BigDave
Premium Member
My dear daughter mentioned wanting me to get another fish tank about a month ago. I mentioned it to the dear wife, but also stated that I wanted a reef again and not just another FW tank. We don't have the money to set one up properly, so we passed on the idea.
Fast forward a month and I'm taking an afternoon walk with a coworker. We're talking about our garages and how we have our storage built-in and he mentions that he'd have a lot more room if this 'fish tank' was sitting in the middle of it.
One thing leads to another and we decide I would come get it. He also mentioned he had some equipment for it. I tell the wife and she says OK.
The tank is a 120 Gallon Cube (30" on each side), with two 3" holes drilled in the back. One dead center and the other in the top corner.
I get to his house and he has the tank sitting at the front of the garage with about 7 large containers of parts. We load everything he has up into my little SUV and I head home not really knowing everything in my car.
I've since gone through everything and here's a full list of equipment.
Tank: 120Gallon Cube
Sump: Pro-clear 150 Pro (wet/dry)
Protein Skimmer: AquaC Remora
2x Phos Reactor 150
Random Calcium Reactor (can't find make or model on it)
OceansMotion 3
2x Won ProHeat 350W
Current Chiller 2646
HB Water Systems RO/DI (4 stage 75GPD)(needs new filters)
Lighting: IceCap 660-009 (ballast + end caps)
Pumps:
Various MaxiJet pumps
2x Mag 9.5B
1x Mag 3
Two large pumps from MDM Incorporated (80880 and 80250)
Iwaki MD-20RLT
Mak4 A40LX
PinPoint PH monitor (needs new probe but has AC adapter)
There's some other equipment that I haven't tested, but all the above appear to be working.
Here's where I need your help.
1) Does anyone know what the 'two large pumps' actually are? There's nothing on MDM's site. I'll probably email them on Monday One says 'sequence' on the motor, but the other is a generic Baldor motor.
2) How would you use the above equipment?
3) Which pumps would you use? I was thinking one of the smaller 'big' pumps on a closed loop with the OM3 and the largest pump for my main return
4) The tank came with a bunch of test chemicals, treatment, and dosing chemicals. I'm assuming after 2 years this is all bad and should be thrown away?
5) I have the option of either using the above wet/dry as my sump or I also have another coworker willing to sell me a 40B. My thought was to buy the 40B and just put the above wet/dry in it to give me a 3-chamber sump.
6) I've never used these large external pumps before. Do they self prime, or do I need a bulkhead in the sump so the water just flows into the inlet?
7) The company that made the RO/DI is out of business. The replacement filter set is 'UDIFK'. Is this a generic designator?
8) The tank has been dry for over a year and a half. Some of the silicone looks 'dry' for lack of a better term. How much of a concern is this? Should I just fill it up and let it sit for a week to see how it does? I can take better pictures if needed.
The chiller comes on when you plug it in (the fan kicks on), but the controller is shot. It looks like I can buy a replacement controller, however I was thinking about controlling both heaters and the chiller with an Arduino. Mainly because I've heard horror stories about the above heater's failing 'on' instead of 'off'. Any thoughts?
The pinpoint PH monitor doesn't have a probe, but after a very short research, it looks like it's well worth the cost for me to replace it.
Sorry for all the questions. I've been out of reefs for nearly 10 years now. A lot of the knowledge is coming back to me, but I'm also finding that some of the recommendations have changed since back then.
Pictures:
Everything in the little SUV:
Wet/Dry with the two PHOS150's and RemorC hanging on the edge. I removed the media trays and the built-in protein skimmer, but they're off to the side:
Tank:
Model on the pump side of the 'big' pump:
Unknown Calcium Reactor:
I can take pictures of anything else if someone wants to see it. I have yet a third coworker that is going to help me build a steel stand for this thing. Then I'll use wood panels to hide all the gear. I'm going to try to use magnets to hold the panels on.
