Daz's Reef ATI PM 4 x 2 x 2

[Daz the reefo]

Introduction:
Well it's about time i decided to begin my new adventure and do this thing properly! (by that i mean reef keeping). reef tanks have always fascinated me from an early age ever since i can remember, i loved the ocean and all things in it especially the hobby's that revolve around it ie fishing. I had many types of tanks including an estuary fish stocked 3 footer when i was a teenager. It didn't last long back then i had undergravel filters, no power heads and a a skimmer was someone that took some cash out of a till when none was looking .

System Objectives: What is the end result going to be?
When i got married my lovely wife purchased an aquaone 3 foot all in one unit for a surprise prezzy, and so far it has taken to the stage where i now want to go to the next level and start a SPS dominated reef tank.

System Type: Fish only, FOWLR, Predator, SPS, Mixed Reef, Softies only, Non photosythetic Corals?
Mixed reef and fish

Display System:

Strike up Date: Date system started
Concept began in Nov 08.

Display Tank: Display tank specifications.
Purchased a 4x2x2 standard setup on the net really cheap

Display Lighting: Lighting specifications.
ATI Powermodule 8x54w (sep 11)
Stand: Stand specifications.
Custom built as you will see in the pics
Hood: Hood specifications.
as above
Sump: Sump specs if applicable.
4x1.5x1.5 with fuge, DSB and skimmer

Refugium Lighting: Lighting specifications.
what i'm using now energy efficiant flood light

Support systems:

System Water: Natural salt water or artificial salt water
NSW
Display Water circulation: In tank water circulation.
2 x vortech MP40W replacing 2 x 12000ltr k copys and the return OR6500
Return Pump:Sump return pump.
OR 6500
Skimmer: We all got one do you?
RO NW 110 replaced by Marine Sources MS 150- 6540
Evaporation Top Up:Auto topup or manual?
manual

Chemical Support:

running full Zeovit filtration method
Current Water Chemistry:

As of sep 11
P04: 0.00 after 6 months of Zeovit from 0.1ppm now running ULNS
KH: Salifert: 7.4dkh
CA: 410ppm
N03: undetectable
NaCl: 1.026
temp:24-27 depends on the day

Images:

[Daz the reefo]

Well here is the current tank i've been playing with, including making a DIY acrylic fuge that sits behind it. I've used the jebo skimmer to pump the water up and exit into the fuge wher it then passes back into the filter system. My friend wrapped it up when he said it looked like a frustrated mad scientists experiment!


a couple of close ups for you

[Daz the reefo]

So far i've kept pretty much all the coral from when i started nearly 3 years ago, all under 2 t5 tubes.



<a href="http://s698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/dazthereefo/?action=view&current=P2121040.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/dazthereefo/P2121040.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[Daz the reefo]

Ok, so now that i know what tank i'll be filling, i persuaded my very good friend Karl to assist me in creating what seemed to me as a mamoth task. to him it was quite simple but he is a cabinet maker so i guess he would
i was the labourer and i've tried to show you the progress as best i could.
she is pretty strong and heavy so she aint breakin!

The planning stage


and more planning


ok that's enough, here's the wood work




the makings of the doors


Happy spastic


almost done


at last!


Big thanks to Karl for this one. hood to follow soon.
We managed to lug the thing to my house then i came across a little problem them i didn't plan for.............

check the pic out and see for yourself:


Yes the dam cabinet didn't fit through the door way for the room it was supposed to go in

I know i know, but when your main focus is to get a cabinet big enough to house all the bits n pieces, you want it as big as you can make it, but i forgot about the little door way. Anyway good thing is that we were thinking of knocking the wall out so we can open the rooms up a bit and so we did!!

Ahhh much better


here is the tank now sitting on it's cabinet in the "fish" room.

[Alf D]

Looks good Daz.
The stand looks very much the same as the one I built.

[KirTracid]

Looking good, like all the pics, from planning to construction, thought that was cute.
So is the wifey into it as well seeing she actually bought you your first tank?
One thing I couldn't get over is the size, for some reasom the cabinet just looks so short (although I know it's not) just I've got a 4 footer and it just seems do long in comparison. Must just be camera angles though.
Like I said, off to a good start. Like the HOB fuge, nice mod =)

[Daz the reefo]

Thanks Kirsty, yeah the cabinet looks lower in the pic but the bottom of the tank sits at just under a metre. i actually made it alot wider.

Yes wifey loves the hobby too, which is a big help especially when i start to buy the stock .

Thanks for the comment on the fuge. the only problem i'm getting is that it doesn't surface skim. so i have to change the water more often.

