100 Gallon Reef Savvy Build

[roni]

So, have an upcoming move and with that, will be downsizing from my 270.  A little sad to sell it (anyone want an awesome system )

 

However, it is an opportunity to do a new build.  Still in the planning stages but have most things already already.

 

Tank: 100 gallon Reef Savvy tank (48x24x20).

Stand: Reef Savvy custom stand

Light: 8 x 54 powermodule (possible reefbrite added later)

Flow: 2 MP40s

Skimmer: BK 160, swabbie, reef locker

Sump: Synergy custom sump with custom ATO box

Control: Neptune Apex

Ca/topoff: Litermeter feeding kalk (still reservoir).  MTC dual chamber fed using a Aquarium Plants regulator.  I'll probably further regulate effluent via a peristaltic pump I picked up from Avast

Water Change: Litermeter3 with remote pump module(rpm), water exchange module(wxm), and top off module (tcm), remote saltwater and freshwater reservoirs with Avast Barrel Tender

 

 

Anyway, this will be a slow build but hopefully this will serve as a good start...

Edited May 23, 2017 by roni

[epleeds]

Pictures. Come on man!!

Edited December 16, 2016 by epleeds

[roni]

Haha Eric....okay, just a few things that came in today...

 

The skimmer that'll run the system:

 

 

synergy overflow:

 

It's too cold to go to the garage to take a pic of the tank and sump but soon

[roni]

One of the questions I'm trying to figure out is how to do the water reservoir/top off.  Basically, the optimum place for the tank is along a wall near the kitchen.  However, that's across the house from the unfinished basement...see the pics below.  

 

I think I can have the LItermeter feed the topoff from the basement but I'd like to be be able to setup a good water change system and was hoping to use the genesis renew.  Here are some pics showing the tank placement (blue rectangle) and unfinished with utility sink (pardon the crude diagraming)

 

Edited December 16, 2016 by roni

[zoozilla]

Can't wait. Tagging along.

[YHSublime]

This reminds me a lot of D2Mini's builds, just in terms of location, right by the garage, and the ability to have the basement underneath.

 

Also, so much yes to another build!

[roni]

Can't wait. Tagging along

Thanks, glad to have you along. 

This reminds me a lot of D2Mini's builds, just in terms of location, right by the garage, and the ability to have the basement underneath.

 

Also, so much yes to another build!

Isaac, it's funny you should mention that...I was actually looking through his most recent build and that's one of the reasons why I was reconsidering where I was going to put the tank.  My wife would not be okay with putting the reservoir on our deck...and honestly, it's a walkout basement so not sure I'd want to put a 150 gallon salt water reservoir on the deck.  

 

Thankfully, I have an expert in @zygote2k helping me out with that.  

 

I think if I set up the renew under the tank, the drain to the sink and the input line to the new water reservoir can run under the floor and exit out near the sink.  The other pump to supply tank water to waste will sit in the sump.  

 

Another option is to use the Litermeter with remote pumps and/or a Neptune DOS (since the water change volume will be so low).  

[Jon Lazar]

Roni,

 

For me, it's most important for my tank to be part of my daily live.  I want my aquarium to be in the part of the house where I spend most of my time...not in a distant room I rarely see.  I want to enjoy my tank all the time, and I want to see it often so I can notice when things start to go wrong.

 

I think you spend most of your time in the kitchen/great room area.  That's where your tank should be. 

 

To make this work for you, I would section off a small portion of the NW corner of the basement rec room and make it a water change closet.  You wouldn't need much more than 3'x5' or so to comfortably fit a sink and water containers.  Maybe some of your other supplies would go there too.

 

Odds are good there's already a vertical drain line running straight down from the ground floor kitchen sink, through the basement wall, and into your basement foundation.  This would make a basement sink an easy addition.  It's possible that the drain line runs instead from the kitchen sink, horizontally through the basement ceiling, and down through the basement wall where the optional basement wet bar is located.  If that's the case, you could put the water change station there instead.  Or arrange to add a drain line before the foundation is poured.

