Custom 24g (2)x70w MH Nano Cube Project

[dja1980]

bump*

 

Still around here dja?

 

Yep, still around. We just got back from Florida last week, and I've been playing catch up ever since.

 

I haven't taken anymore chaeto out since I last thinned it out, but I have peaked at it, and it looks like it's growing quite well.

 

Other updates...

 

I added my first SPS coral (Montipora digitata), which I understand to be a great coral to begin with. I placed it up high in an area with good flow, so we'll see how it does.

 

Also, thanks to Rod's Food, I added a small Mandarin Goby. I was skeptical at first about it actually eating the food, but it's been a few weeks now, and it hasn't appeared to have gotten any thinner. If anything, I think it may have fattened up a bit. I'm still going to keep an eye on him though, and if he does start to get thin, he'll have to go back.

 

And last, but not least, I finally got brave enough to split my RBTA. Last night when I got home, I found that it had moved down to the sand. So, I figured if I was going to do it, now would be the ideal time since it wasn't attached to the rock. I believe it went well. This morning, both pieces were bubble up nicely. One half was placed back on the rock, and the other I placed in small Rubbermaid dish in the sand so I can take it to my LFS.

 

New pictures will be coming shortly.

[Triggz]

Sounds like things are going well! Glad to hear that you got a mandarin that will eat! I know a few people that feed them mysis shrimp with good success.

 

Can't wait to see some new pics. Monti's are some of my favorite SPS coral

[nanoty]

Really nice setup. The guys at nanocustoms are great. I look forward to see more progress in your tank.

[BSimm]

Hey Dave:

 

Can you post some specs on how you integrated your chiller into the hood? I saw soem original pics of the tubes into your tank, but not the specifics.

 

I've got my 150 MH in the hood, but may have to go with a chiller... we shall see.. and I'm prepping, just in case.

 

Which chiller do you have? Do you like it? Do you recommend it?

 

Great work and can't wait to see your pictures. Here is my hood

 

 

 

 

I've actually gone with larger fans, and will be epoxying them in soon.. Good luck.

 

BSimm

[dja1980]

Thanks for posting Brad. It looks like things are really coming along since the last time you posted.

 

As for the chiller, the tubes you saw in the earlier pictures were coming down from the Nanocustoms' ICA (Integrated Chiller Assist), which came with my original hood (1x70MH + 3x18CF). However, when I upgraded to the 2x70MH + 2x18CF hood, Chris informed me that the ICA would no longer be enough to handle the temps generated from the upgraded hood, and that I would actually need to run a "real" chiller. I went with the JBJ Arctica 1/20th model, which I happen to like quite a bit. If you're interested in the ICA chiller, check out:

 

http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php?cPath=34&products_id=299

 

Mine came already installed, but there's a link to detailed installation instructions if you go to the link above. I hope this helps, and keep up the good work. Keep us posted on your progress!

[nanoty]

I am leaning toward the ICA for my 12g. My temps with the MH arent bad at all, from 79-82 in 13 hours today. I know, it's not on a timer yet, my usually photoperiod is only 10 hours. Anyways, I think the ICA would be a good "insurance policy" incase my ambient temps ever rise a little. From personal experience do you think it could handle a few extra degrees of heat with the MH in my tank? Once again, I like the tank and keep it up.

[BSimm]

Dave.... Thanks for the info and link. But I'm afraid that with my 150MH in my 24 I'll be needing a "real" chiller also. if I recall, you had some plumbing problems with yours (ended up with water on your floor?).

 

Could you give me details on your chiller set up now with the dual 70's, how you plumbed it and its overall effectiveness???

 

Thanks.. and I appreciate the encouragement. This will be my first reef... so I want to set it up right before the Goodies go in.

 

BSimm

[dja1980]

nanoty - Thanks for the compliments. I think the ICA could probably handle a 70w MH, but I would talk to Chris first since he designed it and knows its capabilities. I know it's a big investment, but I think with any chiller, a Reef Keeper is a definite.

