907 Tank & Stand Build - 55 Gallon
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Been a busy spring! Updates below, tank is in cruise control while we finish up some life chores and start enjoying some weather above freezing..for a little bit.
I'll be catching up on y'alls threads shortly here and I'm expecting to be impressed. FYI.
Photo updates are the most fun.
Royal gramma, seen here asking where I've been.
tbrown
Nominated Cronie Intern - Might be failing?
Everything good?
OP
OP
907_Reefer
2500 Club Member
Yessirs, all good! We've just been crazy busy chasing squatches and what not
Only a few months up here that aren't frozen so we are out and about taking advantage and I've been slacking on the forums..
The tank is good though! Had one incident while I was away for a week, skimmer freaked out and dumped ~6 gal SW into the overflow - luckily I have it run to a 5G bucket so mess was minimal, ATO kept the level proper but hence SG lowered to 1.022 and raising that back to 1.025 over 3-4 WCs. Will get some pics up shortly!
How's everyone's summer?! Will catch up shortly here..
tbrown
Nominated Cronie Intern - Might be failing?
So far summer is hot...
OP
OP
907_Reefer
2500 Club Member
OP
OP
907_Reefer
2500 Club Member
Let's do a little update!
Tank is good, little algae returning, it's been running on autopilot most of the summer here with bi-weekly check-ins while we get ready to move it (back, lol), to its old home, next week. Long story yadda yadda all is good and we are pumped to reset
Only had 1 issue where the skimmer freaked out and dumped about 6G SW into my 5G reservoir (smh..), which I can attribute to a half-butt skimmer clean job where I knocked some gunk from the neck, into the chamber, and let it run (do as I say kids, not as I do).
Yadda yadda yadda 15G ATO reservoir was plenty to keep the tank full, however dropping SG from 1.025 to 1.022. Been raising back to 1.025 with ~3, 5 gal WCs @ ~1.029. No related issues reported
Pistol shrimp has been super busy on the right side in my absence..
Meanwhile, 1 (Edit) Rhodactis is now 4 Rhodactis
Not bad for minimal attention for 4+ months though, some light GHA, cyano etc. The electric toothbrush method held this stuff back prettttyyy gooood if you ask me.
The big Goni got booped by the glass cleaner but is happy as can be otherwise
Tank is good, little algae returning, it's been running on autopilot most of the summer here with bi-weekly check-ins while we get ready to move it (back, lol), to its old home, next week. Long story yadda yadda all is good and we are pumped to reset
Only had 1 issue where the skimmer freaked out and dumped about 6G SW into my 5G reservoir (smh..), which I can attribute to a half-butt skimmer clean job where I knocked some gunk from the neck, into the chamber, and let it run (do as I say kids, not as I do).
Yadda yadda yadda 15G ATO reservoir was plenty to keep the tank full, however dropping SG from 1.025 to 1.022. Been raising back to 1.025 with ~3, 5 gal WCs @ ~1.029. No related issues reported
Pistol shrimp has been super busy on the right side in my absence..
Meanwhile, 1 (Edit) Rhodactis is now 4 Rhodactis
Not bad for minimal attention for 4+ months though, some light GHA, cyano etc. The electric toothbrush method held this stuff back prettttyyy gooood if you ask me.
The big Goni got booped by the glass cleaner but is happy as can be otherwise
Last edited:
tbrown
Nominated Cronie Intern - Might be failing?
Aren't those Rhodactis?
OP
OP
907_Reefer
2500 Club Member
Yep! Lol
Too much time away from the tank this summer!
Added that Rhodactis in February with one head, now up to 4..
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did you say you needed to move it back now?
OP
OP
907_Reefer
2500 Club Member
We decided to change life plans, so we're heading back to the old house which we luckily hadn't sold yet. Location location location. The new one just wasn't right and we are relieved to change back
All good and yep, tank will be getting moved next week or week after, same manner as before.
Not super excited for that project but I have all supplies ready to roll and at least it's not -10 F this time of year
Been running back and forth for a month or so, lots of time on the road.
jmatt
Just gettin' started. Again.
We decided to change life plans, so we're heading back to the old house which we luckily hadn't sold yet. Location location location. The new one just wasn't right and we are relieved to change back
While I'm sure you're not looking forward to the chore, I'm sure it was a mental relief when you finally got to the point where you definitively decided "That's it, we're going back".
There was probably a lot of thought leading up to it, but there was one clear moment when you made up your mind... and I'm sure that a wave of relief just swept over you.
OP
OP
907_Reefer
2500 Club Member
That is pretty much the nail on the head right there!
Getting prepared for the move, ready to pre-load a 32g brute with SW at the destination here and realized I left all of my mixing pumps where the tank is currently, 300 miles away lol.. Great start
tbrown
Nominated Cronie Intern - Might be failing?
Sounds like a valid excuse for MOAR equipment!That is pretty much the nail on the head right there!
Getting prepared for the move, ready to pre-load a 32g brute with SW at the destination here and realized I left all of my mixing pumps where the tank is currently, 300 miles away lol.. Great start
MrsBugmaster
2500 Club Member
Yes!
OP
OP
907_Reefer
2500 Club Member
Do it!! We love it up here! We're moving back up to the Mat-Su valley
...Tank moving count down is T-minus 40 hours...
