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Bryce's 150 Reef Build

6K views 38 replies 11 participants last post by  wake49 
#1 ·
So I’m down at my LFS the other day and one of the regulars down there is trying to get rid of a 155 gallon reef-ready bowfront. He said he would give it away for free, but it needed to be re-sealed. I am not too sure how I would do at re-caulking a 155 gallon tank. So the part-time kid at my job took it.

I go home and tell the fiancé, and she said, for free, I should have taken it. Oh well, too late now. So I call my LFS shop owner, and ask him what he has in storage, for a long tank. He has a 125 (or 135 he’s not 100%, but he’s checking the dimensions) gallon reef ready, made of Starphire glass. He said it came back from a customer and would sell it to me wholesale $400.00.

So, my two clowns, my Tang, my Bangaii Cardinal and Mandarin along with all my corals and inverts are going to make the transition to this tank. I would like to add one Kohl (sp?) Tang, maybe a foxface, and a YHG. I am going to keep it primarily LPS and softies for corals, so I am buying a 12 bulb T5HO fixture.

Any suggested stocking lists (corals, fish, inverts)?
 
#2 ·
Wow, great price. I had someone in my club sell a 300g for $200 recently, wish i had space for it because that would have been all mine.. and it was reef ready.

with the lights you're getting, shouldn't have very many issues with keeping anything alive. Everyone starts Softies and LPS... but they all turn to the darkside... and all it takes it one.
 
#3 ·
LOL Kells. I think I am going to pick it up today, my LFS guy gets busy and has a hard time getting over to his warehouse sometimes.

The biggest problem I have right now is that the tank is going on the same wall as my 46 bow. So I have to empty the 46, move it and set up the 125. I also have to build my stand and canopy, any suggestions on material?

Pictures to follow.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I should have the thread re-named "Bryce's 135 Build", because the tank is 72.5" X 18.5" X 24.5". That's a 135 by my calculations!

I was up all night Saturday and til midnight Sunday emptying my 46, moving sand and water to the 135, and mixing water for the 135. I have all my inhabitants in a 20 gallon long for the next few days.

FTS:
Light Aquarium Lighting Electronics Technology


I have only filled it about 3/4 of the way before I ran out of water.

I hooked up all the plumbing and am ready to connect my sump, which is a 20 high for now. I am going to glue up a 40 gallon. Due to a design flaw in my stand, I can only use tanks that are a maximum of 17" tall, and that's kind of tight...

I am thinking of a stocking list, and I am wondering how well a Kohl Tang and Sailfin Tang would get along with my Hippo Tang...
 
#6 ·
I do need a better camera, especially with the lighting in that paticular corner of the house. The tank is about 85% full now, and has been heating with one 300watt heater. I will add my 250 watt heater once I empty the 20 gallon.

Pic of the twenty:
Reef Water Natural environment Coral reef Underwater


My lights are due in on Thursday at the latest. I have to hook up my sump tonight and get some good flow in the tank. I am using a Mag Drive 12 with two outlets and a Hydor 3 and Hydor 2. I think that should be enough flow, but I'll get a better idea after I get the water moving.
 
#8 ·
Thanks Kells.

I still have my fish and corals in the twenty gallon, with a Hydor 2 making flow. The 135 gallon has 4" of sand and about fifty lbs of LR, with a Hydor 3 making flow. Tonight I will be filling the sump and getting the Mag Drive 12 going. I am going to be moving fish over soon after, Trites and Ammonia are zero...
 
#9 ·
Update:

I need a moderator to change the name of this thread to "Wake49's 150 Gallon Reef Build". That would be greatly appreciated! :)

I found some scratches in the used 135 RR Starphire that my LFS sold me. He was really good about it, and gave me a 150 gallon reef ready! (my fiance wasn't as excited as me...)

