Gilroy 425g Build Thread (All Apex, all the time)

Queen City Corals
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Thanks!

During the hottest few days of the year the temp never exceeds 85 under the house. It is surprisingly cool down there. With a box fan on the sump (and the display in the air-conditioned home) I will have all the cooling I need.
 
AS
Are you using only the big open sump as your only sump? If so I will be interested in how you do all your equipment and topoff. I have a 90g open sump too.
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
JBNY said:
Are you using only the big open sump as your only sump? If so I will be interested in how you do all your equipment and topoff. I have a 90g open sump too.
Click to expand...

I will first place my skimmer in and see how things go with it flowing straight through. Then I will likely section off a couple of areas for chaeto growing as well as frag storage/grow out.

For ATO I will be using one of my 100 gallon storages for fresh water and then I only have to run the RO a couple of times a week and I have an on-hand supply of RO. I will use a 24V solenoid (connected to one of the accessory ports on the 1LINK) and gravity feed to bring that water to the sump. It will be triggered by optical sensors connected to the yet-to-be-released FMM (Fluid Monitoring Module) we debuted at MACNA. Water will flow into the sump through a mechanical float valve as a last line of defense should there be a runaway state caused by some electrical or programming failure - then it will not raise the water level past that point.
 
Just got an apex Jr for my build, so what better way to pick up some apex tips and tricks than to follow along here :)

You started the thread in April and just got it wet recently. How did you survive?! I've been waiting for my tank since July and its been killing me. Teach me your patience!
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
Great thread.

Looking forward to seeing the Reel Reef Rock installed.

That is the biggest crawl space I have ever seen.
 
Terence said:
I will first place my skimmer in and see how things go with it flowing straight through. Then I will likely section off a couple of areas for chaeto growing as well as frag storage/grow out.

For ATO I will be using one of my 100 gallon storages for fresh water and then I only have to run the RO a couple of times a week and I have an on-hand supply of RO. I will use a 24V solenoid (connected to one of the accessory ports on the 1LINK) and gravity feed to bring that water to the sump. It will be triggered by optical sensors connected to the yet-to-be-released FMM (Fluid Monitoring Module) we debuted at MACNA. Water will flow into the sump through a mechanical float valve as a last line of defense should there be a runaway state caused by some electrical or programming failure - then it will not raise the water level past that point.
Click to expand...

Very nice! I do something similar, but using float valves. All RO water is in a 50g container so it only needs to refill once a week. I plumbed the rodi unit into the main water supply, with a NC solenoid that kicks on when there is about 5 gallons of water in the makeup container. Mine is 100% self sustaining, so times when I have been busy with life I sometimes didn't check on the tank for months and the topoff worked perfectly. You have access to the gear so I think you should be able to setup something that automated 100%. The one piece I added later was a statement to alert but not shut off, if the topoff is running longer than 10 minutes. but high and low floats in the sump keep everything in check if something were to ever fail. In the 8 years it has been online, the float has stuck a few time but the other floats have always caught it before there was an issue.
 
KStatefan said:
Great thread.

Looking forward to seeing the Reel Reef Rock installed.

That is the biggest crawl space I have ever seen.
Click to expand...

Yes, the rock and sand will be done immediately following me getting the water "salted" and adding in some more temporary filtration.
 
Tidal Gardens
Of course I will also use filter socks, skimmer, and possibly ozone, carbon and gfo as necessary.
 
Rockwork design has begun. Check out this great rock from Real Reef! The stuff is amazing. They really have come a long way with this stuff making the shapes and colors so much more realistic than it was a few years back. Very porous too. Also, the color is so much more subtle than before. http://realreefrock.com/

My creative mind is going wild. I will be designing it outside of the aquarium and then cementing a few pieces together making sub sections to be into place in the tank. For cement I will be using Marco Rocks "E Marco 400" cement (http://www.marcorocks.com/aquascape-supplies/e-marco-400/). The picture below is just the beginning and no cement has been used yet. I love the ability to play around with the rock, step back, adjust, and repeat.

Of course, as always, I have my little helper Skippy. He already had a taste for rocks before this project and with me taking this rock out of the box he was dizzy with all the choices. He kept sneaking off with a piece... crazy dog.

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Top Shelf Aquatics
Very good looking rock Terence. I know this isn't your first rodeo, so I will make one suggestion that you can feel free to ignore. You might want to consider setting up your design as close to the same eye level as it will be in the tank. I only say this because I did my design on the floor, then ended up setting it on a table near the display so I could transfer it. After doing so, oddly it didn't look quite the same and I ended up making some changes. I was able to because I hadn't bound anything together.

Just food for thought and as I said, just ignore my rambling as it is just my limited experience.
 
Great advice dbl. Unfortunately I don't have the space or place to do that. So, instead I planned on doing something similar but with photos shot at "eye level" from different sides and then studying them.
 
OK, so I have been out of town a lot lately so not much time to work on the tank. I finally got back on it yesterday and this morning. I added wall braces to steady the tank - bolted to studs and attached to metal tank stand frame. Stabilized the tank nicely. Thanks Randy!

Next, I worked on putting together the rock stack for the right side. This right side will be a cantilever piece that will cascade up and to the right. Also, this aquascape must look good from the sides as this tank is intended to be a three-view tank. All rock stacks will be swim around and have coral on all sides. For this side I will make use of the shelf rock material from Real Reef. I built it in three pieces. I used a small amount of water-stop concrete with acrylic stabilizer to mortar the rocks together here and there in hidden places. There is even a nice cave inside and the overhang will help me try and do some low-light corals. I also used some of the reef putty to attach small pieces like the little rock "feet" that elevate it off the substrate a bit. The entire design is very stable and I am quite pleased with the Real Reef Rock.

Now onto the left side. For the left side I am going to make use of the Real Reef branch rock so we will see what I can do with that!

Oh, and take a look at my little helper who is finally back in the pictures!

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Great update! Looking forward to seeing the FTS when the rock work is complete.

Travel sure does get in the way of this hobby, it's a good thing you have an apex to look after things while you are away!
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%

  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%

  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%

  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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