[roni]

Jon,

 

You're thinking the same way I am about tank placement.  I think I've got my wife convinced....I think I actually convinced you of the same thing a couple years ago when you were trying to figure out where the 320 was going to go in the old house  I should follow my own advice

 

So, doing major dry wall work/etc on the new house is not something I want to do.  My thought was that if I could easily run the 1/4" neoprene tubing from something like a litermeter 3 with the remote pump module.  I can feed from the ro reservoir to the kalk reactor.  I could then use the remote pump modules to 

 

1) draw water from the sump to the utility sink in the unfinished basement (pump mounted under the tank)

2) draw water from the salt water reservoir to the sump.  (pump located in unfinshed)

3) main litermeter pump (in basement).  

 

I think this would basically only require 3 of those tubes to be run.  The question is would I be able to somehow run the tubing back through the wall and then along the floor or if I'd have to go through the floor completely and run it along the ceiling to the unfinished (much less desirable).  Unfortunately, the builder isn't the most flexible so they won't let me run anything before the dry wall goes up, which would be optimal.  

 

The genesis renew is an option but I feel like if I'm not able to run the lines under the floor, it'll be much more noticable (I think it used 1/2" tubing).  

 

I'm open to other options but I have to locate the water and sink in that area in the unfinished.  

[Jon Lazar]

Hmmm.  If you don't have access to the house during construction, I think you'll have to run tubing from the tank to the basement sink across the basement ceiling.  You could paint it with ceiling paint and run it neatly, but it would still be noticeable.

 

If you do have access, you could run the tubing between floor joists.  The builder's sales office may not want to mess with modifications, but I bet the folks on site would be open to some extra work.  Especially an easy job like running tubing.  Once you move in you'd have to open a small hole in the wall behind the tank and fish out the tubing.

[roni]

Jon, I think I'm gonna go with a 6 pack or 2 of some high quality beer and see if I can bribe someone  I think if I run 6 ro lines ziptied together that should suffice.

 

1 line - top off from spectrapure

1 line - waste water from sump to sink

1 line - new salt water from reservoir

1 line - possible ca reactor feed in from sump

1 line - possible ca reactor feed out from sump 

1 line - extra

 

I am debating whether to run my ro line into a still reservoir and then have another pump dose the kalk into my sump or do my kalk reactor.  In the fish room, the kalkreactor sat on top of the sump and worked great.  I don't think I'll have that space but I think I can just put the kalk reactor in the sump.  On the other hand, having a still reservoir that is sitting by my stand (or in a small cabinet) will probably be a little neater and preserve precious sump space for the rowa reactor and live rock.  I think the still reservoir without mixing actually gives a higher ca/alk yield compared to stirring...and has the benefit of leaving precipitated hard metals and phosphate out.  

 

I'm still debating the calcium replacement.  I think my initial plan is to do kalk for all top off and see if that can suffice.  I'm leaning towards a separate calcium reactor if I can do the remote lines.  If not, I'll probably do 3 part.  I like the idea of automation with a calcium reactor and the ability to set and forget for a few months at a time and think that probably fits my time/personality better.  

 

any thoughts?  

[roni]

Had a little change of plans...Was set to set this tank up and then ended up trading my tank for another system so new equipment list.  Mods, can you switch this to 100 gallon Reef Savvy build? 

 

In terms of the actual build, still waiting on the house to be finished but did get in before the dry wall went up and ran 6 1/4" lines with the help of @jon lazar.  Unfortunately despite ordering more then I think I needed, I ended up being a few feet short, so will have to get some connectors and extend.  Thankfully, the end that's short is in my unfinished basement and easily accessible.

 

Looking at possibly getting the avast barrel tender...any feedback from those that have used it?  Knowing the Avast folks, I'm sure it's rock solid and amazing but always good to get practical feedback.

 

Otherwise, going through the sad but inevitable breakdown of the 270 this weekend and then moving a few of the fish/corals into a temporary home while the house gets prepped for the move.  

Edited May 17, 2017 by roni

[Origami]

Title edited.

 

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[Origami]

Roni, if you plan on growing SPS, you'll quickly exceed what kalk can deliver. You'll need to plan on either a calcium reactor or two part.

 

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[roni]

Roni, if you plan on growing SPS, you'll quickly exceed what kalk can deliver. You'll need to plan on either a calcium reactor or two part.

