BeltedCoyote’s reboot: the birth of the leviathan

[FreakPrism]

Awesome. Glad you can go big as definitely more exciting. Although keep in mind your costs will be higher in terms of lighting, heating, pumps, etc. You will also need larger containers to hours RODI water and salt mix. If this is "your dream setup" then go for it

The EZ DSR seems interesting but another monthly cost to factor in. I'm going to run the system initially just with weekly water change (about 10%) to see how things are and then decide whether I dose or not. This hobby has lots of decisions to make ...

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Awesome. Glad you can go big as definitely more exciting. Although keep in mind your costs will be higher in terms of lighting, heating, pumps, etc. You will also need larger containers to hours RODI water and salt mix. If this is "your dream setup" then go for it

The EZ DSR seems interesting but another monthly cost to factor in. I'm going to run the system initially just with weekly water change (about 10%) to see how things are and then decide whether I dose or not. This hobby has lots of decisions to make ...

thank you! I’ve been looking at costs and honestly, it’s a lot. But if I get this build done I don’t plan on setting up another tank any time soon. From what I can see the most expensive parts with be the tank itself (assuming I can’t find used), the skimmer, and the stand. @fishguy242 pointed me in the direction of some dc pumps that are pretty darn reasonable and will suffice until I figure out how to set up a legitimate battery backup. Going to go with a 75g tank for the sump. I also already have one powerhead. So yeah, lots of stuff to get, but I’m not in any rush so it’ll be fine.

and the DSR ez is definitely an extra monthly cost. The lack of water changes (if I can replicate that) will definitely save money long term. But I’m still primarily interested in it for the stability it could bring.

Thanks for reading friend!

 

[swiss1939]

I'm also trying out the dsr ez system on a new tank. I'm curious how much it will cost in the long run compared to water changes but am more into the prevention of spills from constantly making water since i live in an apartment. I can tell you it cost $91 to order and ship all the chemicals in their smallest size except the buffer in the next size up. I'll be tracking the usage quantity to understand the true monthly costs over time and will share it on my thread.

Unfortunately deltec charges flat rate $20 to ship anywhere in usa instead of by region. This seems expensive to me and is a decent chunk of the initial cost, but once you know your usage needs you can probably save some by ordering larger qty containers. I just went with the smallest for this first time to make sure i want to commit to it before buying larger qtys.

Looking forward to your setup as i don't see any other dsr ez system builds on here yet.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

I'm also trying out the dsr ez system on a new tank. I'm curious how much it will cost in the long run compared to water changes but am more into the prevention of spills from constantly making water since i live in an apartment. I can tell you it cost $91 to order and ship all the chemicals in their smallest size except the buffer in the next size up. I'll be tracking the usage quantity to understand the true monthly costs over time and will share it on my thread.

Unfortunately deltec charges flat rate $20 to ship anywhere in usa instead of by region. This seems expensive to me and is a decent chunk of the initial cost, but once you know your usage needs you can probably save some by ordering larger qty containers. I just went with the smallest for this first time to make sure i want to commit to it before buying larger qtys.

Looking forward to your setup as i don't see any other dsr ez system builds on here yet.

Yeah, I’m in the same boat. Although for me it’s the stability and control the system potentially grants once it’s dialed in that has my interest. If it really means no more water changes, I’ll be thrilled. But in my mind that’s a happy side effect.

I’ll probably do the same and start with the smaller sized bottles until I really get it dialed in. 91$ isn’t awful considering my system will probably be 280g+ with the sized DT I’ll be going with as well as the 75 or 80g sump I plan on DIYing, which is at least one bucket of my salt of choice and that runs at ~85$ per bucket. But I’m really trying to take my time so my system is stable and doesn’t need a ton of human interference besides dosing and basic maintenance. Who knows, maybe DSR Ez will allow that. I’m looking forward to finding out.

