Jestersix

Rygh's 250 gallon - Rev 3

rygh

BOD
BOD
So I am doing a major reboot/rebuild, essentially starting over.
So time to restart the tank thread as well.
Especially now that I am a total expert in everything .... NOT.

Old rev threads:
http://www.bareefers.org/forum/threads/ryghs-250-gallon-upgrade.9718/
http://www.bareefers.org/forum/threads/ryghs-250-gallon-rev-2.17503/

So starting over with a nice empty tank!
fltnk.jpg
 
SPECS

DISPLAY TANK AND EQUIPMENT
88"L x 28"W x 24"H
Roughly 240 real gallons (256 gallons outer dimensions)
Acrylic tank from Kritter.
Semi-rimless. Uses stainless bracket for rim, so wide open.
12 x Aqua Illumination Prime HD+ lights
2 x Tunze 6085 Powerheads
2 x Koralia Magnum 7 powerheads
DIY stand

SUMP/FUGE TANK AND EQUIPMENT, in garage
6' x 2' x 2'
Roughly 100 gallons
DIY LED lights based on Lumia 5.2
Skimmer: Bubble King Double Cone 200 with Red Dragon 3.
Aqua Ultraviolet 57W UV sterilizer
Dual Jabao DCT6000 return pumps
Dual JBJ Titanium 300W heaters
Avast GFO/Carbon reactor
1 x Tunze 6085 Powerhead
DIY stand

DOSING AND MISC EQUIPEMENT
Auto-Water-Exchange system
Avast-DIY Kalkwasser reactor. On doser, not ATO.
Calcium doser
Alkalinity doser
Vinegar doser
ATO
Simple RODI
Apex classic controller
Dual AC circuit, 8 x GFCI with surge protection
 
So looking at the starting posts from your last two threads you’re right on schedule to restart every 4 years. I’ll have to check back in 2022 and look for your rev 4 post.
 
So looking at the starting posts from your last two threads you’re right on schedule to restart every 4 years. I’ll have to check back in 2022 and look for your rev 4 post.
I did not notice that. Interesting! :)
I wonder how long I had the old smaller tank before. Seems like about 4 years or so.
Kid was around 4, so that would put it 2005 or so.
Kid will be going off to college in about 4 years. So it would be a good time to upgrade again.
 
Fake Sand Bed!

Figured with a new build thread, start at the bottom...

So I do like the look of sand, but it is such a pain.
Hard to keep clean, limits flow as it blows around, harder to siphon detritus, etc.
I ran bare-bottom, and definitely liked the reduced effort.
But I hated the mirror like finish.
Yes, it mostly gets covered in Coraline/etc, but not all that well, and it does flake off.
And until it does, it looks very unnatural.

So I decided on a fake sand bed.

I took some sheets of 1/8 PVC. Pretty cheap at Tap plastics.
I sanded them with very coarse 60 grit.
I then epoxied a thin layer of aragonite sand to them.
When sanded, epoxy sticks fairly well.
Dropped them in the tank, and it looks pretty realistic.
I put some extra textured lumps of sand in the very front.
For the back, my rocks sit there, so it will not show, and I don't want them to wobble.

Yes, these will get covered in coraline, etc.
In fact, probably better than bare bottom.
But it will have more texture, and look nice during the process.
And any missing spots will still look good.


See pics.

IMG_2901.jpg IMG_2900.jpg IMG_2903.jpg
 
I think Rich Ross did that at one time on his tank (might still be there!) and yeah it will turn into a purple piece of sand paper over time :D I do wonder if fish might accidentally hurt themselves off it due to the rougher texture.
 
I think Rich Ross did that at one time on his tank (might still be there!) and yeah it will turn into a purple piece of sand paper over time :D I do wonder if fish might accidentally hurt themselves off it due to the rougher texture.
"Purple sand paper" - I like that. :)
 
Main tank is full of water!
:)

Many thanks to Coral Reefer for helping that get done quickly.

Time to put in a bit of rock in and hit it with bacteria.
I don't plan to fully cycle it, because I will be putting the rock that is currently in the temporary fish tank into
this tank for a while. And that rock is cycled.
I mostly just want enough rock for fish to feel comfortable.
 
Wow that was quick.

But yeah I'm in that same boat with the rock, got a barrel that's been "cooking" for the past month or two (whenever Mario gave me the barrel :D), but then there's the temp tank with all the aiptasia covered crap... how much can I remove without freaking them out too much so I can once again go through the bleach/detox/cure boat. Somewhere in that time frame I'll build a rock structure or two and get that into the main tank and then move fish over.
 
So what the heck is my Salinity??

I have an ancient refractomer, a new one, and an Apex.
They all mismatched.
So I re-calibrated using 35 solution. That made it worse.
So I re-calibrated using distilled water.
Now the Apex and new refractomer are very close, so I feel better about that.
And it explains another mystery on why Instant Ocean seemed to be mixing differently.

