50b Sumpless Mixed Reef Build!

[BigJohnny]

Hey Reefers,

Just getting started on my 50b Sumpless Mixed Reef. I'll start off with some pics because obviously that is the best part :

Deep Blue Professional 50b
Aquatic Fundamentals 50/65 Stand


Some equipment and why my wife yells at me daily (it's gotten twice as bad since this picture was taken)


Unboxing my ATI Sunpower 6x39w
And 8 bulbs to play around with (4 blue + , 2 coral +, 1 purple plus, and an actinic)


The beauty


And the beasts 



Upgrading the beasts to another beut once there are a bunch of corals in the tank (can't wait)

Aquascape


Now fast forward=>>>>>>>>>>>>

Just need to add a bag of live sand and some saltwater (Red Sea mixed with Red Sea Coral Pro)

[BigJohnny]

Now inside the belly of the beast (I promise this is more organized than it looks)






Controllers on the outside of the stand



Custom screens and in tank equipment


Reef Octopus BH2000, Tunze Osmolator Universal ATO (to run with kalkwasserwith 3 failsafes ph/float/timer), temp probe


ATO feed, Reactor in/out, 2 cobalt neotherms for redundancy(temp controlled by rkl), BRS lab grade Ph probe.


Will upload more later today!

[eb2292]

Looks good! All that beautiful equipment, but no sump. How come?

[BigJohnny]

Originally Posted by eb2292

Looks good! All that beautiful equipment, but no sump. How come?

Thanks bud!

I know! It's a shame really but only temporary. I think I did a pretty good job of hiding the equipment in tank. You really only notice the skimmer since everything else is low profile and black like the background/behind the scape. The reef will take center stage

I'm in a rental townhouse and was originally going with a 90g with sump but landlord only okd max 40g (he can't tell it's 50) and actually came by to check it out and made sure I didn't have any other tanks (including a sump), my qt is even hiding in an upstairs closet! Most of my equipment can transfer over to the 90 when I buy a house in a year so no biggie!

[BigJohnny]

Ofcourse my RO/DI, ghetto rigged to my shower since my house is so old it literally is the only place I can hook it up (when needed) without installing a new fixture or permanent piping. Luckily I have big holding containers so it's not an issue, I pump it into them directly then put the unit away until next time.

[Miguelh1302]

Alright the beast is been release

[lpsouth1978]

Looks like a fun build, I am interested in seeing how the system does in time. If I may give just one word of advice, get rid of the API test kits. They are notoriously inaccurate and have led many a reef keeper astray. Get some higher quality test kits, like Salifert or Hanna, you will be glad you did in the long run.

[BigJohnny]

Originally Posted by lpsouth1978

Looks like a fun build, I am interested in seeing how the system does in time. If I may give just one word of advice, get rid of the API test kits. They are notoriously inaccurate and have led many a reef keeper astray. Get some higher quality test kits, like Salifert or Hanna, you will be glad you did in the long run.

Thanks bud, me too! Oh yea don't worry those actually came for free with an order I purchased. The picture of the equipment is an older one. I have hanna ULR phosphorus, hanna Alkalinity, salifert calcium/magnesium/nitrate/ammonia/nitrite/phosphate. I know personally how crappy API can be sometimes. Plus hanna are just cooler

[BigJohnny]

Originally Posted by Miguelh1302

Alright the beast is been release

Yeeeeeeee buddy, unleash the kraken

[Miguelh1302]

That is a expensive *** kraken lmao

[BigJohnny]

Originally Posted by Miguelh1302

That is a expensive *** kraken lmao

My bank account agrees (wife doesn't know how much I've spent, one of the advantages of having seperate accounts in addition to thr combined ones )

[Isaacs55]

Originally Posted by BigJohnny

My bank account agrees (wife doesn't know how much I've spent, one of the advantages of having seperate accounts in addition to thr combined ones )

Hehe...
Quote Kevin Hart..."let me explain...i would but i cant because the way my bank account is set up" lol

Haha this got me Rollin lol
This is how I'm able to do my build too lol

[Devaji108]

looking good! i'll be fallowing along.

