Hubb's Reef custom 6x2x2

[hubblephilip]

Hi All,

Greetings from the UK.

So I have been in this hobby now for almost 4 years starting out with a 30L nano then moving onto a Reefspace 700 which is where I did a lot of my learning. Me and the wife bought our first house [emoji537] and wanted to have a new tank in place so bought a Red Sea Reefer 350 which is my current tank and is thriving. Reason for the upgrade is I feel I am being held back slightly by the size of the display and sump that coupled with my impending career change where I will have more time to spend on the tank.

Originally I was going with a 5x2x2 peninsula but me and the wife couldn't find a new sofa for the living room we liked that worked with the peninsula so I compromised and because of this I can have a 6x2x2 system.

Current equipment that I have and will be used on the new system:

2 x AI Hydra 26HD
1 x AI Prime HD
Glamorca GP-03
Jebao RW8
Jebao OW10
Jebao DCP6500
Bubble Magus G7
300w Heater
Clarisea SK 3000
Smart Micro Ato
D-D Reactor
Kamoer X4 dosing pump

Potential Upgrades I will list when I decide.

Below are the plans I have drawn up.

Really looking forward to people's input and advice.

 

[Ranjib]

Equipment lineup looks reasonable, i am not a stand/tank expert ..lets see what others say about them

 

[hubblephilip]

Equipment lineup looks reasonable, i am not a stand/tank expert ..lets see what others say about them

Cheers bud,

I will be adding an additional light as well, tank and stand will be customer made in the UK by a tank builder therefore stand will be made from steel [emoji4]

 

[jsker]

Now following for this very intriguing build

Great planning and layouts, by the way

 

[hubblephilip]

Now following for this very intriguing build

Great planning and layouts, by the way

Thanks,

Hoping I can get it all priced and ordered asap, planning has taken a fair while and as a structural technician I felt I needed to draw it properly and accurately to see if I like the design.

 

[jsker]

Thanks,

Hoping I can get it all priced and ordered asap, planning has taken a fair while and as a structural technician I felt I needed to draw it properly and accurately to see if I like the design.

I really have a appreciation for European builds. Well laid out and using the simplest methods of reefing.

 

[hubblephilip]

I really have a appreciation for European builds. Well laid out and using the simplest methods of reefing.

I like to keep things super simple, including equipment and dosing. Makes things easier and more time to sit back and really enjoy the tank.

 

[jsker]

I like to keep things super simple, including equipment and dosing. Makes things easier and more time to sit back and really enjoy the tank.

I am have been going back to that philosophy of late.

 

[hubblephilip]

I am have been going back to that philosophy of late.

Eventually I'd like to add some sort of controller just to keep an eye on things but this is a long long term project, I really want to give something back to the hobby and help people as much as possible. Hoping to one day get some companies on board as well which is a long term goal.

 

[phea2]

Nice size tank, you should consider yourself very lucky to have your wife on board. Can’t wait to see the progress.

If I were you I would separate the Ro container from the sump. At some stage you’ll want to take the ro container out for cleaning.

Also, have you ever considered making the cabinet with aluminium profile? It’s super light and if you decide to upgrade or modify your tank in the future it’ll make things a lot more easier. Anyway, whether you go stainless steel or aluminium profile make sure you make the cabinet panels detachable, it’ll make thinks a lot more easier when comes time to cleaning the sump.

 

[KrisReef]

Your first drawing reminded me of MC Escher.

"Originally I was going with a 5x2x2 peninsula but me and the wife couldn't find a new sofa for the living room we liked that worked with the peninsula so I compromised and because of this I can have a 6x2x2 system."

I'm following this thread with the hope of learning your compromising skills sir!

 

[hubblephilip]

Nice size tank, you should consider yourself very lucky to have your wife on board. Can’t wait to see the progress.

If I were you I would separate the Ro container from the sump. At some stage you’ll want to take the ro container out for cleaning.

Also, have you ever considered making the cabinet with aluminium profile? It’s super light and if you decide to upgrade or modify your tank in the future it’ll make things a lot more easier. Anyway, whether you go stainless steel or aluminium profile make sure you make the cabinet panels detachable, it’ll make thinks a lot more easier when comes time to cleaning the sump.

