Suzanne May 180 Gallon Reef Build

[suzannemay]

I tossed in a couple of floss filters into my sump to clear up the fine sand.. so far it is clearing up further.
In the meantime..playing with aquascape options..

Aquascape option 1...
WP_000428 | Flickr - Photo Sharing! from the front
side WP_000430 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[suzannemay]

Aquascape option 2 WP_000431 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Aquascape option 3 WP_000434 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[trido]

I like three the best but would recommend that you at least double the amount of rock you have with some quality porous rock. In the pictures it looks like all you have is base rock and very dense rock at that. When I aquascape I try to make it unique and interesting to me. Otherwise I get bored with a plain rock pile and want to reaquascape in less than a year.
Your tank build is looking very nice BTW. Keep up the hard work and you will have a beautiful tank in no time.

 

[suzannemay]

I like three the best but would recommend that you at least double the amount of rock you have with some quality porous rock. In the pictures it looks like all you have is base rock and very dense rock at that. When I aquascape I try to make it unique and interesting to me. Otherwise I get bored with a plain rock pile and want to reaquascape in less than a year.
Your tank build is looking very nice BTW. Keep up the hard work and you will have a beautiful tank in no time.

The rock is CaribSea Reef Rock (real coral rock) so they say..It feels dense to me too.... I have 200lbs of it..but it has lot's of holes in it. Do you have a link for the rock you reccommend? My plan was to add a manmade live piece or two and some shrimp and wait a LONG time for the tank to cycle and turn the the reef rock into live rock.

 

[pandora32]

Look at bulk reef supply. The more porous the better. You get more beneficial bacteria from the increased surface area. Im sure there are other places, but this is the one that popped in my head.

Bulk Dry Live Rock & Live Sand - Bulk Reef Supply

 

[eww]

The rock she has is the CaribSea reef rock like she said. It is the same type of product as the BRS or Marco type dry rock. It is very porous and works very well. It is not a man-made product.

Suzanne, we have some pointers on your aquascaping if you are interested. It can be an art form in itself and you are well on your way.

Eric
Oceans by Design
1055 Andover Park E
Tukwila, WA 98188
206-575-5006

 

[pandora32]

Didnt know it was the same. Learn somthing everyday.

 

[Amphitrite]

The rock she has is the CaribSea reef rock like she said. It is the same type of product as the BRS or Marco type dry rock. It is very porous and works very well. It is not a man-made product.

Let me correct this.....What she SHOULD HAVE is the carib sea rock that is porous and is exactly like the marco and brs dry rock, what she got and as you can see from the pics is dense rock unsuitable for building a gorgeous reef system. We are working on correcting this immediately, and by tomorrow she will have the correct rock.

When Eric initially responded to this he was looking at the thread on his phone with an itty bitty screen.

 

[suzannemay]

Thanks for catching that I wouldn't have known better.:shock:

 

[suzannemay]

Yea! Tank is clear. Added salt will test salinity tonight. Skimmer is frothy..new rock will be arranged and into the tank by the weekend!
Things to do still,
Hang the lighting in the hood, Ventillation with computer fans, Set up controller and arrange wires and displays.

Weird things..
Why would the heater instructions say do not put in a power strip..it can only go in a GFCI outlet..really.....geesh..

 

[Ichthys]

[QUOTE....When Eric initially responded to this he was looking at the thread on his phone with an itty bitty screen.[/QUOTE]

Eric, i think what she is trying to tell you is that size does matter....

 

[suzannemay]

Well setting up the neptune is difficult.. I have logged in and I get a blank page...erg

 

[myindoorocean]

Did you use that little program that helps you figure out the IP address of the controller?

 

[mfinn]

Great build so far.

When you do get the right rock, I like option 3 best.
With the middle more open, there will more swimming room for fish. imo

 

[suzannemay]

Thanks! Today I scaped the new rock..in option 3 style I also installed my lights. Now I am working on the controller and getting the salinity correct.
The controller is being a pain.. I have tried all the steps and none seem to work.. So.. I switched browsers to chrome and viola..I see graphs and things...geesh.. hours wasted due to IE..

Here is a pic of the real rock and the lights in the hood.
WP_000437 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

WP_000442 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[myindoorocean]

Big fan of chrome, but it doesn't work for everything. Much better than IE, and I like it better than Firefox too.

 

[trido]

Well done on the Rock. I hope I didn't come off as offensive in my first post to your build and am sorry I didn't get back to it to respond to the question. I'm glad OBD was able to step in and help get some good rock for you. I could tell by the first pics that the rock you had was a very dense non porous base rock and the latest pics look like a great reef rock that will serve you well. Keep us posted with more pics and don't hesitate to ask questions.

 

[myindoorocean]

That's the same rock they got me. Just scaped it today. It looks like we are at about the same point in getting our tanks up and running!

 

[pandora32]

Looks great. I like the planned scape.

 

[suzannemay]

Thanks everyone. @trido..glad you caught it.. I wouldn't have known! No worries it would take a lot to offend me @myindoorocean..that is great! Glad to have someone along with me in the ride!

Here is the latest.. I have spent the weekend getting lights mounted and now the salinity is 34ish so I will add a bit more salt. The hood is on and the controller is running. Now to program what the controller will do on the other outlets.. I am trying to get all the wiring worked out this weekend so that everything has drip loops and is away from spillage.

Here is the latest shot.. WP_000459 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
I have to figure out how to take pictures..that Helios lighting is AWESOME and is super bright. Loving it.

Next is to get the cycle moving.. I will throw some dead shrimp in to kick start and go pick up a live rock this weekend to seed.
Then I am away on vacation for a week so I will have someone come check for water evap.

I lost power yesterday at 5am so I already had my emergency training! No overflows..everything was fine...well and since there was no life in it..makes it easy.

I look at this long cycle time as my training time..to get used to testing and water changes.