Reyam's B45 Reef/Fish Tank

[Reyam]

UPDATE *20121118*

Current FTS

 

FTS 20121007 look how nice the pom pom's were!

 

Current LiveStock - All Fish and Corals from Aquarium Outfitters Athens, Ga.

 

2 Not so Nano Tank raised Clowns (Coral and Nemo)

 

1 Yellow Wrasse (Amaterasu)

 

1 Melanarus Wrasse (Rainbow)

 

1 Yellow Watchman Goby (Nameless - The Silent Watchman)

 

1 Brown Brittle Star - (Octopus)

 

 

1 Fighting Conch w/ 8 yes that's right 8 of the tube worms/dusters. (lost all dusters while buried in sand)

 

2 Halloween Hermit Crabs(the little one - big was sleeping)

 

2 Turbo Grazer snails

 

2 Blue/Red Leg Hermits ( Not sure if they are all still in there but looking for them)

 

2 Cerith Snails (snail my def. slow)

 

2 Dwarf/nano snails

 

Corals

 

 

My B45 By Odyssea.

 

It was a slow start scouring Craigslist for a Tank that was both odd and in good condition. After many hrs and a few weeks I found this beauty hidden in a consignment shop. She was only 1.5hrs away and as unique as I could find. So the "Process" began.

 

Here it is in the early stage of arrival to it's new resting place.(FTS)

And we couldn't get by w/o a side shot.

From there we moved on to paint...

Once the Painting was done and the Tank was back in place we needed a seal/pump check.. fill her up!

This is a shot of the return line.. 1600lph or 423gph

Make sure we have all our supplies... Heater, Magnet & Backing

Acclimation Kit

Carbon Filter Pads

SeaGel and Purigen For Hood Filter Bay #2

Shipment from Bulk Reef Supply came in.. boxes!

Box #1 contained Red Sea Coral Pro Sea Salt(a Sea that I have actually been swimming in) and Faucet Water Change Kit

Box #2 25lbs of ECO Rock and 16lbs of Pukani Rock

Picked up by Nutri Sea from the LFS

Then my package from PetMoutain arrived..More goodies! 750's x2 and Subcurrent Surface Skimmer

Rocks then got a resort style Salt Bath

Now it was time to hit up the LFS. I got my RO/DI Water 37gal, Silicone, LR 3.5lbs, 80lbs LS(Used 60)

Now it was TANK TIME! Rocks on Glass and filling sand.

Here is the 2 bay filter system I have. This is what is under my Carbon Pads

Pads in place

I also have a Seachem's Matrix Carbon Bag and chunk of LR inside my subcurrent(160gph)

This is the First FTS a few minutes after filling

Then the following morning around 9-12hrs later

FTS

Left Side

Right Side

When I got home from work this evening it had cleared up even more!

That's when I found this little guy

 

I will compile my equipment list and future plans and all that good stuff this weekend. Enjoy the show and much more to come in the future.

 

Special Tanks to Kissmydsm for getting me into the hobby in the first place and my LFS Aquarium Outfitters in Athens, Ga for supporting my addiction!

[KissMyDSM]

Looks like a good start so far

[Reyam]

Tank started 2012/06/07 3days late... Happy B-Day anyways

[KissMyDSM]

Doin a great job so far. This is the hard part where you have to wait for a couple weeks haha

[surgicalsense]

Very nice, can you explain what you doing for the fitration system so I can better understand.

 

[Spirofucci]

Nice sized nano! Looks great.

[Reyam]

Current filtration is as follows.

Pump brings water up and out through 25 small holes in the tube above the carbon filter pads. Then the water passes over/around the LR for additional filtration and then through the SeaGel and finally the Purigen before returning to the tank. (the subcurrent on the back wall has a similar setup of filter pad, matrix carbon bag, LR and then returns the surface water to the tank. Once it returns to the tank it's filtered again using the LR/LS in the Tank. In the future I will look into a protien skimmer and possibly a reactor but for the time being i will monitor this setup.

 

My goal is not only to have a rare tank style but a rare tank setup aswell.

