120 All Glass Reef Ready Bare Bottom AQ Build and Progress - Page 4

Devtech · #76 08/16/2007, 01:37 PM

well the rock was going to have light, i dont like to "cooked" look when the rock is that ugly base rock color, for that i just go buy base rock which be much cheaper for me.

the tank was goign to have all the LR in the tank and running as if it had fish and corals in it, for about 3 months to make sure i have the water params correct with no spikes. i think with about 4 power heads i will be ok with the circulation, and within the 3 months i have time to find "dead" spots in the circulation..

King-Kong · #77 08/16/2007, 01:42 PM

Base rock can also contain organics that will rot and pollute your tank.

The point of "rock cooking" is to give that BB tank a proper start and drive out the organics and nutrients that can fuel high phosphates and nuissance algae.

That aside, what is on your rock right now that you are afraid of losing?

Devtech · #78 08/16/2007, 01:49 PM

well all the coraline algae thats taken over 2 years to encrust onto the rock.. im not going to use alot of rock in the new tank really, just a few huge pieces that i have extra in my 90 and move it in and the other lr i guess i can leave it in a container cooking..

King-Kong · #79 08/16/2007, 01:59 PM

If your BB is successful, it wont take anywhere close to 2 years for rock to get covered in it. Try more like 6 months.

pjpeels · #80 08/16/2007, 07:09 PM

Agreed, you should be able to grow coraline in well under two years time.

Reef Man · #81 08/17/2007, 03:47 PM

Do you have more pictures of your stand?
I am looking to build one for a tank of the same dimmensions.

Thanks.

pjpeels · #82 08/17/2007, 05:42 PM

I purchased the stand pre-built. It was about $250. US. All Glass Aquarium Pine Stand. Did not have time to build own.

I will take that as a complement though.

I can get you some more pictures though.
There are lots of good plans on RC.

pjpeels · #83 08/17/2007, 05:44 PM

and Kong, I took 5 pieces of rock out today.

I am having some computer trouble so give me some time on posting the pics.

msn711 · #84 08/17/2007, 10:28 PM

I just ordered the same tank. How tall is the pine stand? It looks like it has a center brace...true? I was planning to use my current 40br as the sump, but now I'm wondering if I'll even be able to slide it in. Would I be able to set the stand on top maybe?

Thanks for your help.

pjpeels · #85 08/18/2007, 05:24 PM

28" or so I think. I will check.

Yes the tank has a center brace. it is nice because it is only about 3" wide. it is not blocking the light. It is flimmsy though which is a cost cut on All Glass's side. It should be more solid.

I think you would need to put the sump in the stand from the top before you put the tank on the stand. You would have a problem if you ever had a problem with the sump because you would need to pull the sump out.

Unless a company comes out with a different stand design, I am going to build my own the next time around.

pjpeels · #86 08/18/2007, 05:37 PM

28" or so I think. I will check.

Yes the tank has a center brace. it is nice because it is only about 3" wide. it is not blocking the light. It is flimmsy though which is a cost cut on All Glass's side. It should be more solid.

I think you would need to put the sump in the stand from the top before you put the tank on the stand. You would have a problem if you ever had a problem with the sump because you would need to pull the sump out.

Unless a company comes out with a different stand design, I am going to build my own the next time around.

hurleycr · #87 08/20/2007, 09:59 AM

pj,

Hey there sorry just had time to reply to your PM.

Your going to want to listen to the BB guru's here they will save you lots of time and Money. TRUST ME, I figured up all the skimmers and pumps for said skimmers I could be running a BK 500 ext. with the money I have waisted. Not that I'm saying go buy a $5000 skimmer mind you. Just a point to make.

I would look at finding a diffrent type of cable fastner as the ones you have there will rust in little time. The reason I know is thats what I use to use. I have the exact tank you have, and wished I had it set up like this prior to the tear down and upgrade to the 210. HOwever it looks like yours is a bit higher than mine so you may be safe.

I would think that your going to want two vortechs for the flow options your going to have now that the new drivers are out. Excuse me just a moment....

