BK's R2R and BRS guided 150g mixed reef build

Bradley Keck · Mar 28, 2019

Hello everyone! I'm finally ready to start my build thread. Like many Aquarists, my passion started with freshwater tanks. I started with 10g for my two daughters, and was hooked. I became interested in African cichlids and upgraded to a 65g tank. I had three species of Mbuna. I loved it so much I decided to go bigger!

Bradley Keck · Mar 28, 2019

I did all the research on tank stands and took on my first ever wood project o build a stand and canopy. The front living area would be the place. After some measuring and discussion with my wife, we settled on a 5ft tank. After searching for a 5ft tank for almost a year, I found a used Marineland on CL and went for it.

Bradley Keck · Mar 28, 2019

This was a 60x18x24 with 5 species of Mbuna. I had a FX5 and two Aquatop canister filters under the stand for filtration and performed 60g weekly water changes from a trashcan. Cleaning the filters and doing water changes was ALOT of work, but the tank thrived. I had one type of Mbuna called Demasoni that are very aggressive and hard to keep. I found success in breeding them and sold over 30 1-2in fry to my LFS. Things were going great for almost two years. Then one Saturday evening I noticed hearing splashing coming from the return lines. I knew this was unusual because I always filled the tank during a water change to above the returns. Unfortunately, I soon realized that the tank had developed a leak and was loosing about 2 gallons per hour. With no time to transfer them ( I had sold the 65g on Craigs list), I had no other choice but to drain the tank and give my LFS all 38 Mbuna to save them. I went back and forth about trying to silicone the tank, but eventually was too defeated to try and take that on. I eventually sold all the equipment and tank to someone on CL and just kept the stand. I could not get rid og the stand due to all the work I had put in it and thought maybe one day I would try again. That is what eventually lead me to saltwater. I was one of those Aquarists that always said " Oh no. I want no aprt of saltwater. Way too much work and $$" Well, that changed.

Bradley Keck · Mar 28, 2019

When I started into Cichlids, almost everything I researched was on forum similar to R2R, but made for Cichlids only. I was a huge help. So when I became interested in Saltwater, I found R2R and then BRS. For two years I purchased nothing. I literally watched every BRS video there was and read through forum after forum here on R2R. The first decision I made on this build was I wanted to use my stand. This of course limited my options. I looked and looked and had just about decided to go with a company that had a 60x18x24 in stock. Problem was it was over 1000.00 and had mixed reviews. Then one day I saw a post regarding SCA aquariums and decided to look into it. It just so happened their deal of the month of December was a 60x24x24 for 699.00 I wasn't sure how I would make it work with my stand since it was only 18" deep. but I could not pass it up. Thus my first purchase for this build.

Bradley Keck · Mar 28, 2019

I went to work on getting my stand 24in deep.

Bradley Keck · Mar 29, 2019

Extending the back of the stand without disturbing the front was harder than I thought it would be. The bracing and framing was not bad, but matching the outer part as far as staining and the trim work was not going to match up like I wanted it to. My hope was for it be seamless on the outside so you could not tell 6in were added on to the back. That did not happen though. Some of the trim work I could not find an exact match for, so I just did the best I could. Good thing was it is towards the back, so not as noticeable being backed into a corner. Once I finished the staining of the add-on to the cabinet and top, it was time to check the fit and load the SCA 150g onto the stand. I used a water proof non-toxic white paint to finish the inside of the cabinet and top and then went through the nerve racking task of placing the tank onto the cabinet.

Bradley Keck · Mar 29, 2019

I used 3/4in ply and a 1/4in thick Yoga mat for the tank to sit on. I cut out the area below the overflow to allow for plumbing. After all the research I had done, I started to gradually purchase all the equipment for the tank. I would wait for BRS Black Friday sales and go crazy. The only thing I did not buy from there was my skimmer. I still had 250.00 of credit at my LFS from selling them Demasoni cichilds, so I purchased my skimmer with that credit. Nothing fancy, just RO 150 INT. I debated about getting a larger one than what was recommended, but eventually went with one for my gallons as I intended to not stock this tank heavily. Also, if I did need to upgrade, a skimmer is one of the easiest things to upgrade. Here is a list of the equipment I went with:
trigger 34 sump
RO 150 INT skimmer
RO varios 6 DC return
Kessil H80 refugium light
three kessil A360's and spectral controller
2 2x54 watt T5's retrofit's by Hamilton with ATI bulbs
2 Gyre 250's with controller
Tunze ATO
Reef keeper lite for temp control and T5's
2 300w titanium heaters

It took me the better part of a year to accumulate all this equipment. Once I had it all purchased I got it all fitted inside the cabinet and canopy. Next I was ready for plumbing

Bradley Keck · Mar 29, 2019

The SCA overflow has 3in holes which would allow for a Bean Animal design. It was cramped in the overflow box, so it took a little modification, but I was able to make it work. For the return, I used one 45 degree elbow from the return all the way up to the top of the tank. From there I did a T, then two 90's over each side of the overflow for the return nozzles. I also plumbed a Wychek (spelling?) valve.

