# Winterfell Reef - 100 Gallon Journey



## aquaticlog

*Chapter 1. Planning.*

*Previous Experience
*
Ever since I was little I've enjoyed aquariums, fish and underwater plants. My first aquarium was a 3 litre glass jar and was a home to 4 female and 1 male guppies. I was fascinated with this small water world and its inhabitants. The jar stood on a windowsill, did not have a heater, I was 7 years old and did not know about proper care, significance of water changes and nitrogen lifecycle. Surprisingly, the aquarium lasted for a few month, until one day I decided to perform a 100% water change with fresh tap water&#8230; The fish died and I did not have an explanation. That was 25 years ago and I did not have real access to aquarium keeping books.

For the past 15 years I've always had at least one aquarium in my household. I did mostly freshwater, was especially taken by African cichlids (tropheus are so much fun, frontosa is simply majestic). Did a number of planted tanks, that hobby had really progressed in the past 10 years, my last aquarium featured a CO2 system and intense lighting. I even tried a fish-only 10 gallon nano-reef in 2005.

All of this was preparation for the ultimate challenge in aquarium keeping - a saltwater reef system.

I started with a 10 gallon coral reef in 2011, made all newbie mistakes and have quickly realized that I needed better lighting, more water volume, greater fish variety, water stability and much much more.

By the end of 2011 I decided to order a 28 gallon JBJ Advanced Nano Cube system.










This system lasted for 7 months but I've discovered a few limitations:

the daylight lights system was quite powerful, but coral colours would not "pop", a coral that would exhibit rich green and red colours at the store would quickly appear rather drab and monochrome. dusk/dawn lighting was great.
curved glass on the front panel quickly became distracting, made taking pictures much harder and was not easy to clean
I've stocked the tank with 5 fish and wanted many more, needless to say that even 5 was too many
putting a dosing pump on such a small system seemed excessive, but I quickly got tired of manual dosing
So while I still have this system and it is thriving, I decided to design and build a new system that will address all of the above mentioned deficiencies.

*Future Build Specifications*

I did not want to go with an extremely large system, so 150+ gallon aquarium was not an option. An aquarium that is too small was not worth the effort either. The sweet spot would be somewhere between 70 and 100 gallons.

Choosing aquarium length was a no brainer: I want to use Ecotech Radion lights, they cover an area of 24" by 24", so 48" viewing side seemed like a perfect fit. Not too long and yet I have tons of options for lighting, this is a standard size.

Aquarium depth (front-to-back) was much trickier, a lot of aquariums that I like got as far as 30" deep, every hobbyist I asked recommended that I go with as much room front-to-back as possible. In the end I chose 24", which should give me more than ample room for some nice aquascaping and great viewing perspective.

For height I am going 20" high, this should make aquarium maintenance fairly straightforward - I will be able to reach the sand without any difficulty.

I've made a number of cutouts and experimented with different sizing and locations. At the end I've picked the location that worked best and now my future aquarium measures at 48" x 24" x 20".




























I will be going with a rimless look and low-iron glass (starfire) on front and sides. Bottom will be tempered glass with 3 holes, 2 drains 1-1/2" and 1 return of 1".

Overflow will be internal, 3 sided rectangular black acrylic centered on the back panel.

The cabinet stand will measure 48-1/4" x 22 1/4" x 36" high, custom built, espresso colour, extra door on the left end and a removable post in front. I plan to add an additional door on the right in case I ever decide to move the tank.

The sand depth will be between 1" and 2", the bottom part of the tank will be hidden behind the stand bevel.

The sump will be 36" x 17" x 16".

*Winterfell*

I decided to document this process from the start, hoping that I will have a point of reference that I can always come back to in order to revisit this journey. I hope that this journal will help others to learn from my experience and mistakes and that I will be able to contribute to the wonderful hobby of marine reef keeping.

2011 and 2012 were the years when I was introduced to the works of George R. R. Martin, namely "The Game of Thrones", part of the fantasy series "A Song of Ice and Fire". This elaborate saga featured a castle called Winterfell. The name had caught my attention and I decided to give my new build the same name. I hope to use a similar colour scheme of cold blues and the rocks remind me of castle walls.


----------



## RoyalAquariums

Tagging along for this one, We wish you the best of luck with this future build. This is a nice size upgrade for yourself, it will be much easier to keep parameters stable with this amount of water volume. Seems like you are doing things right and planning everything out properly. I would suggest having a live rock sump so you don't have to have as much rock up in your display, its nice to have all the extra room for corals and fish to "run" around. looking forward to future posts


----------



## explor3r

Wonderfull, you are going to have a blast with this build. Tagging along


----------



## altcharacter

Whoever did your hardwood floor did an amazing job. Awesome Inlay and a stunning finish. 

Oh...and I can't wait to see your tank


----------



## fesso clown

Gonna have a Dwarf Lionfish named Tyrion? 
Oh wait that would be Casterly Rock Reef.


Love your artwork on the mock-up tank BTW!


----------



## WateraDrop

Omgomgomgomg. What fish will fulfill the role of Shae? She's ma fave lol.


----------



## mandarin

Looks like a good plan... Can wait to see the build


----------



## aquaticlog

*The Arrival*

*Chapter 2. The Arrival.
*
The day that I have been waiting for so long has home: the tank was shipped and successfully delivered.

It took just over a month from the time I've put in the order and the delivery guy showed up at my doorsteps. Since then I've changed my mind at least 3 times about aquarium's location, that had also affected the overflow placement.

The tank has found its new home:










I must say that I was a bit surprised when I saw the black silicone - for some reason I had those light blue edges in mind that I've seen on some of the tanks. As I was told this is the way 95% of the starfire rimless tanks are being made - clear silicone turns white a few years down the road. I think that I've got used to it already.

You may also notice a plastic band that goes around the tank at the bottom - I was given a wrong base and styrofoam, both are 3/4'' and make the tank stand much higher. I expect to receive a thinner replacement next week.










I certainly like the size of it and think that this in an optimal upgrade from my 28 gallon cube. I have also made sure to have a door on each side for easy access. One problem that I have encountered was to get the sump into the stand through the side door. The opening was 18 1/4'' and the sump, although measuring at 18'' was wider at the base by a good quarter inch. It was an extremely tight fit, I had to take the door off and also to chisel the opening a little.










One thing that I did not expect was how big the sump really is in relation to the cabinet space and how little room there is for all other equipment. I'm sure I will have fun figuring it out.










Next thing on my list is plumbing. I've figured most of it out but need to get a few pieces, for example, it is not that easy to get a 1.5'' gate valve in Canada.










The winter is coming...


----------



## gtafragger

I am soo jealous that looks amazing! Congrats! Can't wait to see it completely done


----------



## zk4444

This is going to be a great build -- subscribed!


----------



## aquaticlog

*Chapter 3. Plumbing*

*Chapter 3. Plumbing.*

Plumbing the tank... Although I understood how my JBJ Nanocube simple plumbing worked and have read a number of reef aquarium books, I must admit that I just did not have the full picture of what I wanted to do in my head. All these terms: bulkheads, nozzles, overflows, herbie, durso, lockline... Let's just say that there's a steep learning curve.

All of this meant that when I was ordering my aquarium and when asked what type of overflow and holes I wanted I had to ask one of my friends about it and just relay the answer. No matter how much reading I did I just could not grasp the whole concept, just isolated parts. I knew that there will come a day when I will have to understand and build it and continued to hope for the best.

That day had come once the tank was delivered. There was no going back. I am much better at understanding things when I have something tangible, something I can see and feel. When I saw other people's build diaries and saw photos of 40+ plumbing parts laid out on the floor I could not figure out where each part would go.










So I started with a simple sketch, then adjusted it a bit and then some more. Then I showed it on reef forums and got tons of feedback. Slowly things started to make sense, I must've made over a dozen revisions to the diagram. But what really helped was printing the diagram and going to other aquarist's houses, seeing their plumbing and then updating my diagram with their help.

Finally the diagram was ready and I went to Lowe's to buy the parts. There I quickly figured out the difference between Schedule 40 and 80, ABS, PVC and CPVC plumbing types, elbows, tees, bushings and valves. I've also learned that some of the parts could not be bought there and that I needed specialty stores for 1.25'' threaded adapters and gate valves. And these stores are not close by and you better know what you want before you visit them. It took at least 4 trips to Lowe's to get the parts.










Another lesson learned was not to glue anything until all of the plumbing was assembled. I've learned the difference between different PVC cements, primers and cleaners. Once my plumbing was semi-done one of my fellow aquarists had visited me at my home and made some invaluable comments.

After that the plumbing was ready. My diagram now started to make sense.


















The plumbing was put in place and glued.



















I filled aquarium with tap water and let it run for 24 hours.










And here is the lockline










Once the water test was finished my aquarium was emptied. Next stop: aquascaping.


----------



## explor3r

Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! congrats I bet when you get up tomorrow looking at the tank is the first thing you are going to do..lol best luck


----------



## aquaticlog

explor3r said:


> Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! congrats I bet when you get up tomorrow looking at the tank is the first thing you are going to do..lol best luck


Very tempted. Now it is time to choose rock and sand. Thinking going with Marco rock. Still not decided on sand - want as small as possible, but something that can withstand a pair of MP40s.


----------



## rburns24

Looks great, Dmitry. Very nice job.


----------



## 50seven

Oh yay! this is the exciting part.... 

-tagging along


----------



## ameekplec.

Nice build! I was surprised with my sump too - it just takes up so much space...

Go with Caribsea Seafloor grade. The oolithic stuff was too fine. Crushed coral is just too big.


----------



## zk4444

aquaticlog said:


> Very tempted. *Now it is time to choose rock and sand. Thinking going with Marco rock*. Still not decided on sand - want as small as possible, but something that can withstand a pair of MP40s.


