Lets see the guts of your system
 

Heya,

I'm curious what everybody's system looks like below the tank. As being new to the hobby. I only have basic stuff such as a sump, skimmer, test kits, T5 lighting, RODI, coral food and some purple up.

Is this enough for a long lasting reef? What does everyone else use and how is it set up? Any pics would be helpful and a quick paragraph explaining your methods of your madness.

I hear of Reactors, Co2, 2 part, 3 part, diy, dosers, refuges, controllers and many other systems, but what is necessary? and what is overkill?

I would like my tank to be as nice as any other persons on canreef with a limited budget, but with all of these pieces of equipment and chemistry involved, it gets somewhat overwhelming for a noob such as myself.



Thanks

I will grab a pic when i get home but you have most of the basic's. only thing i would reccomend is running some rowaphos (GFO) and running carbon. My set up is very similar and i am in the same boat as for being on a budget. another thing to consider is a ATO like the tunze one. saves you alot of head acks with keeping your water level up to par

I try to put a sump sock on anything that moves water it makes the water look so clean and kills bubbles.

Your system appears headed in the correct direction. Moving forward you will require a system to maintain a consistent amount of calcium and alkalinity, this can be accomplished various ways, including using 2 part additives or a calcium reactor. The more corals you have, the greater the demands on ca and alk (corals use this - gallons do not).

Also - forget about the purple up (and save your money for other stuff). Once your tank matures and maintains a consistent level of calcium, coraline will become an enemy. Cheers.

For the most part my guts are on display. I use a big 140gal stock trough as a sump and because I just rent this crack shack I'm not able to add some more walls to hide it. I consider everything that I have to be necessary and cost effective to run my reef but obviously others will differ... Okay the stock trough is a little excessive but I love the massive water volume and space! In the picture you can see:

Skimmer
Controller
Media reactors
Refugium
Return pump
ATO
(frag tank on the left and display tank on the right)

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...cture651-1.jpg

Here is why everything sits beside the tank... theres not enough room under the display anymore.

2 Stage Calcium Reactor
Kalkwasser Reactor
Battery Backup
CO2

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...cture064-1.jpg

On top the lights hang from the ceiling and you can see how the water returning from the sump is directed through an OM 4-Way wavemaker.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...Picture655.jpg

Its all neatly tucked away in the corner of my ghetto basement for now. Most of frankensump was built with the intention of upgrading it to a 50"x36"x24" 250gal in-wall system once we buy a house. The only item not shown in the picture is the RO/DI system which is plumbed to the ATO tank from another room.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...Picture656.jpg

whatcaneyedo (sorry forget your name) I like your ghetto set-up with all the reefing related posters and all, it doesn't look so ghetto to me. Where did you find all those ? I was at Greg's (snappy) and he also has the same kinda idea.

I bought them through a wholesaler that most people probably wouldnt have access too... Ottawa Inverts has them listed for sale on their website and I know Progressive Reef has a few of them up in their store so they might be able to bring them in. I have 7 in total but you can only see a few in the picture.

I love having them as a quick referance when I'm trying to explain the care requirements of something to someone standing in my basement. They also distract from the depressing damaged green walls down here.

Crowded, I know
http://banditpowdercoat.com/Powderga...%20%282%29.jpg

We have access to the posters as well. $17.99 each.


http://www.thatpetplace.com/images/p...tion/10499.jpg

I like your chandelier frags/colonies in your smaller tank, we do that to with certain species! They like being suspended and also promotes better growth!

:mrgreen:

old pictures but below the tank
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h316/das75/1_cl.jpg

and basement
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3.../sumpagain.jpg

Here's what it looks like under my tank with the magnetized panels removed:

http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...g?t=1263429419

don't know why but every time I see a dosing pump seem to get a little excited

Nice clean setup...

Sorry a little off topic, i see under banditpowdercoat tank he uses foam, just woundering what type of foam you use?

here's my guts. i need more LR in my sump. with lots of salt creep, yep its a sump

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e6...0/DSCN6592.jpg

How do you guys keep them all so-o-o clean???

I clean my sump every month. I scrape it down with the metal kent scraper and clean out my skimmer every two months. I then clean out any detritus and the scrapings with an Eheim sludge extractor. I have a filter sock on my outlet that I change every other day to minimize detritus collecting in the sump and to help add some nitrate to my bare bottom tank to help with coral coloration.

^^^
thats a good idea. I kind of feel bad for having a sump covered in creep. esspecially after seeing yours

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...il109front.jpg

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...il109Lside.jpg

That's what happens when you have lots of stuff and no space. Mind you, now there's even more crap with a Profilux II and two power bars and a bottle of vodka in there.

High density, usually pink or blue, but not the white.

Ya High Density Styrofoam

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/v...2/DSCN1972.jpg

The photo is a little old, the refugium now has a big ball of cheato in it and there's a silicone pad under the pump, but you get the idea. The drain is split so that some of the flow goes to the skimmer compartment and some goes to the refugium (on the far right). The drain flow is controled by a ball valve on the skimmer side. The more closed it is, the more flow is directed to the refugium. I shoot for 75% to the skimmer, 25% to the refugium. The blue bin on the right is a recycle bin that I'm using for an auto topoff reservoir, the duct tape and acrylic lid is to reduce evaporation from the reservoir. My ATO rig consists of a double float switch and solonoid setup which controls a Maxijet 400 powerhead in the bottom of the reservoir that send fresh water to the center compartment of the sump through vinyl tubing. The float setup can be obtained from a non-sponsor website, PM me if you want. There's also a TLF reactor running phosban, carbon in a media bag, as well as essential tank maintenance equipment (turkey baster, feeding tongs, mag float, towel, net, etc.).

Edit: Wow, must have just cleaned the skimmer before taking the pic, I can't remember the last time the cup was so clear!

Well here's mine:

Attachment 5546

Not much of a pic, but basically a marineland sump with a biowheel, skimmer, and 2 heaters.

90g Zeovit sump.
 

Okay I will play. Here are some pic's of my 90g Zeovit sump. Nothing special, just 45"x15 1/2"x16" sump I custom built, 4000 quite one pump, ASM G2 skimmer, Vertex 3L Zeovit reactor, 300w Aqua clear heater and Tex t5 4x24w.

http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/a...k/IMG_2151.jpg

http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/a...k/IMG_2152.jpg

:biggrin:

Here is what is directly under my tank:

Here is the closed loop.
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...g?t=1263708097

This is directly under my tank in the basement (my tank is on the main floor). Top tank is water change tank - it's part of the system (75 gallon). The middle tank is frag/grow out tank (40 gal). Bottom is 100gallon sump.
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...g?t=1263708175

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...g?t=1263708267

It's all a matter of how much time you have :)