Starting ~800 Gallon Custom Reef Tank Build

[McPuff]

it changes the wattage by push of the button. but I like the design so far but don't know how it is going to perform

Yes, I see that. I was referring to the inner workings of the power supply.

 

[ravi197699]

Yes, I see that. I was referring to the inner workings of the power supply.

not sure how that power supply/ driver works, I am guessing that this pump motor is variable speed and driver or power supply just reduces the voltage going to motor, but I could be wrong, this pump works like Pentrair Intelli flow, where timer & controller is built on the motor a...

 

[ravi197699]

I am getting close to fill this tank up with RO water, which salt you guys think is good to start with, I want to make sure that I stick to 1 brand and goal is to have sps tank, any suggestions?

 

[lavoisier]

I am getting close to fill this tank up with RO water, which salt you guys think is good to start with, I want to make sure that I stick to 1 brand and goal is to have sps tank, any suggestions?

BRS has an informative video on a variety of salts. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/vide...arts-with-water-the-brs-wwc-system-ep6-brstv/

 

[ravi197699]

thank you , I will watch this video today..

 

[rushbattle]

thank you , I will watch this video today..

Tropic Marin Pro. Cleanest of common options by far, appropriate alk level, once mixed can sit in the reservoir without gunking up and precipitating, mixes quickly.

 

[Gareth elliott]

I have used about 6 different salt mixes, i really didnt have that large of differences between them tbh. At least as far as effect on live stock i saw none.

Alkalinity is probably the main concern, but remember you are unlikely to be changing enough water at once for even this to have more than a .2 dkh change on your system at any given time.

You can also permanently reduce alkalinity with mineral acids or sodium bisulfate(seachem acid buffer).

Money saved on salt mix can be spent elsewhere. [emoji4]

 

[CoralWealth]

I am very heavy SPS dominant and I just use instant ocean.

 

[ravi197699]

I just want to stick to 1 salt, I already have 25 - 30 bags of Reef Crystals and I don't see any specs on their site about what are the levels of contents in terms of Salitity, Alk, Calcium, Mag, I like high the numbers on RedSea Coral Pro salt, I will try to find reef crystals specs later today..

RedSea Coral Pro Main parameters at a
Salinity of 33.0 ppt
KH - 11.8-12.2 °dKH,
Ca - 430 - 450 mg/l,
Mg 1280 - 1340 mg/l.

Tropic Marine -
Alkalinity - 7(approx.)
Calcium - 440 ppm (approx)
Magnesium - 1350 ppm (approx.)

Aqua Forest -
Ca – 360-400 mg/l
dKH – 8.0-9.0
Mg – 1200-1300 mg/l

 

[ravi197699]

got my hot water circulating pump today, It is TACO 006-ST, stainless steel version which will take water from hot water tank and circulate hot water through titanium heat exchanger, this pump will be connected to digital temperature controller, I got my J channel to run my electric wires as well, they are beige color and they will be mounted on the walls to run the cables and I got few pcs of U channel with cover to run wires as well, they can hold multiple thick wires, I will be using these to run all my cables for return pump as well as all my ecotech pumps...here are some of the pictures..

 

[ravi197699]

GM reefers, made some progress this morning on plumbing for closed loop for my sump, plumbing is done, I bought white pvc bulkheads on ebay and i was tightening the nut on the outside and it keeps slipping after last torque, so i ordered sch 80 bulkheads that i will replace with the ones I already have, I want to make sure that i don't have to empty my sump due to these bad bulkheads, I am using AC controllable pump as shown in the pictures earlier, name of the pump is periha which is ac pump and comes with controller that has 3 settings to control the speed, 5900 gallon max and 5000 gallon is the lowest setting, I am using 2 - 1 inch sea swirls that are mounted on the back of the sump, this pump and sea swirls will come on multiple times during day and agitate water under the rock work so that detritus won't build up, seal swirls are easily accessible and easy detachable from pvc and i have used pvc union to mount these to main feed pipe, I have started mounting 3/8" pvc couplings to rock work with cement and 2 part epoxy putty, i have clear 3/8" pvc pipes that i will use to slide into these couplings to mount frag, these pipes are 12" in length, i will be able to cut the length of the pvc based on the amount of light frag requires, and i will be able to easily move frags around if needed, once the cement and poxy cures i will brush these couplings with cement to blend these into rock work, here are some of the pictures of what i was able to complete this weekend..

