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Reef Pilot's Undersea Oasis
Well, it sure didn’t start this way, haha…, but yes, this is the story of my quest to create my own little reef oasis. I know…, a little late…, so please bear with me as I first go back in time a bit. Feel free to comment anytime, and all critique is welcome.
Like so many, I started with fresh water aquariums when I was young, and thoroughly enjoyed keeping many different fish and plant species. Then life got busy with family and career, and I had to put the hobby on hold. However, I always enjoyed visiting a public aquarium and going snorkeling whenever we did a tropical vacation. I really liked the colour and variety of a tropical reef, and often thought I would like to try a salt water tank. Well, the opportunity finally came in 2010, when we bought a house that already had a built-in salt water tank…, in the kitchen, of all places. At first, my wife was not overly thrilled with the idea of an aquarium there. But we had a large island counter, and it became the obvious gathering place whenever we had guests over. The tank was a focal point of interest for adults and kids alike. At the time, I really didn’t know much about salt water tanks, and the former owner only gave me a very brief introduction on what to do, with water changes, cleaning, and sump maintenance. So I visited a few SW aquarium shops, and my education was soon underway. Luckily, I discovered Canreef early on, and the great wealth of knowledge and experience here helped get me up to speed quickly on what to do with my new tank. Needless to say, I made a few mistakes, but managed to avoid a tank crash despite my extreme lack of SW knowledge at the beginning. |
It is a 100 gallon acrylic tank (72” X 18” X 19”) with a 3 sided overflow at one end draining down to a basement sump. Here are some early pics. This was about 6 months after we moved in. The tank had been running for about 10 years.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps65fa8138.jpg http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1e5ed5e7.jpg http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps223f374c.jpg As you can see, the tank was pretty full with softies and some LPS. I fragged the large toadstool and still have a smaller version of it in my downstairs tank, which was set up about a year later. And that bubble coral and frogspawn have been fragged many times as well. Same with the colt coral and sinularia. Might not be visible in these pics, but also have green mushrooms and green palys, which I keep selling or give away. I still have some of the original fish including the Yellow Tang (10+ years old), Dwarf Flame Angel, Flame Hawkfish and Cinnamon Clownfish. I sold the Green Bird Wrasse. I added a couple Pearlscale Butterfly fish, and a Lawnmower Blenny just before these pics. The tank was also full of Aiptasia, but the Pearlscales completely decimated them…, although took about 4 or 5 months. I still have them as well, one in each of my tanks. And they don’t bother my corals either. I had T5’s for lighting. Water flow was handled by a couple Koralias and a closed loop system (no longer used). The tank was also a big chore to clean, as it was full of algae and detritus on the rocks and sand. Nitrates were as high as 100 ppm! I wasn’t measuring phosphates at that time, but I know they were high, too. Probably a classic example of old tank syndrome. Fish didn’t seem to mind, though, and the softies and LPS were doing OK as well. Next, I will describe my sump. But feel free to comment anytime if you wish. |
Wow walter what a transformation! It looks nothing like it did then. You really stepped it up from what it was!
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Awesome, I'm sure there will be a lot to learn in this thread!
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Do your pearlscales eat pellet or flake?
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They eat everything, pellet, flake, frozen, just like all the other fish. Having said that, I did have to train them in the QT, first frozen mysis, then freeze dried and finally pellets. But they are much easier to keep and hardier than a Copperband which I also had. And you can keep more than one in the same tank (unlike Copperbands). However, over time they did quarrel more and more, and finally separated them when I set up a 2nd tank downstairs.
