Tony Vargas 300-Gallon Build

[Tony Vargas]

Tony,

This is my dream upgrade tank. Can't wait to see what you do with it. Subscribing for sure. While we wait for the tank to fill I was wondering if you could share with us your plans on equipment and stocking.

As I mentioned earlier, technology has changed so much and I plan on taking advantage of that situation. With my next post (later today) I will discuss return-pumps and water movement devices. As for lighting that will be kept as a secret till I post it and you get a chance to see it for yourself, but just wait as it will be a big surprise as most know my thoughts about lighting.

As for stocking, my previous reef aquarium was a 90-gallon mixed reef and what I've learned from it was that soft corals love taking over everything. So, I'm going back to my roots and I will work hard on putting together and maintain an SPS dominated reef tank with many special sticks and an assortment of colorful wrasses.

 

[jdpiii3]

Looking good Tony!

 

[Tony Vargas]

I’m a firm believer that less is more. The returns on this system are as simple and as minimal as possible. This system will operate with two RLSS DC-5000 Waveline pumps. Each pump has a flow rate greater than 1300 gallons an hour at 40 watts. Each pump is connected by black vinyl hose to a one-inch Sea Swirl. No need to hard plumb with ball valves and check valves. These DC-5000’s come with controllers to control flow, so no ball valves required. In addition, no check valves are needed as the sump is large enough to contain any water that may back siphon due to power outages. Interesting enough, the only place I could find large black plastic clamps that would fit 1¼-inch OD hose was from Foster and Smith.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Sea Swirl mounted to the frame of the tank. And, the tank is almost filled with water.

 

[lakeviewink]

sweet set-up! I'll be tagging along too

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Coming along!

 

[SPotter]

Tony....I love your commitment to simplicity! So you are using both of the openings in the overflow for the drains and then the pumps will will return the water over the back of the tank correct? Can you post pictures of how you have the drain pipes set up in the overflow boxes?

 

[Tony Vargas]

Tony....I love your commitment to simplicity! So you are using both of the openings in the overflow for the drains and then the pumps will will return the water over the back of the tank correct? Can you post pictures of how you have the drain pipes set up in the overflow boxes?

Here you go a photo of the overflow box. Yes, you are right the return will be over the back through the Sea Swirls. Each overflow box has two holes, which are being used as drains. One of the holes are being used as the main drain and the other as a back-up drain.

 

[joshporksandwich]

I can't wait for this baby to be cycled.

 

[spspirate]

Looking good!! Looking good!

 

[mr.lamnguyen]

nice look, what light will u use?

 

[Tony Vargas]

nice look, what light will u use?

Top Secret You will know very soon.

 

[Tony Vargas]

The skimmer I chose to run my 300 is the RLSS DB10i. After installing this skimmer to three of my very finicky customers i knew that I needed one of these for my new build. Wow, do these guys kick ***!

 

[lakeviewink]

The skimmer I chose to run my 300 is the RLSS DB10i. After installing this skimmer to three of my very finicky customers i knew that I needed one of these for my new build. Wow, do these guys kick ***!

The ultimate skimmer IMHO

 

[Duffam3434]

Beautiful!! This Tank will be Crazy once shes done!! Cant Wait to See It!!

 

[FaviaFreak]

looking good Tony

 

[shred5]

Tony those DC pumps are the most quiet pumps I have ever used. You can not hear them running unless you put your ear up to them.. I have one as a return pump and one in my RLSS skimmer.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Tony those DC pumps are the most quiet pumps I have ever used. You can not hear them running unless you put your ear up to them.. I have one as a return pump and one in my RLSS skimmer.

I agree, they are quite, run cool, and more importantly they are controllable. When I run the pump at 50%, I only use 20 watts of power with a flow rate of about 650 gph. These are the pumps of the future.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

 

[Mike S]

Ive just setup a tank with the same dimensions and am looking for a new skimmer. This skimmer is on my short list but it's been hard to find much in the way of feedback on them. Inn glass to hear that they have been working out well for you. Are your customers running the same skimmer on similarly sized tanks with heavy loads?