Kevinsreefs
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- Joined
- Dec 30, 2016
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- Rochester/Binghamton, NY
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- New York
So this article will be quite long as I’m going to go through my new tank build in hopes that I don’t forget any details! This will be happening within the next few months!
Display tank with equipment:
220 gallon reef ready tank on a metal stand I will be wrapping with wood. I think that I will be making the stand into shelves that I can store things under the tank such as books, spare equipment, food, and such.
I will be drilling in to the wall behind my tank and the overflow which is about 18” long in the middle of the back wall will flow down into the basement. This will have 2 X 1.5” overflows as well as 2 X 1.5” return jets on either side of the tank. I will do unions upstairs and downstairs that way it is easy to replace and clean the pipes if need be. The overflows will flow into a 2-3" pipe so no obstructions can happen.
The lighting will be the 5 X 165 watt Mars Aqua LED lights that you find on Ebay and Amazon. I have had these since I started my reef tank and they’ve done awesome with growth and coloration. These will be mounted approximateIy 16-18 inches above the water level for optimal spread. I will also be supplementing with 2 X ATI Coral Plus bulbs on a spare Odyssea fixture I had laying around. If I can’t find a canopy to hide all the lights, I may just have to build one again! These will be connected to a Reefkeeper controller for timing and that way the lights can be turned off if it ever gets way too hot.
For flow in the tank, I will use 2 X Maxspect Gyre XF 150’s (5000 gph each but will probably throttle back to 50-75%) linked up to the new controller that will control them both at the same time! This will ultimately be linked to the Icecap Battery Backup in case power ever fails!
Sump Setup:
Alright, so now we are going to move to the basement and look at some more of the equipment that I will be using and how some things will be setup. So the overflows from the tank will drain into a 120 gallon tank (4x2). This will drain with an overflow into a 300 gallon stock tank. This will be about half to three quarter of the way full ultimately adding another 150-200 gallons just in case any check valves don’t work the way they’re supposed to.
The 120 gallon tank will hold a 12” Reef Octopus Protein Skimmer with a bubble blaster pump (this skimmer is awesome and the only reason I’m not using it now is because it doesn’t fit in my sump!). This skimmer will also be fit with an automatic skimmer neck cleaner that will run for 10 minutes every day and I’m also thinking of adding a skimmer neck wash-down cleaner as well. The skimmer cup will drain right to a waste drain pipe and the wash down and neck cleaner should make it zero maintenance! This skimmer has some serious power! This tank will utilize an Eshopps Large overflow box which is 2 X 1.5” coming out of the tank via a Bean Animal overflow.This also serves as a decent sized quarantine in case any fish ends up being bullied or becomes a bully
This section will also have a Reef Octopus Biochurn 120INT reactor which I will run Dr. Tim’s Aquatic’s Biopellets although I do want to give Reef Octopus Biospheres as recommended by Marc Levenson as they don’t clump or float. Other than those two pieces of equipment, I will also just run BRS’s dual media reactor powered by a MJ1200 and just run Red Sea Reef Spec carbon for super clarity (I love this carbon!).
The stock tank will probably just hold another 100-200 pounds of live rock for the added filtration. This will also have a big ball of chaeto and dragon's breath macro algae. This will have a 165 W MarsAqua to grow the macroalgae. This will give copepods a place to breed and live and feed my chubby mandarin!
The tank has a drain at the bottom which will go right to my ReeFlo Hammerhead external pump (6000 gph with a max head height of 24 ft). This will tee off in multiple spots in case I want to add something in the future (e.g. Big skimmer, reactors, algae scrubber) and will go to the display tank, this will have a needle valve (after the output, never before the inlet) to control the flow.
Dosing, I will use BRS’s dosing which is Cal, Mag, Alk using a Jebao Doser. And for topoff, I will have a float valve drilled right into the stock tank so water level is always constant!
Livestock:
As most of you know, I am obsessed with TANGS! So can you guys guess what’s going to go in my tank? Large Angelfish! No, I’m just kidding, I’m going to transfer tangs I have in my systems now to this system. So livestock will include:
- 6-7” Naso Tang
- 4-5” Purple Tang
- 4” One Spot Foxface
- 4” Orange Shoulder Tang
- 2” Hippo Blue Tang
- 5” Tomini Tang
- Clownfish Pair (Stormtrooper X Black misbar Ocellaris)
- 2-3” Blue Mandarin
- 3” Purple Pseudochromis
- 2.5” Firefish (May add a few more)
- 2.5” Coral Beauty
I may have to split them up throughout the two tanks and stock tank but that’s not a huge deal!
Corals-wise I have been getting into SPS lately so I think I’m going to be going SPS dominant with a few of my favorite LPS being kept. My Zoanthid/Palythoa collection will probably be put in the 120 in the basement but dependent on flow, I will have to move some corals around.
