Ado's Reef (IM 200 EXT)

[Ado]

I did end up going with Hydros so that setup will be documented next week as well. For now, I am going with (2) XF350 Gyres mounted to the back connected through a waveengine. I plan to add Octo Pulses later to pair with them, once I see how much flow I still need.

 

[fishybizzness]

Looking forward to seeing what kind of flow they give you. I plan to use a 350 on each end and 2 330s on the back panel. I'm figuring that should give me enough flow

 

[fishybizzness]

Just because I already have them. Lol

 

[Ado]

Nice, I have one XF330 on my small tank now that I plan on putting in the sump. My plan is to fill the second chamber with live rock and have the 330 in there for flow. This should allow me to put fish in same day from what I've seen.

 

[LiquidSpace]

Nice!

Did you glue the PVC into the overflow? How far do you have it from the wall? I figure you’d need to leave enough room behind the tank to get the plumbing in or are people putting that in before lifting it onto the stand? I’m so stressed about getting this monster where it needs to go and figure once it’s on the stand good luck moving it!

 

[Ado]

The pvc is shorter than the picture I posted. Had to do a few tests to find the right height. The water level really wants to stay 3 inches or so below the top but I tweeked it up an inch or so.

I have a 2 inch gap between the wall and the overflow box.

My biggest issue I've run across was putting the tank on the stand too soon. You should do the bulkheads and overflow atleast before you put the tank on the stand. I had to get in the tank to reach the overflow drains, not recommended haha. I would have also installed an 8020 light mount to the wall behind the tank if I had the forethought.

 

[fishybizzness]

Another question, roughly how much space is in front of the sump to the front doors? I will probably be putting my kalk stirrer and dosing container up front.

 

[X-37B]

Another question, roughly how much space is in front of the sump to the front doors? I will probably be putting my kalk stirrer and dosing container up front.

 

[fishybizzness]

That's a pretty big sump!! It takes up alot of the cabinet!

 

[fishybizzness]

Thanks for the measurements! I'm living vicariously through you guys that already have your tanks!

 

[Ado]

Small Update, busy life.

Controller Board mounted, will start mounting equipment this week.

Light Bar setup, a little flimsy for my liking. Going to reinforce tomorrow and setup lights.

 

[fishybizzness]

Any progress is good progress!

 

[ShoreReefer]

Light bars look great. Looking at the brackets on the Reefi website it doesn’t look like they would fit on a euro braced tank, would you mind taking a closeup pic?

 

[Ado]

At work, but this is one I took. I'm going to add strong, 2 sided tape to secure it to glass on both sides. I believe with this and the actual weight of the lights, it will be very secured.

 

[ShoreReefer]

At work, but this is one I took. I'm going to add strong, 2 sided tape to secure it to glass on both sides. I believe with this and the actual weight of the lights, it will be very secured.

I appreciate it thank you!

 

[Dmmz]

Great looking tank! I will be ordering a 200g as soon as I move in a couple months and was wondering why you chose the ext instead of the int overflow? I want to get all the information I can before ordering it and your build has helped.

 

[Ado]

Great looking tank! I will be ordering a 200g as soon as I move in a couple months and was wondering why you chose the ext instead of the int overflow? I want to get all the information I can before ordering it and your build has helped.

It comes down to space in my opinion. The EXT has to sit off the wall but you get the full dimensions inside the tank. More usable area imo. I was lucky enough to have a perfect spot for the tank to sit off the wall and even have room on both sides.

 

[Ado]

Update: Started on controller board and wiring.

Now need to order adapters I forgot... and some cable management.

Added 2 sided tape to the feet of my light fixture. It is secured so much better now, I feel much better with putting lights up now.

 

[ShoreReefer]

Controller board looks great! I don’t know much about the hydros platform as I have the Apex. I do like the look of the hydros much better than the clunky Apex

 

[Ado]

They are so similar, it's kind of like an apple vs android debate. Everyone has their own opinions haha I did not like the cheap, plastic look of the APEX to be honest. I planned to have the controllers on display, so that fancy lights from the hydros is a bonus to me.