JJ Ocean's 420g Reef

[jj ocean]

JeF4y;855196 wrote: How will you go about doing that?

I'm going to just augment with addition strip LED lighting in between the AIs. I have no plans to actually modify the AI pucks or housing. It is not as ideal as modifying the pucks, but a whole lot less work and I'll retain my warranties.

Ecoexotic is the route I went for augmentation ... their stunner strips. In my case, I'm adding it for viewing color preference - not coral growth, so it made placement less of an issue. I'm happy with the current growth and coral color under the AI's, but I just want to bring out some of the highlights a little better. The tests I did with magenta on my current tank seemed to do that.

 

[jef4y]

Thanks. I was actually looking for something like that to just add some variation to my AI & MM lighting.

 

[jj ocean]

<span style="font-size: 13px"><span style="font-family: Calibri">Did a lot of work on the tank this weekend. All of the livestock and coral transferred over from the 120. Also, mounted all the frags from my holding tanks. Since all of the systems are connected the fish virtually had no acclimation period. </span></span>

<span style="font-size: 13px"><span style="font-family: Calibri">My biggest concern was the interaction of the 8 tangs. Only 4 of them lived together previously. The other 4 were QT’d and isolated in other tanks. All 8 went in within 15 minutes of each other (the master plan) … some raised fins the first 20 minutes, but not a single tail swipe or mock swipe. Model citizens ever since. I really thought there’d be a couple bumps and bruises while they settled out the hierarchy. The one surprising issue was the Powder Blue gets extremely agitated with my cleaner wrasse for attempting to clean him. Chases him the full length of the tank. All the others absolutely love the cleaner.</span></span>

<span style="font-size: 13px"><span style="font-family: Calibri">The cabinetry also went in. There’s still some minor trim work to be done, a little caulking and some touch-up painting. The top front of the canopy will also have some type of trim work done … big expanse of white board right now. That’s probably the biggest piece left to do on the cabinetry.</span></span>

<span style="font-size: 13px"><span style="font-family: Calibri">All of the plumbing is done. I still have some wire clean up, mounting of vortech controllers and some other miscellaneous things to do. After that, the 420 will be officially done!</span></span>

<span style="font-size: 13px"><span style="font-family: Calibri">Here’s some shots of the front of the tank after the weekend. Sorry, don't have the best camera …</span></span>

alt="" />

alt="" />

Left side

alt="" />

Right side

alt="" />

Left side walking in from the other room

alt="" />

 

[markl]

Awesome job . That came out so nice.

 

[tbryan]

Got any shots with and without the led supplement?

 

[merkywater]

"<span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="font-size: 13px">The one surprising issue was the Powder Blue gets extremely agitated with my cleaner wrasse for attempting to clean him. Chases him the full length of the tank. All the others absolutely love the cleaner"</span></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="font-size: 13px"></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="font-size: 13px">Funny you say that most my tangs do this lol, but they still keep going back to the wrasse to clean them. He gets them good and they chase him, then do it all over again. </span></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="font-size: 13px"></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="font-size: 13px">By the way NICE job bro!</span></span>

 

[darth reefer]

Great job man, it turned out amazing!

 

[atlweb]

This is absolutely stunning. Congrats!

 

[glxtrix]

Wow! Just....WOW! Great job!

 

[dylpik27]

awesome job on the rockwork. What'd you use to bond the rocks together?

 

[jj ocean]

tbryan;856973 wrote: Got any shots with and without the led supplement?

I don't have any shots of the magenta supplementation on/off looking at the tank. To be honest the difference is extremely subtle - I really only see the difference when looking directly at red or yellow hued corals. Based on the camera I have, there's no way it would pick up the difference. To be honest, my camera is not rendering the colors exact anyway. Below is a pic of the lighting setup while it is on, so you can at least see how I configured it.

alt="" />


All - Thanks guys for all the feedback. I changed some things from the plan, but it is always like that in the hobby. I just wish the coralline algae would grow quicker ... a lot of white rock in there!

Merky - too funny that all your tangs do that. My guess is that the cleaner is nipping him a little too hard for his liking. He's fine for like 5-10 seconds of cleaning, then sprints off into a chase.

 

[super]

Wow, that's really incredible.

 

[jj ocean]

<span style="color: black"><span style="font-family: Verdana">

dylpik27;856983 wrote: awesome job on the rockwork. What'd you use to bond the rocks together?

</span></span>
BASF EMACO R 400 Architectural Mortar mixed with Acryl 60 (acrylic polymer). You can buy direct from large building supply houses – mostly bulk. Macrorocks.com sells smaller amounts with the corresponding polymer mix in the correct ratios … no calculations on your part. The stuff is crazy strong. You better have everything all laid out before you start though. Once mixed, it sets up and is unusable 15 minutes after mixing.

