278 Gallon Permian Basin Reef
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- Thread starter ClintL
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ClintL
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Wow, I went out of town for a few days and this thread has really taken off.
Your welcome, ill post more in the next few days.
Thank you
They are CO2 scrubbers, I used them in my smaller setups and had great success with them. Im not sure if the larger skimmer will exhaust the media to fast though, I havent tested it yet. The auto feeder basically dumps into the intake of the Vectra. I use a pvc funnel attached to a T to drop the pellets into the intake. Im hoping to hear input on whether or not this will work long term.
The fixture looks great and coverage is perfect, I really want to see coral growth and color the combo does.
Thank you.
Thanks, Once the tank is cycled ill post more about the WC system when I need to do the first water change.
I really couldnt have done it with out Jason and Arons help. If your ever down this direction your welcome to stop by and see it for yourself.
Thank you.
Thank you and yes it was mine from a couple tanks ago. We really liked the picture and blowing it up turned out great.
Thank you.
It just T's off the intake, its very basic but allows the auto feeder to be in the sump room and not at the display. So far none of the issues i was worried about had been a problem.
Thank you.
Thanks, but the last thing i want to do is start an internet business lol I set most of this up with the idea of a clean, sharp looking display but with the easiest maintenance possible. The PA tank came out perfect, I was concerned about the the hole placement for the bulkheads. The plumbing had to go around the existing studs and electrical in the wall with very little clearance but PA did a great job getting them exactly where i needed them. I highly recommend them.
Thank you, I have been planning this tank in my head for years. I cant believe its finally happening.
Thanks for the "behind the scenes" pictures.
Your welcome, ill post more in the next few days.
this is gonna be amazing! i can feel it!
Thank you
They are CO2 scrubbers, I used them in my smaller setups and had great success with them. Im not sure if the larger skimmer will exhaust the media to fast though, I havent tested it yet. The auto feeder basically dumps into the intake of the Vectra. I use a pvc funnel attached to a T to drop the pellets into the intake. Im hoping to hear input on whether or not this will work long term.
The fixture looks great and coverage is perfect, I really want to see coral growth and color the combo does.
Thank you.
Thanks, Once the tank is cycled ill post more about the WC system when I need to do the first water change.
I really couldnt have done it with out Jason and Arons help. If your ever down this direction your welcome to stop by and see it for yourself.
Thank you.
Awesome build!
Oh, and nice wall decor,.. Is that a BTA?
Thank you and yes it was mine from a couple tanks ago. We really liked the picture and blowing it up turned out great.
Very nice!!
Thank you.
It just T's off the intake, its very basic but allows the auto feeder to be in the sump room and not at the display. So far none of the issues i was worried about had been a problem.
Thank you.
Thanks, but the last thing i want to do is start an internet business lol I set most of this up with the idea of a clean, sharp looking display but with the easiest maintenance possible. The PA tank came out perfect, I was concerned about the the hole placement for the bulkheads. The plumbing had to go around the existing studs and electrical in the wall with very little clearance but PA did a great job getting them exactly where i needed them. I highly recommend them.
Thank you, I have been planning this tank in my head for years. I cant believe its finally happening.
Rob's Reef
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Awesome tank/setup! I really like the blown up shots on your walls too. Those look great as well.
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ClintL
Community Member
Thanks, Ill eventually post better shots of those, Ill show the others i have hanging.
Thank you.
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ClintL
Community Member
This update covers my RO unit. Although pretty basic unit, I have added a few solenoids and timers to automate the process and save DI resin. Heres an over all shot of my setup:
Its still a big mess, I havent straightened up the tubing yet. Im running 1 sediment, 1 carbon, 2 Maxcap Di chambers and a Silicabuster. This unit also makes water for a kitchen spout and the ice machine. For the Kitchen water I have a 10 gallon storage tank thats preDI resin, the 000 TDS water from the DI fills the ATO reservoirs and water change stations automatically.
