bboileau92 Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 Hello everyone, It's time to start my build thread! I've been out of the hobby for about 4 years, so I'm still trying to reabsorb the information. After looking into custom tank options, Red Sea, Waterbox, and others, I have decided to go with a Neptunian Cube M-150 with a white stand. I am on the wait list currently, and should be able to order this week or next, depending on when the shipment gets stateside. Bret from Paradise Corals has a M-90 in his shop, and it looks awesome! They have that sleek rimless look on a super clean looking white stand. What ultimately drove me to go this route, over the Waterbox, is that they have a 5' option, and the sumps come with a refugium divider. I was impatiently waiting to be able to order the tank, so I began my search for a quarantine setup. My wife was pretty clear that she didn't want an eyesore, so I jumped on a used Red Sea Reefer 170. It's overkill for a QT setup, but my plan is to get my wife used to the tank and convert it over once the stocking is done on the big tank. The leak test didn't go quite as planned. The main drain had a crack at the bottom of the fitting, so there was a solid leak that would splash onto the back of the stand when pushing water through. I ordered a replacement last night which should arrive this week. For my stocking plan I'm thinking: 2 Wyoming White Clowns (and down the road a BTA) 2-3 wrasses 2 Purple Firefish Purple Tang Zoas/LPS 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bboileau92 Posted August 10, 2020 Author Share Posted August 10, 2020 I also picked up some blue iquatics rock from Paradise. This stuff is awesome. It's really difficult to choose pieces when they're all unique in some way. Anyways, this is the first draft of the aquascape. I'm going to drop these in a brute can and start cycling tonight. Thanks@Micah for hooking me up with ammonium chloride to fish less cycle.Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadpapa Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 Excited to go by Paradise this weekend to check out the shop and specifically the neptunian. I’ll have to look at that rock while I’m there, that’s nice looking. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoralReefTankers Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 Almost my entire scape is that rock, and it has been doing very well in my tank. I picked it up about 9 months ago from Cuttlefish, tight when they first got it and couldn't be happier. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bboileau92 Posted August 12, 2020 Author Share Posted August 12, 2020 Rock and Marine Pure brick are in water to start the cycle. Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bboileau92 Posted August 12, 2020 Author Share Posted August 12, 2020 Almost my entire scape is that rock, and it has been doing very well in my tank. I picked it up about 9 months ago from Cuttlefish, tight when they first got it and couldn't be happier. It just looks so cool. I'm really excited to minimize the new tank microalgae look. Any chance you could post a picture?Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoralReefTankers Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 (edited) 21 minutes ago, bboileau92 said: It just looks so cool. I'm really excited to minimize the new tank microalgae look. Any chance you could post a picture? Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk Here are some pics. All but 3 small pieces on the top are that rock. And I have a new piece that I will be adding when I move out of my Reefer 250 and into my Reefer 350. **Also so no one gets upset that I have a Foxface in a 3 foot tank. He just went in today and will be leaving in a week or so when I transfer tanks, but I had to get him out of the tank he came with so I could clean it for the move.** Edited August 12, 2020 by CoralReefTankers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoralReefTankers Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 Here are a couple more of the ends and the new piece. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bboileau92 Posted August 12, 2020 Author Share Posted August 12, 2020 Here are a couple more of the ends and the new piece.Your tank looks awesome. I'll be beyond stoked if my tank is looking like that in 9ish months! I like that you gave the ends some forethought. I never thought about that in previous tanks, but the view from my couch will be a side view, so i actually put some effort this time. Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bboileau92 Posted August 14, 2020 Author Share Posted August 14, 2020 Rock has reached 0 ammonia and nitrite, so i put in another dose of ammonium chloride in the bin. I'm amazed at how quick the biospira worked. QT has salt and a starting dose of copper. I'll be picking up a pair of Wyoming white clowns tonight to start their QT.Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bboileau92 Posted August 14, 2020 Author Share Posted August 14, 2020 Quick question for you all. Since I'm cycling the rock without fish in a brute can with no light, do I need to do water changes to keep nitrates down? Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bboileau92 Posted August 17, 2020 Author Share Posted August 17, 2020 Mp40s are in! Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bboileau92 Posted August 18, 2020 Author Share Posted August 18, 2020 Thank you@CoralReefTankers for swinging by my work yesterday to bring me the ai prime. It looks great over the reefer 170.Hopefully today I will get the Wyoming Whites. I'm using copper power and have it at 1.02ppm currently. I also plan on adding metroplex in about a week. Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bboileau92 Posted August 19, 2020 Author Share Posted August 19, 2020 Picked up a pair of Wyoming Whites and got them acclimated. I forgot how much fun these guys are. They seem pretty happy already. Please pardon the terrible cell phone photos. I also had picked up an apex classic, but I didn't have a way to run ethernet directly to the tank. But since I have Comcast internet, I was able to pick up xfi pods which not only improve wifi, but they have ethernet ports on the bottom. Crazy simple setup, and now the apex is online. I'm going to start programming this week, but for now it's a glorified surge protector. Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoralReefTankers Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 Glad the light worked out for you, and that you were able to find a way to get your apex classic hooked to the internet. Excited to to keep following and see more updates on ur build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bboileau92 Posted August 20, 2020 Author Share Posted August 20, 2020 Got the ATO hooked up. It's pretty tiny. I feel like I'm going to have to fill it basically everyday. We'll see how it looks tonight. Clowns are eating just fine and seem to enjoy their pvc home currently. Are there any triton method fans out there? I'm curious to see if anyone is using it and if they're happy with the results. Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techymechy Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 that rock is so cool! I'm just getting back into the hobby. Is that rock man made or is it from a reef? I'm really interested in how you are going to cycle the rock. I used to cycle natural rock this way. It used to come in a box and I would put it in a food grade safe trash can, put the lid on it, add a power head and a bubbler. Let it cycle for a month or so, until all of the parameters came back to normal. I don't think I ever had to change water, but it may not be a bad idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 On 8/19/2020 at 9:00 AM, bboileau92 said: I also had picked up an apex classic, but I didn't have a way to run ethernet directly to the tank. But since I have Comcast internet, I was able to pick up xfi pods which not only improve wifi, but they have ethernet ports on the bottom. Crazy simple setup, and now the apex is online. I'm going to start programming this week, but for now it's a glorified surge protector. Congrats on all your progress so far! FYI, if you ever need any Apex assistance or programming tips, let me know. If you're not aware, I'm the local Apex guru and wrote a whole series of Apex programming tutorials originally here on PNWMAS, and then republished on Reef2Reef. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higher Thinking Posted August 23, 2020 Share Posted August 23, 2020 Thank you@CoralReefTankers for swinging by my work yesterday to bring me the ai prime. It looks great over the reefer 170.Hopefully today I will get the Wyoming Whites. I'm using copper power and have it at 1.02ppm currently. I also plan on adding metroplex in about a week. Sent from my SM-G973U using TapatalkCopper in the display?Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bboileau92 Posted August 23, 2020 Author Share Posted August 23, 2020 Congrats on all your progress so far! FYI, if you ever need any Apex assistance or programming tips, let me know. If you're not aware, I'm the local Apex guru and wrote a whole series of Apex programming tutorials originally here on PNWMAS, and then republished on Reef2Reef.I really appreciate that. I'm sure I'll take you up on that in the near future. I've already been reading up on your stuff and it's been very helpful. Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bboileau92 Posted August 23, 2020 Author Share Posted August 23, 2020 Copper in the display?Sent from my SM-G975U using TapatalkThis is currently my qt setup. The display tank hasn't arrived yet. Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bboileau92 Posted September 4, 2020 Author Share Posted September 4, 2020 I haven't updated in awhile, mostly because nothing exciting has been happening. The QT is getting ugly with algae, but my next QT fish will be a purple tang, so I'm hoping it will give them something to graze on. I think the clowns are past the psycho murderers phase and both seem healthy to me. Copper is at 2.06 ppm and I did my first dose of metroplex. The bottle says to dose every two days for up to 3 weeks, but that seems like a lot. Has anyone used metroplex prophylacticly? How many doses should I really do? Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bboileau92 Posted September 24, 2020 Author Share Posted September 24, 2020 Couple big updates. First, I went on vacation and when I returned, one of the clowns had died. Before I left, it seemed the two had stopped fighting and they were both eating well. Ammonia at 0, Nitrite was 4ppm, Nitrate was 25 ppm. I did a 15 gallon water change, keeping copper at 2.0 ppm. I've read info that would suggest the nitrite wouldn't kill the clownfish, but I'll be doing more regular water changes either way. The remaining clown has a swollen cloudy eye. What would that be? Luckily he's still in quarantine, but I'm not sure the correct treatment. Any help would be appreciated. Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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