Our 12ft self contained reef

[Daniel@R2R]

WOW! Love these pics! We need another photo update!!

 

[Synodontis]

I actually haven't much lately with my schedule being crap. The hubby got tamriel unlimited not long ago and ive been wanting to try it out, but have gotten back into wow recently. That's been my evenings after the kiddo goes to bed the past few weeks haha.

Nice, I'm hearing you about time schedule being crap. I get home & start playing with something in the tank which leads to something else & so on. By the time I sit down it's to late to start lol. I'm only ever on COD as I just want to run around & know where most people will be or coming from lol.

WOW! Love these pics! We need another photo update!!

Thanks mate, but not a lot has changed in the DT of late. The sump is a different story tho.

Myself & a couple of reefing friends were lucky enough to visit one of the nicest SPS tanks around on Saturday night. Amazing how much information you can pick up speaking with a 20+ year reefer when face to face, came away with a few ideas that I'm keen to try. Also came away with some very sweet SPS frag which wasn't expected lol. They will stay in the sump until they have settled down, I'll try & get some decent pics of them this weekend.

 

[gettaReef]

I'm curious to hear about some of these new ideas your keen to try (if you don't mind sharing). Also please post some pics of your sump! Curious to see any changes! (Your whole setup is amazing, but I especially love the sump/skimmer area....amazing original detailed work!)

 

[Synodontis]

I'm curious to hear about some of these new ideas your keen to try (if you don't mind sharing). Also please post some pics of your sump! Curious to see any changes! (Your whole setup is amazing, but I especially love the sump/skimmer area....amazing original detailed work!)

Thanks gettareef,
Reefing is sharing mate, the more people learn, try & share the better for the whole hobby we think

The new ideas are not "new" as such & many seasoned reefers are probably well aware of them. They are new to me & involve media I have no experience with. Andrews sump is very basic, the usual heater, skimmer & that's about it, similar to ours in its simplicity. The biggest difference is he swears by a product called Matrix & uses a fair amount in his sump. From looking around, it seems to combat Ammonia, Nitrite & Nitrate. We don't have a problem with those 3 so never bothered to look at it as something we can use.

I might jump around here so bare with me lol I understand the basics but wording something I haven't attempted & getting my head around the concept is hard for an old bloke. I like things to make sense in my head & understand the process before taking the plunge lol.

That dusty algae that covers your glass & wavemakers, the spores of this algae thrive on Ammonia, Matrix converts Ammonia quicker then the live rock in our systems. Remove the Ammonia quicker, the slower the algae populate, the less we are cleaning the glass. There were other benefits explained to us but they escape me at the moment. My initial thoughts were how bloody simple! Here we are reducing Phosphate & nitrate to combat algae & this just seems so easy when used in conjunction Matrix. Just maybe, we don't need to chase that finial .02 reduction in Phosphate after all?

One thing I did learn, when you first get a container of Matrix, he will soak it all in RO, any stones that float or are completely black are removed & thrown out. I can't recall why sorry lol We would need around 80Ltrs (22 gallons) of Matrix, so this little experiment may have to wait awhile lol, this stuff aint cheap when you need so much. Over here that works out to just shy of $1000

Next on the list was dosing. He uses the 3 main sup's, Alk, Calc & Mag. The other sup's are Brightwell Koralcolor, Lugols & Salifert Trace Hard. Somewhere I remember a story about Maganese Chloride being very important in one of the above, which has a large impact on the life cycle of algae. Some sciency stuff happening here about affecting the coating the algae or blocking mouth's or something like that lol. Perhaps someone like Randy would know but I'm not going to annoy him lol. I do remember that Maganese breaks down under blue light, so following the dosing instructions (people do that?) means dosing weekly. If one of the main ingredients breaks down under blue light, whats the point of dosing weekly?? Most of our tanks start & finish the day under blues, you have to dose daily to see the best benefits, makes sense to me now.

I had 4 bottles of the Trace Hard turn up at work today, that will last 2 months so will be giving this a go shortly.
That's about all I remember from the visit, but will be sure to catch up with him again to glean a little more knowledge.
Some may read this & disagree, that's cool, we all have different ways of doing things trying to achieve the same results. You'll notice the lack of LR in his tank. I did steal a pic from Andrews TH which I'll leave here. Hope he doesn't mind lol, if it disappears you'll know why lol.

