Overhauler's First Reef Build

[OverHauler]

Guys,

 

Thanks for all the help and advice on picking a tank.  

 

It has arrived.  I need to grab some hose Clamps for the return line and I'll begin leak testing.

 

I'm very stoked about getting started.

[tonydahomie]

I'm just starting up my first tank as well. Excited to follow along!

[Clown79]

Congrats on the new tank and nee adventure.

Nice looking tank too.

[OverHauler]

Well, so far so good, no leaks and the Varios pump is dead silent.  The fans on the Kessil lights make more noise than the pump.  I'm impressed.

 

Sand and rock coming soon!

[OverHauler]

Anyone have a recommendation for flow in a Reefer 250?  I'm currently considering either a single or dual (alternating) Gyre XF230 pump but I hear they're rather loud and that is an issue.  

 

I'm planning a mixed reef and I think the Gyre has the best flow patterns available with the least amount of gear in the DT but I'd love to hear what others are using!

[OverHauler]

Rock, sand and water went into the tank last night.  Now the waiting begins...

 

I'll post pictures once the water clears up.

[Weetabix7]

On 4/17/2017 at 0:40 PM, OverHauler said:

Anyone have a recommendation for flow in a Reefer 250?  I'm currently considering either a single or dual (alternating) Gyre XF230 pump but I hear they're rather loud and that is an issue.  

 

I'm planning a mixed reef and I think the Gyre has the best flow patterns available with the least amount of gear in the DT but I'd love to hear what others are using!

 

I have been wondering the same thing about the Gyre, really like the concept and the flow but not sure if the noise is more than I'd be willing to put up with. 

Hoping someone else chimes in with an answer. 

[OverHauler]

I'll have mine in a few days, I'll be able to update this thread on my impressions.

[OverHauler]

Anyone have any guidance on water testing during the cycle?

 

I'm out of town for work so I won't be able to test until Friday so tank will have been running for nearly a week without a water test and I'm not sure what to expect.  Any arvice?

[OverHauler]

Finally starting to clear up...

[SaltyBuddha]

Nice! Love the two island set up.

 

Did you use dry rocks or live rocks?  That would make a difference on how your tank cycles 

[OverHauler]

I used live rock, cured for 5 months.  I had planned to use dry but my LFS let me have 60lbs for the price of 40 so I couldn't turn that down.

[Clown79]

If its live rock cured, it may not have any cycle and possibly a mini one that will be missed within a week.

 

My 15g cycled in 7 days with liverock

[OverHauler]

That's is what I was wondering about.  Think I might drop a couple ml of ammonia in and see what happens.  

[OverHauler]

Well the test kit shows everything is good to go.  Going to add some ammonia today and then test again.  Looks like everything will be ready to go for Reef a Palooza Orlando next weekend.

 

I need to reinforce some of the live rock where the reef putty didn't take. I also received the Gyre 230.  Love this pump.  It's a touch loud, but I've been told they quiet down after they break in a bit.  I'm getting killer flow in the entire tank with a single pump running no higher than 50% on alternating mode.  Supper happy with it so far.

 

I'm noticing critters crawling around through the live sand so things are starting show up.  Super cool.  

 

Anyone have any thoughts on a clean up crew for a Reefer 250?

[Clown79]

Adding ammonia with liverock can kill things, not all the bacteria but other beneficial things

[Weetabix7]

I like Astrea, Cerith and (banded) Trochus snails. 

[Lula_Mae]

3 hours ago, OverHauler said:

Well the test kit shows everything is good to go.  Going to add some ammonia today and then test again.  Looks like everything will be ready to go for Reef a Palooza Orlando next weekend.

 

I need to reinforce some of the live rock where the reef putty didn't take. I also received the Gyre 230.  Love this pump.  It's a touch loud, but I've been told they quiet down after they break in a bit.  I'm getting killer flow in the entire tank with a single pump running no higher than 50% on alternating mode.  Supper happy with it so far.

 

I'm noticing critters crawling around through the live sand so things are starting show up.  Super cool.  

 

Anyone have any thoughts on a clean up crew for a Reefer 250?

Reef Cleaners is a great place to look for a diverse CUC.   Weetie's suggestions are good! 

[OverHauler]

10 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Adding ammonia with liverock can kill things, not all the bacteria but other beneficial things

I agree, luckily there isn't much on the rock.  It began as dry rock and my LFS cured it for 5 months.  Doesn't even have any corraline on it.  I figure I'm gonna dose the ammonia until I can detect it and then stop.  Maybe 2ppm at most.

 

9 hours ago, Weetabix7 said:

I like Astrea, Cerith and (banded) Trochus snails. 

Thanks, and I'll certainly check out reef cleaners.  How is the shipping?

[Weetabix7]

1 minute ago, OverHauler said:

I agree, luckily there isn't much on the rock.  It began as dry rock and my LFS cured it for 5 months.  Doesn't even have any corraline on it.  I figure I'm gonna dose the ammonia until I can detect it and then stop.  Maybe 2ppm at most.

 

Thanks, and I'll certainly check out reef cleaners.  How is the shipping?