So I emptied the 135, and transferred all my livestock to the 46 temporarily, along with about 125 lbs of LR. All my sand and water is in buckets, and tonight I am hooking up the plumbing! I have to hard plumb everything from the return pump to the bulkhead, so another trip to the Depot! (luckily its right next to PetSmart, and we need kitty supplies for the kittens the fiance is getting Friday...)
 
#11 ·
It's a Marineland Perfecto 150. The dimensions are 72" long x 18" wide x 27" tall. It has the same footprint as the 135, just a few inches taller. I like that Marineland 150 cube myself, the guy who cuts my hair had that exact tank, til it sprung a leak on the corner, and he had a small flood on his hands!

I wanted a tank that would fit in the same footprint as the 135, and the LFS guy had this 150.

Thanks for changing the name of the thread onefish.
 
#14 ·
Thanks Aunt Kymmie!

Test results from last night:

Alklinity, tested with Salifert Carbonate Hardness Test: 9.6 dKH
Calcium, tested with Salifert Calcium Test: 380 ppm
PH, tested with both API & (brand I forgot the name of): 8.2~8.3
NitrAtes, tested with API nitrate test: 5 ppm
NitrItes, tested with API nitrite test: 0 ppm
Ammonia, tested with API Ammonia test: 0 ppm

Dosed both Alk & Calcium last night with Bi-Onic Supplements (2-part), with the reccomended dosage: 1 ml per 4 gallons. My alk is in a good range, but dosing it doesn't hurt, right?

I have a little bit of GHA on a few rocks. It appeared while I was switching from the 135 to the 150, I had my 46 set up next to the tank, which is right in front of a window. It appears to be dieing off, is there anything I can do to speed up that process?
 
#17 ·
Alklinity, tested with Salifert Carbonate Hardness Test: 9.6 dKH
Calcium, tested with Salifert Calcium Test: 380 ppm

Dosed both Alk & Calcium last night with Bi-Onic Supplements (2-part), with the reccomended dosage: 1 ml per 4 gallons. My alk is in a good range, but dosing it doesn't hurt, right?
The BiOnic Supplements are designed to be used on systems with the correct readings of BOTH alkalinity and calcium. By "correct", we mean that the test results are in proportion to one another.

If both alkalintiy and calcium are LOW, you can add the BiOnic Supplement to move both up, in the proper ratios to one another.

If both alkalinity and calcium are in the correct zone, then you can dose BiOnic as needed to maintain these levels.

If both are high, then you should not dose until they begin to fall to the lower levels within the desired rang.

The problem with BiOnic occurs when you are outside of the above situations. This generally occurs when alkalinity is normal, but calcium tests low. In this case, you should only add the calcium additive, which is Calcium Chloride. This will get the ratios of calcium back in line wtih the other buffering ions, such as magnesium and borate.

In the rare event that Calcium is high and alkalinity is low, you need a water change to replenish magnesium, borate, and other buffering ions. Adding a buffer is not generally effective when calcium is already within the correct zone. Often a precipate occurs, as a result of a pH spike.
 
#15 ·
I don't think dosing it will hurt, as long as you monitor the effects it has afterwards. I do not dose anything to raise my alkalinity because it is already high;although, I do have to dose calcium because it remains low. My dkh always come in at about 10 or 11, and if I do not dose calcium it is around 330-350. I think it was pasfur, maybe of2f that said after a while you begin to "know" your tank, and although it is always good to test, you know when to dose and not to dose just from constant repetition. I know when I first started testing I was nearly overwhelmed, now I know how many drops everything gets and the color I should expect without looking at anything lol. BTW, your tank looks amazing.
 
#16 ·
Thanks mullins,

My main concern is that I believe that Alkalinity has a direct corelation with PH. I don't want my PH to jump too high if I dose the Alk too much. I am going to test tonight when I get home, and properly dose. My tests have been a little out of whack since transferring to the 150...
 