 

Brad - Yes, you're right. I did have some problems the way I had originally set my chiller up. With an external chiller, the plumbing is very simple. Mine has a small pump (Rio 400, 144GPH) in chamber 1 that pumps water through the chiller, and returns it to chamber 3. If you look at the picture of the back of my tank, you'll see black tubing that runs from the tank down the right side of the picture to the chiller on the floor, and then black tubing that runs from the chiller back up the left side of the picture to the tank. It's basically a closed loop. I ran into a problem, when I tried to avoid running separate tubing from my ATO up to the tank. You can see the Tee in the black tubing on the left side of the picture where I tapped into the return from the chiller with the ATO. I thought that by adding a check-valve, it would prevent water from getting pumped down into my reserve water container in the cabinet stand... wrong!!! So I removed the Tee and now have a separate ATO line running to the tank... no big deal I guess. Since I ordered the upgraded hood from Nanocustoms and Chris knew that I would be running an external chiller, he made the holes larger above the hinges to accommodate the 1/2" tubing, so this is where the tubing leaves and returns to the tank.

 

Also, I don't think I mentioned this yet, but since I mixed Kalk into my ATO water (mixes with a pH of 12), I now have a way for my Reef Keeper to control my ATO. I have the ATO channel on my Reef Keeper set as a pH Controller. This way, not only will my tank be protected from overflowing due to ATO malfunction or a snail sitting on the sensor, but it will also be protected from the pH getting too high. I set the Reef Keeper to kill power to the ATO if pH reaches 8.3. The Reef Keeper won't allow power back to the ATO until the pH in the tank drops to 8.25. I was always afraid of overflowing my tank with the ATO, and until I added Kalk, there was no way to control the ATO with the Reef Keeper. Plus, since pH tends to be higher during the day than at night, it usually ends up dosing at night, which helps to even that out.

 

[BSimm]

Dave:

 

Wonderful and detailed explanation... I'll be purchasing a Reefkeeper or a ACJr or ACIII soon as well so your info on the kalk/ato is timely.

 

So.. the tubes to the chiller and return from chiller go into the hood directly above the hinges??? Any way you can get a detailed picture of that? Also, do you have any problems with opening the hood with those tubes there?

 

You running the Nano arctica or what? Anyway,, that's enough questions. Thanks for the help!

 

BSimm

[dja1980]

I have absolutely no problems opening and closing the hood and noticed no difference when switching to an external chiller. Here's a picture of the left hinge with both the chiller return and ATO return running through the hood. I hope this helps.

 

[BSimm]

PERFECT... just what I was looking for, Dave. Thanks for all the help!

 

Brad

[dja1980]

Not a problem. Keep up the good work Brad.

 

I'm going to try to post some new pictures this afternoon.

[dja1980]

Here's some pictures of the RBTA after I split it.

 

Right After I Split It

 

Half #1

 

 

Half #2

 

 

A Few Nights Later

 

Half #1

 

 

Half #2

 

 

Confused Clown

 

 

Fortunately, the RBTA has expanded quite a bit since being split, so the Clown does have his home back. But, man, he was not happy for a while there!

 

[BSimm]

Looking Great, Dave... please keep us posted. How long did it take for your clown to get "happy" again???

 

Brad

[dja1980]

It only took a few days for the RBTA to inflate enough for the Clown to find it again.

 

I did get a few new things, which I will post pictures of shortly.

 

I had a bit of a problem with my chiller on Friday. Fortunately I was home and actually staring at my tank when it happened. I heard a loud pop come from behind my tank right before the Reef Keeper shut the chiller down. When it started up again, about 15 minutes later, it was hissing extremely loud and I could smell an odor. The worst thing was that instead of the Reef Keeper displaying that the chiller was dropping the tank temps, the temps were actually climbing with the chiller running.

 

So I immediately called Chris to find out what he recommended, and he gave me JBJ's phone number. I've got to say that I'm really impressed with how JBJ handled the situation. They said that they would send a new unit out right away, and would include a prepaid shipping label to send mine back with. They said that it sounded like the sealed system, which is under pressure when the chiller is running, must have sprung a leak somewhere, which is where the hissing sound was coming from.

