Welcome to all the fun: setting up a 12 foot reef tank

[Alchemy]

Just wondering with all that water ... is there a sewer drain someplace and is there a fresh water supply nearby for that RO/DI unit? Big leak on 3rd floor... oh boy

 

[ScottB]

Which option did you decide on?

Looks like a rough job to have during retirement!!! Lol.

Definitely going with a load balancing "water bridge" between the two sumps. So many reasons it is needed really, like the ATO for starters, potential head/flow differences, potential differences in the depth of the return lines, etc.

As to the overflow versus return lines, they will be reversed from what was pictured above. Overflows will come straight down. Return pump lines will be taking the longer route back up. The Sicce pumps are rated for much more than we really need.

Yeah, this kind of a build is really fun for me. It covers some new things, but I get to choose all the equipment I am comfortable setting up and running. Best part is I won't be doing the tank service work. I muck out enough tanks of my own. But I get to do the fun stuff like choosing all the livestock and corals, the chemistry and treatment protocols and such.

As an added bonus, I will get to rehome a few fish that I absolutely love, but have outgrown my 5 foot tank -- an orange shoulder tang and a foxface. They are going to have a great time in that tank. Eventually, I'll even be able to keep more backups of my acropora, but that is probably a year out.

Thanks for checking in!

 

[ScottB]

Just wondering with all that water ... is there a sewer drain someplace and is there a fresh water supply nearby for that RO/DI unit? Big leak on 3rd floor... oh boy

Yes, there is SUPPOSED to be a water line that we will tap and a waste drain for the RODI and WC. It wasn't there last time we were in there, but should be by now. We have room for a 44G Brute for mixing inside the wall. Also room for a chiller on the other side.

Flooding is clearly a concern. We have waterproof trays that the sumps will sit in, but they are only an inch or two tall. In the trays will be APEX LDK (leak detect) sensors. Should they trip, we will both be texted, and the return pumps and skimmer will shut down. Might also put a battery powered audible alarm in there.

The float valve for the ATO will also have a backup optical sensor to drive a solenoid shutting flow.

I do wish we had a proper floor drain and slope setup, but we don't.
Thanks for checking in!

 

[ScottB]

A few things missing, but you get the general picture.

Controller & Dosing:
Apex 2016
DOS
Leak detect LDK
2 X large dose reservoir
1 X small of the same

Flow:
4 X Ecotech MP60
4 X Vivid Random flow generators
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/1-ra...th-1-npt-adapter-vivid-creative-aquatics.html

Sump & Skimmer:
2 X Trigger 44
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/sapphire-sump-cr44-trigger-systems.html
Precision Marine II
Mag24 or equivalent for skimmer

Ultraviolet:
1 X AquaUV 114 watt UV
Sicce 3.0 or equivalent

Refugium Light:
H160 Tuna Flora LED Algae Grow Light - Kessil

Heat:
4 X 200 watt BRS Titanium heaters
2 X Ink Bird controllers

 

[ScottB]

Can we talk about FLOW for a 12' long mixed reef tank?

I had originally specd out 4 of the biggest gyres (280) from Maxspect until I realized the water level was not tall enough to run them very hard. They would be pulling either air or sand. I have a love/hate relationship with these things: I love how much water they push but I hate the maintenance. I know the bushings are meant to fail to protect the motor, but come on. I barely get a year out of the bushings. Plus they lose potency once they get slightly dirty and are a pain to clean.

Anyway, we are where we are with 4 X MP60s, obviously one in each corner of the tank. I am torn about the programming and happy to hear thoughts. Here are a couple of my "current" ideas (pun!) :

a) A CIRCLE pattern that runs hard in one direction for a few minutes, then hard the other direction. At all times, only 1 pump from each side would be running.

b) A WAVE pattern where both pumps on one side would run hard for a few minutes, while the other side is off. Then reverse side would run.

c) Reef Crest random opposed. This is what I run in all my more normal shaped tanks.

As to pump speed, I intend to run them as hard as I can without drawing air or blowing sand too much.

 

[Aqua Man]

a) A CIRCLE pattern that runs hard in one direction for a few minutes, then hard the other direction. At all times, only 1 pump from each side would be running.

I’ve always liked this setup.

As an added bonus, I will get to rehome a few fish that I absolutely love

That’s icing on the cake!

 

[Gp!]

a) A CIRCLE pattern that runs hard in one direction for a few minutes, then hard the other direction. At all times, only 1 pump from each side would be running.

If you're only running two at a time wouldn't you be better with only having two in the tank and reversing the flow instead of swapping between 4 in forwards? Half the maintenance

Or do you intend to alternate between all of the modes during the day?

 

[ScottB]

If you're only running two at a time wouldn't you be better with only having two in the tank and reversing the flow instead of swapping between 4 in forwards? Half the maintenance

Or do you intend to alternate between all of the modes during the day?

Not sure I understand fully your suggestion. What the CIRCLE pattern does is get all the water rotating in a clockwise direction for say... 2 minutes. So facing the tank, the front/right pump and the back left pump are on.

