Super Duper 600 Gallon+ Build Thread
- Thread starter keez
- Start date
I can't seem to find a thread about Silef discussing water change systems. Do you happen to have a link handy?
thanks man
CHSUB
"Certified Hobby Expert"
My gut feeling is that the increased simplicity and control of dosing will trump the trace element benefits of a reactor.
true!!! however, having used both, after a short time the reactor becomes easier and imo far superior to dosing. my advice would be a reactor designed around stable alk, ca, and ph. Feed outside air into your protein skimmer, reverse your lighting on your fug, and drip kalk at night to maintain high ph. run your reactor with an Aquarium Plants regulator and a ph controller.
i agree, also, t5s may look odd with an open hood. i just see the LED crowd adding t5s to their lighting and raving about the results.
Great system, can't wait to see more!!! what fish and corals do you have in mind?
true!!! however, having used both, after a short time the reactor becomes easier and imo far superior to dosing. my advice would be a reactor designed around stable alk, ca, and ph. Feed outside air into your protein skimmer, reverse your lighting on your fug, and drip kalk at night to maintain high ph. run your reactor with an Aquarium Plants regulator and a ph controller.
i agree, also, t5s may look odd with an open hood. i just see the LED crowd adding t5s to their lighting and raving about the results.
Great system, can't wait to see more!!! what fish and corals do you have in mind?
scubadan206
Member
On a system your size I would recommend a calcium reactor primarily to keep up with one of the two major elements your corals need. Have the reactor running at a consistent rate to keep either your calcium or alkalinity at the right levels. Then use a dos to supplement the other.
I've seen it before. The corals in the system start getting big. The calcium reactor keeps getting turned up more and more. Soon enough the ALK is above 12 and the calcium level won't go over 350 or so..
Or the opposite is true.
Running both will probably save you some headaches down the road. Running just two part in a big system gets real expensive. I've seen people dosing more than two liters per day of both calcium and alk solution.
Daniel. :bigeyes:
I've seen it before. The corals in the system start getting big. The calcium reactor keeps getting turned up more and more. Soon enough the ALK is above 12 and the calcium level won't go over 350 or so..
Or the opposite is true.
Running both will probably save you some headaches down the road. Running just two part in a big system gets real expensive. I've seen people dosing more than two liters per day of both calcium and alk solution.
Daniel. :bigeyes:
Great advice! thanks very much. If i grab outside air for the skimmer, If I grab outside air for the skimmer, would the temperature or humidity swings have a large impact on skimmer performance? Would I end up with a lot of overflows? I've never tried this before
I haven't really got to thinking about the livestock yet!
Ah, that's a great strategy. It really seems like there's a consensus that using a reactor is highly beneficial for a few reasons. I'm going to definitely find a way to work this into the system and give it a try. Thanks for the recommendations
Hey Matt nice to see your thread! thank for the good word alway pleasant to work with you
i got spare time yesterday so I build your RODi system hope you will love it
Awesome! Can't wait to try it out
Thanks guys!
So I'm pondering the chiller and heater selection. Does anyone have experience or opinions on the following products?
AquaLogic 2KW inline heater
http://www.aqualogicinc.com/products/heaters/Inline-Heater.htm
AquaLogic DS-9 1hp chiller
http://www.aqualogicinc.com/products/chillers/Delta-Star-Air-Cooled-Water-Chiller.htm
I'm having a hard time finding any reviews, feedback on either of these products. Aqualogic seems like a reputable outfit, but mostly in the Pond arena.
Any feedback you guys might have would be extremely appreciated.
So I'm pondering the chiller and heater selection. Does anyone have experience or opinions on the following products?
AquaLogic 2KW inline heater
http://www.aqualogicinc.com/products/heaters/Inline-Heater.htm
AquaLogic DS-9 1hp chiller
http://www.aqualogicinc.com/products/chillers/Delta-Star-Air-Cooled-Water-Chiller.htm
I'm having a hard time finding any reviews, feedback on either of these products. Aqualogic seems like a reputable outfit, but mostly in the Pond arena.
Any feedback you guys might have would be extremely appreciated.
FishyFishy69
New member
That's a killer lookin fish room! Really like the design.
Ever think of raising that main sump off the floor a bit to ease maintenance on your back? (this is coming from a guy with a bad back... lol)
Ever think of raising that main sump off the floor a bit to ease maintenance on your back? (this is coming from a guy with a bad back... lol)
Thanks man! I'm extremely anxious to get it up and running.
As crazy as this sounds, I don't have the space to raise it. Somehow there's never enough room no matter what happens. I wonder if I should at least raise it a few inches off the ground to reduce heat transfer between the sump and the floor?
o2manyfish
o2manyfish
For your concern about multiple Apexs and having redundancy, I think you have over thought this.
Get your Primary Apex, and if you want a second one for your QT setup. Then register on Reeftronics.net. Reeftronics is a free server that will monitor your Apex. If your Apex goes offline because of a power failure or internet failure or apex failure, the Reeftronics server will notify you that your Apex is no longer online.
To Use 2 Apex units as a redundancy and protection against one failing, means that you have to have doubles of every piece of your critical equipment - Multiple chillers, Multiple heaters, multiple return pumps - all capable of keeping your total system volume stable.
