jdm01's New 90 Gallon

[jdm01]

Hello all. I have been trolling these forums for a while now. So many of you have been so helpful, that I thought it would be nice to show you what the product looks like after about 45 days. It is not the world's greatest reef, but it is a start. Criticisms are welcome. I frequently fall short on creativity. Following are a couple of pic's at the 45 day mark. I will put more in my album before the night is over - I hope.

View 1 of Mid-April


View 2 of Mid-April


Thoughts, comments, and suggestions for improvement are welcome. I have been doing freshwater on and off for over 25 years. This is my first big project after a 29 gallon that I started back in October.

[Ti]

looks JDM

[szwab]

looking good might want to make the rock work a bit looser to promote better water flow.
But all in all looks nice

[jdm01]

I am still trying to get the hang of the photo posting. I am going to try this and see what it looks like. If all works well, I will use this thread to track the progress of my new 90 gallon reef setup. I have a small 29g that will serve as the frag tank for this one, but this is my first large reef project (although I am already thinking forward to a much larger project).

The basics will follow this thread once I am sure the pictures are working correctly.

The following two pictures show what the tank looked like after 2 weeks. I only had about 1/2 the live rock in at this point (around 50 lbs or so).

View 1


View 2


By the end of week 3 I had added the balance of the live rock at least for now. I am at 116 lbs of live rock. I may add more later, but this should last for a while.

View 1


View 2


By the end of week 5 I had added my clean up crew and a few small chromis (3 bumblebee and 2 green).

View 1


View 2


I will detail some of the equipment in the next posting as well as an accounting of some of the trials and tribulations encountered to date. As always, feel free to comment and/or critique. Hopefully someone will get something useful out of this thread.

[PatMayo]

What are you using for substrate? It looks pretty coarse. I'm concerned that it may trap, errrr, well crap.

Good start. What type of powerheads are those? It appears they put the water out in a flat stream, is that so?

How much flow are they? What types of corals do you plan?

Regards,

Pat

[jdm01]

Okay, so I have learned the picture posting thing. The trick is not to delete any pictures from photobucket. Here is an update on the tank including what is being used, what critters exist in the environment and my goals for the tank.

Because I am new to this hobby I want to focus on LPS with some softies. Long-term, I am not sure how well the softies will like the environment. If I am successful with the LPS, I may try to advance to SPS when I feel the time is right.

Equipment
The tank is a corner drilled Marineland 90 gallon. I have installed a ProClear Aquatic Systems sump with a built in protein skimmer and a Mag Drive 500 gph utility pump supplying the return. I have also installed a Coralife Turbo-Twist 3x UV sterilizer. The lighting is a Corlife AquaLight Pro 2x150W metal halide, 2x96W true blue actinic, and 3 lunar blue moon lamps.

Environment
I have used a combination of live and base rock totaling 116 lbs so far (I may eventually end up as high as ~130 lbs). I used marine sand, crushed coral, and puka shells for the substrate. Additional water flow comes from 3 Rio 1700 power heads rated at 642 gph and 2 Rio 800 power heads rated at 200 gph. This may be my first equipment change out. I may want to go to Seio's for all the reasons you find elsewhere on ReefCentral.

Critters
The clean up crew consists of 10 turbo snails, 12 astria snails, and 25 hermit crabs - a lot I know, but I had a lot of algae with which to contend. I have 3 bumblebee chromis, 2 green chromis, and 1 six line wrasse. A lot to start I know, but the water parameters have stayed excellent.

Corals
Finally, I have added 1 nepthea, 2 featherdusters, and 1 finger leather as soft corals. I have added 1 favia (moon coral) LPS and a plate coral.

Sorry for the length of this one, but I wanted to build a good base from which to provide periodic updates.

Thanks again for all of your advice. It has made this what it is so far.

[Fast Fred]

Are you saying it's a crap trap Pat?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Tank looks great so far. What are your plans?

[jdm01]

Pat, the powerheads will need to be changed out soon. They are all Rio's. The 2 smaller Rio's move water behind the rock structure. That was a huge mistake. I am looking for a good source to determine a route for corals. Ihave heard to start with soft/lps and then advance to sps. Any thoughts and/or additional sources of information are welcome.

PS - you and bertoni in particular have provided me much advice so far and I thought you deserved a chance to see the work in progress.

[Fast Fred]

Oops, you beat me to it with your post. Nice set up so far.

[jdm01]

Pic's of the corals will come, but in the meantime I forgot to mention the colt coral with button polyps that I purchased this weekend. Is the colt considered LPS or soft, same question for the button polyps and the plate coral purchased earlier as well?

[jdm01]

Okay, so as a summary here is where I stand:

Fish
3 bumblebee chromis
2 green chromis (one had to be rescued from the overflow)
1 six line wrasse

Soft Coral
2 Feather Dusters
1 Finger Leather
1 Nepthea

LPS Coral
1 Favia (Moon)
1 Pagoda (Tubinaria Peltata)
1 Plate Coral

Unknown
1 Cladielly with Button Polyps

Here is a picture of the tank so far:



I am getting ready to order the Seio 1100 and an MJ 1200 with Hydor Flo deflector this evening. Questions:

1. How many of the Rio 1700's should I remove?

2. Where should I place the new powerheads?

3. Should I leave the Rio 600's pointing behind the rockwork?

I am going to cut out the phytoplankton for now to see if I can get rid of the light layer of green algae. Any other suggestions, criticisms, recommendations?

