ChukeeR's 266G Reef Savvy + Synergy Reef Build / Upgrade

revhtree · Jun 3, 2015

Nice!

HiddenUser · Jun 10, 2015

Couple updates - My finger is healing well. I had my stitches taken out Monday, not fun, but I'm glad that's over. It's still pretty stiff and EXTREMELY sensitive. My hand surgeon says I have about 2-3 more months until its 'fully healed'.

As for my tank build ---

Picked up a Marineland 65G tank....36x18x24. I drilled the side of the tank and glued in an overflow box. Debating if I'm going to use my main return to circulate water, or go with a separate pump. Probably will go with a separate pump so that my main return pump can be dedicated to one function. It will then drain back into the sump (return or skimmer chambers). Going to use it as a refugium of sorts. The first 2 SW fish my girlfriend and I purchased were 2 Tomato Clowns whom have since become a very territorial mated pair, so they're going to end up residing in the 65G. Maybe one of these days I'll pull out the rocks they lay their eggs on and try to my luck at raising them. ALSO, sentimental value from the girlfriend is preventing me from giving them back to the fish store or trying to sell them locally.

I'd put the two Tomato Clowns into the main display, but we also have 2 Snowflake Clowns and I'm to afraid to see if they could co-exist.

Speaking of Return Pumps...I decided to go with a Red Dragon 3 Speedy 230 Watt. It has not arrived on my doorstep yet, but I'll take some pictures when it does. I know there are a thousand other less expensive options, but here are some of the reasons I went this route:
- I did not want to drill my sump for an external return.
- I prefer to go with a submersible pump. One less leak to worry about versus an external pump.
- I can control the amount of power going to the pump thus adjusting the flow rate rather than a ball / gate valve dialing back the flow if there is to much.
- The amount of flow this pump can produce while only consuming 230 Watts. I figure that even if I run this pump at max (230 Watts) it'll save me in the long run in terms of the electric bill.
- I'm a gadget geek and I can't help myself from wanting the 'latest and greatest' despite potentially being a consumer guinea pig.

I've read / heard that many people have been steered away from RE products due to the length of time to get replacement parts if something breaks, but they now have a US based warehouse in FL which you can order directly from, or there are also a couple of vendors who deal directly with them as well. At the moment I don't have any experience with having to order replacement parts, but I've been told that getting replacements should not be such a hassle --- We'll see.

I'm also debating on selling my 2x Radion Gen 3 Pros and running a 60" ATI Powermodule T5/LED Hybrid Fixture with my new tank rather than 4x or 5x Radion Pros. Yes I know - This negates the energy savings of running a DC return pump, but it just seems like T5 lighting yields better results in terms of coloration and growth. I've been very successful in growing LPS under my Radions, but whenever I get frags that came from T5 lit tanks, I have noticed that as time goes on the colors fade / morph. Example: The expensive rainbow Acans I bought a few months ago have morphed and look rather boring now, despite doubling in size.

That's all I got for now!

BetURWrasse · Jun 10, 2015

great build, following along

dorky · Jun 10, 2015

wow such a great build

HiddenUser · Jun 11, 2015

Updated pics of sump room progress...

HiddenUser · Jun 23, 2015

New toy showed up today!

Fin · Jun 23, 2015

Very nice build! I have to follow this one. I am waiting on a Reef Savvy tank too, but it's only a 125. Looking forward to watching this one come to life!

booth2010 · Aug 19, 2015

Man idk how I missed the update from June lol. Hows the hand? Should hopefully be getting closer to %100 now. Anymore fun updates? Whats the eta on the tank?

BetURWrasse · Aug 19, 2015

ChukeeR said:
New toy showed up today!

I also ordered an RD3 for my return, love the control it gives me. And near silent also.

FrankAbagnale · Sep 21, 2015

Update!

ReeferEric · Sep 24, 2015

Nice so far. Love the Bubble King skimmers, I'm on my second one or rather I have two now. Update!!!

booth2010 · Oct 20, 2015

Chukee where you been? Any updates in the last 4 months? I keep checking here every now and then expecting to see a big ol tank full of water lol.

HiddenUser · Oct 20, 2015

I know, sorry!! - Updates to come soon I promise!! Summer kind of got away from me. I found out that my 1 year old yellow lab loves to do DockDogs Competitions so my tank build kind of took a back seat to that.

booth2010 · Oct 20, 2015

Awesome!

HiddenUser · Oct 23, 2015

Alright folks - It's been a long time coming, but the tank is finally making its trip from FL to MN. I want to reiterate that it took so long to get the tank because of me, NOT Felix / Reef Savvy. He actually would call or message me periodically asking if I was ready for him to start building the tank. I'm probably one of the only customers he's had asking him to hold off on building a tank, haha!!

Couple pics of the tank!

and more here if you're interested - https://www.facebook.com/ReefSavvy/posts/884863021568614

booth2010 · Oct 23, 2015

That looks awesome. I didn't realize you were having them make the stand too. Do you have everything to start plumbing it when it arrives? I'm sure your ready to get it wet.

HiddenUser · Oct 23, 2015

booth2010 said:
That looks awesome. I didn't realize you were having them make the stand too. Do you have everything to start plumbing it when it arrives? I'm sure your ready to get it wet.

Yep - I really liked the modern look of the stand. I should have most of the plumbing already, but was waiting for it to show up first before I made my final decisions on some stuff...need to order some flex PVC for the return as well.

HiddenUser · Oct 28, 2015

It's almost here!!

Black Pearl · Oct 28, 2015

placed my order in Feb, hopefully get it before Christmas. Can't wait to get that notice, was also hoping I would get my stand first, all my plumbing just about finished
I'm excited for ya, will keep watching

HiddenUser · Oct 29, 2015

My tank has arrived in MPLS!

Just waiting for the shipping company to call and arrange a delivery date.

On another note...I may have a problem...my 66G sump may no longer be large enough for my system.

When I was originally planning this build the sump was going to reside in the stand underneath the tank (not the basement) and I was going to have a Ghost Overflow with the 2 returns coming through the rear panel. Obviously plans changed and the design of the tank evolved, but now I'm worried that I might have inadvertently exceeded my sumps capacity in the event of a power outage. or when I need to do maintenance.

If I'm figuring correctly, there's ~9.5 gallons of water for every inch of tank water that is drained in the event of a power outage. Based on the custom overflow design the return bulkheads are about 2-3" below the waterline (need to get actual measurements when my tank shows up), but that means I need at least 30 gallons of sump volume available at all times just in cause of a power outage, excluding the volume of water already in the plumbing, skimmer, etc.

I've thought that maybe I'd do check valves, but it seems like an extra thing to take care of and its probably something that will fail when I need it most. I was also considering plumbing my returns in an upside down 'J' shape and drilling some anti-siphon holes, but I'm nervous that they will clog with algae or something else and will also fail when I need them most. I was looking into just adding a Rubbermaid stock tank below my sump but I don't have enough space for the size I'm thinking I would need.

Looks like I'll be waiting for Petco to have a $1/Gallon sale or looking on Craigslist for a 150 gallon tank that is no more than 24" wide. Looking at something this large so that I can hold the water volume drained from the tank in addition to the water drained from the sump and the plumbing. Then I can just have the water from the sump overflow down into this tank (which I could use to grow macro on a reverse light cycle), have a baffled section and put my return pump in the tank rather than the sump. This should give me more than enough extra capacity in the event of a power outage and I don't need to worry about failing valves, plumbing tricks, etc.