 

[jpas]

Where did you source the Ti heat exchanger from?

Thanks

 

[ravi197699]

there are plenty on ebay, these are usually used for refrigerant but in my case i am using for hotwater... I won the auction sometime back on ebay, it was in my storage for long time, I have 3 coils that i bought and stored it, they always come handy...

 

[ravi197699]

Little update - I got my filter sock holder, I ordered this from vendor on ebay and gave him my dimensions and material that I wanted to use and he built it for me, top support is 1/2" thick ABS sheet which make it sturdy and this will sit on the 2" inch lip of my sump, this can house 2 7" filter socks and it has 2" bulkheads. three sides of the unit is closed with acrylic and if filter socks gets clogged, water will drain out of the front only, I will be installed gate valve on 2 of the main drains and 1 emergency drain will be wide open and it will not drain into the filter socks, here are some of the pictures of the unit...

 

[venomcc]

Amazing & unconventional, following

 

[ravi197699]

Thank you

 

[ravi197699]

i was able to get few things done this weekend, I connected my filter sock holder and and replaced the bulkheads that i used to connected return pump and sump closed loop pump, mounted pvc couplings to mount frags, there is no other easier way to mount frags in this tank without struggling but i am not ready to twist and turn my body to mount frags, i have covered the pvc couplings with epoxy and cement to make it natural and rest will be done by frags and such, here are some of the pictures of progress...

 

[Ashish Patel]

Looking good...I think the pegging idea is the best - since your tank is 36" deep this will save you a lot of frustration and time down the road.. My buddy Abe does it a different way (see link). I am doing the same thing every coral will be attached to a peg or larger rock that can be removed for fragging or just moving overgrow corals without damaging encrusted section.

 

[ravi197699]

thank you for sharing this video, I agree it is great way of mounting corals, my idea is that i have 3/8" pvc couplings epoxied on the rock and i did as many as i could, i bought regular size couplings and 2" size couplings, price was great .29 cents each and i bought 2 boxes each (50/box). I have used white cement to cover the pvc couplings or at least i did best i could, I have clear 3/8" schedule pvc pipes that i will use to mount corals and coral discs or plugs will be epoxied on the clear tube and then slide it down the coupling, pvc pipes are 12" in length and i can control the height of the frag ( too much light or low light) and i will be able to move them around as well. I got this ideal from Top Shelf Aquatic they used this method in their 1200 gallon grow out tank.

 

[Ashish Patel]

thank you for sharing this video, I agree it is great way of mounting corals, my idea is that i have 3/8" pvc couplings epoxied on the rock and i did as many as i could, i bought regular size couplings and 2" size couplings, price was great .29 cents each and i bought 2 boxes each (50/box). I have used white cement to cover the pvc couplings or at least i did best i could, I have clear 3/8" schedule pvc pipes that i will use to mount corals and coral discs or plugs will be epoxied on the clear tube and then slide it down the coupling, pvc pipes are 12" in length and i can control the height of the frag ( too much light or low light) and i will be able to move them around as well. I got this ideal from Top Shelf Aquatic they used this method in their 1200 gallon grow out tank.

Yeap - I got the idea from TSA as well - Inappropriate reefers... You can use some of larger pieces of rock and cut the bottom flat with a bandsaw and cement the flat base with the pvc. Or just get some real reef tabling pieces and glue them directly..I prefer to mount 2-3 pieces of coral on 1 large haitian rock disk..