New 180 gallon mixed reef build.

[darinsmall86]

Well after many algae and pest issues in a 180 gallon peninsula style tank I bought used, I have decided to start over new.

I ordered a new 6x2x2 180 gallon tank with dual rear corner overflows and a steel powdercoated stand. The exact sump size is yet to be determined but should be in the 90 gallon range with a large refugium. The tank should be ready for me to pick up in a week or 2.

The first step for me was to bleach all of the old live rock to kill off every problem I had in the past so I can start over fresh. I placed all the rock in a 1:10 Bleach and freshwater solution for a week and then let it dry for a few days. Then I did the same thing again. Definitely overkill but it is looking nice, white and clean. The rock will be going into a freshwater and declorinator mix in a couple of days to make sure the bleach is gone so I can start figure out a aquascape.

 

[darinsmall86]

My equipment list so far is.
4- Hydra 26 hd
1- Kessil h380
2- Sicce 3.0 return pumps
4- Coral Box QP-9 powerheads
1- Reef Octopus 200 ext protein skimmer
1- Sicce 1.5 pump to feed the skimmer
1- Tunze 3155 osmolator ato
2- Ehiem Jager 300w heaters
5- 40 lb bags of caribsea special grade reef sand

 

[darinsmall86]

Finally have the tank and playing around with the aqua scape.

 

[darinsmall86]

Plumbing finally complete.

 

[Victoria M]

Off to a great start!

 

[Almondkc]

Very neat plumbing, love the look of your system. Looking forward to future updates

 

[darinsmall86]

I haven't posted in a while but I have been making progress on the tank. I got water in the tank and started the cycle about a month ago. I dropped in a couple raw shrimp to feed the cycle.

Today I also got the kessil h380 mounted over the refugium.

If anyone wants to follow along my instagram account is northernalbertareefkeeper

I update it regularly.

 

[ethridge78]

Any new updates?

 

[darinsmall86]

Well this is a very long overdue update but the tank is still going. It is more challenging than I had hoped getting livestock with the closest LFS being 4.5 hours away. Currently I only have a blue tang and a pair of clownfish in the 180.

 

[darinsmall86]

Everything has been working flawlessly other than I find the QP-9 power heads don’t have great adjustment. I was hoping to place 2 on the back wall but they move way to much water and even on the lowest speed setting on the controller they blow all the sand away from the front of the tank.

 

[darinsmall86]

The Kessil h380 is a beast and probably to powerful for the small amount of nutrients I add to the system with only 3 fish. I also never added the osmolator ato, i just run a line directly from my rodi to the sump attached to a float valve. I have the Rodi setup on a timer so it only has power for 20 min per day so I never have to worry about float failure and a flood.

 

[darinsmall86]

I recently found a LFS in Edmonton, Alberta that quarantines their fish and treats with copper before sale so I ordered some fish and will be making the trip there and back on the 29th to finally add some more livestock. It looks like they have a pretty good quarantine procedure but they keep the fish in 1.017 water so will have to spend a week in my qt tank to slowly raise the salinity. Hopefully it works out well.

 

[darinsmall86]

Yesterday I made the 5 hour drive to some fish shops and picked up some new fish and inverts. Ethical Aquatics packed up a nice selection of fish and inverts for me to make the trip home. Currently have a Yellow Tang, a Royal Gramma and a purple Firefish in my qt tank to slowly bring their salinity up to match my dt.

 

[fishlover1478]

love the aquascape

also did you say you bought a second 180?

 

[darinsmall86]

I think my wife would leave me if I bought a second 180 lol. One day when the kids move out I will build a really big tank.

 

[darinsmall86]

This is where the tank is at today. Been running fairly empty for a couple years but finally gearing up for some large coral orders in the near future.