RuralReef 2.1

[JDigital]

Originally Posted by BlueAbyss

Since I'm starting fresh, with fresh rock and whatnot, I doubt this tank will be ready for livestock by the end of the contest.

You plan to cycle 20lbs of LR for for 6 months?

[BlueAbyss]

No I plan to soft cycle 50 or so lbs of LR for a month. I guess I should put some background in here, and let people know what I plan to do...

My plans for this tank have come about from some reading about live rock and the types of organisms that seem to 'pop-up'. I love the look of mixed reef and macro tanks, so that's what I'm going for, hopefully utilizing as much of the inherent life that is alive on the rocks when they get here as is possible. I realize I'll probably only use around 15 lbs of the rock in this setup; the rock in this setup will be soft-cycled with regular, small water changes (a couple times a day... I may set up a 'constant water change' system somehow that changes out a small amount of water constantly), with regular protein skimming and lights. I've decided that the tank will be dosed with phyto, to feed filter-feeding organisms that I may want to retain

This tank may never actually hold any stony corals, though I do plan on adding some zoas / palys, and eventually maybe an LPS (acans and micromussas are attractive options, if I have enough light). I will be building my tanks, main display 24l x 10w x 10h (about 10.4 gallons), upper display / sump / surge tank 14l x 10w x 10h (about 6 gallons), and possibly a small protein skimmer, which I will build if I can't get a good deal on one or find a good used one. I'm debating on making the display out of acrylic, the surge tank will be built from acrylic. I will be putting T5HO over the display (3 tubes, 24 watt each for a total of 73 watts), these will be attached to a wooden frame that will attach to the stand that the upper tank will sit on... to say it doesn't quite convey what it will look like, and I'm not bothering with sketchup right now. I imagine it will look pretty ghetto, but I'll be doing my best to make it look presentable at least since it will be sitting in my living / fish room.

Now, as for the reason I say that this tank won't be ready for livestock in 6 months is, I'm not sure if I'll be ready for SPS in 6 months . As far as finding good cured rock here, the thing is (as I've stated before) there isn't an LFS within 500 km of here. Let alone one that carries live rock (though Sasktoon is only 600 km away). So, I'm ordering from J & L, and the pieces that don't make it into the display will go into a 29 gallon and get soft cycled there, with only natural light. I want a Fu Manch Lionfish

EDIT: I never ended up doing this, I really wasn't patient enough.

[Rbacchiega]

I could always find a way to bring you out some LR when I'm in saskatoon June30th-July5th.....

wait...how on earth would I explain bringing rock on a plane..unless I checked it...nevermind, dumb idea.

looking forward to this build!

[BlueAbyss]

Thanks for the thought, even if it wasn't clearly thought out! I'd rather do it this way though, I just wish there were some place closer to get fresh live rock. The air shipping from BC is going to kill me I think, and I'm not sure how it works when we have Bearskin Airlines and Calm Air as the only carriers from here. Though Bearskin is owned by Air Canada I think, so that may make things easier? I dunno...

[Rbacchiega]

are there any places in Ontario that would ship live rock? Just thinking because it's closer province wise than BC might be easier....then again, I could be talking out my arse because I'm tying up loose ends before the impromptu flight this evening LOL

[BlueAbyss]

EDIT: I must have been when I checked out OIs site the last time, since this time I found it much easier to navigate and found the live rock (and the protein skimmer that I had found on an american site that doesn't ship to Canada) right away. It's actually a better price than the J&L rock, so now I'm on the fence. I might take the plunge and order some of this rock (shipping from Ontario should be slightly less expensive) and then order some other rock to mix it up. Diversity is good.

