Introduction to Joel and My 180G Tank Build

[Joel B in FL]

I have been lurking on this forum for some time now but have not really interacted much. I blame that mostly on me being a newbie to the hobby and feel at this point I need to listen and learn so it is better for me to be quite and take everything in but here is a little about me and my experience so far and a little about why I wanted to start this thread. I apologize if I get long winded usually in person I am very introverted and quite but when typing I can ramble some.

I started in the hobby last April with a 29G BioCube. My first fish went in around April 23rd and it has progressed fairly well so far. I have only lost a couple of fish, for some reason I just cannot keep a diamond goby in my tank I have tried two of them and lost them both so I decided I would hold off on trying to add anymore fish to the tank. I have also lost two pieces of coral, one being a hammer frag (not sure why it did not make it) and the other being an orange setosa frag (I made the mistake of putting a lobos to close to the setosa and within one night the lobos has destroyed the poor thing). I have also tried adding a clam with no luck, it lasted a couple of months but then all of a sudden one night it died. So with the thought that I have lost two fish, two pieces of coral, and one clam I think that puts me in the doing fairly well category for reefing so far. I think my mistake was I tried to add too much too fast to the tank and did not allow it enough time to mature properly. For the first six months or so of I had the tank up I was just kind of winging and learning on my own, after I started losing livestock (the clam was the kicker I loved that thing) I decided it was time for me to start researching and learning. So between lurking on here, watching an butt load of YouTube videos, perusing the Neptune forum, and going to all kinds of vendor websites reading information I believe I am really starting to get enough of a knowledge base to build the tank I am dreaming of.

So after being in the hobby almost a year and learning that most of the fish I want to keep will not fit in my 29G BioCube I made the decision to go big or go home and invest in a 180G tank. I plan on moving everything that it is currently in my BioCube into the 180 once it gets up and running. I will include some pics of my current tank (flatworm problem and all) and then also start chronicling the new build. One of the mistakes I made with the BioCube was I did not take enough pics of it so I can truly see how things are growing and building. I hope to use this thread as a place that I can reference to see growth/improvement or the inverse to see things that might be declining that I do not easily notice and then also a place where some of the more experienced reefers will offer me advice when I need it (please if you see me going down a really bad path let me know I would love all the help I can get).

 

[Joel B in FL]

So here is equipment list for the 180G tank.

Living in central Florida (Lakeland/Tampa) area it seems all of the LFSs around here sell Tsunami tanks and sumps. So I decided to go with them for my build. I actually thought about going glass but ultimately decided on acrylic as for a custom build it turned out to be much cheaper than glass.

72" X 24" X 24" Acrylic tank
48" X 18" X 18" Custom built acrylic sump
78 1/2"long X 27 1/2"wide X 38 1/4"high Stand (it is not a "custom" build but it is a build to order stand)
ATI 60" Power Module Light (will run three blue plus and one purple plus T5 bulbs)
Skimz Oval SV223 DC Protein Skimmer
Ecotech Vectra M1 Return Pump
Neptune Apex Gold Controller
Neptune WAV Starter Kit
Neptune EB4 Expansion
Neptune Breakout Box
Neptune Leak Detection Module
Neptune Solid Surface Leak Detection Probe
Neptune DOS
Neptune DOS Dual Reservoir
Float Switches
Window Contact Sensor
Won Brothers HT 500 Titanium Heating Element (X2)
140lbs Caribsea Dry Life Rock
160 lbs Caribsea Special Grade Arag-Alive Sand
Marine Pure Plates
E-Marco 400 Aqua Scape Cement
Waveline DC6000 Pump (for running three reactors)
BRS Jumbo Carbon/GFO Reactor (will run three BioPellet, Carbon, & GFO)
BRS ATO Pump
CPR Aquatics Refugium Light
Custom Built Light Tree (I will design and assemble myself)
BRS 6 Stage RO/DI filter

There will be other misc. items that go into the build as everyone knows but I am not sure if I will detail everything that goes into the build out here. If the community would like I will be more than happy to go into detail and list all items but wasn't sure if it would bog down the thread or not.

Most all of the equipment is on order as of now. The stand is being delivered today. The tank and sump are still a few weeks out but my goal is to have everything that I can get setup done prior to the tank being delivered.

 

[SantaMonicaHelp]

Really nice! Great start.

~SF

 

[Anthony christian]

Looks like a great tank keep up the great job happy reefing .

 

[FrankAbagnale]

Awesome! Do you have all your equipment yet?

 

[joshkirkland83]

Awesome! Do you have all your equipment yet?

Awesome name. Can you send me a blank check?

 

[Joel B in FL]

Awesome! Do you have all your equipment yet?

I still need to get my reactors and all of the plumbing. I have ordered everything else it is just not all in yet.

 

[Joel B in FL]

Awesome name. Can you send me a blank check?

Oh you want a check yea I can send you a check as long as you don't mind if it bounces higher than the Empire State Building. At this point I am scared to go through and total up everything I have spent.

 

[joshkirkland83]

Oh you want a check yea I can send you a check as long as you don't mind if it bounces higher than the Empire State Building. At this point I am scared to go through and total up everything I have spent.

That was a joke to frank abagnale. Probably the greatest check conterfeiter in U.S. history.

 

[Joel B in FL]

That was a joke to frank abagnale. Probably the greatest check conterfeiter in U.S. history.

Oh yea I missed that at first sorry.

 

[Salty1962]

Very nice tank!

 

[revhtree]

Looks good and welcome!

 

[Joel B in FL]

Ok things are slowly starting to come together some. I am hoping my sump will come in any day now as it has been on order about five weeks. I ordered the tank about three weeks ago so I know it will be a little while longer.

So I got the stand delivered and have completed my first two projects.

I have added some LED lighting to the inside of the stand to help me see during maintenance. I will be adding a couple of contact switches to the doors so the APEX can turn on the lights when the doors open.

I have also built what I am calling my light tree. I found a place online that sells cut to order square aluminum tubing. It was a little pricey but I think the way it will blend in with the ATI power module should make for a very nice presentation. I probably "over-engineered" the connecting brackets but I would rather have a couple to many connection points than a couple to few especially when hanging a $2000 light. The way I designed the tree will also allow me to do some other projects within the stand once I get the sump in place.

So here are a few pics of the sump and how I have my lighting setup.

 

[Joel B in FL]

I would like to solicit some advice from the group. I have been going back and forth on the type of reactors I should use. I have currently decided I will use the BRS Jumbo reactors for all three medias. However I am one of those people that thinks the things inside the stand should look nice even if no one is looking at them but me so the BRS reactors do not really have that polished look I am wanting. I am trying to avoid the color red in my setup which is tremendously hard when you are buying tank filtration components (if you have never thought about it just look around it seems like 90% of the vendors out there use red in their products). If anyone wants to know I can dive into why I am avoiding red but for now I will just say I want to keep it out of my equipment if possible.

So with all that being said what is the consensus on reactors here? Is there a preferred brand? I know that is somewhat like asking what the favorite color of R2R is but I thought I would through it out there and see. I do have a couple of conditions I want to enforce if possible. First I want to have one pump run all three reactors. I am not going to run the reactors off of my return pump for various reasons so I want to limit myself to just one pump, so any reactors where each one has a pump is definitely out. Second I would like to standardize them as well. I would prefer to have one type of reactor for all three medias, that way if i have an issue with one reactor it is easier to keep the two most important medias running at that time.

One of the reactors I am looking at instead of the BRS is the Skimz FM150. It would blend in within the sump nicely since I am also running a Skimz protein skimmer, but I am not sure how well that reactor would run biopellets. I contacted Skimz asking if it could be converted and the only reply I received was use a Skimz biopellet reactor instead. So I am not sure if that serves as a no it cannot be used or as an attempt to get me to buy something more expensive from them. Anyway any suggestions would be awesome.

 

[FrankAbagnale]

I really don't know about the reactors. I use pros an reactors for carbon and GFO. They've worked perfectly.

Any other updates?

 

[Joel B in FL]

Sorry for the lack of posts on this thread work has been kind of hectic.

I am still waiting on the tank and sump so I have very little I can do on the setup as of now. I have been told the sump should be ready in another week and the tank should be ready in two more weeks. So I am crossing my fingers hoping that they stick to that timeline. However I am not overly optimistic since they still have not provided me with a CAD drawing of my tank yet and that should have been sent to me two weeks after I ordered it, or about 5 weeks ago now.

I have completed my aquascape and have it in a stock tank establishing bacteria, sorry I did not think to take any pics prior to putting it in water. I added some Dr Tims One and Only and some ammonia to kick start everything. I am hoping that by starting this part early once I get the tank I can speed up the adding fish part. I will be adding about 170 lbs of rock to the tank. I have right at 20 lbs of rock in my current tank that will be coming over and then I purchased about 150 lbs of new rock which is what is in the stock tank.

I ordered my light and have it hung in place. I have turned it on just to make sure everything works properly and I have to admit so far this light is really impressive. I am really digging the T5 bulbs I chose.

I am still debating on how I want to setup my electronics. I know I do not want the energy bars and modules in the stand but exactly how I want the final look to be I am still working on. I have an old small bookshelf that I have temporarily modified to mount everything while I decide on exactly how to store them. I am debating getting some aluminum and building me a cabinet, or continue looking at furniture stores until I find something that will work.

 

[pelphrey]

Tagging along. Did you use 80/20 for the light rack or did you get that from another company?

 

[Joel B in FL]

Tagging along. Did you use 80/20 for the light rack or did you get that from another company?

Yes I ordered the aluminum from 80/20. It's pretty good stuff. Although the weight of the ATI Powermodule does put a small lean on my setup but I am going to add one more brace on each side running for the top arm down to the uprights and I think that should straighten it up. Building it the way I did cost me a little more but it allows me some flexibility in the future.

 

[Joel B in FL]

I am still waiting on my tank and sump to come in so no new real update. The LFS that I ordered it from said it would be in next week, so I am crossing my fingers. Although I ordered the sump a couple of weeks prior to ordering the tank and when I placed the order the LFS told me it would be ready in two to four weeks, well as of now it has been nine weeks so I am starting to get a little aggravated.

Other news I made a final decision on which reactors I will be running. I decided not to run the BRS reactors mainly due to the aesthetic aspect of the build. I have also heard from some that running biopellets in their reactors sometimes causes issues. I ultimately decided to go with BioTek reactors. They make a nice looking biopellet driver and normal media reactors. I think they will look good inside my stand once I get all of my plumbing and equipment setup. I ordered them from Aquarium Specialty and while the initial pellet driver they sent me was the incorrect model they were very quick about resolving the issue and getting me the correct driver sent out ASAP. They do have good customer service. I do not know if they are on here or active but they are about the only place I could find reactors in something other than white or red.

 

[Joel B in FL]

Well I finally receive some good news today. The LFS called and said that Tsunami was going to deliver the tank and sump to them on Wednesday and he would get it out to me either Wednesday night or on Thursday. So this weekend will most likely be spent cutting and gluing PVC. Sounds like fun huh?!?

While at RAP this weekend I stopped by the Alternative Reef booth and picked up some items. I have seen their products online but this is my first time seeing the items in person. I really like the look and think it is going to add some uniqueness to the tank. I have included a pic of the three items I picked up below. With these pieces and how I have my rock work done I really think I will have some nice structure for placing corals.

I also swung by the LFS this afternoon and picked up my sand. I am going to use eight bags of the CaribSea Special Grade sand. That takes care of everything that I have to have to start the tank. I still need to make a decision on how to do my Apex wiring or where to hide everything but that can be setup later as the make shift bookshelf I am using will work for now. I also have to make a decision on what type of dosers I want to use. I had planned on using the DOS but those will get expensive if I ever move past dosing two items. I did like the GHL dosers that were setup at RAP. I like the idea of setting it up via an app as well as the ability to add magnetic stirrers to keep everything mixed.

So over the next week or so I should be able to make some good movement on getting everything setup.