A Reef in the Sky

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Thank you all for the kind words. :thumbsup:

Looks very nice Alpha! The open scape is definitely a BIG plus for flow. Are you adding more rocks? More pics please..hehe.

Cheers Mav... Yeah, experimenting with the pumps now looking at various flow patterns. No more rocks will be added. 27kgs/60lbs in total.

Simply amazing! One regret I have is not leaving more space in the sand bed when I set my tank up. You'll have tons of room for clams, chalices, acans, etc down the road. Very nice Andrew! I'm in love.

Thanks Clint... love your posts... always crack me up. I found during my research that many people wished they had more space on their sand beds so I kept that in mind.

Excellent!

Thank you

sweeeeeeet! Thanks for posting in the minimalist thread as well :thumbsup:

Thanks. That is a great thread!

Beaudy! Somehow I had the feeling your aquascape wouldn't be the infamous rock wall.

:lolspin: yeah, I couldn't totally cover that custom back ground up

too cool
This is the best build i have seen here.

Cheers... I enjoy sharing the process

Great build. Immaculate planning & execution. I wish I had this sort of foresight ... my stuff starts with great ideas & gets thrown together at the last minute. :lol:

Thank you ... I find that seems to happen a lot with most people... guess I had plenty of spare time.

Stunning setup!

How do you like the choice of lights and powerheads?

Thanks Shaun. I am extremely happy with the lights so far. Appearance, colour, build quality all appealed to me. Currently exploring the dimmable options/variations. Videos and pictures to follow in the future.

As for the powerheads, I'm happy with them. Plenty if options regarding flow when connected to the Profilux computer... again, experimenting at the moment. One downer :thumbdown is that the magnet barely holds them on to the 19mm (3/4") glass. I did plenty of research here on RC and the Tunze websites and was told they would be fine. I even went to the shops with my sample glass piece last year to test for myself but realized then that there would be a slight problem. Unfortunately the 6105's were the only option as the 6205's (with a stronger magnet) would be overkill and too expensive. I find the power cord over the edge of the tank helps keep them secure enough.

Everything looks great. Beautiful stand, great equipment and now also an outstanding aquascape.

Leonardo

Thank you Leonardo... :thumbsup:

1 stunner tank.

Cheers... glad you like

 

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Finishing Touches Inside Cabinet... Part 2

As promised... I went a picked up the remaining items for the cabinet today.

Containers: each can hold 8.3L (2.2Gal)

Corners installed inside to help prevent leaks. Will fill with RO water and let sit for a few days.

The stand for controller/dosing pumps

All together... there is a 2cm gap at the back to allow the tubing to pass out the back to the sump/ATO container

:bounce1: Officially Started!!:bounce1:

I did the following today...
Day 1:
"¢ Zeovite: 1.5L (max flow rate of 600 l/h "“ on continuously)
"¢ ZeoStart2: 55ml
"¢ ZeoBac: 27 ml
"¢ Sponge Power: 17ml

A picture of the skimmer doing its business

I will do some water tests tomorrow just out of interest.

 

[gofor100]

I'm already getting goose bumps in anticipation of how this tank is going to look (and how it is already looking)... again, great job on EVERYTHING!!! I'm sure all of your hard work and planning will earn you TOTM honors some day

 

[dancewithethan]

:beer:it looks like your skimmer is doing a great job. I also run the same skimmer, but my is the 170. I didn't see that you use the white-air-intake adjustable knobs. does your skimmer surge, pulsates?

Amazing tank

 

[badazztealcobra]

The surging problem was only on our 170s. so we got the adjustable nozzles. If you get a laguna/askoll 1500 pump, you can toss that first volute on there and use it as a super skimmer pump if you have something with a larger body. I sold my orignal volute to someone to recoup more of the price, which made my Alpha 170 dirt cheap. :beer:

v1...rotate, you should look into making an acrylic stand for you Alpha cone as well. The little rubber nubs wont be absorbing the vibration from the pump with it sitting on eggcrate like that....

I just got dosing containers myself, I'm just using 2.5g all glass tanks.... :beer:

 

[nelcadiz]

Great job!! I like this!! !!

 

[tecsavi]

Tagging along. This is an incredible build thread!

 

[VtheMaestro]

The live rock also arrived today and I had first pickings :spin1: After a couple of hours this is what we managed to come up with. Similar to my plans.

Overview

This was always going to be a challenge since the internal overflow affects the space available.

