Tony's Innovative Marine 200EXT Build

[QuickrdenU]

Soooo, all these corals and the clowns don’t touch them, but my tailspot blenny loves to burry himself in this one specific torch. What gives?!?!

 

[QuickrdenU]

Got a couple WYZE Cam Pan V3’s mounted. Mostly for when we’re gone more than a couple days.

One behind the cabinet doors and one in the corner of the room. These things work great for the price. Really cool to be able to look around with them.

Though I’m sure Chyna will be creeping on me now.

 

[QuickrdenU]

Month and a half of growth.

 

[QuickrdenU]

Well, I’m finally getting around to knocking out a few little jobs I’ve been putting off.

I cleaned out the sump two days ago after I installed the filter floss wrong a month ago and it allowed a bunch of crap to slip by and dirty up the entire sump. And probably keep my nitrates elevated…. So I cleaned it all out by bucket vac and refilled with buckets. Not my cup of tea. So I finally connected the plumbing to the water station in the garage. I was racking my brain over thinking how to do it really well when I figured out that I could do it very simply with just one line coming off the manifold. It’s only 1/2” but it will do. Old water gets pumped out, and new water gets pumped in. Luckily I put valves everywhere when I did the plumbing so it should work very well. I can even mount a temporary pipe on the valve next to it so the water can more easily enter the sump and I’ll mark it with the exact water height.

I also made cord management easier so that I can actually remove the four pumps I have in the sump for cleaning. Doing so completely slipped my mind when I set everything up.

I also cleaned up the AWC, ATO, and dosing lines with 90 degree fittings. More prone to leak now but it looks way better.

Next I want to install the break out box and start adding onto it. I need a warning light or something when I have an alarm going off because my email and phone alerts never seem to go through. I’ll have to figure that out as well otherwise the light wont work either I bet..

And finally I want to clean up my versa pumps plumbing and connect all the volume sensors to the break out box..

ALWAYS SOMETHING!

 

[QuickrdenU]

And yeah, I’m over waiting on overpriced color matched plumbing parts from BRS. One trip to Lowes. DONE!

 

[laconic]

TELL ME ABOUT IT!

Ordered some stuff..

Bashsea Pro Sump
ReefBreeders Photon 32-V2 Pro x 2
RedSea ReefMat 1200
Finnex TH-S 500W x 2
Vectra M2 Pump
Neptune ATK v2
RedSea RSK 900 skimmer

Gonna chill for a bit until my blood pressure settles and then think about the rest..

What size sump did you go with?

 

[QuickrdenU]

What size sump did you go with?

The pro sump is about 48”x19” and holds about 35 gallons. I wouldn’t go with anything smaller IMO. It works very well. But I will look into Geo’s Reef Sumps next time to get lids and built in reactors.

 

[SPS2020]

Well, I’m finally getting around to knocking out a few little jobs I’ve been putting off.

I cleaned out the sump two days ago after I installed the filter floss wrong a month ago and it allowed a bunch of crap to slip by and dirty up the entire sump. And probably keep my nitrates elevated…. So I cleaned it all out by bucket vac and refilled with buckets. Not my cup of tea. So I finally connected the plumbing to the water station in the garage. I was racking my brain over thinking how to do it really well when I figured out that I could do it very simply with just one line coming off the manifold. It’s only 1/2” but it will do. Old water gets pumped out, and new water gets pumped in. Luckily I put valves everywhere when I did the plumbing so it should work very well. I can even mount a temporary pipe on the valve next to it so the water can more easily enter the sump and I’ll mark it with the exact water height.

I also made cord management easier so that I can actually remove the four pumps I have in the sump for cleaning. Doing so completely slipped my mind when I set everything up.

I also cleaned up the AWC, ATO, and dosing lines with 90 degree fittings. More prone to leak now but it looks way better.

Next I want to install the break out box and start adding onto it. I need a warning light or something when I have an alarm going off because my email and phone alerts never seem to go through. I’ll have to figure that out as well otherwise the light wont work either I bet..