 

I forgot to mention it above but my current lighting setup is 2x36w 12k wht and 2x36w 12k altinic blue lights w/reflector mirror mounted in hood. Same cycle on switch. Future plans will replace it but keep hood intact.

[surgicalsense]

Sorry I am just trying to learn and understand something new. I have never seen this type of rear chamber filtration before.

 

... and your using the Sea Gel because of the LR fitration also? Not Chemipure?

[Reyam]

Well the Chemi pure would come in handy in the future no doubt about that. I would say around the time the tank finishes cycle and i start to prep for livestock, but at day 2 and w/o livestock.... not really mandatory.

 

Why I chose the SeaGel/Purigen combo to start the tank

 

SeaGel is an efficient blend of MatrixCarbon and PhosGuard. SeaGel removes organic and color impurities, phosphates, silicates, toxic metals and acids.

Purigen; removes proteins, nitrites and nitrates, ammonia, and a broad spectrum of organics, yet its impact on trace elements is minimal. (Keep it clean from day 1 w/ the hope for less extensive balancing of levels down the line.)

 

I like to think of every experience as a chance to not only learn but also modify the process. Always more then 1 way to accomplish any task.

[Rollermonkey]

Wow. That's a lot bigger than my cube...

 

I googled Oddysea and B45 trying to find out what was different between our tanks....

 

Good luck, I sure hope that you don't run into any of the problems I saw/read.

[Reyam]

You know there was really zero inforamtion about it online. I started looking when i first picked it up. It does look alot bigger then yours for having only a few gals of water difference between them. (which is why i wanted to start up a topic between us, similar gals and start times.) It did seem like the problems listed online were mostly due to ppl thinking inside the box and wanting things to just work perfectly and not modify their build. I gladly accept the challenge of something not working as planned and being the only one i can find locally or online that has one of these up and operational. I have seen a B60 on YouTube but not a B45.

 

Reef Cleaners Custom Rec.

Thank you for stopping by www.reefcleaners.org. This is what I would get for your tank:

 

 

20 Dwarf Ceriths

9 Nassarius

9 Florida Ceriths

6 Assorted Hermits

3 Large Nerite and 3 Small to medium Nerites

2 Chitons and 3 Limpets

 

 

All the Best,

John Maloney

www.reefcleaners.org

[Reyam]

My Hitchhikers

 

"The Rocks are ALIVE!"

 

just 1

x7 or 8 I have seen

 

off to the LFS... Aquarium Outfitters Athens, Ga! www.aquarium-outfitters.com

[xilez]

Great tank! Aquarium Outfitters happens to be the store I go to as well. I have a few of the purple LR as well, it looks great under blue led.

[Rollermonkey]

I have Jack Squat for hitchhikers thus far, 15 days into things.

 

The one horror story that I saw that really stood out concerning a B45 was a guy whose tank cracked along the front right corner/curve.

 

Yikes.

 

How deep is your sand? 60 pounds sounds like a lot...

[Reyam]

Great tank! Aquarium Outfitters happens to be the store I go to as well. I have a few of the purple LR as well, it looks great under blue led.

 

Spoiler ALERT! new shipment for tomorrows newsletter has been seen!

they have 2 of these that I like so much...too bad i could not get them

[xilez]

Those are sexy. I got a clownfish and a black and white clown from them on tuesday, as well as a zoo colony. my first zoo colony i bought there a few weeks ago isnt doing so well, hopefully the new one thrives

[Reyam]

I have Jack Squat for hitchhikers thus far, 15 days into things.

 

The one horror story that I saw that really stood out concerning a B45 was a guy whose tank cracked along the front right corner/curve.

 

Yikes.

 

How deep is your sand? 60 pounds sounds like a lot...

 

I think a crack in any tank would really suck but from what i understand the bow fronts are more prone to it due to design.

 

Good Question about my sand bed. When I started it was mostly even at 3.5-4in. With the addition of the twin 750's however my sand bed is never the same in one spot or for any period of time. If you think of the shifting sands in a desert due to the winds mine functions pretty much the same way thanks to my current.

