Francisco's 80g Reef

Gungo

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Hello everyone,

After almost a year of being working at home due to COVID, I decided to start a new tank since I have more time these days. This started getting into my head in September 2020 and the tank was filled with saltwater in January 2021 so it took me about 4 months to figure out what I would like to do and purchase everything I need to make it happen. I explained before that I am from DR and I am currently living here and getting stuff (corals, fish, equipment) is really difficult. I need to either import them or go to the US and bring it myself and at this point, I can't tell which one is more expensive than the other. I decided to go to the US in November 2020 and purchase all the equipment I need except the tank because we have a local builder that makes a decent job without breaking the bank. Most of my equipment was second-hand as I am a true believer that certain things can be purchased used and still get out of them a great life. The things that were not purchased second-hand were purchased on Black Friday and I got great discounts.

Tank and equipment list:

-Tank: 40 x 21 x 21 custom build tank with Eshopps overflow.
-Sump: 22 x 16 x 16 custom build sump (skimmer section, return section, and integrated ATO only).
-Lighting: 36" 8 Bulb ATI and 2 XHO actinic reefbrites.
-Wavemakers: Vortech MP40QD
-Return Pump: Jebao DCP: 10,000
-ATO: Tunze
-Protein Skimmer: Reef Octopus Regal 150-INT
-Doser: Jebao 3.4 Wifi
-Calcium Reactor: Geo's 618.
-Chiller: JBJ 1/3 HP (currently looking to sell and downgrade to 1/10 or 1/4 as is an overkill).

My plan for this tank is mainly SPS but I am open to LPS too. As I have a few years of reefing many friends gave me few corals when everything started in January, mostly LPS and they're looking great at this time. Right now the tank is not looking that great due to the ugly stage but is nothing that I haven't seen in the past (regular algae etc).

I haven't been dosing since the beginning, just regular water changes, and everything was OK but I decided to start making tests and to my surprise, the ALK was 5.8 a day after a water change so I started monitoring and decided to start dosing Kalkwasser from BRS and 2 tbsp every 5 gallons is maintaining the tank parameters for now. When Kalkwasser can't keep up, I'll start dosing KH & CA and when the demand is higher I will start running my CaRx.

Received the tank in January 2021:

IMG_0079.jpg


Added saltwater about a week later:


IMG_0122.jpg


The sump and equipment:

IMG_0622.jpg


The tank today (4/3/2021):


IMG_0601.jpg


:)
 
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HiImSean

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Hey I’m curious how sturdy those mounts are you’re using for the ATI? I’m struggling to decide how to hang the exact fixture for my tank and I really don’t want to go from the ceiling. How far out from the wall do they come? I assume you have them directly into a stud?
 
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Gungo

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Hey I’m curious how sturdy those mounts are you’re using for the ATI? I’m struggling to decide how to hang the exact fixture for my tank and I really don’t want to go from the ceiling. How far out from the wall do they come? I assume you have them directly into a stud?
ATI fixture is heavy. Thats why I decided to go with these metal brackets. These are the ones that holds the outdoor unit of an air conditioner. They are 15 1/2 inches long from the wall. You can find them in different lengths and depending how deep is your tank you should decide which length to go for. My tank is 21 inches deep. Here more pics for your reference:

864280C8-24CE-451F-BA6B-7B7809B9B907.jpeg
83F34C5F-C3DC-4C25-B7E1-5CB19FB9D975.jpeg
7BAF7235-7C14-420E-BC45-5D362A1D8FEB.jpeg

At first I thought that it would look bulky but it looks ok for me.
 

HiImSean

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My tank is 24" deep and I saw Home Depot has a few different sizes. It says it holds up to 200lbs so as long as its drilled into a stud it should be good to go. It's either this or bending conduit which is a PITA.
 
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Gungo

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A lot has changed... decided to go back to simplicity. Had a lot of bigger equipment that wasn't performing well on my setup. Replaced CaRx with two-part dosing. Downgraded from Reef Octopus Regal 150 int to Eshopps Axium 120. Replaced ATI T5 with 3 XR15 G6 PROs. Sold most of my sensitive corals due to that I wasn't giving the love and attention the tank needs. But even with the lack of attention, Coraline is still growing over the sand! lol.

Today:

IMG_7933.jpg
 

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