Then those pumps go off and the front/left pump and the back/right pump come on to swirl the water counterclockwise.

Without all four pumps, I could never reverse direction as none of the MP powerheads have a "reverse" function. Sorry if I am not getting it, or explaining it well.

 

[Gp!]

Not sure I understand fully your suggestion. What the CIRCLE pattern does is get all the water rotating in a clockwise direction for say... 2 minutes. So facing the tank, the front/right pump and the back left pump are on.

Then those pumps go off and the front/left pump and the back/right pump come on to swirl the water counterclockwise.

Without all four pumps, I could never reverse direction as none of the MP powerheads have a "reverse" function. Sorry if I am not getting it, or explaining it well.

Whoops! I misunderstood what they meant by "anti-sync". I didn't realize they weren't reversed

 

[ScottB]

I am back home finally. Long day but a good one in most respects.

On the downside, the contractors are way behind. We have no power, no water, and no wall framing. Maybe it is all for the better as we got a ton of stuff done easily. "In wall" installs can be so tricky. Now they have to build around our stuff.

Returns & overflow plumbing done.
Control board & wiring done.
Filtration, skimmer, refugium done.
Both sumps are connected and ready for water.

The list of ToDo is too long and boring but relatively easy in theory. (As long as there are no leaks!)

A pic to get you started:

 

[zukihara]

Insanity!

 

[AJsReef]

The “low” height of the actual tank makes the proportions look odd in pictures. How come they chose to go 24” vs 30” or more? Seems to have plenty of stand space

 

[ScottB]

Insanity!

Many thanks for your support! The insane part was just three of us lifting the tank onto a 4 foot tall stand. Combined we weighed less than the tank. More laughs to come I am sure.

 

[ScottB]

The “low” height of the actual tank makes the proportions look odd in pictures. How come they chose to go 24” vs 30” or more? Seems to have plenty of stand space

The stand would hold for sure. The original spec of the tank was much larger width and depth but the structural engineers would not agree. Or maybe it was the finance people. This is an existing office building with rated concrete floors for this third floor install. I was not part of this negotiation and happy I was not. I/we are not the customer.

I could do with more height. The MP60s could do the work but now are only about 6" off the sand so another challenge there. I did not get a picture to explain why but they are too low relative to preference. Only a picture of the weir could explain why I cannot move the pumps higher. Here they are at Max height. I would love another 6". Who would not?

 

[ScottB]

The “low” height of the actual tank makes the proportions look odd in pictures. How come they chose to go 24” vs 30” or more? Seems to have plenty of stand space

I see what you mean now about proportions in the pictures. It does look a little off, but in person it works OK. I think once it gets enclosed, it is going to look really stunning.

 

[Jeffcb]

Very Kool!

 

[ScottR]

Any updates? Can’t wait to see it wet. I think for a shallow tank, flow is going to be tough for sure. MP60s are powerful but to reach half the length of tank once it’s stocked is going to take some tinkering with. I can totally imagine orange shoulders and foxes in there in there. Nice mix.

 

[ScottB]

Any updates? Can’t wait to see it wet. I think for a shallow tank, flow is going to be tough for sure. MP60s are powerful but to reach half the length of tank once it’s stocked is going to take some tinkering with. I can totally imagine orange shoulders and foxes in there in there. Nice mix.

Sadly very little to update on. The construction tradesmen around here are completely overbooked and understaffed.

They did get the wall built and the electrics installed. Not sure about the water hookups. But we are stymied again as the carpenter did not work from our drawings. What should be the open "canopy" space above the tank is not framed properly. There is no space to hang the darn lights! One more expensive change order.

There was an earlier comment in the thread about potentially unsightly proportions on the tank -- not being tall enough. Well, now that the tank in enclosed, I kinda have to agree. Another 6" of height would be a significant improvement. But it is what it is.

 

[ScottR]

Sadly very little to update on. The construction tradesmen around here are completely overbooked and understaffed.

They did get the wall built and the electrics installed. Not sure about the water hookups. But we are stymied again as the carpenter did not work from our drawings. What should be the open "canopy" space above the tank is not framed properly. There is no space to hang the darn lights! One more expensive change order.

There was an earlier comment in the thread about potentially unsightly proportions on the tank -- not being tall enough. Well, now that the tank in enclosed, I kinda have to agree. Another 6" of height would be a significant improvement. But it is what it is.

Wow. Looks sleek. But I have to agree. It does look a bit too micro focused with the shallow height. However, if stocked properly, I can see this being an art piece.

 

[ScottB]

In theory we could be wet my end of day Monday. Trying to figure out the most efficient and safe way to mix up 350G of salt water.

I wish we were doing a proper leak test first with some tap water, but Randy is more of a "dam the torpedoes" project guy. We tried to budget out the installation hours and were are on track so far at about 25 hours so roughly half way there.

Will be sure to get plenty of pics on Monday.