Starting 90g Reef Tank Build... Finally!!!

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by itZme
TJ, I thought I could save you a bunch of work by showing you a customizable, free aquarium logging software for windows. I hardly log anything anymore since it has been a few years and things are pretty stable around here but it is very helpful for new tanks or those who are anal about tracking things.

LINK

-- Kevin

Thanks Kevin. I downloaded it and will have to check it out. Hopefully once everything settles I won't have to test as often. I'm still a little paranoid right now though, and have been testing everything weekly... and monitoring Ca, Mag, & dKH every few days.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by Tswifty8
Do you know what the difference is between formula 1 and formula 2...?

I completely forgot I had some formula 2 flakes in the closet. I put some of that in the tank and he went nuts for it... and his color is returning and almost back to normal. So that's a relief.

formula one has more spirulina in it and forumula two has more meat.
I use the two because of my anthiases

[kudora]

Originally posted by capn_hylinur
formula one has more spirulina in it and forumula two has more meat.
I use the two because of my anthiases

this is strait from thier website:

Formula Oneâ„¢ is red and larger amounts of krill like our frozen and flake products, it is produced with higher protein levels.

Formula Twoâ„¢ is green and is for fish with lower protein needs. The food contains less krill, but much more Spirulina, kelp, and other natural algae

they also sell spirulina flakes but my fish enjoy formula 2 better it seams

[rayoto]

Originally posted by Tswifty8
Also, I emailed a copy of the spreadsheet that I use to record my water parameters to another RC member, so I figured I would also extend the offer to all of you...

I can email you a blank copy of the spreadsheet I use for recording water parameters. It only takes a few minutes to create one, but if that's even too long for you I'd be more than happy to send a copy of mine

Hey Tj,

Shoot me one as well...thnx. Funny your taliking about formual 2 here today.. I just p/u the Foxface and some Formula 2 as well. Everything looks good so far...

Ray

[kayne_21]

I've been feeding my piglets err.... clownfish a rotation of frozen formula 1, frozen mysis, pellet formula 1 and pellet formula 2. They go crazy for all of it

[Tswifty]

Thanks Kudora... I figured it was along those lines.

Everyone in my old tank went crazy for formula 2 flakes (Foxface, Passer Angel, even the Trigger). So far in my 90, Only the clownfish and shrimp will touch it.

I dropped in some spectrum pellets today for the powder blue, and it looked like he was eating them... He's been hiding out today when I get near the tank, so I had to watch from the other room

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by rayoto
Hey Tj,

Shoot me one as well...thnx. Funny your taliking about formual 2 here today.. I just p/u the Foxface and some Formula 2 as well. Everything looks good so far...

Ray

Ray, sent you a PM... Also, you'll have to post some pics of the foxface when you get a chance. They're great fish

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by kudora
this is strait from thier website:

Formula Oneâ„¢ is red and larger amounts of krill like our frozen and flake products, it is produced with higher protein levels.

Formula Twoâ„¢ is green and is for fish with lower protein needs. The food contains less krill, but much more Spirulina, kelp, and other natural algae

they also sell spirulina flakes but my fish enjoy formula 2 better it seams

opps my apology---I had it in reverse

[kudora]

ha np capt, the only reason i knew is i have been trying different food lately, the fish like the formulas better then the omega brand.

i need a auto top off soon, fell asleep early tonight and i woke up 10 min ago remembering i had not topped off for the night. check out my time stamp

[bertmauricio]

Tswifty8, great thread. I'll picking up a 90 this week and am planning on the same Calfo and Bean's silent drain. I'll stick with 1" bulkheads since that seems to be plenty for a 90.

I'd like to get the specs on far the front piece of the calfo is placed below the trim. Also like to know how low you drilled the bulkhead holes below the trim. I think that's all I really need to get started. I may try to trim down the street elbows a bit to save about 1/2" of space on the calfo dimensions.

Thanks again...lots of great info in your build.

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

What are you guys doing for Ca+/Alk (Mag) adjustments? I'm reading RANDY's chemistry articles and it's a mixed bag of pros and cons. He says he uses "lime water" himself. Quicklime sounds dangerous. Regular lime is a bit hazardous too. I don't remember if he said it can raise your salinity over time, or mess up your pH. There's gotta be a method that is easy, safe, and won't cause other problems... even if it's not the cheapest. So what do you guys use and why?

[Linina]

Originally posted by SCIFI_3D_zoo
What are you guys doing for Ca+/Alk (Mag) adjustments? I'm reading RANDY's chemistry articles and it's a mixed bag of pros and cons. He says he uses "lime water" himself. Quicklime sounds dangerous. Regular lime is a bit hazardous too. I don't remember if he said it can raise your salinity over time, or mess up your pH. There's gotta be a method that is easy, safe, and won't cause other problems... even if it's not the cheapest. So what do you guys use and why?

