Deep Blue 57 Edge ATI Acro Garden

LQT

LQT

Active member
#SlowestBuildEver

Decided to finally put up a build thread. After quite some time, I'm finally pushing forward again and making progress. My intention is to go full acropora on this build using ATI T5s with Reefbrite led supplementation for lighting. I'm also looking at either going with the ATI Essentials Pro 2 part dosing system or go with my Geo's CaRx set up. Maybe I'll start with the ATI system and as consumption grows, I'll switch over to the CaRx set up... we'll see. Here is the full list of gear I've accumulated thus far for this build.

Tank -

- Deep Blue Professional 57 Edge rimless aquarium (non reef ready version)
- Modular Marine 1200 gph ghost overflow
- DIY 2x4 framed and skinned stand

Lighting -

- 6x39 ATI Sunpower (non dimmable)
- 3 Coral + and 3 Blue + ATI T5 bulbs (Big E's formula)
- 36" ReefBrite Actinic XHO led strip (custom silver housing)
- CadLights lamp tree

Under the Hood -

- Trigger Sapphire 26 refugium sump
- Deltec SCA 1351 skimmer
- Turbo's Aquatics L2 rev4 ATS
- Spectrapure ULPC-ATO
- Precision Marine 10 gallon ATO reservoir

Water Movement -

- Sicce ADV 5.5 AC return pump
- 2 x Vortech MP40QDs w/ 2 battery backups
- 2 x VCA 1/2" random flow generators

Dosing -

- 2 x BRS 1.1ml/min dosers
- Eshopps 2.0 dosing container
- Avast Marine K1 kalk stirrer
- Geo's Reef 612 calcium reactor
- Geo's Reef SMC415 secondary effluent chamber
- Watson Marlow 505U variable speed peristaltic feed pump
- DIY stainless steel Victor dual stage CO2 regulator

Control -

- 2016 Apex
- 2 x EB832s
- WXM
- LDK
- Reefbrite manual dimmer w/ Apex interface

Substrate / Rock

- 30# Tropic Eden Reef Flakes
- 30# BRS Pukani dry rock (curing in a Brute for over a year)
 
The holdup to this build has been the building of the stand. It's been a long process but I finally put the finish coat on it. It's a 2x4 frame construction skinned with 1/4" birch plywood with 3/4" ply for the top and floor of the stand. It's primed with Kilz Premium latex primer and finished with Home Depot's Behr Premium Plus acrylic paint in gloss white with Floetrol to help hide the brush strokes. Since I suck at aligning hinges, I will be using French cleats to attach the door.



[url=https://flic.kr/p/2feUxps]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/27YdyaK]https://flic.kr/p/27YdyaK
 
Originally, I wanted a Red Sea Reefer 250, but I've never been a fan of the big center overflow. It takes up some valuable space right in the middle of the tank. Hence my decision to go with the non reef ready rimless 57. I was apprehensive about drilling 1/2 inch thick glass, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it'd be.



The 12" Modular Marine ghost overflow is well built and perfectly low profile and sleek. I also wanted dual returns. I installed the lock lines tipped with Vivid Creative Aquatics 1/2" random flow generators to help with additional circulation. I'm extremely happy with the results.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2feUxjC]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/RydWR2]
 
So I picked up a white glass door floor cabinet on Amazon that I’d like to convert to a controller cabinet. I cut a large opening in the back so that the power bricks back there could have decent ventilation.

46744707254_44471abf6c_c.jpg


40501817233_9d9e6d6c7c_c.jpg
 
Here is the 3/4" plywood mounting board that will be pocket screwed and glued onto a plywood baseplate. This will slide neatly into the cabinet. You can see the rough layout sketched in pencil. The mounting board will be primed and painted with the leftover Kilz and acrylic paint from the stand.

46552637615_3eaee6ac90_c.jpg


47468006851_9e25127c18_c.jpg
 
Here is the interior mounting board, glued & screwed, primed & painted and then with components mounted.

40501817353_165ac636ae_c.jpg


46744707224_bfed8857f8_c.jpg


47415053112_d4e5b68977_c.jpg
 
Because of the sump design and space constraints of the Sapphire 26, I will be setting up my ghost overflow as a Herbie. Here is the preliminary layout of my equipment down below.

From left to right... Deltec SCA 1351 skimmer > Turbo’s Aquatics L2 Rev 4 ATS > Sicce ADV 5.5 return pump > Avast Marine K1 kalk stirrer.

47468006931_77e29a64d4_c.jpg
 
To be continued...

A special thank you to [MENTION=101914]ReefWreak[/MENTION] for motivating my lazy a$$ to finally get my build thread posted. :D
 
We don't do call-outs over here!

But I'm glad I hit "get new" and saw this. The pics of the sump look good. Really the whole home-made stand looks great, very impressive. The tank also looks really slick with the overflow.

Thanks for sharing LQT!

Also, I can't talk about slow updates.... I haven't updated my thread in very long too...
Does the raw overflow water run into the ATS, or will you have a manifold/pump setup?
 
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It’ll have its own dedicated pump feeding from that middle refugium section... a Skimz Quiet Pro 2.0 DC controllable pump.

What I have been toying with though, is once Alk and Ca consumption increases and I put my CaRx on line, I may set up a manifold through the ATS plumbing to feed the low pH CaRx effluent to the ATS screen. I figure any excess CO2 would be beneficial for promoting algae growth as well as further effluent degassing through the great amount of air exchange occurring on the scrubber screen.
 
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With aspirations for this being a dedicated acropora tank, I recognize that not only is stability important chemistry wise, but it is important to maintain stable temperatures throughout the season as well. With summer around the corner, I think I’ve just made my last big equipment purchase for my tank. With the [MENTION=204719]Premiumaq[/MENTION]uatics 15% off Spring Weekend sale, I just scored a JBJ Arctica Titanium 1/10 HP chiller for almost $100 off! Big fan of Premium Aquatics as they also helped me get my custom Reefbrite 36” XHO strip in the silver housing in order to color match with my ATI Sunpower.

With the addition of the chiller, I think I will make change to my return plumbing and have one return dedicated to the Sicce ADV 5.5 return pump and the other return dedicated to the chiller for more efficient cooling of the tank.
 
Looking good. Have you used a chiller before? I find the heat produced by them is substantial and heats whatever room it’s in by quite a few degrees which in turn makes the chiller kick on even more to cool the water. Unless you are fortunate enough to run the chiller outside or in a basement. Anyways. My 2 cents. Looking really good so far though.
 
Unfortunately I live in a pretty old house with no central air. The tank is going in a dedicated isolated spare bedroom / kitty litter room in the back of the house so at least the heat generated won’t really affect the rest of the house. With where I’m positioning the chiller, the back of the unit will exhaust directly out of an open window. Hopefully that will help.
 
I'm allergic to cats... Guess I'm never seeing the tank... Too bad you didn't ask, I have a 1/10 sitting in the garage that I never used from my biocube I'd let go for a song. These things last forever so it should be good to go. I'll probably just throw it on Manhattan reefs the first hot day of the year.

same with this 15,000 BTU A/C I got for free curbside that I never used because it was too big for my windows lol.

ITS BEEN 5 DAYS, WHY ISN'T THE TANK DULL OF CORAL AND FISH!?! Oh yeah, patient methodical #slowestbuildever
 
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