OldReefer Rebuild

[OldReefer]

I have been pretty quiet lately since my tank and I have been going through a lot of changes. I took care of a lot of health challenges ( and lost a hundred pounds in the process). I start a new job next month that will not have me on the road 200 days a year.

 

It is only fitting that I give my tank a makeover.

 

I have struggled with my tank ever since I made the switch to 100 percent LEDs. Things got worse as the tank hit it's third birthday and started accumulating nutrients. I have been fighting a losing battle with Bryopsis for 6 months. I raised my magnesium to 1800 with Tech M. It killed off my massive colonies of encrusting Montipora and left the Bryopsis. That made my nutrient problem worse.

 

Here is what is left:

 

 

My first step was to remove the remote DSB I had in the sump. That was a good idea, because it was absolutely toxic. I gained 100 points on my ORP the next day. Things started looking up.

 

Then I ordered 120 lbs of Marco Rocks and put them in a 100 gallon stock tank lit with my very bright full-spectrum DIY LED light. I have a closed loop powered by a 1100 gph external pump and educators.

 

The dry rock has been cycling in there with bacteria and tank water for three weeks now. This will hold my livestock during the transition.

 

 

I plan to remove a lot of the old rock that has dead coral skeletons and traces of Bryopsis. I will drain the display completely and pull out the sand bed. I have a couple sheets of beige Starboard to go on the bottom. I will try to open up the rock work a bit more to allow fir more coral growth. Hopefully I will have the main system running within 36 hours. I should retain enough bacteria in the recycled rock in the DT and the sump to avoid a big cycle. The dry rock is also pretty " alive" at this point as well.

 

The next phase of the project will be a lighting makeover.

 

I have never been happy with the AI Sols, even with my fancy DIY supplements. So here is the new plan. I am building an old-fashioned enclosed hood. I will mount 3 of my 5 AI Sols down the middle. On each side I will mount 80 watt Fiji Purple T5s. On each side of those I will mount 12 XTE Royal Blue LEDs ( total of 24) driven with dimmable ballasts at 1.3 amps.

 

Finally, on the outside layer I will hang 6500K 80 watt GE T5s.

 

Here are some pictures to give the idea:

 

 

 

 

The three Sols will hang lengthwise from the gold channels in the middle, I will go all 70 degree optics on those to improve the spread.

 

I should have lots of control, since much of the PAR (about 325 watts) will still come from LEDs that I can control with my Apex. I can still fiddle with the color, do sunrise, sunsets, and the occasional silly storm. The Fiji Purples and the GE 65Ks (320 watts) should fill in the gaps in spectrum and give me back the reds and yellows I have been missing.

 

With some luck I will still get some shimmer, a good spectrum, and not much heat. There should be plenty of PAR, but my experience is that corals don't mind a lot of light as long as the spectrum is reasonable.

 

I am in a holding pattern right now, because I picked up a nasty infection in the hospital ( from a minor procedure). As a result I have an IV in my arm for at least another week, and I can't stick my hands in the tank.

 

As soon as that is fixed I will start making water and netting fish.

 

BTW... Anybody got a spare mag and heater handy? I am going to ave to mix up ALOT of salt water for this.

[zygote2k]

I hope you're going to put a fan in that hood...

Let me know if you need any more help on weekends.

I have a few extra Mag pumps too.

[Guest thefishman65]

I have a couple heaters. They are either 100 or 200 watt.

 

Are the XTE on square tubing? May not be problem, but the heat collecst on the inside where there is no air flow and 1/2 of the surface area is wasted. Then you have one side against the wood so it is insulated to some degree. So some things to consider. Place the whole tube on a thick washer that will get it off the wood. If you do that consider drilling one large hole in the top center. Convection will take the hot air out and suck in cool from the ends. Necessary probably not, but heat is what kills LEDs (well unless you put too much current through them)

[OldReefer]

I will be running installing 2 fans in each end of the hood at about 40 CFM each. I will also have 3 - 4x10" vents along the top of the hood above the AI Sols. It is the same cooling configuration I used to use with 3- 250 watt metal halides, so I hope it will work here as well.

 

Those black tubes you are looking at Rob are actually 18" x 1.4" heatsinks from Rapid LED. I will hang them down about an inch below the wood to isolate them and allow airflow. They have handy slots in the fins that let them hang off of 10-32 screws. I only have 4 XTEs on each heatsink, so the LEDS should stay pretty cool even though I will be driving them pretty hard. The trick will be to get the heat out of the hood.

 

At least it will be quiet. The open look is nice, but it is pretty noisy with lots of flow.

