d2mini's "Essential Focus" Mixed Reef Build

[LoneStarReef]

Great build! Been silently following it for a while. So I am thinking about doing a similar setup for my water change system. I live in Dallas and I am concerned about the small water lines freezing in the winter. I know you guys are a bit warmer in Houston but have you had any problems?

WATER MIXING STATION

I needed to figure out where I could put some tanks, and how I could get water to them.
Since my garage is detached from the house and doesn't have a water supply, that was out.
I have a hose bib on the back corner of the house so I decided that's where I would tap in for my water source. Since i have a ground level back deck that is near the only location I can really put the new tank, i figured that would be a good spot for the storage tanks. I decided the easiest way to create shelter for them is to purchase one of those plastic tool sheds at home depot. This ended up working out great size-wise. I built a wood platform so they would be elevated and keep the plumbing raised off the ground. I'm able to do all the filling/mixing with the turn of various valves and I also have barbed spigots for filling my water jugs from either the fresh or saltwater tanks. The pump is an Iwaki that was feeding my chiller on my previous build. I've always stored water in my garage before, but temps in there would "only" get to the high 90's. This location gets the afternoon sun so I have a feeling I'm going to be dealing with even warmer temps. Not much I can really do about that though so hopefully it doesn't create a problem. At least the tanks themselves won't be getting any direct sunlight. Some of you might be concerned about the weight of the water on the deck but one good thing is that the tanks are sitting directly over one of the main support beams, which I'm not 100% sure of, but should be sitting on the ground. We've had a few days with temps in the mid 80's and the water stayed surprisingly cool.

The pics below show how I hooked everything up. But first thing's first!
When we moved in, the deck was rust red. Blechh.
So we painted it a lovely shade of turquoise! The backyard GLOWS.

I let it dry for a week. Now time to start hooking things up.
I tapped into the outdoor faucet using a Y splitter with individual shut-offs and attached a quick-fitting adaptor for the 1/4" water line.
I ran black line (more protection from sunlight) up the electrical conduit to the eve of the roof. Then ran it along the eve to the area of the shed.
Under the eve by the shed location was an electrical outlet. So we tapped into that outlet and ran an extension down the wall with a new box. This will be my power for the pump, and probably a booster pump in the near future.
I ran the water line down the outside of this conduit and then into a quick-fitting in the side of the shed.
For the power cord, I cut hole large enough for a 3 prong plug to fit through and then used an white plastic escutcheon to hide hole, attached it with some silicone and filled the space around the cord with more silicone. Same with around the quick-fitting. So things should be pretty water tight. The walls of the shed are hollow so I don't want water getting in there and having no place to go.
Inside the shed the water line connects to the other side of that quick-fitting and runs to the RO/DI which I mounted to the front of the stand. I originally wanted to mount it to the wall of shed up high but there wasn't really enough room and I would have had to fabricate some extra support. The stand is much more secure and it's easier to access this way.
The fresh RO/DI water leaves the DI and then goes up to the top of the fresh water container and enters through a float valve. I should be able to get almost 55g worth.
The waste water leaves the shed through another quick-fitting on the opposite side and goes under the deck, watering my foundation.
The last couple pics just show the plumbing inside the saltwater tank. I figured I might as well spend an extra few minutes to split the line to help a little with mixing.

The other good thing about this location of the water tanks, is that I have the option to eventually run both fresh and salt water lines out of the shed, further along the house, and then into the house to the new tank.

That's about it. Enjoy the pics!

 

[d2mini]

Great build! Been silently following it for a while. So I am thinking about doing a similar setup for my water change system. I live in Dallas and I am concerned about the small water lines freezing in the winter. I know you guys are a bit warmer in Houston but have you had any problems?

Nope, didn't seem to have any problems this past winter.

 

[Niterunner77]

Man what a joy it has been to read this thread. I literally sat here for about 3.5 hours and read this whole thread! Lots of ups and downs but I have learned a lot and took a lot of notes on several things! Wonderful attention to detail in every aspect of this build! I'm in the beginnings of my build and was glad to hear all the positive comments on "The Package" from TBS. Will definitely be purchasing from them when I get all my hardware setup! Once again it was a pure joy to read this thread! Probably will have some questions as I go along on my journey and while it won't be this big or as detailed, It will be my own piece of a ecosystem/reef that I can be proud of!

 

[d2mini]

Man what a joy it has been to read this thread. I literally sat here for about 3.5 hours and read this whole thread! Lots of ups and downs but I have learned a lot and took a lot of notes on several things! Wonderful attention to detail in every aspect of this build! I'm in the beginnings of my build and was glad to hear all the positive comments on "The Package" from TBS. Will definitely be purchasing from them when I get all my hardware setup! Once again it was a pure joy to read this thread! Probably will have some questions as I go along on my journey and while it won't be this big or as detailed, It will be my own piece of a ecosystem/reef that I can be proud of!

Awesome. Glad to hear you were able to gain a few tidbits out of it.

