50b Sumpless Mixed Reef Build! - Page 6

BigJohnny · 08/01/2015, 01:17 PM

A little side shot action from this am:

Miguelh1302 · 08/01/2015, 03:13 PM

Hey Johnny I can't find it anywhere lol, what size wave maker are u using, and how many?

BigJohnny · 08/01/2015, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miguelh1302

Hey Johnny I can't find it anywhere lol, what size wave maker are u using, and how many?

I have an MP40WQD on the right side and a Jebao RW-8 on the left (picture was taken from left). I also have a Koralia nano 425 and a Jebao RW-4 but those are going in my qt/observation tank for sps corals.

I will eventually upgrade the rw8 to another mp40wqd.

Miguelh1302 · 08/01/2015, 04:58 PM

Great I actually change a couple around my tank and gonna add a rw-8 on one side and gonna leave my two jebaos wp10 pointing from back to front and see how it goes

Swope2bc · 08/01/2015, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigJohnny

Hey bud thanks, I've been following your build as well!

Awesome! Hope my build thread hasn't been to busy..

BigJohnny · 08/01/2015, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miguelh1302

Great I actually change a couple around my tank and gonna add a rw-8 on one side and gonna leave my two jebaos wp10 pointing from back to front and see how it goes

Nice, you'll love the rw-8 it's a great powerhead, especially for the price.

Miguelh1302 · 08/02/2015, 11:00 AM

I sure hope so

BigJohnny · 08/03/2015, 10:40 AM

Found this strange little creature in my tank today, not sure what it is. It has grown gradually over the last few weeks but I thought it was algae or dog hair before haha. Today I noticed that it has little polyps/feelers/xeniaesque extensions on its top half. They are translucent. It appears to have a base or is attached to a rock or shell. Here's a video, you can't quite see the polyps in the video but you can see the blurred obstructions they produce over the background of the video. Any ideas?

Miguelh1302 · 08/04/2015, 11:16 AM

Which I could help, no idea brotha

BigJohnny · 08/04/2015, 11:23 AM

Upgraded my stock brs 4 stage value rodi to the value plus. Installation of the 3 extra components was so easy, took me about 5-10 mins.

Added:

1. Glycerin filled pressure gauge pre-RO membrane to make sure it's getting proper psi and to check for any clogging of the sediment filter and carbon block.

2. Flush Valve/Flow Restrictor Bypass to flush any build up or sediment off of the membrane.

3. Dual Inline TDS METER to measure TDS before and after the DI Resin to measure RO membrane and DI Resin performance. I used to use a handheld tds meter which only allowed me to test the final product.

Pretty cool and should save me some money as well as troubleshooting headaches.

BigJohnny · 08/04/2015, 09:19 PM

Setting up my 20 qt observation tank. No equipment installed yet, just put the tank on my DIY stand to see how it looks. Still need to black plasti dip the back of the tank (and maybe sides) before filling it and installing the skimmer/hob/sponge filter/powerheads etc.

Isaacs55 · 08/04/2015, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigJohnny

Setting up my 20 qt observation tank. No equipment installed yet, just put the tank on my DIY stand to see how it looks. Still need to black plasti dip the back of the tank (and maybe sides) before filling it and installing the skimmer/hob/sponge filter/powerheads etc.

Cool mang!!! Looking real good! Hey you should've upgrade to dual DI and 2 carbon blocks lol but hey every bit counts!!

I had to put a hold on my build cuz I'm doing a different project for my wife and our new baby that will be here in October. But as soon as I'm done I'm hitting my build hard lol

BigJohnny · 08/05/2015, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Isaacs55

Cool mang!!! Looking real good! Hey you should've upgrade to dual DI and 2 carbon blocks lol but hey every bit counts!!

I had to put a hold on my build cuz I'm doing a different project for my wife and our new baby that will be here in October. But as soon as I'm done I'm hitting my build hard lol

Thanks bud, I appreciate it. I'm really pleased with how the stand came out. Haha you should see my lfs RODI, it's absurd. 6 stage and each canister is like 3.5 feet long!

Sorry to hear about putting a hold on your build, but congratulations on the inbound mini reefer

. Must be very exciting. Well see how hard you hit the build when your not sleeping again......

BigJohnny · 08/09/2015, 03:24 PM

Finished setting up my 20 QT Observation Tank, currently cycling with biospira and will be ready for first frags tomorrow!

My display tank should be done cycling tomorrow as well. Hopefully my next update will have some frags!

Happyschneider · 08/09/2015, 04:47 PM

Wow, your qt tank looks better than my display one

cool stand. Bet it is a good feeling of doing things yourself and seeing the result.

