300L - First Reef

Hello ELOS addicted,

I would like to present you my new project: a 300L reef tank.
I received the tank and stand ( that is yet to be covered) last week and have finished the lighting supports yesterday. Next phase is going to be the covering of the metal structure. Nedless to say that is going to be a tank maintained by ELOS products.

Tank: 100*60*50cm ( Length*Wide*High) - 300L; rimless, 12mm glass, black painted glass in the overflow
Lighting: 6*39W T5 HO ( 4 Blue Special + 2 Blue Plus)
Circulation: 2 x Tunze Nanostream 6055 controlled by Tunze Multicontroller 7095 ( 2 x 5500L/h)
Live Rock: about 25kg, depending on the layout
Dead Rock: 6 Kgs of Reefplates
Substracte: Nature´s Ocean Bio-Active Live Aragonite, enough to make a small SB

Sump: 55*35*40cm ( Lenght*Wide*High)
Skimmer: Deltec MCE600 ( not permanent; upgradable to an NS 1000 or to a H&S A150-F2001)
Return Pump: Sicce Multi 2500 ( 2500L/h)
Heating: 250W Jager
Water reposition: Tunze osmolator with RO water
Ca, Mg and Hardness: Grotech NG III automatic doser

RO water deposit + salt water deposit: 35*35*50cm ( Lenght*Wide*High)

Here goes the first pictures of this project:





Tank with aluminium lighting supports mounted and lighting fixture:








And so, the journey begins...


Regards,
André

Great! André

I dream to see what you can do now!

Welcome to Reef Addicted people

Danilo, my friend, thank you for the kind comments!
I hope I don´t disapoint you...

Here´s an update on this project.
I set up the tank last night. Made the hardscape in dry environment to get things nicer and cleaner, at my taste. Then, filled the tank, half of it with my brother´s reef water, less than an half with Nature´s Ocean water and the rest with a saltwater mix of ELOS salt + RO water. Live rock is also from my brother´s two and a half year matured reef tank.

The pipe system already set up:




The goods:








Here are the possible pics after filling the tank. Skimmer is already running so more pictures will come in the next days, hopefully with crystal water. Rimless look all the way.







Regards,
André

And this one was taken today, with the water a little bit more clear.
I hope you like it.




I also tested the water with ELOS test kits.



Here are the values:

pH = 8.1
kH = 7

NO3 = 10 mg/L
PO4 = 0.01 mg/L ( mínimo do teste)

Ca = 450 mg/L
Mg = 1600 mg/L


What do you think?



Regards,
André

The values are good, I think they are going down quickly (No3).

The photo is great, I like it very much.

Only a couple of questions.

The first, why do you add sand from the very first day of tank? And the second how many kg of rocks? You wrote 25kg, is it correct?

Hello Dani,

Thank you for the feedback.

Regarding your questions:

- I add sand not only because of the aesthetics part ( I really like SB in the tanks, giving a more natural feeling to it) but also because it´s easier to work with the rocks and build the hardscape at my taste. Do you feel it´s wrong to add sand?

- Yes, in the begining it should have been 25kg but I ended up using around 20kg. I still have more live rock in my brother´s reef that I can use, if I want to, wich I will probably do. I need to add a couple more details to the layout to feel more apealing to my eye. What do you think?


Regards,
André

Hi André

André Silvestre wrote:

Hello Dani,

Thank you for the feedback.

My pleasure ;-)

Quote :

Regarding your questions:

- I add sand not only because of the aesthetics part ( I really like SB in the tanks, giving a more natural feeling to it) but also because it´s easier to work with the rocks and build the hardscape at my taste. Do you feel it´s wrong to add sand?

In Italy, normally, we think it's better not to put sand until water values are ok, about 5-6 months after tank building.
This because the sand can became brown and dark when the values aren't ok... and so is not so much aesthetics :-)

Quote :

- Yes, in the begining it should have been 25kg but I ended up using around 20kg. I still have more live rock in my brother´s reef that I can use, if I want to, wich I will probably do. I need to add a couple more details to the layout to feel more apealing to my eye. What do you think?

Normally the rocks are very important to nitrification-denitrification and Berlin Method suggest us to use 1 kg every 5 litres of water. So I think you have to much less rocks... today we have more efficient skimmer and light, so it's possibile to put a little bit away that value... but we don't know how much. So I'm very interested to follow your water values into time.

Thank you for the info Dani.

Quote :

In Italy, normally, we think it's better not to put sand until water values are ok, about 5-6 months after tank building.
This because the sand can became brown and dark when the values aren't ok... and so is not so much aesthetics :-)

Ok, I understand. I think you are talking about algae, right? I am cycling the tank with lights off, with circulation pumps and skimmer on. I thought to let the tank run this way for, at least, a month and a half before I put corals in it. To keep my parameters stable, I am injecting Kalk with Tunze Osmolator and a Kalk reactor and I will do it so until I complete the cycle. After the cycle is complete, I am planning to turn on the lights, turn off the Kalk reactor and set up the Grotech NG III to add the Prima Line ( Ca, Mg, Traces and Carbonates). That´s when I also plan to begin the Purist Line. What do you think about this regime I am planning to do?