To the sump, again nothing much has changed down there lol. I'll try & take some pics over the weekend & throw up in here. Anything in particular you want to see down there?

 

[dark waters]

AWESOME SET UP BROTHER.... it seems like every idea I want seems to pop up on this forum lol.... I see a 12 ft x 4 ft x 20 in tall in my future lol....

OK....YOU DID AN AWESOME JOB BUT I WOULD HAVE MADE A BIGGER SUMP SO COULD HOUSE MORE ROCK IN THE SUMP.... I WOULD NOT CLUTTER THE TANK WITH TO MUCH ROCK... I WOULD SHOW OFF THE CORALS ON THICK ACRYLIC ROD PLATFORMS AT DIFFERENT HIEGHTS. TO MUCH ROCK TAKES AWAY FROM THE SHEER AWW OF HOW MUCH SPACE THE CORAL AND ANIMAL LIFE HAVE.... I WOULD HAVE MADE THE SUMP INTO ANOTHER VEIWABLE TANK...SHOWING OFF YOUR FUGE PLANT LIFE AND SUCH...AND COVERING UP THE SKIMMERS AND MECHANICAL STUFF

LAST BUT NOT LEAST I WOULD HAVE MADE A SCENE FOR THE TANK LIKE A HUGE 3 D PICTURE THE COVERS THE ENTIRE WALL LOL....

ANYWAY AWESOME TANK....AND I WILL KEEP IN TOUCH SINCE I'M HEADING FOR A 12 FT TANK ONE DAY...OUT

 

[gettaReef]

Thank you for sharing those ideas. I've also heard great things regarding using Matrix media. That is crazy expensive though for you just to experiment with...I will try it out but it will be much more reasonable for me as I only have a 75gallon. That is good to hear about it helping that dusty algae...I'm always having to wipe that off my glass and pumps.

I'm curious to see more pictures of your sulfer reactor and skimmer (mainly bc that skimmer is super awesome/sexy!). I have a royal exclusiv sump but haven't pulled the trigger yet on one of their skimmers....I have a vertex omega 180i that fits the sump perfectly, but really want the same royal exclusiv skimmer that is the same size as my vertex skimmer. For now the Vertex skimmer works great for my small system. I will upgrade skimmer when I upgrade my tank to a 180gallon.

How has your sulfer reactor worked for you? I have been running a sulfer reactor (made by company Korallin, model 1502) for 8 months. It works weird for me. I slow drip down to 1 drip per second and it outputs 0 nitrate so up it to 2 drips per second, then 3 drips per second and still get 0 nitrate at output. But when I up it to 4 drips per second it will slowly output from zero nitrate to 1 to 2. Then I slow the drip rate down again to 1 drip per second, and the cycle continues until 4 drips per second and the nitrate will not output at 0 any longer. It is frustrating. It has helped lower my nitrates in the tank from 40ppm to 5-15ppm nitrate, but wish it would lower it even further. One problem may be that I am using a cheap TOMS Aqualifter Pump to power the sulfur reactor; I do not believe the pump outputs at a consistent rate which may be my issue, I don't know? I've looked for a different Pump that can handle a very slow output that is dead consistent but have not been able to find any such pump. This is why I am interested in your sulfer reactor.

Any way thank you for sharing, I love your setup and photos. Take care!

 

[Acrononomus]

One of the most epic setups! Really inspires me to get back going on my tank again, mines been fish only since I set it up and miss having corals ! Nice work!

 

[revhtree]

We need more photos!

 

[Tristan]

Awesome setup

 

[gettaReef]

Need...update........can't..take......withdrawal symptoms....

 

[Acrononomus]

Plus 1 on update!

 

[Justin D]

The bottom of the aquarium looks like 2 sheets of glass I'm I right how thick is the bottom?

 

[Synodontis]

Geez it's been awhile since I updated a TJ anywhere lol. Funny how life gets in the way isn't it.
Not that a lot has happened in the last few months. Algae done my head in & I'm glad we wont be building another tank ever again. Put a few new corals in but not to many. Lost a few to hair algae also

AWESOME SET UP BROTHER.... it seems like every idea I want seems to pop up on this forum lol.... I see a 12 ft x 4 ft x 20 in tall in my future lol....