I'm extremely excited to get started on all of this, but a bit scared at the same time
Just realized one question ya'll will probably ask... I have no idea what I'll be putting in it. Right now the only two guarantees is a bi-color blennie and a flame angel
(Edit to resize images)
Fast forward a month and I'm taking an afternoon walk with a coworker. We're talking about our garages and how we have our storage built-in and he mentions that he'd have a lot more room if this 'fish tank' was sitting in the middle of it.
One thing leads to another and we decide I would come get it. He also mentioned he had some equipment for it. I tell the wife and she says OK.
The tank is a 120 Gallon Cube (30" on each side), with two 3" holes drilled in the back. One dead center and the other in the top corner.
I get to his house and he has the tank sitting at the front of the garage with about 7 large containers of parts. We load everything he has up into my little SUV and I head home not really knowing everything in my car.
I've since gone through everything and here's a full list of equipment.
Tank: 120Gallon Cube
Sump: Pro-clear 150 Pro (wet/dry)
Protein Skimmer: AquaC Remora
2x Phos Reactor 150
Random Calcium Reactor (can't find make or model on it)
OceansMotion 3
2x Won ProHeat 350W
Current Chiller 2646
HB Water Systems RO/DI (4 stage 75GPD)(needs new filters)
Lighting: IceCap 660-009 (ballast + end caps)
Pumps:
Various MaxiJet pumps
2x Mag 9.5B
1x Mag 3
Two large pumps from MDM Incorporated (80880 and 80250)
Iwaki MD-20RLT
Mak4 A40LX
PinPoint PH monitor (needs new probe but has AC adapter)
There's some other equipment that I haven't tested, but all the above appear to be working.
Here's where I need your help.
1) Does anyone know what the 'two large pumps' actually are? There's nothing on MDM's site. I'll probably email them on Monday One says 'sequence' on the motor, but the other is a generic Baldor motor.
2) How would you use the above equipment?
3) Which pumps would you use? I was thinking one of the smaller 'big' pumps on a closed loop with the OM3 and the largest pump for my main return
4) The tank came with a bunch of test chemicals, treatment, and dosing chemicals. I'm assuming after 2 years this is all bad and should be thrown away?
5) I have the option of either using the above wet/dry as my sump or I also have another coworker willing to sell me a 40B. My thought was to buy the 40B and just put the above wet/dry in it to give me a 3-chamber sump.
6) I've never used these large external pumps before. Do they self prime, or do I need a bulkhead in the sump so the water just flows into the inlet?
7) The company that made the RO/DI is out of business. The replacement filter set is 'UDIFK'. Is this a generic designator?
8) The tank has been dry for over a year and a half. Some of the silicone looks 'dry' for lack of a better term. How much of a concern is this? Should I just fill it up and let it sit for a week to see how it does? I can take better pictures if needed.
The chiller comes on when you plug it in (the fan kicks on), but the controller is shot. It looks like I can buy a replacement controller, however I was thinking about controlling both heaters and the chiller with an Arduino. Mainly because I've heard horror stories about the above heater's failing 'on' instead of 'off'. Any thoughts?
The pinpoint PH monitor doesn't have a probe, but after a very short research, it looks like it's well worth the cost for me to replace it.
Sorry for all the questions. I've been out of reefs for nearly 10 years now. A lot of the knowledge is coming back to me, but I'm also finding that some of the recommendations have changed since back then.
Pictures:
Everything in the little SUV:
Wet/Dry with the two PHOS150's and RemorC hanging on the edge. I removed the media trays and the built-in protein skimmer, but they're off to the side:
Tank:
Model on the pump side of the 'big' pump:
Unknown Calcium Reactor:
I can take pictures of anything else if someone wants to see it. I have yet a third coworker that is going to help me build a steel stand for this thing. Then I'll use wood panels to hide all the gear. I'm going to try to use magnets to hold the panels on.
I'm extremely excited to get started on all of this, but a bit scared at the same time
Just realized one question ya'll will probably ask... I have no idea what I'll be putting in it. Right now the only two guarantees is a bi-color blennie and a flame angel
(Edit to resize images)
Last edited:
