DIYreefer
Well-Known Member
Since I've started a thread for my grow out system I figured I may as well start one for my 125 as well. The tank is an OLD Oceanic 125 (6'er). I bought it used many years ago, if I had to guess I would say it's likely around 20+ years old. It's been up and running for about 9 months now. I built the stand and canopy to match the cabinetry in my new house (wife is happy 
) and I built the sump as well. Speaking of, the sump is made out of plywood and pond armor. It's literally about as basic as it gets with just one baffle to keep the water in the skimmer chamber at a consistent level. I built it due to not being able to fit anything larger than a 20g long inside the stand, and that wouldn't be quite large enough to house my skimmer. I've built quite a few tanks and sumps using pond armor over the years and swear by it. I trust it far more than anything made out of acrylic, or glass panels held together with silicone!
For filtration I'm using an old BM B9000 skimmer (in sump), and roughly (maybe more, Idk) 40 lbs of VERY old and established live rock rubble, along with 6 or 7 liters of Sachem bio matrix. I'm a big fan of biological filtration and really rely on that more so than anything else. The skimmer is set to skim very dry and it's main purpose is oxygenation. I'm also a big fan of UV and run a 55w Jeboa 24/7. Additionally, I run a small amount (1 cup) of activated carbon passively in a filter bag in the sump. This gets changed out when I do my every ten day or so 10g water change. My water is always ridiculously clear and is the first thing anyone comments on when they see the tank in person.
Lighting is pretty simple. I'm using 6 nicrew hyper reef LEDs. I've got 4x50w and 2x100w all controlled by the little Kessil controller. I've also got a pair of 80w T5's both of which are ATI blue+ bulbs. The LEDs run for approximately 12 hours total (they ramp up/down throughout the day) and the T5's run for 5 hours.
Flow is also pretty basic. I've got a Jebao dcp-5000 set on it's lowest setting running as my return pump. I keep it as low as possible in order to maximize contact time with the skimmer and LR rubble. The main source of flow is a pair of Jebao cross flow pumps, one at each end of the tank. These have to be kept at a very low setting as well or they start kicking up sand everywhere.
I don't run a controller, and haven't since back when the aqua controllers were all the rage. I've found that I'm personally a better reefer when I keep a more hands on approach. That stated, I'm not huge into frequent testing either. If I do, I become obsessive with chasing specific numbers and once again, in my experience that tends to lead to negative results. I don't use an ATO on either of my systems currently. Not due to having any major issue with them, just haven't found one I completely trust just yet. When I go out of town I have someone come by the house and top off the tanks and feed the fish. Temp control isn't required on this system as the 55w UV keeps it right at 78 degrees all day and all night. Just got lucky with that one!
Since my corals are all relatively small (some are VERY small), and I recently moved over quite a few to my grow out tank, dosing isn't required at the moment. Once it is necessary, you guessed it, DIY 2 part. Lol. I'm all about DIY!
Picture time.
No namer red acro. Due to it's location in the tank I couldn't get a good pic of it, but the inside of the polyps at the tips are neon green. The picture does it no justice, this is quite prevalent in person.
) and I built the sump as well. Speaking of, the sump is made out of plywood and pond armor. It's literally about as basic as it gets with just one baffle to keep the water in the skimmer chamber at a consistent level. I built it due to not being able to fit anything larger than a 20g long inside the stand, and that wouldn't be quite large enough to house my skimmer. I've built quite a few tanks and sumps using pond armor over the years and swear by it. I trust it far more than anything made out of acrylic, or glass panels held together with silicone!For filtration I'm using an old BM B9000 skimmer (in sump), and roughly (maybe more, Idk) 40 lbs of VERY old and established live rock rubble, along with 6 or 7 liters of Sachem bio matrix. I'm a big fan of biological filtration and really rely on that more so than anything else. The skimmer is set to skim very dry and it's main purpose is oxygenation. I'm also a big fan of UV and run a 55w Jeboa 24/7. Additionally, I run a small amount (1 cup) of activated carbon passively in a filter bag in the sump. This gets changed out when I do my every ten day or so 10g water change. My water is always ridiculously clear and is the first thing anyone comments on when they see the tank in person.
Lighting is pretty simple. I'm using 6 nicrew hyper reef LEDs. I've got 4x50w and 2x100w all controlled by the little Kessil controller. I've also got a pair of 80w T5's both of which are ATI blue+ bulbs. The LEDs run for approximately 12 hours total (they ramp up/down throughout the day) and the T5's run for 5 hours.
Flow is also pretty basic. I've got a Jebao dcp-5000 set on it's lowest setting running as my return pump. I keep it as low as possible in order to maximize contact time with the skimmer and LR rubble. The main source of flow is a pair of Jebao cross flow pumps, one at each end of the tank. These have to be kept at a very low setting as well or they start kicking up sand everywhere.
I don't run a controller, and haven't since back when the aqua controllers were all the rage. I've found that I'm personally a better reefer when I keep a more hands on approach. That stated, I'm not huge into frequent testing either. If I do, I become obsessive with chasing specific numbers and once again, in my experience that tends to lead to negative results. I don't use an ATO on either of my systems currently. Not due to having any major issue with them, just haven't found one I completely trust just yet. When I go out of town I have someone come by the house and top off the tanks and feed the fish. Temp control isn't required on this system as the 55w UV keeps it right at 78 degrees all day and all night. Just got lucky with that one!
Since my corals are all relatively small (some are VERY small), and I recently moved over quite a few to my grow out tank, dosing isn't required at the moment. Once it is necessary, you guessed it, DIY 2 part. Lol. I'm all about DIY!
Picture time.
No namer red acro. Due to it's location in the tank I couldn't get a good pic of it, but the inside of the polyps at the tips are neon green. The picture does it no justice, this is quite prevalent in person.
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