DivingTheWorld's Custom Leemar 80g Rimless Reef

[DivingTheWorld]

Hey DTW, Did you end up going with starboard for the bottom? If not, what did you decide on?

Yes, I had a piece of Starboard cut to fit and was just deciding whether to use it or not. I have now decided to use it. I'm going with a very thin sand bed, basically just for looks, and I think bare spots will look better with starboard than bare bottom. I'll probably run it for a week or so before adding sand just to make sure I like it. I'm also not siliconing it down as many on RC suggest to do because I want to be able to easily remove it if I choose.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

A couple things...

Everyone is invited to comment and provide suggestions and feedback. I may not go with the suggestions but I do appreciate all suggestions.

To provide a little background, I started my first marine tank in 1981 when I was 8 years old and brought back some fish and creatures from a Hawaii tidepool. It was a success and I've had marine tanks since then. The last 10 years or so I had just a small 29g mixed reef tank set up basically on autopilot while I got married, started a family, had a couple kids... Then about a year ago I decided it was time to build my dream tank. The wifey restricted the size (I would have liked 150-200g) but not the quality or equipment.

Since then, I have done about a year of research and reading on this forum catching up on all the advances and changes over the past 10-20 years. While there are thumbs up and thumbs down on many of my choices in equipment and techniques, I think I've chosen to go with what the majority of people feel is the right way to go.

In regard to SeaKlear, I think it would be tricky to try to run that in my DT, so I'm using it to remove the leaching phosphate in my BRS Pukani rock before I add it to my DT. I've been running it for about 2-3 months now so I think it's about as good as it's going to get. I will be rinsing all the rock before adding and any residual snow should get filtered out in my drain socks. I can also confirm that it REALLY works good. It will make your phosphate go from say 0.32ppm to 0.00 overnight.

In regard to the APEX, many people post on here how easy it is to use and set up. It is not (note: I am not a programmer.). There is a definite learning curve and requires lots of time, patience and trial and error. All that said, I am learning, and the level of control you can have over your tank is ridiculous. I do not regret my APEX purchase in any way. Here's just a couple of examples...

1. If I want to do a water change. I switch my maintenance button to ON from any device. It will then turn off my return pump, my heaters, my ATO and my skimmer. When I'm done, I just switch it to OFF, and the return pump, heaters and ATO switch back on. The skimmer has a time delay of 2 minutes and will switch on after that so the sump water level is correct.

2. Alarms are crazy! If any water is detected on my carpet or the floor of the inside of my stand, I will hear an audible alarm, I will receive an email and a text of the leak. At the same time, my Return Pump, Skimmer and ATO will shut down until I have assessed the leak or it drys up on its own. I also receive alarms for pH, Salinity or temperature out of range, power outages, etc.

3. Feeding. If I press the feed button, my return pump and skimmer will shut off and my Vortechs will switch to a super slow mode. After a pre-determined amount of time, my Vortechs will speed back up and my return will flip back on. My skimmer will turn back on with a pre-determined time delay, say 10 minutes.

Do I think the APEX is expensive, yes. Do I think it's worth the money, yes.

 

[SWBeginer]

That's a beautiful reservoir! Is that a custom made?

 

[DivingTheWorld]

That's a beautiful reservoir! Is that a custom made?

Thanks, but no not custom. I bought if off eBay. I'm not sure what I'm allowed to post on here, so I'll just say search "ATO Reservoir" on eBay and you'll find him. He can custom make in whatever size and color you want. I used him for both my ATO Reservoir and Dosing Containers. I consider the quality top notch. A couple of suggestions if buying the standard pre-made sizes like I did...ask about combined shipping because he will. Also, use the "Best Offer" and you will save a few bucks.

 

[muttley101]

Yes, I had a piece of Starboard cut to fit and was just deciding whether to use it or not. I have now decided to use it. I'm going with a very thin sand bed, basically just for looks, and I think bare spots will look better with starboard than bare bottom. I'll probably run it for a week or so before adding sand just to make sure I like it. I'm also not siliconing it down as many on RC suggest to do because I want to be able to easily remove it if I choose.

Yeah, Im in the same boat.. Just debating using silicone to seal it up... Anyways, you have a very clean build. Can't wait to see this thing fired up!

-Mutt

 

[mustangs]

There a lot of threads/how to's on sea Klear on here and Google along with how to use it in a reef tank to remove the phosphates (what he is doing by cooking the rock) .

