backdraft_reefer
Active Member
Hello everyone!!
This is my first post as my new profile (side note: I lost the password to my old one and never updated it anyways…plus I lined up my profile name to match my Instagram profile also J). I am finally starting my build profile for my new custom 180 gallon mixed reef. The tank was ordered at the end of January of this year and arrived a month ago. I plan to update everyone on all the info in this first post, so I hope all of you like reading!
First of all, I’ll go over my background. I currently have two tanks. My main reef is an Innovative Marine SR-80 packed full of SPS, LPS, zoanthids, clams, and a large neon green Haddoni carpet anemone. The tank was set up in August of 2016 and has been fantastic. It runs on a 2016 Apex and is dosed with BRS 2-part. My other tank is an Innovative Marine Nuvo 20 that I use as a frag/holding tank. I just took down my 10-gallon frag tank and combined it with this one for another project that I will post about down the road. So, long story short, I am outgrowing my current tank, so time to upgrade!!!
Next, the specs to the new build:
Tank:Custom 180 gallon, standard dimensions, Euro-braced on top and bottom
Stand:Custom 2 inch steel, 40” tall and built with the tank, has plywood already mounted on bottom for sump and top for tank. Stand also came with 1” of Styrofoam to cushion bottom of the tank.
Sump:GeosReef 46” sump, 3 filter socks, built in reactor and refugium section
Skimmer:Nyos 220 (sump has custom built lid for the skimmer), also have the Avast Marine Skimmer Swabbie
ATO Container:Synergy Reef 10-gallon container (Tunze Osmolator)
Dosing Container:Advanced Acrylic
Controller:2016 Apex, 2 Dos dosers, Lunar Sim module, WXM module, Avast Marine switchboard module
Return Pump:Apex Core 20
Lighting:4 Kessil A360’s (on current tank) coupled with the Aquatic Life T5 Hybrid (60” model)
Flow:two Ecotech MP40s and two Ecotech MP10s (on current tank, will move over when livestock is moved)
Like I said earlier, the tank arrived about a month ago, so I am back tracking and showing all the pictures with commentary as I have made progress up to now.
First and foremost, I had to move the old tank to the guest room to make room for the new tank. You can see I marked out the approximate area of the new tank when deciding where to put it. The move took about an hour and all the muscle of my roommate and myself. We drained about 80% of the tank and slid it into the temporary location. I had a few frag not make it, however, most corals pulled through the stress.
Next came the padding under the stand. I decided to use two ½” thick gym mats under the stand to help protect the floor and distribute the weight. Both came a few days before the tank arrived. Due to the dimensions, I had to order both mats bigger than the tank and cut them back.
On July 26th, the new tank was delivered! I had some awesome friends from Joe Knows Reefs (also who I ordered it through) come and help move it in. Exotic Aquariums built the tank in Florida along with the stand. The tank itself has amazing craftsmanship with no discrepancies whatsoever. It has an external glass overflow box with three 1” holes for a Bean Animal setup. It is reinforced with Euro-bracing on top and bottom of the tank and the three viewing panels are made of low iron glass.
Immediately after delivery, I began working on getting the system together. Many large components began coming in almost daily. I painted the bottom of the plywood under the sump black and placed some extra molding for esthetics. The new sump from GeosReef arrived about a week later and I was blown away by the build quality and attention to detail! The sump is the 46” Pro version with three 4” filter socks, a Nyos 220 Skimmer with custom built covers, a built in media reactor and 5 gallon refugium.
Over the next two weeks I began assembling other parts of the build. I hung the new Aquatic Life Hybrid fixture, but still have not placed the bulbs in. The ATO container was moved from the current tank to the new one and fits right in with the new sump. I used black chalkboard panels from the local big box hardware store with magnets on the back to mount. I began the plumbing soon after. All drainpipes are black 1” PVC with white fittings to match the sump and stand. I placed a gate valve on the main siphon and left the partial drain and emergency drain open. The return is plumbed off a manifold. There are two ½” lines to feed the reactor and fuge. After that, there is a T with two ¾” return lines into the top corners of the tank.
After finishing the plumbing, I began mounting some of the equipment. I ordered a second 832 Energy Bar to help power and control half of the tank. I am going to split the heaters and T5 lights onto separate circuits to not overload anything. The Kessil lights and power heads will be powered by a regular power strip that is on a different circuit from the Apex energy bars. The flow on the tank will be provided by two Ecotech MP40s and two Ecotech MP10s (the current tank is using the MP10s and will be moved over once the livestock is transferred). Lastly, I leak tested the tank the past two days with only one small leak found on the emergency drain bulkhead. After tightening it down a little more, the leak was stopped and everything was working well. At this point, I am just waiting for the ABS sheets to come in from BRS. Once installed, I will begin cycling the tank. The main rock structures are made by Aqua Rocks. Lee is was great to work with and creates amazing works of art! I got two main reef structures, which will be placed against the back glass. I specifically asked the structures to be lower to allow more vertical growth of my SPS colonies. The third structure is a custom designed “Anemone Bowl.” This will be the only place in the tank with sand and was specifically designed for the Haddoni Carpet anemone.
So this is how far I have come in the past month. I hope all of you enjoy this build! Please feel free to ask questions and give advice!
