125G Aquarium Journal - Future Reef [Archive]

FeatherDuster

08-16-2007, 2:14 AM

This tank was a bit larger than I was going for but I couldn't turn down the price. The setup came with the tank (Truvu), Stand (Which will need to be refurnished on the outside), skimmer, filter, dried base rock and test kit. I still haven't done any cleaning because I just picked it up tonight and its late now. But I did fill it up a bit to see how it lasts during the night. I also filled it up at the previous owner's house but I want to see if it can last the night here.

I admit I will need help since I am new to large tank setups so any advice is welcome. I would like to some how utilize the built-in system. Any ideas?

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BMorgan

08-16-2007, 1:19 PM

Sweet tank! Look forward to seeing the progress.

FeatherDuster

08-16-2007, 1:40 PM

Sweet tank! Look forward to seeing the progress.

Thanks! I admit to being clueless about the internal three chamber system. Pretty cool looking though XD

Reefscape

08-16-2007, 1:50 PM

From what i can make out from the pictures, i would say its the built in filtration chamber, and the manual (.pdf) can be found here....

http://site.truvuaquariums.com/aquasystem.pdf

Niko

WeeNe858

08-16-2007, 1:53 PM

FeatherDuster

08-16-2007, 2:27 PM

From what i can make out from the pictures, i would say its the built in filtration chamber, and the manual (.pdf) can be found here....

http://site.truvuaquariums.com/aquasystem.pdf

Niko

Thanks so much for that! Mine does look similar. From what I can tell the first two chambers are for the filtration system while the third one is for the heater and skimmer. Would it be a good idea to replace all that filter media with live rock rubble and run the pumps through it?

FeatherDuster

08-16-2007, 2:29 PM

have you seen a bio cube or a aqua pod tank before? they run the same type of filter as the tank you have now and is pretty easy to understand. now its simply a matter of getting enough filtration >.<

Getting enough filtration? Isn't that what the filter is for? Or do you mean I need added filtration on top of that? I was able to get a Red Sea Prizm skimmer and a hang on filter also.

Grins

08-16-2007, 5:06 PM

I was able to get a Red Sea Prizm skimmer .

<shudder>

Reefscape

08-16-2007, 5:12 PM

Getting enough filtration? Isn't that what the filter is for? Or do you mean I need added filtration on top of that? I was able to get a Red Sea Prizm skimmer and a hang on filter also.

Personaly, as its gonna be a marine, i would use the live rock as filtration...and not put filter media in the box....

Red sea prizm skimmers make a great football.....believe me...mine did !!!!

Niko

FeatherDuster

08-18-2007, 2:17 AM

I haven't done much to it so far but I did manage to clean the equipment and the tank. We also moved it to our recreation room. We felt this room had the best ground support needed. It will go right in front of the display window that connects our recreation room and our formal living room.

This weekend we are replacing a side of the stand and also painting the stand black. Once that is done I can move the stand in too.

Wednesday will be exciting because I can finally start my autoscaping.

Here is a picture of the tank in the recreation room. All the furniture in front of the window will be moved to make room.

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Reefscape

08-18-2007, 6:35 AM

Great stuff....sounds like superb location for the tank as it could be viewed from both rooms...Look forward to more updates as things move forward..

Niko

saltydunc

08-19-2007, 4:46 PM

i use a red sea prizm skimmer and it works great....a bit noisey maybe but performance wise it does a great job...just my experience using it....;0

FeatherDuster

08-19-2007, 6:41 PM

i use a red sea prizm skimmer and it works great....a bit noisey maybe but performance wise it does a great job...just my experience using it....;0

Thanks :)
I think I will just use it for now and see how things go. Luckily we don't hang out in the recreation room too often so noise isn't really a problem. And usually when the recreation room is in use there is outside noises that would be much louder. Especially during parties xD Thats what we mostly use the room for since it has a build in bar :P

Mgamer20o0

08-21-2007, 1:41 AM

cool cant wait to see it set up.

ooja3k

08-22-2007, 4:27 PM

looks like an awesome tank!!! i can't wait to see how you scape and stock it...

you goign to do corals?

FeatherDuster

08-22-2007, 5:34 PM

looks like an awesome tank!!! i can't wait to see how you scape and stock it...

you goign to do corals?

Thanks :) Looks like yours is going to be pretty great too. It always rewarding to plan ahead.

I am a little behind on schedule. The stand was suppose to be fixed Sunday but I am doing it today. I was also suppose to get some nice base rock today but the guy never showed up xD

I am a bit disappointed I didn't get the rock today. I really looked forward to scaping, ever since I saw some great tank layouts. I plan to add all types of rock formations. I will try to post some photos tonight. Hopefully I will have good news :)

Edit: lol I forgot to answer the coral question. Yup, its going to be a softie/zoa tank. I really love the different zoa morphs.

