470 Gallon Mixed Reef + 150 Gallon Frag Tank

nuxx

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Hello everyone,

I've been a long time reader of Reef2Reef and though it was about time I got a little more active on here.

My name in Peter and my wife is Tina. We live in Austin Texas and have been in the hobby since around 2010.

We started out with a 55 gallon tank, then kept on trying to get a larger tank. Ended up buying a 135 and 240, both were never setup for one reason or another.


After taking some time, we realized where in our house we'd really like to keep out tank and had a tank built to fill the space.
Ended up going with a tank that was 120x29x31" made of 1" acrylic. We used a 200 gallon sump and had a local reefer build the metal stand.
Jeff at: Pimped Out Aquariums - Custom Acrylic Tanks and Glass Aquariums - built the tank and was a pleasure to work with.
Here are some pictures of the tank during various stages of the build:


470-inCrate.jpg


470-doorTight.jpg


470-cinderBlocks.jpg


marcoRocksAcidFoam.jpg


marcoRocksDrying.jpg


marcoRocksAquaculture-Ranch.jpg


final-in-place.jpg



The tank has been running for just over a year and has the following inhabitants:

Fish:
Yellow Tang, Black Tang, Chevron Tang, Yellow Bellied Blue Tang, Crosshatch Trigger Pair, Flame Wrasse Pair, Common Cleaner Wrasse, Trio Of Pajama Cardinals, Black Ice Clownfish, Five Huchtii Anthias, Five Lyretail Anthias

Coral:
Finally got around to adding some coral we had in our old frag tank forever. Random pieces of small and large Acros, large branching Frogspawn, Golden Torch, Golden Hammer, Neon Hammer, Trumpet Coral, etc...

Inverts:
Turbo Snails, more Turbo Snails and more Turbo Snails. Also some other snails and smaller Hermit Crabs.
The equipment is as follows:
- Tank: 120x29x31" @ 1" Acrylic running Bean Animal drain
- Sump: ~ 200 gallon 96" Acrylic sump with Chaeto
- Stand: Metal stand with removable middle front supports
- Skimmer: Reef Octopus DCS 300 with Avast Marine Swabbie Neck Cleaner and float switch for overflows
- Heaters: Two 300 watt Eheim Heaters
- Powerheads: 2 Jebao WP60s, 4 Jebao WP40s, 2 Jebao WP25s, 2 Jeabo WP10s (Modified night sensors)
- Lights: 4 Kessil A360WEs, generic growlights for sump
- Controller: Neptune Apex w/ Temp & PH
- Return Pumps: 2 Jebao DC9000s
- Water Change: Neptune DoS (2 Gallons a day) with 50 gallon storage tank
- ATO: Avast Marine ATO system with 50 gallon storage tank
- Sand and Rock: 240 lbs of Special Grade Reef Sand and 500 lbs of Marco Rock acid washed and cured at a macro algae farm. Also two large MarinePure Ceramic Blocks in the sump.

Here is a picture and video of the tank running today:


tank-may-2015.jpg



[video=youtube_share;ZL1M_oSmgio]http://youtu.be/ZL1M_oSmgio[/video]



We're having a bit of an issue with hair algae right now. Think it was from a lack of water changes, small clean up crew and too much afternoon sun hitting the tank. Started removing the algae manually with an Algae Mower Vac (great tool), added more snails, started dosing vodka, changed the blinds to stop the sun hitting the tank and also setup automated water changes. Hopefully it'll all go away!

Tank still needs a ton of work, but it's fun trying to get there!

We recently also had a frag / grow out tank built by the guys over at A.G.E. (Acrylic and Glass Exhibits).


We had the tank built at the dimensions of 60x36x16" out of starphire glass. We didn't want to keep up with two acrylic tanks. The plan for the tank is to have it grow out frags and smaller colonies to a good size to add to the display tank. Also will hold a canary fish (like an Achilles Tang) to show any signs of disease present on new coral additions before hitting the display tank.

We're going to use a stand 75 gallon glass tank for the sump and a standard 29 gallon glass tank for ATO.

Had a different local welder make the metal stand and really haven't got past getting the tank on the stand. Will probably start buying equipment and setting up the tank this month or next.

Here are some pictures of the build and also as it stands today:


frag01.jpg


frag02.jpg


frag03.jpg




I'll continue to add to this thread as time goes by and really looking forward to participating on Reef2Reef :)

 

revhtree

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Wow awesome tank build so far!
 

TJ's Reef

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WELCOME WELCOME WELCOME, great start to a build thread I'll certainly follow.


Cheers, Todd
 

revhtree

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Thanks!

Wish I could edit the original post. Lots of typos :(

Sorry about that. I'll edit them for you. You have 5 minutes to edit once you post unless you're a supporting member which is unlimited.
 
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nuxx

nuxx

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Sorry about that. I'll edit them for you. You have 5 minutes to edit once you post unless you're a supporting member which is unlimited.

No problem, should have proofed better and previewed the post :)

Hopefully be AT LEAST a supporting member soon ;)
 
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nuxx

nuxx

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No problem :)

Color:
Set OFF
If Time 08:30 to 10:00 Then ColDawn (Ramp 90 minutes, Start 0, End 20)
If Time 10:01 to 11:30 Then ColSunRise (Ramp 90 minutes, Start 20, End 50)
If Time 11:31 to 18:30 Then ColWeather (Light Maximum 50, Cloud Intensity 40, Cloud Duration 10, Cloudy Time 10)
If Time 18:31 to 20:00 Then ColSunDown (Ramp 90 minutes, Start 50, End 20)
If Time 20:01 to 20:30 Then ColDusk (Ramp 30 minutes, Start 20, End 0)

Intensity:
Set OFF
If Time 08:30 to 10:00 Then Dawn (Ramp 90 minutes, Start 14, End 20)
If Time 10:01 to 11:30 Then SunRise (Ramp 90 minutes, Start 20, End 62)
If Time 11:31 to 18:30 Then Weather (Light Maximum 62, Cloud Intensity 45, Cloud Duration 10, Cloudy Time 10)
If Time 18:31 to 20:00 Then SunDown (Ramp 90 minutes, Start 62, End 20)
If Time 20:01 to 20:30 Then Dusk (Ramp 30 minutes, Start 20, End 14)
 

Macropora

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Tagging along. Great build and glad to see you make it over from another forum to R2R!
 
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nuxx

nuxx

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Added a float switch to our collection cup last night.

I'm skimming wetter with the Swabbie and am a bit worried about overflows...

Wired the float switch to the DC controller from AutoTopoff.com

[video=youtube;VKT0Ayx_QbM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKT0Ayx_QbM[/video]
 

Justin D

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So did your marco rock ever get good coralline on it or any bad growth on it,
 
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nuxx

nuxx

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One of these guys should be arriving early next week
xyxthumbs.gif


Getting it from Jordan at Among The Reef ([email protected]), really who I'm using for all my rare fish now
smile.gif



gem01.jpg


gem02.jpg


gem3.jpg



He just imported a large batch of fish from Mauritius. The Gems were an unbeatable price and also not the more common ones from Madagascar or mainland Africa.

I'm a little worried about how the Black and Yellow Tangs will treat him. I used an acclimation box and then a huge mirror when I introduced our large CBB. The first CBB was killed from intimidation from the Black and Yellow. After the acclimation box, the second (current) CBB was also getting beat up, but the huge mirror kept the Black and Yellows constant attention, and now the CBB is just fine.
 

revhtree

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Sweet fish!
 

maroun.c

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Very nice fish, keep us updated on how the introduction goes.
 

Acrononomus

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What a great size tank! Nice choice on the rock! I'm jealous, I only have a couple spots of coralline.... But I know it will come soon...just don't want it on my glass so I can wait a bit.... Lol.... Awesome gem tang too!
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

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