Luke's 250 Gallon DD Build

[lsu_fishfan]

Hi everyone, I recently filled the tank and started cycling! So I decided to start a build thread to document the process and provide ideas for future hobbyists.
The tank is 60 x 36 x 27 with starphire glass.

EQUIPMENT
Ecotech Marine Radion Gen 3 Pro x2
Icecap 660 ballas running 3 bulbs each x2
Ecotech Mp40s x2
SRO 5000 internal
Iwaki MD 40
300w JÄGER heater

Here is a pic i took tonight, just put the canopy on and turned the lights on(LEDs only)
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[calhounreef]

Love the rock work, looks good man

 

[bckc2002]

Nice setup!

 

[dapperjman]

It looks really nice!

 

[crew]

Nice rock work - looking forward to seeing more.

 

[lsu_fishfan]

Thanks guys almost forgot to add that I am using a tideline 48 sump.

Here's another pic of the rock work from the backside veiw
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[lsu_fishfan]

I bought the tank used used Agustin of 2013. The tank sat in the garage on a peice of foam for cushioning while we worked on fixing up the stand and canopy. We started by cutting out the middle wall in the stand to make room for the longer sump. Then we sanded everything down and added a few coats of white paint. The upper peice of the stand has a bar extending out, so we had to get it trimmed down to fit in the space we had. Once the stand was complete we began work on the canopy. First we had to get a peice of wood cut to cover the previous owners holes for wiring. The door for the canopy door was not very nice so we just ordered 2 new doors ,versus the one long door. After this we also painted the inside of the canopy white to provide extra reflection and protect the wood from humidity.

 

[lsu_fishfan]

Well, it's 2016 now, and almost a year has passed with no update

While I was having fun enjoying the progression of the tank, I forgot to update info for everyone.

Here are some of the major events:
First, after setting up the tank, we found that two over our bulkheads had minor leaks . After doing some research we decided to switch them out with the coravue schedule 80 bulkhead, found here:http://www.coralvue.com/schedule-80-bulkhead-slip-to-slip">http://www.coralvue.com/schedule-80-bulkhead-slip-to-slip</a>
The next major problem was the hair algae stage that took a good 3 months+ to completely rid.
We mainly just pulled out what we could and did 10% water changes.

On to the happier topics :)
We decided to use a bio pellet reactor in the tank to produce a lower nutrient system for keeping sps. We had a recirculating reactor built by Avast Marine. Dimensions are 21" tall by 6" diameter. We are using a waveline DC pump on the reactor.
We also had a ATO reservoir built by Malv's Reef to fit inside the stand. We decided to use the Tunze osmolator as our ATO pump.
We also decided to upgrade our mp40s to the qd model.

We are also looking to add an apex and a Maxspect gyre for extra flow.

Here's some pics of the livestock
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[thanhreef]

look great

 

[bcavalli]

Looking really good Luke! One day I'll be over there to see it in person.

 

[lsu_fishfan]

thanhreef;1066168 wrote: look great

Bcavalli;1066172 wrote: Looking really good Luke! One day I'll be over there to see it in person.

Thanks Thanh

Brett, your welcome any time.

 

[lsu_fishfan]

Here's some more pics, first is the normal radion schedule at this time, and second is the radions set at 6500K

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Sorry for the bad iPhone pics under blues

 

[shrimpy brains]

Beautiful! I love the lights and big swimming space! Corals look awesome. Only 3 fish??

 

[rdnelson]

Looking great Luke.

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[nicoli627]

Very nice


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[lsu_fishfan]

Shrimpy Brains;1066187 wrote: Beautiful! I love the lights and big swimming space! Corals look awesome. Only 3 fish??

Only three fish for now

I have plans to add many other fish including tangs, Midas Blenny, royal gramma, firefish, and maybe a pair of wrasses or something.
We will see

 

[genesis]

Looking great. Love the scape, it so open. Add some more fish to fill in the negative space.

 

[lsu_fishfan]

Genesis;1066193 wrote: Looking great. Love the scape, it so open. Add some more fish to fill in the negative space.

Its really testing my patience. I would love to go out and just buy a few fish and through them in the tank, but I want to slowly add new fish, and have time to properly qt, etc.

 

[lsu_fishfan]

Here's some pics of what everything looks like inside the stand and canopy

First is a pic of the lighting with T5s on

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Just radions

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Skimmer and bio pellet reactor

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Tunze ATO and reservoir(approx. 10 gallons

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Lastly is the pump manifold
The bottom line runs to the left overflow, the middle to the right overflow, and the top is plumbed back to the third sump drain.

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<span style="color: Lime">Thanks for looking.</span>:thumbs:

 

[myreefclub0070]

Very nice setup, looks clean.
Pluming job is top shelf and all the equipment laid out just right.
Hats off to you.