Potomac Reef - 150gal designed for upkeep and sustainability.

[fishresponse]

Love the house and where it's going to be. What type of bristletooth tang is that?

[vanburen]

It is a white freckled tang. https://www.bluezooaquatics.com/prod...id=287&pid=850

He's awesome! Loves his nori.


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[vanburen]

Good morning RC. A lot has happened since my last post. Here is a quick video while I figure out how to post more pictures. https://youtu.be/mEDLLkBTqPc

I have been happy with the Red Sea Tank and don’t regret getting it - and - everyone’s comments about why I shouldn’t have gotten it were correct too. A great way to get a larger tank up and running. There are many things an enthusiast will want to change later.


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[vanburen]

Since my last posts, the LFS and their movers brought the tank in and got it set up. Glad I didn’t just get buddies to lift it.

We got it wet and filled with all new man made reef rock, cured. Cycled the tank quickly w Red Sea’s Reef Mature product, and moved my buddies back in.


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[vanburen]

The auto too off / automatic water change system went in easily and have been working great. I put all of it in the basement.

I have the mix pump and nsw heater apex controlled and rigged a top and bottom return to make mixing easier.

The spectrapure ato is in the stand and works great.


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[vanburen]

I have rigged several DOS units to control foundations (Ca, Alk, Mg, and NOPOX).

Also dosing Reef Energy daily and Reef Colors weekly (or better - thinking about automating them).

The ease of adjusting the DOS units has be fantastic as my consumption of elements has gone up.


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[vanburen]

I replaced the stock skimmer with the NYOS 160 with an AquaDriver Head. Love the head! Hate the skimmer. While quiet, it doesn’t restart consistently. Red Sea suggests shutting off the skimmer when dosing reef energy - which I now can’t do. Frustrating. Customer support tried to help but couldn’t get all the way there.


Running gfo in a reactor and gac in a bag. Added chaeto and an H380 Light. It is growing like crazy!

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[vanburen]

I have installed a good amount of redundancy. Skimmer cup full, hi/low sump, leak, dosing low plus water chem alerts.

Still don’t have a good solution for short term power loss - I don’t want to run vortech pumps (visually) and don’t have a good place for a large ups.

Also, heat is a bit of a challenge. I think when summer arrives, I’m going to have problems now that I have the fuge Light. I’m between 78-79 now with a 72 house.
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[rvareef]

lookin sweet!

[vanburen]

Originally Posted by rvareef

lookin sweet!

Thanks!

Here’s a FTS.




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[Breadman03]

Originally Posted by vanburen

Still don’t have a good solution for short term power loss - I don’t want to run vortech pumps (visually) and don’t have a good place for a large ups. A single pump will keep things oxygenated just fine.

Also, heat is a bit of a challenge. I think when summer arrives, I’m going to have problems now that I have the fuge Light. I’m between 78-79 now with a 72 house. A fan can be your best friend. You have one circulating the air in your stand, but can you set one up to move air out of the stand?
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[vanburen]

Originally Posted by Breadman03

A fan can be your best friend. You have one circulating the air in your stand, but can you set one up to move air out of the stand?

I had the fan blowing on the sump but realized I was just blowing hot air down. So I moved it to blow against the door to both vent, and cool since the door should be cooler.

I have an Icecap fan that I can install on the back of the stand to blow air in. It was suggested to always blow air in since it isn't humid and will save the fan, and the air will vent out through doors etc. Hopefully that is good counsel. Given that the tank gets to 79 when the room exceeds 73, I think I need to try installing that fan soon! Maybe today...

[vanburen]

Originally Posted by Breadman03

A single pump will keep things oxygenated just fine.

Yeah - I agree and would like to get one rigged to automatically come on.

I could get a smaller UPS and hook up one of my recirc pumps to it. Or find a DC pump that could replace one of the recirc pumps. But I need a DC type powerhead that is battery powerable with a outlet pipe. Haven't found it yet. The back chamber of the RSM 650 is really sweet and I'd like to keep pumps back there and out of the tank.

[rvareef]

I love the setup! If youre ever in richmond and want to stop by send me a message, I've got some sps that would look nice on the tips of that tonga.

[vanburen]

Originally Posted by rvareef

I love the setup! If youre ever in richmond and want to stop by send me a message, I've got some sps that would look nice on the tips of that tonga.

Will do! What are you running?

[vanburen]

Just ordered a nice drip tray for my door mounted tool rack.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[vanburen]

Starting to get some decent growth and color emerging on my Sps/lps.


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[vanburen]

In my attempt to lower maintenance hassle I replumbed my gfo reactor with 1/2inch pipe -gets unwieldy flex hose out of sump , easy to access thumbscrews now, and I can direct flow in the sump towards probes.

Also added a simple drip tray for my tool rack.

And I finally saw this frag do something - after the lights went out it opened up.


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[Esh1]

nice setup!

I'm curious, what are the actual dimensions of the containers you're using for your mixing station? I've seen whats listed online, but with the top's I'm not sure if the listed dimensions are taking account of this. I've got a storage closet near my tank that might be able to fit 2 of these but want to be sure first.

[vanburen]

Originally Posted by Esh1

nice setup!

I'm curious, what are the actual dimensions of the containers you're using for your mixing station? I've seen whats listed online, but with the top's I'm not sure if the listed dimensions are taking account of this. I've got a storage closet near my tank that might be able to fit 2 of these but want to be sure first.

They are 20 x 47. And then the top needs access of course.


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[vanburen]

Nyos skimmer was running poorly with a lot of micro bubbles coming out and level all over the place. Turns out I had a deposit in the air intake / Venturi that was causing issues. Vinegar and persistence got it out.

Added my final(?) pair of Dos units for my Reef Colors trace element additives. We are now on cruise control!

Had an issue with my calcium pump head somehow getting air and not pumping consistently. Swapped the head out and it’s working well. Not sure if the head was the cause or perhaps a loose connection but it was not holding prime. In retrospect, a leak on the inlet side would have caused these issues. Maybe I missed that somehow.


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[vanburen]

Some video updates ... lots has happened.

https://youtu.be/O_6JbO3HH6A

https://youtu.be/iXkhmn__LEg

https://youtu.be/bcezqpxGVhQ


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[vanburen]

One more:Equipment: How to Avoid Neglected Tank Syndrome

[sayn3ver]

They make some affordable generator panels now. I like these style ones. Not necessarily this brand but there are several that come with breakers and pre made wire harnesses which simplifies installation.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Reliance...6HDK/202213700

You already have a dedicated outlet (hopefully you went with a 20amp circuit on 12awg wire minimum. 2-3 circuits would have been nice as if you had a breaker go bad or something trip it wouldn't take the whole tank down).

With a small Honda inverter generator like an eu2200i, you could have the tank outlet switch over for generator power. They are reasonably priced, small, can be used for camping and portable emergency. The power is clean and won't damage sensitive electronics. Ryobi has a small 1800w inverter as well that's cheaper and worked well on the construction sites I've used with battery chargers and such. These both also sip gasoline compared to larger generators. And they are pretty quiet and easy to start.

The small Honda and Ryobi inverter generators, because they can be used for tailgating and such, will get more use and because of that will probably be kept maintained and used this increasingly their reliability and reducing the chance for ethanol fouling and such.

Just something to think about.

I'm an electrician by trade (commerical/industrial) so I take for granted most have to pay for labor to do these kinds of things.

Also make sure you can get to that GFCI outlet behind the tank. They do fail and will need to be replaced. If it's near your sump and or exposed to higher humidity, spend the extra money for an outdoor rated GFCI. They pot the electronics with epoxy and the yoke and hardware are stainless. I cannot stress that these GFCI outlets can and do fail overtime and we replace them often. It may be better to use a normal outlet and either wire it on the load side of a dead front GFCI that's in a more accessible location or use a GFCI breaker. Ymmv.

Originally Posted by vanburen

I have installed a good amount of redundancy. Skimmer cup full, hi/low sump, leak, dosing low plus water chem alerts.

Still don’t have a good solution for short term power loss - I don’t want to run vortech pumps (visually) and don’t have a good place for a large ups.

Also, heat is a bit of a challenge. I think when summer arrives, I’m going to have problems now that I have the fuge Light. I’m between 78-79 now with a 72 house.
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[vanburen]

Thanks for the info on the gen panels. We actually ended up going with a large standby generator for the house. It has been a bit of a saga with inspectors etc. I definitely think some sort of generator solution is critical if you have a lot tied up in this hobby!

Frag tank is up and running:


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