BigJohnny · 08/09/2015, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happyschneider

Wow, your qt tank looks better than my display one

cool stand. Bet it is a good feeling of doing things yourself and seeing the result.

Haha I doubt that, but thanks bud! It sure does feel good. That was the first time I have built any sort of furniture (really anything with wood at all) and it was very rewarding. So much so that I bought a bunch of new tools and plan on doing more projects in the future

Miguelh1302 · 08/09/2015, 09:14 PM

This is getting way to excited lol

Isaacs55 · 08/09/2015, 10:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigJohnny

Haha I doubt that, but thanks bud! It sure does feel good. That was the first time I have built any sort of furniture (really anything with wood at all) and it was very rewarding. So much so that I bought a bunch of new tools and plan on doing more projects in the future

That's how I felt when I built my stand for my 55 gallon tank after I sold it to get extra stuff for my 40 breeder lol I make stands for my locals to pay for my build lol

BigJohnny · 08/11/2015, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Isaacs55

That's how I felt when I built my stand for my 55 gallon tank after I sold it to get extra stuff for my 40 breeder lol I make stands for my locals to pay for my build lol

Haha cool man. Yea, I really enjoyed it.

BigJohnny · 08/15/2015, 11:51 PM

Ladies and gentlemen, the first additions in QT:

Most of the corals are pretty closed up from the journey from lfs/dip/acclimation but look better by the hour. I will post some updates tomorrow when they are hopefully wide open. Decided to start off with some easy guys before I throw down on some more expensive lps sps.

pretty stoked to get this going finally!

Oh btw I added 500 mixed copepods and 60 amphipods to my main display. Had never seen amphipods before they are way bigger than I expected and really cool lil buggers. Super active and fast swimmers. Been feeding them plankton feed once daily. Got them from Sachs Aquaculture (strongly recommend), they sent me extra of everything and are a smaller more personal operation than reef gen/poseidon/any of the other mainstream vendors. Really high quality and fantastic customer service.

BigJohnny · 08/16/2015, 02:42 PM

Here are some slightly better pics (cell phone still unfortunately). The lighting is really low because I'm acclimating the corals.

BigJohnny · 08/17/2015, 12:22 PM

I know, not that exciting yet haha. Once they are in the tank and doing well I'll start buying the good stuff and my first fish. Haven't been able to get fish yet because I'm only home 4 days a week and prefer TTM (have to be home for 12 days straight) instead of copper. Should be able to do it shortly though.

Swope2bc · 08/17/2015, 12:25 PM

Oh, Big... Those are indeed exciting! I would have comment but I've been distracted by wildfires surrounding our valley.

BigJohnny · 08/17/2015, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swope2bc

Oh, Big... Those are indeed exciting! I would have comment but I've been distracted by wildfires surrounding our valley.

Haha oh my! Stay safe.

It's def exciting to have frags but I have lofty goals for this tank with some fancy lps/sps so these corals in crappy cell phone pics don't quite get me going

.

The duncan and ricordeas look great actually but can't tell in the pics. The candy canes got some sneaky red algae in between the polyps so unless I can eradicate it I'm probably dumping it. Not one of my favorite corals anyway.

The GSP was a free gift from the lfs which I plan on putting on my preskim overflow box which should look pretty cool.

Planning on switching over the inverts to the main display tomorrow and the corals shortly after unless I see something narly after I redip.

Next up, an acan colony or some frags, red/green/purple monti caps, green birdsnest and ponape birdsnest. SPS attack

Swope2bc · 08/17/2015, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigJohnny

Haha oh my! Stay safe.

It's def exciting to have frags but I have lofty goals for this tank with some fancy lps/sps so these corals in crappy cell phone pics don't quite get me going

.

The duncan and ricordeas look great actually but can't tell in the pics. The candy canes got some sneaky red algae in between the polyps so unless I can eradicate it I'm probably dumping it. Not one of my favorite corals anyway.

The GSP was a free gift from the lfs which I plan on putting on my preskim overflow box which should look pretty cool.

Planning on switching over the inverts to the main display tomorrow and the corals shortly after unless I see something narly after I redip.

Next up, an acan colony or some frags, red/green/purple monti caps, green birdsnest and ponape birdsnest. SPS attack

Can't wait for more pics!! No immediate danger from the fires but a 35,000 acre fire is currently burning less than 7 miles from my house! It's on the opposite side of a mountain though.

. This is the nighttime view... But wind is pushing it back into itself at the moment.

