RWReefer’s 110 Gallon Mixed Reef Build
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OP
OP
Fish are doing great. Eating like cows and exploring their new home. Have taken ahold of one of the caves on the right side of the aquascape after hanging out in the front right corner for the first day or two.
Recent equipment additions:
-500mL cylinder for testing salinity.
-picked up a Jebao to move fresh mixed saltwater from the basement to the tank and eliminate the bucket brigade.
-got some radion mount shims and vortech mounts from @BrettE to eliminate my light sag.
-got the lights dialed in with a PAR meter from @14 foot reef.
-picked up an XP8 as I start to build out the controller system for the tank.
-picked up a 10ml auto pipette to help standardize testing regimen.
Diatoms have taken over which is no surprise with dry rock and dry sand. Have a shipment of copepods on the way to start seeding the display for a potential future mandarin as well as promote biodiversity with the addition of phyto dosing.
I think thats enough for now. Thrilled with how things are progressing so far.
Recent equipment additions:
-500mL cylinder for testing salinity.
-picked up a Jebao to move fresh mixed saltwater from the basement to the tank and eliminate the bucket brigade.
-got some radion mount shims and vortech mounts from @BrettE to eliminate my light sag.
-got the lights dialed in with a PAR meter from @14 foot reef.
-picked up an XP8 as I start to build out the controller system for the tank.
-picked up a 10ml auto pipette to help standardize testing regimen.
Diatoms have taken over which is no surprise with dry rock and dry sand. Have a shipment of copepods on the way to start seeding the display for a potential future mandarin as well as promote biodiversity with the addition of phyto dosing.
I think thats enough for now. Thrilled with how things are progressing so far.
OP
OP
Busy week in the reefing world for us.
-Dosed copepods and started feeding phyto.
-diatoms still doing their thing. Some cyano just starting to show up.
-picked up a couple titanium heaters and some coral gear from a seller here on the site.
-getting a maintenance schedule dialed in. Figured out what happens when you leave your skimmer going with the return pump turned off. Whoops. Luckily only fish in the tank and not a lot of sludge overflow.
-clowns are doing great, eating like champs.
-picking up the hydros launch in a couple weeks and will start getting to work on the controller set up
-oh yeah, also won $225 so far in the @SBB Corals giveaway. Looking forward to getting everything in the tank stable and starting to stock this bad boy.
-Dosed copepods and started feeding phyto.
-diatoms still doing their thing. Some cyano just starting to show up.
-picked up a couple titanium heaters and some coral gear from a seller here on the site.
-getting a maintenance schedule dialed in. Figured out what happens when you leave your skimmer going with the return pump turned off. Whoops. Luckily only fish in the tank and not a lot of sludge overflow.
-clowns are doing great, eating like champs.
-picking up the hydros launch in a couple weeks and will start getting to work on the controller set up
-oh yeah, also won $225 so far in the @SBB Corals giveaway. Looking forward to getting everything in the tank stable and starting to stock this bad boy.
OP
OP
The name of the current state of the tank is algae. Algae everywhere lol. Clownfish are doing well and eating well.
Notes:
-picked up some additional hydros equipment from @Naturalreef and got a chance to talk to him about his tank and see it in person. I appreciate you taking the time to share your wisdom.
-nitrates and phosphates have cratered in the tank (PO4: 0.01 and NO3: 0.9). Not sure what it means, but something I will keep an eye on.
-CUC comes on Tuesday. They will have their work cutout for them.
-still dosing phyto for copepod addition and copepods have exploded in the tank.
-starting to map out the controller cabinet and getting that set up for automation. Wires need organizing.
-picked up a used MP10 from @sullivansp To put on bottom back of tank to help with a low flow area.
-Alk still showing super low (5.3), so going to test my next saltwater back to see if maybe the reagent is bad. Doesn’t make any sense why it’s so low when I should be in the 7.7-8.3 range per Aquaforest bag.
