The 57gal Rimless Reef -- My Build Thread!

[phytofish]

OHH YEAHH IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING.

There is a Deep Blue Edge 57gallon RR aquarium sitting in my living room..
I move into my new apartment August 10th, so hopefully the tank will be wet shortly after!
I have some pretty great plans for this tank so I hope you stick around!

Equipment/Equipment Plans
57Gal Deep Blue Tank
DIY Stand
DIY 20L Sump/Fuge

Lighting - TBD - 2 Kessil a160w's
Return - TBD - Jebao DCT-4000

RODI - BRS 4 Stage RODI Unit

Equipment from previous tanks
Skimmer - Simplicity 120 DC
ATO - IceCap ATO
Heater - JBJ TrueTemp 300w
Powerheads - 2 Tunze Nanostream

I have 50lb of MarcoRocks dry rock as well as my RODI Unit on the way to the house.. I think once it gets here I'm going to go ahead and let my rock start cycling in a brute trash can to get a head start on the cycle- why not!
In the mean time I'll be finishing up on my sump and start building the stand.

I have stocking ideas of course but I'll go into detail on that another time.

Tag along ;Woot

 

[ps2cho]

really nice footprint

 

[the_reef_keeper]

Tagging along! Good luck!

 

[phytofish]

Here's my sump and plans for it.. i still need to take a razor blade and clean up the silicone a little.
The overflow will drain into that first compartment on the right into a filter sock with the protein skimmer also in that section. Then go through the bubble trap where it'll also raise through some filter media.. carbon and gfo maybe.. next it'll flow into the middle compartment where the heater, ATO, and return will be.. the return will send it up where it will T off and water will be sent to the refugium.. i'll use a ball valve on the other side of the T to control flow to that area. It'll then overflow back into the return.
In the refugium I think that i'm only going to be growing chaeto for now. No dsb. Maybe a couple pieces of rock if i have some leftover after my scape

I'd like to incorporate more biological filtration somewhere in the sump but i haven't decided where yet.. i like the marine pure blocks but they're a bit pricey and i already have a couple bags of the hollow ceramic media. We'll see!

 

[phytofish]

I want this to be a mixed reef.. some SPS up high-this'll be my first dip into the SPS world but I'm excited about it!
LPS in middle-I've gotta have my euphyllias and duncans. maybe a leather in there.
and maybe some pretty zoas or palys toward the bottom.. not a huge fan of mushrooms or xenia or anything that'll spread crazy fast.. i like gsp if I could contain it.
i've always wanted a RBTA too so that's gonna be on the list as well! I'd almost want to add him first so he can find his spot without me worrying about killing other corals..

As far as dosing goes I think to start out I am just going to dose kalkwasser in my ATO.. I'll try to test regularly so if after time kalkwasser can't keep my levels up I'll have to buy a dosing pump and start dosing 2 part..
Any opinions on kalk vs 2 part? I've read several threads and gotten mixed reviews but as of now i'm thinking kalk

 

[phytofish]

Ok I'm going to go ahead and bring it up.. lighting..
I want kessils.. 2 a160w's.. But I don't want to spend $600 on them by the time I get lights, mounts and a spectral controller..
I thought about getting a T247 like I had on my old cube but I don't think one 16" T247 would be sufficient for a 36" tank.
I want something fully controllable so the $100 chinese black boxes aren't an option..
If I'm going to spend the big bucks on anything though it should probably be lighting.
Any thoughts?

 

[phytofish]

Lots of things are coming in!

50 lbs of dry marcorocks
BRS 4 Stage Plus RODI 75GPD
40 lbs caribsea dry aragonite sand
Refractometer
2 extra thermometers

I'm getting excited.. I'm hoping maybe two weeks from today I'll be filling up the tank

 

[phytofish]

Once I figure out this RODI unit I'm going to go ahead and put the dry rock in a brute and let it start cycling.. my lfs owner said to feed it daily.. is this recommended by you all?
I figured just drop a couple cubes of mysis in and let it sit

 

[phytofish]

Anyone know about the above? Feed daily during the cycle or just once at the beginning?

