BigAl07
Active Member
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2007
- Messages
- 374
- Reaction score
- 368
- Location
- Waynesville, NC USA ~ Earth
- What state or country do you live in
- North Carolina
Some know me from this and other forums and also because I was a dealer for GHL products back in the day. I took a hiatus because life had some changes in store for me and put salt water on hold indefinitely. I took down my RSM130D and my custom 90G system. I kept the RSM system and hope to resurrect it into a Man Cave/QT tank in a few weeks. I've got to test the GHL Profilux (by test I mean probably send it in to GHL USA for a once-over and update) and see if any of the original equipment (skimmer, pumps etc) are usable. I'll start this endeavor in just a couple of hours and hope to return with GOOD news on the RSM 130D.
After my TOO long break from reefing I am finally doing the research etc to get back into reefing. I've missed having corals and really look forward to having a full blown mixed reef in our new home. I like softies and love SPS but I'm so looking forward to getting some high-end Euphyllia in this system. That was my first coral many years ago and I've always had a soft spot for them since then.
We've found a good area in our living room for a display tank but it's not spacious enough for a massive tank. I'm going to have to work within the self-imposed limited space and make the best of it. Here's what I have to work with:
Tank Dimensions~
36"w x 24" footprint at the most. I could go wider than 3' but then lighting gets to be more and more expensive and the unit will start crowding out another area in the room. So basically I'm shooting for a 36" x 24" footprint or slightly less.
I want to keep the tank (glass itself) height down under 24" in order to not have to "Go Crazy" on the lights in order to get high PAR values on the sand bed. Using the footprint from above with the less than 24" hieght his gives me roughly 74G - 89G as my MAX tank volume.
Tank Hardware ~
lighting
By keeping the take width 36"max will allow me to run a pair of High Intensity LED fixtures which the ones I am pretty sold on are Radions X15 Gen4. I could run a pair of these and get good coverage side to side and front to back and control them with ReefLink.
return pump
I'm really liking the reviews and performance #'s on the EcoTech Marine Vectra S1 DC Pump. It's rated up to 1400gph which should be more than enough for a 70g system. Plus it can be controlled with the ReefLink from EcoTech along with the Radions.
In-Tank Flow
I've used EcoTech MP VorTech pumps and I've decided that a pair of MP10WQD will suffice. Again they will connect wtih the ReefLink to provide a great deal of automation and fine control easily.
ATO Functions
I've used Tunze before and know their products are rock solid but the sensor assmebly was just so big and bulky and I'm trying to keep things small and clean so on this build I'm going to go with an ATO/AWC system that uses a small set of optical sensors. We're going to use the AutoAqua AWC + ATO unit. It's gotten some solid reviews and I really like the idea of small incremental water changes. This should be interesting LOL.
Aquarium
Right now I'm pretty much set (not immovable lol) on going with a CAD Lights brand 70G Artisan II Professional Reef System (2018). It's got a nice stand (going black), lots of included equipment, and it fits into my "allocated" space like a glove. I'd love to find a quality/affordable complete system (like the Artisan II) but in the 89G range. As of yet I can't find anything that fits my footprint, desires, and wallet requirements.
After reading over the above what are your thoughts?
After my TOO long break from reefing I am finally doing the research etc to get back into reefing. I've missed having corals and really look forward to having a full blown mixed reef in our new home. I like softies and love SPS but I'm so looking forward to getting some high-end Euphyllia in this system. That was my first coral many years ago and I've always had a soft spot for them since then.
We've found a good area in our living room for a display tank but it's not spacious enough for a massive tank. I'm going to have to work within the self-imposed limited space and make the best of it. Here's what I have to work with:
Tank Dimensions~
36"w x 24" footprint at the most. I could go wider than 3' but then lighting gets to be more and more expensive and the unit will start crowding out another area in the room. So basically I'm shooting for a 36" x 24" footprint or slightly less.
I want to keep the tank (glass itself) height down under 24" in order to not have to "Go Crazy" on the lights in order to get high PAR values on the sand bed. Using the footprint from above with the less than 24" hieght his gives me roughly 74G - 89G as my MAX tank volume.
Tank Hardware ~
lighting
By keeping the take width 36"max will allow me to run a pair of High Intensity LED fixtures which the ones I am pretty sold on are Radions X15 Gen4. I could run a pair of these and get good coverage side to side and front to back and control them with ReefLink.
return pump
I'm really liking the reviews and performance #'s on the EcoTech Marine Vectra S1 DC Pump. It's rated up to 1400gph which should be more than enough for a 70g system. Plus it can be controlled with the ReefLink from EcoTech along with the Radions.
In-Tank Flow
I've used EcoTech MP VorTech pumps and I've decided that a pair of MP10WQD will suffice. Again they will connect wtih the ReefLink to provide a great deal of automation and fine control easily.
ATO Functions
I've used Tunze before and know their products are rock solid but the sensor assmebly was just so big and bulky and I'm trying to keep things small and clean so on this build I'm going to go with an ATO/AWC system that uses a small set of optical sensors. We're going to use the AutoAqua AWC + ATO unit. It's gotten some solid reviews and I really like the idea of small incremental water changes. This should be interesting LOL.
Aquarium
Right now I'm pretty much set (not immovable lol) on going with a CAD Lights brand 70G Artisan II Professional Reef System (2018). It's got a nice stand (going black), lots of included equipment, and it fits into my "allocated" space like a glove. I'd love to find a quality/affordable complete system (like the Artisan II) but in the 89G range. As of yet I can't find anything that fits my footprint, desires, and wallet requirements.
After reading over the above what are your thoughts?
