Steve's 228G ... my reeftank 2.0

[Buccaneer]

Greetings reefers ... it has been a few years since I last had a reeftank. (almost 10yrs actually) last tank was a 330G inwall DIY wood tank ..


had it up and running for about 5 years till we decided to move to the house we are in now. Setup a temp 270G in the unfinished basement but because it was unfinished we rarely went down to see it so I sold it all off (except for rock, metal halides, pumps etc)

So the new tank is a 228G starfire

Due to space under the staircase I could only go 6 feet long and just got it installed in the wall yesterday ... starfire glass on 2 sides ... changed center overflow to side overflow ... will have black panel to cover right side when I am not in the fishroom





equiptment

228G starfire tank - 72Wx30.5HX24D side overflow
fishroom 12ft X 4 ft
sink
RO filter
various pumps from previous tanks
tank drilled for closed loops and eductors
4 X 400W metal halides (may use 2 or 3 on this tank)
electronic ballasts (used to run T12 but may switch to T5)
curve 9 skimmer
40G quarantine tank
50G species only/chaeto tank plumbed into main source


Have a couple of small sumps but will likely have one built more suitable for this tank

Bleach/vinegar of rock from old tank to start tomorrow ... will take several weeks

Pictures of progress to follow ...

It will be a slow progress due to other projects ongoing in the house (theatre, bsmt bath/steam room and drywall/finish/heat garage)

stay tuned

[Buccaneer]

Doing a manufactured stone surround on front drywall area between doorway and black acoustic panel covering doorway access to fishroom

[andestang]

It's been 10 yrs already, wow how time goes by. This looks like its going to be a nice build.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by andestang

It's been 10 yrs already, wow how time goes by. This looks like its going to be a nice build.

Hey Mike ... long time no see

[Buccaneer]

So I had a bunch of rock from the old tank that I had stored outside for the last decade and after reading about phosphate issues with dead rock I decided to do all methods to clean the rocks

1) vinegar soak - 1 week
2) bleach soak - 1 week
3) acid soak - 12 hours (that ended this morning)
4) fresh water soak - started today and will go for a week
5) salt water curing - for a few weeks - add skimmate for bacteria along with heater and powerhead - covered so no light gets in

[asylumdown]

looks like an awesome start.

IMO adding skimmate to your freshly bleached and acid dipped rock is sort of defeating all the work you did getting them cleaned up. The bacteria will arrive no matter what you do, there's no evidence out there that says adding skimmate will either add the kinds of bacteria you want, or will speed up the cycling process in any meaningful way. It's a bit like meticulously dry-cleaning a suit then dipping it in used toilet water before you wear it.

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by asylumdown

looks like an awesome start.

IMO adding skimmate to your freshly bleached and acid dipped rock is sort of defeating all the work you did getting them cleaned up. The bacteria will arrive no matter what you do, there's no evidence out there that says adding skimmate will either add the kinds of bacteria you want, or will speed up the cycling process in any meaningful way. It's a bit like meticulously dry-cleaning a suit then dipping it in used toilet water before you wear it.

i agree with adam , i get people coming in now i bet on a weekly basis asking me for skimmate and i always have that puzzled look on my face lol


to have a bacteria free system you would have to put some serious measures in place , the process is hard to stop permanently

[Buccaneer]

Well it was a employee at Concept that suggested it oh well ... I am at least a week away from that decision but thanks for the input

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Well it was a employee at Concept that suggested it oh well ... I am at least a week away from that decision but thanks for the input

yeah i knew that hence the calls i get all the time lol ..... i argue the point all the time , we dont always see eye to eye on things and this is one for sure lol

i still have yet to have someone explain the science to me behind it but i can guarantee it wasnt me who said it lol people go and throw skimmate in their tanks but yet dont understand why?

i guess though lol

ask me my thoughts on drip acclimating!!! youll find i dont agree with the others here on that one either lol

im an old reefer though so maybe im due to be taught a lesson lol

[kien]

Great start !

Well, I'm sure there is some bacteria in skimmate, so they're not wrong, I guess