Passaggper Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Hey all, Im JP. Ive been working on a slow build for a couple of months now and thought I would start a build thread since my tank will be here by the first of next week. This thread will really help me keep track of this organism I call a plan as it is constantly changing. This will be my first reef tank but I have experience with FW and some simple marine setups. System HardwarePicO II AIO Starphire glass- 15x15x15 with star lid and Rio 800 return Koralia Nano 425 Circulation PumpKoralia Nano 240 Circulation Pump MP10Eheim Jager 50W and 75W heaters (one for batching water)PicO fuge lightR2 extreme LED moonlights (questionable quality)Kessil A150W 10K with gooseneckDA Reefkeeper lite basicTestingAPI basic test kit pH,NH3/NH4, NO2, NO3Red Sea reef master test kits CA, ALK, MGRed Sea Phoshpate Pro RSM Hydrometer and floating glass hydrometer AND H2Ocean Seawater refractometerI'm using Bimini Pink live sand and BRS reefsaver rock. Maybe around 12 pounds? Total water volume after displacement is around 11 gallons. First FTS. 4/13/13FTS 4/23/13New scape FTS 7-4-13 FTS 8/14/13 12/08/2013 FTS February 8, 2014 FTS Link to comment
BadCrab Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 I'm excited to watch your build, JP I almost went with a Kessil to light mine. As for salt: everyone has their favorite. I'm letting my LFS mix, so ill probably continue using their salt mix (Brightwell) once I start mixing my own. I think most people agree that whatever you can get at a reasonable price will be fine as long as your not constantly switching mixes. Link to comment
Passaggper Posted March 27, 2013 Author Share Posted March 27, 2013 I'm excited to watch your build, JP I almost went with a Kessil to light mine. As for salt: everyone has their favorite. I'm letting my LFS mix, so ill probably continue using their salt mix (Brightwell) once I start mixing my own. I think most people agree that whatever you can get at a reasonable price will be fine as long as your not constantly switching mixes. Thanks, ZROGST! I'll probably end up with Instant ocean reef crystals as they are readily available locally. Link to comment
TristanC Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 woohoo, lets get this party started Link to comment
Passaggper Posted March 27, 2013 Author Share Posted March 27, 2013 Ain't no party like a PicO party cuz a PicO party don't stop. Link to comment
BadCrab Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Let me know how you like the Red Sea kits, I think they redesigned those kits recently after some customer feedback and I'm eager to try them out.As for Rock/Sand, I'd recommend 5-10lbs of Caribsea (arag alive or ocean direct in whichever kind looks good to you) or the Tropic Eden reef flakes (I've heard good things around this forum.) Cured liverock is more expensive then dry rock - both per lb and in water weight - BUT with such a small volume I've opted to go 100% cured LFS liverock. The only disadvantage in my eyes is potential pest hitchhikers.Please post pictures of your DIY stand while you build it! Link to comment
TristanC Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Let me know how you like the Red Sea kits, I think they redesigned those kits recently after some customer feedback and I'm eager to try them out. As for Rock/Sand, I'd recommend 5-10lbs of Caribsea (arag alive or ocean direct in whichever kind looks good to you) or the Tropic Eden reef flakes (I've heard good things around this forum.) Cured liverock is more expensive then dry rock - both per lb and in water weight - BUT with such a small volume I've opted to go 100% cured LFS liverock. The only disadvantage in my eyes is potential pest hitchhikers. Please post pictures of your DIY stand while you build it! I use Red Sea test kits (new ones) and I love them. Link to comment
Passaggper Posted March 27, 2013 Author Share Posted March 27, 2013 http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/323180-cube-stand/ Here is a link to my cube stand build. I'll move all this junk together once I'm on my pc and can figure out signatures. Let me know how you like the Red Sea kits, I think they redesigned those kits recently after some customer feedback and I'm eager to try them out. As for Rock/Sand, I'd recommend 5-10lbs of Caribsea (arag alive or ocean direct in whichever kind looks good to you) or the Tropic Eden reef flakes (I've heard good things around this forum.) Cured liverock is more expensive then dry rock - both per lb and in water weight - BUT with such a small volume I've opted to go 100% cured LFS liverock. The only disadvantage in my eyes is potential pest hitchhikers. Please post pictures of your DIY stand while you build it! I may go with some cured live rock from premium aquatics. I don't want to get it locally because I can see so much junk on it. Link to comment
BadCrab Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Holy cow I am jealous of your carpentry skills. If I had DIY skills I could save myself so much money haha Link to comment
Passaggper Posted March 27, 2013 Author Share Posted March 27, 2013 Holy cow I am jealous of your carpentry skills. If I had DIY skills I could save myself so much money haha It's really all about being able to measure and having the right tools. I used my boss's wood shop. That's actually him pictured. He has all the fancy tools. I made all the cuts and designed it. Link to comment
Passaggper Posted March 28, 2013 Author Share Posted March 28, 2013 I've been notified that 42 lbs of awesome has a tracking number! I better finish this ####ing stand! Link to comment
