Building the dream

[Kingsley_Reef]

Hey everyone guess this will be my new build thread Been in the hobby since 2018 I have multiple small tanks and have been sidelined the last year and a half with some medical issues during this time my tanks kind of struggled and I couldn’t keep up with them I lots almost all my corals because it wasn’t a hobby anymore it was a chore climbing under cabinets changing filters,media ect cable management was lacking,carrying and filling buckets just wasn’t worth the effort anymore i almost quit and gave everything away but then i also realized i have also been using the hobby to cope with stress anxiety and depression since it was kind of a positive outlet a escape from my everyday normal (especially when things were going in the right direction lol)
So my solution was to eliminate 4 systems and try to combine them into one larger more manageable system incorporating automation and some diy solutions to make things less labor intensive and overall enjoyable again i purchased a used deep blue 57 In decent shape off of here a while ago with a lot of extra equipment built a custom diy stand and its been sitting empty in my dining room but long story short I’m feeling a lot better now and am completely motivated to get this build done. I live in a old house and the floor system is actual 3x8 joists on a 15ft span I knew I had to beef up the joists in the basment so i built 3’x5’ a room directly under where the tank was located with a header to cross the original floor joists this room I also plan on using to house my sump and gear and a small frag tank no more crawling under a cabinet for access and maintenance

my profession is in construction so this is pretty easy for me I framed the room out added some synthetic roof paper as a vapor barrier roughed in a dedicated 20amp line installed a bathroom exhaust fan to help with odor and humidity and a led light used dricore by floor panels to keep everything inside the room off the concrete floor 1/2 plywood 50% up for easier mounting of gear and plumbing the rest is drywalled and painted heavy with gloss paint the cubby hole will be used for my electronics keeping everything neat and out of the way

I wanted to waterproof the floor a little just as a precaution so I cheaped out and bout some schluter copy cat membrane off of Amazon for 1/3 of the price DO NOT RECOMMEND this stuff is garbage I’ve used schluter ditra and Kerdi this stuff is nowhere near the quality it’s super super thin and the fleece material pulls right off of your not careful however I did water test this the next day and it does hold water

installed some gray FRP Board up over the plywood set some rubber diamond plate flooring I found at homedepot over top the waterproof membrane and got my diy sump I made about a year ago in place it’s a aqeon 40b With custom baffles I had may at octo aquatics make for me

almost done the plumbing need to order a few more missing parts

I guess by now you can see the theme here orange and black and grey I know it’s been done a thousand times but i definitely got to give credit for the inspiration to Toby broadfield , I loved that build thread

Hoping to get things wet in the next week or so

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along! Can't wait to see what this will look like once it is done!

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Following along! Can't wait to see what this will look like once it is done!

Thankyou, neither can I!

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Rinsing some Florida crushed coral tonight Ile be mixing 20 lbs of this with 40lbs Carib sea special grade for my substrate

 

[danreef55]

Just a suggestion if it isnt too late.... I built a stand for my sump. This will avoid any bending down to work on things.

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Just a suggestion if it isnt too late.... I built a stand for my sump. This will avoid any bending down to work on things.

Yeah….. I’ve pushed this idea around in my initial planning however my basement is shallow it’s only about 6ft tall and just didn’t work with what I was planning with the manifold,gear,frag tank. And the cubby hole i wanted to create to keep all apex gear and electronics out of the way. What im planning to do is get a little mechanic stool on wheels I can sit down and do what I need to do

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Filling has begun !

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Up and running! here’s a look at my herbie converted overflow still playing with the gate valve to find the right spot

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Well a little update :Things are going slower then i would like frag tank is ordered and should be here in a week or two system is filled with Rodi ran a bunch of tests on all the plumbing and pumps getting the herbie drain dialed in was a pain and still is not 100% finally got some missing pieces from BRS this week and got started on the electronic cubby to hold all my apex gear might regret using Mdf for the sill but i had it available and decided to use it going to put a heavy coat of paint on it hopefully it holds up

starting to run out of space i don’t understand how some reefers het this all under cabinets lol

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Tanks is has been running for just over 30 days now and is fishless cycled with dr Tim’s ammonia and nitrite is 0 redosed ammonia last Saturday back to 2ppm and it was gone in 24hours and never seen a change in nitrite testing, black Friday haul!!!! (2) Radion xr15 pros,rms mounting system for just under 1000$ merry Christmas to myself

Fishroom update: or as my beautiful wife like to call it my nuclear reactor

Added a sump lid out of black 1/4pvc sheets I had to combat some evaporation I don’t have a ATO hooked up to this system yet manually topping off almost a gallon of Rodi every morning got the electronics cubby painted still need to perfect some wire management, purchased 2 used VorTech mp40s on here for a fair price but not functional need new wet sides and a power supply but HUGE shoutout to ecotech for their customer service even for buying used equipment they stand behind their product’s reguardless and took the time to walk me through troubleshooting and help me diagnose and fix the issues and get replacement parts ordered I got a new 24”x24”x12” frag tank from modular marine

Just need to get this connected to the system making everything estimated 105gallons in total I will be shutting down my other two tanks and getting fish moved over soon!!!