 

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Tom,

 

Much appreciated.  Forgot to list.  Plan to likely do an MTC dual chamber fed using a Aquarium Plants regulator.  I'll probably further regulated effluent via a peristaltic pump I picked up from Avast.  I'll likely use 2 of the lines to keep the calcium reactor in the unfinished and keep more space under the tank.  

[Origami]

Much appreciated.  Forgot to list.  Plan to likely do an MTC dual chamber fed using a Aquarium Plants regulator.  I'll probably further regulated effluent via a peristaltic pump I picked up from Avast.  I'll likely use 2 of the lines to keep the calcium reactor in the unfinished and keep more space under the tank.  

 

Sorry, I was confused. In one post you'd said that your "initial plan is to do kalk for all top off and see if that can suffice."  I read that to mean that you were going to see if a kalkwasser reactor alone would meet calcium demands. 

 

The approach you talk about above is what I do. I use both a kalk stirrer and a calcium reactor (also equipped with an Aquarium Plants carbon doser regulator). For years, I've run all my top off through my kalk reactor using a peristaltic pump. But I'm considering switching it up a little and moving to a fixed dose through my reactor and a separate path for ATO. (This is similar to what Bruce (bbyatv) does.) Because I use a limited-rate (1 liter per hour) peristaltic pump and limit the amount of kalk that I put in the reactor, my risk of overdose is pretty low. However, Bruce's approach essentially locks in the kalk dosage to a known quantity (as long as there's enough kalk in the reactor to keep it saturated). 

[roni]

Sorry, I was confused. In one post you'd said that your "initial plan is to do kalk for all top off and see if that can suffice."  I read that to mean that you were going to see if a kalkwasser reactor alone would meet calcium demands. 

 

The approach you talk about above is what I do. I use both a kalk stirrer and a calcium reactor (also equipped with an Aquarium Plants carbon doser regulator). For years, I've run all my top off through my kalk reactor using a peristaltic pump. But I'm considering switching it up a little and moving to a fixed dose through my reactor and a separate path for ATO. (This is similar to what Bruce (bbyatv) does.) Because I use a limited-rate (1 liter per hour) peristaltic pump and limit the amount of kalk that I put in the reactor, my risk of overdose is pretty low. However, Bruce's approach essentially locks in the kalk dosage to a known quantity (as long as there's enough kalk in the reactor to keep it saturated). 

 

Yeah, I just went back and read some of my ramblings...can you see how frazzled I am by the move and everything else  

 

I think Bruce's method definitely allows more control and his results speak for themselves.  One of my problems in the past has been fluctuating levels due to variable evaporation.  By running discrete lines, you avoid that to an extent.  

 

However, it does add an extra pump into the equation.  

It would be 2 lines for water change, 2 lines for ca reactor, 1 for ro feed with float switch, 1 for feed from kalk reactor...good thing I put in that extra line

 

Are you still finding benefit for the reactor?  I'm thinking of just going to a still reservoir.  

[Origami]

I'm not sure what you mean about finding benefit for the reactor. I still use both Kalkwasser and the calcium reactor. I use the Kalkwasser to keep the pH level a little higher. I also bring in outside air to my skimmer so that helps, too. If you're talking about making a batch of Kalkwasser in your ATO reservoir (instead of running your fresh ATO water through your Kalk stirrer), that approach works, too. (In fact, it's the way that Randy Holmes-Farley doses Kalkwasser to his tank.) 

[roni]

I'm not sure what you mean about finding benefit for the reactor. I still use both Kalkwasser and the calcium reactor. I use the Kalkwasser to keep the pH level a little higher. I also bring in outside air to my skimmer so that helps, too. If you're talking about making a batch of Kalkwasser in your ATO reservoir (instead of running your fresh ATO water through your Kalk stirrer), that approach works, too. (In fact, it's the way that Randy Holmes-Farley doses Kalkwasser to his tank.) 

 

I mean benefit for a kalkreactor versus into a still reservoir.  I think using a still reservoir allows you to get fewer impurities in the effluent (more precipitation of heavy metals out) as well as a higher ca/alk dose (I believe tmz on reefcentral ran some numbers).  Just trying to see if there is a benefit to running the kalkreactor...

[Origami]

I mean benefit for a kalkreactor versus into a still reservoir.  I think using a still reservoir allows you to get fewer impurities in the effluent (more precipitation of heavy metals out) as well as a higher ca/alk dose (I believe tmz on reefcentral ran some numbers).  Just trying to see if there is a benefit to running the kalkreactor...

