ADA 90P Ratkiller Copycat Build

WifeOfRatkiller · Aug 26, 2022

Build Confession: I am a hobby plagiarist and anything that Ratkiller does I can do too! (Just smaller....and with fewer wet sleeves)

Item	Name	Details
Tank	ADA 90P	48 gallon
Sump	Custom cube (21 x 21 x 21)	40 gallon (25 gallon fill volume)
Overflow	Modular Marine	800 gph custom white acrylicz, 1/2" bean animal
Display Flow	EcoTech ~~MP10~~ MP40	~~x 4~~ x 2 (right top front/left bottom back)
Return Plumbing	1/2"
Return Flow	Ecotech Vortech	S2
Manifold plumbing	~~1/2"~~ 1"	~~1/2"~~ 1" Cepex valves
Manifold Flow	Ecotech Vortech	S2 M2
Filtration	Clarisea	SK5000
Algae Reactor	PaxBellum	ARID n18
Skimmer	Reef Octopus	Elite ~~200 INT~~ 150 INT
Lighting	Radion G3	XR15 x 2
Dosing	Geo's Reef	CR618 with Platinum Blue DC pump (silent) Carbon Doser CO2 Control
Misc.	UV	Pentair Smart 18W
	Controller	Apex A2 (pH x 2 & temp), EB8, EB4, 2 x FMM
	Testing	Hanna (PO4), Salifert (Ca2+, KH, NO3)

Tank #4 (48 gallon) Current FTS (JUL-2023)

FTS (SEP-2022):

The Ratkiller aspirational-I'll-get-there-someday-but-not-get-my-armpits-wet tank - ~~130-ish~~ 165 gallon (whoops!) Starfire custom in-wall, 300 gallon total system volume of gloriousness and basketball sized Tort colonies:

Tank #1 (2017 to 2020: Illumin8's 8 gallon AIO TOTM on NanoReef) - loved this tank, upgraded for that fat, bloodthirsty, lightning maroon clown shark:

Tank #2 (2020 to 2021 - semi-cursed 24 gallon acrylic AIO) - 3 x the fun of the 8 gallon and 3 x the blood drawn by the lightning maroon clown shark:

Tank #3 (2021 to Aug 2022 36 gallon): Moar space! Moar coral! Moar I-really-need-a-sump-and-Ca-reactor......

(guess who the fish trap was for.... he got a sweet upgrade to an anemone tank all his own and still gets regular visits from his first source of human flesh)

Tank #4 (June 2022 to ??? 48 gallon w/ sump): Just getting started, so 4th time's the charm?

Remaining Tank #4 To-do List:

Install MP40 thin spacers so the dang pumps quit jumping off the glass....
Figure out a skin for the stand
- Option 1: Magnet attached panels - plastic (PVC? Acrylic?) panels with wood veneer or MDF?
- Option 3: Hinged MDF custom cabinet doors/panels
Tear down the 36 gallon
Move 48 gallon to final location
- Remove Radion mounts - yay no cords visible through the back panel!!
- Program current lights to 48 gallon schedule
Build Apex and controller drawer insert

blaxsun · Aug 26, 2022

Plagiarism is the purest form of flattery.

saltyhog · Aug 26, 2022

Beautiful tanks and great build in progress! So are tanks 1-3 decommissioned or are they still running. They are so nice I would have had a hard time taking them down!

Ratkiller · Aug 26, 2022

So proud.

Chrisv. · Aug 26, 2022

Wow what a pair of usernames! Love the tanks!

WifeOfRatkiller · Sep 3, 2022

saltyhog said:
Beautiful tanks and great build in progress! So are tanks 1-3 decommissioned or are they still running. They are so nice I would have had a hard time taking them down!

Thank you for the kind words, @saltyhog! Tanks 1 and 2 are decommissioned, and Tank 3 is soon to follow to make room for Tank 4. Wish there was time for maintenance and space for everything, especially that 8 gallon.

WifeOfRatkiller · Sep 3, 2022

Tank Stand Build and Assembly - Part 1

The stand for the 48 gallon is made out of 15 Series 80/20 extruded aluminum from Grainger. This isn't the most cost-effective stand design, and Grainger isn't the least expensive vendor out there. However, Grainger delivers quickly (next day if the material is in stock) and they have an awesome return/exchange policy. Their selection of stainless steel hardware is awesome too.

