Ken's 215G SPS Build

[kenchilada]

I’m about to order my sump. I decided on a Synergy Reef CL-34. They were very helpful on Facebook, answered all my questions within minutes, very friendly and very accommodating. And their shipping lead time is reasonable despite my custom requests.

No refugium in this sump, but I’ve never been a huge fuge fan. Maybe I’ll add a scrubber later.

I was initially considering GEO sumps but the 12-15 week wait is a total deal breaker. Also almost bought a Tideline 36 from my LFS but I heard some negative things about sock chamber noise. Then I looked at Trigger but I hate all the colors.

 

[justarex]

This is a fun thread. Great writeup and I look forward to seeing the progress!

 

[kenchilada]

This is a fun thread. Great writeup and I look forward to seeing the progress!

Thanks! I really appreciate the feedback.

Tomorrow will be very fun because me and the kids are headed to the airport bright and early to pickup 130 of live rock.

I’ll post plenty of pictures tomorrow after we get it home.

 

[kenchilada]

Live rock from Tampa Bay

It’s sent in very thick poly bags. The rock is in one bag with water, then that is put in several more thick bags.

Here’s what it looks like when you first open a box. The smell from the die off is pretty strong.

 

[kenchilada]

So what do I think of the rock I got from Tampa Bay Saltwater?

Im mostly happy with it. There were lots of critters but most of it was dead in the box. Two large urchins, large brittle stars, abalone, handful of snails, crabs, hermits, mantis shrimp, lots of worms. Very few lived. About three hermits and ten snails lived. Hopefully there’s plenty more things hiding in the rock.

The rock itself is decent. Tons of sponges. Most of it looks porous, only a few pieces that look like chunky concrete. Compared to Marco rock, it’s not as “holey“. Decent shapes. I’ll fill in with some cherry picked pieces of dry Marco rock to get my scape right, which was always the plan.

Picking it up was really easy. The shipping cost about $250, so total the rock cost about $7/pound.

So, pretty good option considering there are not many choices nowadays. I definitely miss the days where I could buy ten boxes of Fiji rock in Los Angeles, but this should give me a big head start versus all dry rock.

 

[kenchilada]

Bunch of dead stuff..

Here’s all of it after being in the tub a few hours...

Pretty mantis but he didn’t make it...

This is a comparison of the texture of this rock versus a random piece of dry Marco rock...

 

[kenchilada]

Live rock smells horrible today, glad it’s out in the detached garage. I tested 0.25-0.5ppm ammonia last night. Planning to do a water change later.

I’m having problems getting enough RODI made. I’m on a well pump and it’s only reading 25psi on the filter. Guess I need a booster. Only getting about a gallon an hour. Plus I found out the LFS is closed Sunday now so I can’t go by any water till Tuesday unless I take a long drive.

 

[Smite]

This build is looking amazing! Your wood work is top notch, tagging along

 

[ReefRy]

Thanks so much for documenting all this. Learning alot!

 

[JGT]

Live rock smells horrible today, glad it’s out in the detached garage. I tested 0.25-0.5ppm ammonia last night. Planning to do a water change later.

I’m having problems getting enough RODI made. I’m on a well pump and it’s only reading 25psi on the filter. Guess I need a booster. Only getting about a gallon an hour. Plus I found out the LFS is closed Sunday now so I can’t go by any water till Tuesday unless I take a long drive.

Wasn’t this shipped in water? If so, why the die-off/smell/ammonia?

 

[mar.deezy]

Looks awesome so far! Cant wait to see it all together

 

[John08007]

I have the bug. Again. After staying away for ten years. Can my marriage survive? My wallet won't.

Background
I started in the reef hobby in 1992 when I was in high school. I got really into it, and even got a job at the grocery store to pay for it. I jumped in the deep end and bought a 135G Oceanic reef-ready. Being 1992, I had a sump with a wet/dry filter, bio-balls, a skimmer with a wooden airstone, metal halides and some VHO actinics. This tank was the most fun I had being a miserable failure. The first couple of years were rough, especially because we were using tap water and I had briopsis like crazy. I made every mistake in the book several times, but eventually I ended up keeping a smaller but successful SPS-dominated tank. Until my house air conditioner died and I lost everything. That was ten years ago.

So now I'm in my 40's and it's time to build my dream tank. This will be entirely SPS. My new system will employ a mix of new and old (maybe ancient?) methodologies that have worked for me. So you will see me do weird things like hang a huge T5 fixture over this tank and use LED for shimmer. Sorry in advance!

The build will probably go slowly since I need to replace a rotten staircase just to get this thing in the door. I also have to pour footings and add structural support under my house for it. Oh yeah, I also have no idea how I will get the tank in the house yet. Anyone in the New Orleans area that wants to help, let me know!

Equipment Plans
This is still in flux, please post comments and suggestions!

System:

• Tank: 215G Planet Aquariums MATRIX (72"x24"x29"), Low-iron glass, external overflow, black silicone
• Sump: Tideline 36 or Icecap 36XL
• Stand/Canopy: DIY furniture-quality, face-frame construction with inset doors
• Insurance: 22kwh whole-house generator with 500G in-ground propane tank
• Methodology: SPS, barebottom, high bioload
• Rock: 150 pounds of Tampa Bay Saltwater rock

Flow:

• 3x Vortech MP40WQD
• 2x Sicce Xstream-E Wave Pump (2250GPH)
• 2x Tunze 6055 (1450GPH)
• Tunze 7095 Multicontroller
• Tunze 6215 Wavebox (have one, will try it out)

Lighting:

• ATI 60" 8x80W Sunpower T5
• 4x Kessil A360X (supplemental, shimmer)

Filtration:

• Deltec 1000ix Skimmer (other suggestions?)
• Deltec KM150 Kalk Stirrer
• Vectra S2? Or two Jebao DC?

Support:

• AirWaterIce Typhoon3 RO/DI
• Avast Plank Feeder (really want one)

Livestock Plans

• SPS only
• Tangs (as many as will fit without jail time)
• Bluethroat triggerfish (pair)
• Anthias school
• Whatever random reef-safe fish the kids want

Design Sketches (Work In Progress)
I will keep these updated as I make changes. This will have a full canopy. Both pieces will be fully skinned with cabinet-grade construction. I am planning on face-frame construction and inset doors. It has to look nice since it will be in the living room.

Curious, always seen pics like this. What software are you using to make these pictures?

 

[kenchilada]

This build is looking amazing! Your wood work is top notch, tagging along

Thanks so much for documenting all this. Learning alot!

Looks awesome so far! Cant wait to see it all together

Thanks, appreciate it!

Curious, always seen pics like this. What software are you using to make these pictures?

It's SketchUp. I use it a lot for woodworking but I'm not great with it. Best way to learn it is probably from YouTube videos.

 

[kenchilada]

Wasn’t this shipped in water? If so, why the die-off/smell/ammonia?

Yeah it was shipped in water. I'm conflicted on it. I was not expecting so much death and a full cycle, but that's what I got. I have no frame of reference, so it could be normal. Maybe @liverock can explain it.

I've gotten many boxes of Fiji and Marshal Islands rock that were shipped dry and this was certainly not any better. So the whole "shipped in water" thing? Not sure it's that important if you're overnighting via air freight.

What I really wanted was "mature rock" and I think this still fits the bill. I didn't want dry rock that my LFS threw in a tub a couple months ago.

 

[ReefRy]

@kenchilada May I ask approximately how much the stand cost in material and time? I took the advice of a fellow R2Rer and hired a local guy to build a stand for my upcoming 120 build. I liked yours so much that when he asked for an 'inspiration pic' I sent him an image of your stand. Basically, if you did this for a stranger, what would be a fair asking price?

 

[kenchilada]

@kenchilada May I ask approximately how much the stand cost in material and time? I took the advice of a fellow R2Rer and hired a local guy to build a stand for my upcoming 120 build. I liked yours so much that when he asked for an 'inspiration pic' I sent him an image of your stand. Basically, if you did this for a stranger, what would be a fair asking price?

Wow cool, that's very flattering! I've spent around $600 on materials and supplies. This is for enough lumber for the stand and a full canopy. Probably will spend another $100 on it by the time I'm done. A professional could do it cheaper by using plywood instead of dimensional lumber for the base, off-the-shelf doors, and less trim. Also, I'm using poplar which is a lower-priced hardwood. Oak/maple/etc will cost much more in materials (but are higher hardness and stain much better).

I would expect something custom to cost you at least $1500-2000 by the time its finished, stained, cleared, painted, etc.

Hope you post a thread, interested to see what you end up with!

 

[kenchilada]

I won the grand prize in this thread from @MarineDepot! It's for a deluxe 100GPD RODI system. I broke mine last week so this works out great, plus as I said above, my water pressure is only 25-30psi here and this system has an onboard booster pump. I've never won anything like that before, so very exciting!

 

[John08007]

I won the grand prize in this thread from @MarineDepot! It's for a deluxe 100GPD RODI system. I broke mine last week so this works out great, plus as I said above, my water pressure is only 25-30psi here and this system has an onboard booster pump. I've never won anything like that before, so very exciting!

That's awesome, is it just a random draw from all threads? Never heard of this before.

Something to think about, I do not know how far along your build it, you may want to put epoxy resin in your stand to contain a possible leak,also inside your hood to prevent it from getting damaged from moisture. Its only $50-100, I will do this to all of my future builds

 

[ReefRy]

Wow cool, that's very flattering! I've spent around $600 on materials and supplies. This is for enough lumber for the stand and a full canopy. Probably will spend another $100 on it by the time I'm done. A professional could do it cheaper by using plywood instead of dimensional lumber for the base, off-the-shelf doors, and less trim. Also, I'm using poplar which is a lower-priced hardwood. Oak/maple/etc will cost much more in materials (but are higher hardness and stain much better).

I would expect something custom to cost you at least $1500-2000 by the time its finished, stained, cleared, painted, etc.

Hope you post a thread, interested to see what you end up with!

That sounds like it could definitely work for us. We won't be doing a canopy and have already talked to the carpenter about two estimates; painted and diy. From the way you've described it, we can have a beautiful stand AND stay within our budget. Thanks again and congratulations on your win! It's always nice when good things happen to good people!

 

[kenchilada]

That's awesome, is it just a random draw from all threads? Never heard of this before.

Something to think about, I do not know how far along your build it, you may want to put epoxy resin in your stand to contain a possible leak,also inside your hood to prevent it from getting damaged from moisture. Its only $50-100, I will do this to all of my future builds

I used resin on my stand in the 90s and it was great! I am thinking of using it on the inside of the canopy. I actually really like the Rustoleum Topcoat I used in the stand, but it doesn’t fill wood grain as completely as the resin.

I use exterior window sealant on the seams on the top of the stand where the tank sits. Resin there is a good idea too.