SCA 120 Gallon Reef Tank | Ep.8 | Salt, Sand & The Nitrogen Cycle ALMOST done..

[@TheYoungsm10]

Another great vid CJ, keep up the hard work. We all benefit from your video documentation of a brand new build. It is a great resource for all that are new to the hobby, and seasoned reefers alike . Looking forward to,the next one. 🐠👌🏾

[@chefdan87]

I have the Sca-301 skimmer and it has been nothing but awesome. Quiet, makes great skimmate, was a little bit of a pain to tune but now runs great. The more i see bare bottom reef tanks the more i like them.

[@daveonbass79]

looks great. it's painfully slow but we've all been there. the good thing is that it is coming together wonderfully.

[@RicksReef]

looking good! I like the sand bottom. I use red sea coral pro salt myself.

[@LeviChub]

I used salinity for a couple of years. It was great for additives but it was always cloudy and I swear it made my tank hotter. Red Sea pro all the way now. Nice tank

[@Adrallius]

Awesome set up and aquascape CJ! I look forward to following this reef setup just like I did your last ones.Until next time, peace.

[@mvp_tv5837]

you know your on the right path when u got 246 likes and no haters. keep it up glad to see things come together #100

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

Paksiw tv ✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾 #salute

[@KevinENHVlogs]

nice update "Mr Sauce" .... coming along at a steady speed.

[@erman9647]

Great presentation on setting up aqua sculpture!!!

[@MileHighReefers]

I love the look of sand! Tank looks great.

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

MileHighReefers we getting closer... can't wait to buy my first tang 😁👌🏾

[@raisethereef]

Option D: Fritz RPM salt After years of using numerous brands, this one is quickly becoming my favorite.

[@VijaySivasankaren]

Great video with commentary throughout the process CJ. Thank you for sharing.

[@eldridgehenry2]

CJ this is a hell of a journey. i am enjoying it so far

[@callmenemo491]

looking good ! will be watching this tank as it progresses, as am looking at getting a 48' x 24' x 24' tank myself.

[@RussMcCord]

Beautiful CJ. Great series. Really enjoyed all of it.

[@Gaza-cl6no]

Think the tank looks spot on CJ brilliant can't wait to see what you decide to put in it 👍

[@mogul218]

Looks awesome, CJ! I wish I had your patience. I can't wait to see the progress of this reef.

[@23streetsoldier]

Cj You are a beast on saltwater aquariums Keep it up buddy tank it's looking amazing

[@richiebag6072]

System looks awesome like always. Can't wait for the stocking!!

[@garysutherland2369]

Nice chilled out video CJ, thanks for posting man. 😀👍🏻

[@Johnaubreyduncan]

Looks much better with the sand. Great video.

[@fishlaw1]

Man brutha CJ, this was a awesome video series. . . I really enjoyed it - thanks for sharing ! ! !

[@happysamoan97]

Can't wait too see this tree tank come alive!

[@ScottM]

I vote HW because it's done well for me. Love the scape and look forward to see your tanks progress.

[@THEBULLUK]

Great setup. Love the scape from the right hand side. I'd go with the sand👍🏻.

[@ferozkaamil1]

Hey CJ. Tank is looking Awesome with Sand. Good luck.

[@dallasreefer3157]

Good luck. You've got a great start. I've used Fritz RPM since day 1 but that's only cause it's made here.

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

Cycle is ALMOST completed.. exciting times ahead.. Thanks for watching everyone! Done forget to vote on what salt you like best on the top right of the screen... Be Eazy!

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

Trevor Bellefeuille def a solid point... something to consider. My resin lasted 2 years with my jbj but I'm sure that will be cut in half with larger water changes now... I'll look into it. Thanks for watching 👍🏾

[@zolawrx]

Vote is not showing on me.

[@starfighterusscv-6693]

CJ'S AQUARIUMS I've always liked to shake my rocks under the water to dislodge any air pockets so there's no dead spots under or within the rock. How do you deal with this problem when building a huge reef?

[@epicnas12342]

Aquascape looking so good

[@EagleAquatics]

TANK looks completely awesome man nice job.

[@swd5090]

I switched to red sea coral pro salt and love it, but I have also heard great things about aqua forest reef salt.

