250000 litre pool conversion to reef tank!

[justingraham]

Oh...no!!!!...this was one of my favorite things???
Why would removing the bigger particulate almost instantly be a bad thing?
I don't like the idea of cleaning filter socks daily or have the particulate rotting in my tank water

Cool. Does it drain well?

Well if u have it draining into the large refugium u are talking about no need for socks either let the algea do it

 

[Albertastorm]

Well if u have it draining into the large refugium u are talking about no need for socks either let the algea do it

...going to filter first.....I think the larger particulate would rot in the algae...just like it does in filter socks!

 

[justingraham]

Well it feeds the algae in the triton method which uses no socks

 

[wowkingjames]

Following.

 

[Albertastorm]

Well it feeds the algae in the triton method which uses no socks

Yes...and all the little critters!

 

[gus6464]

4 of these for lighting.
Enough?

What are the dims of the display?

 

[Albertastorm]

What are the dims of the display?

72x24x30...outside measurements...actual water depth likely 27 inches.

 

[DLHDesign]

72x24x30...outside measurements...actual water depth likely 27 inches.

Likely more than enough, but it will depend upon how much rock-work you have creating shadows. I'm running 3x XR15's (one light cluster per) over a 525XL (59" length) and they only hit 45% max.
If you orient those perpendicular to the tank front and space them out, you'll have plenty of light for sure. If you orient them parallel to the tank front, then you'll likely only need 3 of them to more than cover the tank.

 

[tyler1503]

Thanks for input and your kind words...will do as you advise...I did have 2 reef tanks about 10 years back...had reasonable amount of success...but life got in the way!

Life's good at getting in the way of things haha.
Looking forward to seeing this one come together!!

 

[The new fish on the block]

Following

 

[Albertastorm]

Likely more than enough, but it will depend upon how much rock-work you have creating shadows. I'm running 3x XR15's (one light cluster per) over a 525XL (59" length) and they only hit 45% max.
If you orient those perpendicular to the tank front and space them out, you'll have plenty of light for sure. If you orient them parallel to the tank front, then you'll likely only need 3 of them to more than cover the tank.

Thanks for your input....guy at LFS said I would need 5...surprise...surprise...he was on the other end of the cash equation!!!
He has bin great about pricing...matched or bettered any online price...so I cant complain.
Congratulations on your build just read through...very detailed and informative!
Would be interested to here more about settings for your lights?
And did you need to add the tubes?...noticed improvement?

 

[DLHDesign]

guy at LFS said I would need 5

Hopefully he followed that up with, "... if you want to grow SPS on your sand." ;-)

Congratulations on your build just read through...very detailed and informative!
Would be interested to here more about settings for your lights?
And did you need to add the tubes?...noticed improvement?

Thanks! It's (obviously) a WIP...

I've been slowly tweaking the lights since adding the T5's to the system. I'll eventually want to switch out the tubes for 4x ATI AquaBlue's (I think) and then just use the LED's for color temp variation and fading, but that won't happen till bulbs start to die off (~1yr, I hope?)... I'll likely change my mind a dozen times between then and now. ;-)
As to the LED's; I've got them running the "out of the box" AB+ configuration. I spend 1hr ramping them up, 8hrs at 30%, and then another 1hr ramp-down. Each light is offset by 10min to create a "sunrise/set" and both them and the T5's can have either clouds or storms from time to time. The ramp up/down is likely longer than needed, but it gives me time in the AM/PM to notice the light shift and get the food in the tank.
I'll post an update to my thread soon with more details (processing pictures now) about the programming and other such details, but that's the gist of it.

I'd like to say that switching my LED's from the heavily "it looks nice to my eyes" color spectrum to the "it's better for the corals" AB+ spectrum has likely had more of an impact than the T5's, but since I added the tubes and changed to the AB+ setting at the same time, I can't really say anything for sure there. I've seen plenty of awesome tanks running just the Radions, however, so I know it's possible to get them working well.
Since the canopy addition, yes; I have seen noticeable improvement - in coloration, at least (which was my main goal). It's not been long enough to really see growth, but most of the corals do look happier - acans are fluffier, hammers and frogspawn are larger, zoas are taller, etc.

 

[Ike]

That is my second favorite hobby)..I make some great rum!

I thought everyone in Alberta made rye

 

[BMMMW]

Looks like a very cool concept!

 

[gus6464]

Thanks for your input....guy at LFS said I would need 5...surprise...surprise...he was on the other end of the cash equation!!!
He has bin great about pricing...matched or bettered any online price...so I cant complain.
Congratulations on your build just read through...very detailed and informative!
Would be interested to here more about settings for your lights?
And did you need to add the tubes?...noticed improvement?

