Gary's Oceanic Illuminata 57 build

[Gary]

Glad to hear the holes are cosmetic. Sometimes pictures are deceiving, or I didnt look close enough. LOL
I knew the coolant thing would be a major change over for the machine and not worth the trouble unless you were to cut for a couple of days straight.

How do you rate working with the 40 compared to the 3 or 4? Again I am planning a large build with in a few months or so and was considering using the 40 instead of the 4.

I like using Weldon 4 because it's easier to control. I need more practice to ensure that there is complete coverage with no air pockets. Weldon 40 is too nice because you can lay a bead down then set your part on it. Most of the time I get solid joints, but sometimes there are air pockets too. I don't do this enough to give any good advice though. The big tanks I've built don't leak, but the joints are nowhere near the quality I'd like them to be cosmetically. Especially with 40. I get that stuff everywhere!!! The sumps have nicer joints than the big tanks, but you'll notice that there are limited close-ups pictures.:biggrin1:

 

[Gary]

looks great! i have an illuminata as well and "partially" built my own sump by adding a baffle and ATO resoviour. let me know any questions, i have a build thread as well.

Thanks! My buddy has the same tank too. He's the one I made the extra sump for. He's cycling now. I was surprised how milky the water is during cycling! Also, there is a white "lathery" substance coating everything. And it has a bit of an odor.

I'll check out your build thread and let you know if I have any questions!

 

[Peppie]

I like using Weldon 4 because it's easier to control. I need more practice to ensure that there is complete coverage with no air pockets. Weldon 40 is too nice because you can lay a bead down then set your part on it. Most of the time I get solid joints, but sometimes there are air pockets too. I don't do this enough to give any good advice though. The big tanks I've built don't leak, but the joints are nowhere near the quality I'd like them to be cosmetically. Especially with 40. I get that stuff everywhere!!! The sumps have nicer joints than the big tanks, but you'll notice that there are limited close-ups pictures.:biggrin1:

Where do you get your 40? Tapps Plastic in Bellv.?
I know what you mean about the limited pictures. LOL Bottom line. It is a sump. It is behind closed doors. I dont leak, and you didnt receive any money for it. LOL
Do you have another up and coming acrylic project?

 

[Gary]

Where do you get your 40? Tapps Plastic in Bellv.?
I know what you mean about the limited pictures. LOL Bottom line. It is a sump. It is behind closed doors. I dont leak, and you didnt receive any money for it. LOL
Do you have another up and coming acrylic project?

I get most of my stuff from Interstate Plastics in Kent. Sometimes, I use Calsak in Kent too. Interstate usually has better prices though.

I don't have any more acrylic projects coming up.

 

[Gary]

The tank is plumbed and running well. I think the Quiet One 5000 is too big though. I'm going to rebuild the return pipe and include a ball valve as an experiment.

I added 80 lbs of live sand to the tank and about 10 lbs to the sump today.

 

[Peppie]

.

Better put the lid down on that washing machine or you will have a mess on your floors.!!!!!

Set up looks good. If you put a T in line from your return pump and devert some of your flow from the return pump back into the sump you will be able to adjust the flow to the DT with out restricting the pump.

 

[Gary]

Better put the lid down on that washing machine or you will have a mess on your floors.!!!!!

Set up looks good. If you put a T in line from your return pump and devert some of your flow from the return pump back into the sump you will be able to adjust the flow to the DT with out restricting the pump.

No kidding! I could probably use that as shaving cream! Is this normal?

Good idea about the tee fitting. Unfortunately, by the time I saw your post I had already built the new assembly.

I've looked through the forum and am not able to find a thread about cycling that covers the visual changes. Maybe I'm not using the correct search words. Is there an expected sequence of events during a cycle (i.e. first it foams, then it turns brown, then it stinks, etc.)? Or, is every tank different so you don't know what to expect? My take from everything I've read is to test the water regularly and when the nitrates and ammonia levels are 0 and nitrites are very low you can add some livestock (from this thread: Reef Frontiers - Cycling and recycling your tank)

Also, should I run the skimmer? Should I throw in a piece of shrimp?

 

[user 26995]

The foam is from the sand. Just scoop the foam off. The cloud will settle. Then you can start running your skimmer. I used a piece of shrimp to start the cycle in my tank. Leave it in until you see ammonia spike. Then when the ammonia and the nitrites are zero, and nitrates are VERY low, then start adding a clean up crew, because the algae bloom will be next. Drop some mysis in for the crabs and they will help get keep the cycle going and increase your biological filtration so it will be good and going for when you start adding fish.

