mcameron2479 Posted June 24, 2017 Author Share Posted June 24, 2017 Well I figured I would hold off posting again until I had something dog nigicant to report. Well, do I ever. I am changing jobs so I took this week off before starting. So it was focus on the tank week, and it is currently in its new home being leak tested. I'm going to have live sand here for next weekend and we should sand, rock, and salt in the tank for the 4th. I have had two bags of pond matrix in the QT/frag tank for a few weeks loading up with bacteria for the display cycle. I'll let the photos tell the story of my week. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
mcameron2479 Posted June 24, 2017 Author Share Posted June 24, 2017 No leaks, so far!!! 2 Quote Link to comment
mcameron2479 Posted July 2, 2017 Author Share Posted July 2, 2017 Sand, rock, & salt!!! Starting to settle out nicely. I will add the to bags of cycled media tomorrow and let start doing what it needs to do. 1 Quote Link to comment
mcameron2479 Posted July 2, 2017 Author Share Posted July 2, 2017 A couple behind the scenes shots. I still need to finish the shelving and wrap the stand and add a couple pieces of pvc trim and seal it. I am setting up a control panel in the "fish room" area in my basement. So I will need a few 6' extention cords for most of the peripherals to reach, they should arrive Monday. Luckily the mp10 controller reaches fine. I have to get the Apex setup and mounted. hopefully between the live sand and pre-cycled media the tank should be ready for the clown in a week or two. No rush though he is happy and growing right where he is. 3 Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 Yay! Congrats on finally getting water into the tank! Quote Link to comment
mcameron2479 Posted July 4, 2017 Author Share Posted July 4, 2017 Thank you. Got the Prime HD set up yesterday and today threw some drywall up and mounted my control board. Waiting on a 100' network cable then I'll get the apex up and running. Did get some bad news though, I think. My mp10 seems to be junk. Out of the box it is flashing red. I can't get it to hard reset either. So I'm thinking the driver is shot. I have an email into them but they are closed until weds. 1 Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 13 minutes ago, mcameron2479 said: Thank you. Got the Prime HD set up yesterday and today threw some drywall up and mounted my control board. Waiting on a 100' network cable then I'll get the apex up and running. Did get some bad news though, I think. My mp10 seems to be junk. Out of the box it is flashing red. I can't get it to hard reset either. So I'm thinking the driver is shot. I have an email into them but they are closed until weds. Oh, bummer! And it's never been used? Hope they can get you fixed up soon! Quote Link to comment
mcameron2479 Posted July 4, 2017 Author Share Posted July 4, 2017 Fresh out of the box. I plan to ask them to just send a new driver. We'll see how far that gets me. 1 Quote Link to comment
hooligan_78 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Nice setup so far! I was luck to score the older model IM skimmer. I quit using the media reactor, and opted for an inTank fuge basket. Quote Link to comment
burtbollinger Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 very cool...just curious, does your basement have walk-in access? Quote Link to comment
mcameron2479 Posted July 7, 2017 Author Share Posted July 7, 2017 I have a custom caddy for it as well. I just can't access the other side since it to far under the stair. So some time down the road I will switch out the filter sock and make the near side a refugium. Yes, the basement is walk out at the rear. The new tank stand only narrowed the stair by 2.5" from what it was before. So it isn't that bad. I did speak with ecotech and they are sending me a new mp10. It should arrive tomorrow. I got the Apex up and running last night. I am seeing a bit more evaporation than I was hoping for so I need to get the ato up and running asap. I might need a larger resivour than I was planning on as well. The pond matrix is in the tank and cycling has begun. I am also thinking I will be adding a fire fish to the QT tank this weekend as well. This are moving along nicely. 2 Quote Link to comment
mcameron2479 Posted July 10, 2017 Author Share Posted July 10, 2017 Diatom bloom!!!! I'm starting to kinda feel like I know what I'm doing. 2 Quote Link to comment
treedog5 Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Nice build so far, really cool how you added a stand on your stairwell... Quote Link to comment
mcameron2479 Posted July 12, 2017 Author Share Posted July 12, 2017 On 7/11/2017 at 9:25 AM, treedog5 said: Nice build so far, really cool how you added a stand on your stairwell... Thank you. The tank fits better than I thought it would. 1 Quote Link to comment
jstj0sh Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Just followed! Can't wait to see how this tank turns out! Quote Link to comment
