650 Gallon Triton Reef

[joseserrano]

Wow, what a change.

 

[CapAquaATX]

So of course this entire project got going in mid Texas summer. I was afraid of the tank overheating continually but a couple of Vornado fans and a 35 gallon topoff container and we were able to keep the temp under 78.5. I used a temporary NYOS skimmer, an APEX, polypad changed weekly, and an Osmolator to keep the tank running for over 2 months. We supplemented 3 times weekly by hand.[/ATTACH]

Meanwhile in the tank room I began piecing together the various MyReefCreations components. The room was laid out bizarre and my choices in the room reflect that space. Another fun wrench in my plans is that a forklift decided to spear our main sump on its journey from Atlanta to Austin. MRC (Marvin specifically) was very professional and they put out a second sump ASAP.

The sump dimensions ended up at 72"x18"x22" with the detached refugium at 60"x18"x28"[/ATTACH]

 

[CapAquaATX]

That green pool noodle is key.

Smack yourself one time in the forehead and it became my favorite addition to the new filtration room.

This is what the inside of the tank looked like at the time (sorry for the bad picture).

 

[Hk45]

Awesome looking tank.

 

[Dsnakes]

That's an amazing tank. Great work!

Am I the only one who thought this rag was a Chinchilla?? ;Hilarious

 

[Braves Fan]

Congrats to the owner ,,, for spending the money to go from where this system was at ,, to where it is now,,,

 

[CapAquaATX]

@Dsnakes that is hilarious. The real reason the rag was there is obvious.. to plug the hole and keep mosquitos out

 

[siggy]

I the only one who thought this rag was a Chinchilla?? ;Hilarious

I honestly thought it was a dead cat

 

[Tedzilla]

Following this thread to see the updated room. I'm assuming the ATX in your name, means what I think it does... Seeing as I am from the "ATX".

 

[CapAquaATX]

Hey Ted,

I’ll get pictures of the finished room up later today and yes, beautiful Austin, TX.

 

[CapAquaATX]

Sorry for the delay but here are some pictures of the room when it was relatively finished in August of 2016. I'll get some updated shots soon but not a whole lot has changed. I updated the in tank circulation with a Panta Rhei ECM 63 but everything else has functioned as intended. I should have a new ICP test to share with ya'll in the next couple of days.

I used an IKEA bathroom cabinet to hold my APEX components and the Vectra Controllers. Cleaned up the wiring a little more but I also like to be able to maintain my equipment quickly so I don't like cord hiding to the max. The main MRC sump has 4 filter socks, a large open chamber for an internal protein skimmer should I ever switch to one, and the return section with two Vectra L1's plumbed together. The refugium is on the other side of a small wall and is fed by a different L1 with extra flow coming from a gyre. I run Miracle Mud in all my refugiums and this one is lit by (3) Kessil 150 Tuna Blue fixtures set at 10k. Algae initially included all kind of crazy stuff but feather caulerpa is the only thing in it currently. The algae cycle waxes and wanes like crazy and I try not to mess with it except to clean the gyre and overflow grating.

 

[Want2BS8ed]

Well done!

 

[Whipples]

Talk about a total transformation! Excellent work!

 

[vikinglord13]

beautiful tank! my goal is to have a 650G one day, this is inspiring

 

[BkReefBaby]

Man what a difference in that room! It went from hell to a surgically clean room

 

[Dogtown]

Great transformation of the fish room. Do you close up pictures of the corals and such in the DT?

 

[Tft12]

Wow. Great job. What a dramatic change.

 

[joseserrano]

Night and day. Thanks for sharing

 

[wowkingjames]

Wow what a difference.

 

[JumboShrimp]

This whole thing is absolutely, positively insane. But in a GOOD way!! Ahahahahaha. Following. (Extra-credit for the filter-sock-only washing machine!)