OneReef's 120g DreamReef

OneReef

OneReef

Reef Guru
OneReef's 120g DreamReef


I have recently been out of the hobby for a short while, due to work related travel and responsibilities. I sold my 150g reef at the end of last year, and to be honest, it was a nice mental and physical break after 4 years of everyday maintenance and care. But, I have found that if you have a love for this hobby, you can't sit on the sidelines for long. Work has quieted down a bit, travel has lessened, and I have more time now to devote to getting back into the hobby. I will still have some travel, but I am going to teach my wife to run things on a short term basis. After getting back on Reef Central, and seeing some WTMRAC club members tanks recently, it made me realize how much I missed caring for a box of water. It can be a very relaxing and rewarding hobby, that can be enjoyed by anyone that comes over to your house and points fingers and asks "What that?".

My former 150g tank was on the upstairs level of our house, and usually I was the only one getting to see and enjoy it. With my new tank, I am putting it downstairs in the den, where everyone can see and enjoy it, from my family to visitors alike.

After some debate, I have decided on a 120g (4x2x2). It will fit perfectly into a wall inlet that we have in our den. Honestly, I would have preferred a 6 foot tank, as I love the longer size and ability to keep larger fish and have more creative aquascape opportunities, but we decided that this 4 foot wall inlet will be the perfect spot for it and really stand out in the room.


Here is a picture of where the tank is going:


101_3443.jpg



The tank itself is a 120g, a standard 4x2x2, but I custom ordered it with Eurobracing, black silicone, and a center overflow with a 1 1/2" drain. So I will have to excersize some patience since the tank is going to take about a month to come in (ordered on 8/4/11). I have spent alot of time planning this out, and exactly what equipment that I want to use this time around. Years of trying different things and learning from Reef Central, has allowed me to know what my preferences are for my style of reefing, equipment choices, husbandry, chemistry, and setup.

In the following posts, I will show pictures and outline my equipment choices, tell about each piece and why I choose it. At least that will give me something to do while I wait on the tank.... :)
 
This portion of my tank thread will cover the equipment that will be used on my new 120g tank.


I will start with the sump, since that is like the heart of running the system.
Maybe I should call it mission control... (or would that be my controller??) hmmm. Anyways, I digress and we will move forward.


The Sump:


I chose as my sump the Eshopps RS-200. It is 30x12x16.

There are a few reasons that I went with this one. It is a simple design, just having a drain section with filter socks, a skimmer section, and a return section. I wanted to keep things simple and easy to clean. I did not need a refugium since I am going to be running biopellets in a reactor. (More on biopellets in a later post) But it is my opinion that a small refugium does not make a big enough impact on a large tank to be worth the effort of having it. Biopellets make a much more profound impact. More on that later, but just sharing why I chose a sump without refugium space. I wanted to go with a 36" sump for more room, but I needed to leave some space in my stand for my Ca reactor and 5lb CO2 tank. As well as probably having to build a shelf in the stand for a topoff resovoir to sit on. Since the tank is sitting in the wall alcove, everything relating to the tank has to fit in the stand. No way for anything to sit next to it.

I tend to be OCD about my tank and equipment when it comes to keeping everything clean. I like to vaccuum out detritus from the sump, and scrape it down, and the simple design of the Eshopps sump makes it very easy to work in. I have had Eshopps sumps in the past and they are good quality and design, and I have always been happy with them. I prefer acrylic sumps over glass sumps, since glass can more easily be cracked if you need to drill it, and I have had problems in the past with siliconed in baffles on glass coming loose or leaking. The dividers in an acrylic sump are welded in and solid.

I have chosen to run an internal return pump for space savings and also found them to be quieter than external. I have had both internal and external pumps, and both are good in my opinion, but I just choose to go internal this time.

So, my sump contents will include:
  1. filter socks
  2. return pump
  3. skimmer
  4. heater
  5. ground probe
  6. pump for Ca reactor
  7. pump for biopellet reactor
  8. ph probe


Here is the Eshopps RS-200: (Sorry, it is still in the box...)

DSC_0041.jpg




Eshopps has changed the design of their sumps, and I guess that I received the new model. It has two 1" drains that feed into 2 filter socks. These filter socks are different, as they have rectangular openings, and these rectangle plastic tops slide into little acrylic shelves that hold them. Very nice setup. I have a 1 1/2" drain line that I will probably split off into two 1" drains right at the sump, so that I can take advantage of the dual sock system.


Here is a picture of one of the socks and where they slide into place:


101_3466.jpg
 
Return Pump:


For my internal return pump, I am going to be using an Eheim 1262.

