VermontReefs

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Here we go! After a 10 year run with reef tanks in Colorado and a recent 10 year hiatus from the hobby, the reef bug is itching and I'm scratching that itch. To say that things have changed from the last time I built a system is an understatement. Gone are the days of Fiji Live Rock & Metal Halides + T5's. I welcome the challenge. BRS was just getting started when I got out of the hobby and they sure have helped me jumpstart the learning process again!

My wife and I purchased a 70 acre farm in Southern Vermont after escaping Denver, Colorado during covid in 2020. We are coming up on our 1 year anniversary in our 1779 Cape Cod antique farmhouse so I felt it was time to get back into my beloved hobby this winter. This summer we stocked our half acre creek fed trout pond with 50 plus 10-12" Rainbow Trout and they are thriving. Vermont winters are beautiful however all of all the work outdoors comes to a halt so I needed something to keep me busy. The Ocean Room was born.

My goal as is everyone who posts a build thread is to create a journal of the journey over the next several years. Hopefully, I can look back at this in 10 years and we're still growing coral.

The Build Breakdown:

Concept:
Mixed Reef w/ SPS Focus - I am looking to stock the tank with coral that I like and not just fancy named high end pieces. So this will be a carefully planned hodge podge of coral that I love.

This setup will be using exclusively captive bred fish and aquacultured coral in order to achieve sustainability.

I will be using roughly 100lbs of premium KP Aquatics live rock shipped in water for this tank which I can't wait to get going. I am currently working on the electrical and then the build can begin! Let the fun times roll.

Tank:
Cade 1200 S2 ( Thanks AlgaeBarn)
114g Display
21g Sump
9.2g Gravity Fed ATO

Filtration/Nutrient Export:
Maxspect Aeraqua Duo AD600
Clarisea SK 3000
Refugium

Flow/Return:
Abyzz A100 DC Return w/ Controller
2 Vortech MP40's
1 Ice Cap 4k Gyre

Lighting/Heat:
2 Radion XR30 G5 Pro's
Fuge: 2 Tunze Waterproof Lights
700 Watt Innovative Marine Helio PTC Dual Heaters (350x2)
300 Watt BRS Titanium Heater w/ Ink Bird ( Separate Circuits)


Controller/Automation/Electrical:
2 Dedicated 20 Amp AFCI/GFCI Outlets
1 Dedicated 20 Amp NON GFCI Outlet
Hard Wired -Full Neptune Apex/Trident System
2 Neptune Dos Units (Water Change/Two Part Dosing)
Ipad Control Panel

Water: Basement Mixing Station
BRS 4 Stage 75gpd R/O System
2 Norwesco 65 Gallon Storage Containers
Vectra M2 for Mixing
Automatic Water Changes run via DOS
2 Sicce Mixing Pumps

---------------------------

Fish: All Captive Bred
1 Flame Hawk (My Fav)
6 Lyretail Anthias OR
Red Stop Light Cardinalfish
Mated Pair of Percula
Canary Wrasse
Coral Beauty or Flame Angel
2 Tangs (Blue,Convict,Yellow?)
FileFish
More TBD

Coral Stock - Aquacultured ONLY
Softies, Few LPS & Plenty of SPS
TBD



Thanks for reading!

 
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VermontReefs

VermontReefs

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Awesome! I'll be following along. I'm in Northern VT (Georgia) and it's nice to see other VT reefers' builds.
Hey great to see other VT reefers! Any suggestions for LFS in VT or surrounding states? I'm on right on the border of eastern Cambridge NY and Arlington Vermont so I'm assuming I'll be targeting upstate New York LFS or if I'm in for a trip NYC LFS's. In Colorado I was a part of MASC Marine Aquarium Society of Colorado, I was hoping there was something similar in the area.
 

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Ok not reef related, but how do you like/compare life in Vermont to Colorado? Been living all over because of the military but planning a move to CO in a few years. Although 70 acres while mountains are still nearby sounds nice too haha.

Very excited to see a Cade build, dream tanks for sure.
 
