Greybeard's Wide, Shallow Peninsula

[Janci]

Good progress. Interested to see that refugium.
Is it possible to raise the skimmer department water level? Skimmers can always be put on a small pedestal to come to the correct water level.

 

[Greybeard]

Good progress. Interested to see that refugium.
Is it possible to raise the skimmer department water level? Skimmers can always be put on a small pedestal to come to the correct water level.

Sure. With this sump design, skimmer and return compartments are equal depth, the divider between them is bottom opening only. Water level in skimmer and return compartment will be set by where I put the ATO sensor. I do need to maintain enough empty volume in the sump to contain overflow and return line siphon when the power is out, but I could raise the skimmer/return level by a couple of inches. That'd help with the waterfall a bit, but if I raise it so that the drop from refugeum to skimmer is an inch or so, which would silence it, I would not have enough empty volume in the sump.

I think that a 10 degree or so angled piece of acrylic, which I have already, from the top edge of the refugeum wall into the skimmer area, so that the water is guided in, would probably be enough. Honestly, unless I'm around the back of that wall, where the closet door is, I can't hear the waterfall noise now. I'm big on quiet, but this really isn't that big of a deal.

This is tap water... can't start running the skimmer yet, but I'd imagine I'm going to want it on a pvc/eggcrate stand anyway. Helps isolate vibration, and allows flow under the unit, to keep detritus suspended. Even if you don't need the height, it's a good idea.

Ref will have several varieties of macro algae... C. Mexicana, Chaetomorpha, and Gracilaria, are most likely. We'll see. 4 liters of Pond Matrix on the bottom, perhaps some rock rubble, as well. I'm planning on a 2 tube 24" T5 fixture, with daylight bulbs, running inverse to the tank lighting. With the drain lines coming in near the exit from the refugeum, directed towards the opposite end of the tank, water movement in the ref section is fairly turbulent.

First time I'd ever programmed a Reefkeeper. I'm an automation developer... I'm used to Allen Bradley ControlLogix equipment. This thing is pretty primitive Seems to do what it needs to do. Easy enough to figure out. Don't know if I'll ever plug in a laptop again, it's not that difficult to set up from the keypad. Never even needed to look at a manual

 

[Greybeard]

My wife is far better with a camera than I am...

 

[Reefcowboy]

Wow. Beautiful!

 

[Greybeard]

Drained tap water, cleaned the tank, replaced all the filters in my RO/DI unit. Starting to store some water now... it'll take a few days. Should be ready by the time the Red Sea blue bucket arrives in couple of days.

I have a few minor changes to make from my wet testing. I'm going to install 2 extra unions in the return lines so that I can 'angle' the Siphon Stopper returns... that seems to be the only way to stop the bubbles that I noted a few days ago. Unions should be here Wednesday. I'm also going to silicone in a bit of acrylic to guide the water down from the ref to the skimmer section of the sump. Just to help with the waterfall noise. It's not bad, but it's a simple enough fix, might as well do it while the sump is dry. I also added a little ply under the low corner, help level the system in the one spot where it was a little low.

 

[Greybeard]

Bar top epoxy poured... 14 hours before I can see if it's going to harden properly. Looks great wet...

Anyone have any experience with Rossmont Mover pumps? With this tank size, I'm gonna need STRONG current, all generated from one end, in order to produce ENOUGH current at the far end. Don't want any pumps, wires, etc. anywhere except on the short 'back' of the tank. MP40's would look great, but I'm just not spending that, and I've heard them... even the quiet models, well, aren't. I've got a reefkeeper, it'd be so easy to plug a couple of 115VAC pumps into that, and control them from there. One less piece of equipment, wiring is simple, just makes sense to me. Could go with Koralia Magnum 8's, but, well, I've never been a big fan of Hydor, and they're a bit noisy. I'd love to go with Sicce's HP line, but the price on the larger models seems a bit out of line. Rossmont's MX4100 is quite a bit less expensive, and BRS has good things to say about them, but I've never seen one in person.

Before anyone brings it up, I've got a Maxspect Gyre 130. No more gyres for me, thanks. Loud, hard to disassemble for cleaning, and there's no way 1 would get me the flow I need. Two of them puts me way over budget on circulation pumps.

 

[crazyjay]

Love the art work and everything else!!

 

[Greybeard]

Bar top epoxy applied yesterday, hardened overnight. Messy, frustrating process, I'm glad that one is over. Turned out great, though

 

[Greybeard]

1/4" epoxy over painted surface. There's a few bubbles, but it looks great in person. Should give me a durable, waterproof finish for many years.

 

[Jimbo662]

Love the look...made a huge difference.

 

[badhabits]

Awesome build man

 

[Greybeard]

Awesome build man

Thanks. Coming along nicely... if a bit slower than I would like.

 

[Anirban]

Looks great.....

 

[Greybeard]

A bit of a wider view... I'm not much of a cameraman I'm afraid, and it shows

 

[C Abbott]

Im curious what that tank cost. Im going to using very similar dimensions and my LFS does business with Planet.

 

[C Abbott]

That surrounding ledge looks great btw

 

[Greybeard]

That surrounding ledge looks great btw

Thanks. I'm very happy with it.

I messaged you with cost. Planet Aquarium doesn't sell to the public, and, in this case, the LFS owner being a friend of mine, I know exactly what he paid.

Note, what I sent is glass only. Stand, artwork, surround, overflows, returns... all extra. I got a drilled glass box from Planet Aquariums.

 

[Greybeard]

Tank is nearly full of RO/DI. Should be able to start the return pumps in the morning. I'll likely add my blue bucket salt tomorrow. The local reef group is coming to my home Sunday for a pool party... I'm sorry I'm not further along at this point, but I'm sure I'll get a wide variety of advice on how I should proceed from here

Rock and sand will be here next week. Billy's reef connection rock, BRS dry special reef grade sand (sorry, I was going bare bottom, but just can't get past the look). I'm looking forward to aquascaping this wide, shallow tank. Minimalist, when all is said and done, but exactly how it works out will depend on what I get from Billy's. I requested a few large pieces, rather than a bunch of small chunks. We'll see what he sends me.

My first batch of Triton Core 7 is on it's way, along with a 24" dual bulb daylight T5 fixture for my refugeum. I should be able to get C. Mexicana and Chaetomorpha, perhaps some Gracillia, from folks in my local reefing group.

I'm _really_ looking forward to getting this thing up and running. Planning started last December... costs have exceeded my initial budget by 40%... time to get this party rolling

 

[Janci]

Well done.
It is not in our nature to be patient but you are the proof it pays off eventually.
Enjoy the party and get some frags arranged for the coming weeks!

 

[Husker]

Looking wonderful. Love that trim mosaic. Looks like it should be ready to fill soon.