Cali Kid Corals

Current 48"x24"20" project

Thanks Jim, going SSB. I love the look of the sand and It just looks way more natural to me. As far as eqipment, I'm still collecting parts here and there.

Flows for the meantime: 2x K4
Saving up for 2x MP40 ES

Lighting: 2x lumen bright pendants powered by lumatek adjustable ballast.
Saving up for LED's to either supplement the halides or completely swap them out and do 100% LEDS.

skimmer: ATI BM250. Waiting for Super reef octopus xp-3000 to arrive. Decided on a larger skimmer since i like to feed the tank.

Controller: Apex or apex lite. Still debating if I really need one......Only thing i can think of using it for is dosing. anyone know if the lite version is capable of remotely controlling the tank like the regular Apex?

Dosing: I preffer to dose 2 part so calcium reactor

Return: quiet one 4000 or 5000.

Tunze osmolater for top off.

Hmmm thats all I can think of so far.
 
Sounds like you got some good choices.

I have to agree regarding a SSB. Are you going to use Tropic Eden sand that everyone raves ab ?

I think you meant to say you were going to dose 2-part via a doser ? ;)

I'm not sure about the Apex, I'm still debating between that and a Profilux.

Keep updating. :)
 
I'm really glad you like the stand. My brother sort of "recognized" I did a good job on it and my mother when she saw me working on it mentioned that I reminded her of my father; he is/was a carpenter.

IMO go with the daddy Apex.
 
gimmito said:
Sounds like you got some good choices.

I have to agree regarding a SSB. Are you going to use Tropic Eden sand that everyone raves ab ?

I think you meant to say you were going to dose 2-part via a doser ? ;)

I'm not sure about the Apex, I'm still debating between that and a Profilux.

Keep updating. :)
Click to expand...

Haven't been on the forums too much lately so I haven't read anything about tropic eden sand. Still debating on using sand that I've had sitting in bins for a couple years now or getting new. Its been sitting dry so i think it should be ok. But now you got me curious on this tropic sand. might have to look into it.

Yes, I meant to say I'll be using a doser. :)

The profilux looks to be a good doser from what i read but i really like the online capabilities of the apex.


xcaret said:
I'm really glad you like the stand. My brother sort of "recognized" I did a good job on it and my mother when she saw me working on it mentioned that I reminded her of my father; he is/was a carpenter.

IMO go with the daddy Apex.
Click to expand...

Hey Mario, the stand is awesome! The Fiance and future MIL love the way it came out and so do I. Going to get the inside painted with some kilz this weekend. Hope to get this up and running soon.

Got the plumbing done today but realized I could make a few improvements.

Changed out the previous ball valve on the siphon pipe to a gate valve for easier adjustment when it comes time to start the system. I then realized I should add a union above the GV in case i ever need to swap it out. From left to right, siphon and open channel. Both will drain into the skimmer section. Then emergency drain. This will drain into the refugium section. I made it high up so if the emergency drain ever gets used, the splashing sound of the water will be a warning that somethings wrong. Last is the return plumbed with a union, check valve then ball valve incase check valve ever fails. I was thinking of T'ing the return to another ball valve for doing water changes but figured the amount of water in the return chamber wont be enough for a water change so i cut that out the plan. If anyone has an idea to do this feel free to chime in.

The rear.

Conduit painted and attached to stand.


This kinda erked me.......Went to tap plastics to get pieces for my baffles. asked for 14 3/8" wide x 9" high. Well, got the pieces but NONE of them were squared and were off by an eighth of an inch! Didnt bother checking them while i was at the shop because I was rushing to run some more errands so I can continue on the tank. Called them before closing and the lady said o bring them back and they will replace them since its useless for what i need it for. .

This picture you can see they match up in one corner but all get screwed going down the length of the pieces.

Anyone familiar with attaching baffles? Im starting to feel like I bit off more than i can chew since I have never attached baffles before.
 
Quick tip on baffles:
Make each one in two parts, cut vertically in half, but about 1/2" oversize.

Glue one side in, and let it dry. As long as it is a right angle, it should fit flush and clean.
You are only attaching it to one side, and half of bottom.