 

I will send out a PM on the pumps and heaters as things come together. The more water I can keep warm and aerated, the shorter the time I have to keep the tank down.

 

Feel free to let me know if I am missing anything. This isn't my first rodeo, but the previous rodeos well all kinda ugly.

[BowieReefer84]

Looking forward to following along. I think the mix of lighting you are planning will be really nice.

[Jim]

I have a spare Mag 5 that you can borrow and I can lend you a hand if you need any help. I'm pretty sure we live very near each other - I live in Belle View near the Safeway they are remodeling.

[surf&turf]

Wish I lived closer, I'd love to help!!

[jimlin]

let me know if you need a hand.

[Coral Hind]

Following along too for the transformaton. I bet the sand bed is going to be nasty when you start pulling that out. I also think you will not have much of a cycle if one at all with old and new rocks.

[zoozilla]

Tagging along. Looks like you may already be covered on the heater and Mag pumps. Let me know if I could be of any assistance.

[roni]

I'm excited to see how the lighting turns out. I think it's going to hit those areas of the spectrum that I think are missing from current generation LEDs while still getting the intensity and low power usage you were shooting for.

[Origami]

Following.

 

Congratulations on the life changes, Bill. Less travel will be nice, too.

[Guest thefishman65]

I have two 200 watt heaters. When do you need them - New Years?

[OldReefer]

I have two 200 watt heaters. When do you need them - New Years?

 

Rob,

 

I will try to get out your way towards the end if the week or maybe Saturday. I should be able to start making salt water over Christmas.

 

Bill

[Guest thefishman65]

I am helping Chadd move Saturday, but we can figure something out. I can always leave them somewhere out of site.

[matt]

Following along....hope to see good things for you. Bryopsis triggered my last exit from the hobby and i only got back to reefing recently. Sounds like you have a good plan

[tpallas]

Bryopsis SUCKS!!!!! I'm battling it now on my 11.4g. I am determined to emerge victorious. Good luck to you and looking forward to the rebuild!

[OldReefer]

Just an update. I have been medically prohibited from sticking my hands in my tank, but I should be OK Monday. In the mean time I have been finishing the hood and lighting.

 

 

Here it is working. Three of my AI Sol Blues will go down the middle. I can't run the Royal Blue LED strips until I take the drivers off my existing tank. At least the T5s and fans are ready to go.

 

As far as the big take down, sand removal and new aquascape go.... I am reaping the benefits of the WAMAS Comunity.

 

I have a loaner Brute container with pump from Jim, two adfitional Brute containers of my own, and a couple heaters loaned from thefishman65. Jimlin heled me out by picking some of this stuff up or me.

 

So overall I have about 100 gallons of warm fresh water ready to go. My fish should not have to spend too much time in the holding tank.

 

Once I get all of this done, I think I would like to make my holding system a club resource. It is nice to have something like that standing by in the event of a tank disaster or rebuild.

[Demeat50]

If I am free when you do all this, would love to help. Just out of curiosity, why are you abandoning the LED setup? Do you think the bryopsis could have been avoided with MH or new setup?

[OldReefer]

I can't blame the LEDs for the Bryopsis. I am going to keep some LED and supplement heavily with T5.

 

My SPS were much happier under T5.

 

The sand bed is coming out and will be replaced with Starboard. That should take the nutrients down to the point that ant Bryosis that gets carried over can be controlled.

[OldReefer]

The big wet nasty rebuild started today.

 

Here is my holding tank stuffed with corals and clams. My frag tank is also overflowing.

 

 

The sand bed was a disaster. Not only was it saturated with gunk, but much of it had solidified. It eventually came out in 50lb chunks. I should have known better. If you are are going to have a sand bed, you have to treat it like a living thing and keep all the right critters in it.

 

The sand is all gone now and replaced with Starboard. I have not done bare-bottom in a while. I built a little sandbox for my wrasse to sleep in out of starboard trimmings.

 

So far the only losses are a Bartlett Anthia and one of my big RBTAs. It was attached firmly to a huge group of rocks that had been fused together with layers of encrusting Montipora. I couldn't get it off and I couldn't get the rocks apart.

 

I had to hack up some big rocks and big colonies. I have a new favorite frag tool.....

 

 

That should give you a feel for the day. It has been mayhem. Corals, rock and buckets if water everywhere.

[CaptainRon]

You know its serious when power cutting tools come out! Looking forward to seeing more.

[zygote2k]

looking forward to see how it turns out.

[Guest thefishman65]

Looking good Bill - Can't wait to see the results.

[surf&turf]

Looking good Bill - Can't wait to see the results.

 

+1