mcameron2479 Posted July 14, 2017 Author Share Posted July 14, 2017 On 7/13/2017 at 9:24 AM, jstj0sh said: Just followed! Can't wait to see how this tank turns out! Thanks. Welcome. The diatoms are starting to die off. I'm trying to get a purple or exquisite fire fish but my lfs is currently out. So I will keep looking and once I get my hands on one I will add it to the QT for a week or two and if all looks good add the clown to the display. I will be doing a 20% water change on the display this weekend. Otherwise I'm saying it's good for fish. 1 Quote Link to comment
mcameron2479 Posted July 15, 2017 Author Share Posted July 15, 2017 Lightning Clown got a tank mate. Neon Dottyback. They are already best buds and the sottyback is already eating and exploring her new digs. My wife says she looks like a she. I don't know if there is a way to tell. So we are rollin with she. 3 Quote Link to comment
MrJDanP Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 Cool looking fish! I used to have an orchid dottyback, but was too aggressive for the tank so had to sell it back. Nice looking set up by the way! Quote Link to comment
mcameron2479 Posted February 19, 2018 Author Share Posted February 19, 2018 Have had some ups and down in the young life of this tank. Lost a couple fish, not really sure why, but lost them none the less. Had a very busy stretch and slacked on the water changes. I’m finally back on track. Orders some corals and they got stuck on an in heated truck for more than 48 hours. Some how the only casualty of the adventure was a birds nest. I took a ride to a local reef club member/local coral seller. Came home with 5 more zoa frags for the garden a new centerpiece frogspawn, and he was kind enough to give me a birds nest frag to the one I lost in the shipping mishap. He was not who I bought the others from, he’s just nice guy that loves what he does. I’m also looking for some advice on what would look good in the empty areas. Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Good to see you back @mcameron2479! I'm glad to see this is still up and running, it's such a unique setup with the stairwell stand! Looks like you're getting back on track, focus on coral frags for awhile Maybe you can find some nice ricordea frags or mushrooms from local hobbyists to add down low. Quote Link to comment
mcameron2479 Posted February 20, 2018 Author Share Posted February 20, 2018 Life gets in the way from time to time and every tank is different. What I am finding is that this tank is really a one week tank. If I miss a water change by the next weekend an algae film will start. Hopefully with maturity some of that will balance out. I have long term plans for this tank so a little hair algae outbreak won’t deter me. I would like to try to something to plate out on the right side, over the cave. The frogspawn on the left will likely get traded in the future. Maybe something branching up there. I was thinking of some mushrooms as well. 1 Quote Link to comment
mcameron2479 Posted April 5, 2018 Author Share Posted April 5, 2018 Starting over yet again. Had a 48hr power outage a few weeks ago and the house and tank dropped to 46deg. I lost 90% of what I had. Since I have been battling a Cyano outbreak and just got the first round of new corals delivered today. Lots of water changes and cleaning up of an ugly tank these days, but some day my vision will come to fruition and it will be all worth it. That being said, I am always trying to think of simple ways to make things better. Has anyone had any experience adding a sump/refugium to an AIO? 1 Quote Link to comment
mcameron2479 Posted May 28, 2018 Author Share Posted May 28, 2018 I have reclaimed control of the tank, and have made a few additions. I went on a week vacation to Ireland a month ago and knew the ato resiviour would last the week. So I invested in a bigger and better one. and that tube you see is my 2nd addition. I made some tweaks to the rodi system and added a tube to the ato bucket. I just haven’t figured out how to get a float valve in the container so I have to keep an eye on it. I also, just got a mini reactor from BRS. Waiting some silicon tubing to get it up and running. I am going to tie it in between the return pump and the two returns. I also think I will change out the stock returns for something I can have more directional control over. Any suggestions? Now for the living additions. I discovered the Facebook group “Frags Auction Place” a little while ago. All should check it out, especially a guy named Rick Crank. 75% of my current stock came from him. Great prices and great quality. 1 Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 1 hour ago, mcameron2479 said: I also think I will change out the stock returns for something I can have more directional control over. Any suggestions? You should search our sponsors for Loc-Line products, they should be compatible, or easily adapted to your system. It's a modular system for directional returns. Bulk Reef Supply, Marine Depot, and Aquarium Specialty all carry them. Glad to see that you've got the system back on track with these improvements. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.