New start with a 40 breeder

[Painter]

Ok so after all the problems my 46 bowfront was giving me I decided to shut it down. Petco had the tanks on sale so I picked up a 40 breeder for and fresh new start. I also got my skimmer, overflow, and pump in this weekend. Now its time to figure out how I want to set everything up and make my sump. I'm excited to get things going.

[Cammed_02]

Good luck on the build, take it slow and do it right the first time, you will enjoy it more in the end. Just noticed you were from SA, thats my hometown, how you enjoying that influx of traffic due to the oil boom?

[Painter]

Thanks! Yeah nice and slow. Cool some one knows where angelo is lol. It's bad over by the base but other then that its ok. Hopefully it brings more places to town.

Im not sure how but this thread was started twice. Can someone delete the other one?

[allan]

If someone hasn't already, I'll go ahead and remove it.

[Painter]

Thanks man. Hows your tank? My dad told me about the leak and helping move the new one a while back.

[allan]

DUDE!!!!!

You're Tony's kid, right???

Yeah, I lost the 350 to a busted seam. The new tank is tripping me in a good way. Loving how everything is coming together. How is your system doing?

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/30/y4a7u9aq.jpg

[Painter]

Haha yeah. Well I sold my 75 when my son was born because of time and MONEY lol. Then a few months ago i got a 46 bowfront for free and thought might as well. That tank was nothing but problems. Not sure if you read that last thread I had. Anyway I wanted a fresh start so I picked up a 40. I'm just ready to be back to enjoying a tank.

[allan]

Those 40 breeders are a nice foot print.

I wasn't following it until this morning when I saw the reference to the double post.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Painter]

I had a little time to work and my tank so I tackled the light. Made a diy hanging kit. I wanted the light a bit higher then with just the legs. Not to bad. Still a lot of work to go for this tank set up.

20350

[Zack]

What type of conduit is that? ANd where did you get the kit from?

[Painter]

It's 3/4" conduit I bent to a 90. I got cable and swaged an eye bolt to each end. Then I tack welded a nut on the eye bolts. My light has mounting holes on top where I put the nut side of the eye bolt threw. It's my version of a hanging kit to save me some money. I also powder coated it black to go with everything.

[Zack]

Dang, looks super professional. Great work!

[Painter]

Thanks! I like all the DIY stuff I get to do with setting up a tank. Next will be a sump.

[Painter]

I'm working on my sump but am not sure how I want to set it up. It's a DIY 15g with a skimmer. Should I go with rubble rock or sand and rubble rock? I plan on having a reef tank.

[350gt]

Bare bottom, no rubble rock... Just a few pieces of live rock with plenty of holes in them for pods and such to thrive...

[Painter]

I guess I should have read the other thread just post lol. I think I will go with rock and chaeto. What about carbon and stuff in other chambers?

[350gt]

Depends if its needed...

carbon isn't a necessity.... But if your filtration needs a little more power then it doesn't hurt to add a little....

[Painter]

Cool. I'll be putting in the baffles in the sump tonight and work on my plumbing. I'll post pics if I get it all looking good haha

[BBQHILLBILLY]

I like the sand, chaeto and LR rubble for a refugium. I had a 75 gallon sump/refugium and the sand that came out was magic sand. A handful would allmost surely clear a tank.
If you think you may want a 2nd tank in the future you could also use the sand for it, and speed up any cycle you may get. I have a large supply of chaeto finally and
the amount critters in it is, endless. very awesome. The baffles I have made have been 1 inch apart and you can put LR rubble in there for additional filtration.
Nothing to clean no socks or sponges needed. true refugium

[Painter]

How deep was the sand bed? I was thinking about adding sand but am not sure if will make that much of a difference.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

The 75 was about 18 inches tall. The baffles were 9 inches which was good for the water level for the skimmer. I believe I had between a third and a half of that in there, because I also had the LR in there too. This refugium did not take advantage of the chaeto, which works great for all the life that develops in the refugium. But I still had a ton of microscopic life in there, sand was awesome. The height may depend on the LR or rubble and chaeto you get in there. In addition to the chaeto, The sand is also used for the critters to live in.

[Big_Pun]

How deep was the sand bed? I was thinking about adding sand but am not sure if will make that much of a difference.
it doesn't, some rock will be more beneficial in the sump for critters.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

yes it does:bigsmile:, through experience Ive seen what it can do

[BBQHILLBILLY]

I agree with you with the LR too, but the sand provides the holes for the critters that the LR can not do

[Big_Pun]

yes it does:bigsmile:, through experience Ive seen what it can do
well explain then with details and not just "magic sand".

how does a 1/8 of the amount of sand than your display help filtration in the fuge?

[BBQHILLBILLY]

I just know what I saw, sand was about 4 to 5 inches, and it was magic sand. Theres a lot going on there. I just know what works and its not socks.:bigsmile:

[Big_Pun]

I just know what I saw, sand was about 4 to 5 inches, and it was magic sand. Theres a lot going on there. I just know what works and its not socks.:bigsmile:
:no icon:

[BBQHILLBILLY]

We think of two different types of bacteria that inhabit the two zones in an aquarium. One is aerobic heterotrophs which live in the upper layer of a DSB and every other oxygenated surface in a tank. The other is Anerobic bacteria that inhabit anerobic or very low oxygen areas.
These anerobic bacteria (we thought) are the ones that convert nitrate to harmless nitrogen gas which harmlessly bubbles out of the water.
Now we find that there is another form of bacteria that lives in close association with the nitrate reducing bacteria in deeper, less oxygenated layers. These other bacteria are also anerobic but they convert nitrogen back to ammonium. As the ammonium rises from the deeper layers it is again converted back to nitrate and diffuses into the water column.

