Introduction
My name is Joshua Blaylock and I live in Romney, WV. I have been into reef aquariums for about 6 years. The last aquarium I had was the 75g I am currently using for the sump. To make a long story short I had a water pipe break in my house and had to take the tank down. The tank crashed due to the shock and I lost most everything. That was about 2 years ago and now I am getting back in.
Set-Up Theory
After some heavy consideration of problems I had before, filtration and easy maintenance was at the top of my list. For this reason I decided to use my old aquarium as the sump to allow much needed room and provide extra for expansion.
I did not want to have the sump on the floor under the tank as maintenance would be difficult. I also needed a place to store salt and fresh water. After talking to my wife I decided to place the tank in our office as we spend a lot of time there (college) and the placement would be ideal for the plumbing.
Display Tank
<a href="http://s39.photobucket.com/user/jblaylock/media/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1608.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/jblaylock/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1608.jpg" border="0" alt="DT photo DSCN1608.jpg"/></a>
The display is a 75g that I drilled myself. I drilled two 1 1/2" holes on either side of the back for the drains. I did not want to place big bulky overflow boxes there so I decided on making some custom PVC drains. Over time I plan on covering them with coral.
<a href="http://s39.photobucket.com/user/jblaylock/media/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1610.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/jblaylock/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1610.jpg" border="0" alt="Right Drain - Internal photo DSCN1610.jpg"/></a>
I used the duel drain idea and have one a little lower than the other. The right drain has a ball valve that can be turned back to allow full flow and low noise. The second drain has no valve as this is the emergency drain. The drains go through the floor and into the laundry room below. I used bulk heads to secure the drains in the floor as well as the single 1" return that splits to two 3/4" Loc Nozzles.
<a href="http://s39.photobucket.com/user/jblaylock/media/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/db0e509d-ba1c-4a7e-8381-bac25f28dc76.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/jblaylock/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/db0e509d-ba1c-4a7e-8381-bac25f28dc76.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo db0e509d-ba1c-4a7e-8381-bac25f28dc76.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s39.photobucket.com/user/jblaylock/media/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1612.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/jblaylock/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1612.jpg" border="0" alt="Left Drain - External photo DSCN1612.jpg"/></a>
There is 50lbs if Fiji live rock and 100lbs of base rock in the entire system. I do not have a picture, but there is a lot of rock in the sump inlet. Most of the live rock is in the display, but I did put some in the sump to seed the base rock.
Sump
The sump was the focus of the design. I went with the split sump to provide both adequate mechanical and natural filtration.
<a href="http://s39.photobucket.com/user/jblaylock/media/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1614.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/jblaylock/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1614.jpg" border="0" alt="Sump - End photo DSCN1614.jpg"/></a>
The mechanical side first hits a filter sock that is cleaned every 3 days. The Quiet One 2200 pump located in the same chamber feeds a BRS carbon reactor on one side of a T and a BRS BioPellet reactor on the other side. The BioPellet Reactor directly feeds all the water to a Reef Octopus reticulating skimmer (plumbed internal). The water passes through a spare chamber then through the skimmer chamber. At this point a bubble trap is hit and then a 1200 GPH return pump.
<a href="http://s39.photobucket.com/user/jblaylock/media/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1615.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/jblaylock/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1615.jpg" border="0" alt="Sump Front photo DSCN1615.jpg"/></a>
The natural filtration side comes down to a baffle filled with Live/Base rock. This overflows to the next chamber that holds a DSB and Fiji Mud. I have a long list of macro coming with my cleanup crew tomorrow. There will be 7 different kinds of macro. Another bubble trap is encountered then the return pump again.
Water
For water I use a RO/DI system that runs into two 40 gallon Brute trash cans with float valves.
<a href="http://s39.photobucket.com/user/jblaylock/media/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1616.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/jblaylock/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1616.jpg" border="0" alt="RO/DI photo DSCN1616.jpg"/></a>
One trash can is for fresh water and the other for salt. This allows for easy maintenance on the fly and reduced time waiting for water as it is always ready and up to temp. After a water change (20 gallon takes about 7 minutes) I allow a day for the trash can to refill and then add the salt. I am currently manually adding the fresh water everyday for evaporation even though I have an ATO. I am considering just using a RO/DI float valve.
Additional Notes
I will be finishing the stand and staining soon. The livestock will be ordered as soon as I am sure all the cycling is complete. The rock was purchased local and was said to be fully cycled. I have had very small spikes so I guess they were telling the truth.
I cannot stand seeing the pipes through the back of the glass so I will be rolling some black paint on the back very soon.