Thank you for following my build as well my friend! It’s going to be a year or two before I get it all set up and running just because I need to sell the set up I have now, figure out how I’m going to do the stand (as of now my future wife and I are thinking about making the stand part of a built in set of cabinets and maybe even having a bar/counter in front of the tank), and also just save up for the equipment I want.

as of now I’m going with:
-noopsyche k7s (I needed three for a 4ft tank so it stands to reason I just need three more)
-reef octopus 300 series skimmer. Not sure which version yet
-DIY sump (75g minimum)
-to start a pair of jebao dc returns (they have batter back up Im told) but eventually I’d like to go with Octo’s. Varios pumps
-dosing pumps of some sort
-ato

Eventually I want a controller, and I’m thinking I’ll go with the coralvue hydros. It’s not out yet but I won’t be ready for it until whenever it comes out anyway so it works out.

I plan on updating as I acquire the above gear and get set up. And I plan on continuing this thread as I’m trying out the DSR system.

 

[swiss1939]

I just did a quick and dirty estimation on yearly costs for both a 175 gallon salt bucket of the red sea blue salt i started my tank with and the dsr ez chemicals using a guess for the numbers in their ez calculator and the salt is $138.54/yr doing 5 gal weekly changes on my reefer 170 tank. Now my dsr dosing estimation is made up out of the blue just to build the formula in excel, but i assumed 1dkh and 20ppm calcium dosed a week with the generic trace and carbon doses suggested in the calc. With that guess.. I'm looking at $18/yr for dsr chemicals instead of salt.

I expect that to be way under ball park as i have yet to start the dosing to figure out the true weekly usage, plus my tank is barely stocked with one coral and no fish, only crabs and snails. I expect those numbers to rise with a fully stocked tank. But it's not looking as expensive as expected given the per item costs of salt vs dsr chemicals.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Oh, and I’m also thinking abo it plumping my system such that I can add a UV sterilizer down the road. Forgot to add that to the list.

I also want to have at least 20lbs of true live rock in my sump. And a few pieces of LFS love rock in my display along with Marco rock for aquascaping.

I’m also tempted to get an ATS, but I’m not sure if that would be counter productive with DSR. I’ll probably wait for a unit to be sold used if I do go that route to save my wallet and so my lady doesn’t feed me to my fish lol

 

[BeltedCoyote]

I just did a quick and dirty estimation on yearly costs for both a 175 gallon salt bucket of the red sea blue salt i started my tank with and the dsr ez chemicals using a guess for the numbers in their ez calculator and the salt is $138.54/yr doing 5 gal weekly changes on my reefer 170 tank. Now my dsr dosing estimation is made up out of the blue just to build the formula in excel, but i assumed 1dkh and 20ppm calcium dosed a week with the generic trace and carbon doses suggested in the calc. With that guess.. I'm looking at $18/yr for dsr chemicals instead of salt.

I expect that to be way under ball park as i have yet to start the dosing to figure out the true weekly usage, plus my tank is barely stocked with one coral and no fish, only crabs and snails. I expect those numbers to rise with a fully stocked tank. But it's not looking as expensive as expected given the per item costs of salt vs dsr chemicals.

Yeah that’s about what I’ve come to with regards to cost of one vs the other. Another cost to think about is the cost of water itself. Not huge obviously, but if we really don’t have to change water save for emergencies, there’s not really anything added to our water bills, even if it’s just a few dollars.

edit: I also suspect that once we hit our goals for stocking consumption will plateau. If so the dosing will be maintenance and I would expect it to not be as much of a wallet drain as when we first get corals growing and are adding more. Basically when our tanks get in the area of being “mature”. (I realize there’s no definitive point for this, but I suspect you know what I’m getting at)

 

[swiss1939]

Luckily i don't pay for water in my apartment, but it does cut out the cost of rodi filter replacements which get used up much less only creating ato water instead of also wc water.

 

[swiss1939]

Just did some searching on here for examples of daily consumption for the same reefer 170 tank to mine in order to get a more educated guess on yearly costs for dsr ez chems and its not as rosy as I initially made it seem!

Similar tank uses approx 0.7dKH and 5-20 ppm Calcium a day. This brings estimated yearly dsr cost for a 43 gal system to approx $286/yr. Slightly more than double the cost of salt for water changes.. but given the fact that you would probably also need to dose at minimum 2 part on the water change system, it might be only slightly more or net even compared to non dsr water changes and 2 part system.

Larger systems dedicated sps I saw suggestions they use up to 3.5dkh/day and 30-50 ppm calcium. This is where you start getting into expensive and it starts looking like $800/yr for dsr ez or alternatively salt costs probably around 3-500/yr.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Just did some searching on here for examples of daily consumption for the same reefer 170 tank to mine in order to get a more educated guess on yearly costs for dsr ez chems and its not as rosy as I initially made it seem!

