Wonderful’s 80 Gallon Build Thread

[Wonderful_Mystery]

New to the forum and the hobby. Picked up a used 80 gallon setup last weekend and wanted to document the progress. I have kept a 10 gallon freshwater tank for a couple years, but wanted to get a larger tank and move into saltwater. Here are the pics from the listing.

 

[Big G]

Nice. Came over from the "fresh" myself awhile ago. Welcome to R2R!

 

[Wonderful_Mystery]

So looking through what all came with it. One mag 12 pump. A jumbled mess of all hard pipe plumbing. Probably will redo that with flex hose. A small aqua euro protein skimmer with pump. A large trigger systems protein skimmer. From what I can find it is an older style external, but ai will need to a mag 7 or similar to run that. And a 30 gallon sump with low single baffle.

 

[Wonderful_Mystery]

Here is the skimmer all taken apart and cleaned

 

[Jason_J]

Welcome. That's a nice setup to get you started. Those old trigger system beckett skimmers worked well, although there are much more efficient designs out there now.

 

[cracker]

Welcome to R2R ! The tank & stand looks good ! Not sure the of all that equipment though . Are there lights in the hood?
Anyway Welcome again . R2R a great place for info ,opinions & help if needed .

 

[Wonderful_Mystery]

It didn’t come with any lights. I know the skimmer is older, but from what I find it was rated at about 240 gallons so it should handle this 80 with sump. I paid $450 for the whole bundle which I reckon is decent.

 

[SPR1968]

That all looks very nice and keep the pictures coming

And welcome to R2R as well, it’s great to have you with!

 

[count krunk]

I think you got a great deal.

I think the skimmer will work well for you.

I would replace that mag 12 with a DC pump. Possibly the skimmer pump as well.

 

[Wonderful_Mystery]

I think you got a great deal.

I think the skimmer will work well for you.

I would replace that mag 12 with a DC pump. Possibly the skimmer pump as well.

What is the benefit of the dc pump over the mag pumps?

 

[Wonderful_Mystery]

Got around to redoing the sump. It had a weird single baffle before, so i wanted to redo it to have the skimmer external, add filter socks, and a middle compartment for a refugium.


That was the mock-up and here is the finished with the silicone drying.

 

[Wonderful_Mystery]

And here it is with the filter socks in place.


My calculations put the fuge at right about 8.2 gallons or so. Put the acrylic on top to set the fuge light once I get one. Thinking of maybe a simple par 38 led fuge bulb on a reverse daylight timer.

 

[count krunk]

The main advantage is that the newer pumps will be much quieter.

It also enables you to really dial in your desired flow through the sump.

 

[Jason_J]

I would look at the flow curves before moving to a DC pump. The beckett injector creates substantial head pressure and you need to ensure the pump can handle the back pressure and still provide the required flow; if the requisite flow isn't provided then the injector won't create the proper density and size of bubbles. It was common to run large external pumps to power beckett injectors for this reason (although your mag pump is probably fine).

Here is a recent thread discussing whether anyone still runs beckett skimmers: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/beckett-skimmers.413364/

 

[Wonderful_Mystery]

I would look at the flow curves before moving to a DC pump. The beckett injector creates substantial head pressure and you need to ensure the pump can handle the back pressure and still provide the required flow; if the requisite flow isn't provided then the injector won't create the proper density and size of bubbles. It was common to run large external pumps to power beckett injectors for this reason (although your mag pump is probably fine).

Here is a recent thread discussing whether anyone still runs beckett skimmers: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/beckett-skimmers.413364/

Thanks for the info. I know nobody runs the Beckett’s anymore, but as far a budgeting goes It will have to work for a while as I am sure it’s resale value is pretty low. I found a post over on reef central from 2006 of a guy running a TS300 skimmer like this one with a mag 12 on a 180.

Here is the other skimmer that came with it.

 

[Jason_J]

They work great and I wouldn't change it right now either. There are lots of better places to spend your budget at this point rather than replacing something that works with something else that works but is a little but more efficient and quieter (I forgot how loud my old becketts were until reading the post I linked).

 

[Wonderful_Mystery]

Weekend is here and I got some more work done. Visited the LFS and picked up a 300W aqueous heater a aqueon megaflow overflow and return kit. Also got some 2” thick black foam to put between the fuge and the return in the sump. He also had a used 48” 50/50 reef bright LED bar for sale that I picked up to add some cheap brightness. Picked up salt mix and some Live sand for the fuge. Got some live base rock which went into a friends trash can with some water from his tank tor cure. Went by the hardware store and got some fittings and tubing.

Here is the tank in the house. The 10 gallon fresh is going to go in my sons room to let him have some fun taking care of fish.


Sump water test. I tested the tank before purchase.

 

[Jeight]

Interesting build..following!!

 

[Wonderful_Mystery]

So I have been busy this past week, but I got some things going. I tested the old protein skimmer and found out that the last guy ran it in sump rather than externally due to leaks at the o ring seals. I am going to go around to the local hardware stores and see if I can find them. The rock finished curing, so I went ahead and set the tank up and filled it to get the cycle started.

I had a friend give me a couple of Rossmont power heads. Went ahead a ordered some new impellers as they are pretty worn. But stuck them in and got the cycle started. CaribSea special grade reef sand is on order and should be here tomorrow.

 

[Wonderful_Mystery]

Where to begin. I fell off on updating the thread, but want to get back in it just to monitor the progress for myself. Here is a picture with sand in place:

Also picked up a few more rocks and have a pair of damsels in the tank at that point.