Now glue the other side in, up against the first one.
There will be a nice overlap between the two.
That overlap is key, since it adjusts for size imperfections.

May look a bit funky, but hey, it's a sump, and goes in real easy.


Also - while you glue acrylic to acrylic with Weldon, you can seal small holes and imperfections with silicone.
 
I have weldon 3 and 16. Was going to use the 16 and maybe some e6000. Gen also recommended these 2 to use. Just gotta get the baffles replaced.
 
Got my pendants hung today and started on the baffles for the sump. Hopefully I can get the rest of the baffles on tommorow. I used weldon 16 attach and will use ge silicone 1 for extra hold since i have some on hand. Couple quick update shots with the lights up. .

 
Jim, I'll be using dimmable lumatek ballast with wither radiums or phoenix bulbs. Still undecided on the bulbs though. I'm current;y running radiums with no supplements and my coral growth is pretty slow. Looking for something to get good growth but dont want the yellow look. Im thinking of supplementing with a strip of blue LED's this time around but trying to figure out how I would mount it.

Got her wet today! the baffles in the sump held. Got it painted and leak tested. alls good! Only issue im having is with the beananimal drain. Im getting more flow from the open channel instead of the siphon line thats supposed to handle majority of the flow. Seems that a siphon wont start on the siphon line for some reason and after a few minutes the toilet bowl effect happens. if anyone can help me out with this it would be greatly appreciated.
 
Got the rocks in and soaking in fresh water for now. Most of these rocks I soaked in fresh water for a couple months and then let dry. How long should I let it sit in fresh water again before I add saltwater and start the cycling process? I plan on adding cleaned and dry sand and saltwater from my current tank when i do a water change. Is this a good idea?

Heres some quick update shots. Still not 100% satisfied with the scaping. I plan on adding maybe 2 more pieces of shelf rock from my current tank so well see how that goes.

I didnt want any rocks touching the backside so i have some good clearance.

front view of the leftside.
front view of the right side

I wanted to see different dimensions when you look thru the right side of the tank and im pretty happy with how it came out.

Looking thru the leftside

And a FTS. I still have a lot of equipment to purchase so by the time its done cycling I'll have everything I need.


Thats it for now. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
 
Got to put the sand in this weekend. Now circulating with saltwater. Threw a piece of raw shrimp in and added a couple cups of live sand to get the cycling started. I know I can slowley start adding livestock after no more ammonia is detected starting with a CUC but is it ok to transfer all my corals in at once or should i do them in batches? also, do i leave the shrimp in the tank until the cycle is complete or do i take it out after a certain time?

Also, can anyone fill me in on products that I can use to speed up cycling? I've read somewhere someone used products such as ammonia and bacteria to cycle that can be purchased at the LFS.

Some quick shots.
One halaide on withone Blue RB LED.

Just both Halides on. No LED.

I'm really liking the left side of the tank.


Decided that I will eventually switch out the halide and do all LED in the future. But thats has to wait for now.
 
I'm still in the middle of cycling but thought I'd get a head start and ask.....When it comes time to transfer corals should I start with softies and LPS first and then the SPS? How much should I transfer at a time?

I'm also worried about the fishes....I was planning maybe adding a batch off softies, and LPS's with maybe 2 fishes....wait a week then add another batch of corals with another 2 fishes and so on until they are all transfered over.

What do you all suggest?
 
Got my vortech installed yesterday and changed up the right side scaping a bit yesterday. Thank you Joe at aquatic collection for the great service and awesome price for the vortechs! What do you guys think?
before

After

Side shot from the left side.


Also placed my order for the SRO XP 3000. Should be in by end of the month. Still need an Apex controller with I think it was WXM to control the vortechs wirelessly, along with the lights and dosing pumps and temp controller. Still not sure if I will go with the BRS dosing pumps x3 or one of those all in one dosing units.

Almost there!! Still cycling and ammonia is still up there along with nitrites. looks like it is starting to settle so hopefully by next week I can add a CUC along with a few tester corals.
 
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