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Here are photos from the setup phase of my second Reef Tank.
Here is the first three pieces of Live Rock added to my tank. The lights are a
Coralife Power Compact fixture with 2 10000K bulbs and 2 True Actinic bulbs. The
tank is an All Glass Aquarium with a pre-drilled built in overflow box.
Here is the 110 gallon Tractor Supply Company tub that makes up my sump. The
overflow is 1 1/4" braided tubing going down and 3/4" tubing on the return. The
return pump is a Mag 18. The skimmer is a Berlin 250 driven by a Mag 7. The
brown trash can is for aging 34 gallons of salt water and the black trash can is
for pure RO/DI water from the AquaFX Barracuda 4 stage filter.
The current sump configuration includes a plant basket with several type of
macro algae including Chetomorphia, Red Kelp, and Caulerpa. Also visible is the
gravity fed top-off system using as float valve.
Here is a closeup of the Fuge Plant Basket. It has a thin layer of sand and
rests on the bottom of the sump under a 14watt VitaLite.
Have you ever wondered what it looks like from in the tank looking out...
I purchased a DIY Skimmer from a local reefer, I am still tuning it, but so far
it is doing a great job. The reaction chamber is 12" diameter and 24" tall. The
collection cup and neck is another 12" tall. It sits on a plastic crate in the
sump so the pumps do not add heat to the water. The bucket in the background is
my gravity top off, it is 7 gallons for comparison.
Here you can see the Gravity feed input and the first of 2 Ocean Runner 3500
pumps with needlewheel impellers. The input feed has a ball valve for
restricting the volume of water entering the skimmer. There is also a gate valve
on the input side of the OR 3500 to restrict water flow and adjust the bubble
production. I have found that between 60 and 70% seems to produce the best foam,
but I am still waiting on my Dwyer air meter to get more accurate numbers for
air production.
The skimmer exhaust is directed to the left of the skimmer and creates a
circular current past the plant basket and around to the Mag 18 return pump. The
gate valve restricts the outflow and has a 1 1/2" riser tube, reduced to 1 1/4"
after the elbow. The Left side OR 3500 also has a gate valve to adjust water
flow/bubble production.
In this image you can see the gravity fed Kalk reactor, new skimmer, my salt
water mixing can, and the over flow tube with skimmer bypass plumbing. I lined
the underside of the stairs with 4 mil plastic to stop anything from dropping
into the sump.
The fuge is growing good. It is a 10g I drilled on one side. The water from
upstairs feeds in on the left through some filter pads and exits on the right
into a Deep Sand Bed Bucket.
Here is the Bad Crab and a turbo. He decided to take a swipe at the Anemone and
was sumarily banished to the fuge. He recently molted and his claws are now
HUGE.
This is an updated photo of the sump with the new Ca Reactor and the fuge setup.
The updated sump from the front.
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