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It is a 30g acrylic sump, in the basement under the stairwell, just below the upstairs tank.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2494d6f5.jpg The drain goes into an input chamber with a couple baffles that holds a sponge filter and flows into the main chamber with the skimmer. The top does lift up, and I tried using a filter sock, but it was pita to clean all the time, and was much easier just to remove and squeeze out the sponge every few days. If the sponge plugs (as when away on vacation), it just lifts between the baffles and the water flows by. The return pump was a Mag 18, and had to push water up about 12 feet or so, into the display tank upstairs. Needless to say, flow was considerably less than 1800 gph. I did measure it at the top once, and I think it was less than 200 gph at that point. Initially there was no ATO, and had to manually top off the sump on a daily basis with RO water from a bucket. There was a line coming down from the RO (no DI) system upstairs under the kitchen sink, which was used to fill the top off bucket and the water change barrel. Needless to say, I did not like the constant attention this required, so I obtained a double float control from Canadian Springs (who maintained the RO system at the time) and connected it directly to the RO line to serve as my ATO. Worked pretty good and kept the water level constant for the skimmer. I honestly don’t know how the previous owner put up with the manual system for 10 years. |
I could never find out exactly what brand name or model skimmer this was. No ID plate and could not find a good match with internet searches. Might have been partially DIY.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2455d21b.jpg It was a dual beckett skimmer, with a gate valve outlet and a fine mesh cheese type cloth to catch the micro bubbles. The pump was a Sedra 7000 (700gph), hardly enough power to drive the two becketts. But it did produce some skimmate, and I had to occasionally empty the collection jug. What I discovered afterwards, when I took apart the pump for some cleaning, is that it had a pinwheel impeller with an air intake at the input. I guess between the pinwheel and the becketts, it did work, to some degree. Definitely not something you would ever buy off the shelf, though. |
This is my tank overflow. Definitely no bean animal, herbie or durso... Just one drain at the bottom flowing down to the sump in the basement. No noise, though, but the flow is not that high. And the top of the overflow has a styrofoam cover and is inside a closed canopy. I clean the teeth at the top with a toothbrush every few months, to prevent any algae build-up. It's been this way for 13 years, and never a problem.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps799c2e00.jpg |
Right beside the sump, on the right, is a 1/3 hp chiller. It was driven by a Mag 5 (500 gph) in the sump. With the T5's and all the pumps, never needed a heater initially. But the chiller ran a lot.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9e1ef031.jpg Also in this pic, on the right, is my DIY carbon/gfo reactor which I added later. It is just an old Ro canister set that I converted by enlarging the ports to 3/8 lines to increase flow. The first canister is just a pre-filter, the 2nd for carbon, and the 3rd has GFO. |
To the left is a 2nd sump that I was using for a 2nd tank that I set up downstairs. But initially, it was my QT for new fish, as well a refugium with caulerpa and chaeto.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps345203f8.jpg I had it connected to the sump using this DIY overflow. It had an airline connected to the intake side of a pump in the sump which made it basically foolproof. It prevented the syphon from ever breaking, and would self prime if the power went off. http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps14f72c2f.jpg |
And oh, almost forgot about this giant MDM Sequence (not sure about the model name) 3600 gph pump which was used to to drive a closed loop system in my upstairs tank. I decommissioned it after adding some in-tank wavemaker powerheads. Anybody looking for a powerful but cheap return pump?...
