Finally ready again, 80G shallow

[manhorsedog]

Hello everybody! It's been a long time but I'm back on the Austin Reef Club. Most likely you will not remember me I was not an overly active member as far as posting goes. I did however buy and trade a good amount with people here (if anybody has any of my Poseidons Fury zoas let me know cause I want them back).

I have kept kept I good amount of tanks in the past all with pretty good success. I have had everything from softies only to SPS and 14 gallons up to 150 gallons. Unfortunately jobs and life got in the way and required me to move more than I would have liked. In 2010 I shut my last tank down and had to move because of the horrible event of my girlfriend I was living with passing away, don't feel sorry for me please. We had a great time together and I guess it was just her time, I have since gotten married and I'm completely ok talking about it (not like the first few years) and finally feel comfortable getting back into the hobby I love. I own a house now and I'm here for the long haul pending wife doesn't kick me out I have been a little shy in posting this but came to the realization that I needed some help on a few things before I start making more purchases, so lets move on to the tank.

I got inspired by the IM AIO 80 gallon shallow tank, I wanted to get it for a while but after realizing there is not much room in the back or if I ever wanted to upgrade some equipment it just wouldn't be possible. For the steep price tag I just couldn't justify it so I started looking into other options, so far the Deep Blue 48"x24"x16" seems like the best option but if anybody knows of other manufacturers please let me know. I will not be keeping SPS in this tank, I like them but softies and some LPS are really my favorites. So knowing this will mostly be a softie tank with some LPS lets get down with the equipment (if you see anything I need or don't need please tell me, all suggestions are welcome)

Tank: Not sure yet but size will be 48" L x 24" W x 16" H

Flow: VorTech mp40wQD with battery back up (this item is already purchased and in hand)

Sump: Tigger 30" Crystal

Skimmer: Bubble Magus Curve 5

Lights: 2x Kessil A160we tuna blue

Reactor: I was thinking about getting a dual GFO/Carbon reactor but I just don't know if I will need it, could mess bags in the sump work as well? If I was keeping SPS I would get it but I'm just not sure this time

Of course there are a few more little things but that's the big stuff, so please if you have any suggestions let them fly!

I'm sure there is some stuff I forgot about but this is a good start for me at least posting this. If it matters I love Northwest kinda close to River City (Anderson Mill/ 620 area)

[madsalt]

Welcome back to the hobby if there is one thing I would suggest it would be a controller, piece of mind goes a long way.

What will your bio load be? Are you planning on keeping a lot of fish or just a few to have something swimming? I don't think the reactor is a bad idea at all, it allows phosphate removal and the carbon is nice as a just in case.

If you can swing a another circulation pump that would be ideal. One MP40qd will move quite a bit of water but your flow is simply pushed towards one end of the tank and the MPs are not directional.

And if your wife hasn't kicked out yet she just might after all this gets going, good luck

[manhorsedog]

Thank you, and yes I was thinking about flow but the way the Deep blue is setup the return is all the way on the left side of the tank. In short I was hoping that would be enough to push water in the other direction.

Controller! totally forgot to add that, I will be getting one just don't know what to get. I have had the Reef Keeper before and liked it but I'm sure there are many more options now.

[madsalt]

Your return against the power of that MP40qd is no match unless you turn the MP40 down.

As far as the controller goes, an APEX is the way to go. The fusion web based control is amazing and the functionality is out of control good. Of course money drives everything so you would have to decide which level APEX to get

[manhorsedog]

I'm not trying to deny anything but if the return is on the back of the tank pushing water through the back right side to the left and the mp40 was towards the front on the left side would it really effect it that much? It's hard to know how much I can turn up the mp40 seeing as the tank is rather shallow and I don't want it to move sand to much.

Also I will look into the Apex thanks for the advice this is exactly what I was looking for.

[Sissy36]

I'm glad you've spoken up! Welcome

sent from my replacement phone I don't like either *sigh*

[Isaac]

welcome back!

[rosslonghorns]

I'm interested to see what you end up with. I also love the x24" width foot print but would like to get around 18-20" tall. We have been discussing upgrading our current 30 gallon to something similar in size to your plans.

We had narrowed it down to Planet Aquariums due to local ordering options through LFS but the standard aquariums all come in heights > 20". They do offer a Crystaline series that is a rimless aquarium and the 4ft one is 48"x20"x21" that we may end up going with.

I took a look at the Deep Blue but does the rim reef ready also have a support through the middle of the tank? They only had one picture that didn't clearly show that but it looked like it did.

Good luck!

[manhorsedog]

They have two that are the same size (Deep Blue) one is completely rimless and the other has the plastic rim liner with the center brace. I also I'm thinking about Planet due to local ordering, they can make you a custom size and the price isn't much different.

