I Promise, It’s the Last Tank!!! dustinc’s 200 SPS Reef

[dustinc]

So I'm done with all the plumbing except 1 run from the return pump to the UV sterilizer... I ran out of 3/4" PVC... I realized on Wednesday evening this would be the case, so jumped on BRS website and bought 2 pieces to be safe for overnight delivery on Friday... Well, they shipped but were delayed due to our small ice/sleet storm we had come through Dallas, so now it's not coming until Monday. Don't mind that piece on the bottom in the picture, it's an extra 1" piece that I almost used instead, but just decided to have patience and complete as planned. Cannot wait to finish so I can get water moving in this thing!

 

[dustinc]

***Fish Stocking List***

So today, I took a little time to plan out my fish stock list, and also purchased the first 5 fish for the aquarium. I hope to pick up a couple of them within a week once I get the tank up and running. Where I purchase my fish, he quarantines everything and "knock on wood", since I started purchasing fish from him, I've only lost one and it was due to being killed by another fish. The fish I purchased today were a Captive Bred Regal Angel, Captive Bred Blueline Angel, Extreme Helmet Picasso Clown Pair, and a Tailspot Blenny. See attached for my planned stocking list and the order in which I plan to add them. I can't wait for this...

 

[Sean Clark]

Tailspot is one of my all time favs.
Quoyi is on my short list. Good luck.
I don't know if you saw this in a prior post or not but this feels appropriate.

 

[hawkeyejp82]

I was able to work through some of the plumbing this evening. I also realized I didn't order enough parts, so I placed a last minute BRS order with a few extras so I would know I'm good to finish this weekend. Plumbing can be extremely frustrating, but also rewarding in the end when done right. Below is a progress pic. Thanks for following alo

After getting through my build and reflecting on it plumbing wasn't really that bad. I would say the aquascape was my favorite part of the build and electrical cord management is my least favorite part.

 

[hawkeyejp82]

***Fish Stocking List***

So today, I took a little time to plan out my fish stock list, and also purchased the first 5 fish for the aquarium. I hope to pick up a couple of them within a week once I get the tank up and running. Where I purchase my fish, he quarantines everything and "knock on wood", since I started purchasing fish from him, I've only lost one and it was due to being killed by another fish. The fish I purchased today were a Captive Bred Regal Angel, Captive Bred Blueline Angel, Extreme Helmet Picasso Clown Pair, and a Tailspot Blenny. See attached for my planned stocking list and the order in which I plan to add them. I can't wait for this...

I really like the regal angel and would love to get one but have heard it isn't reef safe so I likely won't unfortunately.

 

[dustinc]

Tailspot is one of my all time favs.
Quoyi is on my short list. Good luck.
I don't know if you saw this in a prior post or not but this feels appropriate.

Agreed on the tailspot, always been one of my favorites. The Quoyi is amazing! Had one in my last tank and had a cool personality.

 

[dustinc]

I really like the regal angel and would love to get one but have heard it isn't reef safe so I likely won't unfortunately.

I’ve always been very nervous to add Angels in a reef tank for many years, however, I’ve done a ton of research and it seems they get a bad rep for almost no reason. They are Benthic feeders, much like Tangs, so they will pick on the rock, coral, etc, but most don’t actually eat the corals (except for meaty LPS which I’m not a fan of anyways). I’ve decided this setup I want to enjoy the fish as well, so I’ll just go with it. Most angels won’t bother SPS though, and that’s what this tank will be. Good luck man!

 

[dustinc]

Finished the plumbing tonight. Hope that tomorrow I will be able to finish my equipment setup and start filling with water. I'm ready to get going!

 

[hawkeyejp82]

Finished the plumbing tonight. Hope that tomorrow I will be able to finish my equipment setup and start filling with water. I'm ready to get going!

I like the room you have for plumbing. I also like that you hung the wavemakers I learned that the hardway and did it after a fall or 2 of my MP60's which are suppose to work on 3/4" glass. I lost an O ring on my 40watt UV sterlizer so the input leaked bad on the first test but all I needed was sked 5 thread paste to fix it.

Looks great!

 

[dustinc]

I like the room you have for plumbing. I also like that you hung the wavemakers I learned that the hardway and did it after a fall or 2 of my MP60's which are suppose to work on 3/4" glass. I lost an O ring on my 40watt UV sterlizer so the input leaked bad on the first test but all I needed was sked 5 thread paste to fix it.

Looks great!

Thanks man. Won’t have that much room when I start it up, but moved it out from the wall to plumb it and setup just to ensure ease of access. Didn’t have time today to work on anything, but hope to start filling tomorrow. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

 

[dustinc]

Picked up my ATO container last night and fits perfectly. Had it designed to fit exactly in front of the sump with the same length and height so it looks seemless. Should hold about 20 gallons which I hope should last on the tank for a bit (hoping for 10 days). Marc Levenson did great work over at his shop, Melev’s Reef.

 

[Sean Clark]

Very nice.

 

[hawkeyejp82]

Picked up my ATO container last night and fits perfectly. Had it designed to fit exactly in front of the sump with the same length and height so it looks seemless. Should hold about 20 gallons which I hope should last on the tank for a bit (hoping for 10 days). Marc Levenson did great work over at his shop, Melev’s Reef.

I'm calculating about 3 gallons per day loss in mine and my ATO chamber in the sump only holds 12 gallons so 4 days for me unfortunately.

 

[dustinc]

I'm calculating about 3 gallons per day loss in mine and my ATO chamber in the sump only holds 12 gallons so 4 days for me unfortunately.

Man, that's a little more than I was hoping. Hopefully I get closer to 2 so I can get the time I'm hoping for. I guess time will tell.

 

[Sean Clark]

I honestly have no idea how much I evaporate per day. This is a drawback of automation. You create a disconnect between you and your tank.

 

[dustinc]

I'll go ahead and post another update for the evening as well. I finally finished running the majority of the cords and equipment behind the tank, so I moved it in to place, and filled the first 50 gallons of prepared water from my mixing containers. I now moved the other 50 gallons I had in the RODI storage, and have now started mixing another 50 gallons to put in tomorrow evening. Hopefully I can get enough water mixed by Friday to fill it up 100% and get moving!

 

[dustinc]

***Let's Go!!!!***

We are full of water, no leaks, and quiet! Super pumped and so glad it's up and running. I'll post some more pictures soon and go over some details of the equipment and layout of the tank.

I almost had a massive issue... Last night I was able to fill the tank and was ready to power on the return pump, and something didn't seem right and I wasn't able to turn it on... So I start looking, and I ordered the COR15 pump, yet the controller in the box was a COR20 controller. I called BRS and Neptune first thing this morning, and they stated the pump is exactly the same, I would just need a power supply if I want to keep the COR20 driver or they could send the correct COR15 driver. They offered the power supply at 50% off, so I took it and now have a COR20. So I stopped by my LFS and went ahead and bought a power supply now so I could fire up the tank. Their Neptune rep said it's not a bad idea to have an extra power supply around because they do go out from time to time.

 

[AJsReef]

Is your return plumbing 3/4” the whole run? Curious how impacts your flow rate

 

[dustinc]

Is your return plumbing 3/4” the whole run? Curious how impacts your flow rate

Yes it is. I'm not 100% sure, but think I'm still able to get more than enough turnover from the sump to the tank. I'm currently running at 80%, and I had to close the gate valve on the 1" drain a whole lot to get it to balance, and it definitely feels it's pushing pretty good out of each output on the return. I would estimate I'm probably running around 1000gph turnover, but that's 100% a guess.

 

[hawkeyejp82]

Yes it is. I'm not 100% sure, but think I'm still able to get more than enough turnover from the sump to the tank. I'm currently running at 80%, and I had to close the gate valve on the 1" drain a whole lot to get it to balance, and it definitely feels it's pushing pretty good out of each output on the return. I would estimate I'm probably running around 1000gph turnover, but that's 100% a guess.

I doubt it. I cranked one of my 2 return pumps up to 85% the eco tech M2 which claims to go as high as 2000gph. I have to keep the gate valve all the way open or it over tops my emergency drain and the flow meter said 643gph. So if you have your gate valve even slightly turned shut its probably around 500-600gph.

Side note I don't know why it says online that you should turn your tank over 5-10 times per hour I feel 2-3 times per hour is fine especially since it maximizes your UV sterilization.