80g Shallow Reef Build

[Manose]

Ten years has passed since I retired from the hobby, but once you have been exposed to the ever diverse world of a reef tank it stays in the blood like a clinging sense of enlightenment.
Spending many hours going over all the new and exciting things that have been done in the past 10 years is nothing short of amazing.
Okay enough rambling lets start a new build so I can learn from and help teach someone that may want to something similar.

I will be buying my clowns and some other fish from one of the best clown breeders in NA (Sustainable Aquatics) located only a little over an hour away.

The tank we will be working with is the 80 gallon rimless low iron glass tank from Deep Blue at 48in x 24in x 16in. I chose this tank based on many build that have been posted on this great site. The plan is to have the tank come from a corner in the shape of a peninsula as to have some really cool viewing angles with minimum fuss.

****UPDATED****

- First thing was to get an RO/DI unit and that will be delivered this week(Melev's Reef 150 GPD Boosted RO/DI System) This will be setup this week end and will post a build log.


- Stand-


The following is a list of my hardware

-1x30 lbs Tropic Eden Reefflakes Aragonite Sand
-2x 150w Aqueon Heaters
-AQUAMAXX MAGNUS VSR-9000 DC WATER PUMP BY SUNPOLE
-Bashsea Smart Series Sump
-Eshopps S-120 Protein Skimmer
-3x Noopsyche K7 Pro2
-Milwaukee Seawater Digital Refractometer
-2x ICECAP 1000 Gyres
-55w Jebao UV sterilizer (run by a maxijet 1200)
-Apex el
-2x Kamoer x1 bluetooth dosing pumps(dosing 2 part ATI essentials pro)
-Neptune DOS - using for awc

 

[NY_Caveman]

Welcome to R2R!

Sounds like a good start. To be clear, you are setting up an 80 gallon display AND an 80 gallon frag tank? All plumbed together I assume?

 

[Manose]

Welcome to R2R!

Sounds like a good start. To be clear, you are setting up an 80 gallon display AND an 80 gallon frag tank? All plumbed together I assume?

No I am setting up a 80g frag tank as my display tank, sorry for the confusion.

 

[NY_Caveman]

No I am setting up a 80g frag tank as my display tank, sorry for the confusion.

Thought that might be the case. I would check out some gyre videos for tank flow. My tank is about half the size, but I find the gyre to work excellent for water movement. My dual returns also use VCA random flow generators which I would also recommend.

 

[Manose]

Thought that might be the case. I would check out some gyre videos for tank flow. My tank is about half the size, but I find the gyre to work excellent for water movement. My dual returns also use VCA random flow generators which I would also recommend.

Thank you so much for your help. I have read great things about VCA and will have to get 2 for my return. Which gyre are you referring to the Icecap or Maxspect as seems they both have great flow. I will be running the tank as a peninsula so these would be perfect.
I have changed which protein skimmer I am ordering the Aqua Excel AE-EC15 Skimmer .

 

[NY_Caveman]

Thank you so much for your help. I have read great things about VCA and will have to get 2 for my return. Which gyre are you referring to the Icecap or Maxspect as seems they both have great flow. I will be running the tank as a peninsula so these would be perfect.
I have changed which protein skimmer I am ordering the Aqua Excel AE-EC15 Skimmer .

I run the IceCap 1k in a JBJ 45 Flat Panel. It is an AIO tank and the display is roughly 26.5 x 15.5". It runs dead silent even at 100%. The 3k may be a better bet for your size, but I have heard they are not as quiet. I have not used any Maxspect but the IceCap design is the same.

 

[Manose]

I run the IceCap 1k in a JBJ 45 Flat Panel. It is an AIO tank and the display is roughly 26.5 x 15.5". It runs dead silent even at 100%. The 3k may be a better bet for your size, but I have heard they are not as quiet. I have not used any Maxspect but the IceCap design is the same.

I was reading a bunch of things about the 3k and it seems that a once a month cleaning is all it needs so we will add it to list of must haves

 

[Manose]

Just made a order for some parts--
Milwaukee MA887 Digital Salinity Refractometer with Automatic Temperature Compensation
2x VIPARSPECTRA Timer Control 165W LED Aquarium Light - Yes I know they are black box but they are good.
XP Aqua Ultimate ATO - Complete 4-Sensor Aquarium Auto-Top-Off System

More orders will be placed today

 

[speedstar]

Welcome, I myself am just back from a 10 year break.

 

[Manose]

Welcome, I myself am just back from a 10 year break.

Very awesome speedstar, I hope you have some great fun!!!

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

I look forward to seeing where this goes. I commend you for taking the fully captive bred plunge. 3 of my 5 fish are wild-caught and I feel sorry for them whenever I think about it. I'm starting my 20 gallon tank back up and will only be using captive bred fish. Also great that you're using SA. My LFS stocks a good chunk of their stuff from there and they have great products.

 

[Silver14SS]

Great idea to do only captive bred. I'm taking a similar approach, my tank will be BattleCorals SPS and probably ORA fish.

 

[speedstar]

Very awesome speedstar, I hope you have some great fun!!!

I am, my wallet though :ekk

 

[Ruben's Reef]

Just made a order for some parts--
Milwaukee MA887 Digital Salinity Refractometer with Automatic Temperature Compensation
2x VIPARSPECTRA Timer Control 165W LED Aquarium Light - Yes I know they are black box but they are good.
XP Aqua Ultimate ATO - Complete 4-Sensor Aquarium Auto-Top-Off System

More orders will be placed today

I had the 165w VS light and IMO is a good light just upgrade recently for a 300w which is better for my 40g.

 

[Manose]

I look forward to seeing where this goes. I commend you for taking the fully captive bred plunge. 3 of my 5 fish are wild-caught and I feel sorry for them whenever I think about it. I'm starting my 20 gallon tank back up and will only be using captive bred fish. Also great that you're using SA. My LFS stocks a good chunk of their stuff from there and they have great products.

I hope this will be a good build to watch and thank you for the kind words. As for captive bred only, all the horrors that I saw can't be unseen in how that side of the hobby works and people that buy those fish and coral unwillingly support those practices.
Matthew Carberry who runs SA is a good friend and has been for years. I love how his facility has really taken off due to his tireless work in developing and pioneering new ways to bring us the creatures we enjoy.

Great idea to do only captive bred. I'm taking a similar approach, my tank will be BattleCorals SPS and probably ORA fish.

Thank you, and I will be using ORA and BattleCorals as both seem like fantastic options.

I am, my wallet though :ekk

Tell me about it LOL. I said to myself that this will be a labor of love so the spending has to be justified

I had the 165w VS light and IMO is a good light just upgrade recently for a 300w which is better for my 40g.

That is good to hear as this tank is only 16in deep so the par should be good and if not I will go bigger lol

 

[Silver14SS]

16" is a great depth, my tank is 36" x 18" x 16". My stand is 36" tall and I can reach everywhere in my tank without getting a short sleeve shirt wet.

 

[Manose]

16" is a great depth, my tank is 36" x 18" x 16". My stand is 36" tall and I can reach everywhere in my tank without getting a short sleeve shirt wet.

Yea I am so excited and nervous at the same time but hopefully good research and patience will pay off.
Also thinking of going with the SS36 sump from https://www.bashsea.com/products/signature-series/signature-sumps

 

[leahfiish]

Following, I have the same tank, hoping to get water in it this weekend.

 

[Manose]

Following, I have the same tank, hoping to get water in it this weekend.

I wish you all the luck as I still need to figure out a stand solution

 

[dantimdad]

Following.

Welcome to R2R and the Hobby!