112.5 gallon build

[chavez]

Hi everyone, it's a little late to start a build thread seeing i have my tank up and running now for almost three months but here goes anyway.Hopefully ill learn a few things and see just how many mistakes i really have made! I got a 112.5 gallon tank the dimensions are
72"LX19"HX19"DX5/8" thick glass i got this used for 75 bucks so it does have some scratches in it. The sump I'm using is a 33 gallon glass sump. I have a SWC 150 series protein skimmer, it works ok but i have seen some better ones for the same money. I have a SWC return pump that moves 1000 gph. I use an ATO for my water top off this works flawless. In my sump i have bio balls which im taking out seeing how they collect all the left over food from feedings(and this really stinks after a few days).The bio balls will be replaced with small pieces of live rock. In my tank i have a 6"X6" overflow with a 1" pipe leading to my sump. I also have made a silencer from some PVC pipe and fittings it cost me 17$ compared to 1 that i could have bought for 120$. I have a 2" sand bed that's about 150LBS i used half caribsea agra-alive sand and half caribsea dry aragonite. I have about 200LBS of live rock some fiji and some tonga, but mostly Fiji seeing how expensive Tonga is it would have cost me a fortune. The lights im using is a 6' fixture with 4'9" 80watt bulbs 2 blue and 2 white 10000K. The lighting i think is maybe a bit on the small side. It took me over a year to get all my stuff together so on dec04/2010 was the big day i filled it up and turned it on. The same day i put in 2 percula clown fish. A week later i got 15 hermit crabs and 15 snails the ones that right themselves if they fall over. Then a week after that i got a yellow tang. Thats how i left my tank for the first month i did no testing and no water changes. I fed three times daily and that was it. The only test i did prefom was the salinity which is set to (1.023-1.024). It all seemed so good after the first month i started testing I use API test kits master reef and API saltwater I test for the following PH, AK/KH, Calcium, Phosphate, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Temp, and Salinity . I was so surprised that all my levels were bang on the money, I felt like a PRO but soon realized i was far from it(that part only happend in the last week). Feeling like i was untouchable i went and got some more live stock, bad idea seeing its only the second month. I got a blue line cleaner wrasse and a medium sized blue leg hermit carb. In the second month i started test once a week and doing 5%water changes i use RO water. Things still looked really good so i went out and got a magestic anemone and a medium red halloween crab This brings us to feb11 also when things begin to fall apart. I have had my anemone for 2 weeks now and it is almost dead i think, its tentacles are all gone it eats not too bad. This morning of feb 24 i found it sucked into my overflow so it looks even worse now. I got it out with no visible tares on it so i hope it won't die. I'm having trouble posting pics so give me sometime to figure out how to get them all up and you guys can see all my equip and let me know what you all think. i hope it wont be all bad so i cant wait to hear from everyone. thanks in advance.

[chavez]

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1298602416

[chavez]

Here are some more pics of the equip that i have, let me know what you guys think.

DSC00272.jpg picture by walter1982 - Photobucket

DSC00271.jpg picture by walter1982 - Photobucket

DSC00270.jpg picture by walter1982 - Photobucket

DSC00269.jpg picture by walter1982 - Photobucket

DSC00268.jpg picture by walter1982 - Photobucket

DSC00179.jpg picture by walter1982 - Photobucket

DSC00161.jpg picture by walter1982 - Photobucket

[chavez]

Hi, i am a newbi and i joined reefland to hopfully get some info but not getting any reply's, am i doing something wrong or am i just wasting my time? Let me know cause if i need to move on to another site i will.

[Original Fin]

Sounds like the way I started...thinking you know enough to jump in, but then getting hit with a dose of reality. Looks like you've pointed out most of your own mistakes already. Tank looks nice, and I hope you stick around!

Is there anything specific you had questions about?

[chavez]

Mostly what i wanted to know was about the equip i am using if its any good or should i upgrade and if so what should i get? I think my lighting may be a little on the small side but not sure. My anemone seems to be bouncing back but then starts looking worse just as quick. all my water levels are perfect, so that makes me think my lights are no good. But really im not sure about that either, my lfs said i it may be getting burned from to much light so i moved it down to the half way point and in the morning it was back at the top so im a little confused. Please let me know. Thanks.

P.S. thanks for the reply!

[Original Fin]

Need more info on your lights. Is that a total of 80 watts, or is each bulb is 80 watts? I'm not familiar with SWC fixtures...it seems older, haven't come across any of those in my short time reefing. What diameter are the tubes? Are they T5 , T10, T8, etc...If it came used, did you replace the bulbs with new ones?