Hoping to create a nice illusion of depth between the island and main structure. Also will allow fishes to swim around the island and underneath the large overhangs.

Particularly happy with the island. The picture isn't that clear but more to come.

Hope you guys like!

wow! the. livest. rock. EVER... makes the 'live' stuff they sell in atl look like base rock

 

[mrvicz]

woohooo!!! finally started, andrew! congrats! gives me more reason to visit hong kong on may

vic

 

[DaytonaJoe]

Fantastic build so far! The thoroughness of your planning is outstanding. I am always finding little things I wish I had done differently with my tank... and I suppose that's just part of reefing, but I bet you'll have less issues than me!

P.S. I'm an air traffic controller in New England, it's cool to see how many folks on here are involved in aviation!

 

[gofor100]

That's what your next tank is for DaytonaJoe... to do the little things differently

Except it looks like Andrew somehow skipped a couple of tanks in the process and is getting most (if not all) things right this time around!!!

 

[MFR]

Fantastic!

Fantastic!

One of the best builds I've seen to date. I dig the way you stuck to your vision.


MFR

 

[v1...rotate]

I'm already getting goose bumps in anticipation of how this tank is going to look (and how it is already looking)... again, great job on EVERYTHING!!! I'm sure all of your hard work and planning will earn you TOTM honors some day

Thanks... not sure how to stock the tank at the moment. Have ideas but all depends on corals available. I'll be happy if I can just keep the corals alive and parameters in range.

:beer:it looks like your skimmer is doing a great job. I also run the same skimmer, but my is the 170. I didn't see that you use the white-air-intake adjustable knobs. does your skimmer surge, pulsates?

Amazing tank

Thank you... well the skimmer performance pictured above didn't last long. Over a period of a day it played up (overflowing) all of a sudden with heaps of micro bubbles. However, during the last 24hours everything has settled down.

The surging problem was only on our 170s. so we got the adjustable nozzles. If you get a laguna/askoll 1500 pump, you can toss that first volute on there and use it as a super skimmer pump if you have something with a larger body. I sold my orignal volute to someone to recoup more of the price, which made my Alpha 170 dirt cheap. :beer:

v1...rotate, you should look into making an acrylic stand for you Alpha cone as well. The little rubber nubs wont be absorbing the vibration from the pump with it sitting on eggcrate like that....

I just got dosing containers myself, I'm just using 2.5g all glass tanks.... :beer:

Thanks for that info on surging. The thread over at PA is priceless for those that own Alphas. A lot of info there.
Yep, I didn't think I needed one at first but it turned out I did. The pipe and egg crate was all I had until I had a chance to get something better. See pictures shortly.
Sweet, looking forward to filling up the containers this weekend.

Great job!! I like this!! !!

Thank you nelcadiz

Tagging along. This is an incredible build thread!

Welcome... and thanks

wow! the. livest. rock. EVER... makes the 'live' stuff they sell in atl look like base rock

lol, not to worry. With time it will be fine

woohooo!!! finally started, andrew! congrats! gives me more reason to visit hong kong on may

vic

For sure Vic... you must give us an update on your build too!

Fantastic build so far! The thoroughness of your planning is outstanding. I am always finding little things I wish I had done differently with my tank... and I suppose that's just part of reefing, but I bet you'll have less issues than me!

P.S. I'm an air traffic controller in New England, it's cool to see how many folks on here are involved in aviation!

Thanks Joe... I just read plenty of threads over time and developed an understanding in areas where people have gone wrong or said they wished they did it another way.

Ahhh, your ATC... I will be nice so maybe I can get some track shortening

That's what your next tank is for DaytonaJoe... to do the little things differently

Except it looks like Andrew somehow skipped a couple of tanks in the process and is getting most (if not all) things right this time around!!!

lol... Hopefully it will work out. One thing I have noticed so far is that it would be better to have gate valves on the drains as they would be easier to 'fine-tune'. The TUBV's are rather tricky to master. But I love how I can close them and easily disconnect the plumbing.

One of the best builds I've seen to date. I dig the way you stuck to your vision.


MFR

Thank you MFR

 

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Troubles and Triumphs


It has been a busy last couple of days. Where to start.....?

Troubles first
Skimmer:
As already touched on, the Alpha was giving me some grief. It would be set nicely and then suddenly overflow plus many micro bubbles were occurring. I didn't really mind about the bubbles as it is still 'breaking in' but the overflowing concerned me since I am due to head away shortly and don't want any trouble for the misses while I'm gone.