Great question. I have been using the Randy two part as well as limewater occasionally. However seeing Capn and Tswifty both using the commercial stuff (b ionic), I'm wondering whether I should swap to the 'real deal' instead of homemade.
edit: for Magnesium there's no way I'm putting homemade crap in my tank - I use Kent Tech M for that.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by Linina
Great question. I have been using the Randy two part as well as limewater occasionally. However seeing Capn and Tswifty both using the commercial stuff (b ionic), I'm wondering whether I should swap to the 'real deal' instead of homemade.
edit: for Magnesium there's no way I'm putting homemade crap in my tank - I use Kent Tech M for that.

The only thing I use now is the two part b-ionics. I have not had to make an adjustment in the dose since x-mas. I have the Kent Tech-M for magnesium but I have had to add it maybe once since x-mas.
I pay 30 dollars for the b-ionic here and it lasts about 4-5 weeks.

I have only made two 20 per cent water changes since christmas also where before it was every second week. The corals are loving the richness of the water

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by bertmauricio
Tswifty8, great thread. I'll picking up a 90 this week and am planning on the same Calfo and Bean's silent drain. I'll stick with 1" bulkheads since that seems to be plenty for a 90.

I'd like to get the specs on far the front piece of the calfo is placed below the trim. Also like to know how low you drilled the bulkhead holes below the trim. I think that's all I really need to get started. I may try to trim down the street elbows a bit to save about 1/2" of space on the calfo dimensions.

Thanks again...lots of great info in your build.

I'll take some measurements and post them for you tomorrow.

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by SCIFI_3D_zoo
What are you guys doing for Ca+/Alk (Mag) adjustments? I'm reading RANDY's chemistry articles and it's a mixed bag of pros and cons. He says he uses "lime water" himself. Quicklime sounds dangerous. Regular lime is a bit hazardous too. I don't remember if he said it can raise your salinity over time, or mess up your pH. There's gotta be a method that is easy, safe, and won't cause other problems... even if it's not the cheapest. So what do you guys use and why?

I use the 2-part ESV B-Ionic for alk and calcium, and Kent Tech M for magnesium. Since this is my first "full blown reef" I want to use the name brand/pre made solutions until I get a handle on everything.

I dose equal amounts of 2-part nightly, and haven't touched the mag.

So far my ph, dkh, mag, ca have all been maintaining at the same levels since I started dosing.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by Tswifty8
I use the 2-part ESV B-Ionic for alk and calcium, and Kent Tech M for magnesium. Since this is my first "full blown reef" I want to use the name brand/pre made solutions until I get a handle on everything.

I dose equal amounts of 2-part nightly, and haven't touched the mag.

So far my ph, dkh, mag, ca have all been maintaining at the same levels since I started dosing.

[Tswifty]

Here's a thread I started a while back to sort of poll for some opinions on the dosing topic:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1358865

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by capn_hylinur

I forgot to add... I chose ESV per Capn's recommendation

[bertmauricio]

Thanks Tswifty. I know the overflow wall sets the height of the tank water so my guess is to have it just about at the bottom of the trim.

So if you had a chance to do it over again, would you try to build the calfo on the outside? Just wondering how intrusive it really is.

[itZme]

I like it when people have a tiny ledge on their overflow so they can mount frags to it and have natural covering instead of having to use black acrylic or something. I think the internal calfo is fairly unobtrusive. If you can get by with just the diagonal one piece calfo "weir" it is even less obtrusive and less work to build.

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by bertmauricio
Thanks Tswifty. I know the overflow wall sets the height of the tank water so my guess is to have it just about at the bottom of the trim.

So if you had a chance to do it over again, would you try to build the calfo on the outside? Just wondering how intrusive it really is.

You're correct about the height of the overflow. I accidently made mine a little to high, and it causes some problems when I am performing maintenance. You would just want to place it so your water level is above the trim and out of the viewing area.

I don't think the overflow is that intrusive. I purchased my tank used, so the holes were already drilled in the tank. If I could have drilled it myself, I would have stationed the holes close together and not ran the overflow the entire distance of the tank. Although a benefit of running it the entire length, is the ability to skim more of the water's surface.

As far as building it externally... you may want to pick Bean's brain about how to go about doing that.

I can't measure exactly, because the canopy is on the tank... but an good estimate would be about 2 to 3" from the top of the tank to center of each hole. I think the higher you could drill the holes the better, because this would allow you to shorten the height of the overflow box in the tank. However, you would have to talk to someone who is familiar with drilling glass to figure out how close you can safely drill a hole to the top of the glass.

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

Boy... this is complex. I've heard for awhile that 2-part'rs are probably the best. But after reading it's more complicated. It seems it's between a 2-part AND Limewater for most of us. Ca+ reactors are probably the easiest but the most complex.

I guess a 2-Part is not complex so that is a plus.

2-Part negative... your salinity can rise with this additive from 3ppt - 35 ppt (in effect doubling your salinity) over the course of a year.

2-part negative... huge pH differences between brands. That's all the article said so I'm not sure what this means or how it affects us.

2-part negative... possible Copper level increases?

What's ESV? The Bicarbonate 2nd version of B-Ionic? I don't know all the diff. but it says it has a lower pH so it's good to use on a tank that tends to be high... or could get high depending on how much of the additive you use. It costs a lot more too.