It might be the lighting, but even if you had the best lighting you'd likely still have problems because it's just an immature tank. Nems are difficult, no bones about it. Have you read all of Lees stickys on water quality/Mature Tanks, Secret Cycle, etc...?

If you are going to put rubble rock in your fuge/sump, just know that a lot of people report problems with that collecting detritus too.

You definately stocked with fish too many too soon...did you lose any of them, or any of your inverts?

[Original Fin]

Nevermind...your picture clearly states that its 320 total watts of T5 power.
IMO, that's probably ok for a BTA, but I have no idea about a majestic...not familiar with that one.

Alot would be dependant upon if they are old bulbs. A healthy nem would climb the rock and find the perfect spot where it's getting an intensity it likes, although you probably could have gone with a 6 bulb fixture on that tank. Still, T5 fixture matching is more about getting decent coverage based on the height and depth of your tank. I'm assuming your's isn't very wide or high, so you should be ok with 4. JMO, though.

[chavez]

The lights are t5 and 80 watts each. 2 blue and 2 white, so thats a total of 320 watts.
I have only lost 1 clown and that was cause he went into my overflow and got jammed in there over night out of the water, and he was replaced the day after. My inverts all i had were some polyps that were growing on the shell of my halloween crab, and now my anemone. the polyps never open more than a 1/4 of what they should. I only have a sump and no fuge should i set up a fuge or is that not worth it?

[chavez]

The tank dimensions are 19x19x72. The lights are brand new bulbs are as well. seeing the tank is only 19wide and 19 deep i thought that was enough but my nem always goes back to the top so im gonna leave it there. I was thinking of upgrading to led not sure if it worth it to much$$$.

[Original Fin]

Personally, I think a fuge is always a good idea for a reef if you can. LED upgrade? You know what? I'd wait on that and make sure the hobby doesn't frustrate the hell out of you to the point of quitting first. Thats a big investment that you won't recover on resale.

Were those new or used T5 bulbs?

[chavez]

The bulbs are new as well, and just so you know i dont plan on quitting as long as i have funds

[chavez]

Also how would i set up a fuge and what exactly is a fuge? There are pics of my sump in this thread so let me know if its even possible!

[Original Fin]

Nobody plans on quitting, but it happens non-the-less. And quite often too in this hobby.

A fuge is just short for refugium. A place separate from your DT (display tank) where particular lifeforms are free from predation. In reefing, they are most often used to culture copepods, ( to feed DT inhabitants), or to culture macroalgae which aids tremendously in exporting nutrients that would otherwise become fuel for nuisance algae. It basically out competes the bad algae for food, and in the process, when you prune it, you're removing the nitrates it binds, which can be a big problem for inverts. We aim for undetectable nitrates in a reef. Same thing with phosphates.

[Original Fin]

Did you read this yet?

Variations on a Refugium: Installation Options | Reefland

[chavez]

Now i have read the variations available. I'm not sure if you have seen my sump set up.I have a 4 compartment, the first compartment is where the DT run off goes it also has my live rock fragments here. The second compartment has my protein skimmer. The third compartment has my return pump and water only. The fourth compartment has my fresh RO water for my ATO(automatic top off). So i dont have the option of above or beside my tank for one to fit it would have to be intergrated with my sump some how.

[Original Fin]

Just had another look, and I don't see it happening in that sump. It's nice though...I really like the ATO chamber. That's something I want to do for sure on my next one. For now, I pulled my tank out from the wall enough to fit one of those slim camping style 6 gal drinking water container. It does the job, I guess.

I see three options for you.

1. If you have the space, go with a larger sump. Design it the way you want it.
2. Again, if you have the space, add a second tank below for a fuge...Deep, long and shallow would work best for culturing chaeto. There are ways to plumb the two together.
3. Do something either HOB or in the DT.

[chavez]

I had kidda looked at maybe making one thats above my sump but underneath my DT. Something about 12" wide by about 24" long. I would mount it above my sump this is where my DT would overflow to, in my fuge i would have an overflow that would go to my sump. From there it would operate as normal don't know if it possible though. Does this even make any sense??

[Original Fin]

Yup, I follow. I've seen systems like that. Remember that the water overflowing from your DT will be laden with detritus and other organics, so if it goes to the fuge first, it will tend to settle there. I've heard arguments for and against this. One might say this does the best job of feeding the macro algae the nutrients you're trying to get rid of. Another would say it's better to let the skimmer process it first.

I've seen no compelling evidence that one is better than the other.

[chavez]

Well i think im going to do a little more research before i make up my mind as what to do.
Thanks for your in put.