Double or Nothing... AJ's 405-Gallon Reef Savvy Upgrade

[Stylo328]

SO... With the second pump how does the levels look??



Raising that lip is not affecting the Ghost overflows is it? Drop them back down maybe?



I agree on tuning the primary drains and getting that siphon set exactly correct.

Second pump definitely raised the level. I had a hard time with the overflows though, so had to throttle the pumps back to 40%. Today I re-did the bean animal and am hoping for better results. I'll let you know when we fill the tank this week. I gave up on raising the lip in the overflows by the way.


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[Stylo328]

Very nice job, as far as the MP 60s it all depends upon what you are putting in as far as corals, if you're going SPS you will definitely need them.

Thanks! It's going to be a mixed reef, but there should be plenty of SPS in there. With the removable side curtains, I should be able to add the MP60s later if need be. I'll just have to modify the curtains to allow for the cords.


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[Stylo328]

Today saw plenty of tank activity. Pedro (vividclearglass.com) arrived at 10:30 to polish out several scratches that I discovered on the front and side panes. I was surprised to find how much the MP40s the previous owner had on the side panes had marred the glass.

To prepare I drained all the freshwater last night, relying on the shop vac to collect what the siphon left behind. By the time Pedro arrived, the tank was dry and ready.

Here are a few photos of the scratches (difficult to capture) and the polishing process.

And the final product, scratch free!

The polishing process does create some distortion when viewed at an extreme angle, but the absence of the scratches is well worth it!

I have to recognize Pedro. He quoted me a price based on a two-hour job. When he arrived and evaluated the tank, he identified far more scratches than my wife and I had found. He was here working for over seven hours and the final price was consistent with the quote. A great guy and his attention to detail was incredible!


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[worm5406]

Nice job. That looks so much better!

 

[McGee10]

What size is the CO2 bottle looks small, is it a 5# bottle?

 

[Stylo328]

Nice job. That looks so much better!

Thanks. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

What size is the CO2 bottle looks small, is it a 5# bottle?

It is a 5# bottle. I actually have two of them as well as a 20#. I plan on filling both 5# tanks so I can always keep a full spare.




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[Stylo328]

Happy Sunday.

Huge update although the pictures may not show it. Yesterday saw us installing all of the Apex modules, the Reeflink, and the Tunze ATO (using it to control the solenoid for the RO feed line along with a float valve for redundancy). I spent a lot of time wiring to keep things as clean as possible. I'm not entirely finished with wire management, I'll upload some photos once done.

The more important update is that the 187 has been moved! It all started on Friday when I took the light mounts off of the wall and had the texture guy come and repair the holes left behind. Then yesterday a few friends came to help get the move done. We drained the 187 down, leaving about four inches of water in it. Then we SLOWLY inched it along to its new resting spot about eight feet away. It was nerve wrecking as we left all of the rocks and corals in place. It was hard labor, but we were successful with zero issues! Not even an accidental frag. I had 200 gallons of NSW circulating in the garage and used almost all of it to refill the tank.

Here are a few photos from the move.

At this point, I got behind the 405 and painted the drywall repair from the previous day and connected the Apex and Reeflink to the network. My wife and I then slid the 405 into place (Have to give props to my wife. Sliding that beast was no joke...). Then I sat down and started programming the Apex via Fusion. I was at it till almost two a.m. Lol

This is how we are looking today with the 405 in its new home.

And the 187, doing just fine after an almost 100% water change.

Thanks.


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[biecacka]

Is that 187 right in front of the window?
405 looks great by he way.

Corey

 

[Stylo328]

Is that 187 right in front of the window?
405 looks great by he way.

Corey

It is, temporarily. I plan on moving the rock and corals over next week and moving the fish to QT. Hopefully the 187 will be out of the living room by Christmas.

Thanks for the complement. We are really happy with how it looks so far.


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[worm5406]

Now talk about a quiet weekend.

Good work. I am really wanting to see this when it is all the way up. I am enjoying the updates and it shows you have put a lot of preplanning into it.

Keep it up.

 

[serenity]

How much room did you leave behind the tank? I am thinking if you ever had to mess with the MP's how would you get to them?

Looks amazing BTW!

 

[Ricardo18]

According to The BRS video for their dual reactor, they recommend running GFO first. I don't really know though as I've never run GFO.





You should not run the 2 reactors in sequence, because the Carbon will run wide open, BUT you will have to throttle down the GFO reactor.If you are in sequence, one will effect the other.Run them separately off the manifold.

 

[Stylo328]

Double or Nothing... AJ's 405-Gallon Reef Savvy Upgrade

Now talk about a quiet weekend.

Good work. I am really wanting to see this when it is all the way up. I am enjoying the updates and it shows you have put a lot of preplanning into it.

Keep it up.

Thanks for the kind words. Really trying to squeeze everything I've learned over the years into this build. Hopefully pics with corals will be up in the next week or so.

How much room did you leave behind the tank? I am thinking if you ever had to mess with the MP's how would you get to them?

Looks amazing BTW!

Thanks! Great question. There's about 8" behind the tank. Here is a photo with the side curtain removed (loving the magnets).

According to The BRS video for their dual reactor, they recommend running GFO first. I don't really know though as I've never run GFO.



You should not run the 2 reactors in sequence, because the Carbon will run wide open, BUT you will have to throttle down the GFO reactor.If you are in sequence, one will effect the other.Run them separately off the manifold.

I think you are right. I am going to change it up and run them on separate feeds. Thanks!


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[Stylo328]

Took my first stab at a portion of he aquascape. These are two of the three rocks that will be added to the existing rock in the 187. I am looking for a nice open feel to the scape.

Don't mind the fish food in the pic. I was testing the automatic feeder and forgot I had filled it. Lol

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[worm5406]

Well the rock looks fed at least. You might need a CUC to clean that up.

 

[iced98lx]

Looking very nice. I appreciate the attention to detail and excellent planning! Look forward to seeing it wet.

 

[Stylo328]

Looking very nice. I appreciate the attention to detail and excellent planning! Look forward to seeing it wet.

Thank you very much. Hopefully it will be wet by the weekend.

Well the rock looks fed at least. You might need a CUC to clean that up.

CUC = me with a vacuum. Lol



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[Stylo328]

Almost ready for water!!!

Spent a few hours working on the tank yesterday. Here is what we got accomplished:

Installed both Reefbrite strips in the canopy.

Relocated the Giesemann Razor T5 Retro kits to make room for the Reefbrites.

Installed the Tunze ATO and Tunze solenoid valve.

Wire managed the rear of the canopy so that it can be easily removed, keeping all wiring with it.

Wire managed the inside and rear of the stand.

Finished programming the Apex.

Here are a few photos.

Should be filled with NSW tomorrow evening and all rock and corals transferred over Saturday.

Thanks for checking in.


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[McGee10]

Awesome!!!!

 

[Stylo328]

Awesome!!!!

Thanks!


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