swannyson7
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REEF SPOTLIGHT - March 2013
The Reef Aquarium of:
Guy Walker aka "GuyWalker1219"
You can also check out Guy's tank build here on R2R:
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/large-aquariums-180g/103069-rockys-280g-peninsula.html
Introduction
First off, let me say thank you to Reef2Reef and those who nominated me for this spotlight. I am very honored to have my tank considered worthy.
My name is Guy Walker, but I've gone by the nickname Rocky since I was 12. I'm 43 years old, a Chef, and a widowed single father of five children. My youngest is 6 years and old my oldest is 22. My love of natural reefs started when I was very young. I remember as a kid when all my friends were watching cartoons, I was glued to the tube watching reef documentaries dreaming of being there someday. Then, as a young adult I realized I could bring it home and a life-long obsession began.
This aquarium was an unexpected project, to be honest. I was looking around on an out of town craigslist advertisement and found it for sale for $250. I loved the dimensions and had to have it. It was a 2 hour drive and I couldn't get a reply from the owner. I visited the site for the local club in that area and someone helped me get in touch with the owner. I owe a big thanks to NVR and the member Sermech(Micheal). Without their help, this tank would not have happened.
To my dismay, the tank was in pretty bad shape because it had been used as a turtle pond in a back yard and was very scratched up. I thought it was probably beyond repair and the stand was in just as bad of shape. The owner offered me $50 off the original price and I took it home for $200. I spent 6 hours a day, 2 days a week, for 6 weeks to get this thing sanded and buffed out. I was determined to get it done and it was worth it in the end. The original idea was a shark reef with softies but I quickly grew bored of it and had to go full blown reef.
System Profile
Display tank: 280g 72" x 36" x 24" peninsula.
Glass or Acrylic: Acrylic
Stand: I dressed the stand with a box pleated table skirt. I wanted it to have a show type appearance with the ease of cleaning and replacement for an always new look. I also made my own hanging canopy, which is hung from the ceiling. It's suspended on four pulleys and small link black chain that match the draped stand well, providing a pretty clean look.
Sump: For the sump I used an old acrylic aquarium 72" x 15" x 18"
Protein Skimmer: EuroReef RS-250
Carbon/phosphate filtration: I run 1000ml of Ecobak Bio-Pellets and 500ml of NPX Bio-Plastics in two DIY Reactors, daisy-chained together. Both reactors are 4" in diameter and 20" tall.
Return Pump: Reeflow Dart
Water circulation: I run a Reeflow Barracuda on a closed loop with both inlets and outlets on the bottom of the tank. I also run two Seio 1500 powerheads at the overflow end of the tank.
Lighting: Three ToaTronic 120w LED fixtures off Ebay and yes, they work incredibly well. I also run 4 ATI 54w t5's (2 on either side of the LEDS running end to end) for supplemental color and to help with the coverage of such a wide tank. I could have used two 80w bulbs, but I already had the 54w ballasts and reflectors.
Calcium/alkalinity/magnesium dosing: I take my Calcium, Alk, & Mag very seriously and this part of my system seems strange to most people. I have a closet dedicated to this part of my system and in there I run two Calcium Reactors. I have a Hydor 1500 with the circulation pump changed out with a MAG 3 and its output goes into a Coralife 240. The co2 is only pumped into the first reactor, but both still seem to have a good dissolve rate. There is also a 4"x24" DIY chamber it runs to under the stand before going through a final small chamber made from a DI resin canister. Even with all this and going through 8lbs of media in six months I struggle to keep my Calcium above 400.
Auto top-off: Gravity fed to a flout valve in the sump with the top off tank in the closet.
RO/DI: Water General 6 stage.
Heating/Cooling: two 500w titanium heaters and a 1/2 hp Coralife chiller.
System control: Aquacontroller Jr.
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