- Joined
- May 4, 2020
- Messages
- 52
- Reaction score
- 25
Hi everyone, I am a new poster here, having been reading the forum for some time and getting lots of great information.
I am from Newfoundland in Canada and, while not new to reefing,have been out of the hobby for almost 10 years, while going through some fairly fundamental life changes including overcoming serious illness and a divorce.
Anyway, no sob stories! I am ready to start again. My new wife has been quite reluctant to let me venture down this path again, having lived through a significant incident involving my last 125 gallon tank wherein the hose popped off my return pump in the night and sprayed the contents of my sump all over the cabinet and floor. This was simply stupidity, I didn't have the hose on the return pump clamped, utter stupidity and praying for an accident.
So, long story short, I have convinced her to let me try again with a smaller water volume and no sump - she is now totally paranoid. So my latest system is built completely with safety in mind and, since she is so paranoid about spills, is only permitted in my concrete floor workshop with a floor drain. So this system is not about being pretty. I will be using a 50 gallon 36x18x18 tank as it is a good footprint for aquascaping and is a decent water volume. Using a combo of dry rock and live from an existing reefers tank to seed.
Consequently I have put a lot of thought into safety, both from a spill's perspective and an electricity perspective so here are the measures I have built into my build:
1. Overbuilt 2x4 stand
2. Oversized stand so that there can be a trough around the aquarium in case of sizable leaks
3. This trough is lined with heavy plastic sheet and has a drain to two large rubbermaid style tubes that can together hold the entire volume of water in the tank.
4. Leak sensors will be positioned at two places in the trough connected to a profilux
5. The profilux and all associated wiring for all components is mounted on a board on the wall behind and above the tank at a distance of around 2 feet.
6. The stand is open to and built over the concrete floor drain and is left open for easy access - again, not built for looks!
7. All equipment is hang on, no sump
8. The totes under the stand will also serve as ATO and AWC (not anticipating actually using them for a drain for a catastrophic leak but only 5 gallons of RO and 5 gallons of fresh salt will be in these at a a time, so the majority of space here can be used just in case. I work from home so keeping this topped up should not be a problem
9. Webcams (wyze) will be setup to monitor both front and back of the tank 24/7.
10.profilux will completely monitor and control the tank with all bells and whistles and appropriate alerts and reminders
11. Everything will be on a GFCI circuit
12. Skimmer cup will have level sensor for shut off in case of overflow
Whew, that sounds like a lot. Have I missed anything?
In the meantime my goal for this system is to keep SPS, which I acknowledge will be challenging with no sump. To that end, I have the following equipment :
Deltec mce600 HOB skimmer
HOB reactors for GFO, carbon and possibly biopellets
Profilux ph, redox, salinity and temp monitoring and control
Schuran calcium reactor setup which will be fed off the reactor pump for now
Vortech mp40qdw
Two blackbox LEDs, this will be upgraded at some point
Profilux simu LED moonlight and thunderstorm simulation for coolness (!)
Sea swirl return for the reactor pump
Seneye for PAR monitoring
For looks, my plan is to have an "overflow box" built in the back middle of the tank which can house heater, reactor pump, skimmer intake, level sensors for ATO and AWC. Of course ,there will be no standpipe or anything because this is not a drilled tank but looking forward to a time when I may be possibly permitted to do this at least the box will be in place.
My question is, will this work or what does it mean for my husbandry. It seems like a great idea to me but I cant shake the feeling I have forgotten something.
Pics will follow and will not be pretty, I am not ready to go yet but even when I am, this setup is built for safety, not aesthetics. If I ever move to a living area I will have to completely reimagine the setup but I imagine that is years off.
Thanks for reading, and great to be back and to get to know you all and learn from your wisdom.
I am from Newfoundland in Canada and, while not new to reefing,have been out of the hobby for almost 10 years, while going through some fairly fundamental life changes including overcoming serious illness and a divorce.
Anyway, no sob stories! I am ready to start again. My new wife has been quite reluctant to let me venture down this path again, having lived through a significant incident involving my last 125 gallon tank wherein the hose popped off my return pump in the night and sprayed the contents of my sump all over the cabinet and floor. This was simply stupidity, I didn't have the hose on the return pump clamped, utter stupidity and praying for an accident.
So, long story short, I have convinced her to let me try again with a smaller water volume and no sump - she is now totally paranoid. So my latest system is built completely with safety in mind and, since she is so paranoid about spills, is only permitted in my concrete floor workshop with a floor drain. So this system is not about being pretty. I will be using a 50 gallon 36x18x18 tank as it is a good footprint for aquascaping and is a decent water volume. Using a combo of dry rock and live from an existing reefers tank to seed.
Consequently I have put a lot of thought into safety, both from a spill's perspective and an electricity perspective so here are the measures I have built into my build:
1. Overbuilt 2x4 stand
2. Oversized stand so that there can be a trough around the aquarium in case of sizable leaks
3. This trough is lined with heavy plastic sheet and has a drain to two large rubbermaid style tubes that can together hold the entire volume of water in the tank.
4. Leak sensors will be positioned at two places in the trough connected to a profilux
5. The profilux and all associated wiring for all components is mounted on a board on the wall behind and above the tank at a distance of around 2 feet.
6. The stand is open to and built over the concrete floor drain and is left open for easy access - again, not built for looks!
7. All equipment is hang on, no sump
8. The totes under the stand will also serve as ATO and AWC (not anticipating actually using them for a drain for a catastrophic leak but only 5 gallons of RO and 5 gallons of fresh salt will be in these at a a time, so the majority of space here can be used just in case. I work from home so keeping this topped up should not be a problem
9. Webcams (wyze) will be setup to monitor both front and back of the tank 24/7.
10.profilux will completely monitor and control the tank with all bells and whistles and appropriate alerts and reminders
11. Everything will be on a GFCI circuit
12. Skimmer cup will have level sensor for shut off in case of overflow
Whew, that sounds like a lot. Have I missed anything?
In the meantime my goal for this system is to keep SPS, which I acknowledge will be challenging with no sump. To that end, I have the following equipment :
Deltec mce600 HOB skimmer
HOB reactors for GFO, carbon and possibly biopellets
Profilux ph, redox, salinity and temp monitoring and control
Schuran calcium reactor setup which will be fed off the reactor pump for now
Vortech mp40qdw
Two blackbox LEDs, this will be upgraded at some point
Profilux simu LED moonlight and thunderstorm simulation for coolness (!)
Sea swirl return for the reactor pump
Seneye for PAR monitoring
For looks, my plan is to have an "overflow box" built in the back middle of the tank which can house heater, reactor pump, skimmer intake, level sensors for ATO and AWC. Of course ,there will be no standpipe or anything because this is not a drilled tank but looking forward to a time when I may be possibly permitted to do this at least the box will be in place.
My question is, will this work or what does it mean for my husbandry. It seems like a great idea to me but I cant shake the feeling I have forgotten something.
Pics will follow and will not be pretty, I am not ready to go yet but even when I am, this setup is built for safety, not aesthetics. If I ever move to a living area I will have to completely reimagine the setup but I imagine that is years off.
Thanks for reading, and great to be back and to get to know you all and learn from your wisdom.