New build! Innovative Marine 112 EXT.
I got to the point where I was too concerned about my Red Sea 650 Peninsula stand failing so it's time to replace it. The 650 is a beautiful tank but my struggles with the stand and placement in my home have been a hassle. Tank has passed the wet test! The included plumbing was super simple. The might jet pump is a little loud but I assume it will get quieter as it breaks in. The overflow is basically silent and is very easy to adjust. The Euro brace isn't quite as sleak as rimless, but I think I'll really appreciate less salt creep and the extra peace of mind. I debated the INT vs EXT but I decided I'd rather add a tall plant on the side to hide the plumbing to give myself a completely flat back portion.
For my aquascape I went with the "Negative Space Style" using the purple marco rock. I'm not much of an artist but I found the process to flow fairly well. Whenever I had a question on aesthetics vs fish habitat (and coral) the livestock won out but I think the finished product will still look great. The two larger structures are in tank and the two smaller pieces are getting a head start cycling in my current tank. There are 3 main structures with a few smaller pieces as fill. I wanted to create open pathways to both draw the eye and give the fish a nice playground. The larger structure in the back looks substantial but is loaded with caves and places for fish to hide. I will be taking some of my current rock and throwing it in the sump to get it cycled faster. Also using special grade from Caribsea for aesthetics and fish habitat.
Yes this is a special reef towel. I added that just in case my glue work wasn't sufficient.
I LOVE this APS stand. It may not be quite as nice looking as the Red Sea plywood but it's just far sturdier. The leveling feet are leagues better vs the tiny feet on the RS stand. Having access on 3 sides is also very nice. I'm adding motion sensing LED lights to the inside.
The RFS-27 sump isn't large but is very nice. It has a lot of features like cord management, ATO connectors, dosing etc. What it doesn't have is room for both a fuge and a skimmer. Skimmers are a pain IMO so I'm going fuge.
Equipment:
Livestock:
For starters I'll be moving over my pair of perculas, foxface, copperband, hawkfish, White tailed bristle tooth tang, and 5 barred dartfish. Current tank also has a hippo tang and a coral beauty but they will be re-homed.
I'm not sure of what else I'll add, possibly some anthias or chromis and a wrasse to help out with future pests.
Coral: Blank slate. I intend this to be mostly an acro tank, but I just can't have a reef tank without a Euphilia to house my clowns so there will be a tiny bit of LPS and other SPS as placement allows.
Lighting:
I wanted to cheap out and use my two Kessil AP700s as I love the shimmer and lights aren't cheap. Unfortunately the depth of this tank means hanging mounts are the only option. Hanging mounts suck in my experience so I'm going with a G6 Radio Blue and at least 1 AI Blade Grow. Might add an AI Blade Glow down the road for extra pop but I suspect the Radion will be enough. I'll be using the RMS mount for a nice clean install.
Pumps: Might Jet XL from IM.
Two MP40s with the wide flow adapters. Will be mounted on the sides, not sure of the exact position yet. I'll need to see how the flow works with the scape but I'll probably use the standard alternate sync program to get the point of turbulence moving back and forth.
Two Jump Gyre MJ-GF316s. These will be mounted on the top back of the tank. The idea will be to alternate flow over the top of the scape, and then down the back. I plan to have them on longer alternating cycles to simulate currents. I think this combo with the open rockwork will work for my needs but will assess as I go along.
The returns will have Vivid Creative Aquatics random flow added to the line lock.
Other equipment:
SICCE UV Clarifier with pump. Details on these are hard to come by but the price is very competitive and it's from a trusted brand so let's see how it goes. I've not run UV before but I'm optimistic that this will be a huge help.
The IM sump doesn't easily lend itself to a roller mat so I'm stuck with filter socks for now. Down the road I may try to ditch them and rely mainly on my fuge. TBD.
For now I'm using the Chaetomax Fuge light as it fits easily on the sump. If it's not enough light I'll review my options later.
I'm building a salt mixing station in the basement as well. I found these containers on Amazon, 40g for $98 (free shipping!) and they look like they will work great. The top lid is already vented, and the bottom opening includes a large screw on option and a garden hose sized connector. I'll use one for RO and ATO source and the other for saltwater. I wanted to have enough water on hand to easily do a 30% WC if needed though I plan to do 10% a week or every other week.
Dosing will be handled by my Apex DOS.
ATO is a Tunze Osmolator 3.
Neptune Trident on the way as well.
Equipment Stand:
The tank buts up against my office so most of the equipment will be housed in an Ikea cabinet. My last tank had a ton of water evap under the stand so I want to insulate the electronics as much as possible. The RFS sump does have covers for all the chambers so evap should be tolerable but still.
I'm sure I'm missing a ton of info but I have a tank to get setup!