This is looking great indeed! I can't wait to see what you'll come up with -- Is the below still the plan?


aquaticlog said:


> ...
> *Winterfell*
> ....namely "The Game of Thrones", part of the fantasy series "A Song of Ice and Fire". This elaborate saga featured a castle called Winterfell. The name had caught my attention and I decided to give my new build the same name. *I hope to use a similar colour scheme of cold blues and the rocks remind me of castle walls.*


-zk


----------



## aquaticlog

ameekplec. said:


> Go with Caribsea Seafloor grade. The oolithic stuff was too fine. Crushed coral is just too big.


Yep, I've picked up 2 bags of it over the weekend and have put one of them in already. Looks great and is simply the perfect size.


----------



## aquaticlog

zk4444 said:


> This is looking great indeed! I can't wait to see what you'll come up with -- Is the below still the plan?
> -zk


Yep. I've tried a few different designs for the aqua scape and while it is not going to be a solid wall, I hope to get something castle-like eventually.  An update is coming soon.


----------



## aquaticlog

*Chapter 4. Aquascaping*










Aquascaping is tricky. There are a lot of options to choose from and lots of nuances. Since this is not my first aquascape attempt, I'm already accounting for my previous mistakes: not leaving enough room between the rock and the glass, not envisioning space occupied by fully grown corals.

I also want to have a fair bit of negative space (at least 30% of the sandbed and walls) and have an illusion of depth. Another important thing is to consider different view points - the tank must look nice from different angles.

Originally I have envisioned a single rock wall massive in the middle of the tank (hence the Winterfell name), so when I was choosing rock at the store I did make a wall first. Well, first I did make a 48x24 egg crate with a cutout for the overflow and brought that to the store so I could use it as aquarium footprint.

However, once I got home and started laying out the rocks in the tank I quickly realized that something was amiss, it was definitely too bland. I could not achieve the illusion of depth and the tank being more on the deep side (front to back) I wanted to emphasize and utilize that.

I finally decided to have a trench (any castle will have its main gates) and have split the wall into two parts. Did a few iterations of the layout, looked at it from different parts of the room and decided on the aquascape that I like.










It looks pretty good from any side.




























It is a good thing I've discussed it with a fellow member - he had made a good suggestion of not having the eggcrate cover the whole bottom. Since then I've cut out most of it and now only have eggcrate underneath the rocks.










Next step is to get some water in the tank and start cycling.


----------



## aquaticlog

*Chapter 5. Simply Add Water*

*Chapter 5. Simply Add Water*

Now that aquascaping is finished it is time to start brewing. The day when water is added to the tank is the day I officially count as its birthday.










One last look at the tank sans water... and let's begin.










It took about two days for my 90 gph RODI system to produce enough water to fill the tank.










Almost there.










And we are done.

While I was setting up the tank my skimmer has arrived. I've agonized over the choice of a skimmer. So many models to chose from and definitely quite a price range. While I did not want to overspend, one thing I have learned in this hobby is that if one goes for a cheaper item, there's a 50/50 chance that very soon I'd regret for not going with something better. Having heard tons of positive feedback on Bubble King skimmer I've decided to take the plunge.










The moment I've opened the box and saw the skimmer I knew I made the right decision. The quality, finish, weight of the unit is simply superb. Too bad this bad boy is going to be hidden inside the cabinet.
My biggest concern was whether this unit would fit. Originally I chose a 160 model, but later decided to go for 180. Even though I did make a cut out template to try as well as double and triple checked all the measurements, I was certain that the unit would fit, but was not sure whether I would be able to put it in the sump under the cabinet. Let's just say that my heart started beating faster when I was about to try getting the unit in.

And it did fit.










Now that's a load off. The whole system was now running smoothly... Or so I thought. As you will find out in my next post, nothing, especially projects like these go according to plan.


----------



## thmh

thats one sexy skimmer! love the red dragon!


----------



## aquaticlog

*Chapter 6.*

*Chapter 6. A Little Detour
*"The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry". Or should I say "fish and men", or "corals and men"? "invertebrate"?

In my previous post I mentioned that something unexpected had happened. And no, there was no leakage (thank God!).

Once the tank was filled with water, salt was added and the aquarium was waiting patiently for some inhabitants, I noticed that there was something bugging me every time I was admiring the tank from the side. It was not perfectly level. First I did not pay much attention to it, after all I thought I'd made everything was level up to 1/8" when the tank was setup, but after a day or so I've decided to re-check it.

Imagine my surprise when I noticed that while the tank was perfectly level from the front, it had a discrepancy of about 1/4" between front and back glass. I've re-measured and got the same results. It started to bug me, no matter how many times I told myself that it is not noticeable, I knew that it was there and certainly took away from the experience. This is also not very good for the glass structure longer term.

So having pondered on it for a day I decided to do the unthinkable - I would empty the tank. Just did not quite work out the logistics of it, where would the water go? I've emptied smaller tanks in the past and also large freshwater, but discarding 120+ gallons of perfectly fine saltwater seemed like an unnecessary waste. And my largest trash can was 20 gallons.

Eureka! There's a kids' pond I can use. I knew that there was never any soap in it and decided to take my chances.










So after about 40 minutes of siphoning water the tank was almost empty. I had to also empty the sump.