[jdm01]

The tank has a light layer of green algae growing on the rockwork. The water parameters seem to be in good shape. Any thoughts on the source? I have 10 turbo snails, should I add 5 more?

With 2,500-3,000 gph of water flow in the tank, will the softies struggle? I want to focus on LPS anyway, just curious.

[mg426]

That is some awesome rockwork.

[jdm01]

I have added a few LPS and softies to the tank and continue to add more. My concern is the calcium level. I am using a red sea test kit. Right now the calcium level is testing at around 300 ppm. I know it should be around 400 ppm. I have been adding Kent Marine 2 part calcium buffer supplement. Should I go to daily until the number comes up or should I try something else? I missed a water change last week but have been doing approximately 10% weekly water changes from the start.

[PatMayo]

"Are you saying it's a crap trap Pat?"

Fred, that's exactly what I am saying. You put it so eloquently though.

There are several things I would do here that will make your experience far more enjoyable.

Before you get any more corals you need to get your Calcium, Alkalinity and Magnesium dosing under control. From your descriptions it is in dire straits. As well your PH needs to be accurately monitored. I use a Pinpoint Ph meter. I recommend the same.

#1. Get yourself some good test kits for Alkalinity, Calcium and magnesium. (PH also) I recommend Salifert, they are easy to use and accurate.
#2. Figure out how which way makes the most sense to dose. I use Randy's 2 part, #1 formula, because it has a tendency to raise ph and my ph has a tendency to run low. Besides it is an inexpensive way to treat your tank for these elements.
I use a commercial magnesium product because I am unable to find the "good stuff" Randy recommends for the magnesium. I use Bionic ESV to raise the magnesium. I do not recommend buffers. They are only a temporary fix. A 2 part system like ESV B-Ionic will work as well but you have to spend big bucks. Randy's is cheaper.
#3. I would spend some real quality time in the chemistry forum so you can learn how to dose you tank and keep the parameters straight. This is the point where most folks get lazy and end up having a tank full of diseased and disintegrating corals. This is very very important in the husbandry routine for a successful tank.
#4. I think the algae issue is because of flow. (overfeeding and no skimmer may contribute) You need to get the flow up. Seio's will work or lots of MJ1200.
#5. Do you have a skimmer? If not this is key to long term success. I would get one if you can.
#6 I am concerned that the substrate you chose may become a "crap trap" after time and create real nitrate problems for your corals. Especially if you don't have a good skimmer.

I will leave some links for you that are informative and will help. I can't stress enough the importance to get some flow and your calcium, mag and alk under control. Now is the critical time when you should be getting some good coralline algae to start growing. It will only grow with good water parameters.

Great start, you rock work looks real cool and you should be able to get some real interesting effects as you introduce the corals. But take my advice and get some things in line first before you proceed. I would hate to see one of those "oh no everything is dieing threads from you.

Thanks,

Pat

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2003/chem.htm

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...t2003/chem.htm

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=147010

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/rhf/index.php

[jdm01]

Do I still need the test kit if I get the monitor? I am guessing the answer is no.

The Randy’s you mention at the end of point 2, is that different than at the beginning of point #2?

I have cut back on the feeding. I have a ProClear Aquatics wet/dry sump with a built in skimmer that has been skimming quite a bit for a couple of weeks now. I have been threatening to do it, but I am placing the order for the Seio’s. I decided to go with the 1500’s instead of the 1100’s and keep the 2 Rio 600’s pushing water behind the rock work.

Is it just the puka shells that need to come off the top. The bottom is marine sand (live) and crushed coral. The coralline is starting to grow. My biggest concern is the calcium. Is the Randy’s you mention in point 2 better than the Kent Marine I have been using?

Thanks for the links. Looks like a lot of new reading for me.

It looks like my shopping list is PinPoint Ph Monitor with Probe, Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium test kits and Randys 2 part #1 formula. If the magnesium is low I will order the Bionic ESV. Should I go ahead and order the Salifert tests for nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia and just forget the quick dip strips completely?

Thanks again for all of your help Pat!!! Your advice has been much appreciated so far.

[jdm01]

Also, by reducing the 3 Rio's to 2 Seio's should probably help with water temp? I am assuming my water temp will drop a little bit with the change out.

[PatMayo]

Hey there John. Randy's mix is the same in both points. Sorry didn't mean to confuse.

If you are using a 2 part additive it should be ok. I am unfamiliar with what you are using. If it is simply a buffer and not a 2 part additive, that is not good. The good part to using Randy's formula is that it saves a bunch of money and is very easy to make.

I don't know if I would invest the money in the ammonia or nitrite kit. Once you tank has cycled and I take it your has as long as you don't overload your tank by adding too many fish at a time or having a massive die off, you typically will not measure for ammonia or nitrites again. Well maybe not ever again but very infrequently. You will want to have a good nitrate kit so that you can keep an eye on those.

