D-D Reef Pro 1200 - The $%@& IT! tank

[clawhammer]

Hi All,
Having experienced a life changing (nearly ending) event last year I'm of the opinion that life is too short and I deserve a nice new aquarium. I've been planning for a few months and getting back into reef keeping is helping me recover. I wasn't sure how Mrs CH would react and had planned to order bits over a period of months with the end delivery being the tank and cabinet. My mantra has always been 'it's best to ask for forgiveness than for permission' but I needed her input on colour for cabinet. We made a decision in under a minute with absolutely zero push back about the possibility of a new and larger aquarium so I took my chance and explained that I would be ordering everything the following day. She responded with 'that's fine'. No questions about costs or anything. Now, clearly this is a trap of some sorts but she has given the green light so I'm about to pull the trigger.

Here's the shopping list: -

Aquarium - D-D Reef Pro 1200 with satin black cabinet
Control - GHL Profilux4 MegaSet, KH D, ION D, Doser 2.2 SA x 3, Auto Feeder
Skimmer - Deltec 600i
Heaters - D-D 350w Titanium x 2
Return pump - Ecotech Vectra M2
UV Steriliser - Deltec 20w
Filtration - ClariSea SK3000
Lighting - Ecotech Radion XR15 G6 Blue x 2
Wave maker - MP40 x 2

I had already ordered some GHL items and they arrived a couple of weeks ago. I also have a 4 probe holder, float sensor for the skimmer cup and optical sensor for use as ATO. Just waiting on ION D set that will hopefully arrive end of September or early October.

For the scape I'm having two pieces made. I've made the mock up below to give an idea of what I'm looking for. I have about 2 weeks to finalise the design of this so any help or suggestions will be greatly received. Looking at the image below, I'm thinking the cantilever should be lower than the other piece perhaps?

Originally I was going to put a refugium in the sump and use Triton method. However, I'm thinking of using Triton other and dosing carbon to control nutrients and take advantage of the GHL testing and automation rather than trying to adjust fuge lighting, etc. to balance nutrients. Again, would appreciate thoughts on this.

The next step in the build process is the end of this week/beginning of next when the electrician puts a second double socket onto the wall to take 4 x 6 gang extensions to of which are GHL PowerBars. I'm not electrically minded at all but hoping this will be okay.

That's it for now but will update with any progress but more likely with more questions on bits I'm planning to order.

TIA, CH

 

[Snoopy 67]

Take a look @ Reef-fi Uno lights.
They get great reviews.
My original Vectra pump had problems & turned me off on them.
I have a dc with a 5 year warranty I like if you want another choice .LMK

 

[clawhammer]

Take a look @ Reef-fi Uno lights.
They get great reviews.
My original Vectra pump had problems & turned me off on them.
I have a dc with a 5 year warranty I like if you want another choice .LMK

Hi and thanks for your post.

I’m pretty much set on the brands of equipment as it can all be controlled through two apps, GHL Connect and Mobius.

I’m deciding between XR15 and XR30. The tank is shallow and LFS have recommended 2 x 15’s. I suppose I can always add more later if needed. I then need to decide on Blue or Pro. Would love to hear from anyone with first hand experience of these lights.

I’ve had an MP10 for 7 years and it’s not skipped a beat. Hopefully your experience with the Vectra is a rare occurrence and mine runs smoothly for many years

 

[clawhammer]

Have been doing lots of research and made some decisions.

First off, I’m going with a refugium. I already have an Ai Prime that will be used for lighting and will get some miracle mud. Just need something to partition and prevent bits of chaeto getting around the sump and into the return pump.

Also decided to buy a custom acrylic jump guard. I’m going to have it split into 2 separate sections if not 3 rather than 1 huge piece. It will need to have a removable section for when I’m using the automatic feeder. It will also have cut outs for the lights so I decided to buy a 3rd light now rather than down the road. This will save me having to buy another jump guard further down the line to accommodate a third light.

Sticking with lights, going with the blue rather than pro version. I don’t like very bright lights and always leaned towards blue spectrum in my current tank. Plus, the blue version has blue bits on the light which matches the blue theme of the sump. It’s the little things

I like to light up my sump as it makes maintenance a lot easier when I can see properly. It can also look pretty cool. For this tank I’m going with a Philips Hue Strip light and motion sensor. My home is pretty much all hue lighting so it fits into that ecosystem and I can program it to do a few different cool and helpful things like red at night, blue in the day and change to bright white when carrying out maintenance. Sensor will make it come on when the doors open.

Finally, for substrate I’m going with Caribsea Arag-alive Fiji pink.