Craig's Tank Journal

[craigwmiller]

Hey All! (Long-time aquarist, first time poster ;)

I've started up a 68 gallon reef and here will be my journal/discussion.

Equipment:

Custom tank from Marine Aquaria (36" x 18" x 24")
25 gallon sump (26" x 14" x 16")

2x AI Vega Color w/ new controller
2x Eheim Jager 100W
Mag-Drive 7
Vertex IN-180 Skimmer
VorTech MP40w
Tunze 6025 Powerhead
Tunze 5017 ATO
TLF KW300 Reactor with Kalk, attached to ATO
ZEOvit 3L Reactor
BRS 1.1ML/min dosing pump, for ZEOStart
ReefKeeper V2


Photos and more details and updates to come!

Cheers,
Craig

[craigwmiller]

Here are some images after the setup:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2012-12-16%2011.13.00.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2012-12-21%2009.31.51.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2012-12-21%2009.36.37.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2012-12-21%2009.43.49.jpg

[cuz]

nice work!! Very clean looking setup!!

[magikof7]

Beautiful tank and very clean set up!
looking forward to seeing it grow. :)

[waynemah]

Tagging along! :biggrin:

[craigwmiller]

Okay so I did the ZEOvit 14-day cycle process, and am very impressed. Today is Day 18 (the system was started Dec 16th).

The tank went through a massive diatom bloom from day 6 through 13, with the snails added on days 11 & 14 cleaning up the loose/lingering growth by yesterday (day 17).

The middle shelf-like rock and the small one (front-right) in the sand were the only 'live' rocks (total 8 lbs). All the rest was dry white marco rock.


I started adding livestock at day 10 (as per the instructions), with one small clown. Ammonia/nitrite/nitrate have always been nearly unmeasurable (small ammonia spike to around 0.50 on day 5-7, which all but went away on day 8+. Livestock additions will continue, slowly, just to be safe & humane (or the aquatic equivalent term)... But what I have added is doing great, and the corals I've transferred from one of my other tanks are showing better extensions and more brilliant color (Vega's, fair enough) than their previous established homes.

[craigwmiller]

Here are my ZEOvit dosages (first 14-days, and normal thereafter):
(good to have this documented somewhere also for when I want to reference it :lol:)

...My actual system volumn calculation is roughly 75 gallons of water.

1 Litre package of ZEOvit media (replacement schedule yet to be determined)


14-day cycle:

Day 1:
ZEOStart3 - 30mL
ZEOFood7 - 9mL
ZEOBak - 15mL

Day 2-3:
nothing

Day 4-14:
ZEOStart3 - 0.3mL, twice daily
ZEOFood7 - 6 drops
ZEOBak - 3 drops


Normal Schedule*

ZEOStart3 - 0.3mL, twice daily
ZEOFood7 - 6 drops, twice per week (Monday & Friday)
ZEOBak - 3 drops, twice per week (Monday & Friday)


*These dosages are subject to change as tank parameters require, and I will update the thread as I change.

[Edmonton newbie]

lookin good

[Doug]

:welcome:

[kien]

it looks like you've got everything well at hand here. Carry on :-)

:pop2:

[craigwmiller]

Here is my water change regiment and rig.

While I was planning out the water changes, I had a couple rules in mind:
- The first rule about water changes is they must be easy or they won't happen regularly for weeks/months/years on end
- no towels should be required in preparation for a spill or even a drip
- no buckets to haul water
- slick & nerdy enough that it's actually kinda fun to do it, making me look forward to the process!

I'm changing roughly 8 gallons of water, every Sunday... here's how:

Rigging:
- RO/DI equipment (aquasafecanada.com 100GPD setup, which consistently makes water at 2 TDS post-RO and 0 TDS post-DI -- incoming water is 190-210 TDS)
- 32 gallon Brute (containing a 100W heater, circulation pump, and Mag-Drive 3 for transferring the water upstairs)
- ~75' of 1/2" clear PVC tubing to connect 4 locations together (with 6 shutoff valves to control where the water goes). Locations: sump/display, Brute, storage room access hose, basement bathroom sink drain (direct/permanent installation)

Process:
1. The Brute is first filled and heated to match tank temperature, and then salted to match tank salinity (currently using Fluval salt at the time of this writing)
2. Water is siphoned from the sump upstairs, directly to the drain under the basement bathroom sink. (siphon is always started from water remaining in the in-between-floor hose from the last change, but can be restarted easily via the access hose - hanging coiled up in the picture).
3. New water is then pumped from the Brute up into the sump.


https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-03%2012.47.00.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-03%2015.33.00.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-03%2012.47.10.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-03%2012.47.51.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-03%2012.52.23.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-03%2012.52.01.jpg

[rhody605]

Very slick setup. I would like to implement some of your ideas into my upgrade.

Thanks for sharing.
Keep up the great work.

[craigwmiller]

Thanks all! It sure has been fun up till now, and the rewarding part is just beginning (though the build is sure very enjoyable).

I have some more tech aspects of the setup to write about, and then will start on the livestock/etc...