And finally I want to clean up my versa pumps plumbing and connect all the volume sensors to the break out box..

ALWAYS SOMETHING!

Looking good!

 

[laconic]

The pro sump is about 48”x19” and holds about 35 gallons. I wouldn’t go with anything smaller IMO. It works very well. But I will look into Geo’s Reef Sumps next time to get lids and built in reactors.

Thanks what did you go with for return pump (s) did you go with one or 2

 

[QuickrdenU]

Thanks what did you go with for return pump (s) did you go with one or 2

I am using 2 M2’s. I’m not a gambler. If one ever has problems, I can flip a valve or 2 and run the tank on one until I get the other fixed.

Sitting here marveling at the clarity of the water now.

 

[HgrReefs]

Just read through your thread, great info! I have a 200 EXT coming to replace a Reefer 350 and Reefer 250. Tank should arrive in a couple of weeks, but the swap out won’t happen until after the holidays most likely.

I noticed way back at the beginning of your thread the barrels you had. I know that company, are you local to that area of Virginia?

 

[QuickrdenU]

Just read through your thread, great info! I have a 200 EXT coming to replace a Reefer 350 and Reefer 250. Tank should arrive in a couple of weeks, but the swap out won’t happen until after the holidays most likely.

I noticed way back at the beginning of your thread the barrels you had. I know that company, are you local to that area of Virginia?

No I’m in NC. Took me a bit to get all the worcheshire sauce or whatever was in them out!

Good luck on your build. If you start a build thread I’ll check it out!

 

[RevMH]

This is awesome. Following along.

 

[dangles]

Banging setup my friend. Super clean and professional!

I saw you’re on septic. Are you disposing of your old water into the septic tank I assume? I have been curious if that ends up causing problems eventually. I’m moving into a house with well water and septic.

 

[QuickrdenU]

Banging setup my friend. Super clean and professional!

I saw you’re on septic. Are you disposing of your old water into the septic tank I assume? I have been curious if that ends up causing problems eventually. I’m moving into a house with well water and septic.

When I’m doing 2-3 gallon AWC’s each night, it goes into the plumbing yeah. No issues so far and it’s a 3 year old system. I actually don’t have any build up in my septic tank with 3 people so I suppose it’s working great. And I have a large water softener that cycles into it as well. But I have it set to clean itself as little as possible.

For larger volumes of water, I try to dump it out into the mulch beds away from grass/plants. The wooded areas in my yard are too far away. I wish I could figure out a way to plumb into those areas but it’s uphill and 40’ away from the house.

I have seen people plumb old saltwater into a buried garbage can, drilled with holes and filled and surrounded with gravel. That would potentially work very well. Kind of like a small septic system just for the old saltwater. But obviously I’m in no rush to attempt that. My neighbors may get suspicious of me digging a 6 foot hole in my yard and immediately filling it back in…

 

[dangles]

When I’m doing 2-3 gallon AWC’s each night, it goes into the plumbing yeah. No issues so far and it’s a 3 year old system. I actually don’t have any build up in my septic tank with 3 people so I suppose it’s working great. And I have a large water softener that cycles into it as well. But I have it set to clean itself as little as possible.

For larger volumes of water, I try to dump it out into the mulch beds away from grass/plants. The wooded areas in my yard are too far away. I wish I could figure out a way to plumb into those areas but it’s uphill and 40’ away from the house.

I have seen people plumb old saltwater into a buried garbage can, drilled with holes and filled and surrounded with gravel. That would potentially work very well. Kind of like a small septic system just for the old saltwater. But obviously I’m in no rush to attempt that. My neighbors may get suspicious of me digging a 6 foot hole in my yard and immediately filling it back in…

As I understand it, water softeners put way more into the drains than reef tanks. But I also don't want there to be problems down the line and have wifey point the finger at the tank

My system will be 160 gallons total and I'll be doing AWC nearly exactly like you are... right down to the mixing station in the garage with a DOS for the AWC

Build Thread - The "She Said Yes!" 120 Gallon Build

Most updated tank photo: Keep reading for the details and progression :) For my original Innovative Marine 50 gallon AIO build, click HERE. Details and Process This will serve as my new build thread. It will be slow to get started as I gather all the gear but once Black Friday hits the...

www.reef2reef.com

My tank should arrive in the next couple of weeks!

 

[QuickrdenU]

As I understand it, water softeners put way more into the drains than reef tanks. But I also don't want there to be problems down the line and have wifey point the finger at the tank

My system will be 160 gallons total and I'll be doing AWC nearly exactly like you are... right down to the mixing station in the garage with a DOS for the AWC

Build Thread - The "She Said Yes!" 120 Gallon Build

Most updated tank photo: Keep reading for the details and progression :) For my original Innovative Marine 50 gallon AIO build, click HERE. Details and Process This will serve as my new build thread. It will be slow to get started as I gather all the gear but once Black Friday hits the...

www.reef2reef.com

My tank should arrive in the next couple of weeks!

Sweet thanks! Following along! And no. Don’t need the tank being to blame for ANYTHING! I’ve actually been very paranoid about the septic. I look down there monthly and clean the filter every 4 months or so. Better safe than sorry…

 

[QuickrdenU]

Just over 4 months into the tank being setup and running. No ugly stage as of yet. Everything has gone very well. Most of the corals are growing fast. Some not at all. A few fish have died(tried wild banggai cardinals twice but they always die… DON’T BUY WILD ONES!) but besides that, no algae, and no pests(besides one aptasia I found growing under a blue layercake sponge frag, took care of it with concentrated kalk.)

Makes me wonder why people have so many issues with dead rock. For me, I did everything I could think of to stay ahead of the curve.

I soaked the rock for several months in the garage which led to the tank cycling in a week or less. I then immediately added a bunch of pods(a couple times), along with some bacteria, and a few bags of established media from my 2 previous pico tanks. I added tons of fish(as many utilitarian fish as I could fit in the tank), crabs, snails(didn’t know these mexican turbos could get so large…), and corals right away and so far have only lost one 24k frammer and a few fish. The zoas don’t all look great but I’m experimenting with more iodine. I’ve turned the lights down a little also. But i think the tank just has to get more mature/dirty. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to maintain my nutrients. They still bounce all over quite a bit. I should probably try sending out an ICP… but I feed heavy and varied. I toss a few cutup worms from the yard into the tank whenever I find them.

Anyways. Just talking to myself and hopefully this may help someone just starting out. I was considering grabbing some live rock to throw in the tank but I’m glad I didn’t. I’m sure I’ll get pests eventually but for now …. I did however grab some mud/sand from the ocean that I keep in a Tupperware container in the sump. I’ll probably keep rotating it out with new stuff I find along the coast.

I also just ordered some more inverts I’ve never kept before including some sand sifting stars, brittle stars, a longspine urchin, shrimp(hoping the wrasses don’t kill them in under a minute), a yellow cucumber, feather dusters, and 5 blue green chromis. The coraline algae is growing very quick and I’m constantly turning up the soda ash and kalk levels. I’ve only added magnesium once so far.

Ok. Back to enjoying the tank. Cheers!

 

[dangles]

Daaaang Gina coralline already! Nice.

Keep a real close eye on that cucumber. I hear horror stories about them nuking the tank when they croak. Or get caught up in a powerhead

 

[QuickrdenU]

Daaaang Gina coralline already! Nice.

Keep a real close eye on that cucumber. I hear horror stories about them nuking the tank when they croak. Or get caught up in a powerhead

Yeah. I like to live dangerously. I’ll always have a bunch carbon on hand. And yup. Lots of frags and snail shells were covered with the stuff and it took off. I can’t complain there!!