Next step was the shimming. I could not lift the tank and the stand, but it became light enough to be able to shim it. Now that took a long time.










It took even longer to get the water back in the tank. I did not use a pump, so it was all manual labour. A solid hour, splashing and some saltwater.










Now that looks much better. The tank is perfectly level.

Next I've installed a T5 light fixture - Sunlight Supply Tek (8 bulbs) and turned the lights on. Oh, what a beautiful sight.










The water was still a bit murky but it did get better a few hours later.










When I was sitting in front of the tank after spending a day on this task I knew that it was totally worth it.

Stay tuned for the next post where some fish will be introduced. And a video.


----------



## JulieFish

I love your tank, it's just perfect. Such painstaking attention to detail, but you are going to love this tank long term. Are you going to be able to see the shims along the bottom of the tank? I assume they will be cut or broken off but then are you going to place a piece of black trim along the floor or something? 

I also enjoy the structure of your posts, they are very entertaining to read. I'm still on book one of the series so no spoilers!


----------



## rburns24

There's a certain satisfaction from doing something exactly right, when you could probably get away with
doing less. No one would every know about the 1/4", but
you would know, and there's the rub.


----------



## aquaticlog

JulieFish said:


> I love your tank, it's just perfect. Such painstaking attention to detail, but you are going to love this tank long term. Are you going to be able to see the shims along the bottom of the tank? I assume they will be cut or broken off but then are you going to place a piece of black trim along the floor or something?
> 
> I also enjoy the structure of your posts, they are very entertaining to read. I'm still on book one of the series so no spoilers!


Thank you for your kind words. The shims are visible at the moment but I plan to cover it with some trim in the future. I've already cut them, which took a really long time - doing it over hardwood is not for the faint of heart.


----------



## aquaticlog

rburns24 said:


> There's a certain satisfaction from doing something exactly right, when you could probably get away with
> doing less. No one would every know about the 1/4", but
> you would know, and there's the rub.


That is exactly right. Especially for such a long term project I knew that things had to be right.


----------



## Kooka

Very well done, love the write-up. Couple of questions: Why not cover the entire bottom of the tank with eggcrate?

Did you place something underneath your pump/skimmer to attenuate the noise/vibration?


----------



## aquaticlog

Kooka said:


> Very well done, love the write-up. Couple of questions: Why not cover the entire bottom of the tank with eggcrate?
> 
> Did you place something underneath your pump/skimmer to attenuate the noise/vibration?


Covering the whole bottom was my original plan, but sand-sifting fish like some gobies may not appreciate finding it just just 1/2'' below the sand surface. I also plan to have some conches and snails that will be exploring the sandbed constantly.

I don't have anything at the moment underneath the skimmer or the pump but would appreciate an advice on possible material choices. The skimmer is amazingly silent, the pump is less so.


----------



## aquaticlog

*Chapter 7. First Inhabitants*

*Chapter 7. First Inhabitants
*

While it was fairly easy to wait 6 weeks while the tank was being built, the waiting game had become agonizing once the salt was mixed and the cycle had started.

Originally I was toying with an idea of simply moving all small aquarium's contents in the new tank and hope for the best. It still makes some sense to me: the amount of established live rock and sand plus the bio load is not changing, only the total water volume and new media is added, neither should affect the cycle in theory. But after giving it some more thought I dismissed this approach as being too aggressive.

On the other hand I knew that to do things properly I'd have to run the tank for a couple of months with no fish/corals, seed it with some live rock, add a copepod colony and get a solid soup of all saltwater goodness before adding anyone. Though somewhat determined to do this earlier in the process, I decided not to proceed with this as well since it would take too long.

Finally I picked a semi-aggressive approach. I did everything I could to speed the cycle up: 

took a few pieces of new rock and put them in my old tank for a few days so that they'll get colonized by bacteria
added about 10 lbs of live rock into the sump
put some used media basket filters from the smaller tank into the sump as well
added some Seachem Stability
dozed sparingly with ZeoBak
every day scooped up about 1/4 of a cup of live sand from the old tank and dispersed it over the new sandbed
stared intensely at the tank in search of other possible ways to speed up the cycle

I started taking ammonia and nitrite measurements every other day starting day 3. Both were at solid zero and remained zero during all of my testing. So I figured that all the steps I took must've done the trick and decided to move some fish over.

My first choice was the bicolour blenny. Right after I've put the net into the water both blenny and six-line wrasse went for the rocks and found shelter deep in the crevices. There was no way I was going to catch them.

I hesitated about picking my clownfish pair, but they seemed so oblivious to the whole process and were swimming next to the net so I decided to use them instead. To my surprise, the moment I started targeting them they realized this and changed their behaviour immediately. I've never seen a fish behave so frantically, they were literally freak out. That is probably one of the biggest differences between saltwater and freshwater fish that I've observed. The fish clearly knew what was about to happen and did not want it.

I was about to give up on catching the female when suddenly it leaped from the water and ended up in a plant pot that stood nearby. Now I was about to freak out. I grabbed the fish, it was covered with black soil and quickly dropped it in the new tank. The fish was clearly in mild shock. After a minute I caught the male and put him in the big tank as well.