I personally feel the op is setting up an awesome system and seems to have done all his homework for a legit build.. Not sure if his build thread/documentation is the place to detract from his thread with things that don't really pertain to his plans or methodology that imo are pretty much all on point for a top of the line, reliable system.

That's just my opinion though and not trying to be offensive(really im not) but to me it seems like his plans and safeguards are a lot more sound than what your reccomendation's have been so far. It seems like this isn't his first rodeo.

Glad you got the drains figured out the build is coming along great doing everything educated and by the book pays off in the long run. I have a friend with that same skimmer and it kicks some serious poop out of the water.

Yes I agree his system is nice and obviously not his first time , I never recommended anything or told him what to do other then trying to help him with the stain on the stand and with the drain noise. isn't that what a build thread is for helping each other through the build... all I stated was what worked for me...everyone has different methods.

I know there is threads on seaklear some ended in disaster. I was asking his personal experience with it and my concerns with the warnings from the manufacturer.

My system is perfectly stable and I have never had any issues because I do everything manually not to sure how you can get more sound, I repair computers for a living so I know electronics can fail and when they are relied upon disasters can happen its always good to manually test but again to each there own.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

its always good to manually test but again to each there own.

I agree completely. I plan to manually test all parameters each week, more if issues develop with Hanna/Salifert/Refractometer.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

Alright, I placed the Pukani in the DT. I only used about half my Pukani, this stuff goes a long ways! Anyways, take a look and PLEASE give me feedback on what you think. Thanks!

Front View:

Right Side View:

Left Side View:

Close up of Left Side Arch:

Top View:

 

[mustangs]

looking good , I like the arch / cave, maybe add some more small islands around the large rock, if u like zoa's Ill probably have a few frags ready once your cycled.

 

[Crispy001]

I had read something at one point that putting a layer of plastic egg-crate on the bottom of the tank (before adding sand) was a good way to avoid hurting the glass with large rock pieces. Do most people skip that?

 

[DivingTheWorld]

I had read something at one point that putting a layer of plastic egg-crate on the bottom of the tank (before adding sand) was a good way to avoid hurting the glass with large rock pieces. Do most people skip that?

It's a little hard to tell from those pictures since I don't have my lights installed yet, but the entire bottom of my tank is covered by a custom fit piece of black Starboard. I've read articles saying that egg crate leaches and I've read articles that Starboard leaches, but Starboard seems to have the most positive reviews. Most people go with white starboard to blend in with the sand, but I figured I'd stick with the black theme.

 

[Crispy001]

It's a little hard to tell from those pictures since I don't have my lights installed yet, but the entire bottom of my tank is covered by a custom fit piece of black Starboard. I've read articles saying that egg crate leaches and I've read articles that Starboard leaches, but Starboard seems to have the most positive reviews. Most people go with white starboard to blend in with the sand, but I figured I'd stick with the black theme.

I see it now, thanks! Most food safe containers are made of HDPE, I'd be surprised if the Starboard leached.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

Ok, after looking at the rock scape a couple days, I switched it up a little. I'm thinking that this scape allows for a little more open sand as well as creating more channels and depth. Thoughts?

 

[DivingTheWorld]

With the final rock scape decided I spent some time on the tank this weekend. I used reef epoxy to glue the rocks in a few points to the starboard. I don't think it will hold like cement, but it should help a little. I also added 1 20lb bag of sand. After adding it, I don't think I'll bother with my other 20lb bag. This is plenty!

I used Dr. Tims to start the cycle and did some work getting the salinity balanced to 35. My readings are still not matching between Apex and refractometer so I'm going with the refractometer for now.

I also added my Tunze ATO (works great!), and started setting up the skimmer. First step was installing my RO Skimmer Stand. My skimmer sump chamber is exactly 11" wide. Turns out the stand top is exactly 11" wide and it doesn't quite fit. Also, the legs of the stand actually stick out another 1/8" on each side... So I got out the dremel and cut/shaved about 1/8" off the stand and evened up the legs to match the width of the sand. Turned out pretty good!

