New 225 Setup with Aquascaping Focus

[andrewsk]

I have also posted this on RC but wanted to also update the progress in this forum as it has lots of locals

Hello all,

My name is Keith and I live in Calgary, Canada.

I am starting another "watch me build my tank" thread but I hope this one will be a bit different.

I am the current owner of a low to midrange 90 gallon tank with some assorted corals and fish. While I love my tank I always felt that it could be so much more. Then I came across this thread on RC and was truly inspired by the design of the tank and some of the comments in the thread.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=853513

My biggest "dislike" in reefkeeping is the look of a tank that that is simply filled with Live rock (one large hill in the middle) covered in coral with clams, frags etc all over the sand. I think it looks cluttered and very non reef like. I also think that coraline all over the back and sides of the tank takes away from the depth of the tank and should be eliminated. Last, I cannot stand the look of powerheads, heaters or anythink man made in the tank. (I hope this does not offend anyone in any way, this is just my anal opinion anyway )

Here is a quote from "steveweast" in the above thread that says it better than I can:

Greg (Bonsainut) posted the best example of aquascaping perfection. It's the one I always come back to for inspiration....and why ? ....because I believe the answer to all your aquascaping questions are right there in that pic..... you just need to notice its philosophies...

1) have just as much postive space (rocks and corals) as negative space (open water and sand)

2) Don't worry about creating nooks/crannies/caves/etc....they just will be eventually covered by livestock. Instead focus on the general rock shape that has both low and high points...perhaps even breaking the surface. Focus on large details...not small crevises (especially if you have a large tank).

3) Maintain an algae free back (and sides if possible) to create an illusion of infinite depth....contrary to what we'd all like to believe, coralline does not create an attractive back drop...only a distracting one.

4) hide all the things of man.....overflows...pumps...pipes....etc.

5) don't clutter the sand bed with a bunch of livestock....a clam or two...maybe...but that's it. Cluttered sandbeds just make the overall display look too busy. You can improve the overall display tremendously by just removing all the frags, zoas, blastos, etc that so many people seem to keep on the sandbed these days......it just distracting.

With this in mind I am going to TRY to create a new tank that follows these principals.

The tank will be 225 gallons (72 long, 30 deep, and 24 high). The 30 deep instead of the standard 24 deep 30 high should allow a few more aquascaping possibilities.


As for the equipment, on my 90 I went low to mid range for most of the items and was often let down.



For the 225, I am going to try to get only the best equipment and do this right.

Here are my equipment plans (I will put rough equipment costs in here in case anyone is interested) Opinions are welcome!

Water movement.:
Tunze TS24 Turbelle Stream Pump Kit - 2 x 6100 Pump + 7095 Multi Controller and a Wave Box. The pumps will be hidden on the rockwork by 2 Tunze Turbelle Stream Deco-Rocks.
Total $2000 CAD

(I did seriously think about a closed loop system, but I want to do some serious wave simulation and I love the nightime, feeding, and total control that the tunze offers.)

Lighting:
72" PFO Professional Series Metal Halide
IceCap Metal Halide Ballast Add-On - 3x250W
3-250W 10000K XM Metal Halide BulbPFO Fixture IceCap Fan
Dual Fan
PFO LED Night Light Add-On
PFO Fixture 72" VHO Actinic Add-On (Dual) - 2x165W
Total $2000 CAD

Skimmer:
Euro-Reef RC500 External Protein Skimmer
Total $2000 CAD

Sump:
I am still not decided on the Sump. Currently my plans are to use my 90 for a sump/refugium combo but I do not think my skimmer will fit inside (I know it can go external but would prefer it internal) so I may have to order something custom.

Sand/Bottom:
I am going barebottom and have ordered my board from TheCuttingBoard Company. (2 - 1/2 inch thick 36" x 30" white boards.) $200

Live Rock:
I am going to go with a full Deep Water Tonga environment. I currently have 70 lbs in my 90 and have another 70 shipping out today. $500 per 70lbs

Filtration:
Other than the skimmer, I am going to have a ton of Cheato in the Sump, 2 Phosban Reactors running RowPhos and Carbon, and 3 custom plumbed pails (Like the Instant Ocean ones) that will be joined by PVC and bulkheads and fed from a pump through 2 unlit deep sand beds and 1 unlit miracle mud bed.

Due to many spills and floods from the 90, we are redisigning my den and putting down tile and laminate where than will soon be going.