Notes:
-picked up some additional hydros equipment from @Naturalreef and got a chance to talk to him about his tank and see it in person. I appreciate you taking the time to share your wisdom.
-nitrates and phosphates have cratered in the tank (PO4: 0.01 and NO3: 0.9). Not sure what it means, but something I will keep an eye on.
-CUC comes on Tuesday. They will have their work cutout for them.
-still dosing phyto for copepod addition and copepods have exploded in the tank.
-starting to map out the controller cabinet and getting that set up for automation. Wires need organizing.
-picked up a used MP10 from @sullivansp To put on bottom back of tank to help with a low flow area.
-Alk still showing super low (5.3), so going to test my next saltwater back to see if maybe the reagent is bad. Doesn’t make any sense why it’s so low when I should be in the 7.7-8.3 range per Aquaforest bag.
Naturalreef
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Tank looks great Steve! Beautiful scape! Can’t wait to see it full of coral…The name of the current state of the tank is algae. Algae everywhere lol. Clownfish are doing well and eating well.
Notes:
-picked up some additional hydros equipment from @Naturalreef and got a chance to talk to him about his tank and see it in person. I appreciate you taking the time to share your wisdom.
-nitrates and phosphates have cratered in the tank (PO4: 0.01 and NO3: 0.9). Not sure what it means, but something I will keep an eye on.
-CUC comes on Tuesday. They will have their work cutout for them.
-still dosing phyto for copepod addition and copepods have exploded in the tank.
-starting to map out the controller cabinet and getting that set up for automation. Wires need organizing.
-picked up a used MP10 from @sullivansp To put on bottom back of tank to help with a low flow area.
-Alk still showing super low (5.3), so going to test my next saltwater back to see if maybe the reagent is bad. Doesn’t make any sense why it’s so low when I should be in the 7.7-8.3 range per Aquaforest bag.
OP
OP
Start of the CUC arrived today from @reefcleaners , and are currently presented with an algae feast of epic proportions.
-1 pithos crab
-4 Mexican turbo snails
-10 Nerite Snails
-7 Nassarius snails
-assortment of ceriths
Already blazing trails of algae free sand and rock.
-1 pithos crab
-4 Mexican turbo snails
-10 Nerite Snails
-7 Nassarius snails
-assortment of ceriths
Already blazing trails of algae free sand and rock.
OP
OP
Well we’ve had some good and bad news with the tank since the last update.
-CUC still putting in work and another batch of reinforcements are arriving tomorrow to combat GHA. Have turned off the lights for now to let the CUC catch up to the outbreak.
-Lost one of the clownfish, both literally and figuratively. He was being harassed by the larger clown and was getting lethargic, not eating (because the other clown was shunning it away every time I fed). Didn’t get them separated quick enough and it has since gone missing the past 2 days. Assuming it is expired somewhere in the tank, I cannot locate it as hard as I’ve tried. Feel pretty terrible about the whole thing and going to stick with a single clown for a while.
-picked up a dual head peristaltic pump to pair with a mixing station setup I’m planning to get next week to work on getting an AWC system set up in the basement.
-got some mounting hardware for the controller cabinet so ideally will have that set up and running by sometime next week.
-royal gramma should be delivered next week. Have an acclimation box from OctoAquatics on order to see how the clown will handle a new tank mate.
-picked up an MP10 to help with additional random flow in a back corner of the tank.
-picked up a Klir-Di4 to replace the filter socks
-picked up a new varios pump and controller for the skimmer as it got stuck on earlier this week and wouldn’t power down.
-identified my low alk readings on the tank were most likely a symptom of an expired reagent. Theory will be tested later this week when the new reagent gets delivered.
-CUC still putting in work and another batch of reinforcements are arriving tomorrow to combat GHA. Have turned off the lights for now to let the CUC catch up to the outbreak.