There are not just two zones in an aquarium but three. There is aerobic or oxygen rich areas, anerobic areas which have very little to no oxygen and anoxic zones which are in between and have a small amount of oxygen. Such an area would be just under the surface of the sand or gravel (or in a slow running RUGF)
The anoxic layer with a small amount of oxygen is where the beneficial bacteria florish which convert nitrate to harmless gas.
If a tank has a large anerobic (no oxygen) area such as a DSB and a small anoxic ( or low oxygen) area, nitrate and nitrite could be converted back to ammonium, then back again to nitrate.

site of referencehttp://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/indepth-topics-disscussion/44013-problem-dsbs.html

[BBQHILLBILLY]

knowing this information why did my dsb work so good? The sand I have is a mix of all kinds of sand. So maybe it was the mix that would filter the sw. And as I mentioned the microscopic critters can also use it., if you dont have porous LR. just some thoughts: correction this in comparison to fine sand which i dont see the benefit of it

[Big_Pun]

that whole thread was about the problem with dsb and how they dont really work so you agree they dont work? he states they can leach back ammonia and nitrates and also states that shallow beds can do the same or gravel beds.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

the 3rd zone doesnt have oxygen; mine does:bigsmile:

[BBQHILLBILLY]

I have a 6 inch sand bed in the 8ft tank and the sand is porous too; when my phone gets fixed and I can upload a pic of the my dsb, ill post cant right now;
theres allways variables to the program by the creator:bigsmile:Heres another; if you know your right, stand next to your critics; thats why I used that reference

[BBQHILLBILLY]

Chris you have the best big sps tank Ive seen. Im not there. Whatever your doing, your doing it perfect.:bigsmile:

[Painter]

Well I guess I got info from both sides on this lol. I just got done putting in the baffles in my sump tank. I dont think I will be adding sand in this sump it a bit small for that. I started inside but got kicked out because of the smell lol so my pictures are not the best. Ill water test tomorrow.

20384 20385

[Painter]

Got everything I need to set up my tank even 20lbs of live rock. But we found out we move the last weekend of the month (apartment opening). Excited to have more room but I want to start my tank already. Im going to wait a few more week to set up. Really don't want to but it's best. I put the live rock in a bucket of saltwater with a pump and heater. Is there anything I need to do to keep it live? Water changes? I just dont want my money in rock to be a wast.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

keep light in there, you should be fine with sw changes and sw movement, maybe a little bubbler too

[Painter]

Thanks. The rock has been it a tub for 8 days now. Today was the first day I put a light on it. Is that bad? It has been get some light during the day. How do I know if my live rock is still live rock?
20449 20450

[ramsey]

Thanks. The rock has been it a tub for 8 days now. Today was the first day I put a light on it. Is that bad? It has been get some light during the day. How do I know if my live rock is still live rock?
20449 20450

It should be fine. People have kept LR in the dark far longer than that and been fine. Actually, most of what you read will say to cure it in the dark until you don't have any ammonia or nitrites which could take a month. I don't know if I agree with that because I think it'll cause more die off than needed, but obviously people have done this and their rock was still live.

[allan]

Yeah, I've kept LR alive and well in total absence of light for months... In fact the few pieces of LR that I currently have in my sump never get any light on account of the chaeto mass sitting on top of it.

You've already decided not to go DSB, which is good, if for no other reason that you're using a 15 gallon. You don't have the real estate for a DSB, and at this point I'd recommend water volume over DSB any day.

Your pod pop will explode, particularly with out any fish that eat them (example, mandarins), and a lot of effort and discussion went into sand and rubble rock (I'd stay away from that as well) for hideaways for them.... However I've seen swarms on the glass and floating through the column in bare bottom tanks, mine included.

Now I've run DSB, bare bottom, and rubble rock, all with filter media, sponge, and socks.

Here's my experience.

Some form of filtration will give you what you want. My experience with no filtrate action is that detritus will accumulate in your sump... Eventually you will accumulate enough that it will simply pass through to the DT.

Socks are what I'm using now. They help keep the detritus at a minimum, however you have to clean them every third or fourth day. Filter media, I was told, should be replaced every third day to prevent nitrate factories.

I've never heard an argument to keep pods surviving the trip from the DT, but I have heard of the return sending them up. I don't have an opinion there, pods will grow in both, and in both they will serve their purpose.


Final thoughts, and this is from the Troy/ping school of thought. Let your fuge grow what ever will grow in there. Mine has hair algae, bubble algae, chaeto, grape (which I take out long strands to feed the tangs, every three days or so), spongey algae, cyano, green slimer algae.... My DT doesn't mind it all.

Next time you're at your dads, take a trip over to my place, we'll drink some beer and figure out which coral you want in your tank when you're ready. I've got a lot to choose from. Same deal as last time. ;)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Painter]

Good info thanks. I'll have to take you up on that Allen. My options are very limited out here. I'm ready to get this tank running its to quiet at night without that water trickle.

[allan]

Lol

You're more than welcome to anything I have.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Scutterborn]

Lol

You're more than welcome to anything I have.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Awww, I don't feel speshul anymore!

:)

-Ben-