MrineLfRlz
Active member
what a great tank!
LeeMar starfire 290 mixed reef build
- Thread starter kmooresf
- Start date
reeftanknewbie
New member
Your tank is amazing and I love what you have done with the canopy. How tall is the stand? Seems like a perfect height for viewing. What is your maintenance schedule like?
kmooresf
New member
Thanks Jim! Glad you like it. It is a work in progress, but really starting to kick into high gear.
kmooresf
New member
Thanks bud. The stand is 40" and the tank another 26". It is very tall, and is a very nice viewing height. I didn't want to have to bend over to see in the tank. There are some great benefits to this, and some draw backs. I do like to see my tank from the top down, and this requires a three step stool. As does cleaning and dealing with coral. It does however give me LOT's of space for the sump, and I can fit over the top of the sump if / when I need to get to the back of the tank for cords, etc, or for maintenance on the fuge. I have very long arms, so that helps.
The canopy is a play off of another similar style from Neptune Aquatics here in the bay area. They put a floating canopy over their display tank and it is really cool. This is just my version of that, so I can't take full credit. Now that I have added the shades, I am VERY pleased with it.
Maintenance schedule...........That's a tough one. I run a Calcium reactor, plus I dose two part / Mag.......plus a Kalkwasser reactor. I check Alk almost daily.... calcium maybe once a week and Mag every couple weeks. I find I do very well as long as the alk is stable. Anytime I see the corals looking dull or starting to RTN....9 times out of 10 my alk has dropped. Since starting the calcium reactor I have been able to almost completely eliminate my two part, and I have had a MUCH more stable alk. I am very pleased and think it is really going to be a major improvement for my daily maintenance.
I change water every 10-18 days (it varies) and I change out the carbon and GFO every other water change. I mix the sand in the display every water change with a turkey baster. This helps keep the sand white. I have a DSB in the fuge for nitrates. I just like the look of sand.
I also use Aptasia X before every water change to help keep the bastards at bay. Seems to work best when I do it regularly. Yes, they still come back. I add Kalkwasser to the reactor every other day (GEO reactor). I add 1.5 table spoons of Mrs wages Pickling Lime, with 3 table spoons of white vinegar and 1/2 cup R/O water and mix.........add.
I feed twice a day and clean the glass every day.
I spend a lot of time looking at the reef and assessing the happiness of each coral. I move things around if they are not thriving and find that sometimes if a coral isn't looking good.......a new location can make a big difference. Once they start to thrive, they are allowed to go crazy.
I am now starting to change out some of my more common coral for some more colorful varieties. I just wanted to get the tank stable before spending the cash for the higher end stuff.
I can get away with just feeding if I have no time, but like to give the tank some attention every day. Problems happen when you start to ignore the tank.
It is not uncommon for me to spend 8-10 hours on a water change day....cleaning, moving things around, checking params, etc, etc, etc. I happen to find this somewhat relaxing. PATIENCE is KEY!!!
I noticed you said previously you were doing 80g water changes? Is that still accurate? Roughly 80g every two weeks? If you may, could you give a brief run down of how you have it setup so 80g doesn't drive you bat **** crazy? Seeing as my whole setup doesn't hit 80g it just seems like you would end up with a million dollar water bill with all the rodi waste water and a small mortgage in salt. Also what salt do you currently use and have you used?
kmooresf
New member
Well, it's all relative I suppose. LOL!
I have 4, 40 gallon rubber made cans on rollers. Two of them have float valves on them for R/O water. I decide what day I want to do the water change and start filling the cans a few days before. I can just plug in the R/O and let it run all day........the float valves shut it down when full. IF they fail, the cans are already in the garage, so overflow is no big deal. It takes a full day to fill each one.......longer when the weather is very cold. The actual amount of water is likely closer to 65-70 gallons that I change. The buckets don't fill all the way.
I mix and heat the salt the night before. I use "Microbe lift" salt. I am extremely pleased with it. It is very fine and dissolves quickly with NO precip. It is designed to work with a calcium reactor.......as it does not have a ton of calcium. It does however have magnesium. I have not needed to dose much mag since I started using it. It keeps it very stable. I have just boosted it a little here and there, but just because I worry about these things. Not sure it is necessary. It does not have a high alk though. If it sits more than a day, it will have an Alk as low as 7.5 DKH, so I buffer accordingly.
I have plumbed a drain into the garage from the bottom of the tank. I can do an entire water change from the garage without needing to bring the cans inside. I drain exactly the same amount of water that I have made, and simply pump the new back in. The actual change only takes about 20min total.
A look at the dry side of the tank......
As for the water. I use a booster pump to maximise the efficiency of the R/O unit. It claims it can give a ratio as good as 1:1, but I doubt that very much. However I figure I get the best ratio that I can. The water bill is not that bad........also, we are blessed with damn good water in the bay area. Often the incoming water has a TDS of 30 or less. So it doesn't tax the unit nearly as much as other parts of the US.
