Planning New System - SPS dominant Rimless Starphire 40B

[creefer]

I have been a member for a while, simply reading and posting very little. I've really enjoyed the forum quite a bit. The title pretty much says it all. I'm going for a minimalist look to this tank and it will be SPS dominant. There are a few rules for this tank.

1. It must be silent or as close to it as possible. It will be in the living room.
2. It must blend well with the house.
3. It must be clean and crisp with no wires or anything visible.

I'm going to DIY the stand with the help of a good friend. It will be clean and will match our furniture as best as possible. I'm really interested in opinions on a skimmer, lighting, and overflow style. Right now I have the tank picked out. It will be made locally. I'm not yet set on the sump however I will be planning the system to have the biggest sump I can fit in the stand so I can maximize the fuge size. This may also be in part DIY.

Lighting - Currently, I'm running a maxspect G2-110 LED on my solana 34g. It's a decent fixture, but not big enough for the 40B. I'm torn between something else LED, either DIY in a DIY canopy to hide the wiring, etc., or a 6 lamp T5. Again, aesthetics is important here because of the tank's location.

Skimmer - I really like the reef octopus skimmers. I have no direct experience with them, but have seen them in action and hear nothing but good. I have also looked into the Avast marine "you build" products but have no real experience there nor have I seen them in action.

Overflow Style - Do I put it in the center, in the corner, etc. And, do I drill the back and use a box like the g*******es ones use or do I drill the bottom and use an acrylic box? Space is at a premium and the prior seems best in that regard. I'm also talking to the tank builder about doing an external overflow with 3 drains and one return drilled into it. This option is the most attractive considering the location and look I'm going for with the system. The plan is to shoot for ~700GPH here and try to reduce the flow through the sump to allow good contact time in the fuge. This will be done by splitting the return to the fuge.

ATO - Will be managed with my RKL topping off with kalk. After the system is up and the demand grows, I'll bring on the kalk stirrer.

Flow - I have an MP10 that I'll use on the new system and will supplement with a Tunze 6045 that I have until I can find a good deal on another MP10. I think that will handle the flow. I'm going to start with the MP10 and bring the Tunze online when the tank begins to fill up and requires more flow.

So, I'm looking for opinions on this from those with more experience than I. I've only been reefing for a little better than a year. Keep in mind that this system is going to be as big as I can go in the house here. Future plans include a frag tank in another room so I have a bit more flexibility.

Looking forward to your opinions and sorry for the long winded post.

 

[bct15]

Sounds like you have it figured out...

I like my h&s skimmer, it is top notch and I will probably never part with it. My reef octopus extreme was not to shabby either.

The overflow style is up to you, if it is in the corner than people can see in it.

To help hide wiring and the such I have a trim rim around my rimless, allowed me to nicely add a t5 retrofit kit and I get a lot of compliments about it.

I don't know how much flow an mp10 will give you bit you may need something bigger if you have a huge tank.

You might want to consider setting up so your frag tank can be plumbed into your main system, makes life easier.

You can get that flow out of the tank with a 1 inch drain I believe, whatever your return pump is delivering your drain will drain off. Rerouting your return back into your sumo may not be necessary because any your protein skimmer and any reactors will add flow inside your sump, unless you have them feed your display.

To help hide your wires etc have an opaque back on your tank

Sorry for anything that doesn't make sense, me and the autocorrect on the iPhone dont get along

 

[creefer]

Thanks. I plan on plumbing the frag tank into the main sump. That will be down the road though. I think that the MP10 will be good for getting this tank set up, but once it's running I'll be needing more flow.

 

[Antonias1391]

I am currently using a 6 bulb t5 system and my coral are responding much better to it than they were to metal halide.

I am also using avast's DIY skimmer. It runs very well and is very simple to construct. There support team will answer any questions if u have them. For my 40 it will idle which I.think is a sign that it is over skimming. But it is a sps tank so I don't have an issue with it.

Good luck can't wait to see more!

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk

 

[aaronbrown]

im useing a reef octopus nwb110 and wouldnt recomend it to no one it has overflowed many times causeing a wet floor

 

[creefer]

Thanks. Keep the opinions coming. This will be a SLOW process unfortunately but I will continue to update the planning thread until it's build time.

