moatdaddy
New member
Hello ladies and gents, and even smelly reefers. My name is Brandon and i have been keeping saltwater aquariums since 1995. I have learned a lot, forgotten some things, and grown as the hobby has. I wish the videos BRS has on youtube today would have given me a guiding hand when i was thirteen years old. The hobby has always fascinated me, haunting my dream when i do not have a tank up. Literally when i was in Iraq or afghanistan i would get lost in huge fish stores. Of course that was why i got lost, I love corals and saltwater fish. I have gotten the opportunity to visit many place and aquariums around the world and have finally bought a house to call home.
I was awarded the garage. My man cave of freedom. Of course for now its a SPS room. Wife got spare bedroom and dining room, no offense to old people but they are only ones who dine in a separate room now imo.
So i have this nice garage space, in sunny Panama City Beach Florida. I am recovering from another surgery from a helicopter accident and i hope this one will make it so i can have mobility to take care of my new project. Enough about me, lets get into the build.
290 Gallon System.
50 gallon rubbermaid frag tank.
300 gallon rubbermaid sump. "For real this thing is silly big," she said.
I know your doing the math and saying thats 350g. well i am going to ensure if somehow the frag tank drains into the sump it can handle the water. the extra 10 gallons is just so the water line is not at spill over point. In the end the system may even be less than 290 and i am okay with that.
Why did i choose rubbermaid tanks?
First i dont care what they look like from the side, and second is cost. Lastly they have a proven record of keeping corals just fine.
Salt. I have some extra salt from a 210 gallon build i tore down a year ago, reef crystal. I will use that for now. I ordered Hw marinemix reefer from BRS. From here on that is the only salt i will use.
Testing Kits. I went with 3 hanna checkers, after watching the brs video i was sold on them and reviews are decent. Salifert for rest. Salinity is with Milwakee digital with a hydrometer for backup.
Lights. I have 3 black boxes on shelves in garage, they are staying there. This is where i am proud to spend the extra bucks. 8x54w sunpower ATI. Bought from ebay and gave a best offer that came in lower than anywhere else.
Bulbs. 6 B+, 1 C+, 1P+
Why did i got with ATI. T5. Simple answer. Reefcentral and BRS videos on lighting. Sooo many gorgeous tanks use T5, and the non directional nature of them crushed LED for me. I dont care if I can simulate a storm, ramp up or down or start a disco party. I want solid growth and color. ATI does that and does it well.
Pumps. I went chinese here, i just hear good things and the cost factor is nice. Doing DC 3000 Jeabo for return. wp-60 for sump movement, and wp-40 for frag tank.
I may change this around and adjust as needed, by no means set in stone.
Live Rock/Filtration.
I want to do something different here than i have ever done before. Normally i go to my supplier in the keys, order a ton of live rock and put it in the tank. let it die off, change a bunch of water and then let it stabilize.
This time is Matrix. The plan is to have Matrix hanging in the sump and main tank in mesh bags. I am thinking 8 in sump 2 in frag tank. every week i will take 2 from sump and 1 from main tank and rinse in saltwater bucket. Thereby removing any built up dietrus. I will be more aggressive with the minimal dry rock i add.
I found last few builds rocks were bacterial havens, until they were deitrus hotels. So i want to be more aggressive about any buildup anywhere.
NO SAND
Not interested, this is not about looks. Also i want to see where fish poo and such builds up so i can siphon it out.
Carbon
I have used the hang on back carbon pumps and filters in the past with success, thing is i probably wont here. I am going to check water color during changes and if it is yellowing will address from there.
Algae Turf Scrubber
My best friend and my most pain. Lesson learned in the past was not to use those stupid clip on CF Reflector things. Holy cow, i would go to clean out my ats, bumb that clip it would drop into the water and :blown:. I would get the jolt of love. Crap i hated those things. The results were undeniable though. This build will be about simple implementation and maintenance. Since sump is the size of a kid pool i will trash and rebuild if it bothers me. I have time on this one.
RODI
6 stage unit, i am undecided on if i will set up a large scale mixing station, i probably will with 55g trash cans. Normally i would just do a bucket at a time but i want to have ability to change a lot of water rapidly if i need to.
Electrical.
GFCI outlets are being installed on its own 20 amp breaker. I may do two depending on cost electrician charges me. Breaker box is right in the garage so it will be fairly easy to add one or two more breaker. Oh and lesson is i will add drip bends to every outlet i use. A will probably build a wall beside the tanks to run powerbars to and attack wiring vertical style.
Humidity
I plan on addressing this issue just have not done my homework on how to solve the problem. I may even insulate the garage door. Not sure.
Fish.
Three years ago i would have said no fish in an sps system to keep nutrients down. Now i know better. I will add a wrasse and tank in frag tank. In the 300g not sure.
Feeding
I would like to do cyclopleeze but not sure if they still sell it. I will be looking into this and appreciate any input.
Dosing.
Manual 2 part BRS.
No ATO
No zeovit. too intensive and i want the neighbor to know how to handle the system when i go to topless beaches. :lolspin:
I will add photos of the beginning of this system and update here and probably do my first youtubing. If that BRS dude can do it and make it look easy I think i can.
TLDR... Dont blame you, problem is these build involve a lot of planning, a lot of equipment, and a lot of patience.
I was critiqued for 11 years while in the army either being a combat engineer or apachee pilot, you can speak freely with how you feel about my build and i wont get teary eyed.
Please give your input and recommendations. Pictures next.
I was awarded the garage. My man cave of freedom. Of course for now its a SPS room. Wife got spare bedroom and dining room, no offense to old people but they are only ones who dine in a separate room now imo.
So i have this nice garage space, in sunny Panama City Beach Florida. I am recovering from another surgery from a helicopter accident and i hope this one will make it so i can have mobility to take care of my new project. Enough about me, lets get into the build.
290 Gallon System.
50 gallon rubbermaid frag tank.
300 gallon rubbermaid sump. "For real this thing is silly big," she said.
I know your doing the math and saying thats 350g. well i am going to ensure if somehow the frag tank drains into the sump it can handle the water. the extra 10 gallons is just so the water line is not at spill over point. In the end the system may even be less than 290 and i am okay with that.
Why did i choose rubbermaid tanks?
First i dont care what they look like from the side, and second is cost. Lastly they have a proven record of keeping corals just fine.
Salt. I have some extra salt from a 210 gallon build i tore down a year ago, reef crystal. I will use that for now. I ordered Hw marinemix reefer from BRS. From here on that is the only salt i will use.
Testing Kits. I went with 3 hanna checkers, after watching the brs video i was sold on them and reviews are decent. Salifert for rest. Salinity is with Milwakee digital with a hydrometer for backup.
Lights. I have 3 black boxes on shelves in garage, they are staying there. This is where i am proud to spend the extra bucks. 8x54w sunpower ATI. Bought from ebay and gave a best offer that came in lower than anywhere else.
Bulbs. 6 B+, 1 C+, 1P+
Why did i got with ATI. T5. Simple answer. Reefcentral and BRS videos on lighting. Sooo many gorgeous tanks use T5, and the non directional nature of them crushed LED for me. I dont care if I can simulate a storm, ramp up or down or start a disco party. I want solid growth and color. ATI does that and does it well.
Pumps. I went chinese here, i just hear good things and the cost factor is nice. Doing DC 3000 Jeabo for return. wp-60 for sump movement, and wp-40 for frag tank.
I may change this around and adjust as needed, by no means set in stone.
Live Rock/Filtration.
I want to do something different here than i have ever done before. Normally i go to my supplier in the keys, order a ton of live rock and put it in the tank. let it die off, change a bunch of water and then let it stabilize.
This time is Matrix. The plan is to have Matrix hanging in the sump and main tank in mesh bags. I am thinking 8 in sump 2 in frag tank. every week i will take 2 from sump and 1 from main tank and rinse in saltwater bucket. Thereby removing any built up dietrus. I will be more aggressive with the minimal dry rock i add.
I found last few builds rocks were bacterial havens, until they were deitrus hotels. So i want to be more aggressive about any buildup anywhere.
NO SAND
Not interested, this is not about looks. Also i want to see where fish poo and such builds up so i can siphon it out.
Carbon
I have used the hang on back carbon pumps and filters in the past with success, thing is i probably wont here. I am going to check water color during changes and if it is yellowing will address from there.
Algae Turf Scrubber
My best friend and my most pain. Lesson learned in the past was not to use those stupid clip on CF Reflector things. Holy cow, i would go to clean out my ats, bumb that clip it would drop into the water and :blown:. I would get the jolt of love. Crap i hated those things. The results were undeniable though. This build will be about simple implementation and maintenance. Since sump is the size of a kid pool i will trash and rebuild if it bothers me. I have time on this one.
RODI
6 stage unit, i am undecided on if i will set up a large scale mixing station, i probably will with 55g trash cans. Normally i would just do a bucket at a time but i want to have ability to change a lot of water rapidly if i need to.
Electrical.
GFCI outlets are being installed on its own 20 amp breaker. I may do two depending on cost electrician charges me. Breaker box is right in the garage so it will be fairly easy to add one or two more breaker. Oh and lesson is i will add drip bends to every outlet i use. A will probably build a wall beside the tanks to run powerbars to and attack wiring vertical style.
Humidity
I plan on addressing this issue just have not done my homework on how to solve the problem. I may even insulate the garage door. Not sure.
Fish.
Three years ago i would have said no fish in an sps system to keep nutrients down. Now i know better. I will add a wrasse and tank in frag tank. In the 300g not sure.
Feeding
I would like to do cyclopleeze but not sure if they still sell it. I will be looking into this and appreciate any input.
Dosing.
Manual 2 part BRS.
No ATO
No zeovit. too intensive and i want the neighbor to know how to handle the system when i go to topless beaches. :lolspin:
I will add photos of the beginning of this system and update here and probably do my first youtubing. If that BRS dude can do it and make it look easy I think i can.
TLDR... Dont blame you, problem is these build involve a lot of planning, a lot of equipment, and a lot of patience.
I was critiqued for 11 years while in the army either being a combat engineer or apachee pilot, you can speak freely with how you feel about my build and i wont get teary eyed.
Please give your input and recommendations. Pictures next.