Since my tank never really went through a cycle because I used curred live rock and rock from my 46 bowfront that was well curred I have never tested for ammonia or nitrites. Although I have tested periodically for nitrates. I am happy to say zero at this point. My tank is 89 days old now.

One other thing John that you may want to invest in especially if you are having any algae problems and is a Phospate test kit. Salifert makes a fine one and once again easy to use. No test strip stuff.

Anyway, I think you are on your way. I have found that just being real patient and in no hurry will pay huge dividends. In fact I was going to start putting corals in my tank at the end of the month but I am going to start dosing Kalkwasser and I fear I will have some problems keeping the Alkalinity and Calcium just right. (As well this will raise Ph so I will have to watch that also) So I have been waiting for 3 months now. The tank currently only has 2 clowns in it, 2 emerald crabs, about 5 or 6 hermits, and about 7 snails. Virtually zero algea.

Anyway, my point is that I am putting off the corals until I get the new dosing routine figured out. I don't want to be one of those I told you about.

Fewer powerheads will mean less heat, no doubt.

I don't know if you have had the chance but you can see my tank here.

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=780206

You will have to go to the second or third page before you will see pics. I had to delete some because I ran out of space on RC. I wish they would allocate more.

Anyway,

Good luck!!

Regards,

Pat

[jdm01]

I posted this in the chemistry thread, but thought it was important enough to post here as well. I will not do this often. I am waiting on the Magnesium and phosphate test kits to show up. My water parameters as of today are:

calcium 300 ppm
Alkalinity 4.28
KH 12.0
Salinity 1.026
Temp 82
pH 8.4
Nitrate 0

This are all based on the new liquid tests I have purchased. I am trying to cobble something together quickly so as to get better readings.

As you can tell; calcium is low, alkalinity and KH are a little high. I am still studying but am wondering how to lower alk and KH. Is this interfering with the calcium movement? Will water changes cure the alk/KH issues, or is there something else I should foucus on?

[PatMayo]

The alkalinity will fall on its own or you could do a partial water change. Corals will use calk and alk. So it will fall. I would use something like Kents Turbo Calcium to bring the calcium level up to where it needs to be. Once you get it to the level it should be, I would do it in 2 dosing's, then you would want to add the same amount of a 2 part additive. Calcium once you get it were it needs to be will move very slowly compared to alkalinity.

I would get a 2 part dosing system decided on whether it is Randy's or one of the 2 part systems like B-Ionic. Once you decide what you are going to dose you will want to get each up the where it should be then dose equal amounts each day to keep it there. You will have to play with the dose to get it were the levels are replenished based on the usage.

I am readjusting mine now. I raised it to 120 ml per day of randy's 2 part but my calcium went too high so I backed off to 90 ml per day.

My alkalinity gets used far faster than the calcium so that is why I am going to start dosing kalkwasser.

Magnesium is the third ingredient that is very important. Once you get the test kit and some magnesium test it and get it to the right level.

Here is a great calculator to figure doses of all kinds of additives. I use it all the time.

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

I hope it all makes sense. It took me awhile before I figured it out and I still don't think I have it very well. Still working on it.

Regards,

Pat

[jdm01]

Calcium is still low, but I am going to the LFS tomorrow to pick up some Kent Marine Turbo Calcium. Hopefully that works. Today I changed out the three Rio 1700's for 2 Seio 1100's. The instructions, for the mechanically un-inclined, are pitiful, but now that I seem to have them figured out I wish I would have done them a long time ago. Thanks PatMayo and Bertoni!!!

[jdm01]

P.S. - Aside from the calcium issue and the light layer of green algae, the water is crystal clear. I am cutting back on feeding, so that should help.

[jdm01]

Hopefully I can catch a couple of pic's and post them tomorrow to see what people think about the powerhead placement.

[jdm01]

I installed the new Seio M100 powerheads last evening. The stream is certainly not as harsh. The Seio's are not quite as adjustable as I thought they might be, but they are light years ahead of the Rio's. I will probably move the plate coral in the lower left, it appears to be getting a lot of current. I got the magnesium and phosphate kits so that I can complete my testing. Then I will use the Kent Turbo Calcium to boost the calcium level. Scary part is I flunked high school chemistry. My tank room looks like a small chemistry lab now - UUGGGHHHH!!!!



As always, suggestions are welcome.

Thanks again to PatMayo, Bertoni, and Avi.

[PatMayo]

Not to worry, it will click one day in your head and then you will feel like half a chemist.

The tank is looking good!!

I just started dosing Kalkwasser so I have a whole bunch more learning to do. Seems like I am starting all over again.

Oh well, to live is to learn right?

John if you look at my thread you will see how I mounted the power heads to mag cleaners. It makes it more adjustable and you don't have to worry about the powerheads falling into the tank and sand bottom. The suction cups well errrr, suck. After a short time they will fall. Check it out. Plus you can reconfigure the pumps to be a smaller profile in your tank.

Here is the thread

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...5&pagenumber=2


Regards,

Pat