Early on I struggled with the installation of this unit. I have had it installed in 2 previous houses with no problem what so ever. The problems i had with the unit were low pressure, 30 psi, low water production, and high TDS coming from the membrane. I tried installing a pump but still couldnt get over 30 psi. With the help from @AZDesertRat and the guys at Spectrapure, they diagnosed my unit was using the wrong type of connector to access the houses water supply. They recommended I not use the saddle valve (pictured below) and that I have an actual hose bib added instead:
Bad connection:
Replaced with:
That change took my psi from 30 to 90, my production rate shot up, and my quality of water produced increased dramatically.
To extend the life of my DI resin I added a couple solenoids and digital timers. I have 1 solenoid and timer on the incoming water line, the timer controls both the solenoid and the RO pump. I have another solenoid and timer plumbed to the DI line. At 9 pm daily the primary water line timer turns on, sending the water with the high TDS creep into the kitchen storage tank, because the DI solenoid is off. At 9:03 pm the DI timer kicks on allowing the now normal low TDS water to enter the DI chambers. This allows for all the daily water needs to be made with one on/off cycle of the RO unit. When i need to do a water change i press the override button and my blue container will fill until the float stops it and the timers will revert back to the original programing at the next cycle. I dont need to restart the original programing, it happens automatically nothing to forget. So far the system is working as planned.
Solenoid:
Dual digital timers:
Not much happening tank wise right now. Ive added ammonium chloride and a bottle of Dr. Tims to kick the fishless cycling off.
I need to start working on the stocking order. I have a good list of fish i want but I cant decide what order i should start adding them into the tank. Does anyone have a good resource on stocking orders? In a some of my next posts ill add the fish list that were considering.
Thank yall for taking the time to read and comment.
Clint
Its still a big mess, I havent straightened up the tubing yet. Im running 1 sediment, 1 carbon, 2 Maxcap Di chambers and a Silicabuster. This unit also makes water for a kitchen spout and the ice machine. For the Kitchen water I have a 10 gallon storage tank thats preDI resin, the 000 TDS water from the DI fills the ATO reservoirs and water change stations automatically.
Early on I struggled with the installation of this unit. I have had it installed in 2 previous houses with no problem what so ever. The problems i had with the unit were low pressure, 30 psi, low water production, and high TDS coming from the membrane. I tried installing a pump but still couldnt get over 30 psi. With the help from @AZDesertRat and the guys at Spectrapure, they diagnosed my unit was using the wrong type of connector to access the houses water supply. They recommended I not use the saddle valve (pictured below) and that I have an actual hose bib added instead:
Bad connection:
Replaced with:
That change took my psi from 30 to 90, my production rate shot up, and my quality of water produced increased dramatically.
To extend the life of my DI resin I added a couple solenoids and digital timers. I have 1 solenoid and timer on the incoming water line, the timer controls both the solenoid and the RO pump. I have another solenoid and timer plumbed to the DI line. At 9 pm daily the primary water line timer turns on, sending the water with the high TDS creep into the kitchen storage tank, because the DI solenoid is off. At 9:03 pm the DI timer kicks on allowing the now normal low TDS water to enter the DI chambers. This allows for all the daily water needs to be made with one on/off cycle of the RO unit. When i need to do a water change i press the override button and my blue container will fill until the float stops it and the timers will revert back to the original programing at the next cycle. I dont need to restart the original programing, it happens automatically nothing to forget. So far the system is working as planned.
Solenoid:
Dual digital timers:
Not much happening tank wise right now. Ive added ammonium chloride and a bottle of Dr. Tims to kick the fishless cycling off.
I need to start working on the stocking order. I have a good list of fish i want but I cant decide what order i should start adding them into the tank. Does anyone have a good resource on stocking orders? In a some of my next posts ill add the fish list that were considering.
Thank yall for taking the time to read and comment.
Clint
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ClintL
Community Member
Last Friday evening we started having troubles with breakers tripping. In the middle of the night i wasnt able to figure out what had happened, but once we were up and moving around on Saturday morning I was able to diagnose what was tripping the circuit.
My QT system sump pump was an old CAP 2200 that ive had for probably close to 10 years. Its just a re-branded Rio if i remember correctly. Once i pulled it out of the water you could smell the burnt plastic.
Right now i dont have anything in QT yet, so nothing was lost. I had another back up pump i was able to install and Im running carbon and a poly-filter to remove any contaminates that remain.
