Cheeseburger's Rimless Krusty Krab

[Icanhazcheeseburger]

Hey everybody! For those who don't know me, my name's Jay and I am a Southern Californian Reefer that is in love with this hobby and is thrilled to start my next reef build!

I started a 6G Fluval Edge build last year, although unorthodox for beginning reefers, I learned a lot and decided its time to upgrade significantly and transfer my True Percula pair and inverts into a bigger tank!

I decided to go with the JBJ Rimless 45G and the overly expensive customized stand for it (Didn't feel creating a DIY stand ) With that said, here is the info on my equipment/livestock so far! (This thread will be littered with pictures so don't hesitate to follow along.)

Tank/Stand Dimensions:
JBJ Rimless 45G - 26.5x21x19
JBJ Custom Stand - 27x21x36

Lighting:
Ecotech Radeon XR15W Pro LED Fixture
Ecotech Marine RMS Single Radeon Tank

Equipment:
Vortech MP10 ES Propeller Pump
Fluval 150W Heater
JBJ Digitemp Thermometer

Filtration:
Tunze Comline DOC Skimmer 9004
25lb Pukani Rock
40lb Caribsea Live Sand
1lb Purple Corrallined Liverock from 6G Tank
Chemipure Blue
Phosphate Filterpad
Chaeto & Rubblerock

Livestock:
Pair of True Percula Clowns
Dwarf Flame Angel

Inverts(So far):

Green Bubble Tip Anemone
Scarlet Hermit Crab

Halloween Hermit Crab

Electric Blue Hermit Crab

10 Small White Banded Hermit Crab

 

50 Dwarf Cerith Snails

10 Nassarius Vibex Snails

10 Nerite Snails

 

10 Florida Cerith Snails (DOA )

Cleaner Shrimp (Dead )

Coral(So Far):
Bicolor Frogspawn
Torch
Green Star Polyp
Pulsating Xenia

FTS: 7/1/14

[Red_Blenny]

Welcome fellow Socal NR! Tank scape looks pretty cool.

[Icanhazcheeseburger]

Welcome fellow Socal NR! Tank scape looks pretty cool.

Thank you! I just love how natural the Pukani Rock is from BRS. I'll be posting up pics of different scapes soon

 

 

 

So Christmas came early this time of year

 

 

Look what came in the mail today.

 

 

Packaging was great. Didn't arrive in a pile of glass.

 

Here's a better picture of the Krusty Krab..I had to wipe it down with RO/DI water because it looked like it accumulated some shelf dust back at JBJ

 

My 40lb of live substrate by CaribSea came in as well. For those of you wondering which type of grade it is, it's the Special Grade Reef 1.0-2mm (Heard from a friend it doesn't get picked up easily from a vacuum when cleaning/stirring the sand bed...don't mind my flipper-lookin foot )

 

Also picked up my heater I'll be putting it in the back next to my Tunze 9004 (the column right next to the overflow column) and this PO4 filter pad that I heard was great from my friend/review OL.

 

Hopefully the rest of the equipment come in earlier than expected..it's suppose to be arriving on Tuesday.

[Icanhazcheeseburger]

Hey everybody! Sorry haven't been around lately, I just came back from Vegas and I just started my last semester at school today so I've been pretty busy...

 

 

However, I am ending my 1st week of cycling going into my 2nd and everything is looking great! I just want to recap and share with you all the past 2 weeks what I've been doing to set up this tank (Thank god I wasn't lazy enough to take pictures )

 

 

But here's a few pics leading up to my set up enjoy :

 

 

The first nuisance of this tank: Peanuts..

 

 

It's like Christmas all over again

 

 

My Pukani Rock from BRS (Beware: high probability of this rock leeching PO4 in your tank if not treated properly before cycling. Keep watching to see my method of treatment, fairly easy)

 

 

 

TREATMENT:

Bought Muriatic Acid from Lowes (Should find in the Pool Aisle in any major home improvement store) Alongside Baking Soda to increase the pH to a stable level.

 

WHAT IT DOES:

Removes the top layer of the rock where the PO4 is laced into the matrix. (Be advised, there are numerous accounts that combat this method saying the PO4 is due to the dead organisms inside the porous Pukani Rock, however this 15-20 minute dip can save you a lot of headaches down the road if this rock continues to leech PO4 down the road) Also, be mindful of how long it is bubbling in the submerge water... I did 15-25 min which is well enough to get the top layer cleaned up...Any longer may disfigure your rock due to high acidity..

