Progress on the 300 gal reef.

Hi:
A few of you wanted updates and pictures of the new reef. Here you go. While it is still a work in progress it has been running since Thanksgiving weekend. There isn't much going on in the way of livestock as it is still cycling. Right now there are 4 blue damsels, 3 small yellow tangs, 24 large turbo snails and as of this weekend, 1 zoanthoid frag just so I can say it's a reef. Before we go too far, I should note that the 225 lb of LR was curing for almost 3 weeks before the tank was set up and the 150lb of sand in the sump was pulled out of my established 210. Basically, the initial cycle was over very quickly. I never had any spike in Nitrites or Nitrates. I didn't bother testing for the first week, but Nitrites have always been at 0 and Nitrates are now about 10. I am now at the tail end of a mild brown algae bloom. Here are pictures of the tank, the hood and th transformers for the MH under the tank. Notice the power cords for the lights. They run up the center of the tank through a bulkhead.

 

Sweeeeet !!

 

Now we get to the fun stuff.
If you noticed, there is no filtration under the tank. Everything including the power is run into the basement. Here are pictures of my DIY 200 gal sump. I'm pretty proud of the beast, especially since it is my first effort. You can see the 2" PVC dropping down from the living room. Part is just for re-circulation and part runs through first a DSB with Macro then a refugium currently with some more LR. Both sections have independent ball valves. BTW, since there is always some foam running on the photosynthetic section I simply put the light on the side. It keeps it salt free and is very close to the Macro Algae. Oh. look at the last picture (waterfall), it will give you some idea of the total volume running through the sump. I'm guessing around 3600 gph. The pump is throttled back, but has around 5000+ gph lift capacity at 20'.

 

Now for the skimmer.
I owe my local guy on this one. He pulled it out of his basement from a setup he stripped down. It is a serious counter current down draft recirculating twin Beckett Berliner. It is industrial quality monster that is 4' tall. I was never able to find the exact specs on it, but I'm sure it can handle an 800 gal setup without breaking a sweat. It is the biggest skimmer I've ever seen. The recirculating pump is an Iwaki md100rlt. Talk about over kill. I can simply dial up and down the amount of skimmate I need to produce. I know you cant see it in these pictures, but the new water feeds through twin feeds located just under the neck that spin the water from left to right on the way down. On the bottom are the twin Beckets forcing foam up and from right to left. The result is a VERY active mixing area. I'm not sure if the 2nd picture is clear, but I'm trying to give you a view of the mixing area. You really need to see it in motion. It's like looking at a white tornado. The is also the obligatory picture of a yuckky collection cup. I didn't bother with the remote collection chamber, but it has overflow protection and a place for carbon. I'm also including a view of the 1.5hp return pump that makes the whole setup go round and round.

 

Looking good, looking good. Boy, those overflows really take up room in there.

 

BTW, am I doing something wrong? Can attached images have a preview or some sort of full view option?

 

Just upload your pics to the Gallery and then get the properties and copy and paste the url (this would be this pics URL http://www.3reef.com/forums/attachments/general-reef-topics/5125-progress-300-gal-reef-pump.jpg

 

Thanks Jason.

I was just going to shoot you a PM as you were on the "I'm curious" list... You saved me the work. I'm about another 30 days off before I get serious about stocking it.

 

very nice

 

Sorry BR I didn't even comment on the tank.

Looks awsome. What are the dimensions? Sounds like you have a good handle on the entire project. Taking your time will pay off I'm sure. So what are your stocking options? What fish, corals are you going to get?


J