[Isaacs55]

Awesome build so far though man! I'm excited to see what It becomes. Im actually almost getting ready to put my 40 breeder up once my marco rock is done curing lol itching so bad that I actually set up a 10 gallon nano yesterday just so I have something to look at and do lol

[Miguelh1302]

Originally Posted by BigJohnny

My bank account agrees (wife doesn't know how much I've spent, one of the advantages of having seperate accounts in addition to thr combined ones )

Smart guy lol

[Happyschneider]

Got a very similar set up just starting so following for inspiration looks awesome, keep the info coming.

[BigJohnny]

Originally Posted by Isaacs55

Hehe... spin:
Quote Kevin Hart..."let me explain...i would but i cant because the way my bank account is set up" lol

Haha this got me Rollin lol
This is how I'm able to do my build too lol

Haha yea man I have a feeling it's how many people are able to do their builds. it's a 2 way street too, i know my wife is probably spending absurd amounts on clothes and lingerie( ) on her seperate accounts. I don't even want to know how much, but I'm okay with that haha.

Originally Posted by Isaacs55

Awesome build so far though man! I'm excited to see what It becomes. Im actually almost getting ready to put my 40 breeder up once my marco rock is done curing lol itching so bad that I actually set up a 10 gallon nano yesterday just so I have something to look at and do lol

Thanks bud glad you think so! Yea I watched your aquascape video looking forward to seeing your tank up and running. Make sure to shoot me a link to the build thread on here when you do start.

Ooo 10g nano, very cool. You should start a little build thread on that!

[BigJohnny]

Originally Posted by Devaji108

looking good! i'll be fallowing along.

Thanks bud!

[BigJohnny]

Originally Posted by Miguelh1302

Smart guy lol

Haha yea, it just didn't feel right to not have some seperate dough too. I'm my own man ain't I ?

[BigJohnny]

Originally Posted by Happyschneider

Got a very similar set up just starting so following for inspiration looks awesome, keep the info coming.

Cool, thanks! Do you have a build thread? I'd love to follow along there as well.

[BigJohnny]

Here are some additives/filtration materials/medication etc:


From left to right:

-BRS Bulk Magnesium Mix (the kalkwasser/calcium reactor supplemental version)
-BRS Bulk Kalkwasser
-BRS Bulk Premium ROX 0.8 Carbon
-BRS Bulk GFO
-Seachem Stability
-Seachem Reef Plus
-Seachem Reef Fusion 1
-Seachem Reef Fusion 2
-Hikari PraziPro
-Seachem ParaGuard
-Seachem Cupramine
-API Pimafix
-API Melafix
-Coral Frenzy
-Coral Rx Pro

[BigJohnny]

All my ATI bulbs:

[BigJohnny]

Aquascape and coral mounting supplies:

-DD AquaScape Construction Epoxy
-bSi IC-GEL
-Boston Aqua Farms Reef Glue Accelerator

[BigJohnny]

Acclimation Tools:

-Tom Aquarium Products "Dip & Pour", Large
-Accudrip Drip Acclimation Kit (Fancy air line tube connected to a rigid acrylic j tube and drip adjustment wheel) . It looks like an iv drip kit ha


Captain Salty's Frag Rack. He has a website and ebay store. Really nice magnetic frag racks of all shapes and sizes at reasonable prices. I think this was the medium rectangle for $12-$17 shipped. Great build quality.



I have big hands (6'4") so it's bigger than it looks.

[BigJohnny]

And two extremely jealous dogs. I know this is about reefs but they are part of my maintenance team (although very disruptive to the whole process haha) They literally knock aquarium stuff out of my hands and sit on my lap when I'm trying to work on anything!

Border Collie/Lab/Thai Ridgeback Mix:

Refusing to look at me in disgust after a lengthy equipment installation on a beautiful day


Me making up for it



And the result, one big smile! We call those pirate puzzle teeth


Foxhound/Beagle Mix:

Is it time for a walk yet?


Why won't you play?!


"What are you looking at peasant, I'm done with you"


Those were the only dog pics/non reef related pics I promise. More good stuff to come!