#18 ·
I dosed both again last night. I tested phosphates, calcium and alk. Phosphates were non-existent, but tested at .25 from my source water. Calcium dropped to 360 from the night before, and I dosed. Alkalinity was at 9.6, and I dosed, as the 1st part of the 2 part dosing system.

What kind of dosing do other people around here use?
 
#19 · (Edited)
Took some pics last night (sorry taken with my phone's camera):

My clowns, Bangaii and Hammer coral:
Reef Marine biology Underwater Coral Coral reef


My Frogspawn Coral:
Reef Coral reef Coral Underwater Invertebrate


My Fire Shrimp and Watchman Goby seemed to have paired up:
Organism Reef Underwater Coral Invertebrate


Alveopora:
Marine biology Reef Coral Organism Underwater


Duncans:
Sea anemone Reef Invertebrate Coral Marine biology


Calcium has climbed up over 400 ppm, and dKH is 9.9, steady. Right now I am fighting a little hair algae that has been growing on two rocks. I think that I need to add more flow. I have a Eheim Compact+ pump that I am going to use for about 700 GPH on the left side, and I am moving my HK 2 to the right middle of the tank.
 
#22 ·
I have a bottle of Red Sea Calcium that I was using on my 46, and I have been using that to raise my calcium. I am going to use the B-Ionic as maintenence, when my levels are relatively in check. My aquarium seems to consume calcium at a fast rate, I'll see it drop over 20 ppm in a day sometimes! Right now the livestock is the same as I had in my 46 gallon, and I used to maintain calcium once a week. Now I am dosing every day, in order to keep the calcium over 400 ppm.

I believe the new coralline growth has also been eating up a large amount of calcium per day. I expect this to start to level out in a few weeks. At least I hope so, I am going on my honeymoon for two weeks in September!!
 
#23 ·
Tested last night and everything is good. Nitrates are at 5 ppm, but I think that's because my sandbed isn't established yet. Calcium was 390, and dKH was 9.0, so I dosed with the B-Ionic two part. pH was 8.3 and sg was 1.025. I didn't test for trites or ammonia, I don't see a reason to after the tank is established (unless something is going wrong:-?)

My RBTA:
Reef Coral Coral reef Underwater Marine biology


Too bad my clowns LOVE to host my Frogspawn:
Reef Coral reef Coral Natural environment Organism


GSP's and some zoas my LFS just gave me:
Reef Coral reef Coral Marine biology Natural environment


I finally finished the stand and I am going to post pics of that when I get home!
 
#28 ·
Mark, I have had this frogspawn for a year now. He has doubled in size, as well as sprouting two new heads. I feed him and other corals in my tank with reef nutrition oyster feast, every other to every third day. My clowns also host my alveopora, but it doesn't seem to appreciate the company as much.

Jon, I feed the nem at least once a week (it is more like when I see the mouth kind of "mushroom" I thow a chunk of food in, it ends up being like once or twice a week). I feed him based on what my LFS has, right now it's krill, because I ran out of silversides, and so he ran out too. I like to switch between krill and silversides.
 
#29 ·
Last week I added a few pounds of base rock. I it had sitting in a tub of distilled water with a powerhead running.

Anyway, I was as careful as possible to make sure that I wasn't toppling rocks, or creating sandstorms, or anything like that. The next day my nem looked he just had a big meal, and my mandarin was nowhere to be found. (The fiance named him Fez, and was very attached to him) I have had him for about four months.

A week goes by and I am convinced that either I squished him, or my anemone ate him. I was upset.:cry:

Last night,, I'm downstairs when the sump light comes on and I stick my head down there to see if my algae's growing. I see a little sploch of color swimming around the sump, and low and behold, the Mandarin! :-D He somehow made the trip over he baffle and down the pipes! He survived and didn't get sucked up the return pump. I snatched him out of the sump and plopped him back in the Display! I was so excited, I woke up the fiance to tell her he was alive (she wasn't too appreciative at 11:30...oh well).

I am glad he made it. He is one of my favorites.
 
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