For the next hour I observed how patches of soil were slowly coming off of the fish. An hour later the fish was fine and I decided to call it a night.

Here's a video I took of the tank and its first inhabitants.


----------



## jmb

It must be exciting to see life finally in the tank, they seamed to have fun exploring the new large home! 

Was it the larger or smaller one that jumped into the flower pot?


----------



## aquaticlog

jmb said:


> It must be exciting to see life finally in the tank, they seamed to have fun exploring the new large home!
> 
> Was it the larger or smaller one that jumped into the flower pot?


It was the larger one (female). And yes, the whole experience is unbelievably exciting.


----------



## rburns24

"For the next hour I observed how patches of soil were slowly coming off of the fish. An hour later the fish was fine and I decided to call it a night."

Pretty funny, for sure.


----------



## Kooka

Well at least the fish had a soft landing  

I've seen some people take some eggcrate, fill it with aquarium silicon and place that under their pump's. Never tried it myself but maybe someone can share any materials they use to silence the vibrations caused by their equipment.

Again, love the read and keep up the great work.


----------



## aquaticlog

It is time for an update and a few pictures.

Here's what my tank look like today:










All of the corals and fish have been moved from my old tank to the new one. Surprisingly there's not too much room left for future expansion - I was certainly expecting a bit more.

I have been measuring ammonia daily and all of my parameters seems to be in check. So I've added a few new inhabitants:

A strawberry conch, yellow watchman goby, 2 purple fire fish and few snails.









Emerald crab hitchhiking.









Green Star Polyps









Purple Fire Fish









Green Leather Coral









Strawberry Conch


----------



## rburns24

It's looking good, Dmitry. Surprising how fast tanks fill up. As Greg would say, at some point in the future, it will be time for a bigger one.


----------



## aquaticlog

rburns24 said:


> It's looking good, Dmitry. Surprising how fast tanks fill up. As Greg would say, at some point in the future, it will be time for a bigger one.


Thanks, I already am thinking that a 300 gallon tank would be nicer. Maybe after I win the lottery...


----------



## aquaticlog

Here's another video update


----------



## aquaticlog

The tank is now 1 month and 19 days old. Thought I'd share another video.


----------



## sig

take all crabs out to prevent snails eating

*100% free webcam site! | Awesome chicks and it is absolutely free! | Watch free live sex cam - easy as 1-2-3*


----------



## drapes

Hi, love your tank! It really looks great. I was wondering, I didn't see. You had it made? Who built it?


----------



## rburns24

Miracles built the tank.


----------



## CRJ

rburns24 said:


> Miracles built the tank.


good to know, just ordered through them and if its anything like yours ill be happy for sure!


----------



## rburns24

Slight confusion. This is Dimitry's tank.(aka aquaticlog) I know he got it through Derek at Miracles, so I posted it.

I, on the other hand, won't be ordering my tank till mid January, from the same company.



CRJ said:


> good to know, just ordered through them and if its anything like yours ill be happy for sure!


----------



## sig

CRJ said:


> good to know, just ordered through them and if its anything like yours ill be happy for sure!


I know you are OK with rimless, but spend more money and ask them for euro brace.
It is big difference in cleaning between small or big rimless tank

*100% free webcam site! | Awesome chicks and it is absolutely free! | Watch free live sex cam - easy as 1-2-3*


----------



## SKurj

Love the tank love the size. I am considering something in the same size or close to it with a similar overflow arrangement. Have to ask how noisey the overflow is?

I was looking at a standard 120 RR but I don't want 2 overflow boxes, I'd rather 1 and 20" height is a little more user friendly.

Also if you wouldn't mind sending me a PM an idea of what the tank cost you.


Thanks


----------



## jd81

Very nice tank. Looks so clean.


----------



## CRJ

sig said:


> I know you are OK with rimless, but spend more money and ask them for euro brace.
> It is big difference in cleaning between small or big rimless tank


Sig the entire point to my tank is that its rimless.


----------



## altcharacter

That strawberry conch is by far the best cleaner I've ever had. 
When I didn't change my water for 6 weeks he would go nuts and clean all the sand and try to climb the glass to clean it also.


----------



## aquaticlog

sig said:


> I know you are OK with rimless, but spend more money and ask them for euro brace.
> It is big difference in cleaning between small or big rimless tank


Greg, so far I would respectfully disagree. I've been running the tank for 2 months now and am very happy with the rimless setup even in terms of maintenance - I don't see how that's too much work. 
I would think that euro bracing would be perfect for stronger waves and also would add extra structural integrity.


----------



## aquaticlog

altcharacter said:


> That strawberry conch is by far the best cleaner I've ever had.
> When I didn't change my water for 6 weeks he would go nuts and clean all the sand and try to climb the glass to clean it also.


Yeah, he is one of my favourite critters in the tank.


----------



## aquaticlog

drapes said:


> Hi, love your tank! It really looks great. I was wondering, I didn't see. You had it made? Who built it?


I can confirm that Derek at Miracles had built the tank and he's done a superb job.


