Matt's Odyssey 230g System

[msderganc]

So my obsession with fishkeeping started as a child, but was reignited by my girlfriend bringing home a small 1/2 gallon bowl for a Betta earlier this year (and the fact that I'm stable enough to keep up with the maintenance).

Of course, that wasn't good enough, so after I upgraded that bowl to a small Fluval all in one, and then a Biocube 29 and a small 7.5 gal Mr. Aqua tank.

The limits of the Biocube got to me, so in June I decided to upgrade to a significant system. After a long wait for the tank (that's a story in itself), I've finally got it full of water. I'm planning on doing an SPS heavy mixed reef, with about 20 fish. I'll be consolidating that Biocube and my 7.5g tank into this one.

Here's my equipment list:
DSA 190g Pro (3 x 1 inch drains, 2 x 3/4 inch returns) 60.5"x27.5"x27.5"
Custom 36" high Oak Stand made by FBN Woodworks (located here in Houston, John is a GREAT builder)
Custom 40"x20"x16" Sump (made by Melev, similar to Model G)
Custom 10g ATO reservoir with Tom's Aqualifter, three float valves and solenoid controlled refill
Vertex Illumina SR260 1200 (4') with three multicolor auxiliary modules
Super Reef Octopus XP 3000INT with Auto Neck Cleaner
Neptune Apex Light (VDM, breakout box, leak detection module, extra EB-8)
Reef Octopus DC10500 Return Pump
2x Tunze 6095
2x Jebao WP40
2x AquaMaxx Standard Media Reactors
AquaMaxx BioMaxx XL BioPellet Reactor
2x AquaMaxx DC-2 Dosing Containers
2x BRS 1.1ML Dosing Pumps
Avast Davy Jones Skimmate Locker (Medium)
Eheim 1262 (to feed media / biopellet reactors)
Par30 LED Refugium Light (2x red, 2x blue, 3x white LEDs)

I've got about 200lbs of Fiji and Pukani live rock that has been curing in my garage for about four months (plus what's currently in my two tanks), and about 80lbs of CaribSea live sand.

I'll post pictures and an expected stocking list soon.

 

[ebond009]

Me ad y friend have same tanks! Both are still in building phase.will def be following along for ideas.good luck!

 

[msderganc]

Ok, I decided to upgrade to the Apex full, and add a couple of Sea Sweeps for the 6105s. Anyone have experience with them? I'm thinking about putting the 6105s centered on either side of the center overflow with the Sea Sweeps, and then the 6095s in the back corners.

Any suggestions? I've still got to post some pictures of the tank, which I'm going to try to do when I get back to town on Sunday.

 

[msderganc]

I can't edit it, but I did decide to add two 6105s. So I'd have two 6105s and two 6095s, as well as about 1500gph from the returns through eductors.

I plumbed an internal BeanAnimal in the overflow box, and I split it into the refugium below. I didn't realize at the time that that could potentially imbalance the system, but it seems to be working well so far.

 

[msderganc]

Tank just after placement without water


Custom ATO container (and small dog :hmm5


Mini Portable Mixing Station


Test of Sump Configuration


Filling Up Tank with RO/DI


Tank Filled, with Saltwater


Initial Plumbing Configuration


Final Plumbing Configuration

 

[msderganc]

Live Rock in garage (that cured from July through October)


Initial Aquascape Sketch to Scale


Tentative aquascape build out of water (briefly)


Build in Water (a little dusty still)


Better view, with more light and less dust


I wasn't happy with it though, so I redid it considerably.


I'm much much happier with how it looks now. It's not too obvious from the pictures, but in addition to the gorge in the center, it has a ton of caves for fish homes.

Foxface, Royal Gramma and Red Firefish holding in the Biocube QT


Current FTS (everything looks so much smaller than it did in my Biocube!)

 

[msderganc]

Current Sump Pictures with most of the equipment


I still need to do a bunch of cable management.

 

[msderganc]

So, current status:

The big thing is that I realized I'd calibrated my refractometer with RODI instead of 35ppt solution. So, remeasuring my tanks which I thought were at 1.0255, I found out they were more like 1.021. Not good. I'm slowly bringing the salinity up in the big tank through evaporation. I have a feeling that this was impeding coral growth in my BioCube (along with the alkalinity incident earlier). I'm working hard in this tank to avoid the mistakes I made in the BC, through double checks (ordered a PM2 for salinity comparison) and failsafes (leak detection probes, multiple float sensors, beananimal overflow, etc)

Ordered two SeaSweeps that I'm planning on placing on the back walls with the Tunze 6095s. Unfortunately, as soon as I got them in place they mysteriously stopped working. Ed thinks it may have something to do with some new capacitors, so I shipped them back and he's taking a look (fantastic service - he was emailing me all weekend to help). Once I get those back, I'll have to modify my screen cover to fit the SeaSweep boxes. Really looking forward to that!