Thanks for reading,
ClintL
My QT system sump pump was an old CAP 2200 that ive had for probably close to 10 years. Its just a re-branded Rio if i remember correctly. Once i pulled it out of the water you could smell the burnt plastic.
Right now i dont have anything in QT yet, so nothing was lost. I had another back up pump i was able to install and Im running carbon and a poly-filter to remove any contaminates that remain.
Thanks for reading,
ClintL
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ClintL
Community Member
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ClintL
Community Member
Hello Yall, I have done several things to the system since the last update:
First off, my frag tank was plumbed using a Blue Line 40x. The pump ran great and was plenty powerful but was really loud. You could hear that pump humming from across the house.
To cut the noise I opted to try the Reef Octopus VarioS6 DC pump. So far after running for roughly a week I am really impressed. The pump comes with a low water level float, but i didnt install it. I took a few pictures of it installed next to the Vectra. Its actually a little smaller than the L1 to. One thing that was disappointing was a card in the box stating that the mounting brackets for the controllers were not ready at the time the pumps were shipped. I had to file a ticket with CoralVue for them to send the replacement.
The next update was to the quarantine system. Since I have to have the QT in the same room as the sump and frag tank i wanted something to limit the aerosol transmission from QT to the display. My idea was to build a curtain to provide a physical barrier. I dont know if it will really help anything, we shall see.
I built the railing out of conduit and used 2 clear shower curtains. The curtains extend to 3 sides of the tank, with it overlapping the ground as well.
The last update is I finally have fish !!! With the local choices slim to none out here i decided to order through LiveAquaria.com. I ordered 5 vanderbilt chromis, 1 helfrichi firefish, and some CUC. The fish seemed to have fared pretty well. The firefish went in with out much acclimation but the chromis came in with salinity at 1.019, so they got a longer acclimation with a little Amquel. All fish looked great a few hours after shipping and were already eating mysis.
Firefish:
Chromis:
I have screen tops for the QT system, but the corner with pumps and piping wasnt covered. My wife got in there an sealed the end off to prevent the firefish from jumping. I think she did a great job.
I will start Prazipro tomorrow, and after that i have a rxn of chloroquine phosphate arriving in a few days. I followed the instructions on this thread:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/a-place-to-buy-chloroquine.252610/
I printed out that thread, the Advanced Aquarium article and a few more references. My vet was awesome, he asked a few questions, then went into his office to call Diamondback Drugs. He asked to keep the literature i had provided in case he had to answer questions from the supplier. With in a about an hour DD had called me to arrange payment and shipping. I have 30 grams coming.
Thats it for this update, thanks for taking the time to read.
ClintL
First off, my frag tank was plumbed using a Blue Line 40x. The pump ran great and was plenty powerful but was really loud. You could hear that pump humming from across the house.
To cut the noise I opted to try the Reef Octopus VarioS6 DC pump. So far after running for roughly a week I am really impressed. The pump comes with a low water level float, but i didnt install it. I took a few pictures of it installed next to the Vectra. Its actually a little smaller than the L1 to. One thing that was disappointing was a card in the box stating that the mounting brackets for the controllers were not ready at the time the pumps were shipped. I had to file a ticket with CoralVue for them to send the replacement.
The next update was to the quarantine system. Since I have to have the QT in the same room as the sump and frag tank i wanted something to limit the aerosol transmission from QT to the display. My idea was to build a curtain to provide a physical barrier. I dont know if it will really help anything, we shall see.
I built the railing out of conduit and used 2 clear shower curtains. The curtains extend to 3 sides of the tank, with it overlapping the ground as well.
The last update is I finally have fish !!! With the local choices slim to none out here i decided to order through LiveAquaria.com. I ordered 5 vanderbilt chromis, 1 helfrichi firefish, and some CUC. The fish seemed to have fared pretty well. The firefish went in with out much acclimation but the chromis came in with salinity at 1.019, so they got a longer acclimation with a little Amquel. All fish looked great a few hours after shipping and were already eating mysis.
