Dave’s 230 Gallon Reef

ddrueckh

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I started this project in May of 2018 when I ordered a custom tank and stand from Crystal Dynamic Aquariums. The tank is 76X29X24. The stand is epoxy coated steel with a wood wrap. The plan is for this to be an SPS dominated system. Below is a list of equipment that will be used on this tank.

-Sump: @Crystal Reef Aquatics Triton TRS60
-Lighting: ATI Sunpower 8X60”
-Refugium Light: Kessil A160
-Skimmer: Life Reef Custom 27”
-Skimmer Pump: Fluval SP-4
-Heaters: 2 Eheim 200 watt
-Return Pump: Fluval SP-4
-Powerheads: 2 Maxspect Gyre 250’s
-Controller: 2016 Apex
-Automatic Water Change: DOS
-Calcium Reactor: Geo CR612X2
-Regulator: Carbondoser
-Peristaltic Pump: Kamoer
-ATO: Tunze 3155 with BRS Top Off Doser

I am currently working on plumbing. Once done, I will perform a leak test. If there are no leaks, I will begin filling the tank with RODI next week. Below are some pictures of my progress.

AWC lines, ATO line and emergency overflow.
23cf19bc80eefb1f3e699d5980b24f29.jpg


Tank and stand delivered.
9da54613ad3f299dc2ef0df6a6c7ae40.jpg


Ramp to move the tank and stand into the house.
eee3643369da5c2ec7213ba1878bcef7.jpg


Tank and stand in place!
f3dc7d83d91618c2d76da1fd81f15c60.jpg


Sump in place.
6ebdd2f8a8ecffed95e9738cb2f6eefe.jpg


Light hung.
0634595f06e9e841fdb1ce9f679d83d1.jpg


Canopy built.
24f07d5d3d76d644074a908d726ee504.jpg


Electric Panel added.
3e49734b2ce3ae30c1a1ac3c56d70854.jpg


Working on plumbing.
6eddf1c89525104dd877f77112f6059e.jpg


That is where things are at today. More to come soon!

Dave
 
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ddrueckh

ddrueckh

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Nice...following along! Where does your emergency drain/AWC discarded water drain to?

Thanks. The emergency drain just dumps the water outside the house. I am most concerned about the ATO not turning off. It has never happened to me, but I would rather be prepared. The AWC drain goes to an empty container in the garage for now. I may connect it to my RO/DI Waste line in the future which runs directly into a laundry room drain. For now, I want to see that what is taken out matches what’s going in. The fresh saltwater container and waste container are the same size.
 
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ddrueckh

ddrueckh

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It has been a little while since I posted. I finished my plumbing, filled the tank and added live rock from KP Aquatics. They were great to work with. They collected the rock on a Sunday, shipped it on Tuesday and I had it Wednesday morning. It was very fresh. After collecting it, the rock was kept in water. The tank is cycling. I’m in no rush to add any livestock.

71ca7a83704a09785f5b71acac33cd97.jpg


0ffd67cdab80cd3a40a741e2ec7b1274.jpg


4c8a00a54ad0c99985d8285241aabc5a.jpg


f5cae0a13fd81e51d0680dcae9cf31df.jpg
 

Toomnymods

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how dead set are you on using that gravel? its going to be a gigantic nitrate and phosphate sponge unless you do weekly gravel cleanings..
 
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ddrueckh

ddrueckh

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how dead set are you on using that gravel? its going to be a gigantic nitrate and phosphate sponge unless you do weekly gravel cleanings..

I disagree. From my experience, sand is a huge nitrate/phosphate trap. Even BRS/WWC said this in their latest video series. This is a very thin layer of coarse reborn carx media. I plan to blow it out with a powerhead once a week. I believe bare bottom is best, but I don’t like the look of bare bottom. I think this is much better than sand. I have lots of flow and don’t expect much accumulation in the media. It is my first time going this route, but have seen beautiful tanks at Neptune Aquatics in San Jose, CA that use this method. In fact, they use a 2-3” deep layer. The nice thing is you get a huge pod population living in this coarse media. Maybe that is why it works.
 
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PANONHAS

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Looks great. I am curious to see how the reborn works out for you. I have a bare bottom right now. I have to say it looks really cool with the reborn media.
 
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As my rock cures in the display, my fuge is up and running. I have a ball of Chaeto, an elevated tray 4” deep with Reborn carx media and a Kessil H160 to light it. I am currently running the fuge light 14 hours a day at about 50%. I have been slowly raising the percentage so I don’t burn the Chaeto. I only run two T5 bulbs for 2 hours a day in the display. My goal is to get the Chaeto growing well so it outcompetes any nuisance algae in the display once I turn all the lights on. I hope I can find a balance between the fuge light and the display lights so it keeps nuisance algae out of the display.