FeatherDuster

08-31-2007, 2:46 AM

Finally! A picture! After fixing two sides of the stand and painting I am finally done with it. I will hopefully start the cycle tomorrow and also add my sand. I decided to go with black sand xD It should look interesting. My background is already black and so is the stand.

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Grins

08-31-2007, 1:58 PM

Although I prefer the white sand the black will be a good contrast for seeing fish and corals.

FeatherDuster

08-31-2007, 9:04 PM

Although I prefer the white sand the black will be a good contrast for seeing fish and corals.

Thanks :) I know a large majority of people prefer white sand, but I decided to be a bit different. Besides, I have already done white sand in my nano and it didn't really "wow" me.

I actually made even more progress today. I mixed the sand and placed the saltwater in. I started one filter just to help mix everything up. The sand is still very cloudy, but it looks extremely dark because the background is also solid black.

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soccerkidbs

08-31-2007, 9:09 PM

wow that looks like you have ink for water lol i cant wait for it to have lights and calm down

FeatherDuster

08-31-2007, 9:13 PM

wow that looks like you have ink for water lol i cant wait for it to have lights and calm down

You mean ink isn't reef safe? Oops :duh: I keep forgetting fish store employees will say anything to make a buck xD

Its weird, you can actually see object if you place them inside. I used a kitchen tool to flatten the sand out and I could see a bright green object clearly. I won't be getting my lights till I actually add coral, but I am sure the fish will make a interesting contrast.

joander123

08-31-2007, 9:42 PM

i like black sand more =) I also like my backgrounds black instead of blue. I think it really brings out the colors in the fish, looks good imo.

FeatherDuster

09-01-2007, 11:37 AM

Thanks for the comment joander :)

I started my cycle last night with a dose of pure ammonia. I will be leaving for a while and won't be back till Monday so hopefully things go well.

soccerkidbs

09-01-2007, 2:05 PM

i cant wait to see what it looks like because i have a nano with black back and black stand that i might try black sand in

FeatherDuster

09-03-2007, 9:09 PM

i cant wait to see what it looks like because i have a nano with black back and black stand that i might try black sand in

I would love to create a nano with black sand and background. Keeping the sand clean in nano is pretty easy. Much easier than a large tank.

As for updates:

No pictures yet. There really isn't much to see either. The tank is still a bit cloudy because I did some sand rearrangement. The cycle is progressing nicely. My ammonia is still pretty high but nitrites are now readable (even if they are very low xD).

soccerkidbs

09-03-2007, 9:33 PM

well if you can get pics up by friday i might have to try black sand hehe. i am going to get my sand on saturday i think but you might change my mind

FeatherDuster

09-03-2007, 9:43 PM

well if you can get pics up by friday i might have to try black sand hehe. i am going to get my sand on saturday i think but you might change my mind

lol I will try :) I wish I had lights, but I am spending my budget this month on live rock first. I will probably get some live rock in about a week or two. Depends upon when I finally get my base rock in.

Sweetnezz7

09-04-2007, 3:35 PM

FeatherDuster

09-04-2007, 9:34 PM

Hi there...wow very nice setup..we just purchased a 110 gallon setup...pick it up on the 15th...I have been following your thread closely, as for I need all the help and info I can get...lol..I just read a bit about using ammonia right in the tank to halp cycle...please post how it goes for you..I will maybe follow your lead...lol..
Thanks...and all the best with your tank...
SHannon

Hello! I can't wait to hear more about your 110G setup and see pictures. I am sure you are very excited. Anyones first large tank must be an adventure. Is it new or used? Hopefully you will start a tank log too :)

This is my first time using ammonia to cycle a tank. I used the shrimp method and uncured live rock for my nano. The smell turned me off. But it definitely works great for those who can handle the smell. Sadly this setup won't be very advanced. I don't know much about external sumps or any other advanced setups. The tank is predrilled though so I can always add-on if I feel the need to in the future.

I should have done a few things differently but time and cost prevented me. I would recommend placing the live rock first, then sand. I didn't do this because I want to collect different pieces of live rock over time. My plan is to get large pieces of of base rock to hold up live rock. I want to leave the bottom open for fish and then middle/top portion for corals.

FeatherDuster

09-09-2007, 5:00 PM

So sorry for the lack of updates. Sadly I don't have any pictures yet. They aren't really worth showing at the moment. It won't look cool until actual objects are in the water. I will post a picture later of the water bottle I placed in. The picture shows that the water is actually very clear.

As for the cycle, its going great. Ammonia is still decreasing. I plan to add some cured live rock this weekend to help move it along some more.

A couple of questions though. My third chamber in my internal build-in filtration was designed to hold the heater and any extra items that may need to be hidden. Can I use this as a small sump? I figure I can place macro algae in and grow some pods. It may also be a nice place to banish any hitchhikers that I don't want instead of getting rid of them.

FeatherDuster

09-16-2007, 10:16 PM

Cycle is complete! I will still wait a week or two before I place any fish in. I added a lot of live rock today (50lbs) and want to make sure no mini cycles take place. It shouldn't (its cured rock) but you never know.