Here is the parts list to date:

Qty	Description	Item Number
11 13 *	SINGLE,T-SLOT,4 FT	29NZ78 (Mfg # 1515-48)
36	INSIDE-CORNER BRACKET,15 SERIES	5JRV5 (Mfg # 4332)
17 21 **	BOLT ASSEMBLY,80/20, 15 SERIES,PK6	2RCU9 (Mfg # 3620-6)
4	5 HOLE - CENTER TAP BASE PLATE, QUAD	5JRN5 (Mfg # 2140)
4	DELUXE LEVELING FOOT,SINGLE	5JRN4 (Mfg # 2200)

The stand is 22.5" x 40.0" x 38.0" (l x w x h) without the levelling feet or top installed. With the feet and the top, the stand is 41" tall.

Here is the stand with the sump set in place:

All the aluminum was cut using a Miter saw (Diablo D1296L Carbide blade) squared up with a framing triangle because @Ratkiller 's Miter saw is slightly caddywompus. Followed these rough steps:

Clamp bundles of 80/20 together based on required lengths - made sure to clamp these vertically and horizontally at both ends, and carefully line up one end of the supplied pieces so the eventual cuts are all the same length
- 4 x Top/Bottom long pieces
- 6 x Top/Bottom cross members
- 4 x Uprights
Measure and mark the cuts:
- Top/Bottom long pieces = 40.0"
- Top/Bottom cross members = 19.5" (was able to cut 2 from each 4 foot piece of 80/20 taking into account the overall dimensions of the stand and accounting for the 80/20's thickness)
- Uprights = 35.0" (also had to account for the top and bottom thickness and the planned feet***)
Clamp to the miter saw
Cut!

On the first cut, the carbide blade was sprayed with WD-40 to reduce friction. The aluminum cut like butter! But what a mess... WD-40 sprayed everywhere (duh) and there were flaming hot shards of aluminum stuck to everything in a 3 foot radius around the saw. Cleaned that up and made the rest of the cuts with a dry blade and the shop vac nozzle lined up with the blade to suck up the aluminum shards.

Really wish there was a picture of the clamped pieces and the cutting process. It worked so much better than expected and resulted in a finished stand that was actually square! Bonus was that cutting the 80/20 with a miter saw was much less intimidating than most sites would lead you to believe.

Up next: Stand assembly. (an exercise in the 5 P's...)

* added a 40" cross member to mount the manifold and a 19.5" cross member to mount the drain gate valves
** needed MOAR connectors!
*** forgot that the feet add some additional height so now the stand is an inch taller than planned

WifeOfRatkiller · Feb 19, 2023

Five months between updates is acceptable, right?

Don't forget to calibrate salinity checkers! Duh, right? Well 'nuff said; @Ratkiller and I still feel awfully dumb...
Head pressure matters even for auxiliary pump/manifolds.
Sand beds are the bomb.com!
Trace element deficiencies are no joke.

Updated FTS's

January 2023

Tang bomb!

More February stuff incoming....

Gumbies R Us · Feb 20, 2023

WifeOfRatkiller said:
Five months between updates is acceptable, right?

Don't forget to calibrate salinity checkers! Duh, right? Well 'nuff said; @Ratkiller and I still feel awfully dumb...

Head pressure matters even for auxiliary pump/manifolds.

Sand beds are the bomb.com!

Trace element deficiencies are no joke.

Updated FTS's

January 2023

Tang bomb!

More February stuff incoming....

Tank is looking really good!!! love the progression of your tank!

WifeOfRatkiller · Feb 20, 2023

Gumbies R Us said:
Tank is looking really good!!! love the progression of your tank!

Thank you for the kind words! Had a rough patch due to the salinity - always amazing to see how tanks can rebound. They can be resilient, for sure.

WifeOfRatkiller · Apr 15, 2023

@Ratkiller said the tank looked really good today, so it's definitely picture time! (Tippy top of the light peak. Thanks @SunnyX for posting your light schedule, it's awesome!)

Digi time:

Zoas in full spectrum light. No windex here.

Currently everything looks good, and for once, SPS is actually growing? I have a horrible history with green digi, but look at those growth tips and that tiny encrusting blob at the bottom.

So proud of this little digi!

Also currently dealing with high-ish nitrates (25ppm) that are stubbornly staying pegged no matter the volume/frequency of water changes. Rigged up the smallest Sulfur denitrator ever and might post about it when/if it brings the nitrates down to a reasonable level.

