A Reefaholic's 1000+ Gallon Mixed Reef System Build

SPotter said:
have you looked at lifereef yet? His name is Jeff too and he's been building sumps and skimmers for a long time.
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Jeff at Lifereef has been great, I've worked with him for 5 years for my 180, I really like the idea of a cone skimmer or at least a cone neck on the skimmer so I'm looking at other options. Otherwise I love Jeff's work and responsiveness.

I also have a CA Reactor, a sump (that'll be too small for the next tank), a frag tank all from him.

Certainly worth considering if you aren't attached to the cone neck.
 
Dustin - Fellow Hoosier following along here from Seattle, great build!

Since you're asking about skimmers I just got down reading about some amazing large skimmers built by a local (to you) reefer in IL who built a 20,000 gallon aquairum in his house and he did it all himself. Anyway it's an amazing read and the guy now has a buisness set up to build large (500g and up) skimmers and other reef related equip. You have to read it to believe it! His name is Bill Wann and his amazing story is on another forum Reef Frontiers. I don't know if I'm supposed to link to it here so I won't, you can find it easy though.:uhoh3:

Cheers and good luck on your build, can't wait to see some water! :hammer:
 
SeattleReef said:
Dustin - Fellow Hoosier following along here from Seattle, great build!

Since you're asking about skimmers I just got down reading about some amazing large skimmers built by a local (to you) reefer in IL who built a 20,000 gallon aquairum in his house and he did it all himself. Anyway it's an amazing read and the guy now has a buisness set up to build large (500g and up) skimmers and other reef related equip. You have to read it to believe it! His name is Bill Wann and his amazing story is on another forum Reef Frontiers. I don't know if I'm supposed to link to it here so I won't, you can find it easy though.:uhoh3:

Cheers and good luck on your build, can't wait to see some water! :hammer:
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Hey, I'm ready for the water too;) You know if Bill has a storefront anywhere?
 
Dustin1300 said:
Hey, I'm ready for the water too;) You know if Bill has a storefront anywhere?
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Good question, not sure about a storefront, but his company name is Aquarium Engineering and I know he is a sponsor on that other forum where his thread is at. Depending on where he lives in IL might not be a bad idea to see his 20,000g in person, I guess groups come up all the time. He is going to build a much larger tank at his house and is planning it now if you can believe it and wants to make it a public aquarium. To say this guy is the master of DIY is an understatement! I guess he also has been working on skimmers since the early 90's and has made some advancements that large aquariums now use or copy. :eek:

I'll send you a PM also with website info.
 
I appreciate the info and am going to contact Bill. I read over some of his thread yesterday but have not really had the free time today/tonight to do much reef reading. I've got a list of skimmers I'm considering and important factors to me are that they are external, not ridiculously priced (BK!), can handle the load now and in future (Advantage of beckett style), and can operate at a descent power consumption rate. While I know that my electricity will go up, I know that I'll kick myself later if I don't try to save a watt here and there:D (Especially when I find my tank costs $500 to power a month!)
 
I had some issues with my sro3000int starting back up. This was after about 1.5yrs of use and never being cleaned. So a lot of neglect. I had noticed the last few times I had my system off(every 3 days when i change my sock), it would take awhile for it to start back up plugging it in and out. Well this Sunday it wouldnt start up at all. I unscrewed the 3 screws, cleaned it up with hot water and it starts up instantly now.

Wow the SRO8000 comes with an hy10000 pump. Big price tag jumping from a 5000 to the 8000 too.
 
Dustin1300 said:
I appreciate the info and am going to contact Bill. I read over some of his thread yesterday but have not really had the free time today/tonight to do much reef reading. I've got a list of skimmers I'm considering and important factors to me are that they are external, not ridiculously priced (BK!), can handle the load now and in future (Advantage of beckett style), and can operate at a descent power consumption rate. While I know that my electricity will go up, I know that I'll kick myself later if I don't try to save a watt here and there:D (Especially when I find my tank costs $500 to power a month!)
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Sounds good, I told him you should be contacting him. He builds his skimmers to last a lifetime!
 
geaux xman said:
I had some issues with my sro3000int starting back up. This was after about 1.5yrs of use and never being cleaned. So a lot of neglect. I had noticed the last few times I had my system off(every 3 days when i change my sock), it would take awhile for it to start back up plugging it in and out. Well this Sunday it wouldnt start up at all. I unscrewed the 3 screws, cleaned it up with hot water and it starts up instantly now.

Wow the SRO8000 comes with an hy10000 pump. Big price tag jumping from a 5000 to the 8000 too.
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Can't really blame pump startup issues if it's not been cleaned for 1.5 years. I try to make myself clean skimmer pump every ~6 months in a vinegar bath.

As far as price...It's important to realize I'm talking about the cones that Octopus makes. Much smaller price and much more bioload support. XP5000E is $799.99 and XP8000E is $1299.99. Not sure if you were referencing the regular SRO units or not. http://premiumaquatics.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_code=oct-cone
 
SeattleReef said:
Sounds good, I told him you should be contacting him. He builds his skimmers to last a lifetime!
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Just sent my system specs off to Bill a few minutes ago. I'm in no rush right now, I've got time. I enjoy the build process and not sure what I'll do with my spare time outside of work when I have the tank done;) I'm sure I'll have fires to put out from time to time like any other system:fun5:
 
Dustin1300 said:
Just sent my system specs off to Bill a few minutes ago. I'm in no rush right now, I've got time. I enjoy the build process and not sure what I'll do with my spare time outside of work when I have the tank done;) I'm sure I'll have fires to put out from time to time like any other system:fun5:
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That will be fun to see what he comes up with! From what I've heard from others that buy from him the price is a great deal for the quality you get. It's funny I think Bill says he enjoys the build more than anything else. I'm sure others are the same too... you know you love DIY when you rebuild your own Ferarri Modena engine! :bigeyes:
 
Still on the skimmer search but have plenty of time to keep doing that. Picked up wood to build the stand platform to help distribute the weight. After doing the cuts guess I did not charge drill so I'll have to build it and paint Friday night and over the weekend. Once that is done I'll be onto cutting out hole in wall and re-routing more electrical so I can move tank down.

20120912_203132.jpg
 
Dustin1300 said:
Still on the skimmer search but have plenty of time to keep doing that. Picked up wood to build the stand platform to help distribute the weight. After doing the cuts guess I did not charge drill so I'll have to build it and paint Friday night and over the weekend. Once that is done I'll be onto cutting out hole in wall and re-routing more electrical so I can move tank down.

20120912_203132.jpg
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And that is for???
 
Because the weight is all distributed over the two inches of steel on the parameter of the stand. The structural engineer that looked at the concrete recommended distributing the weight more by putting it on a platform. I'm going to put the stand on the 2X8s and once I have the steel stand in place I'll put a sheet of plywood in and tack it down and seal it so it'll hold water.

Refresher:
StandSteelCutDesign.jpg
 
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