 

So in the mean time, I adjusted my Reef Keeper to keep the heater on 1F higher (81F), and to shut down MH1 at 83F, MH2 at 84F, and the CFs at 85F. So far, it hasn't had to shut down MH2 or the CFs, but MH1 has been getting shut down around mid-afternoon, and the tank maintains a temperature of around 82.5F until the other lights start shutting down at their scheduled times. Thanks to the Reef Keeper, I'm able to keep my temperature range between 81F & 83F. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to my full lighting schedule soon.

[BSimm]

Dave:

 

Glad to hear that JBJ has good service, since I just bought a 1/10 arctica today!. So... now I'm just waiting on my RO/DI and my ACJr. then it's time to buy the rocks.

 

Any threads you suggest i could research to figure out my stocking options/plans? Seems like there are so many opinions, it get so confusing. I want to do it right and take my time doing it. Thanks for any advice. I'll let you know when I'm up and running.

 

Brad

[dja1980]

Brad, did you ever end up purchasing your live rock? I was just curious as to what you ended up buying. Also, what was it about the AC-Jr that you liked over the ReefKeeper2? I do like that the AC-Jr incorporated a moonlight cycle into their programming. I'm hoping that Digital Aquatics releases that as a firmware update for the ReefKeeper2 in the future. I have the data-logging splitter ordered from them, so I should be able to download that firmware update soon (I need to get more pH calibration fluid because you have to reset everything when you install the update).

 

As far as stocking goes, it pretty much comes down to personal preference. Obviously we're all restricted a bit based on our individual setups, but with your lighting, you don't have too much to worry about aside from space. Just take it slow and limit the number of fish you have… and no tangs, otherwise the tang police will be out to get ya. The best thing to do is research everything you think you might want to purchase in great detail to learn about individual requirements such as lighting, flow, diet, tolerances, etc… Most of us have made impulse purchases that we later find to be not so smart. I just made one last week when I was trying to use up a $100 gift card for an LFS I had sitting in my wallet for 2 years. I purchased an Electric Flame Scallop, which I later found to be not such a wise purchase. It seems to be happy now, but apparently I'll be lucky if it lives for 8 months.

 

I haven't taken pictures of the stuff that I bought with the gift card yet, but this is what I bought:

 

1 Firefish

1 Crocea Clam

1 Electric Flame Scallop

1 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp

 

I also bought a Blue Linkia star from another LFS, but I haven't seen it since I added it, so that's not looking promising.

 

And now for some new pictures…

 

My first SPS Coral (Montipora Digitata)

 

 

 

New Blastomussa Merleti

 

 

New Zoanthids

 

 

New Mandarin Goby

 

 

 

 

[dja1980]

And some stuff that's not new:

 

Ocellaris Clown

 

 

Euphyllia Ancora (Hammer)

 

 

Tubastrea (Sun)

 

 

Button Polyps

 

 

Green Star Polyps

 

 

Xenia (Red Sea)

 

 

Feather Duster

 

 

Leather (Unkown) ID anyone?

 

 

Full Tank Shot

 

[BSimm]

Dave:

 

I'v e not bought my live Rock Yet. I installed my RODI last weekend, but goofed up the line-in from the water supply value, so i had to order another one. It will be here tomorrow, so, over the weekend I should be up and running. I plan on getting about 25 Fiji and 5 of tonga branch just to break it up. Probably 5 in rubble too, for the back chamber. Could I buy some Cheato off you, once I've cycled???

 

I did get the chiller and have that ready to go, and the hood is finally finished with my upgraded fans.

 

I spoke to Chris at nanocustoms and bought the 3.1 fuge light and an actinic bulb for sunrise/sunset applications.

 

The ACjr, in my research, gave me a bit more flexibility and expandability... while the interface is not as cool as the RK2, it seems to be as good in everything else. I'll tell you about it when I get it (on backorder right now)

 

I appreciate your thoughts on livestock. I visited a couple stores in Schaumburg yesterday and was getting ideas of what to get (and what not to get). i think a clown for sure, then maybe a goby and one other reef friendly fish. But I will start of slowly on all that. I think it will be a LPS majority tank--I just think with my novice status that will be the best route for now.