Quote :

Normally the rocks are very important to nitrification-denitrification and Berlin Method suggest us to use 1 kg every 5 litres of water. So I think you have to much less rocks... today we have more efficient skimmer and light, so it's possibile to put a little bit away that value... but we don't know how much. So I'm very interested to follow your water values into time.

Yes, many other Portuguese reefkepers told me exactly the same thing: I am poor on live rock. Maybe I end up using Live rock in the Sump as I don´t want do add much more the the tank ( trying to get away from rockwalls we are accustomed to see in reef tanks). I will also try not to stock the tank too much regarding livestock, as I like to see plenty open spaces and not so many fish but, instead, few that can be seen swimming freely through all over the tank. The livestock will only be introduced when I upgrade my skimmer so, for sure, corals will be the first inhabitants of the tank.

I also saw your publication of the Purist Line manual ( wich, by the way, is excellent; congratulations ) and, indeed, sand beds and poor quantities of live rock are conditionant factors to the success of probiotic method. Knowing I am compromised from the start, I am planning to assume the " risk" and experience the method nontheless. Maybe I cant get away with it, maybe I can´t. Either way, I have to try it.


Regards,
André

André Silvestre wrote:

Thank you for the info Dani.
Ok, I understand. I think you are talking about algae, right?

Not only algae, but cyano too, and in small words dirty sands... nothing that time can't heal, but not so beautiful to see for a couple of month

Quote :

I am cycling the tank with lights off, with circulation pumps and skimmer on. I thought to let the tank run this way for, at least, a month and a half before I put corals in it. To keep my parameters stable, I am injecting Kalk with Tunze Osmolator and a Kalk reactor and I will do it so until I complete the cycle. After the cycle is complete, I am planning to turn on the lights, turn off the Kalk reactor and set up the Grotech NG III to add the Prima Line ( Ca, Mg, Traces and Carbonates). That´s when I also plan to begin the Purist Line. What do you think about this regime I am planning to do?

If you can, I would add kalk ever...

Quote :

Yes, many other Portuguese reefkepers told me exactly the same thing: I am poor on live rock. Maybe I end up using Live rock in the Sump as I don´t want do add much more the the tank ( trying to get away from rockwalls we are accustomed to see in reef tanks). I will also try not to stock the tank too much regarding livestock, as I like to see plenty open spaces and not so many fish but, instead, few that can be seen swimming freely through all over the tank. The livestock will only be introduced when I upgrade my skimmer so, for sure, corals will be the first inhabitants of the tank.

My dream

Quote :

I also saw your publication of the Purist Line manual ( wich, by the way, is excellent; congratulations ) and, indeed, sand beds and poor quantities of live rock are conditionant factors to the success of probiotic method. Knowing I am compromised from the start, I am planning to assume the " risk" and experience the method nontheless. Maybe I cant get away with it, maybe I can´t. Either way, I have to try it.

I'm just waiting your experience on that

Hello Dani,

I " hear" you. Thanks for the info.
I have just one final question:

***dani*** wrote:

Quote :

I am cycling the tank with lights off, with circulation pumps and skimmer on. I thought to let the tank run this way for, at least, a month and a half before I put corals in it. To keep my parameters stable, I am injecting Kalk with Tunze Osmolator and a Kalk reactor and I will do it so until I complete the cycle. After the cycle is complete, I am planning to turn on the lights, turn off the Kalk reactor and set up the Grotech NG III to add the Prima Line ( Ca, Mg, Traces and Carbonates). That´s when I also plan to begin the Purist Line. What do you think about this regime I am planning to do?

If you can, I would add kalk ever...

Isn´t Kalkwasser incompatible with the Purist Line or any other Probiotic process? Doesn´t kalkwasser precipitate the PO4 that is later exported by the skimmer? If this precipitation occurs, how will the bacteria reduce PO4?

Sorry for all the questions but these are doubts that haunt my mind since the begining...


Regards,
André

Hi André

André Silvestre wrote:

Isn´t Kalkwasser incompatible with the Purist Line or any other Probiotic process? Doesn´t kalkwasser precipitate the PO4 that is later exported by the skimmer? If this precipitation occurs, how will the bacteria reduce PO4?

Sorry for all the questions but these are doubts that haunt my mind since the begining...


Regards,
André

It's correct. If you'll use probiotic process, like Elos Purist or Zeovit, you hadn't add kalwasser, but the kw is good thing per se, because of regulating pH in the night.

So, if you choose Elos Purist (or other similar method) it's better not to add to...

Best Regards

Danilo

Hello Dani,

thanks for the info.

I leave you my last pictures of 2008:









I introduced a shoal of 11 Chromis viridis. I have checked the parameters before introducing them and everything was the same, with changes in NO3 that the test result gave 5 mg/L. NO3 going down, as you said it would. That´s when I introduced the fish.

Today, I have made the NO3, kH and pH tests.

- NO3 = 5 mg/L
- kH = 8
- pH = 7.4

Kalk addition has raised my kH and pH to good values, although kalk injection has been done for only 1 week. Maybe the values will raise a little bit more, when it comes to kH. Fish are active and eat well. Very interactive with my movements when I approach the tank and have a peaceful behaviour inside the group.

More updated news to come in January so stay tunned!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year of 2009!


Regards,
André

great layout...

I LOVE IT... easy to say

My best wish for 2009 and merry christmas!