My wife is great she loves the tank she ignores the cost as its the only hobby I have, in fact shes worse with fish and corals then I am, she has a very extensive list of fish she wants in the tank and does hours of research on each fish she wants to make sure it is compatible.

I have thought about separating the RO reservoir so by the time of ordering im sure it will be separate. If the designs stay the same then it will hold around 65 litres of RO so will have to see what a separate custom one will hold before pulling the trigger.

It will be a steel stand as that is what the custom builder supplies, all panels will be detachable for the very reason you mentioned.

 

[hubblephilip]

Your first drawing reminded me of MC Escher.

"Originally I was going with a 5x2x2 peninsula but me and the wife couldn't find a new sofa for the living room we liked that worked with the peninsula so I compromised and because of this I can have a 6x2x2 system."

I'm following this thread with the hope of learning your compromising skills sir!

In my relatively short life and married life I have found that if you are willing to make a sacrifice it is generally rewarded and in this case it is.

 

[hubblephilip]

So a quick little update for you guys, below i have gone into a bit more depth in regards to filtration and dosing.

Filtration:

Mechanical filtration will be taken care of by the clarisea which will be sat on top of 13 litres of siporax.
so the water will flow through the clarisea and then through the siporax, the skimmer will be in the same chamber so will pic up any lose detritus and skim it out before it flows into the refugium.

I've been in 2 minds about having a refugium as its just another thing to look after, however after speaking with a fair few other reefers i feel i would like to give it a go for many reasons. First of all I would like to successfully keep a mandarin therefore the abundance of micro fauna that a refugium creates is ideal for the mandarin, other reason is this tank will be heavily stocked with sps and also im planning on having quite a few fish therefore will help to have more filtration.

Dosing:

Dosing will be taken care of by the Kamoer X4 which is a great piece of kit not the cheapest but worth the money for reliability and accuracy. I calibrate the doser every 2 months just to check its still working well and the calibration has been spot on everytime. My dosing regime is Fauna Marin balling lite with weekly or fortnightly 5-10% water change and this is what i will continue to do on the upgrade, balling lite takes care of all the major, minor and trace elements and is a very under appreciated dosing regime i can keep all my parameters super stable whilst providing the corals with every element they need and in the right proportions. I also dose currently a maintenance dose of 5ml of NoPox alongside rowaphos and the siporax as i heavily feed the fish and corals. Aminos and vitamins are taken care of by Quantum Bio-Enhance, I have been using this now for around 2 months and the signs seem to be really good but i like to run things for a fair few months before i really comment on its effect.

 

[jsker]

Eventually I'd like to add some sort of controller just to keep an eye on things but this is a long long term project, I really want to give something back to the hobby and help people as much as possible. Hoping to one day get some companies on board as well which is a long term goal.

I really like having a controller. I have a few pieces of equipment setup and automated. When I feed some of the equipment turns off for different lengths of time. When I do maintenance again certain pieces equipment turn of and on. I have switch in place to worn me if something is low or to high. I get a warning via text and can make adjustment remotely. I have the Hydra 26 hd's, I do not have to, but it is also nice to have the ability to control the light remotely. The next thing is dosing and being able to control it remotely.

 

[hubblephilip]

I really like having a controller. I have a few pieces of equipment setup and automated. When I feed some of the equipment turns off for different lengths of time. When I do maintenance again certain pieces equipment turn of and on. I have switch in place to worn me if something is low or to high. I get a warning via text and can make adjustment remotely. I have the Hydra 26 hd's, I do not have to, but it is also nice to have the ability to control the light remotely. The next thing is dosing and being able to control it remotely.

This is something i will look into especially with Neptune now bringing out a stripped down cheaper model but whether i feel it is something i need time will tell. I will be heavily sps stocked eventually so will also look at KH Guardian, Alkatronic or KH director.

 

[jsker]

This is something i will look into especially with Neptune now bringing out a stripped down cheaper model but whether i feel it is something i need time will tell. I will be heavily sps stocked eventually so will also look at KH Guardian, Alkatronic or KH director.

Looking at the Neptune Apex, the stripped down versions to not allow for expanding and automation. Spend the pounds up front will save pounds in the long run. For dosing I have been looking a the Pacific sun kore 7th. Wifi, can dose drops, and last the unit can be setup with a KH doser I really like this unit and have been waiting for it in the US