...but if anyone has any specific questions/etc please let me know.

Cheers!

[Madreefer]

Nice build. Ill be following along. I've heard but haven't seen anybody start a tank with the Zeo system right from the get go. I'm really interested in seeing how your tank progresses. Do you plan on running Zeo for a long term or are you planning on slowly dosing back until you no longer use it? I've always wondered if it is possible to do that.

[craigwmiller]

Thanks!

I am planning to keep with ZEO. The cost analysis shows it pretty reasonable to continue and there is no refugium nor extra rocks in the sump nor a dsb or otherwise (all which would have required me to run a larger sump anyways) -- just the ZEO reactor and skimmer - which has less maintenance, and more display/growth to enjoy (at least that's my thoughts at this point)


Progression is going well, will add livestock pics tomorrow - but currently the list is:

- 2 clowns (one tiny ~1 inch, and the other mature at over 2"),
- 3 chromis (medium size, say 1.5")
- 1 barnacle blenny (1.5") -- almost forgot this guy ;)
- 1 porcelain crab
- 1 blue tuxedo urchin (1")
- 1 purple linckia (3" from longest tip-to-tip)
- 8 turbo snails
- 5 narcissus snails
- 8 hermit crabs
- candy cane (3 clusters, 14 heads)
- frogspawn (1 cluster, ~6 heads, 5-6" across)
- torch (1 cluster, 2 heads, 2" across not extended)
- suncoral (1 cluster, ~30 heads)


Added the most recent bits of that 3 days ago, going to add some more tomorrow (water quality is unchanged and ammonia/nitrite/nitrate was unmeasurably affected by the addition)... my last nano tank will then be nearly empty after tomorrow's transitions, leaving just the bubble tip and it's buddy (another 1.5" clown) for maybe Tuesday-ish.

[subman]

Looking great Craig! Welcome to salty land

[Arok3000]

I like that water change system. Very nice build.

[craigwmiller]

Last-ish piece of tech (at least that I took a picture of so far) is the ATO reservoir. Not that glamorous, but important nonetheless. It's sitting in the same storage room with the mix bucket, and RO system. Simple enough system... connected to the RO system, and up to the TLF KW300 upstairs.


https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-03%2012.48.42.jpg

[craigwmiller]

Okay, some life... :)

Sun Coral
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2012-12-27%2018.38.39.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2012-12-28%2000.42.36.jpg

ORA Birdsnest
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-07%2023.24.09.jpg

Pink Zoas
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-07%2023.23.57.jpg

[craigwmiller]

Just got this Goby tonight, so here he is :D

Six Spot Sleeper Goby
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-07%2021.02.55.jpg


Burgundy Linckia
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-07%2021.03.19.jpg


Marble Red Fromia
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-07%2021.03.27.jpg

[craigwmiller]

Frogspawn
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2012-12-30%2023.30.51.jpg

Torch
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2012-12-30%2023.31.09.jpg

[craigwmiller]

New tank mate today:

(anyone who didn't see the thread about the exodus of the Sixline Wrasse it replaced, check here: http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=93382)


Red Scooter Blenny

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-10%2020.46.31.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-10%2020.46.42.jpg

[ChizerBunoi]

What type of sand did you go with Craig? Do you plan on maintaining it (stirring or vacuum)?

[craigwmiller]

Aragonite 1-2mm reef grade sand. Not "live", just sand. I soaked and rinsed it several times with RO, until it was as clear as I could get it.

As far as maintenance... Nothing planned. I have several nassarius snails, and also a six spot sleeper goby (who moves enough sand around to free up any loose detritus). When I get more established I might add a sand sifting starfish to churn it up some too.

[craigwmiller]

RBTA!!

This will be attempt #2. I moved a near-identical one like this over a couple weeks ago, to only have it get sucked into a powerhead (that power head is no longer in the tank, and sadly I had been planning to remove it anyways).

5 minutes in:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-17%2020.47.09.jpg

30 minutes:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-17%2021.20.38.jpg


Should be bubbling happily (hopefully) within a day or so! (my clownfish are immediately interested -- and I really want them out of the frogspawn & torch :D)

[craigwmiller]

Hey Good Lookin'!!

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-16%2020.38.54.jpg

[subman]

Sweet Looking Kole!

(Nems is evil Though! lol)

[craigwmiller]

Tech update... I've finished my power source expansion.

I've added a UPS to power my MP40 during a power outage, and the UPS also provides surge protection to all the power going to the tank (via non-battery-backed receptacles).

And of course (as you all know) a UPS sourcing it's power via GFCI provides ZERO GFCI coverage for your tank, as the UPS continues to do it's job when the upstream circuit has tripped :D So, what would any OCD person do? I added 4 GFCI outlets AFTER the UPS!! This gives me redundancy also so that a single GFCI nuisance trip cannot shutdown my whole tank!


