CMO's SPS Dominant 165G Mixed Reef Build (Triton)

[Javamahn]

Great idea! Luckily I don't have any issues on my rocks, but will try this if I ever do.... please no.....

Even if it is not evident I would blow off the rocks and siphon anyway. It will only help. I don't remember which of the moderators of that thread tried but hey was putting chaeto balls directly on the sand where the Dino's were and I think he had some success but that could have been a shadowing effect as opposed to directly inhibiting. Good luck your tank is worth the effort and you should be proud of how beautiful it has become. If you need any sanity checks feel free to reach out. Hopefully this goes away quickly

 

[CMO]

after so long - how do you think your eel has taken to the pipe that you built for him.
does he still like it?

what are your views? would you have done anything different?
is the pipe open from both ends?
what will you do when he gets bigger?

sorry for the questions - i love the idea so i am wanting to learn more.

While he hasn't regularly used it yet, I'm confident he will once he get's larger. I built the tunnel with 2" PVC pipe to house him at his max size so he's just too skinny to feel comfortable in there right now. He really likes to jam himself in tight spaces under rocks so the PVC is just too large for now. For the size he is now he'd probably need a 1" pipe max to really feel comfortable and use it. So I guess the only thing I'd do differently is to add both a small and large tunnel to accommodate the eel in all stages of life. And yes, the tunnel is open on both ends which you can see in my first post.

But you know, even if the eel never uses it, the fish seem to really enjoy it as well. My angel fish sleeps in it most nights, until recently my Jawfish moved in and is now protecting it with a vengeance.

 

[Dmsick]

Wow! Fantastic tank. The work under the tank is every bit as impressive as what’s in the tank. I wish I could hire someone to come and help with my sump area!

 

[Salty.Reefer]

Super Awesome tank! beyond clean with the sump and wiring. Im in OC too! would you happen to still have the Pax reactor?

 

[CMO]

Super Awesome tank! beyond clean with the sump and wiring. Im in OC too! would you happen to still have the Pax reactor?

Thank you! Nope, I sold that a while back now. Sorry.

 

[Salty.Reefer]

Thank you! Nope, I sold that a while back now. Sorry.

No worries. I figured.

 

[CMO]

Added another 25 watts of UV for 50 watts total now.

 

[CMO]

FTS as of 10.7.18

 

[CMO]

Newest additions - Spotcinctus clownfish pair from Cultivated Reef. Love these guys.

 

[leroy_jenkinz]

Man you have an amazing tank and prolly even more amazing bank account

 

[CMO]

Lol. Not really, it's all in the tank

 

[CMO]

Skeletor eel finally getting big enough to feel comfortable in the rock / PVC tunnel I made for him!

 

[CMO]

A few new SPS frags awaiting placement. Photo not the greatest under mostly whites but just wanted to document the starting point on these guys.

 

[CMO]

Just got my first serious apex alert that my overflow level float was activated which shut down the main pump to prevent it running dry or overflow DT. Found the culprit to be a heavily clogged strainer on the main drain. Haven't looked back there since the original build so about a year now.

 

[CMO]

1 year update.

Since starting the tank in January of 2018 I have done only 1 water change due to chemicleaning the tank to control cyano (successfully - it did not come back). I used Triton from day 1 and went through all the typical algae and bacterial blooms over the first 9 months or so until the tank matured. I also battled amphidinium dinos spurred by my nutrient levels hitting zero. I was successful in battling the dinos by elevating nutrients, adding UV, increasing bio diversity and manual removal. Even with a much smaller fuge than recommended by Triton I have to dose both NO3 and PO4 to keep nutrient levels above zero.

All in all the first year of this tank was very successful with almost no coral or fish losses. At this point my SPS is nearly fully stocked so year two should be fun to watch the grow out. I'm really enjoying the Triton method and find the results to be outstanding and the system easy to manage. The tank is pretty much on cruise control at this point with very minimal maintenance required.