One of the fans in the sump was already having issues with salt creep, so I pulled it and found that a wire connection had fallen apart due to the corrosion. I ordered two new 120mm case fans and I'm going to silicone any connections to help waterproof them a bit.

I still can't get the skimmer to really pull anything from the water (I'm guessing it's from the currently light bioload. I've got it to the point where it is kind of skimming, and I'm just going to monitor for a while. Although, now that I say that, it seems to be doing pretty well.

The ATO (Hydor Smart ATO) is working with a Tom's aqualifter after modifying a short three prong extension cord to deal with the polarization issue. Not a huge fan of this for large systems, I probably wouldn't have gotten it again. The sensors are obviously a set distance away, so it usually waits until my sump is about 1.5gallons low before refilling. I would have preferred to be able to set the heights myself.

Snails got in my overflow today (thankfully, it worked how it should, and the secondary went into siphon mode), and I'm going to superglue some gutter guard to the intakes. Turned down the DC10500 pump a bit until I get those snails out.

Biopellets haven't really kicked in, I don't think. My phosphates are varying from about .01-.09 and my nitrates are about 15. I seeded them with MicroBacter7, but I'm considering doing another round.

Still running the system from my Apex on the BC, while I wait on the new one I ordered for this system. I think I'm going to use the BC as an observation/quarantine tank, and then take the rim off and drill it to make it into a frag tank.

Still to do:
1. Install SeaSweeps when I receive them
2. Adding Mass Loaded Vinyl to the doors
3. Replace the fans in the bracket
4. Install the new Apex when it arrives, and finish the cable routing
5. Get the calcium/alkalinity figured out and set up dosing schedules
6. Add an automatic button for the feed cycles, and install the Neptune AFS

 

[msderganc]

Oh, forgot the stocking list::dance:

Current fish / inverts
Common Name - Scientific Name - Quantity
False Clownfish - Amphiprion ocellaris - 2
Blue Chromis - Chromis viridis - 1
Yellow Watchman Goby - Cryptocentrus cinctus - 1
Skunk Cleaner Shrimp - Lysmata amboinensis - 1
Sexy Anemone Shrimp - Thor amboinensis - 2
Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp - Lysmata debelius - 1
Bubble Tip Anemone - Entacmaea quadricolor - 2
Red Linckia Star - Linckia laevigata - 1
Peppermint Shrimp - Lysmata wurdemanni complex - 1

In QT until 1/29/14
Purple Firefish - Nemateleotris magnifica - 1
Royal Gramma - Gramma loreto - 1
One Spot Foxface - Siganus unimaculatus - 1

Proposed Additions
Macneill's Assessor - Assessor macneilli - 1
Yellow Assessor - Assessor flavissimus - 1
Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse - Paracheilinus carpenteri - 1
Kaudern's Cardinal - Pterapogon kauderni - 2
Schooling Bannerfish - Heniochus diphreutes - 1
Bartlett's Anthias - Pseudanthias bartlettorum - 5
Yasha Goby - Stonogobiops yasha -1
Red Scooter Dragonet - Synchiropus stellatus - 1

Last
Kole Yellow Eye Tang - Ctenochaetus strigosus - 1
White Tail Bristletooth Tang - Ctenochaetus flaviscauda - 1
Yellow Tang - Zebrasoma flavescens - 1

 

[maroonman]

Nice. I was just looking at these tanks.

 

[msderganc]

Nice. I was just looking at these tanks.

DSA builds a solid tank. If I were to go back and do it again, I would have gotten a custom tank with a Coast to Coast overflow. It would have made the plumbing a lot easier for the BeanAnimal. The center overflow is nice (it does take up a lot of real estate, though), but it's really hard to have a cover on the tank with the drain pipes while keeping the drain pipes at a level to minimize the waterfall sound. The CTC overflow would have been quieter and better at surface skimming as well.

 

[Brian Crook]

Great build so far. That sump setup looks intense!

Where did you get the coloured PVC pipes, or did you paint it?

 

[msderganc]

Great build so far. That sump setup looks intense!

Where did you get the coloured PVC pipes, or did you paint it?

Thanks, I ended up painting them because I had a hard time finding the colored ones at a reasonable price. I do have to say that it's a pain to do, and probably not worth it.

I'm especially dreading replacing the drain piping (the BeanAnimal didn't like the siphon split) and painting again.

 

[Brian Crook]

Thanks, I ended up painting them because I had a hard time finding the colored ones at a reasonable price. I do have to say that it's a pain to do, and probably not worth it.

I'm especially dreading replacing the drain piping (the BeanAnimal didn't like the siphon split) and painting again.

Fair enough! I considered painting mine but after I installed it I kind of started to like the white so I just left it.