And I also expanded my ReefKeeper with 2 more PC4's (total of 4, each one on a GFCI outlet, with 1 of them on the UPS), and the NET module for notifications and remote control of the system!


https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-24%2021.38.21.jpg


https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-24%2021.40.00.jpg

[craigwmiller]

Next purchase -- a Brother label maker to label things nicely :D

[gregzz4]

Next purchase -- a Brother label maker to label things nicely :D
I use Avery labels off my regular printer
Buy a pack of labels and use Word

Love the attention to electrical ...
I have 13 GFCIs on my system :rolleyes:
Jealous of all your PC4s ...

Welcome to the OCD Club :mrgreen:

[waynemah]

If it were real OCD, he would have used black tie downs... Also GFCI cables wouldn't be 10 ft long. :razz:

Looking really good Craig, now for some livestock pics? :biggrin:

[craigwmiller]

Thanks guys!

And the long cords...? Prep for the eventual upgrade :D

Livestock coming... sure :)

[craigwmiller]

RBTA progressing towards happiness! A clownfish is regularly sucking (picture: deep throat) the tentacles.

Flame Hawk in the background.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-24%2021.41.24.jpg


Blue Tuxedo Urchin (1.5")
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-24%2021.42.02.jpg


Space Monster's
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-24%2021.43.23.jpg


Red Scooter Blenny (hanging under a rock -- 1" below the Urchin above)
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-24%2021.47.21.jpg

[craigwmiller]

Busted out the waterproof camera tonight -- Nikon AW100... Not too bad, these are untouched (just resized smaller), and the colours match perfectly! Will try to get some more tomorrow when the lights are back on :D

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/DSCN2449.JPG

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/DSCN2452.JPG

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/DSCN2455.JPG

[mohammadali]

gorgeous tank
love the system , it seems u spend 6 months of pay cheque on this beautiful tank

[craigwmiller]

Thanks!

Truly though it wasn't that expensive. All of the equipment I have I bought second hand. I did buy some bits and parts and supplies/etc new - but maybe only a few hundred dollars worth.

You can really get a nice setup without brand new stuff :D

[craigwmiller]

Playing around with my phone and took some pics :D

Hollywood Stunner
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-28%2017.59.07.jpg

Rastas Zoa's
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-28%2017.57.53.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-28%2017.58.14.jpg

Green Pocillopora
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-28%2017.53.51.jpg

Candy Cane
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-28%2017.57.34.jpg

ORA Pink Birdsnest + Candy Cane
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-28%2017.56.46.jpg

in german accent: 'Ze Torch
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-28%2017.45.19.jpg

Fromia (flashing the world)
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-28%2017.46.08.jpg

Turbo Snail (giving some tongue)
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-28%2017.48.41.jpg

Yellow Tang & RBTA
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-28%2017.52.00.jpg

[lpsreefer]

nice pics.

[craigwmiller]

Just caught a problem with my dosing setup (I was told to check this by waynemah as it screwed him too)...

My dosing pump output for my ZEOStart3 was mounted nicely with the end of the tube under the water... well, about 1/4 of the end of the tube was PLUGGED TIGHT, and hence I was not actually dosing any Start.

This has now been re-mounted with the end of the tube mounted suspended nicely above the water line.


I don't know how long it was plugged, but my PO4 readings had jumped from 0.03 to 0.17 over the last 10 days, so I'd say it wasn't plugged too long.


Moral: mount your dosing tubes so they drip OVER the water, not INSIDE the water.

[waynemah]

Just caught a problem with my dosing setup (I was told to check this by waynemah as it screwed him too)...


I almost spent $3.5k on lighting because of this "issue"... I consider myself lucky . :biggrin:

[craigwmiller]

Yeah, but imagine how badass that would have looked? Best lit algae ever!

[waynemah]

I'd be doing a planted tank build at that point yeah.

[kien]

looking good man! But where's that FTS at? :-)

[craigwmiller]

Yep, right, good call :D

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-30%2022.55.40.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-01-30%2022.55.04.jpg

[kien]

Ahhhhhh, very nice. Thank you :-)

[daplatapus]

Very nice looking setup. I have to admit I love that tuxedo urchin.

[craigwmiller]

New arrivals from the Store Tour @ Red Coral today!!



Bluehead Fairy Wrasse
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-02-02%2014.53.06.jpg

Bicolor Blenny
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-02-02%2014.29.47.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-02-02%2014.45.16.jpg

Yellow Candy Hogfish
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-02-02%2014.56.17.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-02-02%2014.43.57.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-02-02%2014.45.24.jpg

SPS Frag
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53801997/reef68/2013-02-02%2014.33.33.jpg


Also a tiny cleaner shrimp (you know what they look like, and this one is solidly hiding)

[noirsphynx]

Verrrrrry nice set up Craig! That Candy hog is sweet!

[waynemah]

Any updates? :mrgreen:

[craigwmiller]

Update!

Well, sorta... Teaser of something in the works:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53801997/210/2013-07-19%2016.38.55.jpg


I will likely start a new thread, with the promise of something EPIC!

[craigwmiller]

Been a while, here's an FTS:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53801997/reef210/2013-11-17%2022.56.53.jpg

[waynemah]

This tank is a monster! Need more pics / details :biggrin:

[zhasan]

WAO! Love that start! Looking forward to see this monster fill up!!