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...pse83bd77c.jpg |
I mentioned at the beginning that I had really high nitrates (up to 100ppm) in my 10+ year old tank. After reading on Canreef and elsewhere about refugiums and macro algae, I decided to give that a try. As you can see, caulerpa and chaeto thrived in there.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps22e0d52f.jpg But it didn't make a dent with my nitrates. I also did big water changes, and the nitrates would drop a bit then, but be right back up there in a few days. Seems that I just couldn't get them to stay below 40 ppm for any length of time. |
I also bought a new skimmer (Vertex In-280), and while it definitely pulled more skimmate, still wasn't making much of a difference with my nitrate problem.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps363efbea.jpg Then I read about bio pellet reactors, so went out and bought a Vertex UF20 (just to the left of the skimmer). I also used MB7 to prevent cyano. I started out slowly with the bio pellets (as recommended), and initially didn't get much results, even after a few months. But gradually I increased the bio pellets and was able to fill the entire reactor with bio pellets (1000 ml). Then finally, my nitrates started to come down. It took another 6 months or so, but eventually they came down right to zero. I had to top up the reactor every few months. But no question in my mind, bio pellets do work, if you have a serious nitrate problem. Again, want to emphasize the importance of MB7 to out compete the cyano. I still run the bio pellet reactor today, and my nitrates stay at zero. But interestingly, the bio pellet consumption has all but stopped, and have not had to replenish the reactor for almost a year now. I am even considering stopping it, just to see what would happen to my nitrates. Once the nitrates were under control, I also added GFO to bring down my phosphates. That was with my 3 canister DIY reactor as shown earlier in this thread. It took another 6 months or so for the phosphates to come down (were over 1.0) to zero. But finally had my tank down to zero phosphates and nitrates. And it really showed in the tank, with the detritus and algae pretty well gone completely. Of course, all along the way, I was scrubbing the rocks and vacuuming the sand. But eventually it all paid off. |
When we bought the house and inherited the SW tank system, it came with an RO (no DI) system under the kitchen sink. It also had a pressure storage tank, which meant you always had a a few gallons of ready made RO water, and a faucet upstairs for household use. And a line ran downstairs to the sump room for the SW tank use.
However, the RO system was not owned, and we had to pay $30+ a month to Canadian Springs to maintain it (change filters, etc). Well, after being on Canreef and searching around on the internet, I soon discovered there was a better way, ie. install and maintain your own. I bought this used RO/DI from a local Canreefer, and turns out, it is a pretty good system. http://www.airwaterice.com/product/1...r-100-GPD.html http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...psee7f4c46.jpg It is 75 gpd, has an Auto Shut Off valve and I have an inline dual TDS meter giving after RO and after DI readings. It also has a pressure gauge. I retained the pressure storage tank and separate RO only feed for upstairs use and drinking water. Here is a pic of the RO faucet on the kitchen sink. http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9d6d15cf.jpg So I am pretty happy with my RO/DI system. |
Curious to see how the tank is incorporated into the kitchen. Can you post a shot of the whole tank? Nice work on rejuvenating a 10 year old nutrient sink.
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Sure, here is a pic of that part of the kitchen.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...psf98d9798.jpg |
there's the money shot! why the heck were you holding out? looks awesome.
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Haha, it was coming.... Was trying to catch up on history first.... More to come, and eventually more FTS and in-tank coral shots.
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I replaced a bunch of T5 bulbs shortly after we moved in, and a year later was facing another $3 -350 to do it again. At that time, LEDs were really being hyped, especially the Radions. I didn't like the cost, but they sounded good with all the control, and success people were having with growing corals. So when J&L put them on sale on Boxing Day (2011), I jumped on the bandwagon and bought 3 of them for my tank.
But how do I fit them into my enclosed tank canopy, with only 9 inches of room between the ceiling and the top of the tank? I didn't like any of the hanging options that were for sale and wasn't getting a lot of good ideas with my internet searches. What I really wanted was some kind of sliding rail attachment. Then I found this at Home Depot. It was almost too perfect, and cheap, too. And in the electrical dept, of all places. http://www.homedepot.ca/product/wire...l-ivory/911637 http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9ff2d358.jpg I cut them to size, drilled holes and mounted the rail sliders to the Radion fixtures (using the supplied eye bolts), and the channels to my canopy ceiling. http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9659d041.jpg http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1ee8ac4c.jpg http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1c4e5b9c.jpg With the channel and railings, the fixtures can be adjusted fore and aft for lighting preference, and can be easily removed for cleaning. http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...psdbb7cd22.jpg So, that took care of that. I later added another tank downstairs and used the same lights and mounting system. |
Pumps
A couple of years ago, I bought a Coralife DC5800 Wavemaker pump set with controller. They are 2 pumps at 2900 gph each and all the pulse and wave making options with the controller.