 

PS Make sure to give a rinse of high pressurized water to get all the loose stuff of. (Or you can submerge your rock in water + bleach before hand if you're patient just google that method)

 

Remember safety is first!

BEFORE ATTEMPTING THIS METHOD:

You must be fully clothed to avoid any of the acid hitting your skin (If it so happen to splash and hit your skin make sure to pour baking soda immediately on it!). In addition, wear protective eyewear, n95 mask, dish washing gloves, shoes, and make sure to do it outside!!!! (It will overflow with bubbles/ excess water once you pour the acid into the bucket of water with your rock)

 

It's alive!!!!!!

 

The finished product. It really removed a lot of the black/green gunk off the rock! Now it will bake in the sun till it is dried over again.

 

I did one last final rinse in RO water (A lot of $&%^ still came off too I was amazed how porous this rock was) and in the midst of it all, I saw this little crab arm (Hope that little guy didn't get trapped in the rock and die )

 

All in all, I was satisfied with the Muriatic Acid method cleaning the rock really well, I will be doing a PO4 param check later this weekend to see how I'm doing..highly recommend doing this to whoever picks up Pukani Rock from BRS. Not all batches will leech PO4, but it is better to be safe than sorry, it'll save you a massive headache down the road!

[Icanhazcheeseburger]

(CONT)

 

So after my first week, I finally got everything set up, I also bought the RMS Mount that was custom built for the XR15W lighting, and it is an awesome heavy duty attachment. I had it preordered from MarineDepot but my LFS had it before MarineDepot did so I went a head cancelled my order and supported the LFS

 

 

 

 

Here are my params a few days in. Going to test sometime this weekend to see how the cycle is doing:

 

Also, I just set up my Tunze DOC 9004 Skimmer and I'm new to the skimming world, how high should I have my bubbles? How often should I clean my cup? How do I prevent my skim to be wet? And is it normal to have smaller micro bubbles popping as opposed to bigger ones when it goes into the collection cup? Need some guidance

 

Not sure if this is too high... But after this pic, I lowered it even further and went to bed...the next day the cup was half full with gunky water??but it's producing a lot of smaller bubbles, which I see them popping, however I read the bigger bubbles is what gets me a dry skim?

 

Last but not least, here is a pic of the right side of my tank with my good luck Hermit, Hermie conquering the mountain .

 

FYI: For those of you who don't know that purple stuff around the rock, it is called Putty that bonds rocks together from tipping over...Extra reinforcement to get certain angles you want the rock

 

 

I'll try and put up a FTS at the end of this weekend with my macro lens, I'll also be adding my pair of clowns later this week (Don't worry they are extremely hardy fish, and I've read in a book and numerous articles and forums that they can cycle with your tank...And TBH my 6G would have been no different )

[Mariaface]

I'll try and put up a FTS at the end of this weekend with my macro lens, I'll also be adding my pair of clowns later this week (Don't worry they are extremely hardy fish, and I've read in a book and numerous articles and forums that they can cycle with your tank...And TBH my 6G would have been no different )

 

Hi! Good luck with cycling!

 

Please don't put clowns in there, though; even a tiny amount of ammonia causes burns and all sorts of troubles. They're hardy, but all that means is that they won't die while they're suffering in the tank. If you're putting them in to keep up a bioload, why not buy some pure ammonia (without scents or surfactants) and dose it until you're at the concentration you want? That way the bacteria will be dealing with a steady food source, no fish suffer, and you can force the bacteria to populate to the bioload you want to have.

[IzzyTheFool]

Hello!

 

I am also the happy owner of a JBJ 45 rimless, and will be following your thread! Please let me know how that skimmer works out for you, as that's the one piece of equipment I haven't purchased yet. Good luck!

[kimberbee]

Following!

 

Hoping to upgrade my BioCube to this kind of tank in a year or so if I can keep it going till then. I just got started I the hobby a few months ago, so I want to make sure I can hack it! I'll be taking notes...

[Icanhazcheeseburger]

Sorry for such a late FTS here is my tank from Week 1 after the cycle (3 weeks ago)

I've stocked my tank with corals and another fish with my CUC added as well...Which I'll post another FTS with individual pics for all the livestock and coral I got sometime this week.

 

I lost my cleaner shrimp for last week to unknown causes and my GBTA wanted to fit its 3 inch body into a hole that is 1/8 in diameter a couple days ago and is now rehabilitating a ripped foot and dismembered tentacles

 

But here is a FTS from 3 weeks ago. This was before my CUC arrived and the end of my Diatom bloom...My DT is now clear of diatoms and is encrusting the first layer of green corralline algae. The Ecotech Radeon XR15W is really doing its job I love it.

[Icanhazcheeseburger]

Hello!

 

I am also the happy owner of a JBJ 45 rimless, and will be following your thread! Please let me know how that skimmer works out for you, as that's the one piece of equipment I haven't purchased yet. Good luck!

 

The Tunze 9004 is an A+++ protein skimmer. I am new to using a skimmer, and after countless research and videos, this skimmer has done wonders. You just have to find the sweet spot in adjusting the silencing valve to bubble all the gunk out into the container cup. To note, it does skim on the wet side but after 3-5 days it pulls out a lot of gunk from your tank (You'll see ) I'll post up a picture later this week to show you. Also, it does skim fairly quiet (If you have an MP10 thats actually louder than the skimmer haha)

 

Following!

 

Hoping to upgrade my BioCube to this kind of tank in a year or so if I can keep it going till then. I just got started I the hobby a few months ago, so I want to make sure I can hack it! I'll be taking notes...

 

Sounds great, I've been fairly busy the past couple weeks but I'll finally have enough time in the day to gather up some pic and post my processes on here. Glad to have you onboard!

[Icanhazcheeseburger]

Hey everybody so today I got a Rose Anemone in replace of my GBTA.

 

 

My GBTA actually got sucked into one of my false wall holes and it ripped open it's foot and looked like a piece of paper laying flat (It was that bad) I left it in my tank in a quarantine cup I made for a week to see if it will heal, but I saw no signs of progress so I had to throw it out it...never had a chance (RIP )

 

So I got a rose anemone hoping it will not suffer the same fate of my last anemone...I clogged the 3 holes that is 1/8 in diameter with a filter pad to prevent that reoccurring again.

 

I just dripped acclimated and so far it is doing well! Here's a pic of it (Don't mike the diatoms on the rock, my anemone caused a mini diatom bloom but it'll go away in a couple days ):

 

 

[IzzyTheFool]

The Tunze 9004 is an A+++ protein skimmer. I am new to using a skimmer, and after countless research and videos, this skimmer has done wonders. You just have to find the sweet spot in adjusting the silencing valve to bubble all the gunk out into the container cup. To note, it does skim on the wet side but after 3-5 days it pulls out a lot of gunk from your tank (You'll see ) I'll post up a picture later this week to show you. Also, it does skim fairly quiet (If you have an MP10 thats actually louder than the skimmer haha)

 

The only thing I've seen posted about this skimmer complaint wise, are the magnet mounts. How are they holding up for you? Any problems with the magnets being loose, or not holding the weight of the skimmer?

 

Great looking tank, the more pics I see of yours, the more excitement for my own grows.

[Icanhazcheeseburger]

The only thing I've seen posted about this skimmer complaint wise, are the magnet mounts. How are they holding up for you? Any problems with the magnets being loose, or not holding the weight of the skimmer?

 

Great looking tank, the more pics I see of yours, the more excitement for my own grows.

 

The 2 magnets for the skimmer are incredibly strong. IME, they have been holding up my skimmer pretty well; even when I push it down pretty forcefully putting back the container cup + its lid. It just all depends how thick the glass is or false wall you plan on mounting it on. I believe for the JBJ though, the only way to mount it in the back chamber is through the glass that separates the chambers from one another (Unless you mod it) and it is holding pretty sturdy so that shouldn't be a problem if you have the same tank as mine .

 

Here's a pic of my Halloween hermit Crab...Took him about a week to molt and now hes up and about! I caught him moving before the sunset on my light had to take a picture Also shoutout to @Rehype for inspiring me to get this hermit. By far my favorite hermit in my tank right now!

 

[reefernanoman]

Your tank is looking awesome!

[IzzyTheFool]

The 2 magnets for the skimmer are incredibly strong. IME, they have been holding up my skimmer pretty well; even when I push it down pretty forcefully putting back the container cup + its lid. It just all depends how thick the glass is or false wall you plan on mounting it on. I believe for the JBJ though, the only way to mount it in the back chamber is through the glass that separates the chambers from one another (Unless you mod it) and it is holding pretty sturdy so that shouldn't be a problem if you have the same tank as mine .