08/09/2015, 04:47 PM	#140
Happyschneider Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Basel, Switzerland Posts: 350	Wow, your qt tank looks better than my display one cool stand. Bet it is a good feeling of doing things yourself and seeing the result. __________________ My build thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2517452 180 liter, sumpless reef, no skimmer for the moment. Current Tank Info: Juwel VISION 180, currently only invertebrates, planning to have low bioload as I have no skimmer and no refugium for the moment.

08/01/2015, 01:17 PM	#126
BigJohnny Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 1,642	A little side shot action from this am:

08/01/2015, 03:13 PM	#127
Miguelh1302 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Fort Myers, FL Posts: 721	Hey Johnny I can't find it anywhere lol, what size wave maker are u using, and how many?

08/01/2015, 04:58 PM	#129
Miguelh1302 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Fort Myers, FL Posts: 721	Great I actually change a couple around my tank and gonna add a rw-8 on one side and gonna leave my two jebaos wp10 pointing from back to front and see how it goes

08/02/2015, 11:00 AM	#132
Miguelh1302 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Fort Myers, FL Posts: 721	I sure hope so

08/03/2015, 10:40 AM	#133
BigJohnny Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 1,642	Found this strange little creature in my tank today, not sure what it is. It has grown gradually over the last few weeks but I thought it was algae or dog hair before haha. Today I noticed that it has little polyps/feelers/xeniaesque extensions on its top half. They are translucent. It appears to have a base or is attached to a rock or shell. Here's a video, you can't quite see the polyps in the video but you can see the blurred obstructions they produce over the background of the video. Any ideas?

08/04/2015, 11:16 AM	#134
Miguelh1302 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Fort Myers, FL Posts: 721	Which I could help, no idea brotha

08/04/2015, 11:23 AM	#135
BigJohnny Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 1,642	Upgraded my stock brs 4 stage value rodi to the value plus. Installation of the 3 extra components was so easy, took me about 5-10 mins. Added: 1. Glycerin filled pressure gauge pre-RO membrane to make sure it's getting proper psi and to check for any clogging of the sediment filter and carbon block. 2. Flush Valve/Flow Restrictor Bypass to flush any build up or sediment off of the membrane. 3. Dual Inline TDS METER to measure TDS before and after the DI Resin to measure RO membrane and DI Resin performance. I used to use a handheld tds meter which only allowed me to test the final product. Pretty cool and should save me some money as well as troubleshooting headaches.

08/04/2015, 09:19 PM	#136
BigJohnny Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 1,642	Setting up my 20 qt observation tank. No equipment installed yet, just put the tank on my DIY stand to see how it looks. Still need to black plasti dip the back of the tank (and maybe sides) before filling it and installing the skimmer/hob/sponge filter/powerheads etc.

08/09/2015, 03:24 PM	#139
BigJohnny Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 1,642	Finished setting up my 20 QT Observation Tank, currently cycling with biospira and will be ready for first frags tomorrow! My display tank should be done cycling tomorrow as well. Hopefully my next update will have some frags!

08/09/2015, 09:14 PM	#142
Miguelh1302 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Fort Myers, FL Posts: 721	This is getting way to excited lol

08/15/2015, 11:51 PM	#145
BigJohnny Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 1,642	Ladies and gentlemen, the first additions in QT: Most of the corals are pretty closed up from the journey from lfs/dip/acclimation but look better by the hour. I will post some updates tomorrow when they are hopefully wide open. Decided to start off with some easy guys before I throw down on some more expensive lps sps. pretty stoked to get this going finally! Oh btw I added 500 mixed copepods and 60 amphipods to my main display. Had never seen amphipods before they are way bigger than I expected and really cool lil buggers. Super active and fast swimmers. Been feeding them plankton feed once daily. Got them from Sachs Aquaculture (strongly recommend), they sent me extra of everything and are a smaller more personal operation than reef gen/poseidon/any of the other mainstream vendors. Really high quality and fantastic customer service.

08/16/2015, 02:42 PM	#146
BigJohnny Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 1,642	Here are some slightly better pics (cell phone still unfortunately). The lighting is really low because I'm acclimating the corals.

08/17/2015, 12:22 PM	#147
BigJohnny Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 1,642	I know, not that exciting yet haha. Once they are in the tank and doing well I'll start buying the good stuff and my first fish. Haven't been able to get fish yet because I'm only home 4 days a week and prefer TTM (have to be home for 12 days straight) instead of copper. Should be able to do it shortly though.

08/17/2015, 12:25 PM	#148
Swope2bc Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: BC, Canada Posts: 1,066	Oh, Big... Those are indeed exciting! I would have comment but I've been distracted by wildfires surrounding our valley.