785 Gallon Glass Reef Build in CT

[cleanmyaquarium]

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[cleanmyaquarium]

filtration pics

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[cleanmyaquarium]

plumbing

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[cleanmyaquarium]

Aquascape

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[cleanmyaquarium]

pics of rock work from the back

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[cleanmyaquarium]

MTC skimmer was too big to fit under the tank so it is in it for now until I upgrade

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[rygar]

Wow. You sure did that fast. How did you get all that done in less than 2 weeks?
Looks good though. Is there anything you wish you would have done differently?

[cleanmyaquarium]

Originally Posted by rygar

Wow. You sure did that fast. How did you get all that done in less than 2 weeks?
Looks good though. Is there anything you wish you would have done differently?

good friends! I couldn't have done it alone. pretty sure I used up all my favors too

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[cleanmyaquarium]

close up on a few corals

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[cleanmyaquarium]

and

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[cleanmyaquarium]

Originally Posted by rygar

Wow. You sure did that fast. How did you get all that done in less than 2 weeks?
Looks good though. Is there anything you wish you would have done differently?

No complaints on the build. I love it when a plan comes together!

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[JaySchulz]

Awesome tank!!

How did you like the build quality of customaquariums.com?

[Vegas RN]

Originally Posted by JaySchulz

Awesome tank!!

How did you like the build quality of customaquariums.com?

2nd that. their prices are great and includes shipping. Any regrets going with them. Did you pay to upgrade thickness? That was the turn around? Thanks. Beautiful tank.

[kougioum]

I really love the aquascape, great job!!!!

[cleanmyaquarium]

Originally Posted by JaySchulz

Awesome tank!!

How did you like the build quality of customaquariums.com?

The build quality seems really good. I like the anodized aluminum frame around the tank. I also really like the h2overflow. it is nice not to have a big overflow box in the tank.

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[cleanmyaquarium]

Originally Posted by Vegas RN

2nd that. their prices are great and includes shipping. Any regrets going with them. Did you pay to upgrade thickness? That was the turn around? Thanks. Beautiful tank.

yes I upgraded to 3/4 on all sides. it took about 10 weeks delivered. no regrets, I will use them again for sure. I also got a 240 from them and the cabinetry is very nice too.

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[Vegas RN]

you like the h20 overflows? Are they quiet and effective?

[cleanmyaquarium]

Originally Posted by Vegas RN

you like the h20 overflows? Are they quiet and effective?

hard to say if they are quiet because the viewing window is in another room and the tank is totally open to the garage with all of the filtration and equipment. they did send extra grommets of varying sizes to dampen any noise but I don't have a need to experiment with them.

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[cleanmyaquarium]

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[rygar]

How much evaporation are you getting? Not that it really matters much seeing that it's in the garage, just curious.

How big will your water changes be?

Did you get the gyre yet? and how do you like the Vectra pumps? Worth the money?

Are you planning on doing any automation? Personally not a fan of automating anything other than lights and top off.

Looks sweet by the way. I especially like the way you did your rocks. Those taller pieces towards the front right really give it a nice look. Great use of the 48" depth. Not a fan of the minimalist look either...the more places for inverts and fish to hide, the better. Makes for a MUCH more interesting reef. Always something new popping up. I wish I could see this thing in person. For how great it looks in pictures, it must be insanely cool to be standing in front of it.

[McPuff]

I agree about those rocks in the front right. Very cool use of those columnar pieces. And I think you've also done a nice job of aquascaping. Still lots of open space for some big fish... and plenty of rock work for corals, shelter, etc. I am also curious what you have planned for control of the system...

[cleanmyaquarium]

Originally Posted by rygar

How much evaporation are you getting? Not that it really matters much seeing that it's in the garage, just curious.

How big will your water changes be?

Did you get the gyre yet? and how do you like the Vectra pumps? Worth the money?

Are you planning on doing any automation? Personally not a fan of automating anything other than lights and top off.

Looks sweet by the way. I especially like the way you did your rocks. Those taller pieces towards the front right really give it a nice look. Great use of the 48" depth. Not a fan of the minimalist look either...the more places for inverts and fish to hide, the better. Makes for a MUCH more interesting reef. Always something new popping up. I wish I could see this thing in person. For how great it looks in pictures, it must be insanely cool to be standing in front of it.

Thanks on the rock work! I like to have a good amount of rock, but with large caves and adequate flow through the rock is critical. Less rock and more flow works much better than big piles of rock. I typically do 1/2 lb - 1lb per gallon. I like big pieces that are awkwardly shaped vs. dense bowling ball type pieces. Anytime I find nice pieces of Tonga, I buy them. They are the best for building caves. I do not install rods, glue rock together, zip tie or any other means of attaching it. I find a way to build an aquascape that provides nice caves and good dimension by using the right pieces of rock and relying only on gravity to hold it together properly. I have probably aquascaped over 100 times though, so it comes pretty easy now.

I am not sure how many gallons of evaporation. I have a 44 gallon bucket to store RO water under the tank for water changes. It is T'ed off to a float switch in the sump so it automatically tops off. The RO is on a home depot sprinkler timer for 60 mins twice a day right now. If I find that the sump gets low, I will just increase the time on the timer. RO unit is in the basement T'ed off of the laundry. I also use it in the house in a Poland spring 5 gallon water dispenser for drinking water.

Water changes will be 40 gallons each month most likely. All of the livestock came from a 500 gallon system in my old house and that is what I have been doing for years. Honestly, I sometimes would go 2-3 months without H2O changes. I like to set up systems that run very efficiently and require minimal maintenance. In my opinion, an established reef tank will balance itself if set up properly and the less human intervention, the more it will balance. The only automation I like to do is temperature, fresh water top off & lighting. I think the most critical filtration components are a skimmer, GFO reactor, refugium, sock/sponge, carbon & poly filter. Also important to have good flow in the tank, I only turn the water 3 - 4x per hour through the sump (any more is a waste of energy in my opinion). If I get any nitrate levels, I will build a sulfur denitrator, but I don't plan to overstock the tank with fish so I am hoping not to need it. I also have a calcium reactor I could use, but they require constant fine tuning so I will avoid it if I can maintain good alk/calc levels dosing a few times a week.

I have the Gyre, I forget the model number but it is the larger one and it works great. No problem with the magnet through the 3/4 inch glass. It moves a lot of water. Well worth the money compared to the expense of MP60's.

I agree on less automation, the more automation the less you pay attention to what is happening in the tank and the more likely something fails and goes unnoticed until there is a problem. I also use a ph probe to ensure ph never drops too low.

If you come to CT or NYC, drop me a note and come have a looksy.

[cleanmyaquarium]

Originally Posted by McPuff

I agree about those rocks in the front right. Very cool use of those columnar pieces. And I think you've also done a nice job of aquascaping. Still lots of open space for some big fish... and plenty of rock work for corals, shelter, etc. I am also curious what you have planned for control of the system...

Thanks McPuff!

[cleanmyaquarium]

I fiddled with the lights last night. For now I am using 5 x AI Sol Blue and 1 x 400 14k MH pendant. They are about 30" above the tank. Schedule is:

7:00 am start 1 hour ramp up to 30% white, 65% blue, 65% royal
11:00 am start 1 hour ramp up to 80% white, 65% blue, 65% royal
12:00 pm MH kicks on. The above AI setting matches the halide nicely
7:00 pm start 1 hour ramp to 60% white, 90% blue, 90% royal (looks like the sun setting with slightly brighter white in the middle from halide. Looks pretty cool.
8:00 pm halide kicks off
11:00 pm start 1 hour ramp down to 0% white, 5% blue, 5% royal for the rest of the night.

At 30" above the tank I get good coverage (not spotty at all), but I may want to add a few AI Prime's and maybe another halide if I feel that the sps isn't growing well. I also think as the corals grow in, I may add another Gyre on the other end of the tank.

[cleanmyaquarium]

pics taken after sunset





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