DSA NEO 105 Gallon Build

[BahN]

The wife and I are 1-2 weeks away from moving everything in our 60 gallon cube over to a DSA Neo 105. Things will be moving quickly during the next couple of weeks so I plan on updating this thread often.

Equipment

• Neptune Apex Lite Controller
• Jebao DCT-6000 DC Return Pump
• 2x AI Hydra 26 LED Lights
• AI Director
• 2x Vortech MP-10W ES Powerheads
• 2x Jebao RW-8 DC Powerheads
• Finnex HMO 300W Titanium Heater
• Cheap Aquatop 300W glass heater for backup
• Eshopps 3rd Gen RS-200 Sump
• Skimz SN143
• Spectrapure RO/DI System

The new tank will be going into the same location as the old one which will add some challenges. Luckily or unluckily we have experience doing this already as the 60 gallon cube replaced a leaking 75 gallon in the same manor. Fish will be moved to a tank upstairs and rock, coral and a peacock mantis shrimp will be stored in a 55 gallon brute trough. Yes you read that right, there's a peacock mantis shrimp in this system. We got the peacock when he was very much a juvenile at 3 inches long a year ago. The peacock has done great and is now about 5 inches long and doesn't care about the fish one bit. One challenge the peacock does bring is to maintain lower PAR levels (under 100) as stated by Roy. We've purposely stayed with a deep tank to keep PAR levels at the sand at 100 or under. We are replacing the old sand with new sand to keep initial nutrient loads as low as possible in hopes of not breaking the cycle. We currently have about 60 lbs of live rock and a marinepure rock, hopefully this and multiple sponge filters from the current system will provide enough biological filtration.

Stay tuned for updates

 

[wpeterson]

I think you'll love that DSA 105. I have the 90, which I quite like, but I wish I had gone with the lower profile 105 instead.

You may want to consider a larger return pump like a 9000 or 12000 for a tank that size.

Good luck! It sounds like a great upgrade.

 

[BahN]

I think you'll love that DSA 105. I have the 90, which I quite like, but I wish I had gone with the lower profile 105 instead.

You may want to consider a larger return pump like a 9000 or 12000 for a tank that size.

Good luck! It sounds like a great upgrade.

Since I'm doing a bean animal drain system I'll only have one 3/4" return line left after the 3 bean animal drains. The primary drain is 1" which from what I've read should be able to handle 1000-1200gph which should be just about perfect for the DCT-6000 at 3 feet of head. I am picking up a slightly used DCT-8000 from a friend though for super cheap so I might use that instead and return the DCT-6000.

 

[BahN]

Spent the day adding some LED rope lights in the stand and getting the plumbing all glued together. Loving the red and grey look

 

[BahN]

Got a little more done this weekend. I built a small box out of some scrap birch I had that will be used to house the Apex EB8 and Apex Controller. The box will also serve as a stand for the ATO container (to be decided). I hinged the top door to make it easy to route cables and unplug/plug in new equipment. I think I'll be lazy and not paint the inside lol.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Cool! Following!

 

[BahN]

Sometimes I amaze myself by how little I get done. I've been trying to go to the gym more which is eating into my available time after work to work on the tank (or at least that's the excuse I'm going with). The ATO container arrived. I went with this one from USPlastics http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=39508&catid=574 it holds 4.5 gallons of water although I'll probably only fill it to 4 gallons. The container sits nicely on the stand I made. I still haven't decide whether I'm going with a gravity + float valve ATO or if I'll use a small pump and 2 float switches with my apex.

I also got the RODI system plumbed in and leak tested. The supply and product lines are too long at the moment and will be shortened once my line cutter arrives from BRS. The waste line is too short so I have a longer line on the way from BRS as well. I left enough room to the right of the unit to add two additional stages if need be (my city uses chloramines).

and finally my shipment of 175G Red Sea Coral Pro Salt has arrived! We've been using this stuff off and on in our 60 Gallon cube and have been very happy with it. Next up is to build a stand and plumb my 20 gallon mixing containers which will be difficult as space is very limited where the RODI system is.

 

[BahN]

Productive weekend even though the good weather was luring me outside. I'm working with very limited space in the basement for the RODI system. I created a stand for one of my 20G containers which will hold salt water. This will be connected to the other container with a ball valve. Space has restricted me from having the containers on the same level so I'll be using two float valves (one in each container) and a Y splitter off the supply line. This should allow it to fill both containers without overfilling.

I started working on the electronic mounting and cable management as well. While it is not finished yet I'm happy with it so far.

Industrial velcro was used to mount the devices, 1/4" cable clamps, 1/4" cable staples and velcro cable straps keep it nice and neat. The power inverters are mounted to the inside wall of the stand with velcro as well. The picture quality turned out terrible thanks to my phones flash.

The bottom two cables that are still loose are for the Ecotech MP-10's. I haven't finished mounting these cables yet as they are shorter than I was hoping. The left MP-10 is just long enough but the right one isn't even close. I contacted Ecotech, they can extend the cables to 8 feet but it costs $40 + shipping. I'm very handy with electronics so I'll just extend it myself by removing the cable from the driver and building another with the proper molex 10 pin connectors. Sourcing the cable will be a bit difficult to obtain cheaply as it should really be a shielded cable due to the use of PWM.

I picked up the skimmer yesterday as well (Skimz SN143). I'll be getting it cleaned out and in the sump shortly. We will be starting the tank move this weekend. Many updates to come!