Dotcommer's Reef - 300 Gallon 10' x 2' x 2' Mixed Reef Build, Scottsdale AZ

[Newbie Aquarist]

Man that manifold is nice. And you are going to run two of the scrubbers? Aren't the rated for 100 gallons or did they upgrade them?

 

[jformani]

dot,

How is the closed loop working out? I noticed the sand is kicked up and the bare bottom is showing in some spots. I'm in the process of figuring out a 10 foot tank plan and was considering closed loop but not sure if I need it? Thoughts?

 

[dotcommer]

Man that manifold is nice. And you are going to run two of the scrubbers? Aren't the rated for 100 gallons or did they upgrade them?

Thanks, These are the original Santa Monica 100 turf scrubbers. I am not sure what they are rated at. They are going to be one part of my filtration system. I know there are a lot of people that just run Algae Scrubbers and have had great success, but I'm not going to give up my skimmer.

Elliot has two of them on his 900 Gallon Reef and they do a great job. But his philosophy as is mine now, that there are benefits from each type of filtration system. He runs two skimmers, one wet and one dry, each one having its benefit. I am hoping that by having these two running, I won't be getting as much algae on my tank glass and my DT. These scrubbers are great for growing huge pod collections, however its one of those systems that needs to be maintained in order to work properly. Since I want to have a lot of wrasse, the pod collection will be a nice food source.

 

[dotcommer]

dot,

How is the closed loop working out? I noticed the sand is kicked up and the bare bottom is showing in some spots. I'm in the process of figuring out a 10 foot tank plan and was considering closed loop but not sure if I need it? Thoughts?

The tank had 7 holes already drilled across the bottom, so I decided to use all 7 of them. Two are drains and the other 5 are returns (each return has two return lines) and they are hooked up to two Panworld 250 pumps. One has 3 returns on it and the other has two returns.

There is a lot of flow in the tank. I have several of the returns running along the back wall to make sure I don't get a lot of detritus settling down. As of right now, the back of my tank is bare bottom since the closed loop moved all the sand. I am okay with this, since I know I won't have any detritus settling back there.

As I start adding corals, I will get a better feel for the closed loop. The one nice thing about the closed loop is there's a lot less maintenance then running power heads. I originally purchased and still have 3 MP 40's that were going to be used for this tank, but as of now the flow is so much that I probably won't install them.

Thanks for following.

 

[sfsuphysics]

You going to be able to access that keypad thingy on the wall? (Presumably security system).

 

[dotcommer]

You going to be able to access that keypad thingy on the wall? (Presumably security system).

That's actually a controller for music throughout the house or just that room. I can still reach it pretty easily.

 

[Poriferan]

Looks Great! The light rack is amazing. I can't wait to see more.

 

[dotcommer]

Looks Great! The light rack is amazing. I can't wait to see more.

Thanks for following. I am working on the programming right now for the light system and can't get it to do everything I want. I am waiting to hear back from the APEX forum to see if the the correct programming.

 

[dotcommer]

We have been working pretty hard this week and have gotten some things done.

We are just about finished with the "Elliot Automatic Frozen Food Feeder"

Here are some pics.

 

[dotcommer]

 

[dotcommer]

This photo shows the stand we are placing the feeder into. We also added an outlet, so I can easily remove the feeder and clean it when necessary.

 

[dotcommer]

This photo shows the finished feeder.

 

[dotcommer]

This is the finished feeder in the Freezer portion.

 

[dotcommer]

Here are some pics of the inside of the refrigerator section.

The bottom section of the refrigerator.
I also had 3 extension plugs put in for the dosing system of reef nutrition liquid foods.

 

[dotcommer]

Here is a full photo of the current feeder as of tonight.

I still need to hook up the blow dryer and attach it to the water return system and start testing it out.

 

[Elliott]

looks good, I'd prefer true unions on the in/out lines so that you can valve off the flow and remove the reservoir for cleaning

 

[dotcommer]

looks good, I'd prefer true unions on the in/out lines so that you can valve off the flow and remove the reservoir for cleaning

Yes, true unions would be better there. I went to Lowes and they didn't have the 1" True Unions and I was going to order some, but I had those in a bucket, so we used regular unions. There are two true unions outside of the refrigerator, one is at the pump and the other is coming out of the sump so I have the ability to close it down and service it, however, there will be a little bit of water to deal with.

 

[Elliott]

Yes, true unions would be better there. I went to Lowes and they didn't have the 1" True Unions and I was going to order some, but I had those in a bucket, so we used regular unions. There are two true unions outside of the refrigerator, one is at the pump and the other is coming out of the sump so I have the ability to close it down and service it, however, there will be a little bit of water to deal with.

:thumbsup: that works!

 

[Elliott]

I would add more fixed support "feet" to the perimeter of this so the individual PVC holders rest flat on top of it, to prevent food from getting in between

 

[Elliott]

you may have trouble with food settling at the bottom of the reservoir

here is mine, which is shallower and a little longer to allow food to flow out