----------



## aquaticlog

SKurj said:


> Love the tank love the size. I am considering something in the same size or close to it with a similar overflow arrangement. Have to ask how noisey the overflow is?
> 
> I was looking at a standard 120 RR but I don't want 2 overflow boxes, I'd rather 1 and 20" height is a little more user friendly.
> 
> Also if you wouldn't mind sending me a PM an idea of what the tank cost you.
> 
> Thanks


Hi, the overflow is silent. And I mean it. There is no noise at all. I am using Herbie overflow and am extremely satisfied with it.

My tank is 20'' high.
As for the cost.. I don't think it would be too ethical for me to go with the exact figures. I'm glad I went with Derek and though it was quite pricey I'm happy with what I got. Ask him for the price and mention that Dmitry sent you


----------



## Flexin5

your tank looks great! makes me motivated to finish mine lol


----------



## aquaticlog

Flexin5 said:


> your tank looks great! makes me motivated to finish mine lol


Thanks! it is a lot of fun and is very educational.


----------



## jackmccann

More pictures less videos!!! aha! Videos are nice but i enjoy seeing pictures posted right in the thread!


----------



## aquaticlog

jackmccann said:


> More pictures less videos!!! aha! Videos are nice but i enjoy seeing pictures posted right in the thread!


A photo update is scheduled to be posted soon, just need to process the photos.

Here's another video update


----------



## aquaticlog

*Winterfell Reef at 2.5 months*

Winterfell Reef is now 2.5 months old.










There's not a lot that has changed over the past month. The tank seems to be quite stable, water parameters are solid and don't deviate from the norm.

There was a Boxing Day sale here in Canada and I've got a whole bunch of new corals and a few fish.










I like the photo below, you might notice that there's a hitchhiker snail on top of the large snail.





















































































































I got this neon goby last night, unfortunately his tail is not in top shape. Hopefully he will recover.


----------



## aquaticlog

Well, it has been a few months since my last post. Last time I've shared my tank status was sometime in January and since then thing have been only improving, rapidly... until a series of unfortunate events have occurred and let's just say there's a lesson to be learned here.
The Winter is Coming! And what a winter it was.

My inhabitants were doing great in January, I kept adding fish gradually, every one or two weeks taking a trip to a few of my local fish stores and picking a fish that would caught my eye. Nothing aggressive, everything by the book and pretty much all of the fish were doing extremely well. My yellow tang was feasting on nori, fish were all happy and even a pair of anthias that looked quite beat up when I purchased them have become brave enough to be swimming around the tank. Corals were growing a fair bit, and I kept adding more of them regularly.
It was paradise, it was the best of times... but something was amiss. I just had to turn it up a notch. I've always wanted a second tang and had my heart set on a powder blue tang. Knowing its reputation I decided not to get it, but instead to go with the hippo blue tang, then changed my mind and chose a kole tang... then changed my mind again, and again, and again. After two weeks of hard thinking I've decided that it is the powder blue that I needed to have, so I did visit 5 different stores and finally, after having observed one particular individual for over an hour, have purchased that fella and brought it home. 
At home I gave it a freshwater dip - first time experience for both the fish and myself, I'm sure. That was nerve wrecking and to this day I have no idea how people do it. Anyways, the dip went well and the fish was doing pretty good on the second day and was doing extremely well after a week.
This is my tank at its best:


And then it happened. I noticed just a few white spots on the powder blue. Don't panic, I told myself, let's do some research. After some research I've increased the dosage of garlic I was giving the fish, increased the feedings and kept up with the water changes. 
But it got worse. And the next day even worse. And a week later I started noticing ich on my other fish, including the yellow tang.

Ok, what's next? I skipped the step of quarantining the fish, but I'm going to right that wrong - I went ahead and bought a 40 gallon breeder, prepared some sponge filters and let it all seed in the current sump. 10 days later I've moved all the fish from my reef to the quarantine tank, a very painful process that took a few hours. Needless to say that all of my aqua scape was mangled and no matter how much I tried I could not put it back together the way it was. Oh well, I think that the new scape is even better.

A few more fish died just before I've moved them over, and then I had to endure 2 weeks of seeing the rest of my fish slowly dying. This was heartbreaking to say the least. The last fish to give up were the yellow watchmen and cardinal. That was not a good day.

Since then I have dismantled the quarantine tank. Bought a second one and then started them up again. It has been two weeks since the new cycle had started, one tank is already fully cycled and I'm waiting for the other one to get up to date. Then I will start getting new fish and quarantining each and every one of them.

I never thought it would happen to me, it seems to be a thing that not too many aquarists that I know do, so I figured I'd wing it. And I came close, very close. But here it is. Hope that others will learn from this.

Here's a shot of my secondary quarantine tank (no copper treatment will be administered in it, hence the live rock).


----------



## fesso clown

thanks for that tale of sorrow. It's a good reminder! The shot of your tank at it's best it pretty damn nice! Your quarantine tank is nice too, what is it?

I still think you need a Dwarf Lionfish named Tyrion.








But I guess a wolffish would be more appropriate, just not as cute:


----------



## aquaticlog

fesso clown said:


> thanks for that tale of sorrow. It's a good reminder! The shot of your tank at it's best it pretty damn nice! Your quarantine tank is nice too, what is it?


Picked up the whole set from Aqua Inspiration. Pretty good package.


----------



## aquaticlog

Here is my thinking about the fish: I've already gone through the process of filling the tank with all the fish I wanted and knew were suitable and I've learned a thing or two about it in the process. I must admit that part of my is quite glad that I get to start again, even though I feel very sorry for the fish I've lost.

So, here's a quick recap of my experience with particular species of fish in the tank so far:

 Yellow tang - one of my favourite fish, certainly the showpiece of the tang and was very well mannered 
 Powder blue tang - it certainly was one of the most beautiful fish in the tank and he behaved quite well, but he'd move a lot quicker in the tank and I could see some potential problems in the near future with it
 Ocellaris clowns were great, Royal Gramma was super nice and is still one of my most beloved fish
 All the small gobies that I've enjoyed in my nano (including fire fish) were not very visible from afar, one had to come up very closely to see them
 Dispar anthias turned out to be extremely shy, different variety next time

This time around I'll be making a few adjustments to my stocking plan. Some may consider my list a bit on the aggressive side and it might be, but I've got a really good skimmer and an aqua scape that should enable fish security, and after all it is just a plan. I'll keep adding the fish slowly and monitoring the situation, if something will not work I'll adjust accordingly.

Here is my stocking plan:

 Yellow tang - a must
 Blue hippo tang - although considered tacky by some, I do like the fish a lot and have never kept it. I'll probably will have to part with it in a few years (or just get a bigger tank!)
 Melanurus wrasse - I need a wrasse in my tank and if there'd be a single one, I'd go for this colorful fella
 Pair of ocellaris clowns - every reef needs a pair
 Copperband - I want to try it with this fish, not sure I'll succeed but I'll try
 Trio of anthias - either blue-eye or bartlett's 
 Green spotted mandarin (at least six months from now)

I think that this is it, this is my list. If the tank will still have at least some more room I'd add a fairy wrasse in there.

I plan to go steady, quarantine every single fish and be checking all of the water parameters and aquarium status with each step.

A pair of tangs has already been purchased for me and are being quarantined by a friend. They are both small, so although they'll be the first to be added to the tank I think this should not affect any new fish I add.


----------



## sig

if you do not want to have sand mess in your tank avoid Melanurus wrasse as many other

*100% free webcam site! | Awesome chicks and it is absolutely free! | Watch free live sex cam - easy as 1-2-3*


----------



## aquaticlog

sig said:


> if you do not want to have sand mess in your tank avoid Melanurus wrasse as many other


Define a sand mess? What exactly does that bad boy do? I've had a yellow watchman and shrimp pair and they would mess up the sandbed a bit, but that was not a big deal for me. Thanks.


----------



## sig

My was trowing all sand (~ area 10" long) from the front to the middle of the tank every evening.

Probably, it was missing previous owner Explor3r and was explaining it in this way. Leopard wrasse all was doing some sand storm every evening. No more wrasses for my clean tanks

*100% free webcam site! | Awesome chicks and it is absolutely free! | Watch free live sex cam - easy as 1-2-3*


----------



## darthvictor

Your bubble coral doesn't look happy in the last picture, what is it beside the bubble coral?


----------



## aquaticlog

sig said:


> My was trowing all sand (~ area 10" long) from the front to the middle of the tank every evening.
> 
> Probably, it was missing previous owner Explor3r and was explaining it in this way. Leopard wrasse all was doing some sand storm every evening. No more wrasses for my clean tanks


Hmm... I need those wrasses! I'll probably risk it, it should be fairly easy to catch a wrasse in the tank later if this does not work out.


----------



## aquaticlog

darthvictor said:


> Your bubble coral doesn't look happy in the last picture, what is it beside the bubble coral?


You are right on the money here. The coral had died eventually. There's a leather coral nearby but I've given it to someone. Only shiny corals in my tank from now on!


----------



## darthvictor

aquaticlog said:


> You are right on the money here. The coral had died eventually. There's a leather coral nearby but I've given it to someone. Only shiny corals in my tank from now on!


I hope you didn't throw it away yet, mine gone through the same thing (at that time I was using soften water to mix my salt water, bad i know) but then there is a little baby one grow on its skeleton while I was thinking it become a expensive liverock and now it has grown very well.


----------



## sig

aquaticlog said:


> h, it should be fairly easy to catch a wrasse in the tank later if this does not work out.


xa-xa xa-xa xa-xa xa-xa xa-xa xa-xa xa-xa xa-xa xa-xa xa-xa xa-xa

*100% free webcam site! | Awesome chicks and it is absolutely free! | Watch free live sex cam - easy as 1-2-3*


----------



## aquaticlog

darthvictor said:


> I hope you didn't throw it away yet, mine gone through the same thing (at that time I was using soften water to mix my salt water, bad i know) but then there is a little baby one grow on its skeleton while I was thinking it become a expensive liverock and now it has grown very well.


