New 300 build almost from scratch
- Thread starter rus
- Start date
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New member
Very nice!!
Happy new year.
Happy new year.
Engine8ff
New member
Russ first let me say, what a tank, very clean looking, real nice build. To answer your question, I am at about 300 gallons total with my frag system and everything else. My tank has been up since July, I also went through the learning curves and have gone over to a kalk reactor and brs mag via a dosing pump. I really like the way things have leveled out in the tank. All my chemistry looks great day to day. Thats the nice thing about this, is there are so many ways to get to the same goal. Good luck.
rus
Premium Member
Thanks for kind words all. There are some incredible builds to watch lately , and I enjoy being able to follow and learn from others . You know what they say you should never stop trying to learn.
:hmm1:
Engine8ff :Thanks for the info . are you running a calcium reactor as well, or just a kalk reactor and dosing Mag. ?
I use to run a Kalk reactor on my old setup as well as Calcium reactor , and may go back to this to help with PH levels and consistancy. I am thinking that dosing is a little more consistent and less fiddling though , as I would think once dialed in you are only making small adjustments the odd time . I find with my reactor I am always making little adjustments or the feed line slows down ... or something else . Would just like a little less tweaking . Don't get me wrong , I enjoy the backside of my tank almost as much as watching the front , but certain things I like to be able to trust that they will work consistently , with very little fiddling on my part .
:hmm1:
Engine8ff :Thanks for the info . are you running a calcium reactor as well, or just a kalk reactor and dosing Mag. ?
I use to run a Kalk reactor on my old setup as well as Calcium reactor , and may go back to this to help with PH levels and consistancy. I am thinking that dosing is a little more consistent and less fiddling though , as I would think once dialed in you are only making small adjustments the odd time . I find with my reactor I am always making little adjustments or the feed line slows down ... or something else . Would just like a little less tweaking . Don't get me wrong , I enjoy the backside of my tank almost as much as watching the front , but certain things I like to be able to trust that they will work consistently , with very little fiddling on my part .
Engine8ff
New member
Rus I'm going to do everything I can to keep it simple, ie dosing pumps and kalk. I thought about a calcium reactor but it looks like a lot of people are selling the reactors and going to 2 part. Once I get to the point that the kalk wont keep up then I will go over to 2 part. I keep 3 pounds of Tropic Marin Bio Calcium just in case. I have about the same amount of sps as you with a bunch of lps. I did just pick up some Vortech MP40's and that has changed my sps and lps's moods greatly. I have found so many options on the chemistry fourm without reactors and the guys/gals over there are very helpful. I run my dosing pumps off my Apex so if I need to add a little more all I have to do is go in and add a couple more mins. Good luck with what you decide. I'm going to watch your thread and see how things work out and what you decide. If I change something I will for sure let you know and what the outcome is.
rus
Premium Member
Emgine8ff : once again thanks for the input , I think I will be switching over in the near future as well , so I will keep things updated as I get started. For now I think I will add my Kalk reactor back online , just need to order a new motor for it from Deltec , as it has given out on me .
Do you have a thread going as well , wouldn't mind seeing a few picks of your setup.
Flipp77 : There are many great threads out there with ideas you should be able to use in your setup. I would recommend a few things though : These are only my opnion though. I think tank heights should be in the min range of 28" and up, as I find with a standard 24" height once you have framed in around and trimmed it out to cover the tank trim , your glass window in the wall can shrink really fast. Not as good look.
Front access takes away from the overall look in almost all cases , ( I can think of few that still look real food .. RalfP comes to mind ) but most seem to loose the effect of in wall.
Try to keep the trim simple to not take the focus from the tank. A simple flat stock trim seems to work well.
Do not go too low with the stand , otherwise you always feel like you are bending over to view .
As far as framing it in , unless you are using a bearing wall in your house , it is quite simple , if it is bearing you should check with someone in your area that is knowledgeable in building as far as specing a header or beam size for your opening . It is generally nothing to extreme though especially with a 4' to 5' tank length.
