abcha0s' 300G Ultimate Reef

[Parker]

Great build, a lot of thought went into your tank!

[abcha0s]

Originally Posted by Parker

Great build, a lot of thought went into your tank!

Thanks Robb! - Your build is pretty spectacular too.

[shrimpchips]

Whoa. Is it a jumper?

Very well thought out build. Will be really nice to see it all come together. I can't remember, but are you going to have automatic water changes on the tank?

[abcha0s]

Originally Posted by shrimpchips

I can't remember, but are you going to have automatic water changes on the tank?

I'd be interested to know the definition of an "automatic water change system" . I've heard it used to describe a fully automated system and I've heard it used to describe a mechanical system? - Just semantics I guess.

I am planning a mechanical system. Honestly, I don’t trust computers enough to automate this aspect of tank maintenance. The system I have in mind should allow me to change about 65 gallons of water in under a minute.

Anyway, this is the next post that I was planning to write, so I’m not going into detail here. I should have something ready to post in the next couple of days.

Thanks for the question…

Originally Posted by shrimpchips

Very well thought out build. Will be really nice to see it all come together.

Thanks for that. I'm having fun with the build thread. Not as much fun as I am with the tank, but still fun.

[abcha0s]

<New Content Posted>

Water Changes - Part I of II..................<moved to post 39 - changed status to experimental>

A week ago I had a totally different system in mind. I'd been planning this for months and had it completely figured out. I even had the updated content ready to post.

After reading some of the other threads on Canreef, I started wondering whether I had the best possible system for my application. In a nut shell, I've done a complete 360 from my original plan and have decided to go with a continuous water change system.

I would be very interested if anyone had suggestions for optimizing this system or can see potential problems. I'd also be interested if anyone is using a similar setup?

[abcha0s]

Today, I ordered 300 pounds of BRS "Reef Saver" Dry Aquarium Eco Rock.

The concept of dry rock was entirely foreign to me until only recently. Everyone uses “live rock” right? Well… Consider the advantages.

Live Rock
• Matures quickly and provides some bio-diversity.

Dry Rock
• Guaranteed not to have any pests (critters or algae).
• No water weight, so pound for pound you get more.
• Significantly cheaper.
• Much easier to aquascape as it can be done dry.

The dry rock can obviously be seeded with good quality live rock. I will not be using the live rock in my 90g as there is some pest algae that I don’t want in the new tank. I’ll either use this live rock in a qt setup or perhaps try to sell it.

I am actually really excited about this purchase. It is a big step forward in terms of planning and keeping this project on track.

Prior to making this decision, I ordered 20 pounds of the rock from BRS. I asked for an eight pound piece and a twelve pound piece. Here’s what it looks like.

[Greenmaster]

Nice looking rock... I can't wait to see what you do with it