 

[phytofish]

Got the rock cycle started last night..

Today the entire apartment stinks.. i don't know what the awful smell is but it's coming from this brute.. i dropped a cube of mysis in last night but surely that's not it?
Could it be the die off on those ceramic rings i dropped in there? They were in an old tank.

Any solutions? I've never had a tank smell bad during the cycle before

 

[phytofish]

New update, made a deal with a buddy to buy his two kessil a160we's.. now looking for a spectral controller and i'll be set! Getting excited about this build

 

[phytofish]

Started on the stand today.. i built the stand 42x21x41... i'm a tall guy and hate having to bend down to look into the front glass of tanks! So we built it tall!

The tank is only 36"x18" so there will be 3 inches of stand around the aquarium on the front and 2 sides. That's why there is an extra frame inside of the outer frame, to hold the weight of the aquarium..

Only got this far today.. tomorrow and monday will be making some trim out of 2x4's, adding a shelf and floor, and building cabinets for the front and both sides.
I'm thinking that in one of the side cabinets i'll put a plywood wall to mount all of my dc controllers and kessil controller in (and someday maybe an apex)

Still have to cut the drain and return holes out of the top as well

Painting it semi-gloss black to match the other furniture in the room

Coming along [emoji16][emoji1417]

 

[phytofish]

Tests kits - red sea, salifert, API? What do you guys recommend? Any others? I want something quality that also won't break the bank

 

[Sobo's Reef]

Tests kits - red sea, salifert, API? What do you guys recommend? Any others? I want something quality that also won't break the bank

Ammo and Nitrite - API
Nitrate - Salifert
Phosphate and Alk - Hanna checker
Magnesium - Red Sea pro

This is what I use.. I can't remember what I used to use for Calcium... may have been Hanna checker as well but can't remember.

 

[phytofish]

Ammo and Nitrite - API
Nitrate - Salifert
Phosphate and Alk - Hanna checker
Magnesium - Red Sea pro

This is what I use.. I can't remember what I used to use for Calcium... may have been Hanna checker as well but can't remember.

Why all different? Did it just end up that way or do you like those specific brands for those tests?

 

[Sobo's Reef]

Some test kits are more accurate then others IMO

 

[TylerMoralez]

Ok I'm going to go ahead and bring it up.. lighting..
I want kessils.. 2 a160w's.. But I don't want to spend $600 on them by the time I get lights, mounts and a spectral controller..
I thought about getting a T247 like I had on my old cube but I don't think one 16" T247 would be sufficient for a 36" tank.
I want something fully controllable so the $100 chinese black boxes aren't an option..
If I'm going to spend the big bucks on anything though it should probably be lighting.
Any thoughts?

I would say to stick with the Kessils, or I've had a great experience with the Hydra HD's. Probably two would be sufficient, and what's better is you don't need to buy a separate server for wifi control, or a separate controller in general. They're a great option!

 

[TylerMoralez]

Tests kits - red sea, salifert, API? What do you guys recommend? Any others? I want something quality that also won't break the bank

Huge fan of Salifert! Hanna Checkers come in handy for alk and calc

 

[phytofish]

I would say to stick with the Kessils, or I've had a great experience with the Hydra HD's. Probably two would be sufficient, and what's better is you don't need to buy a separate server for wifi control, or a separate controller in general. They're a great option!

I decided to go with Kessils. I did look at Hydra HD's though and almost made an offer on some!
A friend of mine is downsizing though and selling his Kessils that are maybe 6 months old, so I'm gonna take them off his hands! Two a160we's!

 

[phytofish]

Finally got the stand built so I just had to stick the tank on there to see how it looks! It's so tall! About 5 ft from rim of the tank to the floor.

Also, meet Leo!
I wanted to do the classic "stick your child in the tank" shot with Leo but I figured he wouldn't appreciate that too much