I am not sure how much live rock total I have since I added it over a period of time. But it seems to be a decent amount. Any suggestions are welcome. I can always move rocks.

Sadly no lights yet. The live rock took out a large portion of my budget. I will wait another month or two for lights. Hopefully the natural light will be fine for now. I won't add any corals until I get my light, but I actually have a tiny mushroom that is still alive in the tank. It hitched a ride from my nano tank when I moved a rock in.

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FeatherDuster

09-17-2007, 3:07 PM

I would ignore the last picture. My family agreed that my rock work looked too "flat". I added more of a 3D effect and it looks totally different. I will post a picture tonight.

Reefscape

09-17-2007, 4:54 PM

you certainly have a nice array of coloured rock there...and a good ammount by the looks of it..Look forward to the re-arranged pix of it all...

Niko

FeatherDuster

09-17-2007, 5:14 PM

you certainly have a nice array of coloured rock there...and a good ammount by the looks of it..Look forward to the re-arranged pix of it all...

Niko

Thanks. I actually hid a lot of the color in the new layout. Some of the pieces would stand out too much and it didn't look very natural. Hopefully once I get my lights the color will even out nicely.

Any guesses on what type of rock is in the bucket/table? I forgot to ask which kind of live rock it was. I got it off someone on craigslist for a decent price. It would have cost me $700-900 to fill up my tank with the same amount of rock (total in the tank) if I had bought it from petstores.

Reefscape

09-17-2007, 5:48 PM

could not really give a good idea on the rock...does not look like figi to me though....looks too rounded to me....

Niko

joander123

09-17-2007, 9:05 PM

my guess would be the carribean rock that they sell, although i could be very wrong.

Although, i have "wild caught" figi that looks like that.

vorlx

09-17-2007, 9:18 PM

One of my LFS here sell fiji that looks similiar to that.

FeatherDuster

09-17-2007, 11:26 PM

Thanks for all the rock suggestions. I think it might be fiji. I bought a couple of fiji pieces at my LFS that were a bit similar. They were actually rounder. Fiji rock is pretty much the only rock available around here.

Here is the new rock work: These pictures don't show the 3D effect so some structures look more solid then they really are. My favorite formation is the one of the right. You won't be able to see it well, but it acts as a curved wall with caves.

Full view
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Middle Formation
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Right Formation
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FeatherDuster

09-19-2007, 4:59 PM

Yikes! So far today hasn't been going too well. I asked my mom to pick up some more frozen bloodworms for my dwarf puffer at the fish store on her way home yesterday from work. I shouldn't have bragged about my cycle ending to her because she decided to pick up some fish and place them in my tank while I was at school. She is very supportive of my hobby but an impulsive buyer. I had to take back a mandarin she tried to give to me once for my nano. This time she bought 5 chromis. Not something I wanted for my 125G.

The worst part of the day was when she told me she had bought 6 of them. I saw only 5 and thought the other had died somewhere. I tore apart my live rock and filter looking for it. The last thing I need is a major ammonia spike. Turns out she had counted wrong. It was only 5, even the receipt said so.

Yesterday I spent all day trying to catch them. I think they are the fastest fish I have ever seen in a tank. I would try to catch them on one side of the tank and they would be on the other side in 2 seconds flat.

Any suggestions on how to catch them? I have been feeding them tiny bits of food while I place the net in the water to get them used to it. I also prepared a quick holding bucket (with live rock, heat and filter) to house the ones I catch so I can take them back.

Subliminal

09-19-2007, 6:02 PM

I'd just leave em in for a splash of color. They're harmless, and they won't take over your tank with aggression like damsels would.

Tank looks nice!

Consider going used on the lights? Probably get a few 175s or 250s and light that baby up!

clown-lover

09-19-2007, 7:00 PM

FeatherDuster

09-20-2007, 12:52 PM

If you really want to catch them the double net method worked for me.. However I also had to take out every piece of LR. I would nudge him along with one (I had a damsel) and chase him into the other.

lol thats what I wanted to avoid. I finally got the rock work the way I want it. I tried the double net method with my sister. The tank is just too big and the rocks don't help. Usually the double net method works perfectly. Thanks for the suggestion :)

I'd just leave em in for a splash of color. They're harmless, and they won't take over your tank with aggression like damsels would.

Tank looks nice!

Consider going used on the lights? Probably get a few 175s or 250s and light that baby up!

Thanks :) I can't wait to get lights. Sadly I do have to wait until I can save up more cash. I am actually aiming for a T5 setup since I am only going to grow zoas and mushrooms. The electricity bill is paid by my parents right now and they wouldn't be happy with the price jump. I will probably have to take down my 35G FW to save cost even with the T5s.

I might just leave the chromis in for now. I spent 3 hours yesterday trying to get them out and no luck again.

I had another scare though. I didn't know they hide when its night time. I almost had a breakdown when I saw no fishes swiming xD :wall: