WarDog's Tank Thread : Episodic Trial And Error

[Ken]

Really nice work, love the electrical box and UV

[Skimmerking]

someone was busy

[WarDog]

The Myth, the Legend, the GOAT, BBlinks came over to help plumb the new sump. Added a new Fluval SP4 for the return.



Got the new sump done in a couple of hours. I can't stress enough how helpful the Canreef community is on the west coast.



Doser, containers and ATO will all be moved in the future. Added a 1" flow sensor to the return just because. Still need to bring the UV online.



Began stacking rejuvenated Siporax that was pulled from the old tank 2 years ago.



Added the Borg Cube to the sump, on top of the existing Siporax.



Started to get some RTN on the Loom, cut it off hoping to halt the decay. It worked for a few days but it continues to erode. Started to scratch my head and figured a bit of testing was in order. Phosphates through the roof. Figure the rejuvenated Siporax was still holding PO4 within, even after boiling, acid and bleach baths.

TEST, TEST, TEST... and always make small changes!

Doing a w/c today, and more testing later tonight. I've got Phos Down ready to go if needed. Ordered a bio pellet reactor from BRS.

Thanks for looking.

[Skimmerking]

The phos I guess went up holy crap take your time using phos down or phos ban good luck my buddy well down looks sick bro. I need to redo plumbing for my tank and since I am upgrading to a 180 starfire I will redo have a manifold and have one pump run all

[WarDog]

Originally Posted by Skimmerking

someone was busy

It never ends!

Originally Posted by Ken

Really nice work, love the electrical box and UV

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Skimmerking

The phos I guess went up holy crap take your time using phos down or phos ban good luck my buddy well down looks sick bro. I need to redo plumbing for my tank and since I am upgrading to a 180 starfire I will redo have a manifold and have one pump run all

Yup, slow changes for sure. Multiple water changes incoming. Keep us posted on your upgrade Skimmer!

[Skimmerking]

Using the same one I bought for my 54 gal corner with a 40 gal sump it’s about 90 gals
Reef Octopus elite 150 int 6” it’s over kill for my 90 but it’s good for the 180 it has a DC pump got it off reef central from a fried. For 150 US it’s a 800 dollar skimmer good find

[Dearth]

It’s coming a long nicely and I see you’re taking your time to do it right.

Waiting for more updates

[WarDog]

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!
Got a bunch done over the Xmas break and even had time to visit Adam at Frag Garage in Victoria to pick up some coral.

So let us continue with the upgrade porn. After discovering the ridiculously high PO4 I did a much needed water change.



Drains right into the tub.



Then filling up the tank with new water. Currently using Red Sea Blue, but I may change to Tropic Marin because all the cool kids are doing it.



Time to relocate the ATO to the fishroom. Started by drilling the tank.



...And fitted a bulkhead.



Needed to beef up the base of the water change station so I added 3/4 ply.



Time to clean up this mess. Was going to have the Apex control the water filling and auto water changes, but after speaking with some reef Jedi's, they saw no real benefits from auto water changes.



Finished product minus the brute that sits in the front. Added a 6 gang plug to clean up the electrical and hopefully protect it a bit.
The ATO gravity feeds directly into the sump (through the wall) where I installed a float valve in the return section.
One line goes to the Brute, not shown, and one line feeds to the tub if I want some RO.



More progress on the Apex cabinet coming soon.



Thanks for looking,

EDIT

Found some more pics for the ATO so I may as well upload them while I'm still motivated, lol.

New float valve in the sump.



ATO line hugs the wall and around through the wall into the fishroom.



Some close ups.





The completed product, plus a shut off that still needs to be added for better accessibility.
Currently seen mixing water.



I will leave you with an Apex cabinet tease.

[hillegom]

Nice work Warren, well thought out.

[WarDog]

Two snow days in a row. Spent a few hours shoveling Tauntaun poodoo yesterday, and planning to spend time today on the build. Lets get into the progress.

Had the water change titanium heater explode on me for unknown reasons.



No idea what happened, but apparently these heaters are packed with sand, and it ruined a full bucket of NSW.



Gave everything a good clean and made another batch for the next water change.



Finally hooked up the Trident, after sitting in the box for 382 days.
Mounted a second doser that will be used for more additives.



Time to clean up this mess. Had to add a PM2 because the temp probe cable was too short to reach the Apex head unit and then tuck away nicely.
Need to figure out the main power cable as all the conduits are full.



It blows my mind how many wires we have to deal with in this hobby. I've done my best to organize them, leaving enough slack to allow the door to open. I don't think anyone can really eliminate the rats nest of aquarium wiring. Added a magnet to help the door stay closed. The only things left to add are 6 more power blocks for the new light fixture (which is the next big hardware upgrade)... and possibly an exhaust fan in the roof of the cabinet.



Really happy with the final product. Adding more dosing lines today.
Why don't I have an Eb832 you say? Because they look horrible, seem to be Neptune's number one failing product, and my Eb8 continues to work without issue (fingers crossed).
Plus I wanted to keep the look consistent.



Thanks for looking.