There and back again. My return to reefing after 12 years...

[Zero_Cool]

And so it begins...

I kept multiple tanks in the early 2000s up to 2010. At one time I had roughly 600 gallons between full reef, frag and FOWLR tanks. Sold off everything except for 180 gal full reef gear. Packed it all up and moved 9 hours south from Chicago to Memphis. Moved 3 times since then until my wife and I found a home we plan to stay in. Brought all of the gear along for the ride and figured now or never.

We chose a spot in the house that backs up to a VERY small closet under the stairs that will serve in some form as a fish room. House is being remodled and that is the space available.

I have an addictive personality so once we decided to start again I began researching everything I could. Found out that the hobby hasn't changed dramatically (aside from the prices - looking at you Yellow Tang) and that LED lighting had come to the forefront (LED was in it's infancy when I got out). Got caught up in the BRS Black Friday shopping ferver and have stacked up equipment for a restart once construction is done.

This build thread will be slow going over the next few months while that is wrapping up.

Tank is an acrylic 180 gallon 72x24x24, .5 inch sides and bottom with .75 inch top and back. 2x 1.5 drains, 2x .75 returns and 2x 1 in the top that used to hold the SeaSwirls.

Plan is a full reef again.

If you have got this far then I will say thank you for your interest and I look forward to sharing the journey.

First step is uncrating the tank and a leak test. First time the tank has seen light or water in 12 years. So far no catastrophic failure so that is a good thing. Going to leave it full for a few days just in case.

First question: I found these imperfections in 3 places in the seam on the top/sides. They are less than .125 inch and start from the outside. Is this crazing or something more sinister?

 

[Zero_Cool]

Been too long since last update, sorry.

7/24 - been a veritable roller coaster over the last 2 months. High, lows, frustrations, devastations, uncertainty, encouragement and some perseverance were all experienced and required. Leasons were painfully learned along the way.


5/17 - order from Jason Fox came in (was a bit of a panic as FedEx delivered the box to a business 10 miles from me and I had to track it down to go get it). Jason was very accomodating in talking me down. All is well and corals are in the tank.

5/15/23 - Picked up some new fish and the corals that I had previously purchased at the LFS. My wife also picked put some new corals and a few PJ Cardinals.

My wife really got into her first live sale on Sunday and we have a very full box of Jason Fox signature coming in tomorrow.

Got the AWC up and running.

Next up - more fish and frags.

 

[Zero_Cool]

Reserve 2

7/24

 

[Zero_Cool]

First snag in the equipment plan. Lools like the magnet on the skimmer pump has cracked.

Skimmer is a Euro Reef RS250 driven by a GX-6000 needlewheel pump. Not sure I can get parts for the pump - anyone have any suggestions on a potential source?

Should I look to replace the pump altogether with a new DC pump? Something like the Sicce PSK or Varios pumps?

 

[blaxsun]

I'd replace it altogether with a DC pump (Sicce would be a good choice). Not sure about the glass - the silicone could be letting go slightly. Since the tank is dry you might be able to deal with that via corner bracing (not a bad idea regardless).

 

[Zero_Cool]

Thank you. I have found some parts and even a similar pump (Sedra 9000). May just swap to a DC as the noise reduction may be worth it.

 

[Zero_Cool]

She held water for 24 hours. Very pleased.

Took a little citric acid to clean up the inside of the overflow and drained the tank as it is supposed to get below freezing tonight. She looks good.

Next up is aquascaping dry rock so I can start to seed it with some LR from the lfs.

 

[Zero_Cool]

First run at the aquascape.

Love the Marco rock for the texture and porosity.

Hate that I am rubbish and borderline OCD about the scape. No matter what I do it just looks like a pile of boulders to me.

Might try to break up a few of the larger pieces to create more nooks, ledges and swim throughs.

 

[Husker-reef]

I think it is called E Marco cement. Stuff in incredible for building a more natural looking aquascape. Once it dries, there’s no worries of it coming apart. I have put it to the test.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Any updates on your tank?

 

[Zero_Cool]

The key word is *soon*

Biggest update I have is that my wife decided she likes the look of a reef through low iron glass over acrylic (plus she wants to steal the acrylic for her FOWLR). We were able to source a new 72x30x25 230g for the display.

House remodeling is taking way longer than expected ( ut will be done *soon*) so we are looking at another 6 weeks out probably.

Been gathering up new equipment and trying to choose the correct lighting and flow for the DT.

I will updat with those choices shortly.

Thanks for the interest. I really do intend to write this up as a build in progress.

 

[Zero_Cool]

Found out much of my old equipment did not survive as well as I had hoped. Decided to go all in and start with new. Updated tank and equipment list:

- 72x30x25 3/4 inch glass all around so no cross braces, low iron front
- 3 Radion G6 XR30
- IceCap 36XL sump
- Reef Octopus 200sss skimmer
- Ink Bird heat control with dual 600 watt elements
- Sicce SDC 9.0 for return
- 4x MP40s for flow
- Apex controller
- Geo 618 CaRX
- Geo Kalk reactor
- DOS for water change
- DOS for CaRX and Kalk
- Tunze Osmolator and shutoff for top off

I will probably also plumb in a 20 gallon that will be a cryptic refugium to start and may eventually become a frag tank in the future. Planning to do AWCs via this tank as well as it will be in the small fish closet behind the tank for noise reduction.

Marco rock has been cemented into smaller groupings for easy reassembly. These sections have been cycling in tubs with some live rock pieces for 5 weeks or so. They will be more than ready when the tank comes in.

No pictures yet as it is just a bunch of boxes right now.

Planning/purchasing plumbing now. Looking into 75 gallon tall plastic tanks for a mixing station that will be set up in the laundry room.

More updates *soon*

 

[Zero_Cool]

Latest updates:

Tank is in! LFS received it last Friday. I will get some pictures up later this week. It looks much bigger than I had anticipated. The 3/4 inch glass is really something.

Stand color samples finally arrived and we decided on a finish. Should be ready to go in a couple of weeks.

Construction is wrapping up and should be complete by the first week of March. Then the build gains some steam.

 

[Zero_Cool]

Decided to do some work on the mixing station:

Those are 55 gallon (18×18x18x42)

Right side is RODI with feed line for Kalk reactor

Pump is an old Iwaki 30 that drives water transfer, saltwater mixing, sediment filter (thanks @homer1475 for this idea) and has a hose attachment for rapid water needs

Left side is the satwater tank with feed line for AWC and a Neptune MOS to shut the AWC DOS down when water is low.

The feed lines for kalk and AWC are 1/2 inch bulkheads with John Guest 1/4 inch threaded fittings on the flange and 40 inches of 1/2 pvc inside the poly tank. I drilled out the inside of the JG fittings so the water line can be run all the way to the bottom through the 1/2 inch pvc without needing a weight that might get pushed around when mixing. Thanks to @KStatefan for this hack.

Made a last minute change in positioning inside the fish closet so had to add 4 inches to the drain line on the RODI tank.

Here it is set up. As you can see it is tight quarters in the fish closet. Original plan was to have both tanks under the stairs but access to the lid for salt mixing was limited.

Next step is to install the RODI unit itself and start processing water.

Been slow going but the start is near.

 

[Zero_Cool]

Time for an update -

Construction is complete at the house and the new tank/stand has been delivered.

Started on plumbing today and have the 3 drain lines done for a bean animal. This is my first tank using a bean animal and I am very hopeful that it is as quiet as advertised and that I get it right the first time. Going to finish the plumbing tomorrow.

Made my first batch of RODI and hope to get the tank filled throughout next week.

 

[Zero_Cool]

Got some more plumbing done today. Water test soon.

 

[c_healy]

Your set up looks really good. Can’t wait to see it all come together.

 

[Zero_Cool]

Main plumbing complete - she holds water!! Working on the dosing lines, AWC, ATO and reactors next.

Filled the tank 2/3rds full with saltwater and will be adding rock/sand over the weekend. Rocks have been "cooking" for 4 months now with live rock to seed and weekly feedings.

Used desk grommets for a clean transition through the wall into fish closet. Dosing lines on the bottom, power lines above.

Got these cord organizers feom Amazon. They are soft rubber with 3M adhesive back. Seem to fit the majority of dosing lines and power cables. Time will tell how they hold up to saltwater.

More to come.

 

[Zero_Cool]

15 years ago I sent my kalk and calcium reactors in to George at Geo's Reef to have them refurbished. Shipping label was dated 7/22/2008. Pulled them out today and they look brand new. They quality I remember well but the best part is the service. I had some questions and called the number on the website. George answered and walked me through the set up and where to find the old instruction manual on the website. If you are looking for reactors I highly recommend Geo.

@geo - thank you for your exceptional service.

 

[Zero_Cool]

Tank is full and running. Have 1 pinhole leak in a return fiting that I need to address. Also, brand new Sicce SDC 9.0 had the wrong controller and a damaged intake screen. I had purchased a used one for a back up so was able to use the controller from that one to get up and running. Hoping to hear from BRS/Sicce customer service Monday.

Bean animal drain into sump is quiet. Water fall into the overflow is still a little noisier than I had hoped. I tried to raise the water level with the gate valve and lowering the flow rate of the return which helped, however, lower flow rate through the sump is not letting the heaters keep up with desired temp. Still have some tinkering to do.

Sicce SDC 9.0 is also a little louder than I had expected for a DC pump. Can hear a hum through the cabinet. With the reduction in flow required to keep the overflow quiet this may just be too big of a pump. May swap out for a smaller one.