AlexGs Basement Plywood Build 2 displays one system.

[AlexG]

@AlexG Some ideas. Love your work so far. I think you could build the "ultimate QT system" based on what you did.

I've posted some comments on your vids, sub'ed and thumbed up a bunch.

A pic of that tube in the skimmer, how long deep it's going, is it capped only at one end? How much above the bubbler? So I can reproduce this, scaled down, with my skimmer. TIA

For the ultimate QT system - why not more plywood tanks with near airtight lids? Scaled way down, each QT tank with it's own independent filtration / built-in sump in the same "tank". Either 2/3 for fish 1/3 for sump or half-half. Then you stack them against a wall. You could have three or four high in a stack.
Make it look like it was part of the original design, add the "stack" on the left of the 720.

Mitigating cross contamination - if they are "sealed" with lids, air vents "in" and "out" being piping with some floss inside? I hated putting my QT for 2.5 months far away from my DT.

Thanks for the video comments on YouTube. The cylinder mod in the skimmer is capped on both ends and is a little longer than the skimmer neck which is 16" tall. Right where the bubbles are breaking the surface in the skimmer is where the cylinder rests. If that cylinder went into the water I feel it would create issues and potentially try to float. I will be releasing a video on cleaning this skimmer and I will show the complete mod without all the skimate.

 

[AlexG]

@Mark Derail

I just posted a cleaning video on the skimmer. I overview the skimmer mod after it's cleaned.

 

[SpartaReef]

What does that actually do? Just reduce the space in the neck?

 

[AlexG]

What does that actually do? Just reduce the space in the neck?

Yes the mode reduces the space in the skimmer neck and increases the air pressure since the cubic volume in the skimmer neck has been reduced. The foam also has a shorter distance to span so it does not have to be strong enough to span the diameter of the 8" PVC and now only has to span ~2". It was a simple & cheap mod that was much easier to build and install versus adding additional airflow to increase air pressure in the skimmer neck.

 

[Steadyreef42]

@Mark Derail

I just posted a cleaning video on the skimmer. I overview the skimmer mod after it's cleaned.

Awesome video! It’s a true labor of love. Thanks for the videos! I’m find that sometimes I get more into videos on equipment set ups and maintenance rather what their actual displays look like . Haha

 

[SpartaReef]

thank you for answering

 

[AlexG]

Its been a fun week. I have my UV Sterilizer up and running now. The installation was pretty easy. Tuning the water flow for the UV required a little bit of math and some minor alterations but it all worked out good. The reef tank still has a lot of algae growing but it looks like its slowing down. All of the corals are still looking good.

 

[GWHouston]

I am very impressed and humbled with this build. Your attention to detail is immeasurable. It has been a pleasure to read up on this adventure. Looking forward to future posts.

 

[AlexG]

I am very impressed and humbled with this build. Your attention to detail is immeasurable. It has been a pleasure to read up on this adventure. Looking forward to future posts.

Thank you @GWHouston I am glad you are enjoying the build thread. I try to leave in all the detail that I can when documenting this build via video or posts.

 

[AlexG]

Some coral eye candy. A closeup of the bubble coral.

 

[AlexG]

I got some maintenance completed on the protein skimmer pumps with my DIY needle wheels this week. I go through my maintenance process in the video below. Sometimes it's easy to neglect regular maintenance but it does extend the life of equipment.

 

[AlexG]

Another update this week on the performance of the UV sterilizer. The protein skimmer has been going crazy pulling out green skimmate since it has been turned on. I have also noticed that my pH curve has changed throughout the day a bit on the apex as it is more jagged. The algae in the 480 gallon reef is slowly starting to calm down so in a few weeks I am hoping it is all cleared up.

 

[AlexG]

The display tanks are starting to look better now as the algae bloom is losing ground every day. Over the past week there has been a dramatic change in the amount of algae in the 480 gallon reef tank. I have added a rabbit fish to the 480 gallon reef tank along with a few conchs, a couple of sea urchins, and 12 Mexican turbo snails. I did add a few LPS corals and one BTA. I do have a couple more fish in the QT now. The protein skimmer has been going crazy since the UV was added to the point of lifting the lid off of the skimmer during last week.

 

[AlexG]

Its been a while since I posted at update on the tanks. Everything has been going well the last couple of weeks. The algae in the 480gallon reef tank is still slowly dissipating. I have added some new corals and fish to the system which have been doing really well. I included a little feeding video below along with a DIY viewing box project I completed last week. I have also been getting into some routine maintenance and I did an in depth video on Maxspect Gyre maintenance as I did run into an issue when trying to remove the magnet from one of my Gyre XF250s. I will get some more tank pictures posted this week.

 

[norfolkgarden]

Still following! Thanks for an awesome resource of info and letting us watch your tank grow and mature!

Something this big is still just a fantasy for me. Very much enjoying yours!

Happy reefing!

 

[EdsReefOdyssey]

It took me a few weeks but I finally read all 23 pages and watched most of your videos. Even the ones with bad acting. The only ones I skipped were the live videos. Not a fan of those, waaay too long.

Thanks for taking the time to start this thread and make the videos. They have given me a lot of good ideas for my future reef tank.

I have a few ideas for future videos.
1) Do a video tour of your LFS.
2) If you could go back in time and do it all over again what would you do different with the tanks?
3) Do a video on how you make your videos. I would like to know which camera and editing software you’re using.

Good Luck with your tanks.

 

[JBKReef]

I included a little feeding video below along with a DIY viewing box project I completed last week.

This was actually really helpful, I've been toying with this idea and think you have convinced me.

 

[AlexG]

Still following! Thanks for an awesome resource of info and letting us watch your tank grow and mature!

Something this big is still just a fantasy for me. Very much enjoying yours!

Happy reefing!

I am glad you are enjoying the build thread. Its hard to believe this project has been going for over 2 years. Lots more updates inbound.

 

[AlexG]

It took me a few weeks but I finally read all 23 pages and watched most of your videos. Even the ones with bad acting. The only ones I skipped were the live videos. Not a fan of those, waaay too long.

Thanks for taking the time to start this thread and make the videos. They have given me a lot of good ideas for my future reef tank.

I have a few ideas for future videos.
1) Do a video tour of your LFS.
2) If you could go back in time and do it all over again what would you do different with the tanks?
3) Do a video on how you make your videos. I would like to know which camera and editing software you’re using.

Good Luck with your tanks.

Thanks @EdsReefOdyssey I am glad you are enjoying the build thread and the video content. No worries on the live stream videos. It is more fun to participate in the live stream but I leave them up in case anyone wants to watch. I will be sure to put more bad acting in from time to time My wife is always embarrassed when I do something silly on a video.

I have a few ideas for future videos.
1) Do a video tour of your LFS. I will definitely get some LFS videos in at some point maybe this spring or summer.
2) If you could go back in time and do it all over again what would you do different with the tanks? I am not sure I would really do anything different at this point. I think once I get a year or two in I might have a few things I would want to change. I tried to make everything as accessible as possible. If anything I should have made more accommodations to eventually add more tanks.
3) Do a video on how you make your videos. I would like to know which camera and editing software you’re using. I will make one of these videos at some point. I am shooting video with a Cannon Rebel T5i for the most part and on occasion I use my Galaxy S8+ or a gopro. I was using windows movie maker which is ancient software but I recently upgraded to power director 16 which has been working out well.

 

[AlexG]

This was actually really helpful, I've been toying with this idea and think you have convinced me.

It's a great tool to have. I am glad the video was helpful. Here is a picture I just took with the phone laying on the inside of the viewing box.