The specs are as follows:
•Pump Output: 900 gph
•Delivery Head: 11`6"
•Power Consumption: 80 W (120V/60Hz)
•Hose Connection (Suction Side): 1"
•Hose Connection (Pressure Side): 3/4"
•Dimensions: 8.6" x 4.6" x 6.3"
•Weight: 5.7 lbs


I chose the Eheim since it is a top quality pump, and is really quiet, moreso than other pumps such as a Mag Drive. I have had experience with several Eheims in the past and have always been happy with them. I have also found that the Eheim is more powerful than its competitors with similar gph #'s, and it not losing as much power due to headloss than others. The only mod that I may make to it will be to add some silicone drops ("feet") around the bottom of the pump to have something soft for it to sit on to make it even quieter. I will be using PVC hard plumbed into the pump, with a union and ball valve in the PVC near the pump to make removal for cleaning a snap. Eheims are a little more costly than other pumps, but I think it is worth it for the quiet running, power, and reliability (3 year warranty).


DSC_0027.jpg
 
Last edited:
Calcium Reactor:


I am going to run a calcium reactor again on this new tank. After some consideration, I have decided to do alot of SPS again. I know from my past experiences, that my SPS grew much better when I ran the Ca reactor, as it kept my Ca and Alk much more stable. On my previous tank, I had an Aquatic Systems Design reactor, but had sold it with my tank last time. Fortunatelty, one of my friends just happend to now be selling his reactor since he is switching to a fish only tank. I got his reactor, which was good for me since it is an Aquatic Systems Design as well, and I am very familiar on how it works. I will be running it on a 5 lb. CO2 tank with a Milwaukee regulator on it. I tend to run my Ca reactor between 6.6 and 6.8 pH. I like a drip rate of about 1 bubble count per second to a ratio of 3-4 drips per second into my sump from the effluent line. The pH probe is a lab grade Sybon that will be in the Ca reactor, and run from my ReefKeeper Lite Plus.



DSC_0025.jpg

DSC_0037.jpg
 
I just love it when you talk like that.....

Hey, wasn't is Preston's idea to put a "brick" in that spot??

How are you going to directly Plumb the RO/DI & ATO??
 
Skimmer:



I have had experience with different skimmers over the years, including Aqua-C, Euro-Reef, Octopus, and Vertex. My last skimmer was a Vertex Alpha 170 Cone skimmer with a Red Dragon pump. It was an awesome skimmer.

This time I chose a smaller skimmer, a Super Reef Octopus XP-1000SSS cone skimmer. It has a Bubble Blaster pump, which is supposed to be an excellent pump. I have found in the past that since I keep my tank so clean, and do very regular water changes, that too big of a skimmer will not perform well on my system because there is not enough junk to pull out of the water. I always ended up with very light colored water in the cup, and not filling up very much, whether I ran it wet or dry. So I went smaller this time, it is still rated for up to a 125g tank, but it is the smaller model in the cone line. I think it will fit perfectly for my style of reefkeeping. I have learned that larger is not always better, as it will not skim anything if oversized on my system.

It fits easily in my Eshopps sump, with plenty of room left over. It is a space saving model since the pump is mounted under the skmmer and not off to the side of it. That will also make it easier for me to vaccuum detritus around it, since we now know of my OCD tank cleaning tendancies. :)

Everyone I know that has an Octopus skimmer has always liked them. I have tried a couple of them in the past and thought they were good as well. I am looking forward to this new one since it has a cone body, and also has the upgraded nice pump. It has a gate valve on the output to really fine tune the performance.


DSC_0045.jpg
 
I hope this tank looks as good as the last one.. Hey I have some of "your" SPS frags, when you get ready for some let me know.
 
Just for Marty....lol



Automatic Top-Off


I have always used JBJ's ATO unit on my tanks for topping off my tanks evaporation. I am going back with the JBJ ATO again this time. I have always liked it. I also like that it times out after about a minute and a half so you don't have to worry about flooding your tank. To resolve the issue that occurs sometimes of it timing out and not coming back on, someone suggested plugging it into the ReefKeeper on a cycle and making it cut off and back on every hour, so if it is timed out, it will reset. Should work fine. I am hooking it up to a Aqualifter pump, and will run one single float sensor in the return section of my sump. As far as a topoff container, since I am limited on space in my stand, I am planning on building a shelf inside my stand above the sump, where I can place a Rubbermaid container that can hold a few gallons of water. It will feed through the ATO to my sump.


DSC_0036.jpg
 
Heater:


My heater is going to be a ViaAqua Titanium digital 300w. I may need to add one more heater, but I am going to see how this one does by itself first. I can run it on its own digital control, or hook it up to my ReefKeeper. I had good luck with ViaAqua titanium heaters on my other tanks, so I figured I would go back with what worked.


