drain the water, I saw something moving.
Well.... found a gorilla crab. BOO!
Water was out and I brought the bag to the tank to begin adding the sand.
Once all the sand was in I started with the boxes of rocks. I immediately found a few hitchhikers. First this little guy. He was swimming around like he owned the place. So I'm 2 for 4 on reef-UNSAFE hitchhikers.
Next box, I found something more interesting. Actually 2. One didn't make the trip but the other one was happy and swimming around. Check this out!
I so wanted to keep it... but I have no way to keep an octopus healthy and happy. Luckily the Octopus and Mantis shrimp were sent off to folks who could take care of them. I felt bad for the little guy, it had so much personality.
Here's a bunch of pics of the rock:
Of course the tank looked terrible after the sand... but it has since settled down. Here are some pics of the rock in the tank this morning.
Take aways here:
- I was sent a nice variety of rocks. It consisted of flat rocks, arches and rocks with all sorts of holes and pass throughs.
- The rock was full of purple and red coralline
- There is a ton of macro algae on it
- The sand was full of life. Notably some nicely sized brittle stars.
- Hitchhikers are expected, I was hoping for a goby or an urchin or anything cool.... I guess the octopus was cool.
- Since pulling the initial group of hitchhikers, I have not seen anything else in the tank
- No matter what, IMO, the good outweighs the bad
I didn't expect to see much of a cycle, but today I have measurable ammonia. I'll be sure to log how long this 'cycle' takes. I'm expecting it to go quickly, especially since I seeded the tank with bio media from my very established tank. I'm hoping it's all worked out by tomorrow. We shall see.
All I can do now is monitor the water conditions and once the cycle ends, I'll start bringing in the livestock from the old tank. @LeeLoo Lola will be responsible for making the rock look good.. we might work on that over the next few days too.
We got home, unloaded everything in the garage and started preparing. First was filling the tank. I had ~200 gallons @ 77f ready to go. Hooked up my handy python cleaner, hooked it to the Sicce pump and began the process.
I went through all the boxes determined which were sand and which were rock. Found a large hermit labeled FREE, some stickers and of course, poprocks.
I pulled the first bag of sand out, and as I was bringing it over to the sink to drain the water, I saw something moving.
Well.... found a gorilla crab. BOO!
Water was out and I brought the bag to the tank to begin adding the sand.
Once all the sand was in I started with the boxes of rocks. I immediately found a few hitchhikers. First this little guy. He was swimming around like he owned the place. So I'm 2 for 4 on reef-UNSAFE hitchhikers.
Next box, I found something more interesting. Actually 2. One didn't make the trip but the other one was happy and swimming around. Check this out!
I so wanted to keep it... but I have no way to keep an octopus healthy and happy. Luckily the Octopus and Mantis shrimp were sent off to folks who could take care of them. I felt bad for the little guy, it had so much personality.
Here's a bunch of pics of the rock:
Of course the tank looked terrible after the sand... but it has since settled down. Here are some pics of the rock in the tank this morning.
Take aways here:
- I was sent a nice variety of rocks. It consisted of flat rocks, arches and rocks with all sorts of holes and pass throughs.
- The rock was full of purple and red coralline
- There is a ton of macro algae on it
- The sand was full of life. Notably some nicely sized brittle stars.
- Hitchhikers are expected, I was hoping for a goby or an urchin or anything cool.... I guess the octopus was cool.
- Since pulling the initial group of hitchhikers, I have not seen anything else in the tank
- No matter what, IMO, the good outweighs the bad
I didn't expect to see much of a cycle, but today I have measurable ammonia. I'll be sure to log how long this 'cycle' takes. I'm expecting it to go quickly, especially since I seeded the tank with bio media from my very established tank. I'm hoping it's all worked out by tomorrow. We shall see.
All I can do now is monitor the water conditions and once the cycle ends, I'll start bringing in the livestock from the old tank. @LeeLoo Lola will be responsible for making the rock look good.. we might work on that over the next few days too.
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