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VermontReefs

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Ok not reef related, but how do you like/compare life in Vermont to Colorado? Been living all over because of the military but planning a move to CO in a few years. Although 70 acres while mountains are still nearby sounds nice too haha.

Very excited to see a Cade build, dream tanks for sure.
Hey Steezy, I'm originally from Arizona lived there till I was 26 then tried the beach in Carlsbad, CA....to expensive and people suck in California. Moved to Denver and put it in 11 years. 11 years ago Denver was a great place and it still has it's perks however cost of living is on par with California in terms of home ownership. $500k doesn't go very far. I've been all over Colorado and if I were to ever buy a second home I'd consider Breck or something but Denver has gotten crowded and traffic is simply unbearable. It wasn't built for this influx of people. The city has a major homeless problem as well.

After building a successful food truck/catering business we were traveling through New Zealand during the onset of Covid in the states. We had talked about moving to Vermont for a couple years....my wife is from NH and her brother lives here. In NZ we pulled the trigger. Sold the business, moved cross country in June 2020 in search for a new beginning AWAY from this crazy world.

Best decision we ever made. Southern Vermont is absolutely gorgeous and consists of very small rural towns. It's the second least populated state! In Oct of 2020 we purchased this 70 acre farm with a beautiful antique home that is completely renovated, a historic barn, trout pond, a creek running through the property and two more outhouses. The price we paid for this property which is in perfect tip top condition would buy you a moderate size white box right next your neighbor in Denver. We have every flowers and fruit imaginable out here. It's rural so you have to either work from home or have a trade ( I'm in real estate/investing and my wife works for a probiotic company remotely.

Groceries are expensive unless you grow you own ;-) Gas is decent. Housing is very affordable although it has gotten a little spendy in this area with the influx of second home buyers from NYC which is only 3.5 hrs away. Our home is surrounded by mountains as we live in a hollow really tucked away. I wouldn't trade this life for anything BUT it's not easy. Infrastructure in VT is lack luster and good quality jobs are hard to come by as of now.

VT is a little known secret but it's being discovered by northern easterners and western folk hence the booooming real estate market. Pretty great place to raise a family & a reef tank :)
 

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Hey Steezy, I'm originally from Arizona lived there till I was 26 then tried the beach in Carlsbad, CA....to expensive and people suck in California. Moved to Denver and put it in 11 years. 11 years ago Denver was a great place and it still has it's perks however cost of living is on par with California in terms of home ownership. $500k doesn't go very far. I've been all over Colorado and if I were to ever buy a second home I'd consider Breck or something but Denver has gotten crowded and traffic is simply unbearable. It wasn't built for this influx of people. The city has a major homeless problem as well.

After building a successful food truck/catering business we were traveling through New Zealand during the onset of Covid in the states. We had talked about moving to Vermont for a couple years....my wife is from NH and her brother lives here. In NZ we pulled the trigger. Sold the business, moved cross country in June 2020 in search for a new beginning AWAY from this crazy world.

Best decision we ever made. Southern Vermont is absolutely gorgeous and consists of very small rural towns. It's the second least populated state! In Oct of 2020 we purchased this 70 acre farm with a beautiful antique home that is completely renovated, a historic barn, trout pond, a creek running through the property and two more outhouses. The price we paid for this property which is in perfect tip top condition would buy you a moderate size white box right next your neighbor in Denver. We have every flowers and fruit imaginable out here. It's rural so you have to either work from home or have a trade ( I'm in real estate/investing and my wife works for a probiotic company remotely.

Groceries are expensive unless you grow you own ;-) Gas is decent. Housing is very affordable although it has gotten a little spendy in this area with the influx of second home buyers from NYC which is only 3.5 hrs away. Our home is surrounded by mountains as we live in a hollow really tucked away. I wouldn't trade this life for anything BUT it's not easy. Infrastructure in VT is lack luster and good quality jobs are hard to come by as of now.