Thanks for making me look again, Rbacchiega

[BlueAbyss]

So a little more thought about my constant water change system. Fresh aerated saltwater, properly mixed with distilled water (relatively cheap since it's produced and bottled here and guaranteed to test less than 0.9 TDS... and I can have it delivered! ) will drip in to the circulation pump chamber right at the pump inlet, where it will mix thoroughly with the tank water. As the water level rises in the pump chamber (and falls, since it's a surge tank), excess water will splash down into a drain chamber and run away through a hose to a disposal. The amount of water changed over time will equal the water dripped in, as long as the drain hose doesn't become plugged (and assuming 0 evaporation, or a perfect amount of makeup water added constantly).

This system isn't foolproof, I can already sense that I will have some issues with 'salinity creep', though I can't really say how bad it will be. I may be able to get away with mixing my change water with a slightly low SG (since the bucket will be sealed evaporation from this container will be negligible). I haven't decided if I'll go open top yet, since I haven't planned to have fish I just may do so.

And I have a question to post to you DIY types... how thick do I have to go if I do acrylic? I'd like to use 1/4", but don't want to brace and I worry that with the 24" span of the main panels, I may run into a problem with bulging near the middle. I'll go thicker on the long sides if I have to, I'm just not sure if I'll need to.

[BlueAbyss]

A planning tally for my own benefit Of course, this also gives the competition a heads up... Oops

Lighting: Main display
Planned 3 x 24" T5HO. I originally wanted to go MH but they won't produce the spread I need. I've looked at DIY LEDs but they would push me over my budget. I may upgrade after the contest.

Options:

DIY Retrofit:
3 x Sun Blaze T5 Reflector 24" - 34.47
1 x Workhorse 5 T5HO Ballast - 46.99
6 x T5 Shunted Sockets - 9.96
3 x T5 Lamp Clamp - 4.47
TOTAL: 95.89
This does not include lamps.

Premade Retrofit:
3 x Sun Blaze T5 Strip Light 24" - 97.83
TOTAL: 97.83
This does not include reflectors. This does include everything else including lamps, but the lamps are 6500K (at least 2 of these would need to be replaced).

Filtration: Protein Skimmer
Not really a required part of this nano, but probably a good purchase for when I reduce the water changes ie: when the tank parameters have stabilized. Also, most protein skimmers seem to be oversized for a system under 20 gallons; I have seen a couple on american sites that would work very well, but they don't ship to Canada. So, I have a couple options here:

Option 1a: New Skimmer
All Seas Marine Mini - 169.05
TOTAL: 169.05
More than I want to spend, and rated for 75 gallons. Will need a large sump area.

Option 1b: New Skimmer
Sapphire Aquatics Skimmer - 159.95
TOTAL: 159.95
A better option for an in sump skimmer. The other new skimmer is a better deal and would make for some pretty awesome overskimming. This is actually the one I was talking about above, the nano sized one that I found on a website that doesn't ship to Canada... seems they don't need to, it's available here.

Option 1c: New Skimmer
AQUATICLIFE Internal Mini Skimmer - 59.95
or
Pacific Coast Nano Skimmer - 59.95
TOTAL: 59.95
Super attractive options! Both easy on the budget and no work. Though building my own may be more fun...

Option 2: Used Skimmer
Aqua C Remora -120.00
TOTAL: 120.00
Still more than I want to spend, but HOT... could hang on the upper tank.

Option 3a: DIY Beckett Skimmer
1 x Foam Nozzle - 29.98
or
1 x Eductor Nozzle - 29.23
and
1 x Pentair Aquatics Quiet One 4000 - 91.45
Acrylic - probably around 15.00
Piping - around 10.00
TOTAL: ~146.50
This option would also supply the circulation for the tank, and could also be made as a venturi type skimmer using a venturi rather than the foamer or eductor.

Option 3b: DIY Rejuvenating Venturi Skimmer
1 x RIO 800 RV - 25.32
Acrylic - 15.00
Piping - 10.00
TOTAL: ~50.32
Hmm, now here's a very attractive option! Probably lower capacity... but we're talking a 16 gallon capacity system here. I would worry about the noise a pump would make while pulling air in before the impeller...

Lots to think about