Is there a support group for those people waiting on their Reef Savvy tanks? I am now at the end of month 8. I knew it was going to be at least 6 months when I ordered it, so I am still patiently waiting.
I was going to wait until I actually had the tank before starting this thread, but figured I wouldn't be the first one that got an "early" beginning to their build threads. I like to use my threads as tank diaries, so all of my posts about this tank will be here.
I currently have a 10 year old Oceanic 140 and will be downsizing a tad in size, but upgrading in quality . The tank will be just short of 125 gallons (124.68). The dimensions will be 48" x 24" x 25" (H) and will be ½" Starphire glass on three sides. Perimeter Euro-bracing. Black silicone.
The overflow will be the re-designed Ghost Overflow that Reef Savvy now uses on their tanks. I will be plumbing it with the Bean Animal style setup.
Lighting will be a 48" ATI Powermodule LED/T5 Hybrid with eight T5 bulbs and three 75 watt LEDs. This is on order and I hope to have it in a week or so.
Right now, I am planning on going with the following lamp combination:
4-Blue Plus
2-Purple Plus
2-Coral Plus
I am currently trying to figure out how I want to mount the light. I would prefer that the light sit on the tank with some sort of bracket. ATI is working on such a mount, but it is looking like it will be a while before that gets to market.
A picture of the ATI Hybrid fixture from the internet (I do have mine now, just too lazy to take pics)
Stand - I am planning on using my existing stand, which was built by a local cabinet maker, who is also a reefer. The stand was stained originally, but has some damaged spots in the finish from salt water. I am considering sanding it down and painting it a satin black. Of course, if I can figure out how to salvage the existing finish, that would be preferable.
Pictures of the stand when it was new (in 2006). I will not be using the canopy, since I will be going with the ATI fixture. If it still looked this great I wouldn't be considering painting it. The wood is still in great condition, it is just the finish that is marred now in a few places, like the front molding and the tops of the doors. Also needs new hinges and door handles.
I love this stand, because it has no center brace and is very sturdy.
Return Pump - will be the Eco-Tech Vectra M1 (2000 gph capability). I will also be using 2 3/4" Sea Swirls on the returns. I have the pump and Sea Swirls already.
Sump - I am undecided here. I built a 40B sump a couple of years ago and I may use it, build another one, or go with the Synergy Reef CL-44 sump in the Red Mercury color scheme.
If I use my existing sump, I would want to make some changes to it and it might be easier to just make it over from another 40B, or build it from scratch out of glass. I want a larger skimmer / reactor section and remove the frag section that I found I rarely used. This is the sump after I first built it. This is the configuration that I am using now.
I will be going back to using a calcium reactor and have a GEO reactor that I will be using the Aquarium Plant Carbon Doser electronic Co2 regulator.
Reactors - I plan to use the new Avast Marine Spyglass reactor for activated carbon and possibly GFO, since you are supposed to be able to run dual media in these reactors. I have the medium Spyglass. These have their own pump, so I am hoping to be able to plumb the sump without the use of a manifold. We will see. I will need more room in the sump though, these reactors are larger than I anticipated.
Algae Turf Scrubber - I am on the list for one of Floyd Turbo's new versions of his algae scrubber, the L2 - Revision 4. Those should be available soon.
Skimmer - I currently have a RLSS R8-i, which I am pretty happy with. If I do go with another skimmer, I think I would probably upgrade to the 10" RLSS DB10i. That would be later down the road though, as I think the skimmer I have, along with the scrubber, should be sufficient. I also use an Avast Marine skimmate collector.
Flow - I have one MP-40QD and one MP-40W (antique). I will likely add another QD to use the pair on opposite ends of the tank and may use the old one on the back wall. Along with the Sea Swirls (providing about 800gph each from the return pump), I should be able to have great water movement inside the tank. I also have two Eco-Tech back-up batteries to keep the MP-40s going in the event of a power outage. I would likely daisy chain the two batteries and run only one of the MP-40s off of those for extended run time.
Controller - I have a fairly new APEX controller, so I will be using that on the new tank.
ATO - I have a Tunze Osmolator new in the box.
Chiller - This is something that I already have from when I ran metal halides. It is a Delta Star Pro Series 1/4HP chiller. I will probably plumb it into the new system, but I doubt that it will be needed. It does get hot where I live and if the AC ever goes out while I am not home, the chiller would be a great backup to keep the tank cool.
Substrate - Tropic Eden Tonga Reeflakes - I have 120 pounds.
Rock - I have about 75 pounds of Pukani rock that has been cycling in a separate container since July.
Salt - I will be using HW Marinemix Reefer Specialty. I have 640 gallons worth of mix on hand, thanks to the recent sale at BRS.
RO/DI water - I have a SpectraPure 5 Stage Max Cap 75 gallon per day unit.
My intention is to have a mixed reef, but I do like SPS. Would like to have a few clams also. I only have about 8 fish in the 140, but plan to have a few more in the new tank.
So, that's about it. All I need now is the tank and I can get this thing up and running fairly quickly. I do want to wait until I get the tank here before I tear down my existing system, which I will need to do to refinish the stand. I am hoping that won't hold me back too long. I will have to arrange for temporary housing for my fish and a few corals that I plan to keep in the new system.
Hopefully I will have something new to post here soon. Thanks for reading!
I was going to wait until I actually had the tank before starting this thread, but figured I wouldn't be the first one that got an "early" beginning to their build threads. I like to use my threads as tank diaries, so all of my posts about this tank will be here.
I currently have a 10 year old Oceanic 140 and will be downsizing a tad in size, but upgrading in quality . The tank will be just short of 125 gallons (124.68). The dimensions will be 48" x 24" x 25" (H) and will be ½" Starphire glass on three sides. Perimeter Euro-bracing. Black silicone.
The overflow will be the re-designed Ghost Overflow that Reef Savvy now uses on their tanks. I will be plumbing it with the Bean Animal style setup.
Lighting will be a 48" ATI Powermodule LED/T5 Hybrid with eight T5 bulbs and three 75 watt LEDs. This is on order and I hope to have it in a week or so.
Right now, I am planning on going with the following lamp combination:
4-Blue Plus
2-Purple Plus
2-Coral Plus
I am currently trying to figure out how I want to mount the light. I would prefer that the light sit on the tank with some sort of bracket. ATI is working on such a mount, but it is looking like it will be a while before that gets to market.
A picture of the ATI Hybrid fixture from the internet (I do have mine now, just too lazy to take pics)
Stand - I am planning on using my existing stand, which was built by a local cabinet maker, who is also a reefer. The stand was stained originally, but has some damaged spots in the finish from salt water. I am considering sanding it down and painting it a satin black. Of course, if I can figure out how to salvage the existing finish, that would be preferable.
Pictures of the stand when it was new (in 2006). I will not be using the canopy, since I will be going with the ATI fixture. If it still looked this great I wouldn't be considering painting it. The wood is still in great condition, it is just the finish that is marred now in a few places, like the front molding and the tops of the doors. Also needs new hinges and door handles.
I love this stand, because it has no center brace and is very sturdy.
Return Pump - will be the Eco-Tech Vectra M1 (2000 gph capability). I will also be using 2 3/4" Sea Swirls on the returns. I have the pump and Sea Swirls already.
Sump - I am undecided here. I built a 40B sump a couple of years ago and I may use it, build another one, or go with the Synergy Reef CL-44 sump in the Red Mercury color scheme.
If I use my existing sump, I would want to make some changes to it and it might be easier to just make it over from another 40B, or build it from scratch out of glass. I want a larger skimmer / reactor section and remove the frag section that I found I rarely used. This is the sump after I first built it. This is the configuration that I am using now.
I will be going back to using a calcium reactor and have a GEO reactor that I will be using the Aquarium Plant Carbon Doser electronic Co2 regulator.
Reactors - I plan to use the new Avast Marine Spyglass reactor for activated carbon and possibly GFO, since you are supposed to be able to run dual media in these reactors. I have the medium Spyglass. These have their own pump, so I am hoping to be able to plumb the sump without the use of a manifold. We will see. I will need more room in the sump though, these reactors are larger than I anticipated.
Algae Turf Scrubber - I am on the list for one of Floyd Turbo's new versions of his algae scrubber, the L2 - Revision 4. Those should be available soon.
Skimmer - I currently have a RLSS R8-i, which I am pretty happy with. If I do go with another skimmer, I think I would probably upgrade to the 10" RLSS DB10i. That would be later down the road though, as I think the skimmer I have, along with the scrubber, should be sufficient. I also use an Avast Marine skimmate collector.
Flow - I have one MP-40QD and one MP-40W (antique). I will likely add another QD to use the pair on opposite ends of the tank and may use the old one on the back wall. Along with the Sea Swirls (providing about 800gph each from the return pump), I should be able to have great water movement inside the tank. I also have two Eco-Tech back-up batteries to keep the MP-40s going in the event of a power outage. I would likely daisy chain the two batteries and run only one of the MP-40s off of those for extended run time.
Controller - I have a fairly new APEX controller, so I will be using that on the new tank.
ATO - I have a Tunze Osmolator new in the box.
Chiller - This is something that I already have from when I ran metal halides. It is a Delta Star Pro Series 1/4HP chiller. I will probably plumb it into the new system, but I doubt that it will be needed. It does get hot where I live and if the AC ever goes out while I am not home, the chiller would be a great backup to keep the tank cool.
Substrate - Tropic Eden Tonga Reeflakes - I have 120 pounds.
Rock - I have about 75 pounds of Pukani rock that has been cycling in a separate container since July.
Salt - I will be using HW Marinemix Reefer Specialty. I have 640 gallons worth of mix on hand, thanks to the recent sale at BRS.
RO/DI water - I have a SpectraPure 5 Stage Max Cap 75 gallon per day unit.
My intention is to have a mixed reef, but I do like SPS. Would like to have a few clams also. I only have about 8 fish in the 140, but plan to have a few more in the new tank.
So, that's about it. All I need now is the tank and I can get this thing up and running fairly quickly. I do want to wait until I get the tank here before I tear down my existing system, which I will need to do to refinish the stand. I am hoping that won't hold me back too long. I will have to arrange for temporary housing for my fish and a few corals that I plan to keep in the new system.
Hopefully I will have something new to post here soon. Thanks for reading!
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