Here's the tank with sand after about 3 days of dust settling. I had to suck a bunch of dust out of my sump and I need to clean my socks! But after everything is settled it turned out nice. I used super fine sand just because I've always wanted to. It's a very thin layer and already shows the starboard a little in front. After I have all the pumps turned up, I'll try to focus the 4 returns to maintain it as evenly as I can. I still need to install the lights, but I'm not in a hurry for that. It will be a while before I add coral.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

The tank seems to be going well. I've been testing Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate almost every day, but besides a very slight rise in Nitrate, everything has been 0. I think the fact that I cycled my rock in heated saltwater with bacteria for 3 months and then added to the tank with live sand, my tank may be essentially cycled already. Hard to say...

I did a full round of tests today and here's where we're at:

Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0.0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm (was at 2pm two days ago)
Phosphate 0.00ppm (I haven't seen a trace since starting the tank)
Calcium 442ppm
Alkalinity 2.52ppm (tested with Red Sea and Hanna)
Magnesium 1410ppm
Salinity 1.026
pH 8.18 (sometimes rises to 8.2)

My Alkalinity is definitely low. I may need to start dosing that even before adding any coral. My Calcium and Magnesium seem a little low as well? Eventually I plan to dose all 3. I have 3 dosers all set up. I just need to hook up lines and plug them in.

Since my tank is either not cycling or is already cycled (leaning toward the latter), I added it's first three inhabitants (3 Green Chromis), Larry, Curly, and Moe. If I still don't see any rise in Ammonia, Nitrite, or Nitrate for a couple weeks, I'll add another fish.

Under the stand is filling up quick! The skimmer is going strong and I hooked up the Auto Waste Collector today. I ran into one issue in that I did not measure my stand correctly for the requirement of a 3" skimmer stand, so my Auto Neck Cleaner doesn't fit... It's frickin brand new in the box and it's too late to return it...I'll give it another month or two in case for some reason I need to lower the skimmer, but assuming I don't it will be up for sale...

The only thing I don't have hooked up and running at this point are the dosers. Not sure when I'm going to start those up...

 

[mustangs]

Looking good hopefully you have a quarentine setup hate to see that thing fallow again now that your finally at the fun stage

 

[DivingTheWorld]

Looking good hopefully you have a quarentine setup hate to see that thing fallow again now that your finally at the fun stage

I'm afraid quarantine is not an option, wife wouldn't approve it. I spent enough so I don't want to push it. I'll dip all the corals entering the tank, but not a lot I can do for the fish...

 

[JayVIP]

I'm afraid quarantine is not an option, wife wouldn't approve it. I spent enough so I don't want to push it. I'll dip all the corals entering the tank, but not a lot I can do for the fish...

Just a word of advice. It seems your are taking all the extra precautions and being very careful with your choices with the tank and it looks great!!!

If you just get a 10 gallon tank with a hang on the back power filter and maybe put it in your garage or something like that to QT the fish, it will save you a LOT of headache. Its so worth the 50-70 bucks you will spend on a qt setup. Just my opinion of course. I learned the hard way. I added a sick dragonet and wiped out half of my livestock and I could not catch everyone to treat them so I had to drain the tank and temporarily break it down just to catch the fish and it was a pain because of my sps and lps. took me 8 hours.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

Just a word of advice. It seems your are taking all the extra precautions and being very careful with your choices with the tank and it looks great!!!

If you just get a 10 gallon tank with a hang on the back power filter and maybe put it in your garage or something like that to QT the fish, it will save you a LOT of headache. Its so worth the 50-70 bucks you will spend on a qt setup. Just my opinion of course. I learned the hard way. I added a sick dragonet and wiped out half of my livestock and I could not catch everyone to treat them so I had to drain the tank and temporarily break it down just to catch the fish and it was a pain because of my sps and lps. took me 8 hours.

I understand completely and a quarantine tank is definitely the best way to go. I even have a 10 gallon tank in storage and a filter ready to go. All I would need is a heater. But from my wife's perspective, I talked her into upgrading from a 29 to an 80 with all the fixings. She put her foot down to any additional tank in our house of any size. I made it clear about quarantine and what it will mean to not use one. As a result of her decision, I have no plans to add any expensive fish. I'll just have to stick with the more common varieties and go big on corals which can be dipped.

Note: I do not recommend in any way that anyone not use a quarantine tank. If I could, I would!

 

[mustangs]

Just add all your fish before your corals. If you get marine velvet after you add corals it will suck , you will have to tear down and disinfect the entire tank, rock, sand and plumbing I have seen relapses of velvet even after 3 months of being fallow only way to get rid of it is to bleach everything sadly.