JR Aquatics 180 Gallon Nano Reef

[JRaquatics]

I have decided upgrade from my year and a half old 90 gallon and go larger since a local friend of mine was selling an old corner style AGA 180gal tank, stand and custom canopy for a price I could not refuse. The stand and canopy was structurly solid but a bit of an eye sore.

Picture of my year and half old 90gal mixed reef tank

A shot of the tank setup before I bought it

Stand and Canopy

I sanded the stand and canopy down to the bare wood. Added custom molding, stain and polyurethane to produce what it is today. The refinishing of the woodwork took over a month to finish, but well worth the effort. I also ended up scraping the black paint off of the tanks background and re-appling a blue one. I applied ACE rust-stop paint with a foam roller which gave it a glass like finish.

 

[JRaquatics]

A shot of the 90gal and equipment before it was torn down

The location of where the 180gal nano tank is going to sit. It will be placed a foot off of the back wall.

 

[JRaquatics]

Here is a run down of the tanks equipment
Tank: 180gal AGA with corner overflows 24”W X 24”D X 72”L

Tank location: Basement

Lighting: 3 Lumen Bright Mini Reflectors (15” off of the water surface)
3 Reeflux 12k lamps
Powered by 3 250 watt CoralVue dimmable ballasts

Sump: 75 gal converted to sump and refugium (with macro algae and 6in sand bed)
Mechanical filtration provided by filter socks off of one of the overflows the other feeds the fuge directly

Skimmer: Reeflo 200 fed by my system main pump

Circulation: 2 Vortech wireless pumps
System main pump: Sequence Reeflo Dart

Other equipment: GEO 618 calcium reactor
PM Kalk reactor

 

[mcliffy2]

Tagging along.

 

[ruiny]

also looking forward to seeing more.

 

[JRaquatics]

Testing the tank for leaks after the move from the Garage to the basement.

Mike "Acropora Nut" came over and helped me plumb my tank. I am sure glad I had another experience reefer to give opinion and Ideas while laying out the guts of the system. Mike laid out my plumbing in a way I never even thought of. We started at 11am and didn't finish until8pm. The plumbing turned out great and boy does it flow. Everything is neatly tucked away yet very accessible. Thanks Mike you did a great job and thought me a few things in the process.

What a plumbing mess....

Mike working on the manifold

 

[JRaquatics]

Finishing up the manifold, tuck neatly and out of the way

Manifold finished

The manifold will feed the calcium reactor and phosban reactor. It also has a valve to bleed off extra pressure from the Dart Pump and two returns.

 

[JRaquatics]

another shot of how the pipe is hidden but accessible

Plumbing of the Return pump. The feed of the pump is located at the back of the sump. The valve Y off of the pump is for the skimmer feed.

 

[13threefmaniac]

Wow. That ninety looks really good. Would be nice to see what it could mature into. Can't wait to see what the new tank is gonna look like.

I have one question. Hows the Reeflo 200 working for you? Value for money? I'm planning on getting one for my new tank.

 

[JRaquatics]

The Reeflo 200 is my favorite skimmer I have ever owned. My previous skimmers have been Euro Reef, AquaC, Octopus, PM bullet, a few venturies, Aqua Euro and I am sure I am missing a few. Value for money, I find it hard to beat.

 

[JRaquatics]

For the overflows I decided to try something new. I followed a thread here on RC about the Gurgle buster overflow and thought I would give it a try.

Personaly I think I will get a pair of AGA dursos in the future.

 

[13threefmaniac]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11788083#post11788083 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JRaquatics
The Reeflo 200 is my favorite skimmer I have ever owned. My previous skimmers have been Euro Reef, AquaC, Octopus, PM bullet, a few venturies, Aqua Euro and I am sure I am missing a few. Value for money, I find it hard to beat.

Thanks a bunch for the quick reply JRaquatics. It was finding it really hard to make a choice between the Reeflo and a Deltec. I needed an experienced hand to nudge me in the right direction. Not many people pay attention to first time posters on this forum. Thanks again. Btw, nice job on the gurgle busters. Looks very neat.

 

[JRaquatics]

With this tank I didn't want to add any live rock and take the chance of bringing in any unwanted pests. The rock in my 90gal I have had for many years and is pest free and will be thrown in the sump. I bought 100 lbs of Spaghetti and regular figi Eco RoX from Bulk Reef Supply.

Spaghetti Eco RoX

Eco RoX (dry Fiji base rock)

 

[JRaquatics]

I am very happy with the rock I recieved form Bulk Reef Supply. Everything was nicely packed and very little breakage. The Spaghetti Eco RoX was smaller compaired to the Figi rox. I soak the rock for two weeks prior to constructing the rockscape.

 

[JRaquatics]

The start of the rockscape. A lot of planning and research went into the rockwork. Thanks to RC I had plenty of ideas and ways of implementing my rock work. I decided to go with the more open look with sharp overhangs and pillars. All my tanks in the past have been rock walls, so I thought I would try something new.

I drilled the rock so that the fiberglass rods could be used to hold the rock structure. I place rocks together that had a natural fit, drilled and glued them together. I placed a large peice of cardboard under and behind so I could get an idea of what it would look like with my tank dimensions.

Right pillar

Left Pillar

Center wall

Full Rock Shot

 

[JRaquatics]

Rock placed inside the tank...The cycle begins...

 

[RayAllen]

Great start. 2x the size of your last tank is a nice upgrade. Congrats.

 

[JRaquatics]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11789127#post11789127 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RayAllen
Great start. 2x the size of your last tank is a nice upgrade. Congrats.

Thanks, I am now wishing I went much larger. O-well there will always be a next reef.

 

[mcliffy2]

The aquascape looks very nice, glad to see you go with the open look.

 

[JRaquatics]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11789173#post11789173 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mcliffy2
The aquascape looks very nice, glad to see you go with the open look.

Agree, I will never go with a rock wall again. Rock walls are great for the amount of realestate you have for placing corals, but flow and space becomes a problem. Plus, I love the pillar look and I think it makes the inside of the tank look larger.