I've had this tank for over 5.5 years and am at the point of doing a warm reboot of it this weekend. That makes no better time I can think of than to start a (re)Build thread!
The tank is a Marineland 220 measuring in at 72" long x 24" wide x 30" deep. Up to this point, I've been running:
1800gph return pump
Reef Octopus External Skimmer 250
2x Ecotech MP40
3x Ecotech Radions
Emperor Aquatics (now Pentair?) 40W UV Sterilizer
Apex Classic Controller
Apex DOS & Rersevoir for Reef Fusion 1 & 2
Tunze ATO
Here she is with initial setup & rock scape
And here's one a few months later after cycling and putting in some zoas and other frags.
Less than 1 year later, we moved about a mile - so the rock scape evolved, but other than that equipment stayed the same.
Life changed a bit more taking on a new job that took time away from my tank. Here she is at what I'd consider the peak in October 2016
And now to present day. I haven't been consistent in water changes and testing up until a couple of months ago. Testing regularly has been easy since buying Hanna checkers for alk, calcium and ULR phosphate. The water changes have still been challenging, but every couple of weeks I've made them a priority.
Current plan:
1. Move the tank to the basement. I had it finished and moved my office down there a year ago. That has meant 1 year where I'm not sitting at my desk staring at my tank and picking a small issues as they arise. This move is happening this weekend, 3/23.
2. I can't rely on water changes to replace elements and export nutrients. I know Triton has been a love/hate topic lately, but so long as I can get my hands on their elements (which doesn't seem to be an issue now), I'm going to give it a shot. I've bought a new sump and some other toys over the past year since I knew I'd be moving, and am using this weekend to get things cleaned up and ready for this.
So I've got some new gear here that I've collected over the past year, and I'll post pics as I get them unboxed and as the move goes. I know lots of folks feel post on R2R questions about moves and have a lot of angst about them. I have angst, but much less on the 2nd go around, so I'll document the weekend as best as I can.
The tank is a Marineland 220 measuring in at 72" long x 24" wide x 30" deep. Up to this point, I've been running:
1800gph return pump
Reef Octopus External Skimmer 250
2x Ecotech MP40
3x Ecotech Radions
Emperor Aquatics (now Pentair?) 40W UV Sterilizer
Apex Classic Controller
Apex DOS & Rersevoir for Reef Fusion 1 & 2
Tunze ATO
Here she is with initial setup & rock scape
And here's one a few months later after cycling and putting in some zoas and other frags.
Less than 1 year later, we moved about a mile - so the rock scape evolved, but other than that equipment stayed the same.
Life changed a bit more taking on a new job that took time away from my tank. Here she is at what I'd consider the peak in October 2016
And now to present day. I haven't been consistent in water changes and testing up until a couple of months ago. Testing regularly has been easy since buying Hanna checkers for alk, calcium and ULR phosphate. The water changes have still been challenging, but every couple of weeks I've made them a priority.
Current plan:
1. Move the tank to the basement. I had it finished and moved my office down there a year ago. That has meant 1 year where I'm not sitting at my desk staring at my tank and picking a small issues as they arise. This move is happening this weekend, 3/23.
2. I can't rely on water changes to replace elements and export nutrients. I know Triton has been a love/hate topic lately, but so long as I can get my hands on their elements (which doesn't seem to be an issue now), I'm going to give it a shot. I've bought a new sump and some other toys over the past year since I knew I'd be moving, and am using this weekend to get things cleaned up and ready for this.
So I've got some new gear here that I've collected over the past year, and I'll post pics as I get them unboxed and as the move goes. I know lots of folks feel post on R2R questions about moves and have a lot of angst about them. I have angst, but much less on the 2nd go around, so I'll document the weekend as best as I can.