aileen
Community Member
So, I’ve been outta the hobby since moving to a new house back in July 2014. I sold off or gave away nearly everything I had and resigned myself to the fact that kids (5 and 7 now), a new house and work would probably keep me out for at least ten years, but I got the itch again far sooner. I originally wanted to setup my 195g again but realized my basement needed to be finished first, which takes time; so, I set out to put all the bones together for 195g and setup a 80g frag tank until the basement gets done.
My new list of equipment came together as follows:
Rimless 80g frag tank (4’ x 2’ x 16”)
150g Rubbermaid for a sump (drilled out bulkhead and pvc line to sump pump for water changes)
Reef Octopus SRO5000SSS skimmer
2 300 water Eheim heaters
Sicce 4 return pump for frag tank
2 MP40 qd pumps
Apex Classic with 2 EB8s and WXM
Avast Marine K1 Kalk Stirrer
BRS 50ml ATO pump
autotopoff.com dual float switch
100 lbs of Billy’s Reef Rock
ATI 6 bulb 48” T5 fixture
BRS 5 Stage RODI Unit
BRS dual reactor for carbon and GFO (not using GFO since using zeovit)
I got the frag tank, rock and ATI fixture as a package deal for only $400!!!
In order for all this to work, however, I needed a solid stand for my frag tank and sump. I wanted it to look good even though it was going in basement fishroom so I used 2x4 construction with oak everyone else stained and polyurethane. The inside of the stand was primed white to prevent mold issues.
The plumbing was a breeze for the most part. In hindsight I wish I had been more patient and added a external coast to coast over flow but the tank was already drilled and honestly it’s a frag tank! So I just used the two predrilled drains 1 1/4” with strainer like ends and then two 3/4 returns. It’s not the herbie or bean animal style I would’ve liked, but with two drains, I’m thinking likelihood of a flood is slim. The return rate with the Sicce 4 is only 10x per hour with head pressure so it’s likely around 800gph. I didn’t want a siphon issue so I put caps on the drains, drilled a 1/4 hole and stuck a small piece of tubing inside with a air regulator.
The entire setup was completed about three weeks ago and I’ve been using zeobak, zeostart and sponge power to help cycle the tank along. I picked up 4 blue chromis and 2 snowflake clowns and a few chalice frags to get things going. Eventually, this will be a sps only frag tank with the few fish I’ve added.
Parameters after 3 weeks using Sailfert kits and Hanna’s are:
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10
Phos .05
DkH 8.6
Salinity 1.025
Temp 78
I’m really hoping the zeovit system will work to help cycle the tank fast. Will be adding sps by Christmas!!!!!
Here are the pics in no particular order:
My new list of equipment came together as follows:
Rimless 80g frag tank (4’ x 2’ x 16”)
150g Rubbermaid for a sump (drilled out bulkhead and pvc line to sump pump for water changes)
Reef Octopus SRO5000SSS skimmer
2 300 water Eheim heaters
Sicce 4 return pump for frag tank
2 MP40 qd pumps
Apex Classic with 2 EB8s and WXM
Avast Marine K1 Kalk Stirrer
BRS 50ml ATO pump
autotopoff.com dual float switch
100 lbs of Billy’s Reef Rock
ATI 6 bulb 48” T5 fixture
BRS 5 Stage RODI Unit
BRS dual reactor for carbon and GFO (not using GFO since using zeovit)
I got the frag tank, rock and ATI fixture as a package deal for only $400!!!
In order for all this to work, however, I needed a solid stand for my frag tank and sump. I wanted it to look good even though it was going in basement fishroom so I used 2x4 construction with oak everyone else stained and polyurethane. The inside of the stand was primed white to prevent mold issues.
The plumbing was a breeze for the most part. In hindsight I wish I had been more patient and added a external coast to coast over flow but the tank was already drilled and honestly it’s a frag tank! So I just used the two predrilled drains 1 1/4” with strainer like ends and then two 3/4 returns. It’s not the herbie or bean animal style I would’ve liked, but with two drains, I’m thinking likelihood of a flood is slim. The return rate with the Sicce 4 is only 10x per hour with head pressure so it’s likely around 800gph. I didn’t want a siphon issue so I put caps on the drains, drilled a 1/4 hole and stuck a small piece of tubing inside with a air regulator.
The entire setup was completed about three weeks ago and I’ve been using zeobak, zeostart and sponge power to help cycle the tank along. I picked up 4 blue chromis and 2 snowflake clowns and a few chalice frags to get things going. Eventually, this will be a sps only frag tank with the few fish I’ve added.
Parameters after 3 weeks using Sailfert kits and Hanna’s are:
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10
Phos .05
DkH 8.6
Salinity 1.025
Temp 78
I’m really hoping the zeovit system will work to help cycle the tank fast. Will be adding sps by Christmas!!!!!
Here are the pics in no particular order:
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