 

Hmm. I don't see really how a still reservoir would do any of that. Kalk has a very low saturation level and is, in fact, stable enough that it's a pH standard. Concentration should not vary given that the solution is saturated in the first place. The argument that more heavy metals precipitate out also seems questionable unless it's linked to the lack of agitation in a still reservoir. 

[Origami]

Quick note on the solubility of calcium hydroxide (kalk) - 0.185 grams per 100 cc, or 1.85 grams per liter at 0 degrees C. It drops down to 0.77 grams per liter at 100 degrees C. So, simple interpolation would get us to about 1 gram per liter at 26 C (79F). 

 

Quick thought: Solubility can be improved by adding something like vinegar. Is that what you're thinking about doing? (If so, just be mindful that you'll be dosing carbon along with your alk if you do it that way.)

[roni]

Tom,

 

I'll defer to you....I'll see if I can hunt down that article at some point..I may have read it incorrectly.  Thanks for your help. 

[roni]

Finally got the tank filled this week and with some water cycling.  I've been battling my apex and still need to get some stuff done for the water top off and auto water change.  However, had a dilemma I was hoping to get some advice on.  

I ran an ATI hybrid light on my last reef, which was great.  On this tank, I didn't want to spend quite as much on a light and went with a used powermodule.  The problem is that the light spread from the tank is a lot, and the tank is located much closer to the living room.  I think it's going to be a problem long term so I'm thinking about whether LEDs would give me a little less light spillover.

 

I'm thinking of getting 2 Radion xr30s or a kessil 700.  Any thoughts?  Anyone use these and have input?  Is there a significant difference between gen 2, 3 and 4 for the radions?  Any other lights you'd recommend?  

 

I'm currently favoring getting a couple of the radion gen 2 or 3 lights since I can use my wxm to control.  The kessil has a separate controller from what I understand...

[roni]

Finally got the tank filled this week and with some water cycling. I've been battling my apex and still need to get some stuff done for the water top off and auto water change. However, had a dilemma I was hoping to get some advice on.

I ran an ATI hybrid light on my last reef, which was great. On this tank, I didn't want to spend quite as much on a light and went with a used powermodule. The problem is that the light spread from the tank is a lot, and the tank is located much closer to the living room. I think it's going to be a problem long term so I'm thinking about whether LEDs would give me a little less light spillover.

 

I'm thinking of getting 2 Radion xr30s or a kessil 700. Any thoughts? Anyone use these and have input? Is there a significant difference between gen 2, 3 and 4 for the radions? Any other lights you'd recommend?

 

I'm currently favoring getting a couple of the radion gen 2 or 3 lights since I can use my wxm to control. The kessil has a separate controller from what I understand...

Dropped the lights to fix the spread issue while still getting coverage. Still battling the Apex and wxm issues but got the tank aquascaped. Fairly happy with how it turned out since I didn't do a lot of planning like I have in the past. Hoping to get the auto topoff and water change fixed and then get my corals/fish back (thanks Jon and Maureen). A few pics in the meantime. It's not nearly as blue as it looks but cellphone pics are it for now

 

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[roni]

Working through my kalk topoff method and curious about any suggestions.

 

In the past, I had RO water in a later container, which got pulled by a LM3 which fed a kalk reactor, which then gravity fed into my sump.  With my water in the basement now and limited space below my tank, that's not a possibility.  My original plan was to draw kalk water from a still 10 gallon reservoir containing kalkwasser, separate from my ro reservoir.  However, the logistics of getting water from the RO reservoir (55 gallon drum with AVAST barrel tender) to the 10 gallon reservoir is an added step that I think I can skip.

 

Does anyone see a problem with simply drawing water from the 55 galon drum and added kalk directly to it?  it's metered by the LM3 so no chance of overdose of kalk.  It'll be a pain to cleanout the barrel of kalk but if it's once a year, it should be doable.  I don't imagine it would cause problems with the barrel tender.  I will have to weight down the feed to the LM3 so it sits at the bottom, since I believe the barrel tender doesn't kick on until the container gets near empty (correct?)  

 

Am I missing anything?