[@scottstevenson119]

wow that tank is looking amazing. definitely looks way better with sand. great video once again. Lee them coming. spare no expense when selecting livestock. only buy what you love cuz this sick is sick that it should only have the dopest selection.

[@ROTTERtube]

very cool man. nice to see water in that tank!

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

Rotter Tube Reef been long enough right?

[@sarahgrassi9648]

looks great. you r a master of the aquascape.

[@PaintflowException]

Great video. Can't wait to watch more progress! I wish I had started documenting my build.

[@pauldeacon5615]

Well done CJ! I think u are doing a really good job!! 😀

[@tomerlevi6961]

Looks good Looks good ,Good luck with the new aquarium

[@sonoranreef5291]

I love the Red Sea Pro Salt , worth the money and my sps love it , just my opinion ....love the aquascape !

[@wesleyforbes]

Sand! Looks so nice when they're new!

[@coltonm123123]

Always look forward to these videos man!

[@jerrislittlereef4023]

I love the tank especially with the sand. I'm excited to see livestock soon!

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

Jerri's Little Reef me and your both! Lol... prob be fowler for awhile into I keep Algae in check...

[@tsurro8086]

Looks good, my pukani rock is four months old and still has tons of crap coming off, I put sand in from the start also which was a mistake !!

[@DCALLUS23]

Glad to see a new vid on this tank cj its been a while 😜 my vote goes to red sea coral pro salt ive used alot of salts always had the most stable params and best growth with this salt. Hope you and the family are well buddy 👊🏻

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

Dan Callus yes def has been awhile but you know how cycling goes. Wanted to be able to speak to what I've seen over a few weeks... thanks for watching man. ✊🏾

[@wrekhavoc]

Looking great on the new setup CJ tank is coming along nicely. As far as salts I say try HW and see if it works for you.

[@Pauluss77]

Hey CJ ! Tank looking great so far loving this build your doing !

[@Airafel]

I personally love reef crystals. Always kept my tank looking great! :)

[@tonyresendez3120]

Great video CJ. My vote is a salt you didn't mention, aqua forest reef salt.

[@bananahands82]

CJ another great tank build. The sand looks great! Mind if I ask where you bought it? Not many vendors online carry it. Thanks!

[@WilSantiagoReefing]

Looking sweet CJ! Nice choice on the sand too. I chose my salt, Red Sea blue bucket because the Alk is very close to where I want to keep my tank at which is around 7.7. Red Sea Pro is 12 dkh on alk. Nice setup on scape too.

[@nhall00195]

Sand looks better...looking awesome CJ

[@JCarey]

awesome update CJ 👍 (probiotic Reef salt)

[@Davelembo]

Another good video CJ. You may have sold me on the Tonga Flakes. Looks good. No vote on the salt but looking forward to see which one you go with.

[@johnsreef2622]

Looking really good!! You are talented. 👍😎

[@michaelmartinez459]

Great aquarium. Did you use cement to hold the rock together?

[@ybernier1925]

i really love your videos man, some of the best quality i've seen on here. can't wait to get mine started

[@XaQtionerBIGZ1]

Reef Crystal's for the price is really good salt. I've used it for a few years but now use Red Sea Coral Pro (a few more years). I like how much closer my Mag, Alk and Calc are to the levels I like. I used more mag with Reef Crystal's but the difference in cost between these two salts probably made it even in the end. Right light set the right way, with the right flow and coral placement, n03 1-5ppm and p04 at or near .02ppm and you're on the right track for success.

[@flaviodesignaquariums1690]

looking very nice bro. I offte allso add my sand after the cycle my self

[@gbj6581]

scapes looking great! For me the sand look is way better. more natural and also prob more beneficial for critters, wrasses and sand sifting gobies in the future.

[@JEFFREYTRUSCOTT]

Been a minute since I've hit up your channel CJ. Love the new build! Opinion on salt: If you're going to dose, go cheap w/ the Instant Ocean. If you aren't, get spendy w/ the Red Sea Pro.

[@douglassmith4403]

Looks great CJ great vid!

[@danielsalt363]

finally a fresh CJ vid, looking sweet 👌 sand over barebottom for sure

[@mlivvy]

Watching your vids I went with a JBJ. Now i'm buying a 50g SCA cube next week. Please don't build a 1000g shark tank. :) Everything looks great, the tank does look alot better with sand. When you mentioned the floating canopy I was bit skeptical but it came out really nice. You should try to hide that wire in the wall. Thanks for making these vids.

