cfeist's Aquapod 24

[cfeist]

UPDATE 09-09-09

 

 

Original Post

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cfeist's Aquapod 24 - First SW Tank

 

Hey all, i've been doing research and reading forums for over a month and I finally started receiving all of my shipments last week. I've been busy with work so I was excited to finally get things assembled and setup properly. I'm sure i've missed some things as I have a lot to learn.

 

This is my first ever SW tank, and it will be a Nano Reef. I know, not the best way to start, but I've done a lot of research and am pretty anal when it comes to certain things, so hopefully that helps me out. I was initially looking at a 55-70g long tank, but after pricing everything out I realized this was not practical as I just moved and I have a lot of other priorities.

 

After reading these forums I feel really good about the AP24. It fits my living room well in the corner and isn't too big, yet its big enough to get my addiction started. I must say I have been inspired by a lot of you, specifically H20, but obviously everyone is full of great ideas here.

 

Here's a tank shot with the Solana stand assembled. I really liked the stand a lot and with the drawer and storage space as well as the modern/contemporary look that matches my other furniture I was sold. It seems pretty stable and looks nice in my opinion.

 

Here's the specs and mods thus far :

Equipment

 

-24 gallon AquaPod

-150w HQI 14,000K Sunpod

-Current Solana Stand

 

-Koralia Nano

-Refractometer

-100w Jager TS Heater

-Pinpoint Wireless Thermometer

-API Saltwater Master / Reef Master Test Kits

 

-36 lbs Cured Fiji / Kaelini Live Rock (Premium Aquatics)

-20 lbs CaribSea Arag-Alive Reef Sand (1-2mm)

-10 lbs CaribSea Ocean Direct Original Grade (0.5-1mm)

 

-25g Catalina Real Ocean Water (initial water)

-50g Coralife Marine Salt Mix (for future water changes)

 

Chemical Filtration (after cycle)

-Chemi Pure Elite

-Purigen

 

Mods

-Eggcrate shelves (2 levels: Filter floss/Purigen, ChemiPure)

 

-MaxiJet 1200 return pump replacement (had to mod the suction cup stand to fit in the back chamber)

 

 

I also spent a lot of time setting up the drip loops and corrugated tubing to keep things organized and clean. Got the GFCI, and surge protector off of the floor and mounted on the wall. Btw, I have since cleaned this up a bit and got the drip loops working more effectively.

 

Have the Sunpod on a light timer and moon lights on all the time for now, this is the SunPod, Moonlights and Maxijet1200 tube running down to a drip loop.

 

Finally got my tub of water together and up to temp and put it in the tank. I initially did about 10 gallons a time because I was worried about possible leaks, but it passed thankfully. I started putting the substrate in when it was only 1/3 full. The Reef Grade sand went in very nicely without clouding at all, but man did I create a sand storm when I dropped the 10 lbs of Finer sand in there ughhhhhhh. Took all night to clear up. The only thing is now whenever I change out the filter floss or mess with stuff, it clouds up pretty quick because of the fine sand.

 

 

My Premium Aquatics Kaelini/Fiji 36lbs comes in tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully I will have a go at aquascaping tomorrow. I imagine I have to siphon out some water so that I don't overflow from displacement, so hopefully I can get a good scape going, thats the only part I'm worried about because that is one of the most important things to me. Something that looks great, and allows for the fish I want and the corals down the road.

 

Right now I am doing tests on the temperature situation. Had my heater set at 79 degrees, was 79 when I left for work. No AC, all windows closed and no fan, when I got home tank was 84. So i'll have to work on a solution for that. I have a feeling I can get it to a manageable temp with a few tweaks, one being reducing the heater to 77-78 and adjusting the light cycle, and keeping a window open. I really want to avoid having to get a chiller. Right now I have an open top, not using the glass top because of the oxygenation/temp issues.

 

Look forward to starting this thread and showing the progress. I'm really excited and think this will be a great project and something I will be thankful I started. I'm already getting exciting just getting everything assembled. Live rock tomorrow will be the real start.

 

Thanks to everyone on nano-reef, you've all been a big help.