I'm currently dosing 48 ml of each core 7 solution daily.

 

[Javamahn]

Well done Chad. Merry xmas

 

[CMO]

Well done Chad. Merry xmas

Thanks! You too. Hope the new tank is doing well and dino free this time! Luckily I was able to beat the amphidinium and keep some sand (the sand discoloration is just algae and detritus at this point).

 

[Whip]

Thanks for documenting your build and you have an amazing tank!

Can you comment on the Ultra Reef UFF003 media reactor? Do you like it? Does it work? Pros vs cons?

I like the concept, but they seem to be hard to find and look like they have dropped off the face of the planet. I found some for sale and am thinking about picking one or two up.

 

[CMO]

Thanks for documenting your build and you have an amazing tank!

Can you comment on the Ultra Reef UFF003 media reactor? Do you like it? Does it work? Pros vs cons?

I like the concept, but they seem to be hard to find and look like they have dropped off the face of the planet. I found some for sale and am thinking about picking one or two up.

Thanks! I ended up not needing to run GFO once the tank established and in fact need to dose PO4 now. So, I really only used it for a month or so. However, I can tell you that it is very well made (includes titanium screws) and performs great overall. A few considerations:

• It's pretty large and I found that I barely filled it with media on my 165g.
• The unique overflow design can be a positive or negative depending on your setup and wants. It provides a super clean in-sump setup with minimal clutter if you have the space but you lose control over the reactor return location (given the overflow design) and need to be careful not to position it near the edge of the sump or water may overflow.
• Removal of the media chamber requires you to hold the base of the unit in the sump which means getting in the water to change the media. For me this was frustrating since I didn't have a ton of room in the sump so I felt like I was knocking things around trying to get it off at times. But again, this feature is probably pretty nice if you have enough sump space to easily access it.
• If you have it near a fuge light you may get a bit more algae buildup than a comparable unit without the overflow design. The overflow design allows algae to grow on the outside of the reactor as well.

I got mine from Unique Corals which still has them. Also, if you are local to Orange County CA I would sell you mine for 50% retail if you want it. I'm using an external BRS reactor for my carbon.

 

[Whip]

Thanks! I ended up not needing to run GFO once the tank established and in fact need to dose PO4 now. So, I really only used it for a month or so. However, I can tell you that it is very well made (includes titanium screws) and performs great overall. A few considerations:

• It's pretty large and I found that I barely filled it with media on my 165g.
• The unique overflow design can be a positive or negative depending on your setup and wants. It provides a super clean in-sump setup with minimal clutter if you have the space but you lose control over the reactor return location (given the overflow design) and need to be careful not to position it near the edge of the sump or water may overflow.
• Removal of the media chamber requires you to hold the base of the unit in the sump which means getting in the water to change the media. For me this was frustrating since I didn't have a ton of room in the sump so I felt like I was knocking things around trying to get it off at times. But again, this feature is probably pretty nice if you have enough sump space to easily access it.
• If you have it near a fuge light you may get a bit more algae buildup than a comparable unit without the overflow design. The overflow designs allows algae to grow on the outside of the reactor as well.

I got mine from Unique Corals which still has them. Also, if you are local to Orange County CA I would sell you mine for 50% retail if you want it. I'm using an external BRS reactor for my carbon.

Thank you for the detailed response. I really appreciate it. I wish I was local to OC; I’d probably take you up on your offer!

I did see they are in stock and on sale at UC; decisions, decisions, decisions!

As you point out, I was a little concerned about algae on the outside. Maybe that could be mitigated by how easy it is removed to be maintained. You’ve given me a lot to think about. My XXL 750 is inbound (due to arrive tomorrow), so that’ll give me a chance see how the sump is gonna be laid out.

I am pretty sure I am going to be running an external skimmer to reduce clutter and increase the available space for a fuge, so access to the reactor area would be decent (I hope).

Thanks for your help and I am wishing you further success with your tank. I’ll be continuing to watch and learn from your thread.