 

[jdpeters]

Rinsing some Florida crushed coral tonight Ile be mixing 20 lbs of this with 40lbs Carib sea special grade for my substrate

How do you like that mix? I wonder if it would be nice to mix crushed coral with ocean direct

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

How do you like that mix? I wonder if it would be nice to mix crushed coral with ocean direct

Trying to go for that more natural look so far so good currently has a little diatoms hopefully it runs it course and I won’t have to get too aggressive with it

 

[jdpeters]

Trying to go for that more natural look so far so good currently has a little diatoms hopefully it runs it course and I won’t have to get too aggressive with it

Diatoms are a good sign of an eventually balanced tank.

If I plumb a 3/4 return for my 40 breeder and plan to run a media reactor or two and possibly a UV down the line, do you think I have to choke the reactor manifold down to 1/2 or can I keep it at 3/4 fittings?

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Diatoms are a good sign of an eventually balanced tank.

If I plumb a 3/4 return for my 40 breeder and plan to run a media reactor or two and possibly a UV down the line, do you think I have to choke the reactor manifold down to 1/2 or can I keep it at 3/4 fittings?

You can keep the manifold 3/4 and either use reducing tee or a bushing to get your 1/2 connection before the reactor that’s what I’ve done here with push connect fittings threaded into my tees

 

[jdpeters]

You can keep the manifold 3/4 and either use reducing tee or a bushing to get your 1/2 connection before the reactor that’s what I’ve done here with push connect fittings threaded into my tees

Thanks for responding that’s what I plan on doing. I just placed my order at BRS and really overshot the fittings so I have excess to play around with

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Thanks for responding that’s what I plan on doing. I just placed my order at BRS and really overshot the fittings so I have excess to play around with

Noo you ordered fittings from BRS!!! that must have cost a fortune

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

PVC Schedule 40 Gray Fittings

Shop gray Schedule 40 PVC fittings. Durable, professional-grade connectors for industrial and commercial water systems. Full range of elbows, tees, and more.

alscoplastics.com

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

End of year update still going slow with this but nothing happens good fast in this hobby frag tank installed and running moved over two occupants of my old frag tank and shutting down my old one it’s available for sale if anyone is interested https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/deep-blue-frag-tank-complete-setup.1087220/#post-13144057

Wife got me an awesome little 3D printed “Kingsley reef” sign for Christmas it’s the name of our street we have always jokingly called my tanks this I guess it’s now official lol…Neptune auto feeder installed this thing is noisy when it feeds was not expecting that for the price point/quality I’ve used cheaper Amazon ones in the past that are 50% quieter then this thing but again it’s a feeder not a big deal and really impressed with this nicrew gen 2 100w led light so far it’s basically a copycat radion for Less then half the price reviews are promising so I have high hopes for this
I got some diatoms showing mostly in the sump and filter socks and a little in the frag and display but nothing too crazy hopefully it runs it course and disappears I have a very small amount of GFO running almost not even enough for the mini brs reactor but it’s keeping my phosphate at 0.07 from 0.24 when I originally tested after the cycle not feeding much yet either the two damsels in the frag tank eat hikari pellets every other day I am dosing microbacter 7 at 15 ml a day just because I always have in last setups and 40ml of live phytoplankton to help feed and boost the population of 1/2 gallon of copepods i introduced from Dinkins aquatic garden really only maintenance I’m doing so far is gallon a day top off manually since I dont have a ato tank yet ,filter socks are getting changed every Wednesday and Thursday waiting on a new power supply and wet sides for my mp40s still need a skimmer been eying up the curve 7elite i think that would be more then enough for this setup but until then happy new year everyone

 

[jdpeters]

Noo you ordered fittings from BRS!!! that must have cost a fortune

It did and I’m ticked. I paid an exorbitant amount for shipping and after 3 days they still haven’t picked my order. I’m about to ask for my money back. Aquacave had my order shipped within 2~ hours.

Do you have a better source for schedule 80 fittings? I love that BRS has an app to purchase with which made it really easy.

 

[jdpeters]

PVC Schedule 40 Gray Fittings

Shop gray Schedule 40 PVC fittings. Durable, professional-grade connectors for industrial and commercial water systems. Full range of elbows, tees, and more.

alscoplastics.com

Holy cow! I got ripped off, this places prices are insanely cheaper.