A Reefaholic's 1000+ Gallon Mixed Reef System Build

[Dustin1300]

Thanks for the compliments and I'm fine with being a guinea pig Mike!

@prop-frags, how many did you start off with and how long did it take for them to dwindle away like that? I figure in the first few weeks I'll lose a few (5-10 out of 50 with them deciding pecking order) and then will likely have to replenish about 5-10 a year to keep the population up to 40. I have plans of keeping a lot of fish in the tank as I love fish and coral. I've got the skimmer on the backend to handle a high bioload and was the reason I bought a skimmer that's been to maintain systems much bigger than mine!

 

[Hawg Pharm]

Gorgeous frags. How is it that all the folks I follow here have ten times prettier frags than I've ever seen in the LFS?

 

[david00061]

Just came across a piece last night that I've been looking for, a showpiece LPS for the tank with some size. Still working on picking this beautiful piece up and likely would not pick up until mid-August. That being said, let me know what you think about this 13" diameter brain I've got my eyes on?!

It's gorgeous. I couldn't wait tell August.
How's you baby doing?

 

[Eville]

I recognize that brain, maybe I saw it in the Cincinnati forum area on here? Regardless it looks great! That would be a nice addition to the aquarium. When do you plan on adding fish? Also about the chromis idea you've been discussing on here, have you thought about those red spot cardinal fish? I've seen those in quite a large group before.. I've never kept them though so I'm not sure how the aggression differs from chromis

 

[Dustin1300]

Gorgeous frags. How is it that all the folks I follow here have ten times prettier frags than I've ever seen in the LFS?

There is always the Internet?!

It's gorgeous. I couldn't wait tell August.
How's you baby doing?

I don't think I'll make it that long either:idea:

Boy is doing great. He's 90 percentile in weight and height and happy and healthy for a 2 month 1 week old!

I recognize that brain, maybe I saw it in the Cincinnati forum area on here? Regardless it looks great! That would be a nice addition to the aquarium. When do you plan on adding fish? Also about the chromis idea you've been discussing on here, have you thought about those red spot cardinal fish? I've seen those in quite a large group before.. I've never kept them though so I'm not sure how the aggression differs from chromis

Exactly right on the brain! Supplier did not have all the fish and did not get like I expected this week. Hopefully next Saturday I'll have the first order. As far as the cardinals....I'm planning on having a good sized set of cardinals later on when the tank is a bit more established.

 

[david00061]

There is always the Internet?!



I don't think I'll make it that long either:idea:

Boy is doing great. He's 90 percentile in weight and height and happy and healthy for a 2 month 1 week old!


Good looking baby. My grand daughter is a month older. She gets more fun and adorable everyday

Exactly right on the brain! Supplier did not have all the fish and did not get like I expected this week. Hopefully next Saturday I'll have the first order. As far as the cardinals....I'm planning on having a good sized set of cardinals later on when the tank is a bit more established.

 

[biecacka]

Hey Dustin he looks like a reefer!!

Good luck with the chromis. I tried 12 green ones in my old 220 and they didn't make it but your tank is bigger and I've heard if you feed em enough they forget to fit :lol:

Corey

 

[Eville]

Awesome, can't wait to see your fish. I have been tempted to grab some of those red dot cardinals from dd, but after seeing ORA's recent video of their black cardinals I must wait for those. The blue eyed cardinals are very cool as well. Your aquarium has been very uplifting for me being from Indiana lol.. very detailed and helpful for future plans


Jacob

 

[roni]

Dustin,

Well, I'm going to be in on the experiment. Ordered 10 of the black axil to see how they do. If it's not a complete world war in there, i'll get a few more. Would love to have a steady school of 20-25 or so. I'm hoping my other big fish will keep them from focusing on each other.

Roni

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

Under Armor outfit = Future Reefer + Athlete in making. :lol2::lol2::lol2:

 

[Dustin1300]

Good looking baby. My grand daughter is a month older. She gets more fun and adorable everyday

Thanks David. They definitely grow up way too fast!

Hey Dustin he looks like a reefer!!

Good luck with the chromis. I tried 12 green ones in my old 220 and they didn't make it but your tank is bigger and I've heard if you feed em enough they forget to fit

Corey

I'm hoping they work out. I'm going to figure out if the Black Axils are actually an option this morning. If not, I've got another order of other critters coming in tomorrow and will tack on Chromis to that order. The other remaining fish I have on order should be available for pickup on Saturday!

Awesome, can't wait to see your fish. I have been tempted to grab some of those red dot cardinals from dd, but after seeing ORA's recent video of their black cardinals I must wait for those. The blue eyed cardinals are very cool as well. Your aquarium has been very uplifting for me being from Indiana lol.. very detailed and helpful for future plans


Jacob

Glad it's helped out and glad to have you along. Once the system is up and running feel free to PM me and you could check out the system if our schedules align.

