** FLSharkvictim / Custom Rimless SCA 150 Build ***

[FLSharkvictim]

Hello everyone, I am back with a brand new build that I have been designing for over 2 years now!
My name is Matt Paul and I was born and raised in Clearwater, FL.. I have grown up around the Ocean and going down to the FL KEYS all of my life. I first become an Open water diver in 1990 and an Advanced diver in 1994 and from there on I had a massive obsession with Reef tanks and corals. Right around 2004 thru 2008 I worked at my buddies LFS which really helped me keep a stable & a successful reef tank over the last 10 yrs. I just got done tearing it down last week since I now have everything I need to start my new SCA 150 build. Let get into my old tank first before we get into the new one and all of the Equipment that I have specially chosen for my new system. I have pretty much spent almost my entirety of my life fully immersed in the aquarium industry. From working as an aquarium service technician in my local aquarium shop to doing installs and Maintenence. I started my adventure into reef keeping and growing SPS corals in the mid-'90s. I have always had a love & passion for the ocean and its inhabitants. I have had the privilege of diving on some of the most beautiful dive wrecks & reefs around the world and really getting a chance to view these corals in their natural environment. Here are some pictures of my first tank that was over 100 gallons my 120 reef ready specs being the following 48''x24''x24''.
120 Mixed Reed at 3yrs

120 Mixed Reed at 5yrs old:

My 120 Mixed Reed @ 7yrs:

Mixed reef @ 9YRS OLD:

My 120 @ 10 yrs:

Here some of the last few shots I took before I broke down my 120 mixed reef that was up and running for over 12 years.

Last shot I took of my old tank before i TORE IT DOWN!

Frog & Octospawn Lps CORALS

This Ultra Blue claim I got at #RAP in Orlando in 2017 which its something I wanted to keep and add into my new tank so my buddy has it at his LFS.

Here are some of the last few shots of the new custom sump I had made at the time and how I plumbed it.

 

[mmw64]

Hello everyone, I am back with a brand new build that I have been designing for over 2 years now!
My name is Matt Paul and I was born and raised in Clearwater, FL.. I have grown up around the Ocean and going down to the FL KEYS all of my life. I first become an Open water diver in 1990 and an Advanced diver in 1994 and from there on I had a massive obsession with Reef tanks and corals. Right around 2004 thru 2008 I worked at my buddies LFS which really helped me keep a stable & a successful reef tank over the last 10 yrs. I just got done tearing it down last week since I now have everything I need to start my new SCA 150 build. Let get into my old tank first before we get into the new one and all of the Equipment that I have specially chosen for my new system. I have pretty much spent almost my entirety of my life fully immersed in the aquarium industry. From working as an aquarium service technician in my local aquarium shop to doing installs and Maintenence. I started my adventure into reef keeping and growing SPS corals in the mid-'90s. I have always had a love & passion for the ocean and its inhabitants. I have had the privilege of diving on some of the most beautiful dive wrecks & reefs around the world and really getting a chance to view these corals in their natural environment. Here are some pictures of my first tank that was over 100 gallons my 120 reef ready specs being the following 48''x24''x24''.
120 Mixed Reed at 3yrs

120 Mixed Reed at 5yrs old:

My 120 Mixed Reed @ 7yrs:

Mixed reef @ 9YRS OLD:

My 120 @ 10 yrs:

Here some of the last few shots I took before I broke down my 120 mixed reef that was up and running for over 12 years.

Last shot I took of my old tank before i TORE IT DOWN!

Frog & Octospawn Lps CORALS

This Ultra Blue claim I got at #RAP in Orlando in 2017 which its something I wanted to keep and add into my new tank so my buddy has it at his LFS.

Here is a shot of the new custom sump I had made at the time and how I plumbed it.

Amazing tanks. Following.

 

[FLSharkvictim]

This was the fun part, draining an old tank and taking it all apart!