DSC_0026.jpg
 
I still have alot to post on here equipment wise as I get free moments, but thought I would throw in a picture of the pile of equipment that I have accumulated so far.......... :)


reefstuff.jpg
 
Flow/Powerheads:



For flow in my tank, I am going to be using EcoTech Vortec MP-40s. I used these on my last tank and absolutely loved them. They provide great random flow and can sync with each other, or do the exact opposite of the other one while synced up. They produce massive amounts of flow, which is great for SPS. One of the neat things about the Vortecs is that the motor is on the outside of the glass, so they add no heat to your tank. They have an external controller that allow you to select the flow pattern, as well as the intensity of the flow. I always ran mine in Reef Crest mode, which I am sure that I will do again.

Here is some info from the website:

The award-winning technology of the MP40w ES provides wireless operation on tanks between 50 and 500+ gallons, producing 1,000 to 3,200 gallons per hour of flow and smallest in-tank footprint for full-size reef aquariums.


Operational Modes
Constant Speed Mode - Pump runs continuously at a constant speed which can be set by the user.

EcoSmart Nutrient Transport Mode (NTM) - A two phase program to promote maximum health and nutrient export, as well as increased growth for corals. Alternates between a resonant standing wave and a surge effect to stir up and export nutrients.

EcoSmart Tidal Swell Mode (TSM) - Creates a harmonic balance in your aquarium reminiscent of the changing flow conditions that would be found in nature. Flow varies from left to right, right to left, calm, and ends with a great surge.

Reef Crest Random Mode - Reef Crest Random Mode simulates the high-energy conditions of a natural reef crest environment.

Lagoonal Random Mode - Simulates the gentler reef zone found in a natural lagoon.

Short Pulse Mode - Allows for wave pulse timings between 0.3 and two seconds, enabling the creation of FAST alternating flow throughout the tank. Use this mode to create a resonant standing wave.

Long Pulse Mode - Allows for wave pulse timings of between 2 seconds and 60 seconds, enabling the creation of slow alternating flow throughout the tank.

Feed Mode - Slows down pump to allow user to feed aquarium. User can select the duration and speed for Feed Mode.

Night Mode - Automatically reduce speed and operates continuously at that speed for a period of time during the night. User can select the duration and speed for Night Mode.

Battery Backup Mode - When used with our battery backup accessory, the VorTech pump will switch to Battery Backup Mode in the event of a power outage and will operate at a user set speed. The LED's on your EcoSmart driver will count down to indicate how much power is available within the battery.

Auto-Dim - LED's are turned off and display knob dimmed significantly, but pump functions in its current mode. User can program how long after use before the driver enters Auto-Dim.

On/Off Switch - Tap the on/off switch to turn off and turn on a pump. Hold this button to turn off all pumps in a master/slave group. Tap any pump in the groups' on/off switch and that pump will turn back on.



DSC_0029.jpg
 
I have a question about the sump. You said, "It is a simple design, just having a drain section with filter socks, a skimmer section, and a return section. " Looking at the pic on the front of the box, and even on Eshopps site, I can't tell if there is a acrylic panel between the drain section and the skimmer section. Is there? Or is it just one big compartment with the filter socks and the skimmer together?

If it is actually two compartments, does the water flow into the skimmer section over the top of the divider or underneath?

Do you have a diagram of the sump? I am in the market for a sump but I want to make dang sure that I won't have the "waterfall" noise I have with my current one.
 
keaton said:
I have a question about the sump. You said, "It is a simple design, just having a drain section with filter socks, a skimmer section, and a return section. " Looking at the pic on the front of the box, and even on Eshopps site, I can't tell if there is a acrylic panel between the drain section and the skimmer section. Is there? Or is it just one big compartment with the filter socks and the skimmer together?

If it is actually two compartments, does the water flow into the skimmer section over the top of the divider or underneath?

Do you have a diagram of the sump? I am in the market for a sump but I want to make dang sure that I won't have the "waterfall" noise I have with my current one.
Click to expand...


You are correct. It in reality is two compartments. The drain and the skimmer section are the same. Then it goes over and under a baffle into the return section. It is quiet, no waterfall action. I used that exact sump setup on my old 75g and it worked perfectly, with the drain and skimmer together. I will try to post a diagram or better pictures in the next day or two.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

G
Extremely low ORP
Replies
3
Views
119
kharmaguru
kharmaguru
Brian60077
Big project starting today......
Replies
7
Views
117
Dustin07
D
adova
300g DIY Acrylic Tank Recommendations
Replies
5
Views
92
griss
griss
S
Cycling question
Replies
5
Views
170
griss
griss
F
New Reef - Need recommendations
Replies
11
Views
216
wvned
wvned
Back
Top