Unfortunately I did - it got real bad, much worse than on the picture.
I have another frogspawn that has been in a similar state for almost a year, no recovery in sight.


----------



## thmh

Wrasse are good for pest control... Well worth the little mess they may cause. 

-Tony


----------



## Flexin5

your stocking plan sounds great. 

i know alot of people are blah about the blue hippo tang...being dori etc etc, but i love mine, she's probably my favourite fish and my kids's favourite. she's such a nice vibrant blue and the way she graces the long tank is awsome.


----------



## aquaticlog

The two fish I've introduced into my tank are a hippo tang and a yellow tang. The aquarium remained fishless for over two months, so I'm glad to see some movement in there (shrimp don't quite count).










Enjoy the video as well:


----------



## fesso clown

looks fantastic! I enjoyed your video too. What kind of light schedule are you keeping and what intensity for the Radion? would you be willing to share your Radion graph? I can't quite dial mine in...


----------



## sig

Jeff, do you have these for sale??



fesso clown said:


> thanks for that tale of sorrow. It's a good reminder! The shot of your tank at it's best it pretty damn nice! Your quarantine tank is nice too, what is it?
> 
> I still think you need a Dwarf Lionfish named Tyrion.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> But I guess a wolffish would be more appropriate, just not as cute:


 *100% free webcam site! | Awesome chicks and it is absolutely free! | Watch free live sex cam - easy as 1-2-3*


----------



## sig

Sorry to hear about loss. I always scared to death to add fish, but tank is a beauty without fish also

*100% free webcam site! | Awesome chicks and it is absolutely free! | Watch free live sex cam - easy as 1-2-3*


----------



## aquaticlog

fesso clown said:


> looks fantastic! I enjoyed your video too. What kind of light schedule are you keeping and what intensity for the Radion? would you be willing to share your Radion graph? I can't quite dial mine in...


Sure thing, PM me with your email and I'll send you the config. Mind you that mine are the Pros.

I've recently lowered the intensity down from 80 to 40%, going to start ramping it up eventually, but very slowly.


----------



## explor3r

aquaticlog said:


> The two fish I've introduced into my tank are a hippo tang and a yellow tang. The aquarium remained fishless for over two months, so I'm glad to see some movement in there (shrimp don't quite count).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Enjoy the video as well:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [/QUOTE
> 
> Your tank is looking great, very clean and very nice colours I have to go and see it soon!!! Nice video too


----------



## aquaticlog

explor3r said:


> Your tank is looking great, very clean and very nice colours


I am glad to be featuring some of your corals as well. That birdsnest came from your very small frag


----------



## BBOSS

aquaticlog said:


> It is a good thing I've discussed it with a fellow member - he had made a good suggestion of not having the eggcrate cover the whole bottom. Since then I've cut out most of it and now only have eggcrate underneath the rocks.


Hi aquaticlog, 
I am about to start aquascaping in my 90g mixed reef. Just wondering what is the purpose of having the eggcrate under your rocks? Also, did you filled the eggcrate with substrate? Thanks,


----------



## aquaticlog

BBOSS said:


> Hi aquaticlog,
> I am about to start aquascaping in my 90g mixed reef. Just wondering what is the purpose of having the eggcrate under your rocks? Also, did you filled the eggcrate with substrate? Thanks,


Hi,

In theory you use it to distribute the weight of live rock over a greater area. Imagine if the rock that you are using had a slight pointy bump at the bottom, it would then exert a lot of pressure in a single spot, something that your glass would probably not like. So eggcrate will prevent it from happening.

You don't want the egg crate all around your tank, just for the rocks. And I filled all of it with sand covered it fully.


----------



## aquaticlog

Winterfell Reef is at 9 months now. Just as it takes this long for a baby to develop, it took all this time for the tank to go from bare dry rock to what it is right now.










The tank is doing great and is slowly getting to the much needed stability. pH is quite solid, but recent alkalinity demands have dramatically increased. I've added a Kalkwasser reactor to my ATO and have made a number of improvements to the whole setup including a frag rack and a salt mixing station.

I've gone over some of the changes in this video.


----------



## Bayinaung

GSP on the sps skeletons looks interesting... evoking freshwater tankscape...


----------



## aquaticlog

Bayinaung said:


> GSP on the sps skeletons looks interesting... evoking freshwater tankscape...


This is not SPS skeletons, this particular type of coral actually grows this way.


----------



## thmh

Awesome FTS dude! 

~Tony


----------



## fesso clown

Indeed, looks great!


----------



## Bayinaung

aquaticlog said:


> This is not SPS skeletons, this particular type of coral actually grows this way.


woa so that green coral on the left isn't GSP? It looks like it's growing on fragment of wood like in freshwater. are you saying that GSP grows that way?


----------



## Flexin5

wow, tank looks beautiful! great job.


----------



## BBOSS

Beautiful looking aquarium, very nice.


----------



## explor3r

Dmitry well done it looks beautiful and I hope you are ready for an upgrade


----------



## aquaticlog

Hooked up an external refugium to my main tank.


----------