 

-Colin

[Lalani]

Its nice to see someone who has done the proper research before setting up a tank! Looks great and can't wait to see it evolve. Post some pics after the water clears up!

[dubsmcfly]

Its nice to see someone who has done the proper research before setting up a tank! Looks great and can't wait to see it evolve. Post some pics after the water clears up!

Agreed and indeed can't wait for some more pictures

[cfeist]

Thanks for the replies. Wow this is exciting. I just got the shipment of my Kaelini/Fiji live rock from Premium Aquatics. Amazing stuff.... I read a lot of positive reviews about them on here and on their site, but the rock pieces are great. Some are a bit big, and I may have to rescape, but i'll wait until things clear up a bit and I check the integrity of the structure a bit better.

 

Please forgive some of the focus in my shots, I think I was shaking with excitement and didn't realize the slower shutter speed, but you'll get the idea of the color and nice shapes of these rocks.

 

Here's the batch of them, sorry I forgot to put something of scale in there, but that is a 5g home depot bucket in the left corner.

 

Nice hole and interesting texture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll hopefully get some water testing done later tonight if the water clears up, and a FTS of what i've done so far. I have a feeling I may have to change the scape, but for right now I'm glad to get everything in the tank after its 2 day journey here. I may have one rock too many, but maybe the LFS will buy it from me or give me credit?

 

Let me know what you guys think.

[M@!]

I too was inpsired by H20's AP thread. Makes it easy when he does such a great job laying everything out. That stand looks really nice. Looks a lot more usable than the POS standard AP24 stand. Can't wait to see the live rock loaded up.

 

Just curious why you hand to mod the MJ holder? Mine fit fine with the stock holder.

[cfeist]

I too was inpsired by H20's AP thread. Makes it easy when he does such a great job laying everything out. That stand looks really nice. Looks a lot more usable than the POS standard AP24 stand. Can't wait to see the live rock loaded up.

 

Just curious why you hand to mod the MJ holder? Mine fit fine with the stock holder.

 

Maybe I didn't try one angle or something, but when I had the 3 suction cup stand mounted I couldn't get a secure fit down there. Oh well, lol, gave me a reason to use my dremel some more.

 

Yup H20's thread is great, and I agree about the stand. I didn't like the AP24 stand at all, and there was hardly any storage space. This one looks nice and has a drawer and 2 shelves, worked perfect imo.

[hoganrj]

Can't wait to see some more pics! What made you decide to ditch the stock filter for the egg crate setup.

[cfeist]

Can't wait to see some more pics! What made you decide to ditch the stock filter for the egg crate setup.

 

Hey rj, glad to see another "first sw tank" member. Your tank looks great btw.

 

I decided to ditch the stock filter for a few reasons. Getting the blue sponges out when they were dry wasn't exactly easy, but I could see it being a major pain removing them when they were full of crap and wet and making a mess in the living room. As for the bioballs and ceramic media, I have read by a number of people that they tend to trap nitrates and aren't very good at filtration. I figured my 36lbs (1.5lb/gallon) of live rock would be the major filtration, and then the Chemipure or Purigen would just clean the water that much more. Also, the filter floss does a great job in absorbing random crap. It gets dirty after a few days and its cheap enough to swap out a couple times per week. So far so good.

[hoganrj]

Thanks for the kind words. I did remove my Bioballs and ceramic recently as I noticed that too. The Blue foam is a nightmare to get out and does get filthy. Where did you get the egg crate from. I think I may have to go this route as well.

[cfeist]

Thanks for the kind words. I did remove my Bioballs and ceramic recently as I noticed that too. The Blue foam is a nightmare to get out and does get filthy. Where did you get the egg crate from. I think I may have to go this route as well.

 

I got the egg crate at Home Depot. It comes in a huge piece thats about 10-12 bucks. I ended up cutting it in half with some cutters and then dremel'd the rest. I marked it out with a pen based on the measurements from the first chamber and then sliced it up and sanded it with the dremel to remove most of the plastic edges. I then superglued the "shelves" on there pretty thick, so hopefully it stays. I have applied a good amount of pressure when packing in the filter floss, so it seems like the superglue did the trick for the shelves. I know some have zip tied the shelves, but I went for the cleaner look and hopefully just as strong. The shelves give me the ability to put some chemipure or purigen on the 2nd level and have some more water fall down though it and hopefully filter the water a bit better. Good luck

[M@!]

