Mr. Brooks
MASVC Member
That'd be a heck of a lot cheaper, and would fit quite nicely.
Chad's Simultaneous 225 SPS & 180 FOWLR Office Build
- Thread starter Mr. Brooks
- Start date
Mr. Brooks
MASVC Member
I could easily modify the top of the Precision Marine reactor with John Guest fittings instead of the hose barbs.
Mr. Brooks
MASVC Member
Ok so my understanding is that you could run kalk in a regular media reactor but the concentration would be significantly reduced after a few days. With a kalk reactor it stirs everything up every now and then. So do the pumps come pre-programmed to turn on and off after a certain amount of time? Do you have to plug it into a timer? Or do you just plug it in manually every now and then? Again, what do you guys recomend? Would I be fine with a calcium reactor only or should I run both?
Another update: Just got a shipment in. Micromesh to buff out acrylic scratches, SilenX fans and a four channel controller. Plugged a fan in, it runs almost silent. Can barely hear it.
I also plugged in the dart on the mixing container, that thing is so quiet! I plugged my skimmer in a couple weeks ago using fresh water to leak test. I could barely tell the Eheim pump was on. At this point the only thing I think I'll hear is the Barracuda return pump. It's the loudest of all my equipment so far, it's a steady hum. Not bad really but I can hear it. Hopefully it will get quieter when there's water going through it.
Vendor I used for the Micromesh: http://www.sculpt.com/
shipping seemed a bit high but I think I saved over one the kits you can buy. I've never buffed out a scratch before so I'll tell you how it goes on another post. I picked up four different grit counts: 4,000, 6,000, 8,000 and 12,000.
I got the fans and controller from this sight: http://www.excaliberpc.com
Great price and rediculously fast shipping.
<a href="http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/?action=view¤t=FishTankBuild039.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/FishTankBuild039.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Another update: Just got a shipment in. Micromesh to buff out acrylic scratches, SilenX fans and a four channel controller. Plugged a fan in, it runs almost silent. Can barely hear it.
I also plugged in the dart on the mixing container, that thing is so quiet! I plugged my skimmer in a couple weeks ago using fresh water to leak test. I could barely tell the Eheim pump was on. At this point the only thing I think I'll hear is the Barracuda return pump. It's the loudest of all my equipment so far, it's a steady hum. Not bad really but I can hear it. Hopefully it will get quieter when there's water going through it.
Vendor I used for the Micromesh: http://www.sculpt.com/
shipping seemed a bit high but I think I saved over one the kits you can buy. I've never buffed out a scratch before so I'll tell you how it goes on another post. I picked up four different grit counts: 4,000, 6,000, 8,000 and 12,000.
I got the fans and controller from this sight: http://www.excaliberpc.com
Great price and rediculously fast shipping.
<a href="http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/?action=view¤t=FishTankBuild039.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/FishTankBuild039.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Bax
Premium Member
As a fellow office reefer I have to say this is a very nice build. I am moving to get my 220 on line hopefully by November.
Anyway, I have a similar GEO mixer,you want to mix your Kalk twice a day for just a few minutes and then let it settle completely before turning your ATO back on. If there isn't room on your contoller, I do it with two simple timmers and it works out great.
Good luck!
Anyway, I have a similar GEO mixer,you want to mix your Kalk twice a day for just a few minutes and then let it settle completely before turning your ATO back on. If there isn't room on your contoller, I do it with two simple timmers and it works out great.
Good luck!
Mr. Brooks
MASVC Member
Thanks Bax! I think I'll try to leave room for both and make my decision when the time comes. I may start with a kalk reactor and step it up with a calcium reactor when the kalk no longer cuts it. Will you start a build thread for your 220? I'd like to check it out.
Mr. Brooks
MASVC Member
Update!
<a href="http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/?action=view¤t=0818081534-00.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/0818081534-00.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
First pic of the stand and canopy build!
<a href="http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/?action=view¤t=0818081534-00.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/0818081534-00.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
First pic of the stand and canopy build!
Bax
Premium Member
I will be starting a build as soon as there's enough momentum in that build to make an interesting thread. Working on back of the house stuff on my 120 to prep for the 220 right now.
I use both the GEO kalk mixer and an MTC Pro Cal reactor. If you're going full on SPS you'll both unless you explore other Alk & Ca addition options.
I like your stand frame, what's the height of the stand? And I must have missed it are you matching the doors to your office furniture?
I use both the GEO kalk mixer and an MTC Pro Cal reactor. If you're going full on SPS you'll both unless you explore other Alk & Ca addition options.
I like your stand frame, what's the height of the stand? And I must have missed it are you matching the doors to your office furniture?
Mr. Brooks
MASVC Member
I gotta be honest, I'm pretty stoked. This will be the biggest purchase for a while. I'll call it phase one. Phase two will be the halides and controller. Phase three will be a Geo calcium reactor and kalkwasser reactor. It will probably be couple months before I get the halides. I'll be going for a long cycle period with no fish. I want to let everything settle out for a while, let the pod population build up before I add any fish. After several months of keeping fish successfully I'll go for phase two and three and start adding SPS corals. I'll probably run PC's temporarily before I get the halides just so I can see into the tank, as well as help the coraline algae out a bit. I'll need some time to save up, These are some pretty big purchases..