OK....YOU DID AN AWESOME JOB BUT I WOULD HAVE MADE A BIGGER SUMP SO COULD HOUSE MORE ROCK IN THE SUMP.... I WOULD NOT CLUTTER THE TANK WITH TO MUCH ROCK... I WOULD SHOW OFF THE CORALS ON THICK ACRYLIC ROD PLATFORMS AT DIFFERENT HIEGHTS. TO MUCH ROCK TAKES AWAY FROM THE SHEER AWW OF HOW MUCH SPACE THE CORAL AND ANIMAL LIFE HAVE.... I WOULD HAVE MADE THE SUMP INTO ANOTHER VEIWABLE TANK...SHOWING OFF YOUR FUGE PLANT LIFE AND SUCH...AND COVERING UP THE SKIMMERS AND MECHANICAL STUFF

LAST BUT NOT LEAST I WOULD HAVE MADE A SCENE FOR THE TANK LIKE A HUGE 3 D PICTURE THE COVERS THE ENTIRE WALL LOL....

ANYWAY AWESOME TANK....AND I WILL KEEP IN TOUCH SINCE I'M HEADING FOR A 12 FT TANK ONE DAY...OUT

Hey dark waters, some nice ideas you have I like the thought about acrylic rods. We don't run a fuge at all in the sump. Only things done there are frags & a few fish. Start a TJ when you have yours up & running!

One of the most epic setups! Really inspires me to get back going on my tank again, mines been fish only since I set it up and miss having corals ! Nice work!

Thanks Acrononomus, hope you find the time & will power to get stuck into the tank again. You wont regret it

Awesome setup

Thank you Tristan

Need...update........can't..take......withdrawal symptoms....

Plus 1 on update!

Getting there guy's lol.

The bottom of the aquarium looks like 2 sheets of glass I'm I right how thick is the bottom?

Hey Justin, the base is one sheet of 19mm glass, but it is also bottom braced all the way around with 50mm x 19mm strips. There are also 3 bottom braces running front to rear.

Thank you for sharing those ideas. I've also heard great things regarding using Matrix media. That is crazy expensive though for you just to experiment with...I will try it out but it will be much more reasonable for me as I only have a 75gallon. That is good to hear about it helping that dusty algae...I'm always having to wipe that off my glass and pumps.

I'm curious to see more pictures of your sulfer reactor and skimmer (mainly bc that skimmer is super awesome/sexy!). I have a royal exclusiv sump but haven't pulled the trigger yet on one of their skimmers....I have a vertex omega 180i that fits the sump perfectly, but really want the same royal exclusiv skimmer that is the same size as my vertex skimmer. For now the Vertex skimmer works great for my small system. I will upgrade skimmer when I upgrade my tank to a 180gallon.

How has your sulfer reactor worked for you? I have been running a sulfer reactor (made by company Korallin, model 1502) for 8 months. It works weird for me. I slow drip down to 1 drip per second and it outputs 0 nitrate so up it to 2 drips per second, then 3 drips per second and still get 0 nitrate at output. But when I up it to 4 drips per second it will slowly output from zero nitrate to 1 to 2. Then I slow the drip rate down again to 1 drip per second, and the cycle continues until 4 drips per second and the nitrate will not output at 0 any longer. It is frustrating. It has helped lower my nitrates in the tank from 40ppm to 5-15ppm nitrate, but wish it would lower it even further. One problem may be that I am using a cheap TOMS Aqualifter Pump to power the sulfur reactor; I do not believe the pump outputs at a consistent rate which may be my issue, I don't know? I've looked for a different Pump that can handle a very slow output that is dead consistent but have not been able to find any such pump. This is why I am interested in your sulfer reactor.

Any way thank you for sharing, I love your setup and photos. Take care!

Hey gettareef, I kinda buggered up on the calc's with the Matrix lol. we dont need as much as I worked out. I didn't convert US gallons to Liter's I still haven't done anything as yet but I'll get there. There's been a huge buy up of Matrix & Siporax around the traps & finding it in bulk is proving a problem.
If you can, pull the trigger mate lol. BK are a beast of a skimmer & we don't regret the purchase for a moment. Aren't the Vertex skimmers a direct look alike / copy / made by BK? or am I thinking of another brand? If so I'd check all the dimensions & then just drop a BK lid & skimmer pump onto your existing Vertex, who would know the difference?
Personally, I love sulphur as nitrate control. It's the easiest cheapest setup that has worked for us. I've only ever run it on large tanks so drip rate is nonexistent, it runs as a constant flow. Scaling things done to suit a 75G is beyond me sorry mate. Id be happy if nitrates where steady at 3-5 as I believe most corals need some dirt Have you thought about some sort of dosing pump? That would provide a more stable turn over of water volume through the reactor.