Dustin,

Well, I'm going to be in on the experiment. Ordered 10 of the black axil to see how they do. If it's not a complete world war in there, i'll get a few more. Would love to have a steady school of 20-25 or so. I'm hoping my other big fish will keep them from focusing on each other.

Roni

I'm "patiently" awaiting PA this morning to ensure I get the fish I wanted. Another great benefit of the smaller fish is that they keep the big fish active so cannot wait to keep adding fish!

Under Armor outfit = Future Reefer + Athlete in making.

At this point my little chunker could be a linebacker without a problem He's going to have to be an athlete to afford his obsession he inherits from his dad. Maybe he'll have a Bill Wann sized tank and I can spend my retirement maintaining his tank!

 

[worm5406]

Just wrapped up water mixing station with 2 X 200 Gallon Vertical Tanks from Tank Depot and a couple DC10000 pumps for keeping the water moving/mixed. Also have a line from RO/DI tank and SW to basement to do fast water changes should they need to be done and to plump directly into reactors to rinse carbon/GFO with a couple flips of the valves.

Another step closer to having tank in full swing!

Full Picture:


Another angle. Valves on outside of each will have loc-line connected to them to fill a bucket for water/saltwater, etc...:

Guess what you just made me order. I had been on the fence for a few months anyway. Just did not know which one, but you convinced me a few months ago.


HAHAHAHA...

OK if you do not mind... can I get your part list for plumbing. More importantly the bulkhead sizes. I figure I can order those now and they should be here before the tanks are delivered. Which pumps did you get (DC10000 right??), in the pix above, how are they doing?

The only think I am going to add is two 1/4 turn valves on the exit of the tank at the bottom, in the event that maint needs to be done on all the pipe.

 

[Dustin1300]

Sure. Here goes! Don't blame me if I forgot something, I'm notorious for 5 trips to HW store.

- 2 X DC10000 Pumps
- 2 X Male 2" Threaded Adapters
- 2 X Reducers 2"->1"
- 4 X 1" Tees
- 5 X 1" Ball Valves
- 2 X 1" Ball Valves with Unions
- 2 X 1" Barbs
- 2 X 1" Thread/Slip Coupler
- 4 X 1" Unions
- 4 X 1" Elbows
- ~20' of 1" SCH 80 Pipe
- 1' of Nylon Tubing

Inside I used a couple 3/4 Lock-lines on each barrel that keep the water in rotation. During normal operation I only run them on the second speed setting. For 24 hours of mixing I run the SW barrel at full speed. Really you could make a design with 1 pump but I wanted to be able to pressurize two lines which feed to my basement. Also, I did not include parts above to have the feed lines to the basement...

 

[worm5406]

I have read conflicting reports. What is the connector for the pump(s)?

1" / 1.5" / 2" ???

Is it threaded or slip?

 

[Dustin1300]

I have read conflicting reports. What is the connector for the pump(s)?

1" / 1.5" / 2" ???

Is it threaded or slip?

They are threaded or barbed. It comes with Barbs/adapter for 1/2", 3/4", and 1". I've heard of threading issues but I did not have any issues with mine. I don't see ANY difference between a Speedwave and Waveline, just that the Speedwave is $60 cheaper.

 

[Dustin1300]

Added some life to the tank today with a the start to the first round of inhabitants since I've got all the coral glued down.

- 3 X Helfrichi Firefish
- 1 X African Midas Blenny
- 1 X Indo Feather Duster
- 1 X Hard Tube Coco Worm (Still has not opened...)
- 100 X Trochus Snails

Saturday I'll be adding the following:
- 1 X Starry Blenny
- 1 X Bi-Color Blenny
- 2 X Black and White Ocellaris Clownfish
- 2 X Naked Clowns
- 2 X Buckshot Clowns

Not much life but it's a start as my tank is way too sterile currently.

That all being said, what tips do you have for good full tank shot as I need to share with you guys/gals?!?!

 

[Anim8me2]

If you have a DSLR, take a series of panned vertical shots and assemble as a pano in something like Photoshop or a free pano app.
Can't wait to see it!

 

[Dustin1300]

If you have a DSLR, take a series of panned vertical shots and assemble as a pano in something like Photoshop or a free pano app.
Can't wait to see it!

I've got a Rebel T3i, external flash, and a few cheaper lenses (Nifty 50mm, 27-55mm, and 55-350mm I think). Editing, I'd be using CS3 Photoshop/Lightroom.

 

[worm5406]

That all being said, what tips do you have for good full tank shot as I need to share with you guys/gals?!?!

Can you get back far enough to do a FTS? or do you need to stitch a picture together?

Some cameras have a panorama selection on them.

 

[Dustin1300]

Going to try to play around a bit tonight. Since when were you on team RC?!