100

[ErikH]

I'm back! :)

Going 100g this time. Picked up a BM Curve 9 today for my skimmer!

I have the tank, sump, and skimmer. Now I have to figure out lighting, source some rock, sand, a return, rodi, dual CA, and play the waiting game.

I am so excited to get going again, and see just how far my budget will allow!

I'm out here off Culebra and 1560, sound off NW Sliders! :)

[alton]

Congrats Erik, what did you do with the 200 monster?

[ErikH]

I sold it for the same cost I paid to the guy that owned Jeremys old shop.

There were like 50 million scratches from sand all over the display.

Turns out the sand I had bought from an online retailer was silica. When I put it in, it got all over the glass. Used the mag one time and it was horrible after that.


Now I'm back after a needed break.

Picked up 5 large fiji rocks this weekend, and a return. Just got some rattlecan chalk grey paint, going to paint the stand to match our paint scheme. After that, I need to paint the trim, I was thinking of trying plastidip. Going with black for the background. Also got the plumbing I need less the unions.

Overall, I'm trying to get water in the tank, still need some Indo pacific black/white sand.

I am sill in a debacle with lighting.

I do not have nor do I want a canopy, so I was looking at clamp lights, or hanging lights, and have been interested in the Kessils, but it looks like I'll need a ton of them for SPS.

Slowly but surely!

"Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast."

[ErikH]

I got some of the cheapy Orbits and they should be okay to start off with. They come in tomorrow!

Going to rattlecan the back black, and then I'll hopefully be bringing the tank inside.

[ErikH]

Tank is up and running! Cycling fishless right now, Ammonia is up to 1ppm. The water is pretty stank! :-Phttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170719/e24255fb3c88352c37a678c6383bd997.jpg

[Justin]

Nice start. It actually looks pretty good with no sand in it. If you are planning on going SPS, no sand allows you to really crank up the flow and get that PE from the sticks.

[ErikH]

Oh there's sand in it, just a couple of bags though.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk

[ErikH]

So I have come to the decision to go full blown zeovit. Gonna start with the big 4 and hopefully gonna get a vertex 1.5l for my tank. BRS is sold out right now. :( I figure with the sized skimmer I have why not! :-P

I'm also picking up an Apex Lite later today/tonight, so I am really excited go pre-program all of the sockets I for equipment I don't own yet so to my wife it appears I am always busy!

Tank is doing good, cycling hard at this point. Ammonia is starting to convert to nitrite, I just disrupted the piece of tilapia and it's just a small chunk of meat and the skin left. Hopefully you just read this before breakfast!






Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk

[ErikH]

There's a picture! :) I turned the lights on just so you could see the algae growth. I have been keeping them off though.

I forgot to mention, the one main reason I'm going Zeo is SPACE.

With zeo and proper husbandry practices I wont have the need for excessive reactors, I am planning on CA and Zeo being the last 2 entries into the sump. Well, that and my bag of carbon since they dont recommend reactors with Zeovit.

When looking at other export ideas a fuge always comes to mind, but this go round, no detritus except for the sand in the display. Fuges should be large to accommodate dwell time, but I have pretty fast flow through the sump, and not much room.

I dont yet know how much room I will have after each additon, so I know, at some point, I am already going to have to make big modifications to the sump. Not cool, haha. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170727/1875242901e407fcb020d87f275dc219.jpg

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk

[ErikH]

More tilapia in the tank, trying to build up a good solid strain of nitrifying bacteria before I start to introduce fish. Gotta keep feeding!

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170801/22fe3fc5318731623c8f0f73df30b3fc.jpg

100g SPS and Zoa Garden in the Works!

[alton]

That is a big skimmer! Thanks for posting pictures, any idea on what types of fish?

[OrionN]

I was never into cycling the tank with chunks of shrimp or fish. I just use LR, seed them as much as I can and add fish and slow one at a time.
There are lots of ways to skin a cat.

[Justin]

i agree, never really ghost fed. i first would buy a small pice of live rock for the bacteria and shove it in a sock or mesh bag to meep the bigger pests from getting into the tank. I only wanted the bacteria not the pods. for pods I would just buy some and use those to stock my tank. unless it's my own, I only buy dry dead rock. helps avoid pests from the get go

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk