After 12 years of being out of the hobby, I have decided to finally start back up. I had a standard 125 gal reef aquarium back in San Diego. In 2006 I had to tear it down as I made a move after getting married. We bought an old home with less room and a foundation with a crawl space unable to support the weight of the tank without major modifications to the homes' foundation.
I was disappointed that I had to break down a great tank. It was a predominately SPS, mixed reef tank. I had a 55 gal reef aquarium for many years before the 125 that I propagated corals and sold to my LF Stores in the form of store credit. I saved up enough in coral frag credits to purchase the LeeMars standard 125 and the associated hardware to get her running.
After 6 years of running the 125 I had a well-established reef aquarium with colonies from the original 55 as well as all sorts of new corals. I had a blast being involved with the San Diego Marine Aquarium Society and all the great members.
Tearing that tank down tore down a little part of me. Colonies and frags were dispersed FOC with the understanding that I would one day start back up and would have a ready supply of frags to start over from.
Fast forward 12 years later and a move halfway across the globe, I have finally taken the tank out of storage, shipped 8k miles and am in the process of starting over, literally almost from scratch. The only thing remaining is the tank and stand that I custom built in my friends wood shop, the DIY calcium reactor, Fluidized bed reactor converting to bio bead, sump now heavily modified, my original ASM protein skimmer, and separate tall refugium. After that, all things are going to be new and updated. SO it is an old/new system.
Man, have things changed in the hobby since I left. LED’s were just starting on the scene and seemed like cheapo alternatives. I had 2, 48” VHO actinic bulbs, two 250w Metal Halide and one 400w Metal Halide when I left. Now I am going to attempt LED’s. The cost of electricity is beyond belief. For two of us, our bill averages $400-$450/month, without a reef tank running. Add the cost of running the MH’s for 8 hours plus the cooling needed is what was the impetus to move to LED’s. If they don’t work out, I still have the MH’s. DC pumps were nonexistent. Wave-making… on a new level. I am cheaping out on some items as I want to see how these new-fangled items work out. I have done as much research as I possibly can on most items to understand the shortcomings of going the less expensive route. Please don't bag too hard on some of the equipment choices I made. They were chosen after extensive research and an understanding of the pros and cons.
I cheaped out and went with three SBReef lights, 16” standard dimmable LED’s and hacked them to be controlled with the Neptune Apex classic. Speaking of controllers, those weren’t around back in the day like it is today. I heard and read great things about the SB Reef lights so we will see. I hope that I did the hack correctly and it all runs as it should. Of course, I did all the wiring before having the Apex up and running. So I have soldered all the connections and hope that I did it right. I have purchased the apex LSM as I had great success getting my corals to spawn with timed moonlighting before. This should be better with the LSM and accurate lunar cycle simulations. Again, time will tell.
So, to recap, this build thread is a reboot of an old system. I will be progressing slowly and methodically, hopefully not so slow as to have interest falter. Your input will be greatly appreciated as the system components and setup are new to me. The basics I still have in my knowledge base. Still, I am not up on all the newest information and findings so input is welcomed.
I was disappointed that I had to break down a great tank. It was a predominately SPS, mixed reef tank. I had a 55 gal reef aquarium for many years before the 125 that I propagated corals and sold to my LF Stores in the form of store credit. I saved up enough in coral frag credits to purchase the LeeMars standard 125 and the associated hardware to get her running.
After 6 years of running the 125 I had a well-established reef aquarium with colonies from the original 55 as well as all sorts of new corals. I had a blast being involved with the San Diego Marine Aquarium Society and all the great members.
Tearing that tank down tore down a little part of me. Colonies and frags were dispersed FOC with the understanding that I would one day start back up and would have a ready supply of frags to start over from.
Fast forward 12 years later and a move halfway across the globe, I have finally taken the tank out of storage, shipped 8k miles and am in the process of starting over, literally almost from scratch. The only thing remaining is the tank and stand that I custom built in my friends wood shop, the DIY calcium reactor, Fluidized bed reactor converting to bio bead, sump now heavily modified, my original ASM protein skimmer, and separate tall refugium. After that, all things are going to be new and updated. SO it is an old/new system.
Man, have things changed in the hobby since I left. LED’s were just starting on the scene and seemed like cheapo alternatives. I had 2, 48” VHO actinic bulbs, two 250w Metal Halide and one 400w Metal Halide when I left. Now I am going to attempt LED’s. The cost of electricity is beyond belief. For two of us, our bill averages $400-$450/month, without a reef tank running. Add the cost of running the MH’s for 8 hours plus the cooling needed is what was the impetus to move to LED’s. If they don’t work out, I still have the MH’s. DC pumps were nonexistent. Wave-making… on a new level. I am cheaping out on some items as I want to see how these new-fangled items work out. I have done as much research as I possibly can on most items to understand the shortcomings of going the less expensive route. Please don't bag too hard on some of the equipment choices I made. They were chosen after extensive research and an understanding of the pros and cons.
I cheaped out and went with three SBReef lights, 16” standard dimmable LED’s and hacked them to be controlled with the Neptune Apex classic. Speaking of controllers, those weren’t around back in the day like it is today. I heard and read great things about the SB Reef lights so we will see. I hope that I did the hack correctly and it all runs as it should. Of course, I did all the wiring before having the Apex up and running. So I have soldered all the connections and hope that I did it right. I have purchased the apex LSM as I had great success getting my corals to spawn with timed moonlighting before. This should be better with the LSM and accurate lunar cycle simulations. Again, time will tell.
So, to recap, this build thread is a reboot of an old system. I will be progressing slowly and methodically, hopefully not so slow as to have interest falter. Your input will be greatly appreciated as the system components and setup are new to me. The basics I still have in my knowledge base. Still, I am not up on all the newest information and findings so input is welcomed.
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