0d8efd638902caddd8f82b1fba329a38.jpg
 

Asonitez

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Man amazing build. I love the sump and have one of my own. Thats a BUTTLOAD of Reborn media. It should be great for buffering yoursystem. I'm most curious about how the media looks after algae and coraline starts growing. I think it will look really cool. I'm guessing your not going to get an sand dwellers?
 
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ddrueckh

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Man amazing build. I love the sump and have one of my own. Thats a BUTTLOAD of Reborn media. It should be great for buffering yoursystem. I'm most curious about how the media looks after algae and coraline starts growing. I think it will look really cool. I'm guessing your not going to get an sand dwellers?

Thanks for the comments. I have been following your build. The Crystal Reef Aquatic sumps are really nice. I won’t have any sand dwellers or wrasses that sleep in the sand. Though I have seen successful tanks that use this media as substrate, I still view this as an experiment. All I can say is that long run, sand has not been my friend. I hope this works better. Time will tell.
 

Asonitez

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Oh awesome!!! Worst case scenario you have excellent media for your calcium reactor!!!

I’ve had sand for years and found the sand need maintenance. I always go for the slightly larger grade , tropic eden reef flakes or even grand select,

And I make a habit of constantly mixing it and releasing the fines before they take hold. Tropic eden doesn’t have many fines but caribesea aragamax reefloor tends to have a bit I’m contemplating getting a pair of diamond sand sifting gobies to go to town in it. Sure it might be cloudy for a while but after a bit the fines will have released.
 
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ddrueckh

ddrueckh

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My protein skimmer and pump arrived earlier this week. I found some time this evening to assemble the skimmer and got it running. The skimmer came very well packaged and the build quality is very nice. I can’t wait to see how it performs over time.

 

Quovadis Green

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I started this project in May of 2018 when I ordered a custom tank and stand from Crystal Dynamic Aquariums. The tank is 76X29X24. The stand is epoxy coated steel with a wood wrap. The plan is for this to be an SPS dominated system. Below is a list of equipment that will be used on this tank.

-Sump: @Crystal Reef Aquatics Triton TRS60
-Lighting: ATI Sunpower 8X60”
-Refugium Light: Kessil A160
-Skimmer: Life Reef Custom 27”
-Skimmer Pump: Fluval SP-4
-Heaters: 2 Eheim 200 watt
-Return Pump: Fluval SP-4
-Powerheads: 2 Maxspect Gyre 250’s
-Controller: 2016 Apex
-Automatic Water Change: DOS
-Calcium Reactor: Geo CR612X2
-Regulator: Carbondoser
-Peristaltic Pump: Kamoer
-ATO: Tunze 3155 with BRS Top Off Doser

I am currently working on plumbing. Once done, I will perform a leak test. If there are no leaks, I will begin filling the tank with RODI next week. Below are some pictures of my progress.

AWC lines, ATO line and emergency overflow.
23cf19bc80eefb1f3e699d5980b24f29.jpg


Tank and stand delivered.
9da54613ad3f299dc2ef0df6a6c7ae40.jpg


Ramp to move the tank and stand into the house.
eee3643369da5c2ec7213ba1878bcef7.jpg


Tank and stand in place!
f3dc7d83d91618c2d76da1fd81f15c60.jpg


Sump in place.
6ebdd2f8a8ecffed95e9738cb2f6eefe.jpg


Light hung.
0634595f06e9e841fdb1ce9f679d83d1.jpg


Canopy built.
24f07d5d3d76d644074a908d726ee504.jpg


Electric Panel added.
3e49734b2ce3ae30c1a1ac3c56d70854.jpg


Working on plumbing.
6eddf1c89525104dd877f77112f6059e.jpg


That is where things are at today. More to come soon!

Dave
Can I ask what did the tank and stand cost
 

Bnagle

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It has been a little while since I posted. I finished my plumbing, filled the tank and added live rock from KP Aquatics. They were great to work with. They collected the rock on a Sunday, shipped it on Tuesday and I had it Wednesday morning. It was very fresh. After collecting it, the rock was kept in water. The tank is cycling. I’m in no rush to add any livestock.

71ca7a83704a09785f5b71acac33cd97.jpg


0ffd67cdab80cd3a40a741e2ec7b1274.jpg


4c8a00a54ad0c99985d8285241aabc5a.jpg


f5cae0a13fd81e51d0680dcae9cf31df.jpg

Cool idea for substrate! I like the look and hope it works out
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

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