Hope that helps a little , feel free to ask if you have any questions , and or check out some of the other real awesome setups out there.
Do you have a thread going as well , wouldn't mind seeing a few picks of your setup.
Flipp77 : There are many great threads out there with ideas you should be able to use in your setup. I would recommend a few things though : These are only my opnion though. I think tank heights should be in the min range of 28" and up, as I find with a standard 24" height once you have framed in around and trimmed it out to cover the tank trim , your glass window in the wall can shrink really fast. Not as good look.
Front access takes away from the overall look in almost all cases , ( I can think of few that still look real food .. RalfP comes to mind ) but most seem to loose the effect of in wall.
Try to keep the trim simple to not take the focus from the tank. A simple flat stock trim seems to work well.
Do not go too low with the stand , otherwise you always feel like you are bending over to view .
As far as framing it in , unless you are using a bearing wall in your house , it is quite simple , if it is bearing you should check with someone in your area that is knowledgeable in building as far as specing a header or beam size for your opening . It is generally nothing to extreme though especially with a 4' to 5' tank length.
Hope that helps a little , feel free to ask if you have any questions , and or check out some of the other real awesome setups out there.
Last edited:
Engine8ff
New member
Here ya go Rus. I'm sure you have looked at it but I wanted to post for the ones that havent taken a look and have some of the same question. I havent updated my build threat in several months. I will get it updated soon and send the link. Take care.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1767289
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1767289
rus
Premium Member
thanks for the props ...
fishybiz : brackets are actually rated for twice the weight of the full tank, I do usually keep quite full as well. I have and auto shutoff setup in it so keeps its filled to a few inches from the top.
gtaylor67 :For the past few months I have been tryng a few Zeo additives , as of now I am dosing 5ml of B Balance 2 times a week ( for reds ) 7 drops of PIF twice a week ( Foe blues ) and 5ml of iodine twice a week . These are well under the actual dosage amounts recommended , but I want to see how things go for a while. I have also tried dosing Zeospur 2 a few times and have noticed some good and some bad with it ( very powerful from what I have seen so far. )
I aslo run 400 ml of Rowas changed out once a month and carbon changed out once a month . Other than that not much , except calcium reactor and 30 gal. WC every two weeks.
HTH
fishybiz : brackets are actually rated for twice the weight of the full tank, I do usually keep quite full as well. I have and auto shutoff setup in it so keeps its filled to a few inches from the top.
gtaylor67 :For the past few months I have been tryng a few Zeo additives , as of now I am dosing 5ml of B Balance 2 times a week ( for reds ) 7 drops of PIF twice a week ( Foe blues ) and 5ml of iodine twice a week . These are well under the actual dosage amounts recommended , but I want to see how things go for a while. I have also tried dosing Zeospur 2 a few times and have noticed some good and some bad with it ( very powerful from what I have seen so far. )
I aslo run 400 ml of Rowas changed out once a month and carbon changed out once a month . Other than that not much , except calcium reactor and 30 gal. WC every two weeks.
HTH
rus
Premium Member
Thought I would post a small update as my tank has now gone just past the 1 year mark now . I had added a few new changes along the way , latest one being switching from calcium reactor to dosing. I have been only running this way for 3 weeks or so , but so far I am very happy with the change. I am using a 3 stage profilux stand alone doser. After finding it to have the best reviews from what I could tell. It is so far as advertised as setting it up could not be any easier. As of now I have started with premade liquids for dosing , but will be switching over to homemade in the next month or so .Most of corals are starting to color up over the past few months a little more to my liking, and fish list is still growing , but getting close to the final count ... I have 30 fish now and plan to add another 5 or 6 yet over the next few months
Here's a couple not so good videos from a small PS camera. And a few Pics which actually turned out not too bad for a change.
Fish room
Feeding time
Tank Video
Here's a couple not so good videos from a small PS camera. And a few Pics which actually turned out not too bad for a change.
Fish room
Feeding time
Tank Video
rus
Premium Member
Small update from another board , (not sure if this is allowed , if not please feel free to delete )
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=54268&page=4
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=54268&page=4
Padrino
New member
Rus,
AWESOME TANK. i currently have a 90 gallon SPS tank but recently bout a house which ui get possession in a month. I would like to upgrade to a tank the same size as yours more or less. 72x36x30 high. Is there anything you might do differently now? wrt overflows? lighting? placement of tank? accessibility? Flow?
Thanks
Rob
AWESOME TANK. i currently have a 90 gallon SPS tank but recently bout a house which ui get possession in a month. I would like to upgrade to a tank the same size as yours more or less. 72x36x30 high. Is there anything you might do differently now? wrt overflows? lighting? placement of tank? accessibility? Flow?
Thanks
Rob
rus
Premium Member
Thanks Rob , there are a few things I would have liked to do but I was replacing a tank that I had in the space before ,so I was limited on size . I would have preferred going to a 7' length and 42'' front to back . I wanted the extra length to create hidden wave boxes on the side so that no tunzes were visible. I had a closed loop system in my old setup and I am happy with my choice to not go that route this time . It has made a big difference in heat in the tank , as well as simplified the pipework behind the system which in turns seems to give me more room around the tank for accessibility. I have never been a fan of front access to the tank ( never seems to look as good to me , other than maybe 1 or 2 systems .. RalphP comes to mind )
Other than a few little tweaks along the way there was not much else I would have changed. Happy with lighting choice and flow seems good , other than the fact that it is not hidden. I may eliminate the tunzes down the line and add 2 more Vortecs.
-Russ
Other than a few little tweaks along the way there was not much else I would have changed. Happy with lighting choice and flow seems good , other than the fact that it is not hidden. I may eliminate the tunzes down the line and add 2 more Vortecs.
-Russ
rus
Premium Member
rus
Premium Member
Haven't had much time lately to post an update on things , keep meaning to , but never get around to it.
Still checking things out on the boards though , so I felt a little guilty and made some time to update things.
Tank has almost been on auto pilot since I started on the dosing system and got rid of my reactor, I must say I can't believe I haven't got around to this earlier . All parameters seem to be staying rock solid over the past 5 months or so , and when I need to boost it up for growth using the Profilux doser is so easy , takes 2 secs to up the dosage by a few Ml. and double check it in a week or so and I'm good to go. Only real issue I've had lately is freaking aptaisia growth , ( still on the lookout for a healthy Copperband to add into the mix )
Also looking for reviews on the new line of Deltec Skimmers , I've had my Deltec 902 for 5 years or so and it has been awsome for me , but I'm starting to look around for something new as it's almost time to replace pumps and such on it so I figured I would see how people are liking the new models , and decide from there.
Here's a couple of vids I tried with my new Cannon 7d . Please bear with me on the quality as it's definetly going to take a bit to perfect it.
Still checking things out on the boards though , so I felt a little guilty and made some time to update things.
Tank has almost been on auto pilot since I started on the dosing system and got rid of my reactor, I must say I can't believe I haven't got around to this earlier . All parameters seem to be staying rock solid over the past 5 months or so , and when I need to boost it up for growth using the Profilux doser is so easy , takes 2 secs to up the dosage by a few Ml. and double check it in a week or so and I'm good to go. Only real issue I've had lately is freaking aptaisia growth , ( still on the lookout for a healthy Copperband to add into the mix )
Also looking for reviews on the new line of Deltec Skimmers , I've had my Deltec 902 for 5 years or so and it has been awsome for me , but I'm starting to look around for something new as it's almost time to replace pumps and such on it so I figured I would see how people are liking the new models , and decide from there.
Here's a couple of vids I tried with my new Cannon 7d . Please bear with me on the quality as it's definetly going to take a bit to perfect it.
rus
Premium Member
I was asked to do a small writeup on my tank , on another local BB I frequent , and thought I would add the link to anyone who might be interested in checking it out.
http://www.canreef.com/ftotm/apr11/
http://www.canreef.com/ftotm/apr11/