As for driving me crazy?? I have had tanks for almost 18 years now. So I built this one to be as easy on maintenance as possible. The skimmer, GFO, Carbon, Doser, Kalk, top off, calcium reactor and water changes are all accessable in the garage, so I don't have to climb under the tank to get to them. In many ways this is the easiest tank I have ever had. However a tank this size........you just have to realize it takes a lot of work. I am committed to this bad boy, so I do the work. Now that the corals are growing, and looking good, it is reward enough. I get my motivation from visualizing what the tank can, and will be. This is the fun part. The first year was the toughest...........hoping the lights would work, and the overall layout / set up would work as good as I hoped. All the kinks are getting worked out, and it has so far been a recipe for success. Now it's up to me to keep it going for the next few years. I believe it will be stunning, and it is all the motivation I need.
That said.........disasters happen. I am very aware that one stupid mistake could send me back to the drawing board. Just the nature of the game. I woke up to my pumps cavitating about 4 weeks ago. A snail had managed to get into the drain of my frag tank that is plumbed into the main tank. It plugged it up, and 65 gallons of water drained out before I realized it had happened. I came downstiars to see the heaters smoking, the frag tank overflowing and the refugium empty. It took me 10 hours to get things running again and to test all the pumps / heaters / water params, etc.
The alk had dropped from 9.5 to 7.5, the tank temp dropped from 78 to 72, the salinity had dropped because my top off was trying to replace what was being drained..............etc, etc, etc. Luckily I only lost 1 fish and two large corals that were all high and dry for however long this had gone on. One stupid mistake is all it takes.
This is one of the most challenging things I have ever done. Isn't that why we do it?? :dance:
reeftanknewbie
New member
Well stated and great work on this build. I was wondering if you have considered wp40 pumps for more flow. I know several local reefers to me that love them over the mp40.
kmooresf
New member
I do actually have a WP40 on my sump. I use it for flow through the refugium. I am quite impressed for the price. However I don't believe they are as good as the MP 40. Those are pretty amazing pumps. But I do like the WP40. So far it has been well worth the money and I will likely buy more in the future. I am happy to see so many features on an affordable pump. Mine is quite loud. I can hear it through the closed door of the stand when I am sitting on the couch. Not horrible, but I can hear it.
I am quite happy with my Tunze pumps on the display however. 2 years and going strong. They are silent and efficient. I had a problem with one and Tunze sent me out a replacement right away.
I am quite happy with my Tunze pumps on the display however. 2 years and going strong. They are silent and efficient. I had a problem with one and Tunze sent me out a replacement right away.
S14Swap240sx
New member
do you find to have any rusting issues in your garage having that equipment laid out on an entire wall?
One of my biggest worries is the long term effects to having filtration stuff in the garage.. if I went that road, I would consider closet space with a circulation fan venting to outside of the house as it seems like one of the safer bets to long term project car storage, and getting clutter out from under the fish tank stand.
One of my biggest worries is the long term effects to having filtration stuff in the garage.. if I went that road, I would consider closet space with a circulation fan venting to outside of the house as it seems like one of the safer bets to long term project car storage, and getting clutter out from under the fish tank stand.
kmooresf
New member
No rusting issues. It is really quite dry. All of the filtration is sealed besides the skimmer and the R/O top off bucket. The skimmer is the best I have ever had... both in skimming, and for running clean with no spray or encrusting salt. Love that thing. (Super Reef Octopus 6000)
reeftanknewbie
New member
I like the Tunze pumps myself but they are out of my budget range sadly.
ReefProDiablo75
New member
Pg&e must love you man. How many tanks do you need in this hobby.
kmooresf
New member
Yup, PG&E bill is not cheap. I Only have one tank. It's just a very large / intricate tank. The Frag tank and Refugium are all part of the same tank, and necessary with a large SPS system. Otherwise your just throwing coral away when you could be giving it to someone else.
kmooresf
New member
Poor choice of words I suppose. How about convenient?
Just prefer not to have egg crate / frags in the display. Currently I do have some on my sand, because my frag tank is having problems. Poor design by ME. So I will be re-doing it.
kmooresf
New member
Some shots I took yesterday After removing my large Long tenticle anemone. Ended up re-arranging some things, and was very pleased how it turned out. Only broke a few corals. LOL!
These shots were taken under just the ecoxotic lighting. The kessils had turned off for the night.
These shots were taken under just the ecoxotic lighting. The kessils had turned off for the night.
kmooresf
New member
Thanks Steve, it is a big job for sure. I do get some help though. Dan (Tr1gger) lives up the street from me, and is always willing to help out. My partner often feeds when I am at work, and keeps an eye on things. I also belong to a local Reef Club, so I have help in masses if needed.
Once you invest all this time, money and energy, it's motivation enough to keep it going. In my eyes, It's a 5 year project, minimum. I will not be content until this tank is FULL of mature coral. That will take a few more years.
Once you invest all this time, money and energy, it's motivation enough to keep it going. In my eyes, It's a 5 year project, minimum. I will not be content until this tank is FULL of mature coral. That will take a few more years.
kmooresf
New member
Thanks James.
