Concrete's 120 Tech, 200g system in the works

[ConcreteReefer]

I stumbled onto a 120g Tech w/stand pretty cheap and decided it was time for an upgrade.

I have had SW Tanks for about 6-1/2 years now, My First tank was an AGA Octagon (50g??) w/a hob filter, live rock, small venturi skimmer, PC lighting, & no sump.

My current setup is an AGA 90g w/black oak stand. The 90g was a package put together a couple of years ago by a LFS I used to frequent, This was before I found Reefcentral and thought all equipment was the same- He swore (and probably still does) that Coralife was gods gift to reefkeeping... At the time I thought, This will be the only equipment I'll ever have to buy.... boy, stupid me

Old/Current Setup-
Lighting: Coralife Aqualight 2x150w
Skimmer: Coralife 220 w/ meshmodded QO3000
Sump: 100g stock tank & a modified Pro cl *You know what.. Who cares about this tank.

New Setup- 80/20 SPS/LPS
Tank & Stand: Oceanic Tech 120g w/ matching stand
Sump: Custom 40g 36"x20"x20"
Lighting: ATI Powermodule
Skimmer: ATB small
Calcium Reactor: Schuran JS1
Circulation: 2x Tunze 6101's
Return Pump: Reeflo Tarpon
Controller: NA- I'm thinkin Profilux
Plumbing/Fittings/Bulkheads: All SCH 80
Frag Tank- 36"x20"x12"
Frag Tank Lighting: 250w MH Icecap Ballast w/ROIII pendant
Refugium Lighting:Current Powerbrite LED 4x10k
Chiller: Aquamedic 1/2 hp
RO/DI: SpectraPure Maxcap 90gpd

Here's some pics..

Getting a vinegar bath..

 

[ConcreteReefer]

Frag Tank: Some minor changes were made

Yeah! Plumbing:

Reeflo Tarpon next to an Eheim 1250

Old, Cluttered setup:

Will post more pics later

 

[ConcreteReefer]

Stock List

Fish-
1x Purple Tang (Zebrasoma xanthurus) -already have
1x Pair of Rod's Onyx (Amphiprion percula)
*1x Mag Fox (Siganus magnifica)
*1x Black Fox (Siganus niger)
*1x Mystery Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus ocellatus)
*1x Flame Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus jordani)
*4x Ventralis Anthias (Pseudanthias ventralis)hope 1 will change sex
*2x Squareback Anthias (Pseudanthias pleurotaenia)
1x Pair of Dracula Goby's (Stonogobiops dracula)

* These are maybe's, 1 or the other- ex. I'm either going to get a Mag or Black Fox, not both. Haven't made my mind up yet.

2x Cleaner Shrimp- already have
2x Fire Shrimp
50x Hermits
50x Snails, Mostly Margarita
10x Elephant Snails -already have
2x Peppermint Shrimp -already have
1x Emerald Crab -already have

That's it for now

 

[Agu]

Moved here at thread starters request .................

 

[ReefEnabler]

Looking awesome! great equipment list.

btw when did you order that ATI fixture? I ordered one months ago on reefgeek and theyre still backordered.

never knew ATB had red plastic like that.

 

[TandN]

nice equiptment choices I personally would of went with the KZ skimmer instead I have a freind locally who has the ATB I have the KZ and my skimmer blows his away he tried mine on his tank for a month and tossed the ATB

 

[GSMguy]

Nice equipment, love the ATi.

Tagging along.

 

[ConcreteReefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12333086#post12333086 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tanya72806
nice equiptment choices I personally would of went with the KZ skimmer instead I have a freind locally who has the ATB I have the KZ and my skimmer blows his away he tried mine on his tank for a month and tossed the ATB

Thanks..
Really, I can't justify spending $200 more for a KZ- I'm not a fan of Beckett's, you have to modify the KZ from the get-go, & the aquabee pump has problems with restarting. There is nothing wrong with the KZ- The ATB is just better, sorry. I have a very hard time believing the KZ "blew away" the ATB unless you can back it up with some pics/vids etc.

The ATB is basically the same skimmer but comes with a very reliable & efficient Eheim Meshwheel. Customer service is up there with Tunze, I don't think Victor ever sleeps.


GSM- thanks, I'm really impressed with this fixture. I don't miss my shimmer at all.... yet

I plan on upgrading to a 10 bulb eventually, or buying a 4 bulb unit.

I need help picking out a controller- I need 1 with 2 PH probes so I can monitor & control my Tank & Reactor. Got any recommendations/suggestions?

 

[GSMguy]

I have to agree with concrete on the ATB vs KZ question, there is just no way a KZ is going to "blow away" a skimmer with a better body design, a bubble plate , and a meshwheel pushing way less water and way more air.


Concrete i love my Aquacontroller Jr , im not sure whether the AC3 has 2 PH probes though.

 

[ConcreteReefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12333588#post12333588 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSMguy
I have to agree with concrete on the ATB vs KZ question, there is just no way a KZ is going to "blow away" a skimmer with a better body design, a bubble plate , and a meshwheel pushing way less water and way more air.


Concrete i love my Aquacontroller Jr , im not sure whether the AC3 has 2 PH probes though.

That AC jr looks pretty good, Only 1 PH though.. I could use the AC to monitor/control the Reactor and have a Pinpoint PH that I could use to monitor the tank- My PH is pretty stable.
*Premium Aquatics just lowered the price as well- $250 +/- for the package.

 

[ConcreteReefer]

Got the rest of my plumbing today from Savco.. This is how I'm going to plumb my return-

Big Valve is between sump/pump (obviously)
Valve 1 will go strait to the display tank
Valve 2 will go through the chiller & go to display tank
Valve 3 will go to Frag tank
Valve 4 will have a John guest fitting w/valve & will feed Calcium Reactor.
Valve 5 (not shown, will be up top) is just extra, will probably use it for water changes, another frag tank, reactor, etc. just planning ahead.

 

[GSMguy]

the great thing about the aquacontroller is that programming it is really easy and customizable

on my 50G i control everything but my ATO

i run fans pumps, lights and heaters, my programing has tons of redundancy like the lights go off if the water gets too hot and the fans turn on and off based on different temperature parameters.

i would never run a reef without a controller again.

 

[ReefEnabler]

nice plumbing setup there.
are those 3/4" barb fittings/valves? are you using spaflex or just vinyl tubing?

 

[maroun.c]

looking very nice.
Very interested in the water return to the tank. any sketches or will you be posting pics soon as I'm at that stage in my tank build and am wondering if I should go with a manifold setup or just have valves on multiple nozzles in a spraybar like design...

 

[ConcreteReefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12334395#post12334395 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSMguy
the great thing about the aquacontroller is that programming it is really easy and customizable

on my 50G i control everything but my ATO

i run fans pumps, lights and heaters, my programing has tons of redundancy like the lights go off if the water gets too hot and the fans turn on and off based on different temperature parameters.

i would never run a reef without a controller again.

Getting a quote on a ACIII package right now...

 

[ConcreteReefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12334546#post12334546 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RyanBrucks
nice plumbing setup there.
are those 3/4" barb fittings/valves? are you using spaflex or just vinyl tubing?

Thank you:
Yes, 3/4" barbs- I'm going to use reinforced vinyl tubing wrapped in Red colored tape- I'm not a big fan of Spaflex, used it on my current setup & didn't like it.

 

[ReefEnabler]

would you mind elaborating on what you did not like about spaflex? I'm currently planning a mix of ridig pvc and spaflex but I'd love to hear some feedback.

What kind of glue did you use? I've heard that certain kinds can be bad for spaflex, and primer is a no-no. IIRC, the abs-pvc oatey rain-n-shine (white and red bottle) works.

 

[ConcreteReefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12334642#post12334642 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by maroun.c
looking very nice.
Very interested in the water return to the tank. any sketches or will you be posting pics soon as I'm at that stage in my tank build and am wondering if I should go with a manifold setup or just have valves on multiple nozzles in a spraybar like design...

I'm still undecided on the actual returns in the tank, I'll post pics as soon as I get the tank here and decide what to do.

I got the manifold idea from "JRaquatics" build thread..

 

[ConcreteReefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12335061#post12335061 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RyanBrucks
would you mind elaborating on what you did not like about spaflex? I'm currently planning a mix of ridig pvc and spaflex but I'd love to hear some feedback.

What kind of glue did you use? I've heard that certain kinds can be bad for spaflex, and primer is a no-no. IIRC, the abs-pvc oatey rain-n-shine (white and red bottle) works.

The glue wasn't the issue- I found it hard to work with, it wasn't as flexible as I presumed. If you have any tight, 90 degree bends your better off using a pvc elbow. I had a tight bend going into a bulkhead on a sump, the pressure from the bend was too much for the acrylic to handle and caused a few cracks- the hole had to be enlarged and a bigger bulkhead was installed.

I like Vinyl Tubing because of the flexibility, eliminates the need for pvc fittings and virtually eliminates the head-loss created by those fittings.

 

[ConcreteReefer]

Also- Forgot to mention

Circulation will come from 1x Tunze 6101 & 1x 6100 (or 6055).

I'm thinking about selling/trading the 6100 & getting a 6055.
With the 800+/- gph coming from the return, 1500gph & 3200gph from the Tunze's- 5500gph +/- total
Turnover rate should be right around 45+/- x's per hour. If I keep the 6100, It will be around 60x per hour.

Frag Tank: 2x MJ mods 2100gph ea. + 400gph return
50x per hour