Let me know if there’s anything I missed and what you guys want to know!
Display tank with equipment:
220 gallon reef ready tank on a metal stand I will be wrapping with wood. I think that I will be making the stand into shelves that I can store things under the tank such as books, spare equipment, food, and such.
I will be drilling in to the wall behind my tank and the overflow which is about 18” long in the middle of the back wall will flow down into the basement. This will have 2 X 1.5” overflows as well as 2 X 1.5” return jets on either side of the tank. I will do unions upstairs and downstairs that way it is easy to replace and clean the pipes if need be. The overflows will flow into a 2-3" pipe so no obstructions can happen.
The lighting will be the 5 X 165 watt Mars Aqua LED lights that you find on Ebay and Amazon. I have had these since I started my reef tank and they’ve done awesome with growth and coloration. These will be mounted approximateIy 16-18 inches above the water level for optimal spread. I will also be supplementing with 2 X ATI Coral Plus bulbs on a spare Odyssea fixture I had laying around. If I can’t find a canopy to hide all the lights, I may just have to build one again! These will be connected to a Reefkeeper controller for timing and that way the lights can be turned off if it ever gets way too hot.
For flow in the tank, I will use 2 X Maxspect Gyre XF 150’s (5000 gph each but will probably throttle back to 50-75%) linked up to the new controller that will control them both at the same time! This will ultimately be linked to the Icecap Battery Backup in case power ever fails!
Sump Setup:
Alright, so now we are going to move to the basement and look at some more of the equipment that I will be using and how some things will be setup. So the overflows from the tank will drain into a 120 gallon tank (4x2). This will drain with an overflow into a 300 gallon stock tank. This will be about half to three quarter of the way full ultimately adding another 150-200 gallons just in case any check valves don’t work the way they’re supposed to.
The 120 gallon tank will hold a 12” Reef Octopus Protein Skimmer with a bubble blaster pump (this skimmer is awesome and the only reason I’m not using it now is because it doesn’t fit in my sump!). This skimmer will also be fit with an automatic skimmer neck cleaner that will run for 10 minutes every day and I’m also thinking of adding a skimmer neck wash-down cleaner as well. The skimmer cup will drain right to a waste drain pipe and the wash down and neck cleaner should make it zero maintenance! This skimmer has some serious power! This tank will utilize an Eshopps Large overflow box which is 2 X 1.5” coming out of the tank via a Bean Animal overflow.This also serves as a decent sized quarantine in case any fish ends up being bullied or becomes a bully
This section will also have a Reef Octopus Biochurn 120INT reactor which I will run Dr. Tim’s Aquatic’s Biopellets although I do want to give Reef Octopus Biospheres as recommended by Marc Levenson as they don’t clump or float. Other than those two pieces of equipment, I will also just run BRS’s dual media reactor powered by a MJ1200 and just run Red Sea Reef Spec carbon for super clarity (I love this carbon!).
The stock tank will probably just hold another 100-200 pounds of live rock for the added filtration. This will also have a big ball of chaeto and dragon's breath macro algae. This will have a 165 W MarsAqua to grow the macroalgae. This will give copepods a place to breed and live and feed my chubby mandarin!
The tank has a drain at the bottom which will go right to my ReeFlo Hammerhead external pump (6000 gph with a max head height of 24 ft). This will tee off in multiple spots in case I want to add something in the future (e.g. Big skimmer, reactors, algae scrubber) and will go to the display tank, this will have a needle valve (after the output, never before the inlet) to control the flow.
Dosing, I will use BRS’s dosing which is Cal, Mag, Alk using a Jebao Doser. And for topoff, I will have a float valve drilled right into the stock tank so water level is always constant!
Livestock:
As most of you know, I am obsessed with TANGS! So can you guys guess what’s going to go in my tank? Large Angelfish! No, I’m just kidding, I’m going to transfer tangs I have in my systems now to this system. So livestock will include:
- 6-7” Naso Tang
- 4-5” Purple Tang
- 4” One Spot Foxface
- 4” Orange Shoulder Tang
- 2” Hippo Blue Tang
- 5” Tomini Tang
- Clownfish Pair (Stormtrooper X Black misbar Ocellaris)
- 2-3” Blue Mandarin
- 3” Purple Pseudochromis
- 2.5” Firefish (May add a few more)
- 2.5” Coral Beauty
I may have to split them up throughout the two tanks and stock tank but that’s not a huge deal!
Corals-wise I have been getting into SPS lately so I think I’m going to be going SPS dominant with a few of my favorite LPS being kept. My Zoanthid/Palythoa collection will probably be put in the 120 in the basement but dependent on flow, I will have to move some corals around.
Let me know if there’s anything I missed and what you guys want to know!