WifeOfRatkiller · Apr 15, 2023

Yup, the SPS is growing:

March Miyagi Tort (should never be allowed to use a camera without my glasses...yeesh):

And now....

Red Sea Foundation FTW.... wow.

WifeOfRatkiller · Apr 29, 2023

The Sulphur denitrifier works! What sort of witchcraft wonderous magic is this?!? I am flabbergasted...

Taking pictures of the setup right meow.

WifeOfRatkiller · Apr 29, 2023

Here's a quick schematic of the setup:

Parts list:

Description	SKU	Qty
AquaMaxx FR-SE Media Reactor	232613 (BRS)	1
EcoTech Versa VX-1	212638 (BRS)	2
Fluval UltraFlex airline tubing	A1141	10 feet
John Guest 1/4" splitter	PI2308S	2
John Guest 1/4" stem to 1/4" barb elbow	PI290808S	8
Two Little Fishies ReBorn Media (Original size)	N/A	1 bag
Deltec Sulphur Media (5 lbs.)	N/A	1 bag

Took some "inguineur-ing" to connect the JG spiltters to the 1/2" hose barbs on the the AquaMaxx reactor. Seems like a 1/2" hose barb would have been straightforward, but nun-uh....they have a thread pitch that did not match anything my half-hearted interweb search turned up. Ended up with 1/4" RO line to two sizes of silicon tubing which works like a champ and isn't leaking yet. Win: tbd.

Once the connections between the reactor and the splitter were figured out, the rest of the setup was straightforward. Followed the schematic above. Here are some pictures of the resulting rat's nest:

Then it was time to rinse the Sulphur media and Reborn in tap water followed by RO/DI and add to the reactor I followed the instructions here: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2009-01/diy/index.php - Total system gallons x 0.006 x 4.22675 = cups of Sulphur media aka 61 x 0.006 x 4.22675 = 1.55 cups of Sulphur. I added an equal part of ReBorn to offset the pH drop in the chamber and hold the media down.

The original plan was to use the Geo's Reef CR618 purchased for this tank, but 1.5 cups of Sulphur media barely covered the CR618's media plate. AquaMaxx Media reactor to the rescue! Pretty sure AquaMaxx didn't plan for the HOB reactor to be used like this, but it works perfectly for this little bitty tank. They make a dedicated Sulphur denitrator, but I would have had the same issue with too little media for the reactor.

Here's just how little Sulphur and ReBorn were really needed. Just a wee bit different than @dca22anderson gigantor Sulphur reactor (Thank you @dca22anderson for the idea and the inspiration!)

Here's how it fits into the sump all nice and tidy behind the UV return:

After it was set up, it was time to cycle the denitrifier. Worst part with this setup was getting the air out with the Versa pumps. The Versa's max speed of 200mL/min wasn't nearly enough. Instead I used one of the auxiliary ports on the manifold to get going and get the media fully fluidized. After all the air was out (24 hours later), the Versa pumps were installed.

The recirculating pump is set to 75mL/min which is enough to move the water through the chamber but keeps the Versa quiet. Anything above 80mL/min and the pump's whine is audible; adding a beefier recirc pump is a possible/probable upgrade.

The feed Versa was set originally to 4mL/min. Once the effluent smelled like rotten eggs and its Nitrates were 0, I increased by 2mL/min. Then repeated the process: smell for toots, test for nitrates, increase flow. That worked great until my Versa exploded....it ground to a halt (it's old), and needed to be replaced. While I was changing it over to a spare, I accidentally knocked the fitting out and let air into the tubing. The air reset the denitrifier's cycle. So set, smell, test, and adjust started all over again. Second time was the charm though!

Added the denitrifier on 11-MAR, restarted it due to being clumsy on 07-APR, and saw the first real drop in Nitrates on 16-APR. Dialed it up to 14L/day and Nitrates are right where I'd like them!

Last bit of info, promise. The recommended feed rate for Sulphur denitrifiers is 3-4 L/hr per L of Sulphur media, meaning my feed rate for 1.5 cups of media would be 16.6mL/min to 33.3mL/min in Versa's mL/min units. Right now, the Feed Versa is set to 10mL/min (14L/day) so there is still room to increase the feed flow rate and reduce the Nitrates even more if needed.

Overall, this was straightforward to setup, and it worked! I'm almost as stoked as Super-Fat-Tang and Chunky-Possum-Wrasse: fish get to eat like they're at a buffet, and I get to maintain good water params. Win win!