Mr. Brooks
MASVC Member
Stand will be 36" tall. I would've gone taller but I didn't want to have to look up too far when I'm sitting at my desk. 36" is JUST tall enough to fit my skimmer, I need to put the skimmer on a small stand to get the outlet pipe over the sump.
I went with raised panels. It would've been cool to match but I like the raised look better and I thought the flat would clash too much with the crown molding.
I went with raised panels. It would've been cool to match but I like the raised look better and I thought the flat would clash too much with the crown molding.
dkirchoff
New member
BAX!! YOUR INBOX IS FULL!! http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1454185 CHECK IT OUT!!
Mr. Brooks
MASVC Member
Thanks! I actually got him from the shelter, couldn't ask for a better dog. Seems like shelter dogs appreciate you just a little bit more. It was nice not having to potty train as well.
Start a build thread anyway! who cares if it sits dormant for a while. I'll tag along. I'm thinking I'm about a month away from leak testing the 225. I'll start the cycle and move on to the 180 build. I'm placing orders for the 180 to help on shipping. Hopefully I'll be ready to go by the time the 225 has started cycling.
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Bax
Premium Member
Not to side track your thread, I am just trying to decide if I will set move the 120 and keep it as a FOWLR tied to the 220 which will be the reef or just focus on the 220. I am keeping my options open until I get some back of the house issues resolved in the sump room ( a closet under some stairs ) I would really love to have the 340 gallons of display wrapping around my desk 
And, if we ever get another dog, it'll most likely be a shelter dog, we just lost out 171/2 year old springer and we just aren't ready ... yet.
And, if we ever get another dog, it'll most likely be a shelter dog, we just lost out 171/2 year old springer and we just aren't ready ... yet.
Mr. Brooks
MASVC Member
Sorry about your dog... I lost a Beagle a couple years ago. Wasn't fun at all.
If it was me, and I am in a similar situation. I wouldn't connect the two systems. There's a lot you can get away with in a FOWLR that you can't with a reef. I think it would wastefully tax your equipment. You'd have to buy equipment with a larger capacity in mind, which would end up costing a lot more. Just use the equipment you have for the FOWLR and plan out the 220 with 220 gallons in mind when buying your equipment. I considered adding a 200 gallon storage container to the left of the 225 to add water volume. It would sit inside a custom closet to match the stand and canopy. Here's the thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1447971
In the end I decided the 225 gallons in the display tank and the big sump would be plenty of water volume. I'd just be wasting money and making things more complicated than they needed to be.
I plan on making the FOWLR very simple and easy to take care of. In fact I'm commissioning the help of one of my employees to lend a hand with the more simple maintenance tasks. I think he gets some enjoyment out of it, and it'll keep me from getting overwhelmed with maintenance. It's win win. I say do the FOWLR but do it seperately. I know over the next couple years I'm going to see a bunch of really nice non-reef safe fish that I'll want to buy. The grass always seems greener on the other side ya know? This way I'll be free to buy almost any fish I choose =)
If it was me, and I am in a similar situation. I wouldn't connect the two systems. There's a lot you can get away with in a FOWLR that you can't with a reef. I think it would wastefully tax your equipment. You'd have to buy equipment with a larger capacity in mind, which would end up costing a lot more. Just use the equipment you have for the FOWLR and plan out the 220 with 220 gallons in mind when buying your equipment. I considered adding a 200 gallon storage container to the left of the 225 to add water volume. It would sit inside a custom closet to match the stand and canopy. Here's the thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1447971
In the end I decided the 225 gallons in the display tank and the big sump would be plenty of water volume. I'd just be wasting money and making things more complicated than they needed to be.
I plan on making the FOWLR very simple and easy to take care of. In fact I'm commissioning the help of one of my employees to lend a hand with the more simple maintenance tasks. I think he gets some enjoyment out of it, and it'll keep me from getting overwhelmed with maintenance. It's win win. I say do the FOWLR but do it seperately. I know over the next couple years I'm going to see a bunch of really nice non-reef safe fish that I'll want to buy. The grass always seems greener on the other side ya know? This way I'll be free to buy almost any fish I choose =)
Bax
Premium Member
I have oversized everything for the 220, I just fired up a MRC dual beckett skimmer that is sweet. A wattage junkie, but sweet!
It comes down to complexity of plumbing as to whether or not I separate the systems or run them together.
My office isn't nearly as nice as yours. I am in a very old industrial building that probably should have been condemned in the 90's ... but it works for me
. Anyway humidity and temp control are always a problem in this old building. Very hot now, very very cold in the winter. As a result a combined system is easiest to cool and heat.
