Zoey's Reef is Growing Up . . .

[Maritimer]

You may have a sharp point there ... I'm just seeing red right now . . . Thanks for being the level head when I need one!

~Bruce

Edit ... That point about the cement lubricating the PVC and fittings is an important one - Hope my mistake can save another reefer some heartache down the like!

 

[Aslam Abraham]

Nice collection of wrasse.
Good luck with the new build.

 

[najer]

Looking like a great build, I did smile at the stand pics, get the bracing sorted!

 

[Maritimer]

Thanks, Aslam and Najer!

I've got the 2x4s underneath the stand flooring, and jack-poles beneath the joists at roughly the front corners of the tank, with a 4x6 timber running between them - wouldn't _begin_ to know how to brace the stand itself. It's a purpose-built item, created by the aquarium manufacturer to put their tanks on - it just seems kind of ... really?!

~Bruce

 

[Maritimer]

Thanks for the tip, TJ - two couplings and a section of pipe, and everything's plumbed save one part that I had to reorder from BRS for the return. It was scheduled to arrive yesterday, but the snowstorm on Thursday is going to hold that up 'til Monday.

Meantime, the residents of Zoey's Reef seem to be taking it all in stride:

And I've got a 75 gallon that recently held a planted freshwater setup converted to a QT. Can you guess who's in there, and so painfully shy that we can only tell he's come out to look around when we see him facing a different direction in his favorite PVC fitting formation? Kind of an obsession of mine, one of the most beautiful creatures I've ever seen - and one of the last fish most folks would think of for a reef . . .

This guy's a Quoy's parrotfish, Scarus quoyi. So far, as far as I can tell, he hasn't eaten thing one here - though I know he was eating in the shop I got him from. (I could see the scrape-marks on the liverock!) He's got a bundle of Chaetomorpha & Caulerpa rubberbanded to a rock next to his favorite PVC, and has been offered Rods, LRS, Mysis, brine, pellets and flake (as if...), with and without garlic extract. No movement so far. Lights are low - just an "invisible LED" set to blues only on the opposite end of the tank. I'm offering food this morning, then off to work for the next 24 hours - we'll see how he looks then.

~Bruce

 

[Maritimer]

Below, video of a successful leak test of the 220 gallon aquarium. The @TaylorPilot sump is performing exactly as desired, even with nearly 3,000 gallons / hr. pumping through it.

The return pump is a Fluval Sea sp6, rated at 3,434 gallons/hour. I'm sure it's not pushing that with a 4.5' head and a few elbows, but it's pushing some water - no dead spots in the tank, just with the return cranking. There will eventually be two Gyre X-50s mounted on opposite ends:



~Bruce

 

[TaylorPilot]

Looks good. How are you doing your drains? Is it a single drain, or are you using a bean animal style. If you are, I would open up the siphon line more, so that you are introducing less air into the system. I would be worried about salt creep with that much air being introduced.

 

[Maritimer]

Thanks, TaylorPilot ... The drain here is the standard dual "MegaFlow" on Aqueon tanks, which is basically two Dursos. I've found that I can reduce the air churn by dialing down the ball-valves in the drain lines. (Wouldn't be surprised to find that dialing down the valves in the returns would do the same thing... don't know which is safer / better.) I am a bit worried about salt creep!

The loudest part of the system so far (haven't cranked up the skimmer...) seems to be the siphon-breaks!

~Bruce

 

[fabutahoun]

Looking Good Bruce.

 

[jsker]

Bruce, seeing this for the first time, and now following along

 

[Rick.45cal]

Looking good Bruce!

 

[Maritimer]

Thanks, Rick.45cal, Fabutahoun & Jsker!

~Bruce

 

[new2this]

Thanks, TaylorPilot ... The drain here is the standard dual "MegaFlow" on Aqueon tanks, which is basically two Dursos. I've found that I can reduce the air churn by dialing down the ball-valves in the drain lines. (Wouldn't be surprised to find that dialing down the valves in the returns would do the same thing... don't know which is safer / better.) I am a bit worried about salt creep!

The loudest part of the system so far (haven't cranked up the skimmer...) seems to be the siphon-breaks!

~Bruce

All of that plumbing that worked so picture-perfectly when it was dry-fit?

I took it out to the front of the tank, in sections and glued it all together. Now that it's glued up, it's _almost_two_inches_ short, spanning - or rather, failing to span - the distance between the bulkheads. Slip a pipe into one, and it completely misses the other. There's no wiggle room there. I'm going to have to go back to BRS, buy three more Cepex ball valves and at least as many 90* elbows ... and when I do it again, I have _no_idea_ how to prevent this from happening a second time.

SO annoyed with myself right now!!

Ugh.

~Bruce[/QUOTE]
ouch..i missed this part of your build before..i have to buy another sump. i bumped my skimmer into the eurobrace and broke it in two spots...brs is gonna sell me another at cost

 

[Maritimer]

ouch..i missed this part of your build before..i have to buy another sump. i bumped my skimmer into the eurobrace and broke it in two spots...brs is gonna sell me another at cost

Ai-yi-aye!

Sorry to hear about your damaged sump ... but _mega_ points to BRS for coverage and customer service!!

~Bruce

 

[Maritimer]

And here all this time, I've been hearing that "skimming doesn't work in fresh water" . . .

Yesterday, the 220 - filled with tapwater and a bit of vinegar - was a bit cloudy. Today, she's _crystal_ clear ... but what's _this_ all about?!

Water flowing into the sump, and into the socks:

Leaving the socks, looks like some freshwater skimmate overflowed into what will be the skimmer chamber:

Weird. Also starting to see a strange, fuzzy (fungal? bacterial?) growth on some of the old substrate on the bottom of the tank. Must be time to siphon the tapwater out and replace with RO/DI and Reef Crystals . . .

~Bruce

 

[Frop]

I'd been sort of idly toying with the idea of re-homing Zoey's Reef (65gallon display) into a larger glass box. Maybe a 90, or even a 150. Then along comes my favorite reef shop, with a gently used, reef-ready 220 at a price I found it hard to say no to.

Nice! I feel similar. My 10 gallon needed an upgrade. Never planned to go bigger than 40g breeder. Then I found a 59 (48% bigger). Then your limit was 150 yet finding a 220 is (47% bigger).

Have fun! I'm still piecing my tank together. I may drive 4 hours today for an ATO and a doser.

 

[fabutahoun]

And here all this time, I've been hearing that "skimming doesn't work in fresh water" . . .

Yesterday, the 220 - filled with tapwater and a bit of vinegar - was a bit cloudy. Today, she's _crystal_ clear ... but what's _this_ all about?!

Water flowing into the sump, and into the socks:

Leaving the socks, looks like some freshwater skimmate overflowed into what will be the skimmer chamber:

Weird. Also starting to see a strange, fuzzy (fungal? bacterial?) growth on some of the old substrate on the bottom of the tank. Must be time to siphon the tapwater out and replace with RO/DI and Reef Crystals . . .

~Bruce

May be It was the vinegar that made a bacterial bloom ? and caused the skimmer to skim and the strange growth ?

 

[PJS]

Looking good Bruce, almost there!

 

[Maritimer]

May be It was the vinegar that made a bacterial bloom ? and caused the skimmer to skim and the strange growth ?

Could be ... there's no skimmer in place, though - that's just from the overflows coming into the sump. And it's gotten bigger / worse since those photos!

~Bruce

 

[revhtree]

Looking great!