Parameters
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
KH 9
Calcium 380
PH 8.3
My name is Joshua Blaylock and I live in Romney, WV. I have been into reef aquariums for about 6 years. The last aquarium I had was the 75g I am currently using for the sump. To make a long story short I had a water pipe break in my house and had to take the tank down. The tank crashed due to the shock and I lost most everything. That was about 2 years ago and now I am getting back in.
Set-Up Theory
After some heavy consideration of problems I had before, filtration and easy maintenance was at the top of my list. For this reason I decided to use my old aquarium as the sump to allow much needed room and provide extra for expansion.
I did not want to have the sump on the floor under the tank as maintenance would be difficult. I also needed a place to store salt and fresh water. After talking to my wife I decided to place the tank in our office as we spend a lot of time there (college) and the placement would be ideal for the plumbing.
Display Tank
<a href="http://s39.photobucket.com/user/jblaylock/media/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1608.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/jblaylock/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1608.jpg" border="0" alt="DT photo DSCN1608.jpg"/></a>
The display is a 75g that I drilled myself. I drilled two 1 1/2" holes on either side of the back for the drains. I did not want to place big bulky overflow boxes there so I decided on making some custom PVC drains. Over time I plan on covering them with coral.
<a href="http://s39.photobucket.com/user/jblaylock/media/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1610.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/jblaylock/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1610.jpg" border="0" alt="Right Drain - Internal photo DSCN1610.jpg"/></a>
I used the duel drain idea and have one a little lower than the other. The right drain has a ball valve that can be turned back to allow full flow and low noise. The second drain has no valve as this is the emergency drain. The drains go through the floor and into the laundry room below. I used bulk heads to secure the drains in the floor as well as the single 1" return that splits to two 3/4" Loc Nozzles.
<a href="http://s39.photobucket.com/user/jblaylock/media/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/db0e509d-ba1c-4a7e-8381-bac25f28dc76.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/jblaylock/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/db0e509d-ba1c-4a7e-8381-bac25f28dc76.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo db0e509d-ba1c-4a7e-8381-bac25f28dc76.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s39.photobucket.com/user/jblaylock/media/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1612.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/jblaylock/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1612.jpg" border="0" alt="Left Drain - External photo DSCN1612.jpg"/></a>
There is 50lbs if Fiji live rock and 100lbs of base rock in the entire system. I do not have a picture, but there is a lot of rock in the sump inlet. Most of the live rock is in the display, but I did put some in the sump to seed the base rock.
Sump
The sump was the focus of the design. I went with the split sump to provide both adequate mechanical and natural filtration.
<a href="http://s39.photobucket.com/user/jblaylock/media/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1614.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/jblaylock/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1614.jpg" border="0" alt="Sump - End photo DSCN1614.jpg"/></a>
The mechanical side first hits a filter sock that is cleaned every 3 days. The Quiet One 2200 pump located in the same chamber feeds a BRS carbon reactor on one side of a T and a BRS BioPellet reactor on the other side. The BioPellet Reactor directly feeds all the water to a Reef Octopus reticulating skimmer (plumbed internal). The water passes through a spare chamber then through the skimmer chamber. At this point a bubble trap is hit and then a 1200 GPH return pump.
<a href="http://s39.photobucket.com/user/jblaylock/media/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1615.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/jblaylock/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1615.jpg" border="0" alt="Sump Front photo DSCN1615.jpg"/></a>
The natural filtration side comes down to a baffle filled with Live/Base rock. This overflows to the next chamber that holds a DSB and Fiji Mud. I have a long list of macro coming with my cleanup crew tomorrow. There will be 7 different kinds of macro. Another bubble trap is encountered then the return pump again.
Water
For water I use a RO/DI system that runs into two 40 gallon Brute trash cans with float valves.
<a href="http://s39.photobucket.com/user/jblaylock/media/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1616.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/jblaylock/75g%20Tank%20Set-Up/DSCN1616.jpg" border="0" alt="RO/DI photo DSCN1616.jpg"/></a>
One trash can is for fresh water and the other for salt. This allows for easy maintenance on the fly and reduced time waiting for water as it is always ready and up to temp. After a water change (20 gallon takes about 7 minutes) I allow a day for the trash can to refill and then add the salt. I am currently manually adding the fresh water everyday for evaporation even though I have an ATO. I am considering just using a RO/DI float valve.
Additional Notes
I will be finishing the stand and staining soon. The livestock will be ordered as soon as I am sure all the cycling is complete. The rock was purchased local and was said to be fully cycled. I have had very small spikes so I guess they were telling the truth.
I cannot stand seeing the pipes through the back of the glass so I will be rolling some black paint on the back very soon.
Parameters
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
KH 9
Calcium 380
PH 8.3