 

Took the plunge and bought one. Where exactly did you mount yours? I'm a bit worried at my choice of locations, since it's right over the baffle that brings water up from the right side media chamber. I could mount it in one of the media chambers... but then the downflow will pull the bubbles out of the skimmer. (shrug)

 

And that is one sharp looking hermit.

[k4ndyk1ng]

Tank is looking good

[Icanhazcheeseburger]

Your tank is looking awesome!

 

Thanks Just saw your 28G and love your camera really makes the color pop...

 

Took the plunge and bought one. Where exactly did you mount yours? I'm a bit worried at my choice of locations, since it's right over the baffle that brings water up from the right side media chamber. I could mount it in one of the media chambers... but then the downflow will pull the bubbles out of the skimmer. (shrug)

 

And that is one sharp looking hermit.

 

Thanks his name is Spooky (In Halloween spirit at the moment )

 

About the skimmer, I put it in the first media chamber where the overflow is coming from the DT (Not sure if this is the downflow you're talking about) and to prevent the downflow to push the bubbles out, I positioned it fairly near the overflow so the overflow is running down the side of the skimmer. In regards to mounting it on the baffle, I couldn't experiment with it because my baffles were silicones misaligned (which is a bummer ). But so far it's working well for me. Hope this helps! Let me know how it works out!

 

Tank is looking good

 

Thanks! FTS coming soon

[reefernanoman]

I'm waiting on your FTS!

[Icanhazcheeseburger]

TANK UPDATE:

 

Hi everybody! so I've been pretty busy the past several weeks and I haven't really taken any pictures of my tank except for mental snapshots But here is a list of a few things that is happening in my tank from the previous weeks and at the moment that I would like to share with you guys and get your insights (And also for my own digital journal) :

 

• Added a school of 3 1/2" - 1" Blue/Green Chromis (Inspired by hey's 50g rimless school RIP ). So far a total of 6 fish (I think I hit my max?
• Refugium added with Live rock and Chaeto. However, chaeto was dying, turning brown due to insufficient lighting (Was using a light in the 14k spectrum range) But now changed it to a Clip on lamp from WalMart with a LED 5K Bulb. After 3 days with this light on reverse lighting, I have seen no improvement to dying chaeto, any suggestions?
• Corralline Algae taking off: Currently all covered in Green but now is forming the Purple/Maroon Corralline
• First purchased a GBTA that was annihilated from the vacuum from a false wall hole that was an 1/8 in diameter RIP .
• After this death, purchased a Rose Anemone that is healthy, alive, and got its foot planted into a small cave right in the middle of my DT woohoo!
• Diatom bloom completely gone.
• GSP finally opened up and is now making its way up the rock I want it to cover.

 

Ill try and take some snapshots tonight so i can post this on the weekend stay tune!

 

 

 

I'm waiting on your FTS!

 

I know I promise I will get some pictures up by this Saturday I finally have some time this weekend to update all you guys how everything is going!

[IzzyTheFool]

About the skimmer, I put it in the first media chamber where the overflow is coming from the DT (Not sure if this is the downflow you're talking about) and to prevent the downflow to push the bubbles out, I positioned it fairly near the overflow so the overflow is running down the side of the skimmer. In regards to mounting it on the baffle, I couldn't experiment with it because my baffles were silicones misaligned (which is a bummer ). But so far it's working well for me. Hope this helps! Let me know how it works out! Thanks! FTS coming soon

 

Sadly, I'm using both of my media chambers. I purchased the holders from Intank, and love them. Not ready to give them up for the skimmer, ha. So I tried placing the skimmer directly next to the media chamber, over the baffle, and the downward push of the skimmer obstructs the flow out of the baffle/media chamber as I suspected it would. The media chamber started to spill over into the area the skimmer was. I then tried placing the skimmer between the two pumps, and while it runs fine... micro bubbles. Micro bubbles everywhere. Even with filter fleece in the bottom of the skimmer. It's run for about 5 days now, and while it did a great job of making foam and getting out the gunk, I just can't stand the bubbles. Looks like I need a HOB skimmer after all.

 

As for the Chaeto, are you doing a separate light cycle for the fuge vs your main tank light? You might want to check in the macro algae forum for the co2 cycles. It could be as simple as that.

 

Sorry to hear about the bubble tip, it was gorgeous in the photo. Good luck with this one!