fort's 57 gallon Rimless Reef Build

[mfdrookie516]

I haven't secured mine... been running for about a month and a half now without one. I think once you get it figured out, you should probably put them on though just for safety purposes. If mine falls, it's just going to fall off the tank though.

FWIW, my sand never clouded my tank in the least. I doubt you'll even have anything more than a haze for a day or two if you put the sand in after. Even without rinsing it (as mine was super super clean... I'm sure yours will be to).

[spoonman]

I think with a center overflow I would put the rock around the overflow and leave the front and sides open for the fish to swim. It really is about what you like though! That would also give you a lot of levels to put different light requirement corals.

[TLTGF]

Originally Posted by fort384

So, do you guys use the little sticky clips to attach your vortech wires to the tank? I don't really want to put that sticky stuff on my tank glass and I also like the idea of having the ability to move my power heads without having to pull those clips off. Am I living dangerously by not affixing them? I guess the danger is if they somehow become detached, it could bang against the glass or something?

If I had a rimless, no way id use the clips, but I did use them on my tank to attach to the rim. Ive only had one time that the PH came unattached and it was my fault, because I removed the wet side not thinking about it.

Id say go without if you can. You can even mount the PH so the cord faces down I would think.

[fort384]

Getting closer...

[fort384]

So does anyone think I will have a problem using my vortechs in ecosmart mode, which generates a pretty good wave? The glass on the tank is 1/2" but it is rimless. I don't want to rip the tank apart.

[fort384]

Ok tank is up and running. How do I go about adding salt? What is a good measurement of salt per gallon that will get me close but low so I can dial it in?

[carey]

I use half a cup per gallon for my salt mix. So far instant ocean and red sea have been the same.

[fort384]

Ok thanks Carey.

The noisiest part of this thing is the anti siphon hole at the top of my return. Water trickles out of it.... Gonna throw a tie wrap around the pipe so it breaks up the stream a bit I guess.

[carey]

Can you lower it a bit? You want it under water so it doesnt do that I think.

[fort384]

No, it is all the way at the top of the elbow... And to get the returns over the overflow it is going to have to be out of the water. I think the tie wrap did the trick though. Now all I hear is my skimmer suckin air and a small hum from the return pump.

[fort384]

I was able to raise the stand pipe a bit more too - that seems to have helped.

Salt is reading 1.024. I imagine by morning it will come up a hair.

Any issues with picking up a couple of pieces of live rock tomorrow to seed the rest of the rock? My LFS has some great looking stuff that should be completely cured - the live rock he sells he keeps in his DTs with coral frags.

Also, should I just throw a shrimp in some panty hose and into the sump to start my cycle?

[scottayy]

I have actually never used actual live rock - just rock that has been made live by cycling. But I reckon that there won't be any issues. LR die-off will help build ammonia and help speed along the cycle with the bacteria it already contains.

And, yep! That's how I cycled. Although I used 4 frozen silversides.. didn't want to go to the store just to get a shrimp, lol. IMO it's easier than dosing ammonia because it lets off a constant stream of it.

[Dirtydee12]

Just wondering how much did the tank and the stand cost you because i'm thinking of buying one.

[fort384]

~$700 for both.

[fort384]

At the advice of PureEvil, I went ahead and used PVC for the drain, and just for mfdrookie, I added a union so I can easily remove the stand pipe .

It should be a bit quieter than the hose - I am about an hour away from firing it back up for a test.

Question - I have a filter sock to throw on the end of the outlet of the drain, but the top of the sock is above the sides of the tank in the sump. Is this asking for disaster? Am I going to end up having the dang thing over fill and spill all over my floor? Water cycles through it right now with no issue - but that could change I suppose if/when it starts to get dirty.

[fort384]

And another question: I am getting a ton of microbubbles returned to the tank. The skimmer is working way better today than it was yesterday, and as a result, more bubbles... the bubble trap before the return is definitely removing some of them, but not all of them. Are there any adjustments I can make short of adding another baffle to reduce the bubbles going back to the DT?

[Hondatek]

I wouldn't worry about the micro bubbles from the skimmer until it is fully broken in. Let it run for a week then see how bad the bubbles are before you change your sump around .

[carey]

I've used live rock to seed my tanks almost a dozen times so far, and everytime I ended up with either a very short or no cycle at all. Alot depends on the quality of live rock used in my opinion. I used rock from a 300g 7 year old tank breakdown, only 30lbs and cycled in a week.

[fort384]

Great! It will be a few days 'cause the store closed at 3, and they are closed on Mondays... so I will go Tuesday evening and take a look at their rock again.

I got the ATO sytem with dual float switches installed, tested, and working.

My bulb on my fuge light went out. I think I am just going to throw one of those circular clamp on work lights in there with a CFL daylight bulb.

The plumbing is much quieter with the PVC and 90's than it was with the tubing and almost a straight shot into the sump.

How often should I have to empty my skimmer cup? Yesterday, it didn't produce anything. Today, the foam is goin crazy, and it looks like I would have to empty it every 24 hours. I already have it set on max, so I will have to throw something underneath it to elevate it a bit if it is not supposed to produce that quickly.


EDIT: Also, anyone have any comments on my filter sock arrangement, as I described above? The water seems to be passing through it just fine - it is not even elevated above the water level inside the sock. But - the top of the sock is about 1" above the rim of the aquarium.

[Hondatek]

If the skimmer is running wide open like you said that is wet skim. Skimming wet you will probably empty it daily. Once broken in and turned down you will get dry skim and it will fill the collection cup a lot slower. Mine for example will fill in a week on dry skim and daily if I set it to wet skim.