I got to the point where I was too concerned about my Red Sea 650 Peninsula stand failing so it's time to replace it. The 650 is a beautiful tank but my struggles with the stand and placement in my home have been a hassle. Tank has passed the wet test! The included plumbing was super simple. The might jet pump is a little loud but I assume it will get quieter as it breaks in. The overflow is basically silent and is very easy to adjust. The Euro brace isn't quite as sleak as rimless, but I think I'll really appreciate less salt creep and the extra peace of mind. I debated the INT vs EXT but I decided I'd rather add a tall plant on the side to hide the plumbing to give myself a completely flat back portion.
For my aquascape I went with the "Negative Space Style" using the purple marco rock. I'm not much of an artist but I found the process to flow fairly well. Whenever I had a question on aesthetics vs fish habitat (and coral) the livestock won out but I think the finished product will still look great. The two larger structures are in tank and the two smaller pieces are getting a head start cycling in my current tank. There are 3 main structures with a few smaller pieces as fill. I wanted to create open pathways to both draw the eye and give the fish a nice playground. The larger structure in the back looks substantial but is loaded with caves and places for fish to hide. I will be taking some of my current rock and throwing it in the sump to get it cycled faster. Also using special grade from Caribsea for aesthetics and fish habitat.
Yes this is a special reef towel. I added that just in case my glue work wasn't sufficient.
I LOVE this APS stand. It may not be quite as nice looking as the Red Sea plywood but it's just far sturdier. The leveling feet are leagues better vs the tiny feet on the RS stand. Having access on 3 sides is also very nice. I'm adding motion sensing LED lights to the inside.
The RFS-27 sump isn't large but is very nice. It has a lot of features like cord management, ATO connectors, dosing etc. What it doesn't have is room for both a fuge and a skimmer. Skimmers are a pain IMO so I'm going fuge.
Equipment:
Livestock:
For starters I'll be moving over my pair of perculas, foxface, copperband, hawkfish, White tailed bristle tooth tang, and 5 barred dartfish. Current tank also has a hippo tang and a coral beauty but they will be re-homed.
I'm not sure of what else I'll add, possibly some anthias or chromis and a wrasse to help out with future pests.
Coral: Blank slate. I intend this to be mostly an acro tank, but I just can't have a reef tank without a Euphilia to house my clowns so there will be a tiny bit of LPS and other SPS as placement allows.
Lighting:
I wanted to cheap out and use my two Kessil AP700s as I love the shimmer and lights aren't cheap. Unfortunately the depth of this tank means hanging mounts are the only option. Hanging mounts suck in my experience so I'm going with a G6 Radio Blue and at least 1 AI Blade Grow. Might add an AI Blade Glow down the road for extra pop but I suspect the Radion will be enough. I'll be using the RMS mount for a nice clean install.
Pumps: Might Jet XL from IM.
Two MP40s with the wide flow adapters. Will be mounted on the sides, not sure of the exact position yet. I'll need to see how the flow works with the scape but I'll probably use the standard alternate sync program to get the point of turbulence moving back and forth.
Two Jump Gyre MJ-GF316s. These will be mounted on the top back of the tank. The idea will be to alternate flow over the top of the scape, and then down the back. I plan to have them on longer alternating cycles to simulate currents. I think this combo with the open rockwork will work for my needs but will assess as I go along.
The returns will have Vivid Creative Aquatics random flow added to the line lock.
Other equipment:
SICCE UV Clarifier with pump. Details on these are hard to come by but the price is very competitive and it's from a trusted brand so let's see how it goes. I've not run UV before but I'm optimistic that this will be a huge help.
The IM sump doesn't easily lend itself to a roller mat so I'm stuck with filter socks for now. Down the road I may try to ditch them and rely mainly on my fuge. TBD.
For now I'm using the Chaetomax Fuge light as it fits easily on the sump. If it's not enough light I'll review my options later.
I'm building a salt mixing station in the basement as well. I found these containers on Amazon, 40g for $98 (free shipping!) and they look like they will work great. The top lid is already vented, and the bottom opening includes a large screw on option and a garden hose sized connector. I'll use one for RO and ATO source and the other for saltwater. I wanted to have enough water on hand to easily do a 30% WC if needed though I plan to do 10% a week or every other week.
Dosing will be handled by my Apex DOS.
ATO is a Tunze Osmolator 3.
Neptune Trident on the way as well.
Equipment Stand:
The tank buts up against my office so most of the equipment will be housed in an Ikea cabinet. My last tank had a ton of water evap under the stand so I want to insulate the electronics as much as possible. The RFS sump does have covers for all the chambers so evap should be tolerable but still.
I'm sure I'm missing a ton of info but I have a tank to get setup!