And yes, it is the much hated Coralife brand. But they were less than 1/2 the price of one Ecotech MP40, and came with a lifetime warranty. They did come with suction cups instead of magnets, but interestingly the Koralia magnets fit them perfectly. And I just happened to have a couple from some older defunct Koralias, so that is what I used. Also you can buy the Koralia magnets cheap on the internet. The Coralife pumps actually worked very well, much quieter than the MP40's, and no external pump and wires hanging outside your tank to get bumped or for kids to fiddle with. I bought a second set of these Coralife pumps last year when I set up my downstairs tank..., again, because they were the best buy at the time and was happy with the performance of my first ones. I do have to mention, though, that I had a problem with one of my first pumps, with some bushing wear. So this was going to be a test of their warranty and customer service. I emailed them, and after verifying my purchase info, they promptly sent out a brand new set of pumps right to my home, with no delivery or other cost. I didn't even have to send back the old ones. So I certainly have no problem with their customer service. Then just this summer, I bought some Jebao WP40 pumps, and added 2 more of these to my upstairs tank. So with the Coralife and Jebao pumps, I now have about 12,000 gph flow using the turbulent modes in my 6 foot 100 gallon tank. I think my SPS really like it, though. The pump controllers all have light sensors, and at night, the flow is dialed down, so the fish and corals can get a rest. I do like the Jebao pumps better, though, and not just because of the price. Because they are similar to the Tunze design, the flow direction can be more easily adjusted to better suit your rock design and coral placement. |
whoa, the tank looks awesome there! Great Full Room Shot ! I was waiting for that shot too haha.
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I have seen it in person and it is great and looks like getting greater
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Thanks, guys. But yeah, never would have planned to put a tank in a kitchen. And most wives would probably never allow it. However, this one fits in nicely there in front of the island counter. And gets a lot of attention where it is.
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Downstairs tank
Once I got the upstairs tank nutrient problem under control, it was time to start thinking about SPS corals. I'd been drooling over many of the TOTM and FTS pics here on Canreef and RC for some time, and knew what I wanted. But first I had to rearrange some rocks and make room for new corals.
So I figured the easiest way to do that is set up another tank downstairs and move some of my old corals down there, as well as some of the fish. I also bought another 100 lbs of marco rock, which I let cycle for a couple months first. I spread these around in both tanks, mixing with the old live rock. http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...psae44219c.jpg Home Depot had a clearance sale on a bunch of modular cabinets, and used those to build a stand as well as a little kitchenette with a sink right across from my sump room. Even used their laminate counters, so everything matched. And I have lots of storage space now for all my stuff. The tank is an old 130 g Hagen that I picked up cheap. I got a couple holes drilled in the back, and built 2 overflows around them. The sump room is right behind the back, so it was easy to plumb it in. Initially, the tank ran with its own sump and skimmer (my old beckett). I even used the old water from the upstairs tank with water changes, to save on salt costs. But I only had 1 chiller, so in the summer, I plumbed both tanks together using 1 sump, to cool them both. It also simplified maintenance. I did have to deal with higher phosphates for a while with the combined tanks, because previously only the upstairs tank was running with GFO. I still don't have my phosphates down to zero, and did have a bit of an algae outbreak in the upstairs tank. But things are getting under control again now, and corals are all good. |
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Hey Walter great looking setup , would really like to drop by sometime to see it in person. I'm in Langley as well. cheers Laurie
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Reef Husbandry Practices