I went and got some pieces of acrylic to make a basic stand so the skimmer would sit slightly higher in the sump. After some adjustments, all seems to be fine now.

Chiller:
Everything was connected up, temperatures programed... ready to go. All was good for 2hours then... BAM!! Stops working just before I went to bed. It therefore ended up being a late night.

This is what was wrong

Consulted the manual and there was nothing inside regarding this error!!?? Managed to download the USA manual (slightly different) and it showed the error as '...Short Circuit due to pressed or torn circuit wire'. Anyway... long story short, I managed to return it to the dealer today who happens to be an approved repairer.

So off I went to the dealer

And this is what he did!!!!

All repaired now and will connect it up tomorrow. Fingers crossed!


Triumphs
Filter Socks:
Managed to get some to attach temporarily to the drains. Will look into fine tuning the fittings later on.

Electrical Board:
Nearly finished all the wiring (except for the Tunze cables since they are soooooo long). Pretty happy as it can become very messy.

Some other pictures of everything together

Zeo: Day 4
Dosing changed to the following
"¢ ZeoStart2: 0.6ml 2x's/day
"¢ ZeoBak: 6drops
"¢ Sponge Power: 6 drops

Lucky last...

Tomorrow must brief the misses on the dosing regime while I'm gone.

 

[mnml]

Andrew, not sure if this was mentioned in the previous threads but what bulb combo are you running on your PM and how long is your photoperiod? Keep up the great work man.

 

[jeff127]

Looking awesome, I like the aquascaping and am looking forward to seeing it stocked.

Not sure if I missed it but how do you plan on using the fourth GHL dosing pump for topping up?


Good luck.

Jeff.

 

[Leonardo_]

Very clean and sleek :thumbsup: Keep us updated about the chiller.

Leonardo

 

[DML08]

Awesome man.. how do you like the overflow pipes? are they quite? I like the clean look of them..

 

[v1...rotate]

Andrew, not sure if this was mentioned in the previous threads but what bulb combo are you running on your PM and how long is your photoperiod? Keep up the great work man.

Thanks Tran. I've forgotten the bulb arrangement as I not in town at the moment. I have to change two bulbs and will also re-organize the bulb layout. Just adjusted to the lighting period before I left but from memory it's from around 7:30 until 18:15. Will update once back.

Looking awesome, I like the aquascaping and am looking forward to seeing it stocked.

Not sure if I missed it but how do you plan on using the fourth GHL dosing pump for topping up?


Good luck.

Jeff.

Thank you Jeff. I haven't set it up just yet but basically there will be 2 water level detectors in the sump and when the water drops it will turn on the 4th dosing pump... fill the sump with water until the other detector trips the pump off. That's the plan at least.

Very clean and sleek :thumbsup: Keep us updated about the chiller.

Leonardo

Thanks Leonardo... chiller was performing we after I re-connected it. I'm not in town at the moment but no phone calls yet.

Awesome man.. how do you like the overflow pipes? are they quite? I like the clean look of them..

Cheers, yep... absolutely love them. Extremely quiet and not gurgling noise or noise from water running through the pipes at all.

I like the clean look of them too plus you can just pull them out for easy maintenance. Got to love that!




Update:
There is a slight brown film on the sand bed, glass and parts of some rocks. All to be expected. Skimmer troubles have returned. It's difficult when the darn thing doesn't come with instructions however I'm getting there.

Day 6 (the other day)
"¢ ZeoStart2: 0.6ml 2x's/day (in morning and evening)
"¢ ZeoBak: 6drops
"¢ Sponge Power: 6 drops

Haven't tested the water yet except SG to confirm it's 1.026. The chiller is keeping the temperature at 26 degrees.

I am currently away for 3 days so the misses has been briefed with what to do.
Yes.... I'm lucky
Fingers crossed that the skimmer doesn't play up while away, if so... it will be turned off until I return.

Just received my new test kits and ESV Bionic supplements so will be able to test all water parameters when I return. :bounce1::bounce2:

 

[vpower]

Thank you Jeff. I haven't set it up just yet but basically there will be 2 water level detectors in the sump and when the water drops it will turn on the 4th dosing pump... fill the sump with water until the other detector trips the pump off. That's the plan at least.

After I had one of the ghl float level sensors hang up on me, leaving the dosing pump on and almost overflowing my sump I would not trust that setup.
I would use only one level sensor to turn on/off dosing pump, and the other level sensor as a safety guard, and also adjust the max. time for the dosing pump to be on.

Amazing build by the way :bigeyes: