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Dave’s 230 Gallon Reef

ddrueckh

ddrueckh

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About 12 years ago, I had a 150 gallon reef that I loved. It had metal halide and VHO lighting, a sump under the house, a chiller, and a lot of beautiful live rock and coral. My powder blue and yellow tangs were my favorite fish. The tank cost an arm and leg to run and I ran out of time to maintain it. I made the decision to sell the entire setup. I have always regretted that decision.

Earlier this year, I told my wife that I really missed having a big tank (current tank is an IM Nuvo 40). She told me she was okay with me getting a bigger tank again if that is what I wanted. This led me to researching a variety of tank options including tanks from Marineland, Red Sea and others. They all had some things I loved and other things I didn’t. I decided to go custom and ordered a tank and stand from Crystal Dynamic Aquariums on May 9th. I am still waiting for the tank and stand to be finished. I will provide more details on these items soon.

Yesterday, I received the first piece of equipment for my new build. A big box was delivered via freight service. I can’t wait to show you what’s inside!

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Dave


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It’s my new sump. My pictures of it don’t look as good as the manufacturers. It is 60X22X16 (86 gallons). I chose it for the large refugium and Skimmer chambers as well as the 1 1/2” inlets. It also has ports for wires and dosing tubes.

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That is awesome and huge! I can Only imagine what the tank will be like. Can you explain the sump compartments? Is the far right bulkhead a drain into a fuge?
 
The three bulkheads on the left are the drains. I decided to go sockless...is that a word? The water then flows into the biggest chamber which is the fuge. It then flows into the Skimmer chamber and last into the return on the right. The bulkhead on the right that you mentioned is for the return. I think it is a little silly and don’t plan to use it.


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Maybe you use it with a smaller pump to run a reactor manifold. Keep the main return, a dedicated return.


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Below is a picture showing the wall that the new tank will go against. My Nuvo 40 will be moved and turned into a planted freshwater tank by my 10 year old son. He already has a 20 gallon planted tank and is excited to upgrade. The new tank is 76” long. There will be room for a chair to the left of the tank. The tank will take up about 2/3 of the wall. I wish I could have had a tank as long as the wall but that is way out of my budget!

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I already ran a dedicated 20 amp circuit for the new tank. I also installed a 1/2” emergency overflow line that will be connected to the sump and three RO lines. The RO lines will be used for automatic water changes and ATO.

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I get a kick out of the pipes coming out of the wall plate, like they are normal cables.
:)

Looks like a fun project!

Is that a dedicated circuit? A big tank can take a lot of power.
 
rygh said:
I get a kick out of the pipes coming out of the wall plate, like they are normal cables.
:)

Looks like a fun project!

Is that a dedicated circuit? A big tank can take a lot of power.
Click to expand...

Yes, it’s a dedicated circuit.


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Vhuang168 said:
What does the divider between the fuge and skimmer chamber look like?


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The divider is comprised of two pieces. The first is an adjustable baffle that lets you set the depth of the refugium chamber. There are two spacers on the baffle that a clear slotted piece of acrylic attach to. This is to keep the macro from going into the Skimmer chamber. The clear slotted piece is about 1/2” in front of the baffle.

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