Eb0la11's 165G Reef Tank Build

[Eb0la11]

Yeah I was thinking about the valve idea, that might work. I want zero air in either of those tubes. I think Im most definitely going to have to cut into the pipe and put in a valve below like you mention. Wont be too hard, might take an hour or two max. Other than that this thing is running quite well. Water is nice and level, overflow works, drains work well etc...

As of right now there is not enough room in the sump for a power outage from back flow. So far my check valve works wonderfully to prevent any flow backwards as my system has been "off" for the last 6-7 hours and my water levels all are exactly the same height. I know I cant rely on this part but it'll help. If it did fail Id see likely 25G of water flow back, if it works well then Id see about 10-15G flow back. Right now my sump can hold maybe an extra 5-7G and then once I build my emergency reservoir and plumb it I'll have enough for about 17G which is good enough. If I had 8G of water spill on my unfinished basement itd take me 30 mins to clean up.

Im still going to plumb an emergency overflow reservoir that will remain empty at all times. I luckily have a hole drilled into my sump above the height of the water in one of my chambers and so I am going to just 90 it straight up but below the height of my sumps top edge and direct it towards my empty QT tank, and when that isnt empty I'll just shove it in a 5G bucket. This way I should have enough room for the water if a power outage should it occur.

I'll likely fix this plumbing problem tomorrow and then I gotta figure out this stupid skimmer needle pump and as far as I can see into the future right now my system should be working perfect, but Im sure I'll run into another problem seeing as how this is my first build.

[fishytime]

I always recommend to pick up an extra check valve to swap in every 6 months to a year....most check valves fail due to a build up of crud on the seal....Just pop the old one out via the union and give it a soak in vinegar. Somewhat cheap peace of mind.

[Eb0la11]

Replacing the check valve would be pretty easy. Its in a good spot.

Also, Ive picked up the parts to run an absolute emergency drain into an empty reservoir that I can hook up. After I get that draining into, say a 10G bucket or tub, I would be very very confident my tank would be almost flood proof 100%.

Anyways, I went to the store today and was looking at small frags in the sps tank and just got wondering - what special care exactly do SPS corals need?

Im going to have a 165G tank with three 250W HQI Metal Hallides and four 96W Blue Actinics. My water will be completely RODI. Using reef crystals for salt.

What else do they need? Im guessing some kind of dosing? What other care? Id love to have some.

[Eb0la11]

Alright so I've managed to cut into my error in my plumbing and have replumbed my main drain from below my gate valve down. I originally T'd off into me refugium in a bad spot and also didnt have a valve after the t to force water into the refugium. Thats done!

Now Im basically fine tuning my used skimmer, which has been a headache so far, and think Im literally real close to mixing salt and putting some LR into the DT. Ive also plumbed in an emergency emergency drain that will prevent flooding completely should power go out or whatever.

[Eb0la11]

Basically everything on my tank is now working except I cant get my stupid skimmer to stop leaking. I might be in the market for a new one. Anyone got a good skimmer than WONT LEAK, is out of sump and will be big enough for a 165G DT?

[kien]

Originally Posted by Eb0la11

Basically everything on my tank is now working except I cant get my stupid skimmer to stop leaking. I might be in the market for a new one. Anyone got a good skimmer than WONT LEAK, is out of sump and will be big enough for a 165G DT?

Where is it leaking out of, do you know? You could save yourself some money by locating the fault and trying to repair with silicon, epoxy or plumber's glue?

[Eb0la11]

Yeah Im likely to that moreso than buy a new skimmer but as of right now Im draining my tank of all the tap water I was using to test out the system and Im making up a batch of RODI. So I'm going to start my cycle while I work with this skimmer problem. I think I'll make it work one way or another. Worst case scenario I rig up some kind of trough it can sit in that flows back into the sump if I have to. Im going to move where my skimmer is too cause right now its pretty hard to get to and thats partially causing the problems.

With it moved to the right side of my stand I'll be able to fine tune it easier. I should for sure be mixing salt this weekend one way or another which is super exciting. Been a slow process for my first ever build - made a few smallish errors, but thats part of the process and I think I have a pretty kick ass first ever SW tank so we'll see how I do.

[Eb0la11]

Just wondering, once I mix the salt into my RODI water (I'll do this in the tank after its 100% full and I can get it circulating to mix nicely), should I acclimatize the 30 lbs or so of live rock I already have sitting in a tub heating/circulating?

[BlueAbyss]

If the salinity is different (and there are any hitchhikers you may want to retain), it wouldn't hurt. May not be necessary if the rock is bare.

[Eb0la11]

Ok, so when should I add my salt? Ive got the tank filled with RODI, its running. Sand has been added as it was sand from an old system that was running about a year ago and has absolutely no life in it (though probably some stuff thats gonna give a big ammonia spike which should help the cycle)

Right now I have some cloudy-ish water. Not super bad, but definitely cloudy. Im also raising the temp of the water now - aiming for 79 degrees. So should I wait until the temp is up and/or the cloudiness dissipates or should I get it in now?