It will move just a little at a time up the sand dune and then most of it will fall down as the impeller cycle cuts to flow then pick it back up. Some of it makes it to the top and then it rolls the other side.

 

With the addition of a Sand Sifting CUC, other livestock(sand sifting) and a powerhead controller to modify the flow even more I don't think that my sand bed will ever remain the same. Which i could not be more happy about. For one thing it's helping to ensure waste is not collected or left on the sand, say long enough to be moved and eatten by something else/picked up and make it's way to a filter.(great) but also it means every day when i come home there is something new and interesting a foot and not just the live stuff!

[Reyam]

Those are sexy. I got a clownfish and a black and white clown from them on tuesday, as well as a zoo colony. my first zoo colony i bought there a few weeks ago isnt doing so well, hopefully the new one thrives

That would be nice, maybe the other one will make a recovery.

 

I spend a good deal of time in there picking their brains and getting to know what I like. I have a few frags that i check on everytime I go in there to make sure they are doing good. When the time comes I will get the healthy corals I have been tracking and start to create my masterpiece!

 

I do like the Black Seahorses in the first small display tank, reminds me of the black riders from LOTR. I don't think they would be a good fit for this tanks design but maybe in the future I will have a 9 black rider tank!

[KissMyDSM]

You can keep Harleys as long as you keep a supply of starfish for them to eat

[Reyam]

So I checked the water params today. SG high end of .026, Ph was 8.2, amonia was 2ppm, Nitrites .80, and Nitrates 8.0 approx. Oh and temp was 79-81 depending on how long the lights had been off. I was talking with kissmydsm and he said try keeping more water out of the tank before returning. So I installed a cylinder filter pad into the return hole from my hood filter and it backed up the flow just enough to not reach the overflow return and it eliminated the bubbles that were being injected via the return. No bubbles means no popping under my lights and coating them in salt :-). So not only did it reduce maint. On my lights but the noise created by the water flow in the filter and reduced overall temp w/hood installed as designed. Win Win.

 

Coming to you live from West Point, Ga

[Reyam]

UPDATED PHOTOS @12 THE DAY MARK. I HAVE BEEN MONITORING ME LVLS AND AMONIA IS ON THE DROP AND TRATES AN TRITES ARE ON THE UP... THE ONLY GOOD THING ABOUT MY GHA IS THAT IT PROVIDES MOVEMENT AND SOMETHING TO WATCH. I DO LIKE THE CRYSTAL CLEAR WATER I HAVE ALSO CAN'T COMPLAIN ABOUT THAT.

[Reyam]

Conducted first water change. 5gal of RO/DI water and 2.5 cups of Red Sea Coral Pro Salt. Reduced my SG from 1.026 to 1.025(high end). Still testing about 10ppm Nitrates but Ammonia is at 0 and my nitries are under 0.25. I might pick up a snail today to get started on the GHA but I will wait another week or so until the CUC gets ordered. Doing another water change prior to them arriving with the hope to have Nitrates close to zero for their arrival. 8hrs after first change i took my readings and the water is back to being crystal clear after stirring up the sand and cleaning the GHA off the sides of tank.

 

Anyone know a trick to keeping clean the glass/acrylic so your equipment will not slide down? I have my subcurrent mounted on the back glass and it's stuck and really hard to remove but it will slide down the glass until it hits the rock.

[KissMyDSM]

Do you have a magfloat? (Magnetic Cleaner) Can always scrape the glass with a razor blade to....not sure how safe that is for acrylic though.

[Reyam]

Took these with my iphone first gen, and not sure if it's green hair or turf algae but either way i don't like it! PICKING UP MOST MY CUC THIS AFTERNOON.

 

KISSMYDSM - I AM USING AN AQUEON TANK MAG

 

FTS

SIDES

[Reyam]

Do you have a magfloat? (Magnetic Cleaner) Can always scrape the glass with a razor blade to....not sure how safe that is for acrylic though.

I do not have a mag for the back glass mostly b/c my backing but i will take it off and try to clean it that way. and see if there is a difference in the amount of slip i am having. I was also thinking about a custom hanger for it as a primary support and the suction cups could be backup.