Current progress. The pipes just go to the 90 for now and will be removed once I have converted to the new tank.

My equipment and Tank will be arriving this week so please feel free to comment with any opinions or suggestions as I move forward.

[TheReefGeek]

Sounds like you know your reef shizzy, the design sounds really good to me. I like open aquascaping as well, with lots of open sand.

Couple ideas/suggstions to build a "dream tank" IMO:

I would go to 400w bulbs seeing as you are going 30" tall.

Are you restricted to putting stuff under your stand? If not there is lots more you could do, frag grow out tank, seperate fuge, etc.

For equipment, I would add in a Coralife Turbo Twist UV, and a calcium reactor with a Milwaukee controller. Get the ORP/PH controller and you could add Ozone for water clarity too. In order of importance I would go UV, then calcium reactor, then Ozone.

I would also incorporate and auto top off system with automatic RODI control.

[TheReefGeek]

Also for aquascaping, you can use various methods to attach rock together for some great formations. Zip-tie, drill and pvc, etc.

And for the skimmer, if you have sump and place to hide it, the ASM G6 would be an awesome skimmer for less money.

Other things, make sure you have lots of drain line capacity for safety, and a smart sump design for anti-flooding, float switches are also great for that, and preventing pump burn-out.

[andrewsk]

Some great suggestions reefgeek.

My tank is actually 72 long 30 wide and 24 high so I think the 250's are ok.

I actually do have Ozone already, just forgot to mention it I have a Red Sea Aquazone Deluxe Ozonizer (w/ ORP Controller & Probe) - 200 mg/hr

I have heard so many conflicting things about UV. What do you think it adds to the tank that Ozone does not?

I am using a Tunze 3155 Ozmolator for my top up system. How does auto Ro/DI work?

Underneath my tank will be totally empty and I love the idea of a Frag Growout tank. I will got on that immediatly.

As for the Calcium reactor, I am considering it but unless I go with a lot of SPS do I really need it?

My tunze equipment just arrived. this is getting exciting now!






Thanks!

[albert_dao]

Hey Keith, Like Rory said, you can get some great formations by making PVC frames and zip tying the rocks to it. Ask me about it next time you swing by the store and I'll show you a picture of a tank I aquascaped for a customer. His tank is pretty much the same size as your's and the rock layouts are quite dramatic.

[andrewsk]

Thanks Albert. I will do that next time I am in. Do you create the PVC frame first, then attach the rocks? What if they are huge rocks, like the Tonga Deep water? This sounds very cool.

I should mention that the tank is being made by Gold's as I have heard that their builder does great work. The tank will arrive on friday so watch for pics.

[albert_dao]

The frame is easy to assemble but you just have to make sure it will fit in the tank once it's assembled (I forgot to account for the Euro-bracing the first time around and had to trim off a lot of the frame, doh). But you gotta drill holes in the frame every 2-4".

As for larger rocks, you can set them near the bottom and... ahh bugger, it would be easier for me to show you in person.

[TheReefGeek]

Your Tunze auto top off will pump from a reservoir of water into your tank when water evaporates. This means you still have to use an RODI until to fill a reservoir manually. I ran like this for a while, but after forgetting to turn the RODI off sometimes, I got some small floods.

A really simple solution is to hook up a sprinkler solenoid between your water source and the RODI. Then put this on a timer, for just under the water usage you have per day, and plumb the RODI to your reservoir. This will keep the reservoir slowly filling up each day, but also the reservoir will slowly go down, but at least you are not manually filling it as often.

More complicated involves float switches in the reservoir to control the sprinkler soloenoid precisely.

Another way is to use a float valve in the reservoir, with a hydraulic switch in your RODI that will flip from pressure in the line when the float valve closes. But this can fail too easily IMO, especially when your line between RODI and reservoir is lengthy, like across your house, then you would need pressure bladders to keep the pressure up, like spectrapure setup use.

I have tried all 3 of the above methods, right now I just set my RODI unit to just below my daily usage, and manually crank the timer around to top up immiediately when I notice it is low. So a couple times a week I crank the timer, and all is well.

I have not run ozone (yet) but ozone clears up your water quality by breaking down organics in the water that otherwise would color it.

UV kill free floating "stuff" like bacteria, im no biologist, but this has cut down my slime algae by 1/10th at least, I rarely have to clean the glass, I actually clean the glass to get rid of coralline now, not green slime.

[danny zubot]

Looks like a lot of fun! Keep us posted!