KONG DID YOU SEE THAT THE CONTROLLERS ARE OUT......bet your happy as a monkey on a tower....

anyway, I think you going to want it, however your more than likely not going to need it right away so wait till you do need it. I would open that rock structure up more and get less rock on your glass. You want the water to surround the rock on all sides as much as possible.

Yes I agree with KONG and some others that I'm sure will chime in later. I have no experience with this comment, however after two trillion hours spent reading I have to agree with the theories stated by KONG. Less rock = More Flow, Big Bad Daddy skimmer = nutrient export, nutrient export = stable better parameters (with good husbandry), stable better parameters = success with SPS. That is for as long as your not introducing more nutrients to the water.

TEST your water, Test your fresh water going in, TEst your Salt Water going in, TEst your water in your tank. TEST TEST TEST. Meaning that the algae problem you got going on there, yes it can be hidden by mexican crabs. However it is growing for a reason, find the reason and eliminate that reason. It took me a really long time to understand this, and it took a few seasoned memebers here to beat it into my head. That adding a CLEAN UP CREW so to speak is really just hiding the underlying problem. Whether it be underrated equipment, syphon more out, Water changes, bad DI filters (which was usually my issue).... whatever. I say this ...... You pay to much money for this hobby, everyone does. So yes clean your tank of that algae as fast as possible with as little money invested as possible (meaning don't buy 200 crabs for a 2"x 2" piece of algae). However, realize it will come back sooner or later if the same circumstances are given again. So find the problem and get rid of that problem.

Lastly, I think your skimmer will be fine for now however you may want to look at upgrading when you begin to increase your bioload, and to which your going to want around I would think 15 - 25 fish. But let someone else direct you with this that is a blind estimate taken from many diffrent threads.

I wouldn't recommend filter socks, or filter blocks, or any of that mess, just extra maint. on your part down the road. Set your skimmer for a not clear green, but clearish brownish watery skimmate. As Kong stated above you want to rip the nutrients out as fast as possible, before they are converted.

Coming from a guy who had a Calcium REactor on a lightly stocked 120 gallon ........ TOTALLY NOT NEEDED.......... Highly recommend two part, or going with a KALK reactor which is the route I took. Just make sure it is a quality designed one, put it on a controller, and use with top off water.

AS for my tank look for a build thread really soon....I've been working like crazy and havn't had much time. Some small details are below.
I plan on have somewhere around +30 to 50 fish and inverts. In my 210 gallon I will have somewhere along the lines of maybe 100 pounds maybe less as this is just an estimate of LR.

My skimmer will be rated somewhere between 300-800 gallons (the ReeFlo was the winner, sorry KONG just can't trust that beckett I'm gone to much, I really wanted to be a beckett guy I just can afford a big flood).

Holy mother that was long........ Did know I had that much to say..... Otherwise good luck I'm in the middle of a hairy situation myself. I will post many pic.s later. You can check the gallery out if you wanna see the pics I've had time to format for RC.

Hope your successfull.

hurleycr · #88 08/20/2007, 10:19 AM

O to mention,

if melev is suggesting something to do with a sump (not that he can't on other stuff) I'd listen. If you havn't look up his web site and take a look at the DIY sump designs. I have refrenced his site everytime I have built a sump. ( going on number 6)

melev · #89 08/20/2007, 12:20 PM

Is that because of upgrades or do they keep blowing out?

I'm really surprised to see these posts about using less LR, but perhaps in a low nutrient environment with lots of flow and barebottom applications, it works well.

milin · #90 08/20/2007, 12:29 PM

love the hood you build, looks amazing gj

hurleycr · #91 08/20/2007, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by melev
Is that because of upgrades or do they keep blowing out?

I'm really surprised to see these posts about using less LR, but perhaps in a low nutrient environment with lots of flow and barebottom applications, it works well.

Well the first one I didn't make a really good seam on the bottom and it had one little bubble that kept leaking and it drove me nuts. So I took a hammer to it to vent my frustrations.

The rest were equipment upgrades, I can get acrylic pretty cheap here so it wasn't a big deal. I don't like having a sump take up all the space in my cabinet so I usually built one for what ever type of skimmer I was using at the time. I can get a 4x8 sheet for around 75 bucks. Which I can usually get two sumps out of, if I use some of the cheaper stuff you can get from Depot or Lowes for the baffles.