 

[tripdad]

Just checking back in on your build, everything is looking great. You are definitely living up to your past works and then some. Now about those crabs.......you may want to talk to your physician concerning your ball sponge, LOL. Seriously, I am loving the diversity in the tank.

 

[Xclusive Reef]

Well D2Mini your tank looks amazing.. I have learned a few things but the most important is that I am not going to try Triton at this point. To many things can go wrong.

 

[Greybeard]

Been reading your saga

Thanks for posting. I'm in the process of setting up a 150g peninsula, and plan to use the Triton method. I too have read the 'don't trim the macro algae' suggestion, and had already decided _not_ to follow that advise. What's the point of growing macro, sequestering all those nutrients, and then allowing it to die off and put that gunk back in the water column? Just doesn't make sense to me.

As to the 0 nitrates... I can only dream of having that particular issue. Been keeping reef tanks for many years, and I've always struggled with nitrates. If it does fall to zero, well, I can always dose nitrate if it becomes necessary!

Thanks again!

 

[HolisticBear]

What's the point of growing macro, sequestering all those nutrients, and then allowing it to die off and put that gunk back in the water column? Just doesn't make sense to me.

In the Triton manual, they state you both let some die off and trim to minimize excess die off. I specifically asked Triton how you find that balance because it seemed like something I'd screw up, this was their reply.

 

[Scott.h]

Dennis, when you had the crash it's apparent that the algae sucked the nutrients out of the water and starved itself. My question is - were you extremely reliant on the algae with a lower amount of live rock and other export tools to where you could have just remove the algae all together? Maybe you would have had nutrients go up, but not to the extent of a crash? Im sure you had reasons, but I'm just trying to learn from your experience and loss.

I'm purposely keeping my macro volume low. I'm daily adding n and p (which is quite a hassle keeping the two from manipulating each other, along with the hassle from amount of testing). But my thoughts are the macro isn't really needed anyway at this point for nutrient control, but also the more algae I have, the more nutrients Id have to dose as well. At the same time my sump is very large in comparison, and my means of nutrient export doesn't hinge on macro alone. It's more less a safeguard, while allowing the corals to utilize what the algae releases.

So aside from the fact you should have been adding N and P, what were the other factors that came into play?

 

[d2mini]

Dennis, when you had the crash it's apparent that the algae sucked the nutrients out of the water and starved itself. My question is - were you extremely reliant on the algae with a lower amount of live rock and other export tools to where you could have just remove the algae all together? Maybe you would have had nutrients go up, but not to the extent of a crash? Im sure you had reasons, but I'm just trying to learn from your experience and loss.

I'm purposely keeping my macro volume low. I'm daily adding n and p (which is quite a hassle keeping the two from manipulating each other, along with the hassle from amount of testing). But my thoughts are the macro isn't really needed anyway at this point for nutrient control, but also the more algae I have, the more nutrients Id have to dose as well. At the same time my sump is very large in comparison, and my means of nutrient export doesn't hinge on macro alone. It's more less a safeguard, while allowing the corals to utilize what the algae releases.

So aside from the fact you should have been adding N and P, what were the other factors that came into play?

When the macros first started dying off I didn't know what was going on. By the time I talked to triton and figured it out it was too late and most of it was gone.
The problem with not having ANY macros (because you've got low nutrients) is that your still dosing elements to feed the algae bed, which could create problems in your display if there is nothing in the fuge to soak it up. That's my understanding anyway.
Now technically, you could use the other reef elements that don't contain those extra elements.

 

[d2mini]

Here's some FTS from today. Just over 4 months since the restart.
Color is ok for the most part. Growth could use a kick in the pants but technically the tank is only 4 months old, so....

 

[Flipside]

Still got the scroll, I see. [emoji4]
Tank's looking great, sir!

 

[d2mini]

Still got the scroll, I see. [emoji4]
Tank's looking great, sir!

Thanks, Leo!
I think Urban Aquatics may take it once they are ready. I can't clean my glass! lol

 

[Xclusive Reef]

Nice restart D2.. you went back to triton? lol just kidding. did you start with calcium reactor or did you go with ESV?

 

[reefwiser]

Good to see everything going in the right direction.

 

[revhtree]

Here's some FTS from today. Just over 4 months since the restart.
Color is ok for the most part. Growth could use a kick in the pants but technically the tank is only 4 months old, so....

WOOT and looking great man!! Nice to see it progressing again!

 

[d2mini]

Nice restart D2.. you went back to triton? lol just kidding. did you start with calcium reactor or did you go with ESV?

ESV Bionic 2-part for now. Planning on a CaRx.
I'm having a heck of a time with high magnesium, confirmed by 3 test kits. Had a bad batch of Fritz RPM salt that was testing over 1800 ppm. My tank is at 1650 and doesnt seem to be dropping.
I'm now using Red Sea blue bucket because nothing is really elevated.
Don't know why mag continues to be so high. ;Bored

 

[bubbaque]

I had an issue with their salt also. I was getting really low potassium in one batch.

 

[dima]

Rock work is really great!

 

[d2mini]

How about some new coral photos?
Some old stuff, some new stuff.