Seabass's In-wall 100 Gallon

[seabass]

 

[jedimasterben]

For the Caribbean nano, I believe that Tampa Bay Saltwater will sell you the corals that grow on their rocks (with a little bit of the rock itself) and not just needing to buy a bunch of rock and hope for the best. This is the only way to legally get stony corals from the Atlantic. Just pray you don't get any Acropora

[seabass]

I'm working on painting my stand. Meanwhile, I found these bulkhead wrenches.

 

I just started my biofilter today. I had to get this process going; plus both of my pumps clogged and stopped circulating the water. That was 2 months of daily dosing with Seakear (lanthanum chloride). Let just say that I hope this issue has been taken care of.

Blurry iPhone pic of draining the canister.

So I cleaned out the pumps and canister, then added: saltwater, Dr Tims One & Only, and 12 drops of Dr Tims Ammonium.

I'm using less ammonia this time. The first time, I didn't know you could have too much for bacteria.

Thanks Ben!

[seabass]

Yay for Dr. Tims One & Only!

 

Looks like it processed most of the ammonia that I added yesterday, so I added some more today. I'm trying to keep it less than 2ppm with daily additions (increasing the dosage as time goes on).

[seabass]

I know this is boring, but I'm sort of using this thread as a rough log. Today the ammonia was undetectable (so I added another dozen drops of ammonium) and I decided to test phosphate for the first time. My Hanna Phosphate Checker indicated 0.05ppm of phosphate. While that's higher than the recommended 0.03ppm, it doesn't concern me that much just yet. Since this was the first test, I'll use it as a reference and see if it continues to go up (and at what rate).

 

 

The paint job on the stand is coming along fine. I'll post some pics soon.

[eitallent]

Are you kidding? I am not bored at all!

 

I love this thread for it's regular documentation. I am learning a ton. Keep posting please. I like it.

 

Thanks!

[seabass]

Thank you eitallent.

 

Keep posting please.

Don't worry, I can't help myself.

 

After a couple of coats of oil-based enamel.

Letting it dry, then a light sanding and a few coats of polyurethane.

[seabass]

More stand finishing


After a light sanding with 220 grit.

First coat of satin finish Rustoleam polyurethane.

Closeup of plumbing holes.

You can see the difference that the poly makes. I might try for 4 or 5 coats.

[jedimasterben]

[Lalani]

Still watching..... and waiting...... sigh.

[FishBrawler]

Updates??? Show us that stand!

[C'sREEF]

Which dry rocks are these that are giving you phosphate issues? Dont believe you mentioned the name of rocks but if I missed it, my bad lol

[seabass]

Yeah progress has been slow.

Show us that stand!

You mean the empty tank? I could probably get a shot of that sometime.

I'm going to get the poly on the upper part of the stand finished this weekend, wait a couple of days, turn it over, and finish up the bottom. After that, I'll need to wait a week for it to fully cure. So I'm at least 10 days out before I start to fill it. In the meantime, I'll continue to work on the biofilter (dosing ammonium into my tub of rocks).

 

 

Which dry rocks are these that are giving you phosphate issues? Dont believe you mentioned the name of rocks but if I missed it, my bad lol

No, I didn't mention it. MarcoRocks is a common place where people buy their rock, and I didn't feel like trashing them. Some other members have had similar experience with rock from BRS, so I'm thinking it isn't that uncommon. I actually got the rock a few years ago and I don't know if new shipments are similar. Anyway, they seem like a decent vendor, so I don't want to make a big deal out of it. What I did want to convey was that it's a good idea to test dry rock (and treat, if necessary).

[C'sREEF]

No, I didn't mention it. MarcoRocks is a common place where people buy their rock, and I didn't feel like trashing them. Some other members have had similar experience with rock from BRS, so I'm thinking it isn't that uncommon. I actually got the rock a few years ago and I don't know if new shipments are similar. Anyway, they seem like a decent vendor, so I don't want to make a big deal out of it. What I did want to convey was that it's a good idea to test dry rock (and treat, if necessary).

Any thoughts on http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=24528? Caribsea Southsea Rocks are available at my lfs where I can cherry pick but if picking dry rocks is too complicated I guess I'll settle on Reef Savers (BRS).

