DSA Neo 105 rimless build

SkimHeavy · Feb 16, 2013

So I am in the process of setting up my next reef. This time I am taking my time and TRYING to do things right. The tank has no water yet so it shouldn't take too much to catch this thread up to current.

I am setting up my first rimless tank. It's a Deep Sea Aquatics Neo 105. The dimensions are 48"x24" like a standard 120, but the overall height I less.

I had the option of a reef-ready tank. The overflows IMO are oversized an difficult to aqua scape around. I elected to drill the tank myself. I believe in a slow flow from the return and through my sump.

I ordered a glass-holes 1500gph overflow. I plan to only run 500-600gph but want the added drain capacity to accommodate for water displacement should I go shoulder deep into the tank to glue, frag or clean.

So now that I have a plumbing plan, its time to paint. I wanted to paint the back of the tank black. It's what I have always done. There was recently an amazing tank featured on Reefbuilders and the tank was painted with a roll brush. I thought that was a great idea as I could add a super thick, scratch resistant layer of paint on the back wall. As it turned out, the paint I chose did not adhere well and sloughed off while drying.

So back to the rattle can.....

If you cannot tell, in the photo above I have a Radion over the tank. It's the light for my coral QT. I will be lighting this tank with two Radion Pro fixtures and mounting them with a single plasma TV wall mount.

Fatmike92 · Feb 16, 2013

Awesome! That's a beautiful tank! I can't wait to see what you do with it!

SkimHeavy · Feb 16, 2013

I was inspired by cool clams and vivid aquariums with this tank. Clams look amazing from the top down, and sometimes not too special looking at them from through the glass. With the small size of the Radions, there is plenty of space to look down in this tank.

Vivid aquariums at one time had a surge style setup where the coral tanks could be looked at from top-down over still water. After a few looks, boom! A wave would come crashing down and the view would distort with flow.

My idea is this, one single Vortech mp40wEs ran on a long pulse mode. Say 15 seconds of continuous flow, followed by a period of time allowing the surface to become completely still for a "look down" and then soon another pulse of flow.

The mp40 will be placed on the left side end of tank pushing across the tank from one end to the other. The rock will be laid out allowing for unobstructed flow with my single 50 pound piece of liverock on the end opposite to the mp40 and cascading down towards the end with the power head. I hope to replicate the look of the edge of a reef, with waves crashing against it. To clarify, I am not going to run the mp40 so that it creates a large wave, as I don't want water sloshing onto the floor.

SkimHeavy · Feb 16, 2013

The sump is a brand new 40b and I am cutting baffles for it this weekend.

I still have several things to pick up. I plan to Skim-Heavy and have ordered the reef octopus dc-2 POV skimmer rated for 400 gallons. It's equipped with the new line of DC controlled pumps.

My return is a waveline DC-5000 pump ran externally. I prefer the bulkhead and glass hole saw to drill the 40b from glass-holes.

I am going to run three reactors. GFO, carbon and bio-pellets. Since all three like different flow rates, I am plumbing a manifold so that each can be adjusted individually, and they will be driven with the waveline DC-3000 pump.

ddragon4237 · Feb 16, 2013

Iam new to saltwater but you should consider your location for the tank. Its next to the window. And may get some algea isues do to the sun ligth. Good choice on the tank.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Reef2Reef Aquarium Forum mobile app

SkimHeavy · Feb 16, 2013

I have fought flatworm, aptasia, bryopsis, and ich in the past. Not this time! The rock has been bleached! After completely drying it will get the muriatic acid bath. So no rock hitch hikers for sure.

All the effort would be a waste without a QT system. I have set up 2. One is a fish hypo salinity tank. One is a coral QT.

All fish, including the ones that I have kept from my last setup, and any that I add in the future will first get 8 weeks of hypo to eradicate ich.

The corals will also we QT'd for 8 weeks. This system is fish-less. I know ich is a fish disease only, however some could easily get caught in some slime from an sps frag or on any frag for that matter. If its wet, it could carry ich. During this 8 weeks I can watch for aptasia, algae and other pests I want to keep out of my display.

SkimHeavy · Feb 16, 2013

The build will take some time, I am guessing another month before its fully equipped and filled with water.

SkimHeavy · Feb 16, 2013

Fatmike92 said:
Awesome! That's a beautiful tank! I can't wait to see what you do with it!

Thanks! I got a pretty good deal on it too! I can hardly wait to set it up.

SkimHeavy · Feb 16, 2013

ddragon4237 said:
Iam new to saltwater but you should consider your location for the tank. Its next to the window. And may get some algea isues do to the sun ligth. Good choice on the tank.

I'm not too worried about it. If the back was unpainted I would be concerned. The blinds are almost always closed on that wall because of the reflection on the TV. These windows also never see direct sun light so I think with that in mind, and running GFO I should be safe.

revhtree · Feb 16, 2013

Cool tank! Can't wait to see what you do with it.

SkimHeavy · Feb 16, 2013

revhtree said:
Cool tank! Can't wait to see what you do with it.

Thanks rev! I'll be sure to post as things come together. This weekend I am drilling the tank, doing the acid, cutting baffles and setting up the sump. I should have plenty of new pics and updates to come.

snapcrackled · Feb 16, 2013

Awesome! I just got the same tank, but with the reef ready build. Not many people seem to have these tanks... atleast I couldn't find. Can't wait to see how yours looks.

Sent Via the R2R Forum APP

SkimHeavy · Feb 16, 2013

snapcrackled said:
Awesome! I just got the same tank, but with the reef ready build. Not many people seem to have these tanks... atleast I couldn't find. Can't wait to see how yours looks.

Have you started a build thread for yours yet? I'd like to see what your doing too.

snapcrackled · Feb 16, 2013

No. Not yet. Just getting the pieces still. Ill hopefully be getting the substrate this coming week, ill start a thread up when I get that going. Ill keep you posted when I do

I'm coming from a 29 gallon, so this'll be interesting.

Sent Via the R2R Forum APP