JBJ 45 Build Thread

thaitopher · 07/09/2017, 09:37 PM

So my 20 gallon has a few hairline cracks in it so I decided to actually spend money on a real reef tank this time instead of buying the crappy tanks from Petsmart. Decided the JBJ 45 gallon AIO was the right tank for me. Over the next week or so I plan on moving all my livestock from my 20 gallon over. In an optimum world, I would transfer slowly but since I have cracks in my twenty gallon I will be expediting the process. Here is what I have.

40 pounds Caribbean live sand

20 pounds of live rock. Plan on adding more later.

One twelve year old clown fish

One fire shrimp

One red Bali star fish

Alveopora

50 heads of palys (only had 10 heads four months ago)

GSP

One head of frogspawn

Octopus 40 nano skimmer (plan on upgrading as I add live stock)

Power head which pumps out about 300 GPH ( plan to add one more in due course)

That's about it for now. Never used sand in a reef tank before so I am pretty excited about going in that direction and having a more natural look. Really hoping I don't get any spikes since everything g is pretty much just a transfer but crossing my fingers. I already bought hammer coral and rainbow Ricordia online before discovering the cracks so they will be shipped this week. Bad timing but I will figure it out.

The 45 gallon gives me a lot of new options that I never had with my 20 gallon so the potential excites me. Might start with an anemone after the new tank adjusts.

Any advice out there would be appreciated.

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thaitopher · 07/09/2017, 09:41 PM

.

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thaitopher · 07/09/2017, 09:58 PM

Forgot to mention the lights. Using Fluval Marine and Reef LED 2.0 25,000 k 32 watts

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Ryan Darilek · 07/10/2017, 12:40 AM

Nice upgrade!!

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thaitopher · 07/10/2017, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan Darilek

Nice upgrade!!

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Thanks! I am gonna enjoy the cleaner look. Hopefully mine will look as good as yours someday!

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thaitopher · 07/10/2017, 10:00 PM

Day 2: added sand and half the water

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Ryan Darilek · 07/11/2017, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thaitopher

Thanks! I am gonna enjoy the cleaner look. Hopefully mine will look as good as yours someday!

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I'm sure it will! Looking forward to following along and seeing the progress!

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thaitopher · 07/11/2017, 09:47 PM

Day 3: water is still wayyyy too cloudy so I am adding my old HOB to CV Lear the tank up before transferring the livestock

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thaitopher · 07/11/2017, 09:48 PM

Day 3 photo

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Ryan Darilek · 07/11/2017, 11:08 PM

Do you anticipate having issues with the new tank cycling? Having to do this all quick makes me nervous for you!
What lighting do you have on this bad boy?

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thaitopher · 07/12/2017, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan Darilek

Do you anticipate having issues with the new tank cycling? Having to do this all quick makes me nervous for you!
What lighting do you have on this bad boy?

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Good question. I have thought about that. I think there will be a small cycle but nothing major. I purchased live sand inatead of regular sand in order to mimimize the cycling. Also, the only live rock I will be adding will be from my other tank so everything should be seeded. I dis a similar transfer last year from a ten to a twenty gallon and had a small spike. Apparently when you do transfers like this as opposed to starting from scratch, there is only a small spike and not a major one. That is at least what I read.

I am using a fluval LED 2.0 light which isnt the most elite light but it is sufficient for tge corals I use. It gets about 75 PAR at the bottom of the tank.

If you have any thoughts to the contrary I am all ears. I do have about $300 with of livestock that I would really like to keep alive

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thaitopher · 07/12/2017, 05:45 PM

I am considering sloping my sand from one side of the aquarium to the other to create a more natural look. Anyone ever done this before? If so, what are your thoughts?

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Ryan Darilek · 07/12/2017, 06:59 PM

No it sounds like you should be alright as long as you stay on top of it. I would test the water daily just to make sure and have a bottle of Prime around

As for the sloping sand... Never tried that, but I feel like it would level out over time as it gets disturbed by inhabitants. Worth a try though!

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thaitopher · 07/14/2017, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan Darilek

No it sounds like you should be alright as long as you stay on top of it. I would test the water daily just to make sure and have a bottle of Prime around

As for the sloping sand... Never tried that, but I feel like it would level out over time as it gets disturbed by inhabitants. Worth a try though!

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So I have slowed down more as of necessity than anything else. My tank is still really cloudy and hasnt cleared up nearly as fast as I thought it would. Might take a couple more weeks before I make transfer.

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thaitopher · 07/14/2017, 10:48 PM

So my water clarity is getting much better. Might be getting pretty close to transferring all my coral and fish.

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thaitopher · 07/14/2017, 10:48 PM

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Ryan Darilek · 07/15/2017, 10:31 PM

Looking good!

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thaitopher · 07/21/2017, 09:57 PM

transition is complete. Definitely still need to add some more liverock and another powerhead but otherwise everything is as it should. Now, just need to give my corals a few days to acclimate.

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Ryan Darilek · 07/21/2017, 10:08 PM

Nice man! Has the water cleared up or is it still a little cloudy?

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thaitopher · 07/21/2017, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan Darilek

Nice man! Has the water cleared up or is it still a little cloudy?

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Totally clear. I just threw my hob on there for a week, put in some filter pads and switched them out twice a day. Crystal clear water now.

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Ryan Darilek · 07/21/2017, 10:13 PM

Awesome bro! Just keep an eye out for any spikes, but I think you're good and it looks great!