LFS guy is not wrong if you are doing SPS.

 

[Ike]

1.) In the long run you may regret those stands, it will depend on how corrosive the various parts are but I had parts of a craftsman tool chest start to corrode just from the filter room being on the other side of a basement.

2.) The nutrients a skimmer can remove and what various types of algae can remove are most likely different. A skimmer helps to remove detritus and particulate matter as well as various doc's including the things that will lead to nitrates and phosphates. Algae will help with phosphate and nitrate as well as some of the compounds that will turn into those, but it's not going to do it nearly as efficiently as a skimmer. You could have a giant pool of algae along with a more humid basement, higher lighting costs, higher evaporation and water usage that in turn means more heaters running more often, yellowing compounds increasing carbon costs and a great need to run a carbon reactor and some risk of an algae die-off polluting your tank and killing off your "filter". I've run skimmerless tanks before, they're not necessary, but they have many benefits, including helping boost PH, and few downsides.

All that said, that skimmer is pretty small for the size tank you're planning and you may want to consider returning and getting something along the lines of the sro-5000, especially if you're looking to go heavy on high light corals like Acropora.

3.) The rollermat is pretty cool, but totally not needed. You could run filter socks and just have a bunch on hand and change every few days and still save a bundle. Personally I run without any mechanical filtration of that type and have for years. I do have more particulate matter buildup than others, but also feel I'm not filtering out a lot of beneficial and natural foods for corals and various critters as a result.

4.) Lighting... You could get by with 3 as a bare minimum or you could run up to 8, just depends on what you're trying to accomplish and how dense of an SPS population you expect to have. 4 is probably a good place to start. For bigger tanks I still like T5's or even MH if heat isn't an issue for the room it's going in. However, if you prefer or like the look of LEDs and don't mind the up front spend then go for the radions. Shadowing and spread as well as the up front costs are the negatives of the LEDs, while heat warming a room and bulb replacement costs are the negatives of T% or MH. Looks wise it's personal preference, but that's why I prefer MH and T5.

5.) Ditch the reactor if you only want things you need or are greatly beneficial. If you have a properly sized protein skimmer they often do more harm than good since they become very difficult to regulate and can drop nutrients dangerously low.

Good luck with the build!

 

[Albertastorm]

Hopefully he followed that up with, "... if you want to grow SPS on your sand." ;-)


Thanks! It's (obviously) a WIP...

I've been slowly tweaking the lights since adding the T5's to the system. I'll eventually want to switch out the tubes for 4x ATI AquaBlue's (I think) and then just use the LED's for color temp variation and fading, but that won't happen till bulbs start to die off (~1yr, I hope?)... I'll likely change my mind a dozen times between then and now. ;-)
As to the LED's; I've got them running the "out of the box" AB+ configuration. I spend 1hr ramping them up, 8hrs at 30%, and then another 1hr ramp-down. Each light is offset by 10min to create a "sunrise/set" and both them and the T5's can have either clouds or storms from time to time. The ramp up/down is likely longer than needed, but it gives me time in the AM/PM to notice the light shift and get the food in the tank.
I'll post an update to my thread soon with more details (processing pictures now) about the programming and other such details, but that's the gist of it.

I'd like to say that switching my LED's from the heavily "it looks nice to my eyes" color spectrum to the "it's better for the corals" AB+ spectrum has likely had more of an impact than the T5's, but since I added the tubes and changed to the AB+ setting at the same time, I can't really say anything for sure there. I've seen plenty of awesome tanks running just the Radions, however, so I know it's possible to get them working well.
Since the canopy addition, yes; I have seen noticeable improvement - in coloration, at least (which was my main goal). It's not been long enough to really see growth, but most of the corals do look happier - acans are fluffier, hammers and frogspawn are larger, zoas are taller, etc.

Thanks will check in for updates.

 

[Albertastorm]

I thought everyone in Alberta made rye
HaHa ...no still some rum drinkers here
Interesting thing though....was recently down in Minnesota....and tried some local rum...it tastes like bourbon???
So drove all over Minneapolis to find Lemon Hart Rum...my fav in Canada....tried it...it also tastes like Bourbon...what the heck???
Can someone tell me why they add Bourbon to all your whiskies and rums...never tried scotch but it probably tastes like Bourbon too..lol!

 

[Albertastorm]

LFS guy is not wrong if you are doing SPS.

Thanks for your input...will start with 4 and take some readings!

 

[JoshH]

I thought everyone in Alberta made rye

Well not ALL of us do! Storm where abouts in Alberta are you?? what brand is that tool chest? didn't get a good look at the pictures