The LR while i'm in the middle of the upgrade I played with my rock in my old tank trying to get a feel for stuff on how I want the new tank. What I noticed it by making a really open aquascape the flow is more dyanmic throughout the tank. With my vortechs I can watch the water being push and pulled all around the rock, keeping it swept from deitrus. Which helps get it to the skimmer, and keeps it from settling in the rock. This is at least the way I understand it. I'm sure there is some science in there as well.

King-Kong · #92 08/20/2007, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by melev
I'm really surprised to see these posts about using less LR, but perhaps in a low nutrient environment with lots of flow and barebottom applications, it works well.

If there's nothing to break down and process, why waste all that space with a filtering mechanism.

Also, the general notion of how much LR is needed, regardless of substrate, has been pushed a long by the $$$ side of this hobby.. not the practical side.

melev · #93 08/20/2007, 12:49 PM

While that may be true, I do believe it has helped those that are new to the hobby as it is a little more forgiving. Once you have more experience, you can take on more challenging setups (such as your own) and have a successful system. As long as the water parameters come back looking good, it's obvious to me that your method works.

King-Kong · #94 08/20/2007, 01:07 PM

Well, the big thing im trying to figure out right now is which system is actually more of a challenge

I contend that, when using proper hardware (which in total is less than typical systems), BB tanks are easier to maintain for the novice.

I can't say I'm sold on the above, but it's what i'm trying to find out.

For the sake of full disclosure: I have a 30g mixed reef in my dining room that has a 4-5" DSB... but it has no skimmer/fuge/carbon/gfo... but it houses some monti digis, caps, and an assortment of softies and LPS. I light it with t5s. Basically, it is NOTHING like my larger 90g SPS system.

hurleycr · #95 08/20/2007, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by King-Kong
Well, the big thing im trying to figure out right now is which system is actually more of a challenge

I contend that, when using proper hardware (which in total is less than typical systems), BB tanks are easier to maintain for the novice.

I can't say I'm sold on the above, but it's what i'm trying to find out.

For the sake of full disclosure: I have a 30g mixed reef in my dining room that has a 4-5" DSB... but it has no skimmer/fuge/carbon/gfo... but it houses some monti digis, caps, and an assortment of softies and LPS. I light it with t5s. Basically, it is NOTHING like my larger 90g SPS system.

so are you saying that you prefer the challenge?

King-Kong · #96 08/20/2007, 02:24 PM

I prefer sitting in front of something that looks like a slice of the ocean, with minimal work and cost

That's what im after :P

Reef Man · #97 08/20/2007, 05:11 PM

Sure pjpeels, please send me that pictures of your stand.

Thanks !!

hurleycr · #98 08/20/2007, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by King-Kong
I prefer sitting in front of something that looks like a slice of the ocean, with minimal work and cost

That's what im after :P

PJ sorry for the mini hi jack.....

Hey how's that new skimmer doing.... I just placed my order today for the new ReeFlo. I can't wait.

King-Kong · #99 08/20/2007, 07:06 PM

Actually, the skimmer is kicking serious butt now because I am feeding a new food.

I created my own mix using pe mysis, cyclopeeze, and a blend of raw octopus, squid, shrimp, clams, mussels.

The food has a good balance in it because my skimming never shuts down.

So, im not spending 6-8 hours each day with reduced skimming. Skimming has improved a great deal.

I'm doing about 1 quart of slightly darker tea colored skimmate a day.

It was taking much longer to do that before.

Also, that Reeflo should be crazy. The NW on those things is impressive, isnt it?

hurleycr · #**100** 08/20/2007, 08:46 PM

Yeah i'd say so have you seen the video of that thing!!!! ITs producing some frothy stuff.

The guys a Premium Aquatics are really diggin it, I spoke with them today before I placed my order and their quite stoked about its performance. Its getting comparable measurements as the BK 400 and 500. As far as air intake and water processed. I think I made a good decision.

I was so close to getting a beckett, but ultimately i would be spending the same money and have to tinker with it and Im away from home to much to keep it skimming properly.