Passaggper Posted March 29, 2013 Author Share Posted March 29, 2013 I stepped out of the office for a bit and something arrived in my absence! Uh oh Great packaging Leak test time Link to comment
BadCrab Posted March 29, 2013 Share Posted March 29, 2013 You live much closer to Chris then me, not fair!!! My tank wont be here until Monday :3 Link to comment
supermarvin76 Posted March 29, 2013 Share Posted March 29, 2013 Looks great! I almost bought that same one, but went with the PicO III. Make sure when you set it up you have the bio- baffle installed!! I didn't and thought I had a problem. Check my thread, and I'll email you the videos if you want since I can't figure out how to post videos here. Link to comment
Passaggper Posted March 30, 2013 Author Share Posted March 30, 2013 You live much closer to Chris then me, not fair!!! My tank wont be here until Monday :3 Yes, it equated to overnight shipping. I'm about 150 miles away. Looks great! I almost bought that same one, but went with the PicO III. Make sure when you set it up you have the bio- baffle installed!! I didn't and thought I had a problem. Check my thread, and I'll email you the videos if you want since I can't figure out how to post videos here. I got the baffle figured out. It's a great feature. Lol, yeah, I almost bought the picO I and stretched for the II. Now that its here, I want the III. Link to comment
TristanC Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Looks awesometastic! Lets get it cycled Link to comment
Passaggper Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 Looks awesometastic! Lets get it cycled You're telling me! I have to finish the stand (final coats of Poly, hinges and the stand top) and I'm still waiting on a few things from Amazon. I hope to set it up by the end of the week though. It's driving me nuts. Link to comment
TristanC Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Funny story, i made my stand a while back and lets just say its not as pretty as id like it to be. So i am going to be building a new stand from scratch with all the bells and whistles like a false wall for wire management and an indented area to mount my rkl, vortech, and ai controllers on the side. So i have to build this stand then transfer the tank onto it when its finished....This is gunna suck. (Ill be taking 3 vacation days from work to do this) Link to comment
BadCrab Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Looks awesometastic! Lets get it cycled What this guy said! Leaktesting done, what are you waiting for!? Sand! Rock! Saltwater! Link to comment
Passaggper Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 Funny story, i made my stand a while back and lets just say its not as pretty as id like it to be. So i am going to be building a new stand from scratch with all the bells and whistles like a false wall for wire management and an indented area to mount my rkl, vortech, and ai controllers on the side. So i have to build this stand then transfer the tank onto it when its finished....This is gunna suck. (Ill be taking 3 vacation days from work to do this) I wish I could mount some of my fancy electronics on the outside of the stand but I have two kids that love to push buttons. Literally and figuratively that is... I'm still kind of working out the wire situation but I think I'll have to wait to see how things fit. Link to comment
Mstefa1 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I wish I could mount some of my fancy electronics on the outside of the stand but I have two kids that love to push buttons. Literally and figuratively that is... I'm still kind of working out the wire situation but I think I'll have to wait to see how things fit. On my pod, I have my display for my Apex mounted on the wall and the Tunze ATO mounted below which I like and find very convenient. I also have my Apex controller "brain" as well as the wireless bridge to connect it to the network mounted outside the stand for the coolness factor and there is no buttons to push on it. Link to comment
SouthFlorida_Tron Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 ughhhh i want a new PICO soooooo bad, but i dont the $ for it, the equipment for it and time for it........lol i always thought about buying a PICO I, and putting a A150w over it with the anemone and the clowns... put it in my kids room or something... Link to comment
TristanC Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 ughhhh i want a new PICO soooooo bad, but i dont the $ for it, the equipment for it and time for it........lol i always thought about buying a PICO I, and putting a A150w over it with the anemone and the clowns... put it in my kids room or something... That would be super cool as long as your kid has some self control. Wouldn't want you to find toys in the anemone lol. Link to comment
Passaggper Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 That would be super cool as long as your kid has some self control. Wouldn't want you to find toys in the anemone lol. This wouldn't happen at my house. I'm worried as it is with it being in my dining room. I had to go with the glass lid because my daughter is always flinging food around. Link to comment
BadCrab Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 i always thought about buying a PICO I, and putting a A150w over it with the anemone and the clowns... put it in my kids room or something... If you do something like this, make sure you get larger then a PicO I, I cant imagine having an anemone in my PicO I S, let alone a clownfish who will outgrow the tank. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.