New to Reefing 90G Build

[LoveReefer]

Hey guy and gals.

I’ve had a few freshwater aquariums, but this will be my first reef tank. I’ve tried hard to plan every step of the way and so far I’m feeling rather confident, but some input from experienced players in the game will probably help me a little more.

I’ll start by saying my goal is to have a mixed reef. I’m really interested in zoanthids, brains, encrusting, monti, and acros.

Currently I am in the middle of renovating my living room and having flooring laid in all rooms of the house. Once that’s finished I’m ready to rock and roll, but I still want to talk about it with you guys before I start putting the pieces together(won’t be long!). Pics coming very soon!!

So far I have put together what I think is needed (and probably some things that aren’t “needed”) So far I have acquired:

Deep Blue 90Gal RR
Trigger Systems Emerald 34 sump
Trigger Systems Ruby 5Gallon ATO Res.
Octo Varios-4 return pump
Reef Octopus 152-S skimmer
80 Lbs dry special grade aragonite.
70 Lbs reef saver rock
2x Viparspectra 165w LED
5 stage RO/DI with brute mixing container.
5 Gal Red Sea Pro salt.
TUNZE osmolater 3155
300W Eheim Jager heater.
1 Echotech MP40W QD.
Refractometer.
API saltwater test kit.


First question to keep things rather simple here in the beginning conversation,

Plumbing came in today. It’s a 1” drain line(standard bulkhead with durso overflow kit) After seeing the 1” PVC it looks pretty small. There’s only 1 drain line. Seems as if the pump I paid ~$250 for is absolute overkill. How are some of your guys’ drains configured?

Any recommendations on equipment? Do’s and don’ts?

Thanks for taking the time to help in advance.


Mike


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[LoveReefer]

Alright guys things are shaping up to start my build in 1-3 weeks. I’ve been throwing around the idea of curing my dry rock, but is it necessary?

Can I cycle and cure the live rock at the same time without any negative affects? I picked up a carbon/GFO reactor from BRS. Should I be running the GFO and carbon during the cure/cycle process?

Thanks for looking and pics coming very soon once the build gets underway. Right now my house is still in a mess with renovation and and it’s just not ready to start putting pieces together.

Hoping to get some insight before jumping into this! Thanks.


Mike


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[LoveReefer]

I feel like I’m talking to myself here. That’s ok hopefully somebody can get something useful from my build in the future when things take off here in a couple weeks. I think it will be cool to come back and watch it come to life later on.

Anyway, I’ve been looking into the GFO reactor that I purchased. I may have shot too soon it looks like. I’m seeing a lot of people who are against running it on a new system. I’ll have a fuge and using RO/DI so phosphate should stay pretty low. I’ll have it put away in case of algae outbreaks or if I need to run carbon.

If anyone has any tips about the GFO/Carbon reactor and running it in a new system I would like to hear your experience with it. Thanks.


Mike


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[lazydaze73]

We like pictures

[calvi]

Hi Mike,

I know how you feel. I’m the other 90 gallons build on here. Not much response.

Anyways, I think the varios 4 is a great purchase. If I have the money I would do the same. You have different power options just Incase you run additional manifold-aka gfo and carbon. Other things to mention is the power consumption and how silence it operates.

Good luck with the build... looking forward to some pictures.

-calvin


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[LoveReefer]

Originally Posted by calvi

Hi Mike,

I know how you feel. I’m the other 90 gallons build on here. Not much response.

Anyways, I think the varios 4 is a great purchase. If I have the money I would do the same. You have different power options just Incase you run additional manifold-aka gfo and carbon. Other things to mention is the power consumption and how silence it operates.

Good luck with the build... looking forward to some pictures.

-calvin


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I went back and forth with the Eheim 1260 and the Varios-4 over and over. Have you used the Varios-4?


Mike


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[calvi]

I have the ehiem 1260 because it came with the tank. The original owner purchased a Red Sea 250 and changed the return varios2. He was very surprise at how well the pump performed at max speed.





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[calvi]

How’s it going mike?

Any picture update?


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[LoveReefer]

Originally Posted by calvi

How’s it going mike?

Any picture update?


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I’m so close. Will have pics up early next week. Finishing this living room has been a nightmare. I’m not very handy, it takes me a little longer than it probably should.

The only thing keeping me motivated at this point is a reef tank. I can almost smell the salt...


Here’s a before and current state of my progress...






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[tjm9331]

@LoveReefer @calvi this section is typically used to show off or document a build not really a place for questions as not many visit or it's very sporadic.

You guys would be better off asking your questions in the new to the hobby section http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=104 you will get much quicker responses to all of your question there.

@LoveReefer I wish I could help you with your plumbing questions but unfortunately I don't have a sump and have never set one up so I'm no use there. As far as the GFO have it ready but you won't need to run it on a new system. Maybe 3-6 months after its cycled or maybe even a year after depends on what you plan to keep and how often you feed and what you daily/weekly/monthly maintenance will be.

hth

[LoveReefer]

@tjm9331 This is my build thread....won’t be too much to “show off” lol as I’m not exactly an expert at this. Just documentation that maybe someone can benefit from and for my reference. It’s taking a bit longer than expected to get started with it after starting this thread.

I thought it would be a little obnoxious to start thread after thread of questions. I figured I could compile most everything here and hopefully get some advice and tips as I go along.

If I have any urgent questions I will post in the other thread.

Thanks for the reply, I’m not going to cure my rocks before putting them in the tank. It is dry rock from BRS. I can’t think why there would be any phosphates to leach from the rock initially, but was thinking the GFO would take care of the phosphate if it spiked?