 

 

[seabass]

Any thoughts on http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=24528? Caribsea Southsea Rocks are available at my lfs where I can cherry pick but if picking dry rocks is too complicated I guess I'll settle on Reef Savers (BRS).

IDK, looks decent, but I haven't read anybody comment on it. You could buy a piece and test it. ReefCleaners offers pre-treated rock that should be phosphate free.

[C'sREEF]

IDK, looks decent, but I haven't read anybody comment on it. You could buy a piece and test it. ReefCleaners offers pre-treated rock that should be phosphate free.

thanks! I'll look into reefcleaners then...

[Giga]

looking good

[seabass]

So I'm a little concerned this afternoon, as phosphate tested today at 0.20ppm. I'll continue to keep an eye on it (there might have been some test anomalies with this, or the first test). I really don't want to introduce a phosphate issue into the tank to start it off; then again, I'm kind of sick of treating these rocks. I have a GFO reactor that I can run. I'll probably just do that (I'm not that interested in running a refugium at this time).

 

Ammonia is still undetectable, so now, I've started dosing twice a day. I'm going to continue upping the doses until the tank/stand/sump is ready.

[eitallent]

I would be sick of treating those rocks too.

 

But the stand is looking awesome!

[seabass]

Thanks eitallent.

 

 

OK, I'm feeling better about my rocks today. I decided to do another phosphate test (expecting the results to be like 0.25ppm this time); however, I was pleasantly surprised to see it read 0.10 (yesterday it read 0.20). The test is supposedly accurate to 0.04ppm, but I've seen it swing farther than that in the past. I'll blame it on user error (spilling reagent, bubbles in the sample, fingerprints on the vial, etc).

 

So I performed another test and got a reading of 0.05ppm. This is good news. If it's not building up over time, then I should be out of the woods. However, I'll continue testing to see if it stays within this range.

 

 

I also dosed 15 more drops of Dr Tims Ammonium and waited a few minutes to let it circulate while I performed the phosphate tests and fed my fish. The ammonia reading was 0.25ppm. The bottle indicates that 1 drop per gallon of water will raise ammonia by 2ppm. Since I'm using a 32 gallon Brute that is mostly full of rock, I'd say that it's processing it fairly well. I'll run another test tonight just to make sure that it's gone before adding more.

[seabass]

Phosphate tested at 0.02ppm today. I know, it kind of makes you wonder about the accuracy of this test kit. I use it more to give me a ballpark, than an absolute level. If multiple tests read high, then the level is high; while if multiple tests read good, then I consider it good. I don't consider it a bad test kit, but I'm still thinking of getting a Red Sea Pro kit as a backup. The good news is that the readings seem to be mostly lower, and it doesn't seem to be going up (like it was doing before).

[seabass]

I decided that (instead of buying them), I'm going to try to make a couple bulkhead wrenches. I saw a thread on RC where someone notched some PVC pipe to grab the corners of the nut (to tighten/loosen it). However, I found a 3" pipe and a 1 1/4" fitting that are just a bit too snug to slip over the nuts, so my thought is that I might be able to bend them to fit (by heating them with a heat gun). I'll let you know if I was successful or not (with pics).

[seabass]

DIY bulkhead wrenches:

The PVC wants to slightly return to it's molded shape as it cools. So I left the nuts in place while it cooled. The smaller one is very tight, I might have to shape it (probably with a Dremel) just a little to make it easier to insert.

[seabass]

Quick update: ammonia undetectable, phosphate 0.10ppm. I'm now adding 16 drops of ammonia each day (time to increase it some more). I was going to start two a day doses, but (with the dosage at the time) the ammonia level wasn't coming down fast enough. I haven't checked nightly readings lately.

I should have 4 coats of poly on all sides of the stand by the end of this weekend. That means it should be fully cured by next Sunday. In the meantime, I'm going to get a piece of glass cut for a sump baffle and start getting parts ready for the plumbing.

[Giga]

DIY bulkhead wrenches:

The PVC wants to slightly return to it's molded shape as it cools. So I left the nuts in place while it cooled. The smaller one is very tight, I might have to shape it (probably with a Dremel) just a little to make it easier to insert.

 

Very cool idea!