I guess my old refractometer and calibration solution are no good.

And now I have to bring the temporary tank water down, and new tank water up, to match.
Always the little things....
 
So anyone have nutrient removal opinions??
I bet someone does.

My Majano-filter is now gone, so what to do????

And before Erin says anything - I am not doing gigantic water changes.
Too effective, so no fun. :)

In the past, I was big on algae turf scrubbers.
Great at removing nitrates super fast.
Also great at starving everything in the tank. I ended up dosing Nitrates.
And a bit of a pain. So no more.

Recently, I have been dosing vinegar.
Works moderately well on Nitrates, but not so much on Phosphates.
Almost zero hassle!
Since doing that I have had intermittent Cyano problems, and some interesting big sand clumps of bacteria.

The automatic filter sock roller thing is intriguing.
Although a lot of complaints about them breaking.
But that also tends to remove food that corals need, not just excess nutrients.

The new chaeto reactors are also rather interesting.
Like the old turf scrubbers, but not as overwhelmingly powerful.
And less algae ends up in the water column.
I could use a lot of old turf scrubber parts to make one.

At any rate : Thoughts????
 
I believe that you just read my thread about using a rollermat. Don't believe everything you read. Most of it is common sense. They absolutely do not remove everything corals need. That's just silly imo. Your entire DT is random flow. Your corals have tons of time for contact. So even if you have the rollermat plumbed like I do. Let's say that the rollermat removes all large particles right away. All the plankton and "nutrients" are still getting through.

If you feel that your tank is getting starved, just open up an emergency drain or T off your drain line to bypass the rollermat a little. This is what I have for the just in case scenario.

Even if you do nothing to accommodate for how well the rollermat works, you can always feed more, or at least turn off the pumps while feeding. Or both.

As for them breaking. Not an issue for me. I've had mine since they first came to America. They do seem flimsy, but they are built plenty strong enough to operate properly.

That aside. I'm a fan of ATS. I have a rig that I will likely bring back online when I start taking on more nutrients. Mine was an algae creating beast. So much so that it became annoying to maintain.

If I would have had my rollermat plumbed right off the overflow like I do now, my ATS would probably been a lot less annoying.

If anyone wants to see a rollermat is person, feel free to stop by and take a look at mine. In love it.

EDIT: I should add that im a big fan of vinegar dosing, as well as seachem pond matrix (Or marinepure). This just leaves me with phosphates. Most use GFO (for obvious reasons), but im a rebel. I like Lanthanum Chloride.

Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk
 
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What happened to a good old refugium? You have a lots of room for it. Much easier to maintain than an ATS. And if it’s taking out too much nutrients for your liking, turn down the photoperiod.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
What happened to a good old refugium? You have a lots of room for it. Much easier to maintain than an ATS. And if it’s taking out too much nutrients for your liking, turn down the photoperiod.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That’s my vote too. Gets rid of both no3 and po4, good for pods, and good for ph. I think the only drawback that I found was that I needed to dose iron to keep up with its absorption.
 
What happened to a good old refugium? You have a lots of room for it. Much easier to maintain than an ATS. And if it’s taking out too much nutrients for your liking, turn down the photoperiod.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
True.
My "fuge" was really being used as a extended frag tank.
But since I pretty quickly put frags in main tank, it was not used that much.
@rygh
 
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I believe that you just read my thread about using a rollermat. Don't believe everything you read. Most of it is common sense. They absolutely do not remove everything corals need. That's just silly imo. Your entire DT is random flow. Your corals have tons of time for contact. So even if you have the rollermat plumbed like I do. Let's say that the rollermat removes all large particles right away. All the plankton and "nutrients" are still getting through.

If you feel that your tank is getting starved, just open up an emergency drain or T off your drain line to bypass the rollermat a little. This is what I have for the just in case scenario.

Even if you do nothing to accommodate for how well the rollermat works, you can always feed more, or at least turn off the pumps while feeding. Or both.

As for them breaking. Not an issue for me. I've had mine since they first came to America. They do seem flimsy, but they are built plenty strong enough to operate properly.

That aside. I'm a fan of ATS. I have a rig that I will likely bring back online when I start taking on more nutrients. Mine was an algae creating beast. So much so that it became annoying to maintain.

If I would have had my rollermat plumbed right off the overflow like I do now, my ATS would probably been a lot less annoying.

If anyone wants to see a rollermat is person, feel free to stop by and take a look at mine. In love it.

EDIT: I should add that im a big fan of vinegar dosing, as well as seachem pond matrix (Or marinepure). This just leaves me with phosphates. Most use GFO (for obvious reasons), but im a rebel. I like Lanthanum Chloride.

Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk
Yep, I was reading your thread.
If I want to go the "mechanical filtration" route, that roller-thing seems like the way to go.
 
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