We need more photos!

Whats an update without pics huh mate
Seems most of the pis in here have been the build & corals, a couple of moo here & there but that's about it. Tried to take a few of the fish this time so I'll spam them.

& then there's Moo, the tank owner

& that's about all I'm allowed to post lol.

 

[Justin D]

Do you have a closed loop on this if so what size holes are they

 

[gettaReef]

Thanks for the reply! "Moo" is quite the fish! Very beautiful, love the spots. Is he a grouper (sorry, I'm more of a coral guy)?

I love the idea of just purchasing a RE lid and pump for the skimmer. You're right, I believe they are the exact same dimensions. With my royal exclusiv sump and return pump, who would know?!

As for my Sulfer reactor, since I posted that I received some helpful advice. I ended up getting a low output eheim pump (the lowest one they produce) for the reactor, which is way more powerful than the previous pump. I also dosed some bacteria (microbacter7) and a carbon source to help get the sulfer kickstarted. It worked! Now I can control the nitrate amount, which I keep at 3ppm, and the output is a stream not drops.

Again thanks! Looking forward to your updates!!

 

[Aussie paul]

Looking good mate

 

[Chrisfish]

Unbelievable as always!! I remember the first time I saw this thread and was in awe, like I said the first time I saw it, who needs TV, lol. I 'd never get anything done if I had that beautiful tank! Thanks as always for sharing it.

 

[Synodontis]

Looking good mate

Thanks Paul, it's all starting to come together somewhat now lol.

Unbelievable as always!! I remember the first time I saw this thread and was in awe, like I said the first time I saw it, who needs TV, lol. I 'd never get anything done if I had that beautiful tank! Thanks as always for sharing it.

Thanks Chris, have to admit we do spend far more time watching the tank, especially since the dinner table is right beside it

Do you have a closed loop on this if so what size holes are they

Hey Justin, no closed loop on this one mate. We did talk about it before the tank was built but for some reason it never went any further. Not sure why, just never crossed our mind again when the tank was built. From memory we tossed around 32mm marine sources bulk heads.

Thanks for the reply! "Moo" is quite the fish! Very beautiful, love the spots. Is he a grouper (sorry, I'm more of a coral guy)?

I love the idea of just purchasing a RE lid and pump for the skimmer. You're right, I believe they are the exact same dimensions. With my royal exclusiv sump and return pump, who would know?!

As for my Sulfer reactor, since I posted that I received some helpful advice. I ended up getting a low output eheim pump (the lowest one they produce) for the reactor, which is way more powerful than the previous pump. I also dosed some bacteria (microbacter7) and a carbon source to help get the sulfer kickstarted. It worked! Now I can control the nitrate amount, which I keep at 3ppm, and the output is a stream not drops.

Again thanks! Looking forward to your updates!!

Hi gettaReef,
Yep Moo is a grouper, Sweetlips I think. She is the star if the tank lol, not often you see a fish that size in a home aquarium. An impulse buy that came back to haunt us. Instead of just moving her along to a new home like many do when they know the fish they brought will outgrow their tank, we built her a new home How stupids that lol.
Glad to hear you got the sulphur sorted, will remove one problem for you, spend more time worrying about Phosphate now We did the same thing with the Micobacter7 but didn't use a carbon source. I just gave a squirt into the sump each night after work for a week or so. Now you have it setup so you can control the flow better, what are your thoughts?

I forgot to put a FTS up last night so I'll leave it below. I'll try & get a few more over the weekend.

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

Epic build! I love how organized and clean looking your sump area is. Kind surprised that it's not enclosed though, no doors or anything?

 

[Synodontis]

Epic build! I love how organized and clean looking your sump area is. Kind surprised that it's not enclosed though, no doors or anything?

Thanks Floyd,
I always knew the first year or so I would be playing with stuff, moving stuff, adding stuff & generally annoying the tank lol. I couldn't see the point of sealing it all up & always having to open doors or remove covers every weekend. I have been thinking it's about time we did something tho. What we do I have no idea
Our kitchen is all timber & we are going to remove the carpet in front of the tank. Then continue the floor boards along the front of the tank. Really not sure of going the standard issue type timber doors or doing something different. We also plan on putting in a bulk head around the top of the tank, making it look built in if that makes sense. As for where to start...well... anyone have any ideas?