erk
Valuable Member
Well, it's about time I created a tank thread for my aquarium. I've been apprehensive about posting anything as I was waiting for the tank to age a bit. Then I ran into some issues and now, finally, I am ready to share my reef tank.
A little about myself:
I am a Mechanical Engineer working on my graduate degree in Electrical Engineering. I work for a defense contractor in the DFW area. I'mengaged married to a beautiful woman who is also my best friend. She doesn't mind my obsession with aquariums as long as I keep the mess to a minimum.
Initial Design:
What I wanted was a tank without a center brace, but with a frame. I would say that the rimless aquariums scare me a bit and the eurobrace aquariums are expensive and larger than I have room for. Therefore I settled on the 40 breeder. For the sump, I wanted something larger than the DT and with enormous room for an unlit refugium. I was able to snag a standard 55 gal for free and converted it into a sump.
Below are images from Creo 2 of the full assembly.
Filtration:
When I first started this hobby 4 years ago, I went the conventional route of running carbon, GFO, lit refugium, etc. I eventually learned other methods that allowed me to utilize less equipment, and I used that knowledge in designing this aquarium.
First, the only "reactor" I run is a zeovit reactor stuff with Brightwell zeolites. This isn't for the zeovit method, but because it is a safe haven for bacterial growth. Second, I run a large skimmer. It is the PM CV626 venturi skimmer. I love it for the tall reaction chamber. Consistently pulls out waste material. Third, I dose vodka. I used to dose vinegar, but I was dosing too much to meet the demands of my tank. I love fat healthy fish. And last, I have ~20 gal refugium filled with rock. Tons of seasoned rock from my first tank that ran for 2 years that I transferred to a holding tub and continued to keep running. There is so much rock, it can't even all fit underwater.
With this method, I can keep nitrate and phosphate nearly undetectable. Actually, as I found out later, I have to continuously feed the tank else my nutrients drop too low and I start losing corals.
Lighting:
I purchased an 8 bulb T5 grow fixture from Amazon and retro fitted it with two Lumia 5.2s. I suspend the fixture about 10 inches above the water. At the water surface, this gives me about 500 par with ~250-300 par at the top of the rock my SPS sit. The sand bed ranges from 50 par to 150 par. This gives me tons of places to arrange corals depending on light requirements.
Flow:
I use a Gyre xf150 for flow in the display. It pulses every 10 sec at about 40% power. I recently purchased a TI BLDC motor controller that allows 5V PWM control. I plan to use this to control the Gyre and generate more natural flow patterns.
Controller:
My own design. A Raspberry Pi 3 communicating over serial to an Arduino Uno. Took this route because I had analog sensors and didn't want to buy new digital sensors. Was cheaper to develop my own ASCII serial communication between the two boards. I wrote the main controller code in Python and it pulls data thru various APIs. I use this to simulate cloud cover and moon phase, and will eventually use it for tidal info and to vary dawn/dusk times.
Equipment List:
Sicce 3.0 return pump
Vertex 1.5L Zeovit Reactor The pump died and the body cracked
PM CV626 Venturi Skimmer powered by a pump I can't remember the name of, ;Facepalm
Bubble Magus Curve 7
Gyre xf150
2 Tunze 6055 controlled via Tunze 7097
Two Eheim Heaters
Couple Hydor Koralia nano powerheads for sump chamber circulation
Single Sicce powerhead. All the Koralia pumps died on me
BRS mini reactor for carbon and GFO when needed. Upgrading to a full 10" housing. Carbon for the leathers.
Lots of DIY other stuff. I can explain more in detail if there are any questions.
Light is a DIY hybrid using an Amazon 8 bulb T5 fixture and 2 Lumia 5.2 pucks. I removed the 2 center bulbs and installed the Lumia pucks in their place.
Controller is a custom RPi design. Taking it to the next level with a custom made CCA motherboard for the RPi.
A little about myself:
I am a Mechanical Engineer working on my graduate degree in Electrical Engineering. I work for a defense contractor in the DFW area. I'm
Initial Design:
What I wanted was a tank without a center brace, but with a frame. I would say that the rimless aquariums scare me a bit and the eurobrace aquariums are expensive and larger than I have room for. Therefore I settled on the 40 breeder. For the sump, I wanted something larger than the DT and with enormous room for an unlit refugium. I was able to snag a standard 55 gal for free and converted it into a sump.
Below are images from Creo 2 of the full assembly.
Filtration:
When I first started this hobby 4 years ago, I went the conventional route of running carbon, GFO, lit refugium, etc. I eventually learned other methods that allowed me to utilize less equipment, and I used that knowledge in designing this aquarium.
First, the only "reactor" I run is a zeovit reactor stuff with Brightwell zeolites. This isn't for the zeovit method, but because it is a safe haven for bacterial growth. Second, I run a large skimmer. It is the PM CV626 venturi skimmer. I love it for the tall reaction chamber. Consistently pulls out waste material. Third, I dose vodka. I used to dose vinegar, but I was dosing too much to meet the demands of my tank. I love fat healthy fish. And last, I have ~20 gal refugium filled with rock. Tons of seasoned rock from my first tank that ran for 2 years that I transferred to a holding tub and continued to keep running. There is so much rock, it can't even all fit underwater.
With this method, I can keep nitrate and phosphate nearly undetectable. Actually, as I found out later, I have to continuously feed the tank else my nutrients drop too low and I start losing corals.
Lighting:
I purchased an 8 bulb T5 grow fixture from Amazon and retro fitted it with two Lumia 5.2s. I suspend the fixture about 10 inches above the water. At the water surface, this gives me about 500 par with ~250-300 par at the top of the rock my SPS sit. The sand bed ranges from 50 par to 150 par. This gives me tons of places to arrange corals depending on light requirements.
Flow:
I use a Gyre xf150 for flow in the display. It pulses every 10 sec at about 40% power. I recently purchased a TI BLDC motor controller that allows 5V PWM control. I plan to use this to control the Gyre and generate more natural flow patterns.
Controller:
My own design. A Raspberry Pi 3 communicating over serial to an Arduino Uno. Took this route because I had analog sensors and didn't want to buy new digital sensors. Was cheaper to develop my own ASCII serial communication between the two boards. I wrote the main controller code in Python and it pulls data thru various APIs. I use this to simulate cloud cover and moon phase, and will eventually use it for tidal info and to vary dawn/dusk times.
Equipment List:
Sicce 3.0 return pump
Bubble Magus Curve 7
2 Tunze 6055 controlled via Tunze 7097
Two Eheim Heaters
Single Sicce powerhead. All the Koralia pumps died on me
BRS mini reactor for carbon and GFO when needed. Upgrading to a full 10" housing. Carbon for the leathers.
Light is a DIY hybrid using an Amazon 8 bulb T5 fixture and 2 Lumia 5.2 pucks. I removed the 2 center bulbs and installed the Lumia pucks in their place.
Controller is a custom RPi design. Taking it to the next level with a custom made CCA motherboard for the RPi.
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