-Lost one of the clownfish, both literally and figuratively. He was being harassed by the larger clown and was getting lethargic, not eating (because the other clown was shunning it away every time I fed). Didn’t get them separated quick enough and it has since gone missing the past 2 days. Assuming it is expired somewhere in the tank, I cannot locate it as hard as I’ve tried. Feel pretty terrible about the whole thing and going to stick with a single clown for a while.
-picked up a dual head peristaltic pump to pair with a mixing station setup I’m planning to get next week to work on getting an AWC system set up in the basement.
-got some mounting hardware for the controller cabinet so ideally will have that set up and running by sometime next week.
-royal gramma should be delivered next week. Have an acclimation box from OctoAquatics on order to see how the clown will handle a new tank mate.
-picked up an MP10 to help with additional random flow in a back corner of the tank.
-picked up a Klir-Di4 to replace the filter socks
-picked up a new varios pump and controller for the skimmer as it got stuck on earlier this week and wouldn’t power down.
-identified my low alk readings on the tank were most likely a symptom of an expired reagent. Theory will be tested later this week when the new reagent gets delivered.
OP
OP
Alrighty. Lots of updates since the last. First, FTS:
GHA outbreak is getting under control. CUC has been doing good work and another batch of reinforcements comes on Wednesday.
Royal gramma has been added and despite being pretty skittish and hiding for the first week or so, is exploring on the left side of the tank now while the clownfish owns the right side of the tank.
Controller cabinet is coming together well. Have the hydros gear mounted and operational. Have the Vortech controllers and power supply’s mounted as well. Only that left to do now while it’s still in construction mode is tie in the two ranco temp controllers and that’ll be all for control for now.
Picked up a mixing station off the selling forum. Working on getting it set up with a new RO/DI add on for my hard well water. Then will work on getting it plumbed in with the dual head peristaltic pump in an attempt to automate water changes.
Identified that my low alk readings are not because of my testing reagent, but a result of the salt I am using (tested current tank water, fresh batch of saltwater, new reagent). Going to switch over to a different salt once this bag is gone to see how it impacts the tank parameters.
Added in a Klir filter sock that I am just manually adjusting for now along with a filter cup with poly-fil. Eventually will work to automate but other items to tend to first.
That’s about all for now. Narrowing down the next fish addition and hopefully once I get alk figured out, will start adding corals.
Happy reefing!
GHA outbreak is getting under control. CUC has been doing good work and another batch of reinforcements comes on Wednesday.
Royal gramma has been added and despite being pretty skittish and hiding for the first week or so, is exploring on the left side of the tank now while the clownfish owns the right side of the tank.
Controller cabinet is coming together well. Have the hydros gear mounted and operational. Have the Vortech controllers and power supply’s mounted as well. Only that left to do now while it’s still in construction mode is tie in the two ranco temp controllers and that’ll be all for control for now.
Picked up a mixing station off the selling forum. Working on getting it set up with a new RO/DI add on for my hard well water. Then will work on getting it plumbed in with the dual head peristaltic pump in an attempt to automate water changes.
Identified that my low alk readings are not because of my testing reagent, but a result of the salt I am using (tested current tank water, fresh batch of saltwater, new reagent). Going to switch over to a different salt once this bag is gone to see how it impacts the tank parameters.
Added in a Klir filter sock that I am just manually adjusting for now along with a filter cup with poly-fil. Eventually will work to automate but other items to tend to first.
That’s about all for now. Narrowing down the next fish addition and hopefully once I get alk figured out, will start adding corals.
Happy reefing!
Just read through your build and the tank is really looking good!Alrighty. Lots of updates since the last. First, FTS:
GHA outbreak is getting under control. CUC has been doing good work and another batch of reinforcements comes on Wednesday.
Royal gramma has been added and despite being pretty skittish and hiding for the first week or so, is exploring on the left side of the tank now while the clownfish owns the right side of the tank.
Controller cabinet is coming together well. Have the hydros gear mounted and operational. Have the Vortech controllers and power supply’s mounted as well. Only that left to do now while it’s still in construction mode is tie in the two ranco temp controllers and that’ll be all for control for now.