 

I really like all your pictures... .some neat stuff. Isn't it amazing how much you can actually get in a 24 without overloading it??? Yours is really coming along nicely.. thanks for the FTS, that is sweet.

 

I'll post more hopefully start a thread this weekend or next week when the rock arrives.

 

Brad

[dja1980]

You were in Schaumburg? Are you located in IL? I don't know why, but I always assume that everyone is from a different state. Heck, if you chip in to have it shipped, I'll GIVE you some chaeto when you're ready for it. Either that or we could meet up somewhere. I don't know what town your from, but have you ever been out to Rod's Reef in DeKalb? Even if it's a bit of a hike for you, it might be worth the trip out there. Rod is seriously one of the coolest guys I have met in this hobby, and he's definitely a wealth of knowledge. (Chris from Nanocustoms is ranked pretty high on my list too). Rod gave me my first batch of chaeto, and since he gives it out for free, I normally give my trimmings back to him so he can continue to hand it out. He'll probably also give you some Xenia and GSP as freebies too if you tell him I sent you. I find myself getting stuck out there for hours at a time just shooting the breeze with him... it would seriously be worth the trip for you as someone new in the hobby. Plus, his prices are way less than anything you'll find out in the burbs.

[alexmurovec]

this tank is awesome! i love your coral placement, i cant wait till it all fills out, its gonna look so good! How do you like your MH? I am just making a DIY 70W for my 20. what type of bulb do you use, and how do you like them?

[dja1980]

Thanks Alex! The Marshall Island rock has definitely made it very easy to place the corals. There are so many nooks and crannies that it's as simple as choosing an empty spot and pushing the coral into it. I haven't even had to use glue yet. The MH is great. I believe Chris set me up with 12K bulbs with True Actinic supplementation. I do really like the color of these bulbs.

[BSimm]

Dave:

 

Yeah.. I live in Lincolnshire, Northern Suburb. I have a client in Hoffan Estates, that's why I was in Schaumburg, looking at the different stores out there.

 

DeKalb is a haul for me.. about 80 miles. But who knows, perhaps we can hook up and take a trip out there sometime. Even if we don't go out there, I'll take you up on getting that cheato when my tank is ready.

 

Like I said, I plan to order my rock this week. I installed my fuge light last night. But i had a mini mix up with the tubing Chris was going to include for my bulkhead and chiller attachment. No big deal, they are getting it out right away.

 

What kind of tubing do you have running from your pump to your chiller and back to the tank??? size and type???

 

I'll keep you posted.

 

 

Brad

[dja1980]

What kind of tubing do you have running from your pump to your chiller and back to the tank??? size and type???

 

I purchased a small roll of black 1/2" ID tubing from Home Depot. It fits perfectly, and I don't have to worry about algae growing on the inside of the tubing since light can't penetrate it. Plus it looks pretty sleek too.

 

When you were in Schaumburg, did you go to Advanced Aquatics? I'm going there this Saturday with the CMAS group and was wondering what you thought of it... if you went there.

[BSimm]

When you were in Schaumburg, did you go to Advanced Aquatics? I'm going there this Saturday with the CMAS group and was wondering what you thought of it... if you went there.

 

 

I did. I went there as well as Beyond the Reef. I found both places quite friendly and helpful.

 

Regarding Advanced Aquatics, they are in a bit of a remodel right now, so some of the stuff is in flux... but perhaps they are finished with most of it. I think I spoke to a young man named Justin, who was really helpful as we discussed livestock for my nano 24. Nothing pushy and his advice seemed to jive with much that I've learned from here and RC.

 

Honestly, I can't tell you much more than that, since I dont' have much of comparison on pricing I can't provide much insight there. Keep in mind, I'm the epitome of El Noob...so take my advice with a grain of salt.

 

Hmmm.. i saw that post on RC re: the traveling group. Could you guys take another noob? At least for part of the day? It's hard to get away for a full day since I have newborn twins, but I could really stand to learn some new stuff.

 

By the way,,, I finally filled the tank tonight.... trying to order liverock this week.. keep your fingers crossed.

 

Brad