Patrick's 48 Gallon Reef Tank Build

[ptrick21186]

Ok so I originally started this thread on The Reef Tank. Been a member on there since 2012. Used the sight for a lot of advice and information over the years. Unfortunately when I got divorced in 2016 I had to get out of the hobby for a bit but came back this last summer. When I came back to The Reef Tank I noticed the site had become pretty dead. Not much activity except for the moderators chit chatting on their daily forums. But the reefing activity isn't what it used to be. So I've decided to move to Reef2Reef. Bare with me as I move 5 months worth of posts and pics to this thread.

Equipment

Reef Octopus Octo Lux T90 Aquarium System (48gal)
Reef Octopus PVC Sump with Filter Sock
AQ-3000 Return Pump
Reef Octopus Classic 150INT Protein Skimmer
2 EcoTech Marine Radion XR15 G6 Blue LED Lights
1 Tunze Nanostream 6055
1 Red Sea Reefwave 25 Gyre
2 BRS 300W Titanium Heaters w/ Inkbird controller
BRS Dual Carbon and GFO Reactor
BRS CO2 Scrubber
Milwaukee MC122 pH Controller
BRS 7 Stage RO/DI Unit
Tunze Osmolator Universal 3155 ATO System
Hmahli 4gal ATO Reservoir
40lbs MarcoRocks Reef Saver Shelf Rock
30lbs CaribSea Arag-Alive Special Grade Reef Sand

Livestock
2 Clownfish
3 Green Chromis
1 Royal Gramma
1 Fire Fish
1 Banggai Cardinalfish
1 Diamond Goby
1 Longspine Urchin
1 Cleaner Shrimp
2 Emerald Crabs
3 Scarlett Hermit Crabs
8 Astrea Snails
5 Nassirus Snails
12 Jars Algae Barn Ecopods

 

[ptrick21186]

August 26th, 2022

Alright. Gonna start a blog about my new tank build. Doing better financially and knowledge wise than I was when I started my last one. Gonna make this one great. Went with a Reef Octopus Octo Lux T90 aquarium/stand. Most of the essentials arrived the other day and the dry rock is due here tomorrow. More to come soon.....

 

[dstockwell]

Waiting for more

 

[ptrick21186]

August 28th, 2022

Alright. Kicked butt at work this week to bring in some extra bucks for this build. 78 hours in the last 7 days. Ugh. It'll be worth it though. Tomorrow is build day! Gonna set up the cab, sump, tank, and aquascape. Spent a little time in the bar room doing a dry run on the aquascape. I think this is gonna be the final result. Maybe minus the two smaller pieces up front. Just laid them there to see what a couple zoa rocks would look like up front. I have one large piece of shelf rock left though. I wish I could use it but it'll be too much I think. I'd hate to break it up into rubble rock also. Think I'll leave that aside until everything is in the actual DT......

 

[ptrick21186]

August 29th, 2022

Alright the hard parts done! Cab is assembled and the tank and sump are in place. Gonna do a leak test on the overflow and then do the aquascaping.

 

[ptrick21186]

August 29th, 2022

 

[ptrick21186]

September 1st, 2022

Filling has begun! Got all the controls and the GFO/Carbon reactor mounted. My RO is a bit slow so this might take some time.....

 

[ptrick21186]

September 1st, 2022

 

[ptrick21186]

September 2nd, 2022

Tank is officially filled to the appropriate level and is cycling. Awaiting the water to come up to temperature then gonna recheck the salinity

 

[ptrick21186]

September 6th, 2022

Ok so I figured out what was up with my RO unit. When I replaced the membranes I installed one of them backwards..... This sucks because I basically wasted an entire cartridge of DI resin and filled my tank with semi clean water. Just ordered some more resin. When it comes in I'll do a large water change with some TDS free water. Meanwhile the tank is almost a week into cycling so I'm not too worried about it. WC's cure all! Installed the ATO unit. Just waiting for the reservoir that should be here tomorrow so I can turn it on.

 

[ptrick21186]

September 7th, 2022

Added these handy LED lights to help me see in this dark cabinet.

 

[Fish Styx]

Tagging along

 

[ptrick21186]

September 9th, 2022

ATO is up and running. Might need to move the controller to the back of the cab instead of the side. It's hard to see which LED is lit unless you're looking directly at it. Level is currently set at 12.5L....LOL metric....will monitor my evap rate over the next few days. Hopefully this will last long enough to keep it running while on vacation without needing someone to refill. 12.5L at 9:00pm.....

 

[ptrick21186]

September 9th, 2022

 

[PR_nano]

Following along I got this one last year is been sitting in the garage for over 2 months only have a built stand so far…

I believe I seen your in another forum.

 

[ptrick21186]

September 30th, 2022

Alright we're a day shy of the tanks one month anniversary! Ammonia is at 0. Nitrites at 0. And Nitrates are down to 0.7. Down from 7.0 when I checked them about 2 weeks ago. I'd say this tank is just about over it's initial cycle. Phosphates are up pretty high though. Sitting at about 0.11. I'm assuming this is a mix of the ghost feeding and when I had one of the RO membranes backwards while I filled the tank :cautious:. Should go down when I do a water change. Still don't wanna go too crazy too fast though. Just ordered 28,000 Ecopods from Algae Barn and 1 bottle each of pink and purple coralline algae. They should be here on Tuesday. I'll give the pods and algae 2 weeks or maybe a month to get established and then I'll do my first water change. After that maybe we'll start looking at fish and finally turn on the lights.

 

[ptrick21186]

Following along I got this one last year is been sitting in the garage for over 2 months only have a built stand so far…

I believe I seen your in another forum.

Little over 5 months old and so far I love this tank. Would definitely recommend it!

 

[ptrick21186]

September 30th, 2022

Week 4. Still looking good.....

 

[ptrick21186]

October 5th, 2022

First non-bacterial life added to the tank today! 28K Ecopods. 7k into the sump and 21K into the display. Also added two different bottles of coralline algae to the display. This should add to the biodiversity of the tank and help prepare it for the next step.

 

[ptrick21186]

October 10th, 2022

First fish!!!! Big day!!!