Bbwebb February 28, 2016 Share February 28, 2016 I never did a tank build thread, but I took a few pictures of my tank last night. The tank is almost 3 years old at this point and filling in nicely. There are more pictures on my SmugMug site if you're interested (https://bkdwebb.smugmug.com/Aquariums/March-2015-Reef-Savvy-100-Photos) Thanks for looking! Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishdrummer February 28, 2016 Share February 28, 2016 Very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caribbean Jake February 28, 2016 Share February 28, 2016 (edited) yes, very nice ! Edited February 28, 2016 by Caribbean Jake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pizzaguy February 28, 2016 Share February 28, 2016 This system is one of the best ive seen. Almost fully automated and well planned out. Very very sweet setup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keraxis February 28, 2016 Share February 28, 2016 You had me at reef savvy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbwebb February 28, 2016 Author Share February 28, 2016 This system is one of the best ive seen. Almost fully automated and well planned out. Very very sweet setup Appreciate the compliment Your tank is looking fantastic. So much color (and variety!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf February 28, 2016 Share February 28, 2016 Looks great Bill !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 28, 2016 Share February 28, 2016 You had me at build thread! Tell us more about it! What makes it fully automated? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbwebb February 28, 2016 Author Share February 28, 2016 You had me at build thread! Tell us more about it! What makes it fully automated? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Giving me homework! I'll make an attempt, but it seems daunting at this point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 28, 2016 Share February 28, 2016 Giving me homework! I'll make an attempt, but it seems daunting at this point I like learning about our members systems! Plus, it's nice to have it documented, you will appreciate this simple assignment looking back Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blesk February 28, 2016 Share February 28, 2016 nice one vhot is the size off the tank , vhot lights you use , water movement atc spill some secrets . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keraxis February 28, 2016 Share February 28, 2016 The most impressive part is how reserved you were with the corals... you actually thought about growth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbwebb February 29, 2016 Author Share February 29, 2016 The most impressive part is how reserved you were with the corals... you actually thought about growth. Thanks. We found out in our last tank (30g) that things grow quickly and that planning is important. I'm terrible with keeping up with fragging and now on two occasions with this tanks I've had SPS so large that they became completely unmanageable. The pocillopora on the right side was literally the size of a volleyball at one point. The frags were so big I couldn't find anyone to take them. I ultimately ended up giving most of the to the LFS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbwebb February 29, 2016 Author Share February 29, 2016 So a Tank Build Thread. I've tried this in the past and ultimately I end up not keeping up with it. At least this time I'll be covering 3 years in this one post! I spent about a year in the planning stages with this build. I considered a dozen different tanks and sizes and ultimately decided to go with a custom 100G build from Reef Savvy. The tank is 48x24x20 with a 2” eurobrace. The eurobrace is used support a screen to keep my jumpers in the tank and also used to rest an auto feeder for their lunch time feeding. The tank is 1/2" glass with 3 sides low iron and the back blacked out. Reef Savvy packing is no joke! Now that the heavy lifting is done the fun can begin One of my primary goals with this build was to reduce the weekly maintenance and automate as much function as possible. Automating water changes was at the top of my list. I travel a fair amount and I’ve never experienced much satisfaction doing water changes. It always felt like a chore instead of a hobby. Keeping up with this on a larger tank was one of the largest concerns that delayed my move from my 30G. In preparation for this I ran 6 1/4” Polyethylene RO tubing lines from the tank location to the soon to be fish room in the basement. The 5 lines are currently being used for: - Pulling sump water to the drain for disposal - Pushing new salt water from the mixing station - Pulling fresh RO water from the mixing station for top-off - Pulling sump water to the Calcium Reactor - Pushing water from the Calcium Reactor to the sump - Currently one spare Here is a picture of where the tank is sitting. We put some ceramic tile in place to help keep the carpet from getting destroyed. That black circle towards the back is where the the Polyethylene RO tubing will goes down into the basement. Note the GFCI circuit. Safety First! I’m an engineer by profession and I enjoy the technical aspect of reef keeping just as much as I enjoy the husbandry aspect. I’ve spent a ton of time spec’ing out the equipment and figuring out how to make it all work together. My setup currently consists of the following equipment: Lighting: 2x Ecotech Radion Pro’s Return Pump: Wavelike DC6000 Circulation: 1 Ecotech MP40 (I have 2, but felt it was too much movement and ultimately removed one) Sump: Synergy Reef SS-34 Sump and 16” Synergy Reef overflow with a Bean Animal configuration. Protein Skimmer: BubbleKing Mini 180 with Avast Marine Swabbie and Davey Jones Skimmate Locker In Sump Reactor: TLF Phosban 150 running BRS Rox and GFO Controller: Neptune Systems Apex Calcium Reactor: Lifereef LCR1 with Masterflex peristaltic pump and AquariumPlants Carbon Doser CO2 regulator As I mentioned, automating as much of the day-to-day work was one of my primary objectives. The water change was probably the biggest challenge. I started out by building a water mix station in my basement. The mix station allows me to have 25g of both salt water and fresh RO water on hand at all times. The RO unit is controlled by 2 float switches and will turn on to filter more water whenever