Mr. Oceans 30 breeder reef build. [NEW PICTURES]

Bump

 

Dang those lights are bright. Makes a good argument for LED, for those still on the fence, like myself.

 

missed this build...thanks for the bump

subscribed! this is gonna be fun to watch...keep the pics coming

 

My RO/DI arrived and I'll be setting it up tomorrow. I went with the Mighty Mite from Air, Water & Ice.

I have some questions though. Is it OK to rinse my base rock with tap water then let it dry? Also, same with my sand? Is it really necessary to rinse these in RO water, especially if I let them dry before they go in the tank?

I plan on mixing the salt and water in the tank. Should I mix the water then add my rock? Or will it be fine to add my rock then mix the water? I just think it will be much easier to rebuild the scape in an empty tank rather than one filled with water.

Same with the sand, before or after I mix the water?

Thanks in advance everyone! I've been lucky so far that everything has pretty much gone without a hitch and hope to keep it this way!

 

nice tank so far ;D ... no need to clean base rock and aquascape with NO water and put rock in first then sand! have fun!

 

One step closer.

I'm letting the RO/DI run for awhile and hoping to get 0 TDS. My tap is over 500 TDS (YIKES!)... Once I get that sorted out I'll fill the tank.

 

WOW!!!!

Looking SWEEEEEET!!!!

Your canopy is perfect for those Lamps!!!

 

Thanks M-Ocean Man!

The BoostLED's are great. My father constructed two PVC hangers that attach to the back of the stand and hold a standard track lighting fixture. The track heads are specific for PAR 20, 30 or 38 bulbs. Perfect for this type of application!

If anyone else is interested in these specific track heads you can buy them at Lowe's for about $10 each. Totally "plug and play" with these type of bulbs.

 

I decided to take out the egg crate... Finally got the tank filled with RO/DI water.

Come to find out a Mag 5 is too strong and my overflow couldn't keep up. So we installed a T with two valves. I can now control the flow with no back pressure to the return pump. So far it's working like a charm!

I put the salt in and I'm giving it 24 hours to mix and to get the temperature at 80. Then I'll check salinity and raise it to where I need it. I purposely went low as I find this will be easier to correct seeing as how the water level is close to where I want it.

I wanted to mix the water before I put sand in the tank... It just made more sense to me. This is how I did it with my last tank as well. I'm hoping 20lbs will be enough and won't displace too much of the water. We shall see.

Either way, the system is running! Give it a few weeks to cycle and in the meantime I have to order a skimmer!

 

Looking good Ocean.. What size overflow pipe you running? Is it 1"? I am going to be drilling my 90 gal in a week or so and I was planning on running 2 1" overflows setup the way you have yours. I have a Mag9.5 for my return pump but planned on throttling it back to around 450gph..

Shane