Bradley Keck · Mar 29, 2019

One problem I ran into was the distance from the bottom of the overflow to the trigger sump was very short. I tried many different combos, but wanted to avoid any 90 degree bends to the sump out of concern of air noise, etc. I decided to go with silicon tubing which allowed for a nearly straight shot to the sump for the full siphon and the partial siphon. The emergency drain I hard plumbed to the refugium section. I also hooked the return to the hard plumb with silicon tubing. I was very happy with this stuff as it made for much greater flexibility and straight shots to my hard plumbing and overflow. As is always suggested, I used unions anywhere I could and just tried to consider future removal and how I would want sections to be removed if necessary. I have never plumbed anything in my life, so once again this was nerve racking, but once you get started, it is easier than you would think.

Bradley Keck · Mar 29, 2019

Once everything was plumbed, I moved on to mounting lights and cord management. I ended up using plastic corregated tubing for the cords associated with the Kessils. and mounted the tubing to the canopy with heavy duty Velcro. Not pretty, but it works. The Kessils are mounted with the included hooks the screw straight into the wood. I have one in the middle and the other two 18in to either side. T5's on either side of them.

ngoodermuth · Mar 29, 2019

Looks like all of your pre-build research did you well, following!

Bradley Keck · Mar 29, 2019

Now that all the equipment was in it's place, I decided to go through and organize the wiring. This was a waste of time. One thing I realized later, was everything needs to be easily accessible for removal and cleaning. Bunching power cords together with twisty ties to make it look tidy was not going to work. So eventually I just let all the cords sit freely in back. Just made sure they were out of the way and with no chance for water to get to the power strips. When the canopy and doors are closed it is all hidden anyways. After over a year, this tank was finally ready for a water test, but I needed to be able to make water first. My experience with freshwater sold me on the benefits of a mixing station. Although I was SO ready to get water in this tank, I knew I needed to build a mixing station first. I basically copied one off of R2R that I just fell in love with. I ordered two 55g containers from Rural King and purchased the 6 stage RODI from BRS. We have very hard water here in Indianapolis, so I felt this was the best option. I have no dedicated area for it, so had to put it in my garage. My biggest concern there is the very cold winters. We have an insulated Garage door, but when it gets below 0, it can easily get below 32 deg in the Garage, but I really had no other choice. Since I had already plumbed the tank and sump, this went a little easier.

Bradley Keck · Mar 29, 2019

ngoodermuth said:
Looks like all of your pre-build research did you well, following!

Ya! My first comment! Thank You!

I just cannot say enough about R2R. None of this would have been possible without the support and knowledge of everyone here and BRS. That is why I named my build thread what it is. All of this came from those two sources and deserve credit for any of the success I have with this reef aquarium

ngoodermuth · Mar 29, 2019

Bradley Keck said:
Ya! My first comment! Thank You! I just cannot say enough about R2R. None of this would have been possible without the support and knowledge of everyone here and BRS. That is why I named my build thread what it is. All of this came from those two sources and deserve credit for any of the success I have with this reef aquarium

R2R really is a huge resource to the hobby, so many knowledgeable and like-minded folks hangout here... It's the best. Can't wait to see your reef come together

Flippers4pups · Mar 29, 2019

Thank you Bradley for the kind words! You have a great start! Bravo!

Bradley Keck · Mar 29, 2019

Now that the stand, tank, plumbing, equipment, and mixing station are done, I am finally ready for water. Had to decide which salt to use and which testing kits to buy. After reading through as many threads as I could find one thing I was certain about is I wanted a salt that would be slightly elevated in Alk, Ca, and Mg. I also knew if at all possible I wanted to stick with whatever salt I went with for consistency. I decided to go with HW marine reefer salt. My vision for this aquarium was to keep it as simple as possible. Due to budget and maintenance, I am hoping to avoid dosing systems, CO2 scrubbers, Ca reactors, UV sterilization, and Ozone. My hope is to keep levels up with WC's and Kalk from the ATO. I had my 10g still that started it all and it was only fitting to utilize it in this system. So it became my ATO reservoir. It fit nicely right next to the trigger sump. I have been happy with the HW marine reefer salt. It mixes easily with zero residue. For testing I went with the following:
Alk and Phos - Hanna checker
Nitrate, Ca, Mg - Red Sea Pro
Ph - Hanna temp and Ph portable probe
Temp monitoring control - RK lite with temp probe.
Salinity - refractometer