ReefBum's 225G Peninsula Tank Build

ReefBum · Jan 8, 2021

Here are two 55 gallon drums. The one on the left is for RODI water and the one on the right is for fresh saltwater. I have a pump in the RODI drum that pumps water to the other drum where I mix up the salt. I also use these drums to change water out for my established 187 gallon tank. Auto top-off for both the new peninsula tank and the 187 gallon tank are drawn from the RODI drum.

I also added some valves to the right of the drum used to mix up new saltwater (there is a pump inside this drum as well). So if I want to pump water back into the peninsula tank I leave the valves as is. If I want it to go to the 187 gallon tank I turn each one the other way.

This is the plumbing I put in to return water from the saltwater drum to the Dreambox for the peninsula tank. And here is the last part of it that goes into the Dreambox.

dank reefer · Jan 14, 2021

Sick Build and that sump is out of this world!

Greg Gdowski · Jan 15, 2021

Never fails. The best place in the room results in the most difficult plumbing because of a furnace or chimney. Nice work around. Bummer that the distant will add a lot of head on your return side. I had that same problem with my 90. The location of the new 220 is a little friendlier. Detail on the plumbing was very nice. Thanks for the build thread.

John Bolden · Jan 21, 2021

nice tank

ReefBum · Jan 21, 2021

Ok, shifting gears a bit, I decided to start this tank with live rock versus dry rock. I had a crap experience my only time starting a tank with dry rock, as I had one problem after another, including a diatom bloom, bacterial bloom, dinos and cyano. I also could not grow SPS like I had in my tanks started with live rock.

One big advantage with dry rock that was appealing is that you can take your time sculpting a cool aquascape. Another is there is less chance of pests hitching into the tank, although this did happen when I tried dry rock (they came in on rock attached to corals).

Nonetheless, the biodiversity that comes with live rock is awesome and it was the main reason I decided to use it for this tank. I also believe you have to wait longer before adding SPS to a dry rock only tank.

I read some good reviews about KP Aquatics so I decided to order 100 lbs of their live rock. They talked me into shipping it in water versus wet newspaper.

I was leery about having it shipped in water out of fear that more hitchhikers would survive the trip. But they said I could flush out any unwanted critters by dipping the rock a few times in water with very high specific gravity (1.035 to 1.040)

ReefBum · Jan 21, 2021

When I unpacked the rock I discovered a ton of life crawling on it, including a bunch of brittle starfish and some crabs.

I did an initial dip in the high specific gravity saltwater, which flushed out some more brittle starfish and crabs as well as some pistol shrimp and a mantis shrimp.

I separated out the hitch-hikers I didn’t want in the tank, namely the crabs, pistol shrimp and mantis shrimp, and dropped them off at a local fish store the next day…..so nobody was rubbed out.

That night all of the rock was placed in the new system to start the cycle. And during the cycling process over the next week, I rinsed the rock two more times in saltwater with a high specific gravity to make sure other pests didn’t make the display their permanent home.

Overall, I could not be more pleased with the quality of this rock. There was a ton of biodiversity, beautiful coralline algae and even sponges. It was also very porous, a good thing since there was more surface area for the bacteria.

DxMarinefish · Jan 21, 2021

ReefBum said:
Ok, shifting gears a bit, I decided to start this tank with live rock versus dry rock. I had a crap experience my only time starting a tank with dry rock, as I had one problem after another, including a diatom bloom, bacterial bloom, dinos and cyano. I also could not grow SPS like I had in my tanks started with live rock.

One big advantage with dry rock that was appealing is that you can take your time sculpting a cool aquascape. Another is there is less chance of pests hitching into the tank, although this did happen when I tried dry rock (they came in on rock attached to corals).

Nonetheless, the biodiversity that comes with live rock is awesome and it was the main reason I decided to use it for this tank. I also believe you have to wait longer before adding SPS to a dry rock only tank.

I read some good reviews about KP Aquatics so I decided to order 100 lbs of their live rock. They talked me into shipping it in water versus wet newspaper.

I was leery about having it shipped in water out of fear that more hitchhikers would survive the trip. But they said I could flush out any unwanted critters by dipping the rock a few times in water with very high specific gravity (1.035 to 1.040)

wish i could get these in the UK

DxMarinefish · Jan 21, 2021

The LR look so healthy and alive. Best start i feel.

rtparty · Jan 21, 2021

ReefBum said:
Ok, shifting gears a bit, I decided to start this tank with live rock versus dry rock. I had a crap experience my only time starting a tank with dry rock, as I had one problem after another, including a diatom bloom, bacterial bloom, dinos and cyano. I also could not grow SPS like I had in my tanks started with live rock.

One big advantage with dry rock that was appealing is that you can take your time sculpting a cool aquascape. Another is there is less chance of pests hitching into the tank, although this did happen when I tried dry rock (they came in on rock attached to corals).

Nonetheless, the biodiversity that comes with live rock is awesome and it was the main reason I decided to use it for this tank. I also believe you have to wait longer before adding SPS to a dry rock only tank.

I read some good reviews about KP Aquatics so I decided to order 100 lbs of their live rock. They talked me into shipping it in water versus wet newspaper.

I was leery about having it shipped in water out of fear that more hitchhikers would survive the trip. But they said I could flush out any unwanted critters by dipping the rock a few times in water with very high specific gravity (1.035 to 1.040)

This is one area where I fully understand the benefits of live rock and yet, I can't convince myself to go through with live rock again. I am not sure what is worse: the dry rock maturation process or the devils that live rock can introduce from day one.

My thought has been to do a pretty cool aquascape out of Caribsea rock but then order 20 or so pounds of LR from KP Aquatics. It would be much easier for me to only have to QT about 20 pounds compared to 100 pounds in the tank. I once dealt with a polyclad flatworm that devoured my CUC and I could not catch it.

But I absolutely dread the year plus and all the problems that come with dry rock. I am convinced if you start with dry rock you will encounter everything you said here...dinos, cyano, hair algae, etc. That stuff may actually be worse than what the LR can bring in.

Greg Gdowski · Jan 26, 2021

There was a mantis in it?

ReefBum · Jan 27, 2021

Greg Gdowski said:
There was a mantis in it?

Yes, glad I flushed it out.

rtparty · Jan 27, 2021

ReefBum said:
Yes, glad I flushed it out.

Any other hitch hikers show up after the first couple weeks and dips? My biggest concern is a polyclad flatworm that eats snails. There are other worries as well but I once had a polyclad that I could not catch and I couldn't keep snails in that tank.

ReefBum · Jan 27, 2021

In terms of aquascaping this tank I wanted to go with a minimalistic approach.....less is more. I did wonder whether it was possible to do a unique scape with live rock using mortar, zip ties and acrylic rods but I decided to go the conventional route.

Why spend a ton of time on an intricate aquascape when corals will grow out and cover it up anyway? Here are some before and after shots of my old 225 gallon tank and my current 187 gallon tank. I started both with simple aquascapes and over time coral covered up the rock.

225 Gallon Tank - Before Coral

225 Gallon Tank - Mature Corals

187 Gallon Tank - Before Coral

187 Gallon Tank - Mature Corals

ReefBum · Jan 27, 2021

In terms of practicality, I wanted to make sure I had some space underneath the rock for the new scape to minimize the amount of detritus that could collect on the bottom of the tank.

I also wanted to create some caves for the fish so they could swim through and hide if necessary.

One reason why I wanted a 20" tall tank was due to the fact that I didn't want a tall rock structure. The plan was to have it go half way up the tank and have only two layers of rock, which would make life easier when creating the rock structure.

Mellotang · Jan 27, 2021

Reefbum is a legend

been a fan since the 2000’s n the days of reef central

seriously skilled reefer

ReefBum · Jan 27, 2021

I have always had islands in my tanks so that was going to be part of the plan. And I also wanted to create some mini peninsulas....yes, peninsulas in a peninsula tank

.... to make it easier to place frags along the entire rock structure, from the bottom up.

Overall, I spent a couple of hours on the structure and I am very pleased about how it turned out.

Greg Gdowski · Jan 27, 2021

Easier for cleaning. Like the minimalistic approach. I was heading in that direction. I spent a lot of time building the rock structure in my 90. Same thing happened. It got way to crowded -- to the point where I was getting annoyed. Glad you found the mantis. That would have been painful

ReefBum · Jan 27, 2021

rtparty said:
Any other hitch hikers show up after the first couple weeks and dips? My biggest concern is a polyclad flatworm that eats snails. There are other worries as well but I once had a polyclad that I could not catch and I couldn't keep snails in that tank.

I had what looked like a sea slug but someone told me it was a keyhole limpet. It was bright orange so I dropped it off at my LFS just to be on the safe side.