That's great you've got someone to share the maintenance burden with. It really make a big difference. Even when I am here most of the week and I see the tank a lot, I may only have a few short opportunities to actually work on the tank and system.
... It's harder then those who don't have a tank at work would think to keep it up to top shape all the time.
.. Pesky work getting in the way of reefing all the time!
It comes down to complexity of plumbing as to whether or not I separate the systems or run them together.
My office isn't nearly as nice as yours. I am in a very old industrial building that probably should have been condemned in the 90's ... but it works for me
. Anyway humidity and temp control are always a problem in this old building. Very hot now, very very cold in the winter. As a result a combined system is easiest to cool and heat.That's great you've got someone to share the maintenance burden with. It really make a big difference. Even when I am here most of the week and I see the tank a lot, I may only have a few short opportunities to actually work on the tank and system.
... It's harder then those who don't have a tank at work would think to keep it up to top shape all the time.
.. Pesky work getting in the way of reefing all the time!
Mr. Brooks
MASVC Member
Haha I hear ya!
Mr. Brooks
MASVC Member
Update, I'm really happy with Jeff's work so far. These were taken from his cell phone:
<a href="http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/?action=view¤t=0819081607-00.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/0819081607-00.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/?action=view¤t=0819081608-00.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/0819081608-00.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/?action=view¤t=0819081608-01.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/0819081608-01.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Here's the start of the canopy, just the back side for now.
<a href="http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/?action=view¤t=0819081609-01.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/0819081609-01.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Having this tank in an office in Southern California makes heat a MAJOR concern. Especially considering the fact that I'll be running 3 - 400 watt metal halides. We try not to run the AC over the weekend, and even if we did, I could never be certain the AC wouldn't get accidently turned off. I've decided to build several safeguards into this system. One of which is an extremely tall canopy. This will allow the heat from the halides to dissipate before it has a chance to enter the tank. Overall height will be 22". I'll be using Lumenbright reflectors to allow for the extra height without sacrificing PAR. At least that's the idea. I thought the canopy would be too tall to make a flip top practical, the flip top would hit the ceiling at this height. So I asked for a sliding light rack. The tank will be 10" off the wall. The lights will pass through the pictured opening in the back with 1 3/4" clearance all around. This way I'll be able to reach any part of the tank without having to take the canoppy off. The second safe guard will be an Aqua Controller Junior. I'll set it to turn the fans on when the temperature reaches 78.5. If the temperature gets up to 79 then I'll have the chiller kick in. I'll set the halides to turn off if the fans and chiller can't cut it, probably at about 80. I prefer this method over upgrading to a more powerfull chiller. I can't vent the air outside so at a certain point it just makes sense to turn the halides off. Otherwise I'm constantly adding excessive heat into the room from both the halides and the chiller.
<a href="http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/?action=view¤t=0819081607-00.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/0819081607-00.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/?action=view¤t=0819081608-00.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/0819081608-00.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/?action=view¤t=0819081608-01.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/0819081608-01.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Here's the start of the canopy, just the back side for now.
<a href="http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/?action=view¤t=0819081609-01.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/thechad21_2006/0819081609-01.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Having this tank in an office in Southern California makes heat a MAJOR concern. Especially considering the fact that I'll be running 3 - 400 watt metal halides. We try not to run the AC over the weekend, and even if we did, I could never be certain the AC wouldn't get accidently turned off. I've decided to build several safeguards into this system. One of which is an extremely tall canopy. This will allow the heat from the halides to dissipate before it has a chance to enter the tank. Overall height will be 22". I'll be using Lumenbright reflectors to allow for the extra height without sacrificing PAR. At least that's the idea. I thought the canopy would be too tall to make a flip top practical, the flip top would hit the ceiling at this height. So I asked for a sliding light rack. The tank will be 10" off the wall. The lights will pass through the pictured opening in the back with 1 3/4" clearance all around. This way I'll be able to reach any part of the tank without having to take the canoppy off. The second safe guard will be an Aqua Controller Junior. I'll set it to turn the fans on when the temperature reaches 78.5. If the temperature gets up to 79 then I'll have the chiller kick in. I'll set the halides to turn off if the fans and chiller can't cut it, probably at about 80. I prefer this method over upgrading to a more powerfull chiller. I can't vent the air outside so at a certain point it just makes sense to turn the halides off. Otherwise I'm constantly adding excessive heat into the room from both the halides and the chiller.
Bax
Premium Member
Could you vent to the warehouse? I vent to my shop/garage.
The tall canopy will help a lot. That's what I did on the 120 g, a 24" canopy with LA minis 12" off the water to start. I just upgraded to a 1/2 hp chiller so I am going to drop them to 10". Two fans blowing in and a vent fan blowing up and out whenever the MHs are on.
The tall canopy will help a lot. That's what I did on the 120 g, a 24" canopy with LA minis 12" off the water to start. I just upgraded to a 1/2 hp chiller so I am going to drop them to 10". Two fans blowing in and a vent fan blowing up and out whenever the MHs are on.
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