Quarantine for new fish: After a few newbie hard lessons in the beginning, I set up a QT for new fish. Initially, this tank was connected as a refugium to my sump, and then disconnected when in use as a QT. I use the hyposalinity routine, and have had great success with acclimating new fish including some more finicky Butterfly fish such as Copperbands and Pearlscales. The entire QT process usually takes 2 or 3 months for me. Here is a good article on the benefits of hypo.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/6/fish Corals: I dip all new frags in either Revive or RPS. In some cases I also QT them for at least a week or two. This gives me a chance to ensure no eggs are transferred, and do more than one dip. And with RPS, it is necessary to QT with a carbon bag in your tank to absorb any remaining dip from the coral. I also break off the frag from the plug, except in a few cases where that may not be practical. Again, that is where the QT is important in case there are some eggs on the plug or rock/rubble. Water changes: I do a 20% change every 3 weeks on average. I use Instant Ocean most of the time, but have used more expensive brands in the past. I do have a few buckets of Salinity sitting in my storage room that I may start using soon. I use a DIY ATO connected directly to my RO/DI output to keep my sump level constant. Dosing: I auto dose Seachem Reef Buffer (for alk) and Seachem Calcium Advantage. I manually dose Magnesium as needed (only had to do it once so far). I manually dose Brightwell MB7 every 2 or 3 days, which prevents cyano outbreaks. Bio pellets: I run a UF20 Vertex reactor using Vertex pro-bio pellets. That worked great and brought down my nitrates from a high of 100 ppm to zero. Once the nitrates were zero, the consumption of the bio pellets also really slowed, and have not had to add bio pellets for almost a full year now. GFO and Carbon: I run these in my own DIY reactor as described earlier in this journal. I change GFO about every 2 months, and carbon every 4 months. I do stir them up at least once every month though. My phosphate testing tells me when the GFO has run out. Testing: I use API for Ca, KH, and nitrates. I use Salifert for Mg, and a digital Hanna Checker for phosphates. Ca and dKH are tested every 2 - 4 days, and I adjust my auto doser (Apex controller) if necessary. Phosphates are tested about once a week, although less often when they are near zero. Tank salinity is tested after every water change with a refractometer. Additives: Sponge Power. Some Kent products, incl Trace Elements, Phytoplankton, Coral Accent and Coral Vite. And occasionally some Purple Up. Temperature: I run a chiller and a heater to keep my temps between 77.6 and 78.8. Cleaning: Tank sides about every 3 or 4 days. I use a toothbrush and turkey baster on my rocks as required. Lately have been doing that about once a week in a few spots on my upstairs tank due to a little algae outbreak. Skimmer: I have a Vertex In-280 and the neck and container need to be cleaned every 4 or 5 days. I have never cleaned the pump or bottom part of the skimmer (in use for almost 3 years now). It is powered by my Apex controller, which includes a delayed start up of 5 min after a power outage to prevent overflowing because of a high water level in the sump. Feeding: I feed 3 or 4 times a day, if I am around. Pellets (2 kinds) and freeze dried mysis are the staples, with occasional treats of frozen PE Mysis and Pacifica Plankton. Also some nori sometimes for my Yellow Tang and Foxface. If I am away for a few days (very frequent in the summer), I don't feed my fish. If I am away for a week or more (about 3 or 4 times a year), I will set up my auto feeder to dispense a small amount of pellets in my upstairs tank. The bottom tank fish don't get anything. So far, the fish have all been happy (but hungry) when I returned. I don't trust anyone else to feed them (incl family). The longest stretch so far without food has been 3 weeks, and the fish were all fine. The Butterfly fish were a little thinner, but they soon fattened up again. And the Foxface was a real pig for food for a while. Remote monitoring: I have my Apex set up on the internet to view and adjust parameters (incl dosing). I also have a Foscam IP camera set up on the internet to keep an eye on my fish when I am gone. Logging: I keep a manual log of all my tank activities incl testing parameters, changes, and anything to do with the corals and fish. |
Nice tank!! And great write up!!
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I've seen Walter's tanks and his corals & they are awesome. Will have to come by next time I visit Laurie to see what's new. Great writeup. I don't think I could go 3 weeks without feeding my fish.:wink:
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Thanks, Anthony, and you will have to come by again for a visit, and bring Laurie.
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Tank covers and filter sock
I have acrylic lids for my upstairs tank, and lexan covers for the downstairs one. Lexan is better because it doesn't warp, and you can use thinner materials (1/16"). Also, it has very good light transmission, which is why they use it in commercial greenhouses.
I know there is some controversy about gas exchange with tank covers. I have no way of measuring this scientifically. I do have lots of flow in my tank and the return lines have flared nozzles at the surface, so lots of water movement at the surface. And of course a skimmer, and open sump. The covers are far from airtight, too, with openings for lines, feeding, etc. I do have a pH probe with my Apex, but so far haven't hooked it up. I do expect pH to fall at night (as a result of more C02), but that happens in every tank from what I understand. What I should do is install my probe and look at my daily pH graphs (Apex monitor), both with the covers on and off, and see if there is a difference. My fish and corals are all happy, so can't tell from that. I have used covers in the past in my FW days, and again, fish were not affected. I know of no other adverse effects. Only have to clean them every 2 or 3 months, and no salt creep. The benefits of covers include fish not jumping out, tanks stay warmer longer if there is a power outage, no splashing of water causing salt creep, and less evaporation causing humidity problems. I have Radion LEDs in my tanks (for a couple years now), and they have worked flawlessly, and it may be in part to being more protected from the salt water. Also, for your interest, here are a couple pics of a 7" sock hangar I made out of a scrap piece of lexan. I like working with lexan, as it is easy to cut and shape/form similar to a thin sheet of metal, but is incredibly strong. Bend a flange wherever you need rigidity. Works perfectly. http://www.canreef.com/photopost/dat...edium/0041.JPG http://www.canreef.com/photopost/dat...edium/0112.JPG |
+1 on the lexan. Great stuff for many applications. Light weight, shatter resistant and even good in higher temperatures. You make me want to build a Lexan cover for my sump. But I always hit a road block every time I go to home depot... super expensive especially for larger sheets.
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Some recent pics
I was playing around with my new camera (Olympus TG-2) the other day, so thought I would post a few pics of my tank as it looks now. As you can see, I still have a lot to learn about photography, and all critique and tips are welcome. These were all taken outside the tank (camera can shoot underwater) without a tripod, and the pumps were not turned off. I wish I could de-highlight my coralline back glass at bit more, too. And please try to ignore all the algae. I am still fighting to get my phosphates back to zero.
The SPS are all (except the Purple Cross) less than one year old, grown from small frags. http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps03c1651f.jpg http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps20bc20de.jpg http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps04b4b9f3.jpg http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...psd8f55ad8.jpg http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...psf4b6d897.jpg That's my large Bristle Star saying hi... http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...psa08e7f0b.jpg http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2b1ac156.jpg http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4a45456e.jpg http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6c6dff60.jpg http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0337eebd.jpg Some serious warfare happening with these guys. But too tight to get in there to prune... http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6b14e60a.jpg http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...psfb10fe30.jpg http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2c2eb9fb.jpg http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps335ebfe1.jpg http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...pscb7d30ed.jpg I recently sold this little gem. http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...psc4e1a391.jpg Frag rack in the back corner is a little bare these days, but will be pruning more soon... http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0fe4363f.jpg |
Tank is lookin awesome walter. What is the yellow one called above bird of paradise? Id love a frag of that when you have one.
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Thanks Nick. That's a Yellow Birdsnest, and it could use a bit of pruning in a couple spots.
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Coral ID?
Just wondering if anyone can help ID this coral. Its colour is similar to my Pink Lemonade which is just below it. The base is the same lime green, but the tips are pink, and polyps are not as shaggy. I like the colour though, which contrasts nicely with the adjoining Tenuis, Cali Tort and Purple Cross.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps00e850fd.jpg http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...psa3e770fc.jpg |
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