I also drilled some of the rocks and inserted ½” acrylic rods for some of the crazier overhangs. It adds extra stability, but was mainly there to hold rocks in place until the mortar set. The rods were cut down and inserted fully into the drill holes – not visible. I also used zip ties to hold some rock in place while I applied the mortar. I removed all of the zip ties when done, but the acrylic rods are permanently part of the structure.

<span style="color: black"><span style="font-family: Verdana">

2ruble;856990 wrote: it all looks awesome! Super jealous, can't wait until I'm back in a house to do a big setup... what kind of lights are those?

</span></span>
Aqua Illumination Sol Blues and an Ecoexotic Magenta/White Stunner strip.

 

[ddaddy2420]

jmaneyapanda;854841 wrote: I was just reading, this tank is 36" tall?! Prepare to get wet whenever youre servicing!! I work on a 30" and its almost too much. And are those lights AIs? You think they have enough punch? Did you PAR test them by chance?

The rockwork seems very Chingchai

alt="" />

Yea I am a big fan of the Chingchai aquascape, even though he didn't actually do it himself. Your setup looks great JJ, very clean and professional looking. I love the cabinetry around it and the fact that you made it viewable from the sides which is a little different than most in wall tanks. One question though, did you every consider running any returns through the bottom of the tank to help with moving water around the bottom half of such a tall tank?

 

[rgunn1]

WOW! Beautiful tank!

 

[jj ocean]

ddaddy2420;857022 wrote: One question though, did you every consider running any returns through the bottom of the tank to help with moving water around the bottom half of such a tall tank?

Installing a closed loop and going bare bottom vs. sand were 2 major design decisions I changed my mind on several times. I actually sent the original order in on my tank with spec&#8217;d holes drilled in the bottom per my planned aquascape &#8230; (4) 1&#8221; returns and (2) 1&#8221; intakes. I was going to power it with a Reeflo Dart and Oceans Motion 4-way. The final deciding factor for me was that I felt the current &#8220;wave maker&#8221; pumps produce significant flow/undercurrent and didn&#8217;t justify drilling multiple holes in the bottom of the tank (or running closed loop lines inside the tank). The pumps also have way more variability options than a closed loop does. Having a well respected person in the hobby have a sizeable closed loop failure right in the middle of my decision process finalized it for me.

To make sure I had enough flow for my tall tank, I&#8217;m running (5) MP40s on the tank. The 2 on the sides are up near the top & the 3 on the back are at the mid-point. They are clearly moving water the entire height of the water column because I am having to make adjustments to keep sand movement controlled a good distance away from the vortechs (disadvantage of my sand/BB decision). The sand I selected is &#8220;reef grade&#8221; size &#8230; smaller grain, but still heavy to reduce movement from the flow. I also ran 2 of the returns to the front corners of the tank in addition to the 4 returns on the back wall to aid in water movement. You can kind of see them in the shot I have with the canopy open. Also, all the returns are pointed down towards the bottom of the tank to make sure there&#8217;s good turnover. So far, I haven&#8217;t been disappointed in the movement.

 

[grouper therapy]

Well done!!! The cabinet retro to the existing cabinets was well done also.

 

[jcusmarine]

Inspired. Really enjoying this build. Thanks for sharing.

 

[jj ocean]

Here’s some pics of the business end of the new build. I’m still cleaning up wires, mounts and some other miscellaneous stuff, but you get a decent look at what was added.

The new sump – handles all 4 drains from the 420g plus a 3” feed from my 150g sump/refugium and 1.5” drain from my QT/Frag system. I also relocated the switches that control my ATO and the heaters to the new sump. A lot of volume pulling through that sump – a Reeflo Hammerhead and an Iwaki 100 are running wide open on the right end.

alt="" />

Other side of the sump: Both pumps I mentioned earlier, my 2 FMC and bio-pellet reactor.

alt="" />

Pull back shot of back side of tank where you can see the 4 drains and 6 return lines. The one large gate valve on the right is the full siphon drain on the Bean Animal setup. Very far left you can see the lines that go up to the other 120s and 30 cubes. I’ll be putting matched covers on the overflow box this weekend.

alt="" />

grouper therapy;858776 wrote: Well done!!! The cabinet retro to the existing cabinets was well done also.

Thanks. That took a little longer than expected to make it right. Still not done with some details on it.

 

[Creation Reef & Aquatics]

The tank looks fantastic. You did great job laying out the rock.... I know that Achilles is happy now
Amanda