[@Reefgrrl]

Nice work! I couldn't see the poll on my iPad but you might end up over-alking your tank with the RSCP at the start, until you have corals using it up. That's what happened to me. I'm sure you'll make the right decision. 👍 Haven't received that email you were talking about the other day....but looks like you've been busy getting this video together. 😁

[@EDKsurly]

The scape looks great.

[@IS-db6pn]

Sand looks great CJ! The scape really stands out in it. For salt, I personally use Red Sea CP for elevated parameters. Your video editing is spot on. I'm curious about what you will be using to supplement Alk, Cal and Mag. I'm guessing Kalk at the beginning, but it would be very interesting to see how you implement 2 part or a calcium reactor once your corals start really taking off.

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

Iván Santos Castaldo I'll be using calcium reactor when the time comes... will be awhile before I need that though... thanks for watching 👍🏾

[@IS-db6pn]

CJ'S AQUARIUMS Great! Myself, I'm going to use 2 part for now but have plans of also implementing a calcium reactor. Have read too many disaster stories about people crashing their tanks due to kalk and auto top off failures. Look forward to your next stream or vid.

[@DJ_LittlePea]

Very very good video cj saving this to my favourites for future reference 🤗🤗

[@ricostrings72]

Hey CJ .. I just subscribed and , I like your Vid's ., keep up the great wrk .. I suggest useing Red Sea Pro for salt

[@Villaeddie19]

awsome videos bro you always fo a great job at explaing what you got going on. once your cycle is complete will you be doing a huge water change for not starting out with reef salt?

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

yes regardless of whatever salt i use I will be doing a 100% water change at the end of the cycle before adding livestock.. thats the one thing i didnt mention .. whoops

[@9StickNate]

Exciting times! I have no experience with those salts. I like whatever can be shipped from Amazon.

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

yessir! ep.9 should finally have fish! lol.. thanks for watching

[@kkrishna9791]

Just awesome sir love your tank. Do you plan to add marine pure as a media for bacteria in sump. on top of your tank are you enclosing with glass or acrylic sheet.

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

seachems pond matrix serves same purpose.. ill be filling the refugium area with a 2-3' layer of it..... Screen top will go on top of the tank,,,

[@kkrishna9791]

Great

[@petephelan4068]

looking good with the sand CJ :)

[@starfighterusscv-6693]

Hey, CJ I just subscribed. Great tank and videos. I just wondered how you deal with dead spots, within the rocks, caused by air pockets. I always like to shake my rocks, under water, in the tank to eliminate these dead spots within the rock. Just wondering, thanks.

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

Starfighter USSCV-66 only so much u can do once it’s full of coral. I use a turkey blaster to blast the crevices when needed

[@ReefDudes]

I 100% agree that cycled media from an established tank is the best way to get the new one going. What is the little popbottle/polyfill filter thing you added to the carbon reactor? Is it just to catch any carbon particles? I Vote with sand. looks good!

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

yes its a prefilter to catch carbon right after i filled the reactor.. i rinse it before hand but never know what it may spit out when you first pump water thru it.. seachems carbon is really clean tho so it didnt catch much..

[@jaysaquaticworld6142]

im actually rether excited about my first ever algea bloom

[@PurelyAquatic]

Looking good bro!!

[@Travis.O]

great scape! awesome job!

[@davidcrockett3057]

awesome job

[@philmccoy2483]

Looks amazing mate

[@romabe10]

whats the total weight in your tank???? i want to make sure my floor can take it. Thank you your tank is cool!!!

[@johnparker5429]

Cj quick question. With me adding water and sand tonight. Did I hear you correctly about turning the pumps off until the sand settles? I am going to add sand and then add water on top of that

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

Yes it will help it settle faster and also help limit the amount of dust that gets into your pumps. I didn't turn mine off and now I have to hand clean both gyre pumps ... sounds like your almost there. Exciting times ahead for you!

[@djaviido]

Do you worry about denitrifying bacteria populating in your carbon and being removed when you change it out? Tanks looking great!

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

not with a tank this size... id be removing %3 of my bacteria.. tank wont even flinch..

[@delsreef6970]

i have said it befor love the scap man your going to have a lot of fun with this tank enjoy

[@flouster2]

CJ great videos my girlfriend and I enjoy watching them! I wanted to ask what types of corals were you planning on keeping?? I know alot of the SPS heavy folks in my area swear by the low dkh salts with their ultra low nutrient setups specifically the Red Sea salt (Not coral pro). I've been told that stability during water changes is key. The issue you get with the higher dkh stuff (reef crystals and salinity) is that it quickly increases the dkh with a 20 percent water change. I've had really good luck with Red Sea so far btw and all I do kalk dose from my ATO in my 75g and ammino acids.

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

oscar guzman going to be a mixed reef... keepin sps,pls and softies.... stability is key. I like to keep my alk 10-11 so Reef crystals usually doesn't cause a huge swing ... high nutrient import and export along with a calcium reactor for alk,calc and trace elements is my plan for this tank.. so it will be interesting to see how it all turns out...

[@flouster2]

I'm excited to see it CJ! keep the videos coming!

[@nickfurloni2352]

Sand looks good, but if you had GSP grow on the bottom, the grass look is really cool!

[@kostasst78]

great work!!! what are the settings for the ocean revive?

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

ill figure that out when I add corals to the tank... they are only at 1% power for this video..

[@WealthyFirefighter]

Visually, I think Bare Bottom style looks better, but the sand looks good as well, you can't lose either way. The issue with going bare bottom is your tank can be "too clean"

[@jamesmorrison1166]

yeah, just went though this issue on my tank, nitrate dosing now.

[@SharbucklesReef]

Oooh. Try Aquaforest salt too. Im hearing amazing things.

[@sirvine24]

I've used reef crystals with no problem for 2 yrs. I got some Seachem's salinity for free recently. The stuff takes longer to mix, is cloudy, and leaves a white film on my mixing powerhead, heater, and bucket. Also, how's the noise from those gyre's?

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

sirvine24 interesting info on the seachem salt I've read about it happening when mixing at the wrong temperature... new gyre is getting quieter but is nowhere near silent like the 130 is...

[@sirvine24]

CJ'S AQUARIUMS well I do typically just throw the heater, powerhead, and salt in the bucket together as soon as the RODI is done, so that could be a factor. Wasn't with reef crystals though. My gyre 130 is noisy above 40% so trying to figure that out, since I'll need to crank it up once it's in a larger tank.

[@kensellick4892]

Nice Job

[@wesleyforbes]

Oh, and HW MarineMix Reefer salt. Mixes nice and clean and quickly. I have done a vid on it. Check it out when you get the chance.

[@JDReef]

Looking good 🤙🏼

[@bryansenulis2975]

u doing well explaining it to people like me

[@pelphrey]

I'm for the sand! Can't help much on salt, I used IO reef crystals and liked the salt... Except for the aftermath in my bucket and pumps. Picked up a bucket of Red Sea Coral Pro locally for CHEAP. It mixes great with no left over residue, I'll probably stick with it!

[@jdavidp66]

Awesome job CJ. I would stay with RC. Sandbed is visually appealing and beneficial . Diatoms are a Natural process. think of it like Us Teenage years of Acne to mature to Clear handsome Guys, lol.

[@oregonic5035]

Switched from red sea salt to aquaforest, i would never go back. Water parameters are more stable, mixes in less then 10 minutes, and my water looks way more clear.

[@HNiCDuke]

that carbon helped clear the murky water from the sand. I used the carbon pads on my tank after i added sand n it was crystal clear in 48 hrs.

[@micksowl2462]

Id highly recommend red sea coral pro salt. Ive gad nothing but amazing results with this salt. I've heard nothing but good things about it as well. and it is not quite as pricey as HW.

[@BERELEAH]

Hey CJ did u cure the rock separately or are you doing it at the same time of cycling the tank???

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

BERELEAH curing and cycling inside the tank ... will take awhile this way but I'm in no hurry

[@BERELEAH]

Do you plan on draining this water and replacing with new water after the curing a cycling is done?

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

BERELEAH yes I'll be doing %100 water change at the end ... and another %100 depending on phosphate levels that are still present

[@tom-andrethomsen]

Good episode! :D

[@berryfriedman5147]

CJ did you do any water changes during the cycle?

[@CJSAQUARIUMS]

Berry Friedman no I didn't do a water change for 6 weeks

[@berryfriedman5147]

Thanks