CoralReefer's 680 Reef Savvy Build

CoralReefer2110 · Nov 2, 2018

Got all of the remaining corals and fish placed in. The algae cycle has - knock on wood - moved through and the massive cleanup crew has been doing its job well. Starting to now get color back in everything that had become stressed. It's now feeling like a real display.

emvanburen · Nov 4, 2018

Looking good! Love the water change solution.

Toomnymods · Nov 14, 2018

beautiful setup!! love the choice of equipment and someday would like to do something similar.. For right now my 220 will have to do, lol

Craigb350 · Nov 14, 2018

Absolute beast of a tank build, love the attention to detail, first time I have seen mobile crane used in a tank install lol.

CoralReefer2110 · Nov 21, 2018

So I can't help but share. I just did a 100g water change while I ate my cereal. 6 minutes start to finish and my hands never got wet. Of all the fun aspects of this build the water change system has got to be the best part. I know there are mixed opinions out there as to the necessity of doing water changes but given the ease and value (in my opinion) of doing them routinely I never thought I would actually look forward to it. If you have the ability to somehow incorporate an auto-change system in any capacity I cannot highly enough encourage it. Just creates good habits - which in this hobby is hard to do!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Cbenner · Nov 21, 2018

Craigb350 said:
Absolute beast of a tank build, love the attention to detail, first time I have seen mobile crane used in a tank install lol.

I worked with the rigging company a few months in advance on what would be the best way to get the tank into the house and safely onto the stand. They sent me pictures of the crane system and its dimensions, worked with me on how to get into the house without damage. Florida Rigging and Crane did the job and I highly recommend them if your ever in need. They were good folks to work with as I was working the logistics on this build from Ohio.
Needless to say the pucker factor was high until the tank was on the stand!

Epic Aquaculture · Nov 21, 2018

Wow, amazing build!

eamike261 · Nov 22, 2018

CoralReefer2110 said:
So I can't help but share. I just did a 100g water change while I ate my cereal. 6 minutes start to finish and my hands never got wet. Of all the fun aspects of this build the water change system has got to be the best part. I know there are mixed opinions out there as to the necessity of doing water changes but given the ease and value (in my opinion) of doing them routinely I never thought I would actually look forward to it. If you have the ability to somehow incorporate an auto-change system in any capacity I cannot highly enough encourage it. Just creates good habits - which in this hobby is hard to do!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Can you create a video showing a run through of your automated system and how it's built?

CoralReefer2110 · Nov 24, 2018

EAMike261 & others,
I did create a very short video which can be located at the following link:

What I didn't spend too much time dwelling on is the number of safeguards that were installed to prevent accidental loss or inadvertent influx of fresh water. The APEX controls both the ATO pump and the water change pump. The salt mixing/water change pump is set to run for 30mins per day to keep the water circulated and from stagnating while the ATO pump is programmed via the APEX system language to function as a top off leveler. The other point I would call out are the two safety valves (one on the in-line to the return line and the other being the two inch drain line).
The two inch one prevents the loss of water in the event of a power outage as the water level to the sump would rise and automatically kick down the drain all the incoming water. However, once the power goes on it would of course run the water level down significantly and cause the ATO to fill it with fresh water. (It's only probably 30g or so but not a risk worth taking)
While I do have the entire thing on a whole house generator it echoes my earlier posts on building in multiple redundant systems. So having two protection valves, an APEX alert system, and a generator system is hopefully about as good as one can do.

Certainly I am willing to answer or offer perspective if there are specific questions. Just send 'em....
(oh, and in the event anyone is unclear, it is 100% my builder who was the genius behind this. No way I'm claiming credit for this work....

)

I hope it helps!
Cheers - Andy

CoralReefer2110 · Nov 24, 2018

I apologize for rotating the camera mid-way through that vid. Not very friendly on my part!

CoralReefer2110 · Nov 24, 2018

Decided to put a quick peek at the tank as it is today. The fish have settled in nicely and know seeing me means food....

Backinthegame2 · Nov 28, 2018

Great build! The ATO / water change system is off the hook! Very inspiring thanks for sharing!

CoralReefer2110 · Nov 28, 2018

Hey Back in the Game,
Hoping your moniker is indicative of big things to come. Hanging out on the big tank forum gives me hope. You planning one of your own? Good luck!!!

twf0369 · Nov 30, 2018

Beautiful Tank and Set-up CoralReefer211! I am in the process of building a fish room and upgrading to an 8ft. tank. I have found your thread very insightful. I'm sure I'll have some questions for you along the way. In the meantime, keep the pics coming. Great Job!!!