If you would like to keep up with the build, follow me on Instagram @backdraft_reefer I post multiple times a week on what I am working on
This is my first post as my new profile (side note: I lost the password to my old one and never updated it anyways…plus I lined up my profile name to match my Instagram profile also J). I am finally starting my build profile for my new custom 180 gallon mixed reef. The tank was ordered at the end of January of this year and arrived a month ago. I plan to update everyone on all the info in this first post, so I hope all of you like reading!
First of all, I’ll go over my background. I currently have two tanks. My main reef is an Innovative Marine SR-80 packed full of SPS, LPS, zoanthids, clams, and a large neon green Haddoni carpet anemone. The tank was set up in August of 2016 and has been fantastic. It runs on a 2016 Apex and is dosed with BRS 2-part. My other tank is an Innovative Marine Nuvo 20 that I use as a frag/holding tank. I just took down my 10-gallon frag tank and combined it with this one for another project that I will post about down the road. So, long story short, I am outgrowing my current tank, so time to upgrade!!!
Next, the specs to the new build:
Tank:Custom 180 gallon, standard dimensions, Euro-braced on top and bottom
Stand:Custom 2 inch steel, 40” tall and built with the tank, has plywood already mounted on bottom for sump and top for tank. Stand also came with 1” of Styrofoam to cushion bottom of the tank.
Sump:GeosReef 46” sump, 3 filter socks, built in reactor and refugium section
Skimmer:Nyos 220 (sump has custom built lid for the skimmer), also have the Avast Marine Skimmer Swabbie
ATO Container:Synergy Reef 10-gallon container (Tunze Osmolator)
Dosing Container:Advanced Acrylic
Controller:2016 Apex, 2 Dos dosers, Lunar Sim module, WXM module, Avast Marine switchboard module
Return Pump:Apex Core 20
Lighting:4 Kessil A360’s (on current tank) coupled with the Aquatic Life T5 Hybrid (60” model)
Flow:two Ecotech MP40s and two Ecotech MP10s (on current tank, will move over when livestock is moved)
Like I said earlier, the tank arrived about a month ago, so I am back tracking and showing all the pictures with commentary as I have made progress up to now.
First and foremost, I had to move the old tank to the guest room to make room for the new tank. You can see I marked out the approximate area of the new tank when deciding where to put it. The move took about an hour and all the muscle of my roommate and myself. We drained about 80% of the tank and slid it into the temporary location. I had a few frag not make it, however, most corals pulled through the stress.
Next came the padding under the stand. I decided to use two ½” thick gym mats under the stand to help protect the floor and distribute the weight. Both came a few days before the tank arrived. Due to the dimensions, I had to order both mats bigger than the tank and cut them back.
On July 26th, the new tank was delivered! I had some awesome friends from Joe Knows Reefs (also who I ordered it through) come and help move it in. Exotic Aquariums built the tank in Florida along with the stand. The tank itself has amazing craftsmanship with no discrepancies whatsoever. It has an external glass overflow box with three 1” holes for a Bean Animal setup. It is reinforced with Euro-bracing on top and bottom of the tank and the three viewing panels are made of low iron glass.
Immediately after delivery, I began working on getting the system together. Many large components began coming in almost daily. I painted the bottom of the plywood under the sump black and placed some extra molding for esthetics. The new sump from GeosReef arrived about a week later and I was blown away by the build quality and attention to detail! The sump is the 46” Pro version with three 4” filter socks, a Nyos 220 Skimmer with custom built covers, a built in media reactor and 5 gallon refugium.
Over the next two weeks I began assembling other parts of the build. I hung the new Aquatic Life Hybrid fixture, but still have not placed the bulbs in. The ATO container was moved from the current tank to the new one and fits right in with the new sump. I used black chalkboard panels from the local big box hardware store with magnets on the back to mount. I began the plumbing soon after. All drainpipes are black 1” PVC with white fittings to match the sump and stand. I placed a gate valve on the main siphon and left the partial drain and emergency drain open. The return is plumbed off a manifold. There are two ½” lines to feed the reactor and fuge. After that, there is a T with two ¾” return lines into the top corners of the tank.
After finishing the plumbing, I began mounting some of the equipment. I ordered a second 832 Energy Bar to help power and control half of the tank. I am going to split the heaters and T5 lights onto separate circuits to not overload anything. The Kessil lights and power heads will be powered by a regular power strip that is on a different circuit from the Apex energy bars. The flow on the tank will be provided by two Ecotech MP40s and two Ecotech MP10s (the current tank is using the MP10s and will be moved over once the livestock is transferred). Lastly, I leak tested the tank the past two days with only one small leak found on the emergency drain bulkhead. After tightening it down a little more, the leak was stopped and everything was working well. At this point, I am just waiting for the ABS sheets to come in from BRS. Once installed, I will begin cycling the tank. The main rock structures are made by Aqua Rocks. Lee is was great to work with and creates amazing works of art! I got two main reef structures, which will be placed against the back glass. I specifically asked the structures to be lower to allow more vertical growth of my SPS colonies. The third structure is a custom designed “Anemone Bowl.” This will be the only place in the tank with sand and was specifically designed for the Haddoni Carpet anemone.
So this is how far I have come in the past month. I hope all of you enjoy this build! Please feel free to ask questions and give advice!
If you would like to keep up with the build, follow me on Instagram @backdraft_reefer I post multiple times a week on what I am working on
