Rizakaniza's Cadlights 39g Pro Build Thread

[rizakaniza]

Alright, proof of my naughty crime!

 

 

 

 

 

Also, today (being my 31st Birthday) I purchased a GFO Reactor from Bulk Reef Supply along with a MJ 1200, some Coralife Aqua Gloves, and a filter sock. I'm going to be moving my electrical outside of my cabinet to make room for the Reactor. I'm tired of all the issues with algae growth and I like the idea of having the extra "insurance" provided by the reactor. Also, I want pristine perfect water for when I start adding Corals which should be within the next month.

[rizakaniza]

The tang, or "Blueberry" as we have named him is doing wonderful so far. I took an hour to acclimate him in my special HOB quarantine that I purchased at the LFS. Him and "Nemo," my clownfish, are having all sorts of fun swimming around together. "Melanie" or Pseudochromis is a little anal about her territory and will charge at the two every now and then when they get close to her safe place. Otherwise, all seems great. The fish are happier than I have ever seen them. The Tang looks quite happy. Never knew he would be so playful with the clownfish.

[timdanger]

:o

 

...

 

 

 

sweet tang. people are going to yell at you, but i'm interested to see how it goes. i've been going back and forth myself on adding a yellow tang.

[nick1912]

funny how many fish you got but like only 2 corals! come on man! its Nano Reef!!! not Nano Marine!!!

[rizakaniza]

:o

 

...

 

 

 

sweet tang. people are going to yell at you, but i'm interested to see how it goes. i've been going back and forth myself on adding a yellow tang.

I know what you mean. I didn't even consider it until I talked to a friend who said he kept one in a 24 Gallon tank for 5 years. I was sold at that point. In the end I think, within reason, we can do what we want, because it's our tank. Besides, this gives me an excuse to upgrade to a bigger tank at a later time I fully intend to move up to a 100+ in a year or two. Maybe then I'll use the Cad tank for a Species only "Mantis" tank or something.

 

I'm surprised you didn't comment on my recent Phosphate Reactor purchase. I couldn't remember wasn't sure if you ran one or not?

 

funny how many fish you got but like only 2 corals! come on man! its Nano Reef!!! not Nano Marine!!!

Lol, I know, even my wife is hounding me to get some corals. I know I've got at least 1 polyp of Purple Hornet Zoa coming to me from National Coral Registry, so I'm excited about that. Now that I bought some Coralife Aqua gloves, I've got no excuses for adding corals.

[timdanger]

I'm surprised you didn't comment on my recent Phosphate Reactor purchase. I couldn't remember wasn't sure if you ran one or not?

 

well, i'll tell you - i definitely like the BRS stuff. that looks to me like a very smart purchase. but, i assumed you already knew that, so i didn't say anything!

 

i'd like one, but i'm just running a couple of bags in the bottom of my filter sock (1 rowaphos bag, 1 carbon bag). that'll do in the meantime until i decide to purchase the reactor (or a dual reactor).

 

there's so much to buy to get to where you want to get in this hobby, even before you think about livestock. it's unbelievable.

[rizakaniza]

well, i'll tell you - i definitely like the BRS stuff. that looks to me like a very smart purchase. but, i assumed you already knew that, so i didn't say anything!

 

i'd like one, but i'm just running a couple of bags in the bottom of my filter sock (1 rowaphos bag, 1 carbon bag). that'll do in the meantime until i decide to purchase the reactor (or a dual reactor).

 

there's so much to buy to get to where you want to get in this hobby, even before you think about livestock. it's unbelievable.

I know, that's why I don't even own any coral yet. I want everything to be just right before I do Actually, I plan on starting out with some zoas here soon. I think once I get the Phos Reactor going and the filter sock in place my water quality will be perfect. All my other params seem to be spot on.

 

Ughhh...I noticed Cyano growing on some rock today and also GHA growing all over the rockwork. Don't know what's going on with all this, because I have been doing water changes as well as having sone a serious sump maintanence. I don't wanna mess around anymore, so I'm gonna go all out with the Reactor.

 

Yes, btw, I had read many articles and found the BRS Reactor to have the best reviews. I hope the MJ1200 isn't too much flow, although it was the recommended pump from their own instructions. I'll let you know how it works. I figure I can hold off just a little on getting the BM Skimmer until I get Phos under control.

[rizakaniza]

Guess what came in the mail today? Nope, it wasn't the reactor. It was the MJ 1200, filter socks, and Reefing gloves. These gloves ROCK by the way! They are quite thick and not flimsy at all. I would even pick up a mantis shrimp with these.

[timdanger]

Guess what came in the mail today? Nope, it wasn't the reactor. It was the MJ 1200, filter socks, and Reefing gloves. These gloves ROCK by the way! They are quite thick and not flimsy at all.

 

sweet! i'd love to see some pictures of how you're fitting the reactor together with the sump/etc. you can be my guinea pig!

 

I would even pick up a mantis shrimp with these.

 

(don't do that)

[rizakaniza]

I feel like I am going to burst just waiting for the reactor to get here...

[rizakaniza]

I missed the UPS guy on last friday as well as this afternoon, but I will be picking up the reactor tonight from the distro center. Also, I added a SKunk Shrimp today. Thought it woul be a helpful addittion to add a cleaner shrimp. Drip acclimated him for 45 minutes and then added to the tank. Seems to be doing well so far. We'll see over the next few days. Pics coming soon after I install the reactor.

[rizakaniza]

Today I finally received the BRS Phosphate Reactor along with 1lb of GFO. I knew I was going to need to make some adjustments to make room for this in the cabinet. The pics below will detail the install from start to finish.

 

The following 2 pics show what yhe cabinet looked like with the shelf in place along with all the electrical that I kept under there (I know, very, very naughty!)

 

 

This is what it looked like once everything was removed.

 

Here's what arrived from BRS! (except technically I got the MJ1200 from Marine Depot)

 

 

 

Next, I hooked up the MJ1200 to the Ball Valve connector and added the hose to connect the ball valve connector to the "IN" side of the Reactor.

 

Be sure to push the Ball valve connector as far onto the pump as possible to prevent leaking.

 

 

 

Next, I determined where I wanted the reactor to be attached to the cabinet. This simply consisted of 2 wood screws which the Reactor adapter slides over.

 

After taking some measurements, I decided to use one of the old holes that used to hold the RKL PC4 in place and simply made 1 new hole.

 

 

 

After this I added about 1/2 lb of GFO to the reactor after washing it out to get rid of particles and put everything in place.

 

 

Then, I turned on the MJ and made sure nothing leaked or exploded. Be sure to adjust the ball valve so that only the very top of the GFO tumbles. This way you ensure that the GFO is not ground down and emptied into your tank.

 

Now, we'll have to see how soon before the Phosphates drop and the algae all dies out. Yipee! I am very glad I made this purchase. Once all the algae vanishes I will begin looking to add some corals.

[rizakaniza]

I decided to do some sump maintanence this morning. Took me about 3 hours. I took apart my return pump and cleaned it spick and span. Then I used my MJ1200 and a filter sock to vacuum out all the detritus from the sump. I used a clothing hanger to pull all the gunk out of my return line. **This has significantly increased my flow** I had noticed my flow had slowed quite a bit and then I realized my return line was filled will all sorts of poop gunk.

 

Next, I decided to take remove the old chemipure and the Fluvall bag of GFO (since I just installed a GFO Reactor). AFter fiddling around with that I noticed that the connector for the tank to sump line had come a bit loose and was leaking a bit. This freaked me out a bit, because I instantly thought "glass crack" when I saw leaking water. Praise God ithat was not the case. I am still slightly concerned, because even after retightening it there seems to still be a very slight leak. Worst case scenario, I will have to pull the durso, empty out the water and re-fit a new connector. I am hesitant to silicone it in case I need to remove it in the future...

[timdanger]

reactor looks awesome. nice to be able to mount it out of the sump. i think i'll get one of these down the road.

 

I am still slightly concerned, because even after retightening it there seems to still be a very slight leak. Worst case scenario, I will have to pull the durso, empty out the water and re-fit a new connector. I am hesitant to silicone it in case I need to remove it in the future...

 

maybe use teflon tape.

[rizakaniza]

maybe use teflon tape.

 

Good idea, I'll give that a shot. Unfortunately, I know this is going to be messy no matter how I work it...

[rizakaniza]

Dohhh....I couldn't help myself when I came across a pretty good deal in the livestock forum today. So , I am heading to Huntington Beach tomorrow to pick up a 1/2" frag of Superman Montipora and a small head of War Coral. WIll post pics tomorrow.

 

Thought I'd share that it only cost $15 for everything...

[timdanger]

Dohhh....I couldn't help myself when I came across a pretty good deal in the livestock forum today. So , I am heading to Huntington Beach tomorrow to pick up a 1/2" frag of Superman Montipora and a small head of War Coral. WIll post pics tomorrow.

 

Thought I'd share that it only cost $15 for everything...

 

holy mackeral, that's a pretty good deal.

[rizakaniza]

Tadaah!

 

 

 

AFter reading a bunch of articles I just decided to temperature acclimate for 1 hour and then I placed them in the tank.

[rizakaniza]

So, a few hours after adding my corals I noticed the War Coral disappeared from it's place. I looked all over the tank and can you guess where I found it? Yup, it was in the claw of "Hitch" my hitchhiking crab!!!

 

After about 20 minutes I had removed almost every rock from my tank to get to "Hitch" who managed to hide completely under a rock. He is now a very unhappy resident of my fuge until I can bring him in for a trade-in at my LFS. Bye, bye Hitch!

[rizakaniza]

I just found a used Current USA 1/15 hp Prime Inline Water Chiller for a good price. Will be picking it up on Friday. Yipee, fewer trips to the water store!!!

 

 

Usually I have had my temp ranges from 78-81F, but I decided today that I would drop it to 78-80F.

[timdanger]

I just found a used Current USA 1/15 hp Prime Inline Water Chiller for a good price. Will be picking it up on Friday. Yipee, fewer trips to the water store!!!

 

 

Usually I have had my temp ranges from 78-81F, but I decided today that I would drop it to 78-80F.

 

sweet. how much did you end up paying? because my BSJF really should be in 78ish water, not 80ish, i think i might be going that route in the future.

[rizakaniza]

sweet. how much did you end up paying? because my BSJF really should be in 78ish water, not 80ish, i think i might be going that route in the future.

Paid $20 total!

[Deleted User 6]

Paid $20 total!

 

wow. you sure it's not broken?

[timdanger]

you bought a Current USA 1/15hp chiller for $20?

 

i'd be sure to give that a lot of observed testing before setting it up and leaving the house.

[rizakaniza]

Oh, sorry, I thought you meant how much I paid for the coral! LOL!