 

Priority shipping is $10.50 and overnight USPS Express is $35: https://www.reefcleaners.org/

[OverHauler]

Well, the ammonia test went perfectly. I dosed up to about 1.5ppm-ish and left it alone for 24 hours and the ammonia was gone!  

 

I did about a 25% water change and added 1 Emerald crab, 5 Star Astrea snails along with a possible pair of purple firefish. (BOGO at the LFS, been watching them very closely for aggression).

 

So far, all water parameters are holding perfectly and the Firefish are doing great, they're sharing a bolt hole and keeping side by side so we'll see how that goes, I know most of the time they like to be solo...

 

I'm attending Reef-A-Palooza this weekend and plan on grabbing a pair of Oscellaris Clowns. 

 

As for the Gyre, it was definitely louder than I wanted it to be out of the box, but it's coming up on a week since I added it and the noise has decreased by about half.  It's not silent yet, but it seems to get a bit quieter every day.  The flow is fantastic, I could easily get away with just the single pump, but I think I'm going to add a second one just to have the varied flow it would provide on the opposite side of the tank.  The alternating mode really moves every square inch of water and I started things off on only 10%, the lowest setting!  Highly recommend if you want to get away with fewer pumps in the tank.

 

Still dealing with sand clouding the water, but i tossed in a 200nm filter sock last night and that seems to be helping, so pictures very soon!

 

 

[OverHauler]

Custom lid from Artfully Acrylic just arrived.  Very happy with it.  Cutouts for the light mounts and cords lined up perfectly and it seems very well built.

Here's a pic from today, things are clearing up very nicely since I added the new filter sock.

[Weetabix7]

On 5/3/2017 at 10:37 AM, OverHauler said:

Well, the ammonia test went perfectly. I dosed up to about 1.5ppm-ish and left it alone for 24 hours and the ammonia was gone!  

 

I did about a 25% water change and added 1 Emerald crab, 5 Star Astrea snails along with a possible pair of purple firefish. (BOGO at the LFS, been watching them very closely for aggression).

 

So far, all water parameters are holding perfectly and the Firefish are doing great, they're sharing a bolt hole and keeping side by side so we'll see how that goes, I know most of the time they like to be solo...

 

I'm attending Reef-A-Palooza this weekend and plan on grabbing a pair of Oscellaris Clowns. 

 

As for the Gyre, it was definitely louder than I wanted it to be out of the box, but it's coming up on a week since I added it and the noise has decreased by about half.  It's not silent yet, but it seems to get a bit quieter every day.  The flow is fantastic, I could easily get away with just the single pump, but I think I'm going to add a second one just to have the varied flow it would provide on the opposite side of the tank.  The alternating mode really moves every square inch of water and I started things off on only 10%, the lowest setting!  Highly recommend if you want to get away with fewer pumps in the tank.

 

Still dealing with sand clouding the water, but i tossed in a 200nm filter sock last night and that seems to be helping, so pictures very soon!

 

 

 

Please continue updating on the Gyre over time, if you don't mind. 

Thx!!

[OverHauler]

8 hours ago, Weetabix7 said:

 

Please continue updating on the Gyre over time, if you don't mind. 

Thx!!

I certainly will!  So far, it's a fantastic pump IMO.  Though to be fair I have no experience with any others...

[OverHauler]

Update time!  I added a second Gyre 230 pump and set them both on an alternating pulse of about .6s each.  The first one is placed on the left side of the tank about 3 inches from the surface of the water and the second is on the back side of the tank about 6 inches down.  I'm getting amazing flow!  Should have seen the sand that came out of my rock work last night.  tank is going to be cloudy again for a couple days.

 

In other news, I purchased 6 coral frags at Reef-A-Palooza over the weekend:

1 Splatter Hammer Polyp

1 Sunny D Zoanthid

1 Miami Hurricane Zoanthid

1 Duncan

1 Neon Green Candycane

1 Red Mushroom with Zoa's on the frag (probably going to trade this guy, pretty sure the zoas will just overtake the mushroom, but hey, it was a freebie)

 

I'm getting full polyp extension and everyone seems super happy, I've even caught the Duncan and the Hammer feeding on some small pieces of frozen shrimp!  Going to end up moving the Sunny D colony though, they're really really small and they don't stay extended very long (maybe an hour or two a day) so i'm going to find them a bit of a shadier spot with less flow and a bit less light and see if they like that better.

 

Also picked up a Bubble Magus Curve A5 Skimmer.  This thing is a beast to dial in.  i know it's still in the break in period but i had to at least stop it from shooting water all over the inside of my stand so i dialed it back enough to stop it from overflowing.

 

Also, they're have been a couple live stock additions as well.

2 Oscellaris Clowns, a Fire Shrimp, couple snails (Tiger Conch and Nessarius) and 17 very tiny blue legged hermits.  Figured it was time to round out the CUC.  Everyone seems to getting along just fine, loving the clowns.

 

Also considering a bit of a change in the aquascape.  The left side just isn't doing it for me so i think i might modify that a bit...  Any ideas?

 

Pictures of my first frags!