Cheers

 

[maroonman]

DSA builds a solid tank. If I were to go back and do it again, I would have gotten a custom tank with a Coast to Coast overflow. It would have made the plumbing a lot easier for the BeanAnimal. The center overflow is nice (it does take up a lot of real estate, though), but it's really hard to have a cover on the tank with the drain pipes while keeping the drain pipes at a level to minimize the waterfall sound. The CTC overflow would have been quieter and better at surface skimming as well.

That was my plan, ..To call and see about a CC in the 175 they offer 72x27x21 tall.

BTW.. We need more pictures please. :eek2:

 

[msderganc]

That was my plan, ..To call and see about a CC in the 175 they offer 72x27x21 tall.

BTW.. We need more pictures please. :eek2:

Yeah, I think if I had to do it again, I would do something like those dimensions (I currently can't really fit a 6' tank in my room). Maybe a little deeper and not as high (72x36x21 or so) to do some more interesting rock work with the added room. From what I understood, they're going to charge you the custom rate for a CTC, so you might as well pick the dimensions you want.

I'll post some more pictures soon - is there anything specific you wanted to see? I just finished re-plumbing the drains with spa-flex and it's a lot better. Not only quieter, but more control/stability. I have the open drain going into the fuge now, which provides just the right amount of flow.

However, it doesn't look pretty, and from what I understand, spa-flex is touchy with regard to spray paint. I'm going to try some plasti dip and see how that works (it's supposed to work just fine).

 

[msderganc]

Things I would have done differently from the start:

1. Longer, wider, shallower tank (something like the 72x36x21 we mentioned above). Probably Starphire as well.

2. Taller stand. With the tank height I have, my stand height (36") is about the highest I could go, but I think with a shallower tank I would have gone for something around 40-44". More room in the sump area, more drain capacity on the BeanAnimal, and would keep the tank at eye height (no stooping).

3. Spa flex from the beginning for the drains and simplest possible configuration.

4. Different sump configuration. Four zones - far right isolated topoff, right middle refugium, left middle return, far left skimmer. I'd also probably leave enough room to run two of the DC10500s submersed side by side and plumb the returns separately. They're not too loud, but it could be even quieter if they were in the water and I could run them both at like 1/2 power. Plus, built in redundancy.

5. I probably should have gone with three of the Radion G2 or Pro, given the integration with Apex. I also like their presets which get you started.

6. I would have gone with magnetic stand doors for ease of removal. I also would have considered a fully encased stand with some venting fans.

7. The last, but probably the biggest regret I have is not running more tubing through the wall. While I was at it, I could have definitely run enough to do automatic water changes from a couple of 175 gallon tanks in the garage. Although, I'm glad I have the RODI coming in for the ATO, since that saves me hours a week in making/transporting/filling.

 

[Bilk]

I have two Sea Sweeps in my build. I think they do a really nice job, coupled with the 6105s, in providing voluminous random flow. What I also like about them, coupled with the 6105s is they're quiet! I like Vortechs but not the noise. Being my tank is enclosed in a fish room, that might not have been an issue, but they certainly were when the tank was freestanding. What I don't like about them is they much more visible in the tank. There's no denying that.

I can tell you I needed to modify mine. The rotation was too great and it's not readily adjustable. The rotation was almost 180 degrees and that would direct water at the front and rear glass, causing a sand storm and a depression in the sand bed. After disassembling one, I pretty much saw what was required to fix it, but corresponded with Ed on it and he confirmed the fix. I had to drill and tap a hole in the plate of each unit to move the arm that limits the rotation. I'm sure if you wanted this done, Ed would build them that way before shipping. They're made to order.

You have a really nice build going and I have to agree, I too should have gone with a C to C overflow.

 

[msderganc]

I have two Sea Sweeps in my build. I think they do a really nice job, coupled with the 6105s, in providing voluminous random flow. What I also like about them, coupled with the 6105s is they're quiet! I like Vortechs but not the noise. Being my tank is enclosed in a fish room, that might not have been an issue, but they certainly were when the tank was freestanding. What I don't like about them is they much more visible in the tank. There's no denying that.

I can tell you I needed to modify mine. The rotation was too great and it's not readily adjustable. The rotation was almost 180 degrees and that would direct water at the front and rear glass, causing a sand storm and a depression in the sand bed. After disassembling one, I pretty much saw what was required to fix it, but corresponded with Ed on it and he confirmed the fix. I had to drill and tap a hole in the plate of each unit to move the arm that limits the rotation. I'm sure if you wanted this done, Ed would build them that way before shipping. They're made to order.

You have a really nice build going and I have to agree, I too should have gone with a C to C overflow.

Thanks for the kind words! Good to know about the Sea Sweeps. Mine are going to be on the back, so a nice wide rotation will be great. Plus, I'm using 6095s in it, so hopefully it won't blow stuff around as much.

 

[maroonman]

. Yes I would like to see the New Spa Flex Plumbing . I''m curious about the center overflow system they have. . I was concerned with the amount of area it takes up in the tank.