CoralReefer2110 · Nov 30, 2018

twf0369 said:
Beautiful Tank and Set-up CoralReefer211! I am in the process of building a fish room and upgrading to an 8ft. tank. I have found your thread very insightful. I'm sure I'll have some questions for you along the way. In the meantime, keep the pics coming. Great Job!!!

Hey twof0369 - happy to. I actually (prior to this system) kept a dedicated fish room as part of an in-wall build for the previous 12 years. It was only the move to this house that changed that. Having a dedicated room provides so many more options. Greatly looking forward to seeing yours take shape. Keep in touch!

CoralReefer2110 · Dec 2, 2018

Time to change all the media and do some basic upkeep. I decided to share this as several people are using this forum to gauge their own 'monster' builds. One of the things I had been conscious of but honestly needed to experience for myself before posting was total cost of daily upkeep. I thought I would share some of my experiences as it relates to dosing chems, water changes, and additives.

I hesitate to say how much any of this would cost as there is so much variation in product choices and theories behind how often you should add/change media, etc.. However, when I was considering my build initially I thought it would have been helpful to have some guidance on how much the overall support costs would rise. So this is only my attempt to share what a 1000g system is using in my unique situation for anyone considering doing there own. I FULLY acknowledge this is just my own individual experience and not a how-to guide.

Today I made 4g each of alk, ca, and mg. This will last me about 2-3 weeks. I also chose to change both my carbon and GFO as it has been 3 months since I last did so. It was also time for me to swap out the cartridges on the RODI system. I have been going through a 200g box of Reef Crystals about every other week plus the cost of the water itself to be made. Note - I also have been pruning the macro-algae routinely as well but that doesn't really impact this discussion but does help the water quality.

So all-in-all it has been about $600 over the three months to run the system doing 100g water changes each week and dosing the basics using BRS DIY chems.

Again, just a guidepost so you can gauge for yourself all those 'extra' costs that are so hard to predict and ultimately what will end up being the long-term expense after initial setup investment.

I would be curious if anyone has some of the same experiences. Not necessarily the cost but are there items that you are routinely doing that have been time-tested and working well for you?

garbled · Dec 2, 2018

I run filter socks on mine. They need to be changed often, 2-3 days or so. What I end up doing is buying 4-5 times as many socks as I need to run on the tank, so instead of the 4 I need, I buy 16-20. I keep a bucket next to the tank, and pull them out, drop them in the bucket. Then when the last clean set goes on the tank, I put the rest in the wash. This keeps me from washing just a few at a time, and from having to do "laundry" every 3 days.

I also find that carbon is only really useful for about 2 weeks or so. After that, it stops absorbing things, and just becomes a bacterial filter, which is fine of course, but I run carbon to gank stuff out of the tank. With your heavy water change setup, this might not be a big deal really.

CoralReefer2110 · Dec 2, 2018

garbled said:
I run filter socks on mine. They need to be changed often, 2-3 days or so. What I end up doing is buying 4-5 times as many socks as I need to run on the tank, so instead of the 4 I need, I buy 16-20. I keep a bucket next to the tank, and pull them out, drop them in the bucket. Then when the last clean set goes on the tank, I put the rest in the wash. This keeps me from washing just a few at a time, and from having to do "laundry" every 3 days.

I also find that carbon is only really useful for about 2 weeks or so. After that, it stops absorbing things, and just becomes a bacterial filter, which is fine of course, but I run carbon to gank stuff out of the tank. With your heavy water change setup, this might not be a big deal really.

Garbled - good call. I didn't mention it but I too am running socks. (4) of the XL MRC socks that I changed today and about every 5 days or so using the same rationale and approach you do. It's a bit of a pain but can't argue with the results.
I do get much longer out of the carbon and it is possible it is the water change system helps that. I am still figuring out the ideal time on changing it as it is that fine balance between going too long and getting an algae bloom and throwing out good carbon and wasting money.

CoralReefer2110 · Dec 21, 2018

It was one year ago today that I took my display down in Iowa and began the move to Florida. Just seemed like a fun thing to do in taking a quick video of everything back in its right place a year later....