250G DD SPS Reef

[Vmacisback]

Welp, its that fun time again. Just purchased a 250G Marineland Deep Dimensions tank from Aquatic Collection in Hayward CA. This tank will be SPS dom but i have taken more interest into chalices and Zoa's. They are great to fill in low light spots as well gaps between coral.Take a look as i will try to be more detailed in this build with more pictures. Please ask questions if you have them. Thanks

Tank
Marineland 250G deep dimensions - staphire front. 1 overflow i removed myself, one of the holes was plugged the other will be used as a drain for water changes (at least the draining part) Definitely added more space to the tank as well as more open space for viewing.

Stand
Custom stand that is in the works that will include a dry side door for apex and other electrical components, a tile inlay on the top and a side door for easy maintenance. Stand is being build from 2x4 and 2x6 material by myself and a buddy.

Sump
My sump was given to me for FREE! by a friend from my LFS that i baffled and turned into a functional sump. It measures 60x24x18. The best part besides being free was the tank was used at the store for selling brine shrimp and ghost shrimp. They were kept in 2 separate compartments of the tank and i am using them as my ATO storage. The main body of the tank will house normal sump equipment as well as a large fuge.

Filtration
RLSS DB-10int with DC5000 skimmer
RLSS FR4 reactor for GFO
JNS Alpha 2 Biopellet reactor
2 7'' square filter socks
Dosing 2 part with BM Doser
36w or more UV to be purchased
150Lbs of live rock

Water Movement
3xMP40wes
2x1'' sea swirls connected to Diablo DC 10500 return pump

Lighting
Still trying to figure this part out...Possible combos,
2-4 Radion pros
2-4 AI Hydra 52
either of the above choices with 1 or 2 48'' t5 supplements

Misc
Apex monitoring temp, salinity, PH. Aswell as controlling lights, skimmer and reactors.

Pictures to come...

 

[ianmcalpin]

If ur going with sea swirls u might not need the mp40 as the sea swirls it self are really strong

 

[Vmacisback]

If ur going with sea swirls u might not need the mp40 as the sea swirls it self are really strong

yea maybe but because i took out one of the overflows i have to adjust the output of the flow coming out of the sea swirls. They will have ball valves on them and are attached to a DC pump which i can turn up or down. Basically the sea swirls are as strong as i want to make them, also i don't really count sea swirls as in tank flow at the end of the day they just doing a job as a return with a little extra movement.

 

[hung]

Cool man but didn't you just upgrade when you sold me the trigger systems sump? Must be nice!

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

 

[Vmacisback]

Cool man but didn't you just upgrade when you sold me the trigger systems sump? Must be nice!

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

yep wanted bigger

 

[Vmacisback]

Updates 10.27.13

So lets get everyone caught up.

As far as my live rock I pick up approx 150lbs of live/dead branch/Fiji rock from my LFS. They took down their live rock system and sold me the rest for a bulk amount. Good deal.

I did some research on how to rid the rock of excess nutrients and decided i would bleach the rock and then give it a vinegar bath. I wasnt really wanting to go as far as the Muriatic acid treatment. First step was power washing the rock, then bleach then vinegar and let it sit out and dry in the sun. Here are some before and after pics.

pre power wash
and
Post power wash

 

[Vmacisback]

updates 10.27.13 cont.

After the power was came the bleach and vinegar then a rodi bath with prime and a sun bath. The vinegar bath bubbled up for about 6hrs so i do believe it was worth it.

 

[Vmacisback]

updates 10.27.13 cont.

The next phase was the pickup and arrival of the tank to my house. I had a buddy help and it will remain in the garage until the stand is finished being built. There are some good pics of removing the right corner overflow. It definitley freed up some space. One of the drains was capped and the other will be used to drain the tank for water changes. Removing the overflow literally took about 5 min.

 

[Vmacisback]

updates 10.27.13 cont.

Made a lot of progress on the stand this weekend. The green lines are where more lumber will be added for overall support. I also built screens for all my high flying wrasses.

 

[Vmacisback]

Few stand and equipment updates 11.9.13

Stand is really coming along, tomorrow the doors are going on as well as the top should be ready for paint after the weekend fingers crossed. Also finally pulled the trigger on 2 Radion pros. These will be paired with 2 or 4 80w T5's. Some of the best tanks Ive seen lately have been running a LED/t5 combo i hope to do the same.

 

[kacrocorals581]

Nice tank

 

[hung]

What's the foot print of the tank /stand?

 

[Vmacisback]

What's the foot print of the tank /stand?

60x36x27

 

[Vmacisback]

Nice tank

Thanks!

 

[jeremy]

Just wondering since you went with the radion pros why are you gonna put t5s on for. Is it for better spread? I run t5 and love them but the radions are full spectrum. Or do you just like the mix of both lights?

 

[Vmacisback]

Just wondering since you went with the radion pros why are you gonna put t5s on for. Is it for better spread? I run t5 and love them but the radions are full spectrum. Or do you just like the mix of both lights?

its more for coverage than anything. My tank is 60x36x27 with a brace in the middle. I don't think that 2 pros will be able to light the tank enough for sps as well as over all coverage for stuff on the sand bed like clams etc. Theres also the thought that some of the growth patterns of SPS under leds is a little funky. What i mean is that if you have seen a sps LED lit tank you can notice that there is a lot of shading on the corals themselves, in these shaded areas there are usually no polyps and overall the coral just doesn't have enough light in that area to sustain growth. If i had the money for 4 pros then i would probably eliminate the t5s but I don't...maybe in the future. The light spread by large halide reflectors and 8 bulb t5 units work so well because they make a huge light spread with high par to support most of the time the entire body of the coral. There are really no dim spots. With that said i really like the look of LEDs as far as overall appearance, and I do think the pros with the t5s will give enough spread to support good growth and allow for more control. Theres the long winded answer.lol.

 

[jeremy]

I think its gonna look great.

 

[Will_D]

How'd you go about taking the overflow off? A simple razor blade along the side or did you have to actually cut the box?

 

[Vmacisback]

How'd you go about taking the overflow off? A simple razor blade along the side or did you have to actually cut the box?

yep just a razorblade along the entire sides and the bottom popped right out. Easiest thing ive ever done.

 

[cwilder]

How do Chalices do under Radions?