Maybe I didn't try one angle or something, but when I had the 3 suction cup stand mounted I couldn't get a secure fit down there. Oh well, lol, gave me a reason to use my dremel some more.

I'm thinking you didn't try very hard after looking at that nice shiny dremel going unused.

 

I got my stock AP stand with my tank used. Now I don't think there is anyway I am going try and move this sucker.

 

I'm running the filter floss and purigen; my water quality is good except I still have dones of dust I can't get rid off.

[hoganrj]

Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it.

[cfeist]

Just did my first water parameters test with my API Saltwater Master kit. I will do the Reef Master tests in the next couple days. I also used my marine depot refractometer for the salinity. Here are the results:

 

Ammonia : 0-.25 ppm

Nitrite : .25

Nitrate : 0

 

Ph : 8.3

Salinity : 1.027

 

[Nick's Reef]

The pearly jawfish will not get along with the yasha. i'd get the yasha instead, they're much more beautiful and once settled active! Feel free to pm about any questions on Yasha (I've had a pair f them for 2yrs.+ and I've done tons of reading.) Btw if you'd like to see pics of mine just got to the link in my sig.

[cfeist]

The pearly jawfish will not get along with the yasha. i'd get the yasha instead, they're much more beautiful and once settled active! Feel free to pm about any questions on Yasha (I've had a pair f them for 2yrs.+ and I've done tons of reading.) Btw if you'd like to see pics of mine just got to the link in my sig.

 

Thanks for the info Nick. I will have to decide. I really like the jawfish, but maybe the shrimp goby pair would be a better fit for the tank. I have a few weeks to think it over nonetheless. Nice tank btw and the yashas look great.

[cfeist]

So after getting the live rock shipment which was quite nice I tried my hand at aquascaping. It was a bit difficult at first because some of the pieces were fairly large, but I ended up using those as the base. I am actually quite happy with it and have only made very slight adjustments since the photos I took last night. I changed the rock on the far right so that it no longer touches the glass, and the structure seems pretty solid after testing it a bit. There are some very nice caves and holes that link up throughout the tank which should be great for some fish down the road. There are also some nice flat spots for some coral as well.

 

By the way, this is only with the lunar/led moonlights on, I have yet to take some aquascape pictures with the halide on and will in the next couple days.

 

 

Let me know what you think!

[hoganrj]

Looks great! Picked up some egg crate yesterday at the Depot...Thanks Again!

[Lalani]

Very nice, I love the aquascaping. Interesting structure and plenty of space for corals to grow.

Oh, and your photography skills are great! What camera do you use?

[silverdust]

Very nice, I love the aquascaping. Interesting structure and plenty of space for corals to grow.

Oh, and your photography skills are great! What camera do you use?

 

^This I need to know as well, lol. Looks fabulous so far!

[cfeist]

Very nice, I love the aquascaping. Interesting structure and plenty of space for corals to grow.

Oh, and your photography skills are great! What camera do you use?

 

Thanks for the compliments. Other than the couple of unsharp out of focus shots because I was too excited I love taking photos. I use a Nikon D70 Digital SLR with a 50mm f2.8 lens ($99) and for macros I use a Sigma 70-300mm with macro option. The prices of cameras that are equivalent have dropped significantly in the past few years. My camera is a few years old and there are very comparable models for way less than I paid. I would recommend a Digital SLR over any point and shoot for quality and lens options imo.

 

Here's some more photos, and some questions for you experienced reefers out there! Please help me ID.

 

Side views

 

Middle cave

 

Green coralline

 

Are these mushrooms?

 

Closeup

 

Is this Macro algae?

 

Uhoh, is this Aiptasia? luckily I have Joe's Juice ready if it's a positive ID.

 

 

Thanks in advance, appreciate the comments!