 

[Gary]

The foam is from the sand. Just scoop the foam off. The cloud will settle. Then you can start running your skimmer. I used a piece of shrimp to start the cycle in my tank. Leave it in until you see ammonia spike. Then when the ammonia and the nitrites are zero, and nitrates are VERY low, then start adding a clean up crew, because the algae bloom will be next. Drop some mysis in for the crabs and they will help get keep the cycle going and increase your biological filtration so it will be good and going for when you start adding fish.

Thank you for the information about the foam.

When do you recommend that I put in the shrimp? I will be adding 25 lbs of live rock Monday night.

 

[user 26995]

The live rock you are adding....is this from an existing mature system? If it is, you dont need to add the shrimp. There will be a sufficient amount of bacteria and detritus in the live rock to kickstart your cycle. You may not see much of one. I would go ahead and add some clean up crew shortly after adding the live rock, like sometime next week. My favorite cleaners are cerith and astraea snails, dwarf blue legged crabs, scarlet reef crabs and emerald crabs. After a while, for the sand I would get a couple Tongan Nassarius snails and a sand sifting starfish.

 

[Gary]

The live rock you are adding....is this from an existing mature system? If it is, you dont need to add the shrimp. There will be a sufficient amount of bacteria and detritus in the live rock to kickstart your cycle. You may not see much of one. I would go ahead and add some clean up crew shortly after adding the live rock, like sometime next week. My favorite cleaners are cerith and astraea snails, dwarf blue legged crabs, scarlet reef crabs and emerald crabs. After a while, for the sand I would get a couple Tongan Nassarius snails and a sand sifting starfish.

Thanks for the suggestions!

The live rock is out of a mature tank, but has been in a 5 gallon bucket with heater for a couple months. I will get some more from Barrier Reef too.

 

[Peppie]

Great advice Lorrie!

You are in good hands Gary, Lorrie will set you straight on the cycling and testing.

Did you have a powerhead in the bucket with the rock?

Looking forward to seeing your rockwork.

 

[Gary]

Did you have a powerhead in the bucket with the rock?

I don't think there was a power head in the bucket.

 

[JJMoneyman]

I always like to include a deli shrimp just to get it good a smelly.

 

[user 26995]

I don't think there was a power head in the bucket.

hmmm...water flow is very important. Well no worries. It will work out. You will probably see an ammonia spike in a few days. No need for shrimp. There will be plenty of die off in the live rock you have to start the cycle. Wait a few weeks before you start adding any clean up crew. Make sure there are no ammonia or nitrites and very low nitrates before adding them. Inverts dont do well with higher nitrates. IMO you should also do a 10% water change every week during cycling.

 

[JJMoneyman]

But you won't get that lovely decaying shrimp smell if you don't throw one in. It's true you don't really need one.

 

[user 26995]

But you won't get that lovely decaying shrimp smell if you don't throw one in.

LOL....you can add one if you really want to...

 

[Gary]

It turns out that there was heater, light and a power head in the live rock.

LOL, thanks for the shrimp warning! I think I will pass on that one.

The sump was a light brownish color the last day or so. Now it is back to milky. The tank is now a light brownish color.

Now it's time for the light. I don't really like any that I have found on the market. So... I'm going to make one. What I would like to do is make a thin profile. Maybe 1.0" thick. Even though the tank is fairly noisy, I don't want any additional fans on the light so I was thinking about water cooling it. I have a nice 6X15" radiator with 3X 5" fans and a water pump on it. Also, I have good access to my crawlspace so it could go down there. Once I come up with something I will post some pictures.

 

[Peppie]

It turns out that there was heater, light and a power head in the live rock.

LOL, thanks for the shrimp warning! I think I will pass on that one.

The sump was a light brownish color the last day or so. Now it is back to milky. The tank is now a light brownish color.

Now it's time for the light. I don't really like any that I have found on the market. So... I'm going to make one. What I would like to do is make a thin profile. Maybe 1.0" thick. Even though the tank is fairly noisy, I don't want any additional fans on the light so I was thinking about water cooling it. I have a nice 6X15" radiator with 3X 5" fans and a water pump on it. Also, I have good access to my crawlspace so it could go down there. Once I come up with something I will post some pictures.

Really!!
Have you done any research on the LEDs that are being built for saltwater tanks? They are the only way to go now-a-days. IMO

 

[Gary]

Really!!
Have you done any research on the LEDs that are being built for saltwater tanks? They are the only way to go now-a-days. IMO

I decided against the water cooled version for now. I have some nice looking cooling fins and fans coming in that I will try first.

I'm going to use LEDs. The concept is that the main lights will have an even number of white and blues with lenses (I need to do a little more research on color combinations). 24 in total on 4 channels 5W each. There will be a couple of moon lights too. I found some good drivers, but haven't found a dim-able one yet. I think that would be a good option to have.

The first thing I am going to do it populate a couple PCBs with the LEDs and check them out over my tank before machining a housing for them. That will also be when I decide on the thermal management solution.