Firefish:
Chromis:
I have screen tops for the QT system, but the corner with pumps and piping wasnt covered. My wife got in there an sealed the end off to prevent the firefish from jumping. I think she did a great job.
I will start Prazipro tomorrow, and after that i have a rxn of chloroquine phosphate arriving in a few days. I followed the instructions on this thread:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/a-place-to-buy-chloroquine.252610/
I printed out that thread, the Advanced Aquarium article and a few more references. My vet was awesome, he asked a few questions, then went into his office to call Diamondback Drugs. He asked to keep the literature i had provided in case he had to answer questions from the supplier. With in a about an hour DD had called me to arrange payment and shipping. I have 30 grams coming.
Thats it for this update, thanks for taking the time to read.
ClintL
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2016
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- El Paso Tx
- What state or country do you live in
- Texas
This is a amazing build I love everything about it , can wait to see this build progress even more. A round of applause , for a amazing job , almost inspirational . I am glad that you went with BAO for sump , I am considering Ben for my custom sump as well . Amazing build..
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ClintL
Community Member
Thank you for the compliments. The quality of work Ben does is top notch, this is the second custom sump hes done for me along with the 4 dosing containers. The shipping quote was rather expensive though, it was actually cheaper to get my nephew to drive to Houston to pick it up for me. If your ever out this way let me know, you can see his work up close.
Im really excited to start buying corals. Were going to be in El Paso the 1st-3rd, and it will be our first chance to buy some. Since your from EP can you give me some recommendations on the stores yall have? Is there anyone in the EP reef club thats got some good stuff for sale?
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ClintL
Community Member
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ClintL
Community Member
Its about time for another update. I was in El Paso for business earlier this week and while there i got stop by 3 of the 4 saltwater stores in the area. We ended up buying some corals and other supplies from Saltwater Heaven. We picked up some birds nest clippings, a torch, and several BamBam zoas. These are really just to test the water before we bring in more of our coral from holding tanks in Lubbock.
Birds nest:
Tiny head of a torch:
Zoas:
All the corals were dipped in Bayer for 15 minutes with 2 15 minute rinses. I had an extra 5 gallon tank laying around so i decided to make it a dedicated dipping container. Since more than likely it will be my wife receiving shipments of corals and she would be the one acclimating and dipping the them, I wanted to make it as simple as possible. I measured out gallon and half gallon increments and marked them on the tank to make dosing the Bayer easier. We also wrote out the dipping procedure on the tank to.
Heres a picture of the tank, my wife is adding corals to the tank:
To make possible pest identification easier i painted the bottom of the tank white:
I also had a few of the really small Koralia pumps, we put one in the 5 gallon tank and 1 in the 1st rinse bucket to help with pest removal. The flow was strong but not enough to blow around the frags:
Rinse bucket:
Ill be doing another update shortly. Im about to start the CP treatment in QT later today. I also was given a Radion G2 Pro that was on my brothers 40 gallon, ill be putting it over my frag tank. I bought a RMS mount in El Paso for it, and ill get some pictures posted once its over the tank.
Thanks for reading,
Clint
Birds nest:
Tiny head of a torch:
Zoas:
All the corals were dipped in Bayer for 15 minutes with 2 15 minute rinses. I had an extra 5 gallon tank laying around so i decided to make it a dedicated dipping container. Since more than likely it will be my wife receiving shipments of corals and she would be the one acclimating and dipping the them, I wanted to make it as simple as possible. I measured out gallon and half gallon increments and marked them on the tank to make dosing the Bayer easier. We also wrote out the dipping procedure on the tank to.
Heres a picture of the tank, my wife is adding corals to the tank:
To make possible pest identification easier i painted the bottom of the tank white:
I also had a few of the really small Koralia pumps, we put one in the 5 gallon tank and 1 in the 1st rinse bucket to help with pest removal. The flow was strong but not enough to blow around the frags:
Rinse bucket:
Ill be doing another update shortly. Im about to start the CP treatment in QT later today. I also was given a Radion G2 Pro that was on my brothers 40 gallon, ill be putting it over my frag tank. I bought a RMS mount in El Paso for it, and ill get some pictures posted once its over the tank.
Thanks for reading,
Clint
