R3quiem's Reefsys 180L (47gal) - Beginner Build

[R3QUIEM]

Hey everyone. This will be my first saltwater build. I'm a bit of a gearhead, but I am also on a budget and still getting a feel for everything, so please expect a mix of thrifting, price-conscious equipment with some DIY sprinkled in.

I've picked up the tank, stand and sump with the scape somewhat finalised. I'm sure this will be a work in progress.

Set up

• AquaOne Reefsys 180 (Tank, Stand, Sump)
  • 144L Tank (60cm x 55cm x 55cm)
  • 36L Sump + 12L ATO
• Substrate - 2x CaribSea Arag-Alive Special Grade
• Rock - 12kg in Tank (Uncycled rock) + 5kg Sump (Live rock)
• Salt/Water - Seawater to start, then Aquaforest Reef Salt

Support

• Pump - Jebao VAP-7000M (2100-7000 L/H)
• Wavemaker - Jebao ECP-70M (1200-4000 L/H)
• Power Head - Jebao ELW-10M (1200-4000 L/H)
• Lights - Noopsyche K7 PRO3 WIFI
• Skimmer - Bubble Magus Curve A3
• Heater - Aqua One TH 200 Titanium Heater 200W
• ATO - Jebao-150 Optical Sensor
• Dosing Pump - Jebao MD4.4 Wifi
• Power supply - 2x TP-Link P300
• RO - Aquatic Life RO Buddie 4 Stage (50 GPD)

The plan for this tank is fish, softies and LPS. As for a little about me, I have some experience with mixed-planted freshwater tanks. However, that was several years back. I'm currently studying in Australia (hence the more wallet-friendly options), but I'm from Canada, so you might see a mix of verbiage and resources.

Thanks for following along. I appreciate any advice, criticism or just banter/questions. I realise I'm very new to the hobby, with a lot of mistakes to be had and learn from. I'm a little ahead of these logs, but I'm still catching up with my new term, so pictures to follow later.

 

[Fishy Guy]

I’ll be following along. I’m a little over a month into my first reef tank coming from the fresh planted side too. There’s a lot to learn but I’m having a blast so far. Good luck with your build!

 

[R3QUIEM]

I’ll be following along. I’m a little over a month into my first reef tank coming from the fresh planted side too. There’s a lot to learn but I’m having a blast so far. Good luck with your build!

Glad to have you along. It's been exciting getting into the saltwater side. While some things are transferrable, there are a lot of new bits that have been quite different.
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It's my first time working with CA glue and building coral scapes. I'm surprised by the amount of strength you can get in the bonds with just some crushed coral powder with the CA glue. That said, I found the thin, runny CA glue worked best vs the gel, which took a lot longer to set. I went back in with the gel to create some thicker supporting areas and then threw some crushed coral powder. I am not completely happy with the design, given that I had limited materials to work with, but I think it will do. Made sure there was enough room for caves and corners to hide for the fish with some clearance around the glass for cleaning.

*Tip* I found that for crushing corals into powder, a standard kitchen mortar and pestle instead of a hammer with bags works really well. There was no damage to the mortar and pestle afterwards, and the powder was very fine. As an added note, mine was made of granite, if that helps.

Just a picture of the sump that's included for anyone interested. The black lid is over their integrated ATO reservoir. Apparently, the first section post filter sock is for a refugium, followed by a skimmer and then the pump bay. I'm thinking of attempting a small fuge, but that's for later in the build after some things are up and running.

After the scaping, I managed to mount the two power adaptors. I chose what's available here in Australia, especially where I am, which is a bit rural. The TP-Link P300s 3 outlets can be individually turned on and off with Wifi. They also have a physical switch for each outlet, and generally, they've been around for a while with the smart home stuff, so hopefully, they're not going anywhere soon. The downside is that I'm not sure how it'll hold up in the cabinet with the salt water, and it's only got three outlets per adaptor, so I may have to get creative by doubling up some low-power components.

I also made some modifications to the cabinet, given the limited space, to eventually try and organize all the gear that would be inside. I just took a picture frame shelf, cut it into two and put one on either side with some bronze screws. I figured I could eventually store some power adaptors or pass wiring up there as needed.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Glad to have you along. It's been exciting getting into the saltwater side. While some things are transferrable, there are a lot of new bits that have been quite different.
---
It's my first time working with CA glue and building coral scapes. I'm surprised by the amount of strength you can get in the bonds with just some crushed coral powder with the CA glue. That said, I found the thin, runny CA glue worked best vs the gel, which took a lot longer to set. I went back in with the gel to create some thicker supporting areas and then threw some crushed coral powder. I am not completely happy with the design, given that I had limited materials to work with, but I think it will do. Made sure there was enough room for caves and corners to hide for the fish with some clearance around the glass for cleaning.

*Tip* I found that for crushing corals into powder, a standard kitchen mortar and pestle instead of a hammer with bags works really well. There was no damage to the mortar and pestle afterwards, and the powder was very fine. As an added note, mine was made of granite, if that helps.

Just a picture of the sump that's included for anyone interested. The black lid is over their integrated ATO reservoir. Apparently, the first section post filter sock is for a refugium, followed by a skimmer and then the pump bay. I'm thinking of attempting a small fuge, but that's for later in the build after some things are up and running.

After the scaping, I managed to mount the two power adaptors. I chose what's available here in Australia, especially where I am, which is a bit rural. The TP-Link P300s 3 outlets can be individually turned on and off with Wifi. They also have a physical switch for each outlet, and generally, they've been around for a while with the smart home stuff, so hopefully, they're not going anywhere soon. The downside is that I'm not sure how it'll hold up in the cabinet with the salt water, and it's only got three outlets per adaptor, so I may have to get creative by doubling up some low-power components.

I also made some modifications to the cabinet, given the limited space, to eventually try and organize all the gear that would be inside. I just took a picture frame shelf, cut it into two and put one on either side with some bronze screws. I figured I could eventually store some power adaptors or pass wiring up there as needed.

Nice looking aquascape!

 

[Fishy Guy]

Yeah, love the scape!

 

[R3QUIEM]

Thanks for the support, Gumbies R Us and Fishy Guy.

So, it hasn't been a good few days with regards to the build. I had my tank filled with filtered and sterilised seawater from a supplier that maintains tanks in my neighbourhood. While filling, we both found it a little odd that water was getting into the sump before the water had reached the weir in the display tank. Maybe it was because I was tired or didn't want to think about it, but I left the tank run for a day and slept on it. But it kept bothering me the next day.

I'm in a small city* (200K), so we do get power cuts now and then. I'm also in my clinical years, so I can't easily leave to come home if the power cuts out. As an experiment, I figured I'd shut off the pump and see what happens. Initially, I didn't find issues, but I did notice the weir was very slowly filling up before eventually overflowing into the backup return pipe.

I had a sinking feeling and knew I'd probably have to drain the tank and start looking for a leak somewhere along the weir. It didn't help that I already had to seal the sump because of a leak between the ATO area and the return from the display. Eventually, I found it, and I myself must have missed it as it was in the back, and I had already put the substrate over it.

I went ahead with a warranty claim through my local LFS, mostly because I wanted to hold them accountable. It went well, and my LFS has been great in getting them to send a new tank. But it has been really frustrating as I was already cycling my tank with live rock. I also bought a new tank just to avoid issues like this, and this is the second fault in two different aspects of their process (sump first and now display). They are doing it right by fixing it with a new tank, but I still have to go through rebuilding everything. You live, and you learn, I suppose.

I'm trying to be positive, so I'll look at this as something better caught now before the tank was properly up and running as opposed to later when I have corals and livestock, but I can't say I wasn't upset.

 

[R3QUIEM]

While the tank is cycling, I thought I'd post some small updates on the gear that has been slowly trickling in.

For the pump, we have the Jebao/Jecod VAP-7000M. For some basic specs, it's 15-55W, good for 2100-7000LPH, with a max head height of 4.5 Meters. I think the best part of the new series is the addition of a mobile app for basic controls with both Wifi and AP Hotspot. I found it paired without issues, even if I have one of those Modems that do both 5.0ghz and 2.4ghz with the same name.

Interestingly enough, I was watching one of FragboxTV's recent YouTube videos from their visit to Dejong Marine Life in the Netherlands, which is apparently one of the largest marine wholesalers in Europe, and I was surprised to see them using a Jebao/Jecod pump in their sumps. It was around 12:42 into the video for anyone else who is curious.

For the first powerhead, I went with the Jebao/Jecod ECP-70M. Basic specs: 18W and good for 1200-4000LPH. It's nice, small and hopefully not too intrusive in the tank. Got the same mobile app controls. Nothing too fancy.

For the second power head, I have a more conventional Jebao/Jecod ELW-10M. It's anywhere from 3-10W with 1200-4000LPH. It's also got the same mobile app, so again, it is convenient to have everything in the same 'ecosystem' even if it is very barebones. It's a lot easier to pull out my phone to turn it off for feeding than to get into the cabinet.

For lighting, we have the Noopsyche K7 PRO3 WIFI. Purchased the metal fixture for it as well. Honestly, I'm quite impressed by what you get for the price in terms of build quality. I bought it based on some reviews I saw here as well as on YouTube, but I'm looking forward to seeing how it will do with some softies and LPS.

The Jebao-150 optical sensor Auto top-off also came in. Apologies for the lack of pictures; I wanted to install that ASAP because of how quickly water evaporated during the cycle. Nonetheless, I really happy with how well it works. Unfortunately, it doesn't have any app integration. However, it seems to work a treat. There is a bright green light that goes off and remains on till you reset it if it runs out of water or senses the pump didn't fill up in time or turn on. For the price, I really couldn't complain, but maybe others have had more experience to chime in with.

In terms of the price, if converted to US after shipping and import taxes to Australia, I paid the following:
Pump VAP-7000M: $135 USD
Crossflow Powerhead ECP-70M: $85 USD
Regular Powerhead ELW-10M: $70 USD
Noopsyche LED: $180 USD
ATO Jebao-150: $40 USD

Everything here was bought directly from Aliexpress. It took 1-2 weeks to arrive in rural Australia, in case anyone else was interested in purchasing as well. Happy to answer any questions regarding this bit of kit