40gal Humble Reef

wpeterson

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We've just moved back to the Boston area and I'm building a new tank based on a Deep Blue Pro 40gallon breeder display.
  • Deep Blue Pro 40 breeder (36x18x16)
  • Precision Marine R30 Pro sump/refugium (30x16x15 ~ 30 gal)
  • Neptune Apex w/ Temp, pH, and ORP
  • 2x Kessil A350W
  • 2x Ecotech MP40wES powerheads
  • Eshopps Eclipse low-profile overflow (2x 1" drains as a Herbie)
  • 2x 3/4" return lines
  • Bubble Magus Curve 5 skimmer
  • Jebao DCT-12000 return pump
  • 2x TLF 150 media reactors
  • AutoAqua SmartATO
  • Advanced Acrylics 14gal ATO Reservoir
  • Jebao DP4 dosing pump
This tank is a humble reboot of our 90gal reef tank in California. Most of the gear is used/leftover from previous tanks and the spirit will be more DIY than our last tank.

Initial full-tank shot 7/2/2016:

2016-07-11%2021.45.13.jpg
 
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wpeterson

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I decided to install my own overflow and chose the new low-profile Eshopps Eclipse overflows in the Medium size. It has an 8" weir within the tank, feeding an external overflow box with two 1" drains through a 1.5" bulkhead in the rear wall of the tank. One drain is setup as a fully-open emergency drain about 5" above the primary 1" siphon drain. I installed two basic 3/4" bulkheads with loc-lines as returns.

This is the first time I've ever drilled a tank and the process went well - though there was a bit more internal scalloping than I had hoped for. Thankfully my wife helped run the hose on the drill to keep things clean and cool.

2016-05-27%2020.21.57.jpg


After letting the tank dry out over night, I cleaned it up and applied a blue backing material. The return lines and overflow were easy to install:

2016-05-28%2014.25.54.jpg

2016-05-28%2014.24.48.jpg
 
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flagg37

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I'm so glad to see you getting right back into another reef tank. What do you plan on doing differently this go around?
 
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wpeterson

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Thanks to everyone for the kind words. If you're in the Boston area and want 3/4" or 1.5" holes drilled I'd be glad to lend a hand with the gear I bought.

The overflow is from Aquacave, who has a 10% off sitewide sale this weekend: http://www.aquacave.com/eshopps-eclipse-internal-overflow-box-kit-medium.html

The drill guide is from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Milescraft-1318-AccuDrill-Mate/dp/B014A1Z92I It keeps the drill aligned on a set axis, 90deg for these holes. If I had access to a drill press, I would have used that but this was easy for DIY/backyard work.
 
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Greenstreet.1

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Thank you I did find it I'm about to place an order but I'm waiting on a answer from rev to see if they are part of our discount card before I place my order
 

revhtree

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Welcome back bro!
 
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wpeterson

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I had hoped to get the sump and filtration shipped before the weekend and get some water in the tank, but it looks like the sump won't arrive until next week. I dry fit the plumbing for the return lines, but there isn't much I can do to finalize the drains/return plumbing until the sump arrives.

I fell in love with the Trigger Systems sump in our previous system, but they seem to have stopped making the Tideline series I had before. I've selected a Precision Marine R30 Sump/Refugium which has a very similar design and layout:

Precision-Marine-R30-Pro-Refugium-99.jpg


The sealed drain chamber with an expansion chamber allows microbubbles to clear and flow to smooth out the turbulence before hitting the filter sock, which also eliminates noise from splashing or gurgling. There's a smaller chamber for a skimmer and a large main refugium chamber.

I've selected a smaller Bubble Magus Curve 5 skimmer that I know will fit and hoping not to overpower a small 40breeder even when it's heavily stocked.
 

vhuang168

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I have the Curve 5 on my 40b. It's taken a while but it's finally starting to break in and pulling darker n darker skimmate every week. Might be a touch big for my 40b, has overflowed a couple of times but I attribute that to break in.
 
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wpeterson

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I have the Curve 5 on my 40b. It's taken a while but it's finally starting to break in and pulling darker n darker skimmate every week. Might be a touch big for my 40b, has overflowed a couple of times but I attribute that to break in.

How did you break yours in? I'm planning to do a vinegar bath this weekend. What water level were you running? It looks like I'll be at about 8" with this setup.

How has the noise level been? I also chose this because there was a built in silencer on the air intake.
 

vhuang168

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I just stuck it in the sump and let it run. I let it overflow for a few days then started putting the cup back on. I'm running at 8.5" right now. It's been pretty quiet.
 
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wpeterson

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Bubble Magus Curve 5 is assembled and going through a vinegar bath break-in period in my sink. I can't believe how quiet it is - the built in silencer on the air intake definitely helps. Reef Octopus 150-SSS was a bigger skimmer and ran what I thought was quiet, but the Curve 5 is silent by comparison. Looking forward to getting this in.

2016-06-05%2013.39.20.jpg


Final leak testing and plumbing are blocked by delays shipping the R30 Pro sump, which will hopefully ship out Monday. It's sad that Marine Depot has a 5+ business day delay getting this out the door, since I ordered it 9 days ago.

I ordered 40lbs of CaribSea fiji pink sand as a base layer for the substrate (dry, not live). I'm planning to source dry rock locally and seed it with some live rock rubble/sand from an established tank. My wife and I were debating having another jawfish, but I don't think a deep sand bed works well in a 40 breeder that's only 16 inches deep. Tabling that decision for now, but I think some other kind of sand-sifting goby might be more appropriate with a 1-2" sandbed.
 
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wpeterson

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Precision Marine R30 Pro sump has arrived and it looks awesome. I went to assemble everything to find out it's 1/4-1/2" wider than expected and will not fit in the stand at all. I tried shaving some wood off the interior of the stand but it's a total debacle. I'm going to need a stand with bigger internal dimensions or a whole new plan.
 

flagg37

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Precision Marine R30 Pro sump has arrived and it looks awesome. I went to assemble everything to find out it's 1/4-1/2" wider than expected and will not fit in the stand at all. I tried shaving some wood off the interior of the stand but it's a total debacle. I'm going to need a stand with bigger internal dimensions or a whole new plan.
Oh no. That sucks. So it's not just about fitting it through the opening but the sump is actually bigger than the interior of the stand itself?
 

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