Drained it after I sold off all of my Coral and Fish and all of my Apex gear~

Almost drained & now comes the fun part taking out all of the sand

 

[FLSharkvictim]

''First, I would like to start with my motto when it comes to this hobby - I ALWAYS use quality products, I believe that 50% increase in coast is definitely worthwhile, even if you only gain another 5% of the product reliability especially if you have a mature tank with years of time and effort invested like many of us do. Keep in mind that your tank is a place where water and electricity come together''

Ok, let's start this thread, with what size and kind of tank I went with for the new build. After going back and forth with a RESEA 725xl or an SCA 150, I decided to go with the SCA tank! They are all made with Starfire glass and their tanks that are 12mm thick and made very solid. I knew from all of my experience that I wanted to try a more SPS Dominate type tank this time around w/ a minimalist type scape! Also, SCA builds a really awesome stand and I will be floating my canopy with all of my AI Hydra HD LEDs from the ceiling... Here is the tank I have chosen:

My Equipment list:
SCA Rimless 150 - 60x24x24
EcoTech Marine MP40QWD's
TUNZE - 6055's
Reef Octo REGAL Protein Skimmer incl a VarioS2
Cor20 Neptune Return Pump (2000gph)
EcoTech Marine M1 for the return pump (2000gph)
Brs Dual Reactor / RowaPhos & ROX 0.8 Carbon
APEX EL Controller
APEX DOS
APEX FMM Module.
Eshopps IV Master Doser Incl Slave
Avast KALK reactor K1 Model
Avast ATO
BRS 6 Stage RODI system
Aquatec Booster Pump 1/4'' 8800
BRS peristaltic Pump to feed my KALK reactor / 50 mL per minute flow rate
Reef Octo REGAL Protein Skimmer
Santa Monica Algae Scrubber
2 - 25 gallon Tanks / for mixing station
Various-5 REGAL RETURN PUMP
2 - Orphek Atlantik Compact V4 (Gen 2) LED fixtures
ReefBrite Led Panel Light & much much more...




A pix of my SCA 150 Rimless and custom drilled for a 20'' external overflow box.

My stand tank and canopy which I will be floating from my ceiling.

Going to be floating the canopy and lights:

My Cabinet

My Synergy External Overflow box since I wanted to run a bean aminal type system:

Top shot of my Synergy External Overflow box that runs 3 1.5'' drains

 

[Muttley000]

Following along because I’ve seen how your builds turn out, and I’m sure this one will be awesome too.

 

[FLSharkvictim]

Following along because I’ve seen how your builds turn out, and I’m sure this one will be awesome too.

Many thanks for the kind words @Muttley000 - Yes this new build will be something really special there is no doubt about it as soon as I have it all hard plumbed, along with one of Buds, Turbo Aquatics Algae scrubber, like below:
When I ordered my sump from Synergy Reef Systems CL-44 red and white color and Rick over at Synergy will be custom making me a bracket in order to fit one of Bud's Rev 4 L-2 Turbo Scrubber.

Just in case, here are the Specs for the L-2 model that's above!
Rated for up to 2-4 cubes per day!

Bud Carlson - What is an Algae Scrubber?
If you have never heard of an Algae Scrubber before, you're about to be like "what?" So you take this screen, rough it up, put light on it, and run water over it and presto! You get algae. Guess what? Algae grow by turning nutrients like Nitrates and Phosphates into...um...more algae. I was trying to make that sound really magical but that's pretty much it. So algae grow, which sucks out the by-products tank inhabitants produce. Seems pretty simple, right? EXACTLY so why aren't you running one?? Here is all of the info for Algae Scrubbers:
https://www.turbosaquatics.com/


For the next post, let's get into my Equipment list and my 50-Gallon Saltwater mixing station and how I do my Automatic water changes.

 

[fishybizzness]

Many thanks for the kind words @Muttley000 - Yes this new build will be something really special there is no doubt about it as soon as I have it all hard plumbed, along with one of Buds, Turbo Aquatics Algae scrubber, like below:
When I ordered my sump from Synergy Reef Systems CL-44 red and white color and Rick over at Synergy will be custom making me a bracket in order to fit one of Bud's Rev 4 L-2 Turbo Scrubber.

Just in case, here are the Specs for the L-2 model that's above!
Rated for up to 2-4 cubes per day!

Bud Carlson - What is an Algae Scrubber?
If you have never heard of an Algae Scrubber before, you're about to be like "what?" So you take this screen, rough it up, put light on it, and run water over it and presto! You get algae. Guess what? Algae grow by turning nutrients like Nitrates and Phosphates into...um...more algae. I was trying to make that sound really magical but that's pretty much it. So algae grow, which sucks out the by-products tank inhabitants produce. Seems pretty simple, right? EXACTLY so why aren't you running one?? Here is all of the info for Algae Scrubbers:
https://www.turbosaquatics.com/


For the next post, let's get into my Equipment list and what exact gear I decide to go and quickly go over my screen name FLSharkvictim!

Mine should be shipping in early January! Can't wait to try it out!

 

[FLSharkvictim]

Morning Reefers,
Let's keep this thread going, SHALL WE!! We will get into #AvastMarine Auto Top Off system that I went with! I selected #Avast Kalk Stirrer and I will show you differnt ways you can run this:

Avast Marine on choosing the correct dosing pump for there Auto Top Offs:
One question we frequently receive concerns which of our two choices of automatic top-off pumps is best. Of course, the short answer is, "it depends". We have two styles of pump available, a peristaltic pump and a diaphragm pump. The peristaltic pump works by means of a motor slowly turning a rolling mechanism which pushes water through a section of tubing by pinching the tubing flat with a roller, and pushing that bit of water along until the next roller in the assembly contacts the tubing again, etc. The result is a slow but very consistent flow rate. The diaphragm pump works differently. It is very similar to an air pump, where a pair of flat rubber disks called diaphragms are actuated one at a time, pulling water (or air) in on one side, then pushing out the other side as the diaphragm closes. Similar to how a heart pumps blood. The main difference between the two for top-off purposes concerns the
ability of the peristaltic pump to prevent backflow when the pump is powered off. In some cases, a top-off reservoir may be situated so that it is higher than the sump that it fills. In this case, if a pump like a diaphragm pump draws water from the reservoir, pushes it through tubing to the sump, and then turns off, the water will continue to siphon "downhill", potentially leading to overfilling of the sump. This is because the diaphragms are partially open when the pump is off. Conversely, the peristaltic pump's roller mechanism simply stops in place, and one roller is always in contact with the tubing, pinching it
closed. Therefore, no water can pass while the pump is off. A peristaltic pump is the best choice when there is potential for unwanted siphoning.


1ST this is how I will be running my @AVAST Marine #Kalk #Stirrer and my diaphragm pump off my Mixing Station. As far as the pumps, I went with one of Avast Marine Diaphram pump to transfer my fresh RODI WATER FROM THE FRESH barrel to my K1 Stirrer which will be installed under my tank! I went with the

Or you can run it off your ATO reservoir.




My Avast Marine ATO system and Avast Diaphragm pump with the Digital Output for my ProfiLux4 controller.

This little diaphragm pump is an excellent choice for automatic top-off duty. Unlike other diaphragm pumps available, this little powerhouse can push water to 60psi (~130ft high). It can also safely run dry, unlike conventional powerheads. It is quiet and runs on 12v DC power. Flow rate is approximately 400mL/min, but note that it is not rated for continuous duty nor saltwater applications. This means for intermittent use (as in ATO usage) it is great, but we do not recommend it for use as a calcium reactor feed pump, for example. It can be used in conjunction with a kalk stirrer, but only to push fresh water into the stirrer. We do not recommend pulling kalkwasser through the pump, as the high pH may shorten the life of the rubber diaphragms.

Optional backup float valve installation The backup float is designed to prevent the ATO feed pump from adding too much water to the system should the main switch box fail. If the pump somehow remains active, the water level will rise high enough for the float to seal the end of the ATO feed tube. This is a mechanical seal which can hold back considerable pressure from a pump or even a pressurized water source. Care should be taken to test the hookup to the valve, mostly to ensure that when the tube is closed, backpressure from the pump does not blow off a tube or fitting somewhere between the pump and float valve. For this reason, we do not recommend using peristaltic (dosing) pumps with the backup valve, since they often produce considerable pressure, and can rupture the tubing between the backup valve and the pump. Also, note that an unsealed kalkwasser stirrer (such as our K1 or K2 models) is incompatible with the backup valve. This is because the valve will shut off water flow to the aquarium, but the ATO pump will continue to add water to the kalk stirrer, possibly causing an overflow at the stirrer. 1. Remove the rubber grommet from the ATO magnetic mounting bracket, and replace with the float valve. 2. Insert 1/4” polyethylene or similar size & material tubing into the top of the float valve. This should be connected directly to your ATO feed pump. Check to ensure that all tubing connections are secured against pressure buildup. 3. Test the ability of the float valve to safely cut off the water flow from the ATO pump. With the ATO switch activated, simply lift up on the float valve and check that all water input stops. Maintenance 1. The ATO kit is designed to require no regular maintenance. The tube should be checked a few times per year to ensure that any sponges or algae do not grow large enough to completely block airflow. 2. The optional float valve contains a narrow opening for water flow. Every few months, check that this opening is free of debris or buildup, and perform a simple emergency shutoff test.

 

[FLSharkvictim]

ng my I would like to talk about my saltwater mixing station and the equipment that I used to build it.
I finally found a really good company who had them on sale with FREE SHIPPING so I grabbed a pair of 25 gallon Ace Roto Mold 25 Vertical Water containers. The company is called Rural King Farm store and I added a link below in case your looking for some bad #$#$ Barrels. They are UV resistant so they will not leave any residue behind like your Brute containers will do unless you clean them. - https://www.ruralking.com/

First, here is a shot of my 1st mixing station w/ a Panworld pump I originally made out of Bute cans and it worked ok. The only problem with going with these Brute garbage cans is they leave a lot of residue ones you're done mixing your salt behind which means you have to clean then vs going with something like one I did on my revised mixing station below:

My Two 25 gallon Storage Vertical Containers for my new Mixing station:

@Bulk Reef Supply -6 stage RODI w/ Aquatech Booster Pump &Pwr Supply.

Some of the PVC parts, fittings and my new 25 gallons Ace Roto Barrels

My 150 GPD Water Saver Upgrade Kit on your RO/DI System

What I love about this upgrade which I highly recommend s that your Water Saving Upgrade Kits is it's the most recommended RODI upgrade. If you have proper pressure (65+ PSI) we highly recommend installing the kit, because it will produce water twice as fast as a standard 75 GPD or 100 GPD membrane while cutting the amount of wastewater in half. The BRS 150 GPD or 200 GPD Water Saver Upgrade Kit will increase the production of any BRS 75 GPD reverse osmosis system to 150 GPD or 100 GPD RO membrane up to 200 GPD without having to use any additional water. With the installation of this kit water production will increase from approximately three gallons per hour to six gallons per hour! It does require 65psi or more into the first membrane in order to function properly and be efficient. If your home's water pressure is less then the recommended PSI do not worry, adding a booster pump is simple and only takes a couple of minutes. After I got my barrels I started looking on this forum and came up with my own custom 50-gallon mixing station and stand that I build out of plywood and 2x4s. See instead of doing one large water change like 90% of reefers on here do, I dose in small increments of about 2 gallons a day. Do you see how I have that white John Guest 1/4'' fitting that was installed on the saltwater barrel?

I have a GHL dosing pump which one stepper motors is connected to this John Guest fitting that feeds the NSW from the mixing station and pushes it into my Synergy Sump! The other Stepper motor on the GHL #MaxiSA dosing pump removes the OSW and I have it where it runs off into the background into my drain off.

The acrylic rod that's 1/4'' in size and that gets connected to one of the stepper motors to pull the NWS out w/ 2 of these acrylic rods in order for me run it about 2inch from the bottom of the barrel:

Here is what my Saltwater Mixing station looks like after I replumbed it along with setting up my 6 Stage RODI w/ dual membrane upgrade. I went with one of Reef Octo return pumps for the mixing station and for mixing the salt. I went with one of the most Reliable pumps on the market today in my opinion, the- The Reef Octo VarioS4 return pump.

Installing the DI first since I was alone doing this!

Installed the Mainstage and just need to install the booster pump since my water pressure was only coming out at 45pSI. If your water pressure is below 45pSI, you will require to run a booster pump in order for the RODI to work properly, if you not you are wasting your money.

I just need to finish up my wire management and my mixing station will have been completed, hard plumbed with a Reef Octo VarioS4 return pump!

Everything works awesome, especially with the new Reef Octo Return pumps, plus, I have had ZERO leaks which I was super happy about since 90% of the time you're going to get a leak or two. Let's keep going shall well!

 

[FLSharkvictim]

Equipment LISTING/ Sump / Lighting / ATO and pumps

SCA Rimless 150 that was Custom Drilled
Synergy Reef System CL-44 SUMP w/ out a Refuge
Synergy Matching 10 gallon ATO Reservoir
Synergy 20'' External Overflow Box w/ 3 1.5inch drains
Buds Turbo Aquatics L-2 Turbo Scrubber (On order)
Reef Octo Regal Protein Skimmer 150 EXT
Maxspect Razor X 300w LED Lighting Fixture 61''
ReefBrite LED strip
Aqua-tech UV ultraviolet Sterilizer 25(w)
BRS Dual Reactor to run GFO & Carbon
BRS Peristaltic Pump 1.1 ML Per Min
Reef Brite Strip Led Light 50/50 - 48''
Dr Tim's One & Only Saltwater Live Nitrfying Bacteria
Avast Marine AUTO TOP OFF System
Avast Marine Diaphragm Pump
Avast Marine 4 multi Purpose Magnet Mount
Avast KALK Stirrer ( K-1 MODEL)
2 TUNZE Turbelle Nanostreams 6055's
EcoTech Marine Vectra L-1 for the a main Return pump
Ecotech Marine Vectra M-1 for the manifold
EcoTech Marine mp40QWD powerhead (4500gph)
EcoTech Marine MP40QWD powerhead (4500gph)
EcoTech Marine - Reeflink
EcoTech Marine Battery Back Up
EcoTech Marine Battery Booster
All Sch 80 Fittings --
Cepex Ball Valves ---
Spears Gate Valves---
Red 1.5inch PVC / Blue 3/4'' PVC pipe and 1'' RED PVC

Here just some photos of the Equipment i choose to run my sca 150:

 

[Muttley000]

On the mixing station plumbing what was the purpose of the union placed right beside the true Union ball valve at each barrel?

 

[FLSharkvictim]

On the mixing station plumbing what was the purpose of the union placed right beside the true Union ball valve at each barrel?

Good Question @Muttley000 !! You know, I had them left over at the time and I just used them no more than that mate. The main thing it's been up and running and i have had zero LEAKS

 

[Muttley000]

Good Question @Muttley000 !! You know, I had them left over at the time and I just used them no more than that mate. The main thing it's been up and running and i have had zero LEAKS

I couldn't think of a reason, but I'm always trying to pick up on something! They certainly won't hurt anything and no leaks is a good thing!

 

[FLSharkvictim]

Instead talking about my minimal type scape lets talk about these D&D Slimline single arm bracket arms I hve selected for my Aqua Illumination Hydra HD LED's! They come in 3 different sizes depending how thick your tank is.

Or I may DYI them up in my cabinet since I will be floating it!

 

[jrizo1]

Sand Bed or Bare Bottom?

 

[FLSharkvictim]

Sand Bed or Bare Bottom?

@jrizo1 -Great question and topic! No offense mate but just not a big fan of bare bottom reef tanks in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I have seen some really dope bare bottom systems before in my time but I am going with all #TropicEden Live sand from @premiumaquatics. I already bought have 5 bags of Mesoflakes and 4 bags of #Reeflakes so far! I think in order to make a nice 2'' NICE SIZE sand bed in my tank it's probably going to need around 12 bags total - Specs for my tank- 60''X24''X24''! I will be running a mixture of their #TropicEden #Messoflakes mixed in half with their #TropicEden #Reeflakes. Here are some pictures of the actual sizes of the sand that Tropic Eden makes below: I highlighted the #Mesoflakes (2.7mm) and Reeflakes (3.5mm) to give you an idea on what my live sand looks like and for people who never heard of Tropic Eden Live sand. I am a Firm believer of having as much flow as you can without wiping out your fish or cause a tornado in your tank! I have pretty much tried all of the different live sands out there on the market but I find myself on coming back for this Tropic Eden Live sand. The main reason why I love it will b/c it does not blow around in your tank vs if I would have gone with that fine Tropic Eden Live Tonga Pink Sand - (0.8mm) but its like dust and will blow everywhere since I will be running 2 @EcoTech Marine MP40QWD's & 2 pair TUNZE 6055's Nanostreams that will be mounted in the back to kill off any dead spots in the 150 and a Vectra L-1 for my main RETURN PUMP.

Tropic Eden Live Tonga Pink Sand - (0.8mm)

Tropic Eden - Reef Sand - (Miniflakes 2.0mm)

Tropic Eden Live sand (Mesoflakes 2.7mm)

Tropic Eden - Reef Sand - (Reeflakes (3.5mm)

Here they all are so you can compare all the different sizes that they make:

So far this is what I HAVE bought from @premiumaquatics.

 

[FLSharkvictim]

Next, I would like to talk about how much Live rock I will be using for my #Aquascaping for my new build. In the 25 yrs I have been in this hobby, I have always have had a lot of Tonga Branch Live rock and Premium Fiji live rock as well since that's about around the time, I bought it all from my work when I was at my LFS in 2000 thru 2003. A tank with a lot of Live rock like my old 120 mixed reef tank. I will never forget that day I walked into work at my LFS and the owner who was a friend of mine bought a few hundred pounds of old-school Tonga Branch live rock and a few hundred pounds of Ultra Premium Fiji live rock.. What a mistake, since I only bought about 50lbs of Tonga Branch and about 50 lbs of Ultra Premium Fiji. I wish I would have bought more of that Tonga Branch since it was banned for export in 2004 and you can't get real Tonga brach any longer !!! Long story short, I got to cherry pick out of a few hundred pounds of this Tonga branch live rock and I grabbed one of the biggest pieces that weight in at just over 22lbs and I bought that pcs since it was considered to be a showpiece and a ton of other pieces that I have sold off.
I was going to sell all of my Tonga Branch since it's HIGHLY sought after in this industry, due to the shapes and caverns, and ledges you can make w/ type of live rock. I only wish i could get my hands on some of the best live rock you can put in your tank, Mashall Island live rock and WOW that rock was awesome b/.c it was very porous and if i held up a 10lb pcs you would have thought it was a 20lb pcs but that is banned for export too. I just save enough Tonga for a project that I am working on. I already bought my center showpiece from a company out of NC and bought two large VidaWaves that are all one of a kind.

Tonga Braches I had left over from my blow out sale

I used some E-Marco 400 Mortar kit that's 100% reef save and came up with this structure that will be installed in the back of my tank!

This how my Tonga Branch Liverock custom pcs came out using the E-Marco 400 Kit - (specs are 32''x8''x10'')

Here is my Center Showpiece that I had custom made from a company called #aquarocks and he does superior work, let me tell you. He made me a one of a kind showpiece that was (23''x8''x10'')
Most of my Acros and Monit will be placed since each platform has been drilled out the size of a frag.

Plus, I bought this piece from #Aqurocks:

VidaRocks! (1076)

Vidawave - 1087

Like I mentioned above, I will be going with a more minmaimal type Aquascape since I will gearing this system for a more sps domainte type tank:

This is what it looks like from the side view: This is the location I will be placing that Tonga Branch pcs I made will be going in the back of the tank.

This is what it will look like with all of my Scape in except for the Tonga branch I made out of the E-Marco Mortar.

 

[FLSharkvictim]

For this post, I would like to quickly go over where I actually came up with the screen name - FLSharkvictim. In 1992 that unthinkable happened to me, Yes that's right I was attacked by a shark while surfing on the East Coast of FL in Melbourne. After I was rushed to the hospital and RECEIVED OVER 75 STITCHES in my right hand and fingers and then they sent me to a surgeon since he was able to remove 1 of the 2 teeth that were stuck in my hand. As far as the other tooth that the shark left in me, I was going to have it removed ones I returned from the surfing trip. I made 6 different newspapers around the State of Florida due to only 12 attacks in 1992 and I was one of them! It was considered to be by the University Shark Attack File an unprovoked attack. Here was the original article they did on me in my hometown, the St Petersburg Times and a picture of my hand after I got out of the hospital.

Here is the Original Article that was done on my Attack.

Here is a picture of my hand 1 day after the shark attack:

Shark Statistics in FL for the last 10 years of data on attacks.

 

[FLSharkvictim]

Today I am going to take a break from the thread and give you another update asap.... Stay tuned Reefers! Also, don't forget to click the like button on my page below:

 

[FLSharkvictim]

***New Update***

Just what the doctor ordered! Boom my power-heads are in for the SCA 150 build.
I ordered two @EcoTech Marine MP40QWD's and 2 TUNZE Turbelle Nanostream 6055's and some #SKIMZ tubing for AWC's.