[Bpb]

I'd say definitely a controller and an ATO. No question. I assume you still have an RODI on hand. As far as gfo and carbon goes...id pick up a dual reactor from bulk reef supply (or two single reactors from any other reputable brand), as well as a gallon of GFO and carbon each. But...don't just automatically run it. It's just a food item to have on hand in case. If you keep the carbon and gfo shut very tight and don't allow them to sit in open air, or loosely capped lids for any amount of time, the shelf life will be very long. It's just a good item and media combo to have on hand just in case of an emergency. I keep the aforementioned setup tucked away and will use it on occasion from time to time. Usually if my PO4 tries to creep up too much past 0.1 I'll run a little gfo just to knock it down.

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[manhorsedog]

Why not run them all the time? I went and watched a video just now from BRS on there reactor and they said you could also mix them into one reactor, know anything about that.

[Bpb]

Because without fail if I keep activated carbon running 24/7 all the time, every coral in the tank eventually starts getting real upset. Reduced PE to the point stuff starts dying until I turn the carbon off.

And with GFO...if it's being used to reduce phosphates, and phosphates are brought all the way to zero, it makes everything else over responsive to everything else in a negative way. Not to mention it being pointless to run if you don't have elevated phosphates, which there isn't a guarantee you will. If you do, and it constantly tests high, then run it as much as is needed. I just personally have seen more setback than benefit from long term use

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[manhorsedog]

Thanks for the information will keep that in mind for sure.

[manhorsedog]

Does anybody know where I could buy an aluminum tank stand? I was thinking about just making one myself from wood but started looking into it and found these

I really like how open they are under the tank.

Also decided to get the Tunze 3155 ATO, seems like the safest bet.

Still thinking about the reactors, might pick up the single BRS reactor and mix the carbon and gfo and only run when needed.

Yesterday I second guessed myself a little on the lights, I think the Kessil 160's should be good for this tank because it's only 16" high and I don't really plan on keeping SPS and if I do ever get one it would probably something like a birdsnest. But I also want to make sure corals are getting enough light at the bottom, any par readings around for these?

Unsure on a controller, I personally just want it to control the lights but if there are other reason I need one let me know.

Thanks

[madsalt]

You can use the controller to control everything from turning your pumps off when you feed to controlling your heaters to avoid things from getting too hot. You can be alerted if you power fails and it can tell you if you having water leaking on the floor. You don't have to get the Cadillac out of the gate, you can get a lower end Apex and then add modules as needed. A controller is the single greatest piece of mind you can add to you tank in my opinion. A controller can do so many things for you it's crazy and so worth it.

[manhorsedog]

I'm sure this won't be the last thing I change but I'm really thinking of going with the ATI 48" 6x54W Controllable T5 lights. I have had great results with T5 in the past and I just get nervous thinking about LED.

[+FluxCapacitor]

I started with LED lights (AI Prime on a 14G cube) and my only complaint so far is how the corals will change colors after you purchase them if they were kept under other types of lighting. Other than that the spectrum you can get out of them is pretty awesome. I'm sure you're aware that T5's have to be changed about every 6 months and they degrade in color output over time in a way that won't be noticeable by your eyes.

I need to get a reef controller but I'm on the fence about which one to get. I'm a bit apprehensive about the Apex because I'm not sure there's not something better out there. This one does seem to be the most talked about and advertised however. Just my dos pesos.

[manhorsedog]

So I ended up buying the skimmer (somebody was selling the one I wanted brand new on here). Now I have the MP40 with backup and the skimmer, we are off and running

I still think I'm leaning towards one of those metal stands either with the T slot or quick frame, hard to find info but it just seems better than wood to me. I am also about 100% now on the T5 fixture, think I will go with the 36" 6 bulb fixture but not dimmable because I read about people having issues with those. If you have any good bulb combos post them up, so far it seems like 3 blue+ and 3 coral + is the way to go.

Overall things are going good but I am really waiting until I get back from Japan to make any larger buys.

[manhorsedog]

A couple weeks ago I finally got it set up, thank god! I decided to go with 2 Hydra 26 but everything else stayed the same. I have been cycling the tank for almost two weeks now but no idea how long it will take as I started with both dry rock and sand. 

 

 

 

[Gig 'em @ NDstructible]

Beautiful tank! I love the dimensions of this tank. What do you aim on adding down the road?

[manhorsedog]

I'm a pretty simple reefer, I like movement and color. Torch corals, zoas, mushrooms, maybe some cap coral, a few LPS, and I'd like a really nice looking clam front in center one day. For fish idk yet but I do love wrasses, I don't have a lot of sand or rock work so I need to keep that in mind.

[Reeflogic]

Welcome back! I love the shallow Deep Blue tanks, I have had one for roughly a year, but I've outgrown it! It is the 36" shallow and since I had downsized I had my MP40's and used one on the right side of my tank, it's placed towards the front of the right side so it pushes back across and I used the rear opening for the return which flows towards the far-right middle section. of course, I can barely turn the MP40 up and  I have excellent flow, lol. It runs extremely quiet for a Durso overflow and super easy to clean and maintain.  You will love it. 

Great looking start! Looking forward to seeing it mature!