Picked up a mixing station off the selling forum. Working on getting it set up with a new RO/DI add on for my hard well water. Then will work on getting it plumbed in with the dual head peristaltic pump in an attempt to automate water changes.
Identified that my low alk readings are not because of my testing reagent, but a result of the salt I am using (tested current tank water, fresh batch of saltwater, new reagent). Going to switch over to a different salt once this bag is gone to see how it impacts the tank parameters.
Added in a Klir filter sock that I am just manually adjusting for now along with a filter cup with poly-fil. Eventually will work to automate but other items to tend to first.
That’s about all for now. Narrowing down the next fish addition and hopefully once I get alk figured out, will start adding corals.
Happy reefing!
I see you are running the varlos 4 return pump. What setting do you run it at and do you find it does a good job?
OP
OP
Appreciate it. Been a lot of research and it’s slowly coming together. I am running the return at setting 3 (about 50%) and it does exactly what I need. Get great water turnover and provides appropriate flow in the tank for what I need in conjunction with the the two (soon to be 3 powerheads).
Thank you for your fast response as I have that pump being delivered tomorrow and was so worried about it being powerful enough.
Seems you got through the ugly phase pretty good and looks like it's about time to start adding coral.
OP
OP
I wouldn’t anticipate any issues with having enough power if you’ve got a similar set up.
Regarding uglies, they have reared their ugly head again in what I can only attribute to my pod population getting decimated by hydroids. Got some urchins coming tomorrow to see if they can provide some assistance.
Yeah my tank is a single return 100gal tank.
One thing that has help me through the uglies besides a good cuc is the use of Microbacter clean. I have to feed extra because it has worked so well.
OP
OP
Alright, probably time for another update.
Got both Ranco controllers wired and installed. Have them tied into the Hydros XP8 but have not yet set up the kill switch for overheating. Right now just using each controller as it’s own control and adjusted the differential a degree between the two so one will pop on of the other can’t keep up with the programmed load.
Got the pH and temperature probes set up and running in the sump as well. Cord management will be next after I get the mixing station up and running.
Next on the list is reconfiguring my RO/DI to the other side of the basement utility room so it’s closer to the mixing bins. Also bought the 7 stage add on due to plowing through the anion/cation mix, hopefully that will help. Mounting a dual head peristaltic pump down there as well to set up a AWC system.
Have a Tomini tang and a one spot foxface on the way from Dr. Reefs.
Transitioning over to Reef Crystals for salt as the AF salt I am using right now is giving me 5.3 dKH and that’s just way lower than I want in order to start adding corals.
3 urchins and 2 more conchs have joined the cleanup crew. Hopefully that will be enough of a CUC along with the one spot and tomini coming in to keep the algae at bay.
Fish are eating well and growing well.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Got both Ranco controllers wired and installed. Have them tied into the Hydros XP8 but have not yet set up the kill switch for overheating. Right now just using each controller as it’s own control and adjusted the differential a degree between the two so one will pop on of the other can’t keep up with the programmed load.
Got the pH and temperature probes set up and running in the sump as well. Cord management will be next after I get the mixing station up and running.
Next on the list is reconfiguring my RO/DI to the other side of the basement utility room so it’s closer to the mixing bins. Also bought the 7 stage add on due to plowing through the anion/cation mix, hopefully that will help. Mounting a dual head peristaltic pump down there as well to set up a AWC system.
Have a Tomini tang and a one spot foxface on the way from Dr. Reefs.
Transitioning over to Reef Crystals for salt as the AF salt I am using right now is giving me 5.3 dKH and that’s just way lower than I want in order to start adding corals.
3 urchins and 2 more conchs have joined the cleanup crew. Hopefully that will be enough of a CUC along with the one spot and tomini coming in to keep the algae at bay.
Fish are eating well and growing well.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Last edited:
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