Also.. so you guys are saying you have to dose this everyday? That's considerable as far as ease of use goes. I would get tired of that quick. I know some would say it's just one more thing of many since you have to do so many other things daily, every other day, etc. That's the good thing about a reactor. Once you get it setup it takes care of itself as long as you make sure it's performing the way it should. I don't have room for all of that equipment... or the balls to try it. I just want a few sps's in my 90 gallon just to round out the look.

Randy's homemade soln' ... I stopped reading it b/c it seemed so complex. It'd probably be easier if somebody just showed me.

LIMEWATER: I'm still not sure how this works. It looks like you can just use a $20 container and drip it. Have to get the drip cycle setup and like a reactor it should be ok for awhile. "QUICKlime" sounds kinda dangerous with the heat (not to mention adding heat to the water isn't good).. but reg. lime can be risky handling too.

Limewater cons: has 12 pH. Adding it slowly gives the tank time to do some chemistry and adjust the pH itself. Some say "rapid" additions are fine if they are less than 0.2 meq/L (0.6% of tank). For my 90 gal tank that's about 5 gallons. I read that people just make it a part of ATO. I have a 15 gallon ATO trash can I could add it too. Not 100% sure how all of this works tho. But this sounds pretty easy. So MAYBE this is all an ADVANTAGE for limewater?

Limewater pros: The high pH in it actually helps with the copper problem mentioned earlier with 2-part additives. The high pH precipitates out heavy metals.. including Phosphates. This could be another good reason to use it in your ATO water?.. if you give it a chance to settle out. "Although the mechanism and extent have not yet been established, limewater has the ability to reduce the phosphate already in your tank too".

By the way, this is all from Randy's CHEM article .

Limewater pro: Salinity will not increase as with other additives.

Limewater con: Limewater may not be enough to get you to the upper limit of demand. "If an aquarist has a tank near the high end of calcium and alkalinity demand, then replacing all of the evaporated water with saturated limewater may not be adequate". Randy did say "MAY" there. Increasing evaporation or using vinegar may be needed. Or you can use small amounts of 2-part additives to boost you over the top.

Without having tried either method it does sound like Limewater is a better alternative. I already have an ATO setup and could just add it to my ATO setup and not change anything else. Even with two float switches to shut off and on the pump, and it being only a 14 gallon trash can, the potential hazard of overdosing the entire ATO is there. However, the worst it could do is cause some local pH spikes and a white milky calcium precipitate in the water. Neither of which will cause a complete tank kill, and the milky precipitate won't harm anything at all.

The article ends with mentioning again like I have already that you don't want to get this stuff in your eyes, on your skin, etc. and don't inhale limewater dust.

OH.. Limewater is cheaper than 2-part additives too. There's an actual chart in the articles that gives you a break-down by the #'s and there's info about equipment costs too.

[Tswifty]

Negative today... The powder blue tang looks to be getting some faint black spots on him, although it is extremely hard to tell. Hopefully it's not black ich, which I have heard is fairly common among powder blues. So I'll be monitoring him closely over the next 24-48 hrs, and yank him for hyposalinity treatment if it begins to worsen.

I'm also having a ton of trouble getting him to eat on a consistent basis, there isn't really a single food that he shows interest in from one day to the next, and I end up fishing most of it out. However, today when I put in some Nori he seemed to be picking at it. So I am going to stop trying to get him to eat a variety of foods and just stick with the Nori for a week or so, and go from there.

Phosphates are also beginning to rise in the 55g tank on a steady basis since I removed the phosban reactor. So I am going to harvest some of the cheato, which has tripled in size, from the 90g tank, and begin running the refugium on the 55g tank again. (It was never disconnected, just has been used as a sump since).

The one positive, is that the cheato in the refugium on my 90g tank seems to have starved out the red fuzz algae that was beginning to grow in the fuge. All that is left is some faint, light pink remnants where it used to be.

So far all seems well in the 90g tank, all the coral frags seem to be showing growth, and all the inhabitants are happy and healthy. I'll be doing some water testing on the tank today, but that is about it.

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by SCIFI_3D_zoo
Also.. so you guys are saying you have to dose this everyday? That's considerable as far as ease of use goes. I would get tired of that quick. I know some would say it's just one more thing of many since you have to do so many other things daily, every other day, etc.

I takes me less than 2 minutes before I go to bed to dose. Honestly it takes me longer to walk to the garage to get top-off water, than it does to dose the 2 part.

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

My PBT did the same thing. Just a couple days later he started eating pellets. They settle down, or just get hungry. How do you catch your fish anyway? I'm going through all of this again now with a new P BROWN Tang... which is what I should have got in the first place. So eventually I'll probably have to remove him and the Sailfin Tang I bought long time ago. They don't do as well in a 90 gallon as the Pacific Blues and Powder Browns.

What do you use to test your Phos? or are you assuming they are going up b/c of algae growth? I thought regular test kits don't test low enough ranges to tell you if that 0.015 sorta thing is there.