 

[Snprhed]

If you can go any bigger, I would. You are only moving up 6 gal from where you are now.... My 58 Illuminata is a nice clean rimless setup that isnt too big.

 

[harlequinreefer]

I'd go with your tank builders recommendations for the external overflow box. It will look the best in the display. 3 drains, 1 return, and the biggest Weir overflow they can fit will work best in the long run.


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[-Logzor]

For silence you'll want a full-siphon overflow, I believe that is the Beananimal one, this can also be done externally to save room.

Be sure to plumb with flexible tubing so you don't have water splashing in the pipes!

Ultimately your vortech will probably be the loudest part of your system.

As mentioned, if you going to all this work for a custom tank, go bigger!

 

[creefer]

I really would like to go bigger. I have a few things that I need to look at. I'm going to evaluate the possibility of going wider than a standard 40B, but don't know if I can get it pass the CFO. I'm aiming for a shallow rimless tank, so I want to keep the depth 16" or less. As for the overflow, the Beananimal set up would be ideal for me.

 

[creefer]

If you can go any bigger, I would. You are only moving up 6 gal from where you are now.... My 58 Illuminata is a nice clean rimless setup that isnt too big.

I understand and would like to go with a larger system. This started with the idea of going with a 36 x 24 x 16. This size creates some issues in the house where the tank will sit. I'm actually limited by the house more than anything. The size of the stand needed for a 24" wide tank and associated plumbing is simply not going to work. I have checked out the Illuminata and it's a beautiful tank with the same footprint as the 40B. It would satisfy the foot print constraint, but I'm really looking for the shallow look. Since I'm going with a sump this time vs. and AIO, I'm adding much more than 6 gallons. The display is getting larger by nearly 8-10 gallons and the overall TWV will be more like 20 gallons greater. However, I am not totally set on anything yet. No financial commitments have been made, so I'll still consider the Illuminata. It will give me more flexibility for sure. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Akwarius]

+1 for the illuminata! I just set one up and am extremely happy with how clean and professional it looks. With a black painted back panel youll hide the wires, and some strategic rock placement virtually hides the overflow, which is slightly oversized IMO.

 

[creefer]

So I went to look at an illuminata tonight. It's really a beautiful tank. What I don't like about it is the height. I'm looking for something much more shallow than that tank. The search continues. I'm thinking that I now need to reconsider a 36" x 24" footprint. It's going to be a stretch in the area in which I'll locate the tank in the house, but it may be the best bet for me.

 

[creefer]

I have ruled out the illuminata officially. I will be going with a more shallow tank. I have expanded my acceptable sizes and have a local tank builder pricing some options for me now. All are 16" in depth with footprints ranging from 36 x 18 to 48 x 24. I hope to have a decision soon.

 

[creefer]

Decision has been made. I hope to see my new tank this weekend! I ended up going with the original plan of a 36 x 18 x 16 rimless with starfire front panel. Now I'm trying to determine how best to maintain a clean look with a slim overflow. Idea #1 is go the easy route and order a glass-**** overflow. Idea #2, which I'm more fond of, would be to drill the tank low and high, in line, on the rear panel and use a very slim box. This would effectively duplicate the "herbie" style overflow by keeping both channels open with the lower one valved. In this case I would DIY a slim strainer for the bottom bulkhead.

Any ideas? I'm trying to keep this as slim and clean as possible.

 

[creefer]

New tank arrived however it arrived with a nice chip in the starfire panel. The wait continues.

 

[Alarsen77]

As far as your skimmer goes, I just got my Super Reef Octopus PS-1000 skimmer today, it has been running now for about 7 hours and I know they say that skimmers require a break in period well mine is skimming very well right out of the box. It has pulled alot of nice dark skimmate.

 

[creefer]

Very nice! Thanks for the information.

 

[tinkerman]

I would say go with beananimal or herbie if you want it quiet. I run a beananimal with 2 in with overflow in tank and 5"x5"x3' on a 125. The woman's tank is a 40 breeder and think I will talk her into draining it to do this to it also. She has the overflow and plumbing in tank and it takes up alot of room.

 

[creefer]

I was thinking about a bean style set up. Not sure about how to do it. I had he tank built and at this point would likely have to do an internal but don't want to lose the internal space. That's why I have been thinking of the herbie style. I could DIY some slim bulkhead strainers, drill 2 holes, cover with a piece of glass and acrylic and be done with it.