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thaitopher · 07/21/2017, 10:26 PM

Issue #1: stupid reef octopus hob skimmer doesn't fit into the back chamber. Looks like I am going to have to invest in A Tunze sooner than later.

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thaitopher · 07/21/2017, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan Darilek

Awesome bro! Just keep an eye out for any spikes, but I think you're good and it looks great!

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Definitely. I measured everything before making the transfer. So far so good.

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thaitopher · 07/22/2017, 07:31 AM

next day. Lights are fully on and everything looks healthy. My clownfish seems really annoyed at me for changing his environment. Just discovered why people say to turn the pumps off when feeding. Now all of my food is in the back chamber. Lesson learned.

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fabulousfavia · 07/22/2017, 08:10 AM

Cool build. But you may want to consider taking the red Bali star off your stocking list as it is hard to feed and will most likely eventually starve. Also unless you are creating a sea grass tank, you won't need 40 pounds of sand. Everything else sounds awesome. Can't wait to see what it turns out to be.

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07/09/2017, 09:58 PM	#3
thaitopher Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 130	JBJ 45 Build Thread Forgot to mention the lights. Using Fluval Marine and Reef LED 2.0 25,000 k 32 watts Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

07/22/2017, 08:10 AM	#25
fabulousfavia Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 198	Cool build. But you may want to consider taking the red Bali star off your stocking list as it is hard to feed and will most likely eventually starve. Also unless you are creating a sea grass tank, you won't need 40 pounds of sand. Everything else sounds awesome. Can't wait to see what it turns out to be. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ I'm an impulse buyer, I need this, this, and this, oh and this would look nice with these zoas Current Tank Info: 55 gallon rimless saltwater reef tank and many more

07/09/2017, 09:37 PM	#1
thaitopher Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 130	JBJ 45 Build Thread So my 20 gallon has a few hairline cracks in it so I decided to actually spend money on a real reef tank this time instead of buying the crappy tanks from Petsmart. Decided the JBJ 45 gallon AIO was the right tank for me. Over the next week or so I plan on moving all my livestock from my 20 gallon over. In an optimum world, I would transfer slowly but since I have cracks in my twenty gallon I will be expediting the process. Here is what I have. 40 pounds Caribbean live sand 20 pounds of live rock. Plan on adding more later. One twelve year old clown fish One fire shrimp One red Bali star fish Alveopora 50 heads of palys (only had 10 heads four months ago) GSP One head of frogspawn Octopus 40 nano skimmer (plan on upgrading as I add live stock) Power head which pumps out about 300 GPH ( plan to add one more in due course) That's about it for now. Never used sand in a reef tank before so I am pretty excited about going in that direction and having a more natural look. Really hoping I don't get any spikes since everything g is pretty much just a transfer but crossing my fingers. I already bought hammer coral and rainbow Ricordia online before discovering the cracks so they will be shipped this week. Bad timing but I will figure it out. The 45 gallon gives me a lot of new options that I never had with my 20 gallon so the potential excites me. Might start with an anemone after the new tank adjusts. Any advice out there would be appreciated. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

07/09/2017, 09:41 PM	#2
thaitopher Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 130	. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

07/10/2017, 12:40 AM	#4
Ryan Darilek Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 376	Nice upgrade!! Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

07/10/2017, 10:00 PM	#6
thaitopher Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 130	Day 2: added sand and half the water Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk

07/11/2017, 09:47 PM	#8
thaitopher Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 130	Day 3: water is still wayyyy too cloudy so I am adding my old HOB to CV Lear the tank up before transferring the livestock Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk

07/11/2017, 09:48 PM	#9
thaitopher Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 130	Day 3 photo Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk

07/11/2017, 11:08 PM	#10
Ryan Darilek Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 376	Do you anticipate having issues with the new tank cycling? Having to do this all quick makes me nervous for you! What lighting do you have on this bad boy? Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

07/12/2017, 05:45 PM	#12
thaitopher Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 130	I am considering sloping my sand from one side of the aquarium to the other to create a more natural look. Anyone ever done this before? If so, what are your thoughts? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk

07/12/2017, 06:59 PM	#13
Ryan Darilek Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 376	No it sounds like you should be alright as long as you stay on top of it. I would test the water daily just to make sure and have a bottle of Prime around As for the sloping sand... Never tried that, but I feel like it would level out over time as it gets disturbed by inhabitants. Worth a try though! Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

07/14/2017, 10:48 PM	#15
thaitopher Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 130	So my water clarity is getting much better. Might be getting pretty close to transferring all my coral and fish. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

07/15/2017, 10:31 PM	#17
Ryan Darilek Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 376	Looking good! Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

07/21/2017, 09:57 PM	#18
thaitopher Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 130	transition is complete. Definitely still need to add some more liverock and another powerhead but otherwise everything is as it should. Now, just need to give my corals a few days to acclimate. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

07/21/2017, 10:08 PM	#19
Ryan Darilek Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 376	Nice man! Has the water cleared up or is it still a little cloudy? Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

07/21/2017, 10:13 PM	#21
Ryan Darilek Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 376	Awesome bro! Just keep an eye out for any spikes, but I think you're good and it looks great! Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

07/21/2017, 10:26 PM	#22
thaitopher Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 130	Issue #1: stupid reef octopus hob skimmer doesn't fit into the back chamber. Looks like I am going to have to invest in A Tunze sooner than later. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

07/22/2017, 07:31 AM	#24
thaitopher Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 130	next day. Lights are fully on and everything looks healthy. My clownfish seems really annoyed at me for changing his environment. Just discovered why people say to turn the pumps off when feeding. Now all of my food is in the back chamber. Lesson learned. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk