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Isaac's 180+


Isaac

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not so much the typical build thread, its already built smile.png but are we ever really done w/ our systems?

So...
Tanks/reactors:
-180g DSA/Oceanic w/ corner overflows (build type screams DSA, quality screams Oceanic... this might be the last build the DSA guys did before they split off to DSA...or first at DSA... who knows)
-50g Oceanic Sump
-30g converted oceanic sump for refugium
-20g frag tank
-~1/5g marine life aquatics CR-500 calcium reactor
-4.5g Deltec AP851 recirc skimmer
-~2g in calcium reactor
-~2g in anaerobic coil
-~1g in whole house filter converted for nitrate sponge
-~1/3g GFO reactor decommissioned for algae scrubber
-~1/3g carbon reactor decommissioned for algae scrubber
-~2g algae scrubber
-5g fluidized sand bed home depot bucket. decommissioned due to space
-plus whatever is in the plumbing (main/fuge inside, rest in garage)
-55g barrel w/ salt mix (on ready for emergencies or water changes)
-55g barrel w/ RO/DI (on ready for salt mixing and ATO)
-20g RO tank w/ bladder (after RO, before DI)
-small effluent box for calc reactor (probe in reactor now, ignore probe in old picts!)
(thats ~280g total "holding," guesstimate 250ish operating)

Pumps/powerheads:
-mag9 (FSB + nitrate sponge + UV) decommissioned, new pump manifold
-CA 2200 (fuge) decommissioned, new pump manifold
-bubble magus sp4000 (skimmer) decommissioned, new skimmer
-small harbor freight pond pump (for phosban reactor) decommissioned, new pump manifold
-eheim1262 (main return) decommissioned, new pump manifold
-jeabo DC-9000 and manifold (UV+nitrate sponge, gfo/carbon, fuge, main display, frag, UV2+algae scrubber)
-eheim1262 (water changes and backup for tank)
-eheim1260 (skimmer recirculation)
-rio1100 (anaerobic coil + calcium reactor)
-medium harbor fright pump (feed skimmer, rio that came w/ broke its shaft, pending new shaft!)
-medical PCA pump (everclear dosing)
-BRS 2part doser (vinegar.. now only used in case pH goes over 8.4)
-permeate pump (for RO/DI system)
-tunze wavebox (synced w/ turbelle)
-2x tunze turbelle (synced)
-koralia 4
-precisionmarine redtop skimmer

Controls:
-Apex+EB8+EB8+PM2+ALD+VDM+DIY breakout box+jaebo controller
-various 0-10v dimmers (cabinet fan, DIY LEDs, backup heater relay, powersave relay)
-various 12v relays
-DIY temp control box powered by stc-1000 w/ opensource stc1000p firmware
-main pump manifold for controlling flows to UV/UV2, nitrate sponge, gfo/carbon, fuge, main display, frag and algae scrubber
-a lot of magnetic floats (used by Apex i/o ports and ATO)
-24v sprinkler valve (for ATO to sump)
-12v ball valve (for RO/DI to barrel)
-120v industrial ball valve (for chiller loop)
-tunze osmolator pump (for ATO)
-24hr timer EB8 socket (for ATO)
-7day count down timer (for RO/DI barrel)

Lighting:
-4 refurbed AI Sol (2xwhite, 1x blue)
-1 refurbed AI Sol Blue (2x blue, 1x white)
-~60 DIY blue leds (from old DIY LED, still provides decent spectrum w/ the Sol's)
-~25 DIY white leds (from old DIY LED that wasnt up to PAR, but good backlighting)
-2 aluminum 6063-T52 Bare Rectangle Tube 1.5" x 2" x 0.125" as rails (thermo-epoxy'd LEDs on these as support and heat sync. Sol's supported in between)
-1 t8 "daylight" light CF from biocube (for fuge, on reverse cycle)
-1 t8 50/50 light actinic CF from biocube (for fuge, on reverse cycle)
-36w UV Clarifier
-40w UV Clarifier
-1 strand of led lighting for under cabinet use

Chiller system:
-One-off construction from chillking chillers. (manufactured as a proof of concept "remote" aquarium chiller. ping me if interested, wont say more beyond that because I know the rules! although if there is enough interest, I'm sure I can get them to swing a sponsored account for this!)
-2-ton titanium coil in aquarium sump
-25g chiller tank
-1.5ton condenser on chiller outside
-2-ton evaporator coil in chiller sump
-also cools my server closet and garage evaporator unit if i turn it on

Stand/hood:
-DSA quality stand w/ side doors (which i cant open as its flush w/ the wall) and 4 front doors. (I say DSA, because I dont recall Oceanic having the side doors, I may be wrong)
-DIY hood. 8x1 oak, stained, epoxy sealed. opens upwards from the front for feeding & access to lighting)
-DIY upper tank brace (powder coated steel stock, removed inner glass crossbracing)

Typical water:
-I prefer Red Sea pro Instant Ocean salt 200g bags when I can get them. In a crunch, I use Instant ocean reef 200g box
-NO3: 5-10
-NO2: 0
-NH4: 0
-PO4(3-): 0
-C: 440-480
-KH: 10 +/1 1
-Mg: 1450 +/- 50
-Salinity 34.5-35/1.026 (depends on how clogged the sump gets w/ stuff in between cleanings)
-Temp: 77 78 +/- .3 (i love this temp controller)
-pH: 8.15 (end of night cycle) - 8.35 (end of day cycle)
 

Feeding/Dosing:
-I prepare 8 days worth ahead of time in old 110ml breastmilk bottles
-1 2 3 cubes of mysis (bulk from brineshrimpdirect)
-1 2 3 cubes of brine (bulk from brineshrimpdirect)
-1 2 cubes of krill (bulk from brineshrimpdirect)
-6 8 10 12 16 drops of garlic (per bottle)
-1 2 3 tiny spoons (reef chili spoon/chemiclean) polyplab reef roids
-1 2 3 tiny spoons (reef chili spoon/chemiclean) BRS reef chili
-10ml 20ml kent microvert
-10ml 20ml kent chromaplex
-10ml 20ml kent phytoplex
-10ml 20ml kent zoe
-20ml brightwell zooplanktos-M
-20ml rightwell zooplantos-L
-20ml real sea reef energy A
-20ml real sea reef energy B
-20ml 30ml brightwell coral kolor
-10ml brightwell potassium
-40ml 90ml 120ml kent coral accel
-all liquids mixed (320ml) and split evenly between the 8 bottles (40ml), topped off w/ ro/di, put in fridge
-2 1x1 square of green Julian Sprung`s SeaVeggies every other day occasionally
-2 1x1 square of purple Julian Sprung`s SeaVeggies every other day occasionally (folded in between green)
-Vinegar/RO on ready if pH goes above 8.39
-PCA bump holds 100ml. dosing 0.1ml/hr. Everclear/RODI ratio at 10% everclear right now (so 4ml/day everclear. I lower ratio as the white slime creeps back and liverock/nitrate sponge/FSB/nitrate coil kick in. When I started in 1/2ml increments, i ended up at 7ml on the high end, its now going down about every other week). Holding steady at 10% (as of Dec 2015) disabled.. algae scrubber

Livestock:
-5 31 1mangroves
-too much chaeto

-maroon clown
-Ocellaris clown
-Ocellaris clown in frag tank
-skunk clown

-bi-color angel
-flame angel
-multicolor angel
-koran angel
-potters angel
-imperator angel

-sixline wrasse
-mysteri wrasse
-melanurus wrasse
-blue sided fairy wrasse
-solorensis (solar/clown) fairy wrasse

-square anthias (male- popeye, comes out rarely)
-square anthias (female- RIP, on order RCA)


-sailfin tang
-blue hippo tang

-kupang damsel
-2x blue sapphire damsel
-black bar damsel
-neon dottyback
-bicolor psuedochromis
-green mandarin goby
-bicolor goby
-strawberry psuedochromis (although he's more purple he's strawberry now)
-2x pajama cardinal
-sailfin blenny (frag tank)
-aiptasia eating filefish in left overflow (maybe, havnt seen aiptasia in there for a while)
-ruby red cardinal (I call him tomato cardinal)
-midas blenny (RIP.. i really liked him)
-engineer goby (classic straight lines down body)
-engineer goby (striped like a banded pipefish, on the body of an engineer?.. this @$#%^@ is wrecking havoc)


-3x sand sifting starfish
-red marble fromia starfish (RIP)

-lots of snails and crabs (from reefcleaners)
-emerald crab (frag tank)
-2x (scarlet) skunk cleaner shrimp
-1x fire shrimp (frag tank)
-4x peppermint shrimp in display (i think, never see them)
-2x peppermint shrimp in left overflow (aiptasia control)
-3x harlequin shrimp (i've only seen two out at once lately)

-a bunch of liverock

-green star polys everywhere
-green/purple condi anemone
-large green bubbletip anemone, recently split into two! (Dec 2015 & Oct 2017) clone now lives in frag's overflow
-smaller accidentally fragged carpet anemone (i see him occasionally)
-larger accidentally fragged carpet anemone

-pompom xenia
-green/beige torch colony (6 many many heads)
-green frogspawn (2 many many heads each)
-gold highlighter tip torch
-toxic splatter green hammerhead (6 many heads)
-a bunch of zoas
-3x green candycane colonies (many heads, not looking hot)
-cyan/teal candycane, 4 heads (doing great.. under palys)
-darth maul convict
-various favia frags
-large favia colony
-war skin bower (not doing great)
-various encrusting monti
-large galaxia colony
-2x large red monti
-large green monti
-large grape monti
-smaller green monti one w/ blue polyps
-3 large green chalice colinies (many more frags to sell/swap)
-1 small pink fuzzy birdsnest
-1 larger red birdsnest (RTN event, just have a small frag now)
-large green & light green paly colony (ugh)
-mushroom leather
-ty's bottlebrush acro
-some dark purple w/ green tone acro (real name?)
-lighter purple acro (real name?)
-i need help identifying most of these *lol*
-i KNOW i missed some too

PICTURES! (kinda old w/ cameraphone, need to pull out the SLR)
System: https://goo.gl/photos/GXXbCDkC4s1JbtVi8
Livestock: https://goo.gl/photos/JdhivvED3cfPvh6J7

...that was a bit longer than I anticipated, good thing this is a hobby and I'm not keeping a running cost sheet... ouch.

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aquarium-electrical.png

aquarium-plumbing.png

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got any pics of the FSB/sponge/coil ?

Sorta? http://screencast.com/t/kWPYmb1Jjthat chiller isnt there anymore, that CARX is in use now. that kalk/vinegar is now only vinegar (75% RO/DI, just in case of a ph spike)

inside the FSB bucket: http://bit.ly/1lq7QSo

I really need updated picts *lol* I have a long vacation schedule end of this month, i'm hoping to redo my sump area and seal it properly from the garage.... maybe during/after that ill have updated picts smile.png

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  • 1 month later...

So, my tank uses two glass braces to solidify the front from bowing. Only problem is, every 6-ish months one pops loose. (I think my house shifts w/ the season *lol*) Well, instead of just repairing it this time, I removed it. I have a temp brace on it until I install a new brace.. and remove the remaining one. Who ever thought this way of bracing was a good idea anyways? It appears this tank has had this issue even before I owned it! Anyways, I welded a new brace to fit over the edges and supply proper support, just got it back from powder coating!

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new brace in place, old remaining brace out. Will take picts later. I didn't clean the old brace off, because I wanted a shot of how dirty they get and block light. more than you might think, its nuts!

SO, i lowered the tank level about 1/3-1/2 (70ish gals)... i hear this rudder-like sound from the wavebox.... i turned everything off, wth? hippo was sleeping behind it! so, i rush to get a cup to keep that spot wet (water level was too low at this point to try and refill it). I try angling him out w/ a chopstick... flapflapflap... stuck again. I ended up actually using the chopsticks LIKE chopsticks and rescuing him! I made a sushi joke (i don't like sushi tho) and proceeded w/ test fitting the new brace, removing old brace, refitting new brace, refilling tank, reinstalling hood/lights, testing everything... done.

exhausting 2.5hrs. total "water level lower" time.... 45-60min. All fish appear to be healthy and normal this morning, all softies are nice and full today... even the galaxia looks nice that early. Wasn't too worried w/ the other corals... low tide... yea.

I still have to wonder... why is it a good idea to brace w/ silicon seams between 2 sides that "pull" apart. silicon by its nature stretches. The tiny vacuum it may create can only last so long if even the tiniest edge of a seam is scratched by a magnet or anything. A full eurobrace i get... you have the whole length, you have rigidity holding it in place... single cross supports? what? Any aquarium designers out there? (Acrylic is a diff story, those braces actually get fused in place.. not silicon)

Anyways.... add chopsticks to the emergency kit. practice using them on something soft so you don't end up damaging while in rescue mode.

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[old] Glass supports... light reduction test by simple recessed ceiling light casting shadows... super scientific. I couldn't get the other one spotless clean, but you can still tell the diff. I cleaned the dirty one last month.

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  • 1 month later...

well.... I made a shopping list, added amazon pricing next to things, headed to lowes. picked up things priced under 10% of amazon (ie tax-ish), the rest was amazon.

nylon barb fittings.... bulk.. amazon. like not even close. the price of ONE at lowes/HD, was a bag of 10 on amazon. links!

Nylon Tube Fitting, 90 Degree Elbow, White, 3/4" Barbed (Pack of 10) - http://amzn.com/B008TSPLN6 - 9.98 amazon / 5 each HD/lowes
Nylon Tube Fitting, Adapter, White, 3/4" NPT Male x Barbed (Pack of 10) - http://amzn.com/B008TSSYYO - 4.44 / 5 each HD/lowes
Nylon Tube Fitting, Adapter, White, 1-1/4" NPT Male x Barbed (Pack of 1) - http://amzn.com/B008TST9QQ - 3.29 / aahahahahahaaa, right
Push Elbow, 1/2-Inch OD - http://amzn.com/B000H5VX2M - 3.57 / aaaaahahahahaha, come on
Ball Valve, PVC Schedule 40, Female Thread x Female Thread, 3/4-Inch - http://amzn.com/B0046HAAUI - 3.35 / ~7-8 i think?
Ball Valve, PVC Schedule 40, Female Thread x Female Thread, 1/2-Inch - http://amzn.com/B0046HAATE - 2.92 / ~5-6

Most other fittings like the NPT/pushfit 1/2", pvd elbows, tees, etc cheaper at HD/lowes, since in most cases i only needed 1 or 2. The end cap was crazy stupid expensive on amazon, 50-ish cents at HD, for example.

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something not noticeable in the picts.... i went w/ threaded on everything.. so it serviceable. partly why they arnt flush to the "ceiling," room to twist valves off. also, there is a tee and a stub w/ a cap on the end, so its expandable if i need to later on.

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I get mine from Lowe's actually. The guy must be new.

One time I went to a store i dont normally frequent. for the life of me i couldn't find the "bag wall." I finally find someone to help and ask "where are the bagged plumbing parts, like for fridge lines or RO filters." the look on his face, i just walked away and kept searching. (facepalm)

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Love the green arrows Isaac!

and i keep going back and adding missing ones *lol* its crazy how much is going on when you take a pict, but when you are here, it doesnt seem so busy. yay automation!
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