[Daz the reefo]

Ok so far i've managed to get the sump in, install some sound proof foam (a little scepticle at this stage and mainly an experiment to see if it does anything) and completed all the plumbing, also painted the back of the tank. not far away now!! here aresome pics







THE Water test!!





And she also passed the power failure test


Need to tidy up the leads and install a fuge light and also somemore powerboards for heaters, skimmers etc.

[Daz the reefo]

Hi guys, well i've filled the tank with FW to see how the plumbing and pumps would work. Initially it was going fine until the sound of gushing water through the gravity feb overflows drove me insane So i though i'd do some investigating on this lovely site in search of other ideas. i came across this thread which uses the syphon durso method.
viewtopic.php?t=168430&highlight=syphon+durso+plumbing

So I bought some glass and made the spill over weirs for each end and also attached some elbow pieces to screw on in replace of the cages. I managed to create the syphon on one end and use the other as a over flow, it was awesome quiet as a mouse.

BUT!!! what happens if i get a power out and loose the syphon and when the power returns the gravity fed drain wont drain quick enough and an overflow will occur

So what am i doing wrong?? any help would be appreciated on this frustrationg problem. i've attached some pics to help with the solutions.

Is my return too strong for the plumbing? (my plumbing is 40mm pvc) and return pump is a Aquamedic Oceanrunner 6500

[funkngroovy]

I don't get why you haven't got a full wier.


I'm not sure if you can get a silent overflow with separate overflow boxes. You need a smaller eg 25 mm FULL syphon that has a tap for adjustment.
this needs to be in the same weir, but lower than the durso. The Durso takes some of the water, not enough to be noisy. It will also be able to take all of the water if the full syphon gets blocked. If the power goes out, the system resumes silently without adjustment.

[Daz the reefo]

thanks, geoff, i know a weir would have been a lot easier but i bought the tank with these two 50 mm holes cut in it. so now i've got to manage around it. I had both running silently and had no issues until i thought of the power coming back after a black out and the overflow not handlilng the water. i think after looking at it i have way too much water being returned so i might experiment with a smaller return

[funkngroovy]

That might be the go. You don't need lots of flow through your sump.

[Daz the reefo]

Well my hunch was right and that my return was way too strong for the emergency durso, so i've split the return to feed the chiller and works fine. quiet as a mouse with the syphon.

[Daz the reefo]

Ok so now the flow is good i've managed to set up the fuge and DSB, along with dumping some base rock in to start the process, i'll make the big transfer from my old tank on the weekend enjoy the pics.



I seeded the new fuge from my old one

[siddr20]

Great setup Looks like its going well..

What paint did you use for your stand??

[bradw6860]

looking good mate

[Daz the reefo]

siddr20 Posted: Thu 23 Apr, 2009 12:23 am Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Great setup Looks like its going well..

What paint did you use for your stand??


My very good friend who features in this journal is a cabinet maker by trade and he tells me it's his "secret recipe" It's actually a stain made from scratch and sprayed on DAR Pine then a clear lacquer sprayed over it. I was very happy with it. matches the room nicely.

thanks for reading the TJ.

[Daz the reefo]

Ok so now what??

I've mixed some of my old rock with the dry stuff i recently bought (thanks Brad) I've also seeded both substrates from old tank DSB and Display, so the problem i have now is that it's been sooooo bloody long in the planing and building that i've come to the critical part and now nervous at what to do next go figure!! i just need reassurance i guess on what to do next.....

Should i move the rest of the rock from the old tank as well as fish and the coral all in one hit?? I am aware that the tank may have a little cycle but will it be enough to affect my fish and coral?
any feedback would be appreciated.

thanks

[StripestheEel]

Looking good mate.

Just a quick word of advice with your aquascape.

Try to avoid having large pieces of rock flat on the sandbed. The less surface area you have touching the sand the better as it will not allow detritus to settle.

In regards to transferring your existing stock, I would move as much rock as possible (leave some rock in the other tank for the fish) and test a few days later to see if everythings in line. If it is you should be fine to transfer the rest of it.

