[customdusty]

Well my new build has begun! I'm now in the process now of preparing the "fish room" - actually more like closet -which will house my sump, frag tank, and other equipment. Although my tank is not due for another week the remainder of my new equipment has been trickling in day by day. It's like Christmas every day when I come home and check to see what is at my door.

Here are some details of the plans for the new system:

The tank dimensions are 48 long x 24 wide x 21 tall for an approximate volume of 100 gallons. The tank is rimless and has two Starphire sides, the front and right side. It is pre-drilled for two 3/4" return lines and a 1 1/2" Glass-Holes overflow drain. The tank is being built by Miracles out of Toronto.

The initial plans I have for the tank will be a minimalistic, open aquascape which will house mixed corals. The left side of the tank will be planned for a low sprawling group of softies, zoos, and LPS - the right side of the tank will be an island consisting of all SPS. This may change slightly as I begin the transfer from my 90 gal, but it is what I have visualized so far.

The tank will be plumbed through the wall and into a closet behind it where a 50 gallon Rubbermaid sump and a 20L frag tank/refugium will be located. Because of the minimal aquascape in the tank, I will place additional live rock here and also grow cheato in a refugium area. The total water volume for the system I estimate will be about 120 gallons.

Lighting will be provided by a 48" Giesemann Infiniti with two 150w Radiums and a TBD combination of 4 T5 bulbs - most likely ATI Blue + and Pure Actinic. I have a dozen or more T5 bulbs to test in different combinations to see what looks the best. I will be using a Viper K-2 70w light for the frag tank/refugium.

My skimmer choice ended up being the Vertex Alpha Cone 200. I hope that it performs well as I am concerned that it might be overkill on this system. I initially purchased an SWC Extreme Cone 250 1A, but was not pleased with the size and build quality. It was huge in terms of size and the build quality seemed poor. When I discovered the amount of slop and misalignments in the plumbing and fittings during assembly, I sent it back and opted for the Alpha.

For water movement I will be using two Vortech MP40W in the display and two Koralia 4's in the sump. My return pump is a Rio Hyper Flow 32, which will supply the display tank and also the 20 gallon frag tank. I have had great success with the Rio HF pumps in the past, the consume less power and give off less heat than Mag Drives and cost almost half. They are a bit louder, but as it is in a closet behind the tank, the sound is not a factor. When adding up the total amount of GPH ratings of the pumps, it is in the ballpark of 10,000 GPH for the system.

Additonal equipment will be a Geo Kalkwasser reactor, battery back-up for the return pump, dual (redundant) 200 watt titanium heaters, and system control will be provided by a Neptune Apex controller.

That's a quick snapshot of my system plans. Check in with me later to follow my progress.

Pictures coming soon!