OP
OP
907_Reefer
2500 Club Member
Tank move is on! Yesterday was go day, started unloading the tank around 6:30 AM, arrived at the new location at 5:00 PM to start transferring into totes and warming up, after a 5 hour drive. Everyone is swimming in their temporary tote-homes at this time
I did this pretty much the same as the last move, which worked well, with a few light tweaks. Generally, same theory - pull loose corals first, into small tupperware containers. Rocks with coral attached go into 4 buckets with livestock spread evenly, old SW fill to 75%, all of those run RESUN DC-160 battery powered bubblers. 2 D batteries each will run them for ~3 days, plenty of time for most moves. The rest of the rock goes into more buckets with old SW, no bubblers here. With water 95% drained I pull the old sand while combing through it for snails and shells, then toss it (new sand will be used). Then I load all buckets into the wife's car so she is responsible and tell her to run the heat at ~78 for the entire drive, while I haul the tank and stand in a second vehicle with a nice breeze
On arrival I pull everything inside and take 2 of the 3, 15-gal totes and dump their contents onto the nearest table, quick wipe down and split the buckets of rock, livestock and coral into them, most of the old SW that was included and top up with new SW I had pre-made and left in a brute with a Jebao return pump to keep mixed. Add pre-set 78 F heater(s) and flow pumps to the totes for movement and aeration, and here they'll live for a few days until the tank is cleaned and equipment has time to soak in citric acid. New sand is on hand and ready to go - if I was re-using the old, I would recommend rinsing the crap out of it first. On the last move everything lived in totes for 6 days, going to try to knock a few off of that on this round..
Things I changed up a bit from the last move:
- Focused on catching the wrasse early (or any fish that hide in the sand bed), poking around for him last in 3" of detritus filled water/sand is not comforting or easy. Was able to get him much earlier this time!
- No need to pre-make an entire 32 gallon brute of RO prior, some SW is the only immediate need on arrival. I probably used 5 of the 32 gal.
- I did not pre-heat the new SW on this round, figuring the incoming old SW will be at room/car temp, I want the new SW to match when I top the totes off and let heaters bring them up to temp gradually vs a sharp increase if the new SW was heated.
Time for pics!
Last shot of the tank prior to the move:
6:30 AM, rocking and rolling:
All my livestock
Corals ride in here:
Ready to roll:
En-route, co-pilot "Tank" on duty:
Wet travel day, lots of rain up here lately. Temps were 49-55 F on the drive.
Arrived at the destination, everything inside while I prep totes, pumps and heaters:
All livestock and rock split between the totes, mostly old SW with a top off from my pre-made SW, 2 pre-set heaters and 1 flow pump for each bin. This is where they'll all live mostly in the dark for a few days..
Only one thing left to do now..
More to come as we get the tank and stand in, everything cleaned and fired back up!
I did this pretty much the same as the last move, which worked well, with a few light tweaks. Generally, same theory - pull loose corals first, into small tupperware containers. Rocks with coral attached go into 4 buckets with livestock spread evenly, old SW fill to 75%, all of those run RESUN DC-160 battery powered bubblers. 2 D batteries each will run them for ~3 days, plenty of time for most moves. The rest of the rock goes into more buckets with old SW, no bubblers here. With water 95% drained I pull the old sand while combing through it for snails and shells, then toss it (new sand will be used). Then I load all buckets into the wife's car so she is responsible and tell her to run the heat at ~78 for the entire drive, while I haul the tank and stand in a second vehicle with a nice breeze
On arrival I pull everything inside and take 2 of the 3, 15-gal totes and dump their contents onto the nearest table, quick wipe down and split the buckets of rock, livestock and coral into them, most of the old SW that was included and top up with new SW I had pre-made and left in a brute with a Jebao return pump to keep mixed. Add pre-set 78 F heater(s) and flow pumps to the totes for movement and aeration, and here they'll live for a few days until the tank is cleaned and equipment has time to soak in citric acid. New sand is on hand and ready to go - if I was re-using the old, I would recommend rinsing the crap out of it first. On the last move everything lived in totes for 6 days, going to try to knock a few off of that on this round..
Things I changed up a bit from the last move:
- Focused on catching the wrasse early (or any fish that hide in the sand bed), poking around for him last in 3" of detritus filled water/sand is not comforting or easy. Was able to get him much earlier this time!
- No need to pre-make an entire 32 gallon brute of RO prior, some SW is the only immediate need on arrival. I probably used 5 of the 32 gal.
- I did not pre-heat the new SW on this round, figuring the incoming old SW will be at room/car temp, I want the new SW to match when I top the totes off and let heaters bring them up to temp gradually vs a sharp increase if the new SW was heated.
Time for pics!
Last shot of the tank prior to the move:
6:30 AM, rocking and rolling:
All my livestock
Corals ride in here:
Ready to roll:
En-route, co-pilot "Tank" on duty:
Wet travel day, lots of rain up here lately. Temps were 49-55 F on the drive.
Arrived at the destination, everything inside while I prep totes, pumps and heaters:
All livestock and rock split between the totes, mostly old SW with a top off from my pre-made SW, 2 pre-set heaters and 1 flow pump for each bin. This is where they'll all live mostly in the dark for a few days..
Only one thing left to do now..
More to come as we get the tank and stand in, everything cleaned and fired back up!
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