[Daz the reefo]

Thanks Matt, cheers

In regards to the aquascaping i hear you loud and clear. at the moment the rock is sitting on top of eggcrate and stilts, i'll try to take a pic to show you, but having said that once all the rock is in i'll be change the scape.

thanks again for your advice. will be busy tomorrow

[Daz the reefo]

I bought some more rock last night and rearranged the scaping to suit all the rock, should be about 80kg's worth now and that's about all i'm getting. I also couldn't resist a new fish purchase... he's a cool little 6 line thats taken ownership of the new tank. I've also transferred all the coral from the other tank to the new. So far the water parameters are:

SG: 1.025
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:0
Ca: 500ppm
Mg:1350
KH: 10dkh
phos: .025
PH:8.3
Hmm not sure why the phosphates would have been so high so early it was up to 0.1 before i added some phos sponge to the sump. any input would be appreciated.

enjoy some pics

[siddr20]

that new fish sure does look cool!! nice purchase

[Daz the reefo]

Well so far so good, i've been through most of the algae phases but still left with a brown fuzzy type algae left, my guess is diatom??? it doesn't look like cyano though. I've still got persistant phos issues at .03 so i'll be looking at a FBF with the next budget release and chuck so sort of Ferric oxide in and see what happens, but as for cause i feed light and haven't got a great deal of a bioload so i'll give it a few more water changes and see what happens then. Good thing is corraline and my dallas frags are still growing well!!
I've attempted at downloading a video for you to peruse, it's mainly an experiment so the qual is not the best, but enough to check out the set up:

[Daz the reefo]

Well it's been a few weeks since i've had an update (My wife gave birth to our daughter ) So in between nappy changes i thought i'd take some pics and show some interesting findings.
update tank params:
SG. 1.025
KH: 9
Ca:500
No3:0
Ph:8.1
P04: 0.01/0 (I think Salifert made the colours so light that us reefers go blind for their pleasure, i swear the more i look at the results the more bluer it gets )
Mg: 1500
I've also conducted a few 20% water changes also.


<a href="http://s698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/dazthereefo/?action=view&current=dallas040609.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/dazthereefo/dallas040609.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

This is one of the dallas frags i placed in the tank nearly a month ago, and at that time i did have a p04 problem which seems to be subsiding thank god so i've taken a shot 1 month later , if you notice the deep green colour has lightened considerably however the growth is quite increadible. I'm looking forward to posting more pics in the coming months to see it come back to original colour.

<a href="http://s698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/dazthereefo/?action=view&current=dallasfrag010709.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/dazthereefo/dallasfrag010709.jpg" border="0" alt="dallas 010709"></a>

I've also taken a few shots of another frag i recieved in pretty bad shape. I called it the brown stump until the last week in which i've noticed it starting to get blueish tips and edges so i'll take a pic next month to see if it's coming back or bleaching.

Before
<a href="http://s698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/dazthereefo/?action=view&current=originalbrownstump.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/dazthereefo/originalbrownstump.jpg" border="0" alt="stump 040609"></a>

Now
<a href="http://s698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/dazthereefo/?action=view&current=brownstumpblueing.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/dazthereefo/brownstumpblueing.jpg" border="0" alt="brown stump"></a>

Here are some extra shots of my other tank inhabitants:

<a href="http://s698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/dazthereefo/?action=view&current=chromis.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/dazthereefo/chromis.jpg" border="0" alt="chromis"></a>

Mushy Farm

<a href="http://s698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/dazthereefo/?action=view&current=mushyfarm.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/dazthereefo/mushyfarm.jpg" border="0" alt="mushy farm"></a>

<a href="http://s698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/dazthereefo/?action=view&current=hammer.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/dazthereefo/hammer.jpg" border="0" alt="hts"></a>

and of course the manditory full tank shot

<a href="http://s698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/dazthereefo/?action=view&current=fts010709.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/dazthereefo/fts010709.jpg" border="0" alt="fts"></a>

[jason angel]

Looking good mate! Dallas will color back up, that stuff is indestructible! The blue stag should come back, that's quite hardy IMO aswell.

[Daz the reefo]

Thanks Jason, Yeah i hope so. I'll be making sure the tank params stay as consistant as possible, and we'll see what she does.

[Daz the reefo]

Well it's been a few weeks so i'd though an update was in order I have a bit of aproblem i don't understand, As you'll see in the pics my dallas frags are growing quite quickly i think however they aren't colouring up to how they should, where as my brown stump has come from a dead looking stump to starting to grow quick with awesome blue tips?? Can anyone advise what may be the cause or am i still "green" in keeping acros and not given it enough time yet (pun intended)




zoomed out




The "brown stump"



close up on the new growth, the camera hasn't picked up the fluro blue tips.

[SaltwaterTankLover]

Cool tank.

Cant wait to see some more pictures of your tank:)

-Matt

[saolom]

looking very reefy =) more pics!

[Buckleys]

G'day Daz, tank is looking great. I just saw your add for the live rock. Ill take it off your hands. Some pic's to show us your new aquascape?