the storage tank gets below ~24 gallons. Once a week I use the mix station circulation pump to move water between the fresh water tank to the salt tank. Then I just add the appropriate amount of Instant Ocean and I’m done. This takes about 2-3 minutes and then I’m done for the week with water changes! Automating water changes is not without risk, so monitoring is key. I use my Apex controller to monitor conductivity and will alert me via SMS if the value gets too high or low. If the number takes a large enough jump (either up or down) the controller will stop the water changes and also stop the ATO. This allows me to evaluate the situation and make the appropriate corrections before turning everything back on again. I also have multiple water sensors in the fish room, in the tank stand, and on the floor under the tank. These are tied into my home automation system and I will get alerted via SMS for any leaks. RO lines coming into the sump Beyond water changes I have my afternoon feeding automated. All of the pumps shut down for 15 minutes, the automatic feeder feeds some flake food to the fish, and then everything comes back on. The protein skimmer comes on 5 minutes after the return pump to ensure the water level in the sump has returned to normal so that my skimmer doesn’t overflow. My skimmer has an Avast Marine Swabbie and a Davey Jones Skimmate locker. The swabbie cleans the skimmer neck twice a day, and all of the skimmate goes into the locker. The locker has a pressure switch that when activated my controller will shut down my protein skimmer and send me an SMS to let me know it needs emptied. No more waking up to find out my skimmer went nuts and splashed water all over the inside of my stand. I also automate all of the normal things such as my lights, vortech behavior, heater (with two temperature probes for redundancy), and management of the pH in my calcium reactor. Just as before, the Apex makes sure that everything is working as expected, informs me if something seems odd, and shuts things down if things are downright wrong. Regular manual maintenance: - I change out my Carbon and GFO every other week - Blow off the rocks every couple of weeks - Make-up new water once a week - Replace my filter socks once a week (or as needed) I also have a regular schedule for cleaning the sump, taking my skimmer completely apart and cleaning it, replacing the tubing on my masterflex and litermeters, calibrating my probes, etc. I try to do water tests every week, but It doesn’t always happen. At a minimum I check specific gravity, alkalinity, and calcium. Less frequently I check magnesium, phosphates, and nitrates. Tank inhabitants: Fish/inverts - - 2 Ocellaris Clownfish - Foxface rabbitfish - Red Velvet Fairy Wrasse - Hoeven’s Wrasse - Yellow Wrasse - Yellow watchman goby and pistol shrimp pair - huge Brittle Star Coral - I’m really bad about remembering the names - Large tabling yellow/green acropora - A couple birds nest variations - Green Star Polyps - Red Goniopora - Red Dragon Acropora - Large Pink Pocillopora - Various other Acros - Torch - Frogspawn - Mint Pavona - Large green Stylophora - Couple different Favias (one particularly huge) - 2 large Acan’s - Large branching Montiopora - Various Zoas and Palys (Just added some Bam Bam, Utter Chaos, and Strawberry Wine frags - Thanks Pizzaguy!) - Rainbow Miliopora frag just added - Tridacna maxima clam - Rose bubble-tip anemone - Various Mushrooms - Cocoa Worm I feed twice a day, once just flake food through the automatic feeder and then each evening I feed frozen foods including mysis, Larry's, and Cyclopeez. Here's my latest full tank shot And all of my current photos are here https://bkdwebb.smugmug.com/Aquariums/March-2015-Reef-Savvy-100-Photos I think that’s enough for now. If anyone has questions or suggestions, let me know. I’m always looking for ways to expand my knowledge. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCReefer1964 February 29, 2016 Share February 29, 2016 Man I love you build, planned like a true engineer. I will be definitely tagging along. Keep it coming !!! Happy Reefing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruleyii February 29, 2016 Share February 29, 2016 Intense. Looks great! The tank and the fish room. Everything is so organized. Most definitely one of the most thought out tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sad Panda February 29, 2016 Share February 29, 2016 Very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yauger March 1, 2016 Share March 1, 2016 thats dope! man I'm so jealous that you have a fish room! I keep telling myself the next house I will have a remote fish room for all of my equipment!! very well thought out, thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sad Panda March 1, 2016 Share March 1, 2016 I wish I could figure out how to run RO lines 30 feet from my garage to my tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezeke1 March 1, 2016 Share March 1, 2016 Beautiful photos and great looking tank! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbwebb March 1, 2016 Author Share March 1, 2016 Thanks for all the compliments everyone! I plan on covering some of the upgrades and challenges that I've had over the past 3 years too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbwebb March 1, 2016 Author Share March 1, 2016 I wish I could figure out how to run RO lines 30 feet from my garage to my tank. If you have any means of doing this, I highly recommend it. It makes maintenance some much easier, and more consistent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruleyii March 1, 2016 Share March 1, 2016 Thanks for all the compliments everyone! I plan on covering some of the upgrades and challenges that I've had over the past 3 years too. Great! We can not only learn from successes but also failures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sad Panda March 1, 2016 Share March 1, 2016 Hmmm maybe I should have you and your family over for BBQ this spring and tap into your engineering genius. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pizzaguy March 1, 2016 Share March 1, 2016 Lol i was thinking the same thing.. Hes only a couple miles from me as im in the process of settimg up a auto water change system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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