The DOS pumps for a water change solution is not the right call. Definitely research the Reef Genesis system.
12 DOS pumps -- That's 24 channels of Dosing.... What do you think you are going to be dosing?
If you went with the Triton Method, which is the about the most complete line of Trace Elements for dosing available you would use 4 channels for the base elements and maybe another 4-6 channels for your needed traces, and maybe an additional channel for Acro power.
There are a couple of people with DOS units running frozen feeder systems. But even then you don't need 12 DOS units.
If you were planning on Doubling your DOS units for redundancy, I think you are over complicating the system.
If you dream of having a tank packed with stony corals from one end to the other, then you should consider a Calcium Reactor and a Kalkwasser Reactor for your topoff. These 2 reactors can handle a huge load with a lot less maintenance and effort on your part. Your apex can monitor both Reactors and will let you know right away if there is an issue with either. And the calcium reactor with a pH probe connected to your Apex is really simple to dial in and keep running efficiently.
I have 8 Radions over an 8 ft tank. I think I could possible add 2 more. Your 10' tank with 9 might not be enough. You might want to consider adding a couple of more.
In your rendering photos all the Radions look suspended from the ceiling, but then there was a photo that you might have purchased a bunch of the Radion Arm mounts for the Radions. If the Radions are going to be mounted on the arms along either edge of the tank, I think you would find them getting in the way for maintenance. Suspending them from the ceiling would be better.
Given the 36" depth of the tank, design your suspended light rack so that it can be raised or lowered. You don't need anything super crazy, the actual Radions aren't that much weight. But to penetrate the 36" depth you might want them closer to the water, and then need to move them up, because to reach into such a big tank you are going to have to get most of your upper torso over the top of the tank.
The Abyzz pumps you chose are awesome pumps and you are going to love them. They have a pulse mode and can easily create the wave effect in your tank.
And my last thought, I like the original sculpture design surrounding the tank better. A fabrication shop with a water jet can create exactly what you want out of stainless sheet metal. Then take that someplace to have powdercoated. You're building an amazing system to enjoy for many years to come - anything made out of MDF around an aquarium is not going to last long term. At some point your maid is going to nail the bottom with a vacuum, you're going to knick it with a ladder or swinging a net. Once there is a nick near a fish tank the moisture will get in and the MDF will start to crap out.
Keep up the progress pics.
Dave B
Get your Primary Apex, and if you want a second one for your QT setup. Then register on Reeftronics.net. Reeftronics is a free server that will monitor your Apex. If your Apex goes offline because of a power failure or internet failure or apex failure, the Reeftronics server will notify you that your Apex is no longer online.
To Use 2 Apex units as a redundancy and protection against one failing, means that you have to have doubles of every piece of your critical equipment - Multiple chillers, Multiple heaters, multiple return pumps - all capable of keeping your total system volume stable.
The DOS pumps for a water change solution is not the right call. Definitely research the Reef Genesis system.
12 DOS pumps -- That's 24 channels of Dosing.... What do you think you are going to be dosing?
If you went with the Triton Method, which is the about the most complete line of Trace Elements for dosing available you would use 4 channels for the base elements and maybe another 4-6 channels for your needed traces, and maybe an additional channel for Acro power.
There are a couple of people with DOS units running frozen feeder systems. But even then you don't need 12 DOS units.
If you were planning on Doubling your DOS units for redundancy, I think you are over complicating the system.
If you dream of having a tank packed with stony corals from one end to the other, then you should consider a Calcium Reactor and a Kalkwasser Reactor for your topoff. These 2 reactors can handle a huge load with a lot less maintenance and effort on your part. Your apex can monitor both Reactors and will let you know right away if there is an issue with either. And the calcium reactor with a pH probe connected to your Apex is really simple to dial in and keep running efficiently.
I have 8 Radions over an 8 ft tank. I think I could possible add 2 more. Your 10' tank with 9 might not be enough. You might want to consider adding a couple of more.
In your rendering photos all the Radions look suspended from the ceiling, but then there was a photo that you might have purchased a bunch of the Radion Arm mounts for the Radions. If the Radions are going to be mounted on the arms along either edge of the tank, I think you would find them getting in the way for maintenance. Suspending them from the ceiling would be better.
Given the 36" depth of the tank, design your suspended light rack so that it can be raised or lowered. You don't need anything super crazy, the actual Radions aren't that much weight. But to penetrate the 36" depth you might want them closer to the water, and then need to move them up, because to reach into such a big tank you are going to have to get most of your upper torso over the top of the tank.
The Abyzz pumps you chose are awesome pumps and you are going to love them. They have a pulse mode and can easily create the wave effect in your tank.
And my last thought, I like the original sculpture design surrounding the tank better. A fabrication shop with a water jet can create exactly what you want out of stainless sheet metal. Then take that someplace to have powdercoated. You're building an amazing system to enjoy for many years to come - anything made out of MDF around an aquarium is not going to last long term. At some point your maid is going to nail the bottom with a vacuum, you're going to knick it with a ladder or swinging a net. Once there is a nick near a fish tank the moisture will get in and the MDF will start to crap out.
Keep up the progress pics.
Dave B
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