VT is a little known secret but it's being discovered by northern easterners and western folk hence the booooming real estate market. Pretty great place to raise a family & a reef tank :)

Wow, thank you so much for the incredibly thorough and thoughtful response. We used to live in San Diego (I worked in Carlsbad!), and while we enjoyed it, dang it was expensive! I would definitely not choose to live in Denver, we would have to be in the mountains somewhere. If that means commuting into a bigger town or being lucky to find work in a small town, that’s what we would do. My wife has a very good career but it is something that is only in person. We currently live in southern FL but originally being from the Midwest, getting used to East coast folks is something else , probably gunna offend some folks with that one. With that being said, small towns are a thing in their own, and Vermont sounds absolutely gorgeous. I love having space and what you’re describing really sounds great. My wife and I will have to go up to VT before our time is up in FL to check it out. Again, really appreciate the detailed response!
 

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I love that tank room! Going to make for a beautiful space to view the reef!
 

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Hey great to see other VT reefers! Any suggestions for LFS in VT or surrounding states? I'm on right on the border of eastern Cambridge NY and Arlington Vermont so I'm assuming I'll be targeting upstate New York LFS or if I'm in for a trip NYC LFS's. In Colorado I was a part of MASC Marine Aquarium Society of Colorado, I was hoping there was something similar in the area.
Honestly, I'm just getting back into it after many years and kind of on the lookout for good options. Let me know if you find anything.
 
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VermontReefs

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Update: The electrical has been installed!

I have installed the following:

2 Dedicated AFCI/GFCI 20amp Circuits = 40 Amps
1 Dedicated Non GFCI 20amp Circuit = 20 Amps
Total of 60 Dedicated Amps for this system which is overkill but more the merrier in my opinion. I went with sleek HD waterproof covers!

We also Hard Wired Cat 6 cable to my modem in the office so no WiFi needed. Out here in rural Southern VT we are unfortunately dependent on Hughes Net until Starlink gets here thus the hard wiring!
 

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Chrisv.

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wow! Looks like you're off to a great start! Hopefully you will be ready to stock up by the time the frag farmers market happens this spring in CT!.
 
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wow! Looks like you're off to a great start! Hopefully you will be ready to stock up by the time the frag farmers market happens this spring in CT!.
The build can now finally commence so I'm hoping so as well! Next up I'll be plumbing the system.
 

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The build can now finally commence so I'm hoping so as well! Next up I'll be plumbing the system.
I know it's a real hike, but you should also try to come down for some of the events with the Boston Reefers. Not sure what the Vt reefing community is like-- but we've got a thriving local forum and occasional club frag swaps etc.
 

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(yikes) just googled it...arlington--> boston is a bit far for a frag swap! We do have a par meter that circulates to reefers in western MA.
 
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(yikes) just googled it...arlington--> boston is a bit far for a frag swap! We do have a par meter that circulates to reefers in western MA.
I'm totally down to come down for swaps and things. I was super involved in MASC
(Marine Aquarium Society or Colorado) - We have some family in Boston as well so that helps. Do you guys have a forum of your own similar to https://www.marinecolorado.org? If so I'd love to join.

In regards to VT there's nothing. Maybe some clubs in upstate NY but still not sure. We live right on the border of Cambridge NY and West Arlington VT....1/4 mile to the border.
 

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I'm totally down to come down for swaps and things. I was super involved in MASC
(Marine Aquarium Society or Colorado) - We have some family in Boston as well so that helps. Do you guys have a forum of your own similar to https://www.marinecolorado.org? If so I'd love to join.

In regards to VT there's nothing. Maybe some clubs in upstate NY but still not sure. We live right on the border of Cambridge NY and West Arlington VT....1/4 mile to the border.
Hello from another Vermonter (South Burlington)! Looking forward to following your build. Your property sounds amazing!
 
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Today I got around to installing the sump lighting with some HD RBG controllable/dimmable & waterproof strip lights. I also rough plumbed the entire system! Pretty happy with the outcome. Now onto setting up the filtration and securing all of the plumbing. Obviously once everything is ready to go the tank will sit flush with the wall.

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I have this entire week off of work so it’s build time plus we have a foot of snow outside soooo it’s time for the winter build to begin! Plus the Ocean Room was filled with all of this so it’s time to organize. Happy Wife Happy Life
 

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