Deep Blue 57 Edge ATI Acro Garden

[Water Dog]

Progress!

Here’s the board, primed and painted.

Here are the components mounted. Still waiting on the FMM to come in which will go diagonally to the lower right of the WXM in the upper right corner. It will go slightly offset so that the WXM Aquabus cable can clear.

 

[Water Dog]

Finished the control cabinet, now on to the plumbing...

 

[Water Dog]

Finished up the plumbing today. Because of the sump design and space constraints of the Sapphire 26, I will be setting up my ghost overflow as a Herbie. Here is the preliminary layout of my equipment down below.

From left to right... Deltec SCA 1351 skimmer > Turbo’s Aquatics L2 Rev 4 ATS > Sicce ADV 5.5 return pump > Avast Marine K1 kalk stirrer.

Hopefully I’ll get her filled and leak tested sometime this week.

 

[Water Dog]

With aspirations for this being a dedicated acropora tank, I recognize that not only is stability important chemistry wise, but it is important to maintain stable temperatures throughout the season as well. With summer around the corner, I think I’ve just made my last big equipment purchase for my tank. With the @premiumaquatics 15% off Spring Weekend sale, I just scored a JBJ Arctica Titanium 1/10 HP chiller for almost $100 off! Big fan of Premium Aquatics as they also helped me get my custom Reefbrite 36” XHO strip in the silver housing in order to color match with my ATI Sunpower.

With the addition of the chiller, I think I will make change to my return plumbing and have one return dedicated to the Sicce ADV 5.5 return pump and the other return dedicated to the chiller for more efficient cooling of the tank.

 

[RedReefer]

Nice setup! I ran this same tank, with a 6 bulb ATI fixture and reef brite strips. I had great success with acro's.

 

[Water Dog]

Thanks! I’m a really big fan of the relatively compact Reefer 250ish dimensions of these DB 57 tanks. The addition of the ghost overflow makes it nice and sleek with plenty of room for aquascaping and uninterrupted flow. For me, going with the ATI Sunpower was a no brainer for a dedicated acropora tank. You really can’t beat the intense, even par distribution and virtual shadow elimination of these fixtures.

 

[JerSaint]

This looks like an amazing build! Sub'd!

 

[NorCal Reefer]

Sweet build. Love the overflow! It gives it a very clean look.

 

[mich2599]

Been thinking about getting a DB 57 as well...you are making it very tempting

 

[Water Dog]

Gonna be doing the freshwater fill and plumbing leak test this weekend... stay tuned!

 

[OutsideBrian]

Any updates? I am living vicariously over here

 

[Water Dog]

Leak testing with fresh water was a complete success. The plumbing is fully sealed... no leaks! I have to say, I am very impressed with the Modular Marine ghost overflow. Even though I’m not running her to her full Beananimal potential because of sump space limitations, it is performing spectacularly running as a Herbie. It’s fully dialed in and dead silent. The only noise is a slight tricking noise in the sock compartment of the Trigger Sapphire 26 sump. The overflow itself as well as the plumbing going into the sump is not producing any noise whatsoever!

 

[Water Dog]

The tank is now placed in its spot and leveled with cedar shims. I’m waiting on a couple of white end tables, one to go over the the ATO container and hold my Watson Marlow peristaltic pump on its shelf and CaRx set up on top and the other to elevate my chiller so it can exhaust out the window. Hopefully I’ll get her filled with saltwater and have the rock work placed this weekend.

 

[count krunk]

What are your temps without the chiller running?

 

[Water Dog]

I’m not up and running yet, but the house is old with no central air. Without an air conditioner in that isolated back spare bedroom room, ambient temperatures can get into the high 80s to mid 90s back there in the height of summer. No amount of fans will help with those kind of ambient temperatures. Fortunately, it’s only like that for a couple of months out of the year. It’s enough of a concern though, to maintain temperature stability for my plannned acropora only tank, that investing in a chiller is worth it to me.

 

[count krunk]

ahh i see.

What that is a bummer to need a chiller in CT!

I have a nano set up on my porch. Will see how it does. I monitored a tank filled with water for a while to see what temps got to.

So far it has been hovering around 79-80 after the lights come on. Come this weekend I will be hanging a MH 10-15" off its surface. I wonder what the temps will look like then.

 

[Water Dog]

CT is weird like that. In the peak summer season there is always a stretch of stifling high 90s low 100s days with crazy humidity. Without central air, it’s tough to keep ambient temperatures down in certain parts of the house. My prior tank after a long break from the hobby was a Biocube 29 with Nanobox LEDs installed into the hood. Leaving the lids open with fans blasting down on the surface of the water, on the hottest of days, it was still very difficult to keep temperatures down in that tank without floating ice bags. That’s a hassle I don’t want to deal with for this build.

With this tank, since I’m going for an acro garden, I’m trying to do everything I can to keep things as stable as possible. Hence the ATI T5 fixture for maintaining an even blanket of shadow free lighting, a calcium reactor for maintaining stable Alk and Ca and the chiller for maintaining stable water temperatures during the hottest months of the summer.

 

[MaiReef]

following. I like the attention to detail.

 

[Jimbo662]

Great looking setup!

 

[Water Dog]

Calcium reactor station is complete! Originally, I wanted to put the ATO reservoir below the table, however a support ridge beheath the shelf doesn’t allow for enough clearance. It ended up being a blessing in disguise as upon further thought, if I put the CaRx on top of the table, unwanted nuisance algae will grow in the reactor due to light spill from the tank. So my GEO 612 now rests beneath the table in a DIY acrylic tray that will also hold a leak detector sensor in case the CaRx springs a leak. My Watson Marlow 505u variable speed peristaltic pump fits like a glove on the shelf. The secondary effluent chamber will go inside of the stand. Plus, my DIY dual stage regulator is definitely sexy enough to be displayed atop the stand!