New to ARC

[Lawman]

Hello everyone, new reefer here. I was told about the club yesterday and thought it would be a good idea to learn. I am in the process of starting my reef tank. Built every part of it from scratch, event the tank. Looking for ideas on having a reef tank, design, what works, what does not work, and how to maintain. I built a 72x24x24 tank using a freedom reef sump with a vectra L1 return pump, eshopps 220 skimmer. Drilled two return points in the tank. Just added live rock and sand, will work in side cabinets today to hid the plumbing.

 

[Lawman]

Hello everyone, new reefer here. I was told about the club yesterday and thought it would be a good idea to learn. I am in the process of starting my reef tank. Built every part of it from scratch, event the tank. Looking for ideas on having a reef tank, design, what works, what does not work, and how to maintain. I built a 72x24x24 tank using a freedom reef sump with a vectra L1 return pump, eshopps 220 skimmer. Drilled two return points in the tank. Just added live rock and sand, will work in side cabinets today to hid the plumbing.

 

[Lawman]

Sump

 

[york1]

Welcome!
Looks like you are off to a good start

 

[cbj25isback]

Welcome Lawman!! You are in the right place, there is a brain trust of knowledge here and many folk with beautiful reefs. Any questions just ask, I am sure you will get several different viewpoints.

CJ

 

[FutureInterest]

 

[ichthyoid]

Welcome to the ARC & good job on the initial build!

Please be sure to post updates on your progress.

That's one of the more popular aspects of the club.

By watching builds, we all get ideas and share them too.

 

[CJD18]

Welcome!!!
Now get to reefing!! 4/20!!!

 

[bhodges82]

Welcome, I'm a little envious of the large beautiful aquarium you have there, I wish I could go back and do a whole build. Itm be fun to watch your tank mature.

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[bhodges82]

Just a suggestion, you should add a ball valve right on top of that return pump, it could save you some frustration in the future if you ever need to remove that pump, you'll be able to completely shut off the water /siphon.

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[Mom2Many]

Welcome! Looks like you have done a lot of planning and research. Very nice set up! You have asked some great questions and asking questions like those are going to give you the best ideas how you want to do things and set you up for success. I do low tech nanos but MANY people on here have beautiful large systems like yours and can answer the questions you have! Again, welcome and I am looking forward to seeing your progress!

 

[Lawman]

Just a suggestion, you should add a ball valve right on top of that return pump, it could save you some frustration in the future if you ever need to remove that pump, you'll be able to completely shut off the water /siphon.

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Thanks, I was thinking the same as well as adding check valve.

 

[Seraphimas]

Wow, awesome job building all of that yourself! Can't wait to see what you stock it with. I'm very new to the forums myself and have had nothing but pleasant experiences so far; everyone has been amazingly helpful.

 

[ichthyoid]

Thanks, I was thinking the same as well as adding check valve.

FWIW-
Check valves may be used to solve/prevent a specific problem, but I suggest you consider whether it's truly needed.
If you don't have an in-tank overflow or don't run a closed loop, then probably yes.
I have run one on a 150 gal system successfully for several years. Just know that-
-you get what you pay for with check valves, and
-they should be cleaned regularly, by removing & cleaning both the mechanism and the port it resides in. (~once a month, and an additional shut off valve is a must)
A stuck check valve can be either annoying or a disaster, depending on degree and position of the sticking.
Check this one out-
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/geor...MI3OSQhKzh4QIVmkoNCh0SPAsREAQYASABEgLJYfD_BwE

 

[Lawman]

FWIW-
Check valves may be used to solve/prevent a specific problem, but I suggest you consider whether it's truly needed.
If you don't have an in-tank overflow or don't run a closed loop, then probably yes.
I have run one on a 150 gal system successfully for several years. Just know that-
-you get what you pay for with check valves, and
-they should be cleaned regularly, by removing & cleaning both the mechanism and the port it resides in. (~once a month, and an additional shut off valve is a must)
A stuck check valve can be either annoying or a disaster, depending on degree and position of the sticking.
Check this one out-
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/geor...MI3OSQhKzh4QIVmkoNCh0SPAsREAQYASABEgLJYfD_BwE

Thanks so much, this is very helpful. I was thinking about changing to a close loop but that would require me to drill the tank again and this time from the bottom. Have you had any of the smart tech like the smart shutoff valve in case of lost power? What looking into that as well.

 

[Lawman]

Wow, awesome job building all of that yourself! Can't wait to see what you stock it with. I'm very new to the forums myself and have had nothing but pleasant experiences so far; everyone has been amazingly helpful.

Thank you, I am looking forward to stocking the tank. Just trying to figure out rock formations I should use and what I can actually mix in the tank. I seen a sting ray the other day that seemed pretty cool.

 

[Seraphimas]

Speaking of rock formations, I was watching a video on youtube of a guy who used a masonry bit to drill holes in his rocks and used pieces of pvc to sort of "peg" the rocks together into his desired design rather than going with the epoxy method for stability. This allowed him to easily remove certain rocks from the tank if there was ever a problem on one of them (like needing to be dipped, fragged, inspected, whatever). While I'm sure this would be a time consuming project, I think it'd be absolutely worth it when you have so many lbs of rock and really need to move something rather than having everything bonded together with epoxy and trying to break it free. I would absolutely try to do this if I ever built a large tank, seems like it would save so many potential headaches down the road. Just food for thought

 

[Lawman]

Well today I worked on the filtration system, 2nd day running and installed a backup battery to the entire system. Added in the lights, went cheap on the cover as I used egg crate lighting panels. Looks like I need one more light, but will work on enclosing the pipes and wires into the side cabinets. The skimmer looks to have clean the rock debris, also added the new tank bio, will let it cycle for a week and hopefully add fish next weekend.

 

[Mom2Many]

You've been busy! So clean, neat and organized! Lookin great!

 

[ichthyoid]

I used a check valve very similar to the one posted above.
I tend to be more confident in more simply designed technology.
Preferably with multiple layers of redundancy/backups.
Fewer things can go wrong.


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