[Lalani]

Thanks for the compliments. Other than the couple of unsharp out of focus shots because I was too excited I love taking photos. I use a Nikon D70 Digital SLR with a 50mm f2.8 lens ($99) and for macros I use a Sigma 70-300mm with macro option. The prices of cameras that are equivalent have dropped significantly in the past few years. My camera is a few years old and there are very comparable models for way less than I paid. I would recommend a Digital SLR over any point and shoot for quality and lens options imo.

 

Are these mushrooms?

 

Closeup

 

Is this Macro algae?

 

Uhoh, is this Aiptasia? luckily I have Joe's Juice ready if it's a positive ID.

 

Cool, I've only heard great things about Nikon DSLRs, but I started out with Canon and bought a Rebel XT to use my colletion of lenses. Really want to get a Canon 100m 2.8 macro lens, but that will have to wait for a little while.

Great pics once again!

Lets see if I can help any....

 

1) Not mushrooms, but foraminiferans. They are little filter feeders, I have a few in my tank too.

2) Yes, macro algae, not sure what type.

3) Can't be sure if its aptasia or not, but looks dead to me.

 

Here is a great place to make common IDs: http://www.xtalworld.com/Aquarium/hitchfaq.htm

[cfeist]

Cool, I've only heard great things about Nikon DSLRs, but I started out with Canon and bought a Rebel XT to use my colletion of lenses. Really want to get a Canon 100m 2.8 macro lens, but that will have to wait for a little while.

Great pics once again!

Lets see if I can help any....

 

1) Not mushrooms, but foraminiferans. They are little filter feeders, I have a few in my tank too.

2) Yes, macro algae, not sure what type.

3) Can't be sure if its aptasia or not, but looks dead to me.

 

Here is a great place to make common IDs: http://www.xtalworld.com/Aquarium/hitchfaq.htm

 

Thanks for the reply Lalani! I think the Canon Rebel XT is also a great camera and is basically the equivalent of the D50/D70 from Nikon. If you have Canon lenses already it's best to get the rebel anyway. Both are great cameras.

 

As for the IDs, thanks for the info, I will check that site out. I'll keep an eye on the aptasia, I swear I saw it in a different spot last night when I was roaming around with the flashlight, but if he remains in the same spot from now on i'll assume hes dead. I assume the 'foraminiferans' are good/ok? I'll do some more reading.

 

Thanks again for your help! I'll have more pics as things develop. Second water test tomorrow to see if i'm on my way...

[hoganrj]

Great shots....Quick question. did you put the purigen below the floss or vise versa?

[cfeist]

Great shots....Quick question. did you put the purigen below the floss or vise versa?

 

Thanks, I haven't used the Purigen or the Chemipure yet until the cycle is over. When I do use it I will put the Purigen below the floss so the water falls through it, maybe on the second shelf, i'll see how well it works. The filter floss is great for removing debris and other crap from the water so I want that on top so that it doesn't go any further.

[cfeist]

Just did another water test. There are a few colors that are difficult to match up, but I think i'm pretty close.

 

I'm a little worried about my Salinity going up. I have been topping off with distilled, and it was just 1.027. I don't want to siphon some water out and add more distilled because of the cycle. Or should I be concerned?

Salinity : 1.028

 

 

My ammonia has stayed under .25 after the last few days. Because this was fully cured rock, I may not even get a spike higher than .25, so hopefully thats the case.

Ammonia: 0-.25

My Ph has dropped from 8.3 to 7.9, should I be concerned with this? What can I do to raise the Ph, or should I wait until after the cycle is completed?

Ph: 7.9

My Nitrites have gone up from the last water test a few days ago when it was .25

Nitrite: .25 - .50

I'm started to read some Nitrates now as well, it was 0 a few days ago.

Nitrate: 5

I'm thankful my Phosphates are 0, as I have only used boxed catalina water and distilled.

Phosphates: 0

I don't know much about Calcium and Kh, so after seeing the API test kits parameters, these values seem to be in the normal range, correct me if i'm wrong.

Calcium: 480-500

Kh: 10

 

Any comments are welcome, i'm posting my progress so if I make some obvious mistakes or errors in judgement i'd like to be corrected. Thanks

 

-Colin