Reefsys 180 cube Build

[Zetoniak]

Hello!

I am in the process of setting up my very first aquarium. Atm I am preparing the aquascape will glue the right part together once I am 100% sure of the aquascape and I am also fixing the sump gear.

Questions:
1. Min distance between glass and rocks are around 3.5cm is this enough for a scrapper?

2. The skimmer is a Mantis Tornado 150 rated for 500-800l, is it too big for this setup? Previous owner mention he use it for oxigenation only, but is it overkill if I want to properly use it? Should I find a skimmer more suitable for my tank dimensions? Not sure what to do thinking I might upgrade to a bigger tank after a year.

In a separate and smaller tanks (30cm cube and 20cm cube) I'll be preparing the quarentines for fishes and corals. I am cleaning those, will post photos once they are ready. I am planning to setup a cycled with a canister quarentine tank with the 30cm cube for a mixed quarentine for observation and a hospital with the 20cm cube for fish medicines with a simple sponge filter. Does it sound like a good plan?

Any feedbacks are welcome.
Thank you!

 

[Rocks reef]

If you have a scrapper on hand, see if there is clearance between the glass and rockwork. As far as the skimmer goes, if you are planning to upgrade, I would keep the skimmer. It's better to use an oversized one than one that is too small.

 

[Rocks reef]

I like the rock scape by the way!!

 

[Zetoniak]

If you have a scrapper on hand, see if there is clearance between the glass and rockwork. As far as the skimmer goes, if you are planning to upgrade, I would keep the skimmer. It's better to use an oversized one than one that is too small.

Thank you! I don't have a scrapper yet, was thinking to buy it down the path, I'm in between a tunze or a flipper

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Thank you! I don't have a scrapper yet, was thinking to buy it down the path, I'm in between a tunze or a flipper

My vote is for tunze! I have one and it works great!

 

[Jul2k22]

Nice Aquascape! I made the mistake and build it to close to the glas which gets annoying quickly.

 

[Zetoniak]

Thank you all! Here’s an update:


I’m currently cycling both tanks with FritzZyme 9 and Fishless Fuel. I made a small mistake at the beginning — I didn’t shake the FritzZyme bottle before dosing — but I noticed quickly and adjusted the dose. After that, I added Fishless Fuel to bring ammonia up to 2 ppm.

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Display Tank​

I used AF BioSand without rinsing or treating it. After filling the tank, I filtered the water for 24 hours using 200, 100, and finally 10 μm filter socks to clear the cloudiness. Once the water was clear, I removed all mechanical filtration and added biomedia:

• 1 × MarinePure block (main biomedia)
• 1 × bag of Seachem Matrix (to keep cycled for future QT/Hospital use)

Then I added the AF BioSand bacteria close to the sand bed, dosed FritzZyme 9, and added enough Fishless Fuel to raise ammonia to 2 ppm.


Here are the results 48 hours later:

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Lighting Setup​

I’ve set a low-intensity 6-hour photoperiod (2-hour ramp and 4 hours at ~5–15%) using my preferred channels, plus a very low moonlight cycle.
My reasons:

1. I simply like the look.
2. I’m hoping it helps bring on the “ugly phase” a bit sooner so I can introduce copepods once algae appears.

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Sump Setup​

Let me show you how the chambers are distributed.

1. Downstream chamber, is where I place the temp sensor
2. Sock filter, I plan to use the canister box you see in the picture with floss as it has an integrated overflow and I can avoid the problem of blocking a sock and overflow to the RODI reservoir
3. MarinePure block and heater
4. Skimmer and seachem matrix
5. Return Pump (jebao DCS 5000) at 60%

What is the cascade to the last chamber for? I'm keeping that cascade because I think it is there for a reason, but I am don't know any benefit of it.

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Question: How are pods “poop” (detritus?) is exported?​

My understanding so far is:

• The wavemakers keep it suspended in the water column.
• Bacteria break some of it down.
• The rest is exported through mechanical filtration or the skimmer.

I’m wondering if at this stage I should:

• rely only on bacteria,
• run mechanical filtration again, or
• turn the skimmer on to help with export.

Any insight from your experience is appreciated.

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Temperature Controllers​

I initially bought a Tuya WiFi Temperature Controller Socket EOP20, but it only allows adjustments in 2°C increments.
I’ve now ordered an Inkbird ITC-308, which I believe has a much tighter control range (around 0.3°C).

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Skimmer Question​

I have a Mantis Tornado 150, rated for 500–850 L, but it’s huge and takes up a lot of sump space. I don’t currently have room for a refugium. I’m unsure whether to:

• Replace the skimmer with a smaller one to make space for a refugium, or
• Keep this skimmer and run it only a few hours at night in the future.

Any recommendations from those who’ve used oversized skimmers or run skimmer-only nutrient export would be great.