My Reef Journey Begins!

[Brew12]

Can't wait to see this set up, how bad was the sump?

Bad enough to dent my bumper when I slid it into the brick side of the house!

No worries though. I already ordered a custom DIY sump kit and will pick up a new tank this weekend. And the refugium section of the sump was just way too small for what I want to do. Eventually, I would like to raise my own macro algae in my sump to feed fish in my DT.

 

[BummersReef]

Thanks! Hope you don't mind travelling really slow as this will take awhile. Being my first tank I am doing absolutely everything I can to make sure it is done right the first time. It's taking awhile just to absorb the huge amount of knowledge available here not to mention the different opinions. But, if you see anything I'm doing wrong or would recommend doing something different please speak up! Not much going on yet to object to (I hope) but that should start changing next weekend. My goal is to get the tank in place and start adding water and rock next weekend.

now you do know that will not do EVERYTHING exactly right the first time don't you? That would make you perfect, assuming of course there is a 100% right thing to do for all this stuff anyways (be kind to yourself and leave a wee bit of room for a boo boo or two. as long as you learn from them, you are a winner)

 

[Brew12]

now you do know that will not do EVERYTHING exactly right the first time don't you? That would make you perfect, assuming of course there is a 100% right thing to do for all this stuff anyways (be kind to yourself and leave a wee bit of room for a boo boo or two. as long as you learn from them, you are a winner)

Oh, I know I won't achieve doing everything right! I just figure that if I do my best and strive for perfection I may not end up with mass aqua homicide as an end result.

 

[Brew12]

Last night was very productive even thought I didn't accomplish anything. The tank came with an LED system that is really well put together. It has 4 separate dimming lighting channels that can be controlled by the Apex. It has a nice mix of LED colors including blue moonlight. And then I started doing math. I hate math. You can argue with it all you want but you will never win. This lighting system is way too small for a tank this size. Each box is 16"x 8" and contains 24 LED's. There is just no way that 2 light fixtures this size can light a 72" tank. If my math is correct I could get no more than 25% of the max lighting in the center and edges of the tank.
No biggie. I will just rewire the 2 fixtures to separate them into individual units with 2 controllable channels each. One will go on my future coral QT, not sure about the other yet.

 

[Brew12]

Busy night tonight. First project was getting the RODI unit installed. Done. Flushed and ready to spend 2 weeks making water. That thing is slow!

 

[Brew12]

The 2nd job for the evening was to bring in the tank stand. Had to majorly rearrange my office/man cave. The desk needed to move to under the TV to make room for the tank stand against the wall. One more job done.

 

[Brew12]

At this point I am very limited in what I can do until I can rebuild my sump. It needs to go into the stand before the tank can go on, so I can do the plumbing, so I can do the electrical. Hopefully my DIY kit comes in so I can work on the sump this weekend. Of course, I still have plenty of cleaning to do so it is not like I will be bored.

 

[bknapp]

If your RO/DI is very slow (mine produced 5 gallons in 5 hours) you're probably going to need a booster pump. The upfront cost is fairly high but long term you will produce water faster, your filters will last longer which in turn saves money.

Good work so far.

 

[bknapp]

If your RO/DI is very slow (mine produced 5 gallons in 5 hours) you're probably going to need a booster pump. The upfront cost is fairly high but long term you will produce water faster, your filters will last longer which in turn saves money.

Good work so far.

 

[RamsReef]

http://m.marinedepot.com/products/a...-buddie-booster-pump-50-to-100-gpd-ro-systems

 

[TaylorPilot]

At this point I am very limited in what I can do until I can rebuild my sump. It needs to go into the stand before the tank can go on, so I can do the plumbing, so I can do the electrical. Hopefully my DIY kit comes in so I can work on the sump this weekend. Of course, I still have plenty of cleaning to do so it is not like I will be bored.

It's scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. Also, I have a booster pump on mine. Best $150-ish I ever spent. Get this. Put it between your last carbon block and the RO membrane. Then the pressure gauge goes on the fresh water line after your DI. That way when you close the valve, or your float switch closes, the line pressurizes and turns off the pump. These pumps are work horses, and are designed for continuous duty (run all day every day). The reason I say put it after your sediment and carbon blocks is because it will last longer if there is no sediment in the water. HTH

http://spectrapure.com/RO-RODI/ADD-...ure-60-90-180gpd-Manual-Flush-RO-RODI-Systems

 

[Brew12]

It's scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. Also, I have a booster pump on mine. Best $150-ish I ever spent. Get this. Put it between your last carbon block and the RO membrane. Then the pressure gauge goes on the fresh water line after your DI. That way when you close the valve, or your float switch closes, the line pressurizes and turns off the pump. These pumps are work horses, and are designed for continuous duty (run all day every day). The reason I say put it after your sediment and carbon blocks is because it will last longer if there is no sediment in the water. HTH

http://spectrapure.com/RO-RODI/ADD-...ure-60-90-180gpd-Manual-Flush-RO-RODI-Systems

Thanks for the advice, I may just go the booster pump route. And I can't tell you how excited I am to get that kit. First, I haven't seen a sump I really like since I want to keep it simple with a big refugium. Your custom kit without the sock holder will let me build exactly what I was looking for. I appreciate you working with me to simplify it since I love parts of your design! Just picked up the tank for the sump today and hope to put it together on Saturday.

 

[Brew12]

If your RO/DI is very slow (mine produced 5 gallons in 5 hours) you're probably going to need a booster pump. The upfront cost is fairly high but long term you will produce water faster, your filters will last longer which in turn saves money.

Good work so far.

I think mine is doing about 5 gallons in 2 hours. Might have to go that route.

 

[RamsReef]

Booster buddy...

 

[RamsReef]

This is what ill be picking up when tank gets started.

Odly enough we both have same tank dimensions...

 

[Brew12]

Highschool football took up my night yesterday so didn't get too much done. However, I did get a few pieces of acrylic attached in my sump so that it had time to cure before this morning. One more thing off the list.

Huge thanks @TaylorPilot , the kit was great! I know you are proud of your sock system but I appreciate you working with me to get me exactly what I wanted. Oh, and these seemed like a nice touch up until I started putting the sump together. Now I think they may have been the best thing you sent! It saved me literally hours of time and made it so easy to make sure everything was perfectly spaced and level. Great idea!

 

[bknapp]

Sump looks good, hope the center isn't your skimmer section.

 

[Brew12]

Sump looks good, hope the center isn't your skimmer section.

Nope. First section is for the drains, skimmer, heaters, and I can add a cheesy sock filter if needed. Center section is for my refugium since I want to try and grow my own macros to feed the fish.

 

[bknapp]

Nice! Pretty good sized fuge section.

 

[Brew12]

Nice! Pretty good sized fuge section.

Yup, 19"x13" with around 9" of water in it. Should be able to grow some algae and not feel too bad if I need to put a misbehaving fish in there for a day or two.
It was the main reason I wanted to build my own sump. Most of the off the shelf designs have tiny fuges.