Similar tank uses approx 0.7dKH and 5-20 ppm Calcium a day. This brings estimated yearly dsr cost for a 43 gal system to approx $286/yr. Slightly more than double the cost of salt for water changes.. but given the fact that you would probably also need to dose at minimum 2 part on the water change system, it might be only slightly more or net even compared to non dsr water changes and 2 part system.

Larger systems dedicated sps I saw suggestions they use up to 3.5dkh/day and 30-50 ppm calcium. This is where you start getting into expensive and it starts looking like $800/yr for dsr ez or alternatively salt costs probably around 3-500/yr.

If those are the estimates for dedicated sps tanks, I’m not quite so concerned. I’m only wanting a few of the less demanding sps. But my plans are fully mixed reef with a focus on a few species of lps and the rest zoas and shrooms. Are planning on going sps dominant?

 

[swiss1939]

If those are the estimates for dedicated sps tanks, I’m not quite so concerned. I’m only wanting a few of the less demanding sps. But my plans are fully mixed reef with a focus on a few species of lps and the rest zoas and shrooms. Are planning on going sps dominant?

I am not planning on sps heavy, but mixed reef. So my target is around 286/yr for dsr ez, not the 800/yr for sps only. Rough estimate on same amt of dosing for mixed reef using two part has that around $86/yr for my size tank. That means DSR EZ is around 60 bucks more expensive than water changes and two part per year. To me that is worth the cost of time saving doing water changes weekly and mixing two part every few months. Instead just re-order dsr chemicals as needed and swap empty bottles, testing weekly and adjusting dosing schedules weekly as needed.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Small potential update. I was working at the office today and found out one of my coworkers and her husband are in the market to buy a tank. I let her know I’m trying to sell my 120g, stand, sump, return pumps, skimmer, heater, and fuge light.

super excited if they do end up buying it because I have a sneaking suspicion getting it sold otherwise here in Indiana would take a while.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Another quick update.

M’lady and I went and hung out with some of her friends (who I knew and high school but lost touch with. My life has been...interesting and challenging which has led me to being a bit of a loner). Anyway, it was a blast. But the best thing, turns out the brother of one of our friends has a degree in welding and is down with helping us make a steel stand for the 240g. We’re going to pay him of course. But I’m excited because I’ve really wanted to go with steel, but didn’t really think I’d be able to because I don’t really know any welders. And I will not even attempt to diy it because I don’t know how to weld.

so I was looking at wood for stands, but wasn’t super enthusiastic because you typically don’t have as much open space under a stand unless it’s steel (less need for bracing and what not). But yeah, if this works out I’ll be thrilled. A nice, solid stand, plenty of room underneath, and we’ll just “wrap” it with wood so it matches the rest of the built-in cabinetry.

So yeah, fingers crossed. This could work.

also, I already knew I found a keeper. But it makes me pretty happy, excited, and grateful when my better half was just as keen on finding this dude who welds as I was.

I’m a blessed and lucky man

 

[BeltedCoyote]

I find myself contemplating skimmers. More specifically how does one determine what distinguishes a “medium” bioload from a “heavy”.

I have my eye on the Reef octo regal skimmer line but am not sure if I’m better off with the 250 or the 300....

 

[fishguy242]

"heavy"!! whats the load and price difference??

 

[BeltedCoyote]

"heavy"!! whats the load and price difference??

Vs

 

[fishguy242]

hurry only two left go with the 300 for suregreat choice in skimmer btwthought mine was not working before i put in,it was running,so smooth and quiet i could not tell

 

[BeltedCoyote]

hurry only two left go with the 300 for suregreat choice in skimmer btwthought mine was not working before i put in,it was running,so smooth and quiet i could not tell

You don’t think the 300 would be overkill with a 240g tank?

 

[fishguy242]

nope not in the least ,and only 60$ more,now if it was rated for 1000 gal heavy load would be too much

 

[BeltedCoyote]

nope not in the least ,and only 60$ more,now if it was rated for 1000 gal heavy load would be too much

Thanks as always! The 300 it is! Gotta love (Reef) Octo equipment