Will the GFO have a negative impact on the cycle if ran during?

Hoping to have water in it by the end of next week. I’m still brainstorming how to mount my lights. I should have some pics and an official start of my build this weekend.


Thanks for looking.


Mike


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[tjm9331]

My apologies if my comment came off derogatory I certainly did mean for it to be that way.

What kind of dry rock did you get from BRS? If Pukani you can expect a considerable amount of phosphate leaching.

No there shouldn’t be any negative affects to your cycle running the GFO during.


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[LoveReefer]

@tjm9331 No worries. I understand what you’re saying.

I have the reef saver rock. From my understanding it is pretty clean. I’m not exactly thrilled with the selection I was sent. Maybe luck of the draw? I think I can make it work though Pretty shapeless if you ask me. That’s about 80% of it. The other 20% is also just boulders. 75 pounds total.

I think I’ll sit on my GFO until I really need it. Stuff isn’t cheap.

Here’s my sump and ATO reservoir...Trigger systems Emerald 34. I’m really impressed with the craftsmanship here. I don’t have anything to compare it with but these guys make some great looking sumps. Seems very straight forward and full of functionality. I do have one complaint, the filter sock rings are pretty stiff and really a pain the the you know what to get in and out of the smallish hole they give you on top of the sump. That, and it’s going to be in the back of my stand to add to the difficulty. It is what it is.


The ATO res is also made by trigger systems. I ordered the clear crystal series but BRS sent me the more expensive ruby one. Felt foolish to send it back based on color so hey...it’s Christmas year round under my stand!

Crap I’ve done it.... I like to yap. I’ll shoot you guys some updates soon.

Mike






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[LoveReefer]

Here’s a closer look at the filter sock area to get a better idea how tough it is to get them in and out from the top


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[LoveReefer]

Had some free time tonight to play around with my tank. I got a lot accomplished...

Cleaned the tank up....boy was it dirty. I’ve had it sitting dry for 2+ years now. It collected a lot of dust.

I picked up some neoprene mat so that my sump and ATO res. wasn’t sitting on bare wood. Installed pretty easily.

Mock fit my plumbing and I have to say, I’m not cut out for the plumbing business. I think it turned out okay but took a lot of staring at it and thinking about it.

That center brace really sucks. Makes for a pain messing with my skimmer and not a lot of fun to work around as I’m setting this up.

Still a lot of work to be done. Tomorrow I will work on planning my cable management and leveling the tank where it is going to sit.


Mike


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[LoveReefer]

Hey guys. I’ve been really thinking hard about my plumbing setup and it put me at a stand still for a couple weeks waiting on some new pieces to arrive and more planning.

Realized I’ve made a few mistakes here...

No check valve? I think that would have been a mistake. It’s for redundancy mostly. My return is going to sit pretty close to the surface so should break siphon if power goes out. May end up drilling small hole also for good measure.

I wanted to add a couple T’s in my plumbing also for ease of adding my reactor and possibly a UV or really anything in the future. I think my pump will be able to handle it.

My issue is space under my stand. I’m out of room.
When the time comes to hook up my dual reactor I will have to move my ATO res outside of the stand for it to fit. To be honest I didn’t expect my sump and ATO to take up as much room in my stand as it does. I’ll make it work somehow.

So...I got a little crazy and regrettably didn’t take many pictures as I went along so all I have to share is where I am at now and not so much the progress on the way. That’s ok this is still fun, right?

Here’s some pics of some equipment and where I am currently...






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[LoveReefer]

Finally, here is where I stand today with the updated plumbing and some equipment installed with about 3 hours worth of cable management...




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[LoveReefer]

Next on my list of to-do’s is get a bracket or somehow support the ball valves on my return line because they are pretty heavy and I don’t like them just hanging there.

I really need to brainstorm my lighting situation too. It’s something I haven’t thought about all that much. I don’t want them hanging from my ceiling so I need to come up with a mounting idea.

I’ll be honest, I’m a bit worried about my controllers and power strips being inside the stand. I’m hoping there’s enough air flow to keep condensation to a minimum and worst case maybe add a fan?

I think I’ve done what needs to be done to minimize any water/electrical failure but I know there’s always a chance of something going wrong. I’m rolling with it.

It’s a pretty slow process but I’m having fun with it. It’s not as professional as some of the beauties I see around here but I sure think it’s pretty and hey...that matters...right?

More updates soon. Things are starting to pick up with it and I should have more time this week to play. Maybe get my mixing station setup.

Is anybody out therrreeeeeeee?....lol jk happy feeding guys

Cheers

Mike






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[LoveReefer]

Happy feeding?....happy reefing!


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[calvi]

Hi Mike I see where you put the check valve but did you consider it may back flow through the manifold once that is up and running?


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[LoveReefer]

Originally Posted by calvi

Hi Mike I see where you put the check valve but did you consider it may back flow through the manifold once that is up and running?


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......****. You reckon I can use check valve on my reactor tubing or any other equipment I may add?

I knew I was posting on here for a reason...totally missed that thank you.

Mike


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[calvi]

Your sump is a pretty decent size. Maybe you won’t need it. I didn’t use one because my sump was able to hold the back flow water.




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[LoveReefer]

I’m giving the glue until tomorrow to cure to be sure it’s dry then I’ll give it a test run. Thinking about using the hose from outside to fill it then drain it. Idk how I’ll get all the water out of the sump though...




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[Malign Reefer]

How’s the build going?

[wilsonline]

updates?