80 gal starphire build

[ecomdesign]

Well, after getting a great deal on some equipment from another reefer who decided to leave the hobby, I have decided to change my setup completely and switch just about everything over. As it stands right now the only things I will be transferring from my old setup will be my livestock!

Here is a list of my new equipment:

80 gallon 48" x 21" x 18" (l/w/h) Starphire aquarium
- Custom Built by AO
- 1/2" starphire glass on front panel
- 1/2" starphire glass (right) side panel
- 1/2" glass on back panel. painted black
- 3/4" glass on bottom
- 3/4" glass on left side panel. painted black (overflow)
- 2" drain
- External overflow on left side (adds another 6 inches to length)

Aqua Illumination 48” 7 bulb Constellation
- Excellent coverage on this aquarium. \the previous owner custom built the aquarium based on the light spread pattern of this light fixture
- Acrylic splash shield
- Includes a set of 1 month old ATI bulbs and a load of 6 month old Geisseman/Aquascience bulbs

Tunze 24 Kit
- Two Tunze 6100s
- One extra Tunze 6000 driver (for lower flow)
- 7095 controller

-Deltec AP851 Skimmer with Eheim pump
-ReefKeeper2 Controller
-Red Sea AquaZone Ozonizers
-Aqua-medic 3 channel doser (1 channel is broken and need repair)
-Ebo Jager Heater 200 watt
-Pacific Coast CL-280 chiller
-Eheim 1260 return pump
-40 gallon breeder sump
-litermeter3 with top pff control (used on my old system for dosing kalk)

I started build a new stand last night. I will take a week or 2 to complete. After that I will plumb it up it my garage and test for leaks.

Some things I need to figure out are:

1.Do I keep the Deltec AP851 skimmer, or sell it off and pickup something a little smaller. I'm a little nervous that it may over skim on this size tank.

2.Plumbing-I've never plumbed a tank from scratch. If I keep the skimmer, I think its best to run the overflow through the skimmer (gravity feed). The tank has a 2 1/2" hole in the overflow, so I guess I need a 1 1/2" bulkhead right?

3.Sump design- The 40 gallon breeder will make a great sump, however there are no baffles in it. I want to add a section for the skimmer, a section for a refugium and a section for the return. I think I will put a bubble trap in between the fuge and return section. Once I plumb the system and will need to see how much the water level rises in the sump to decide on the baffle height. Is there a better way to figure that out?

4.Decide on what to keep from the above list. I'm thinking the ozonizer, chiller, and 3 channel dose wont really be needed.

pics to come...input is welcome!!!

[the_rider]

You found a great setup to buy ! Make sure you post picture and create a thread build ! It's gonna be a great setup for sure !

Concerning your questions :

1- IMO, you cannot overskim. A nice skimmer will allow you to feed your fish and coral more which will only result in a healthy system. You should definitely keep the AP851 which is really a great skimmer.

2- You should feed you skimmer though gravity. If you want to put a wavebox, the flow won't be steady and the skimmer will have a hard time creating a foamhead. Also, you wont have the control you could feeding it which your return pump. You can split the return, and create a manifold to feed skimmer,media reactor, etc. Just make sure the return pump is powerful enough. There a lot more problem/concern feeding your skimmer tru gravity.

3- You can decide on the baffle height by computing the excess water that gonna come from overflow, return line if you dont put a checkvalve on the return etc. And then use a tank dimension to compute the volume of the excess water

4-The ozonizer really depend on your approach to reefkeeping. The chiller, it depends on the temperature in your area, if you have AC or not, If you are able to keep constant temp without it, then you should sell it. But if money is not a problem I would probably keep it just in case. The doser really come handy went your reef is full. You can keep stable ca,alk,mg with it which become really handy. I dont know the realibility of the aquamedic doser but if it good, a keeper for sure.

We want pics :P

Alex B

[Reefobsession]

I would sell the skimmer and tunze pumps and get a
Swc 160 cone and two mp40's

[ecomdesign]

Originally Posted by Reefobsession

I would sell the skimmer and tunze pumps and get a
Swc 160 cone and two mp40's

thanks for the advice guys. I will take a look at theSWC 160 tonight when I get home. I have been building the stand all day and the wife wants to go shopping... Its looking great so far and I cant wait to get it finished!

I was really hooked on the thought of getting vortechs, but the fact that I see so many for sale that are only months old in the classified section has me thinking people aren't as happy with them as they think they will be. Also the wet side seems to need frequent replacement. Its a lot of money based my assumptions.

[acura27]

pics pics pics sounds like a great build

[dg3147]

we have the same set-up, take a look a my homepage if ya like. I agree with the vortech, but so far one has been enough for me.

pics!

[ecomdesign]

Well, I dont have pics of the equipment yet, but I have a few of my stand. I started it thursday night and spent a fair amount of time on it over the long weekend. I'd say it is about 40% done. I need to find doors for it. I have contacted 1 place, and to have a 21" x 30" door built it is going to cost $83 per door!!!









they are not the best pics. I put the stand back into the garage and then remembered to get some pics. I will get better pics next time I pull it out. The thing that sits on top of the stand is a side piece that will cover the overflow. The tanks overflow is mounted on the left side of the tank and I want it covered because it is an eye sore. I want to wait till I get doors figured out before going any further with the stand so that I can decide what size/style trim to go with for the top and bottom. If anyone knows of any cheaper places to get doors, please let me know. The wife isn't to happy with doors that will cost me over $160!!!

[ecomdesign]

Saturday should be a big day. A freind is going to help me make doors (his hobby is wood working) and I'm picking up all of my plumbing supplies!!! Now I just need to find time to hang the doors, finish the trim and plumb it all up.

[ecomdesign]

Originally Posted by dg3147

we have the same set-up, take a look a my homepage if ya like. I agree with the vortech, but so far one has been enough for me.

pics!

that is a clean looking stand you have! I like it. Thank for the link to your homepage. Mine is not going to be that modern looking. I'm planing more trim work with raise panel doors. After its all done I want to paint it all cream and make the stand "distressed."

I dont mean to bash vortech, technology wise they are light years ahead. Having no wires in the tank is really cool, its just that I dont understand why the wet side seems to need replacing so often. They should make that part last longer...although from what I read vortech customer service is as good as it gets. I really cant argue who is better between vortech and tunze...

I have hooked up the tunze I got and I'm happy with it so far. 1 pump is louder than the other, but it is used so you get whay you pay for. There is a small rattle. It might be coming from vibrations and the rattle might be in my canopy. I will see when I get the new tank put together.

[ecomdesign]

Well, Its been a very busy 3 weeks. I finished the stand, and put maple hardwood floors down and then installed the new setup. Now I just have to sell my old stuff and have beer!









All thats left to do is install the door handles and some trim that I have made to hide that pink underfoam.

[greech]

I have those same floors! Nice job, congrats!

[ecomdesign]

I was a little nervous to go with floors that light, but I'm glad I did. Thanks!