The Synergy Reef v2 Official build - 48" x 36" x 30"

[goody]

Amazing build. Been following along. I noticed in an earlier photo of the tank all sides were clear acrylic. Then the photo with the overflow show the rear all black. I'm assuming that is not the design of the overflow, so did you add some black acrylic? I believe you also built Toxic's tank, which also has a rear black panel. Was his an acrylic piece also?

 

[mixer911]

How many pounds of Real Reef Rock is that?

I would say around 180 - 220 #'s I started with 5 boxes at 60#'s and still have about 2 boxes left.

dont know if this has been asked before but how long is the PVC pipe going into the sump? And why is it cut at an angle at the end?

THey are about 8.5". I cut them on an angle to allow any trapped air to escape without causing backpressure. The air escapes first then the water.

I really love the tank and all the Synergy products just make it sick. I would love to see you guys make the stand and rods to support the live rock, I know I would take one... Any thought that you guys would produce and sell these?
Nitro

Thanks! Possibly, but not anytime soon. Maybe we could offer a kit of some sort. It's not cheap though.

I might just have to borrow the floating rock idea. Great feature.
Is there any logic or ratio to OC vs Full Siphon & Emergency heights? I have your 16" and haven't gotten it wet yet. I sure wish someone made 1 inch "U" pipes to use, the double 90 just feels like a kludge.

The fish love it too! There is some logic behind the pipe heights on the rear box of the overflow. While it is kinda similar to a bean animal, it is really a modified version and not really a bean animal. So basically you always want the Primary (Full siphon with gate valve) to be as low in the rear box as possible. Literally sucking from the bottom of the box. The secondary (partial siphon with no valve) will be above the primary. So depending on the plumbing pipes you use, you will need to adjust this on a case by case basis. The main idea is to use the secondary to raise the water level in the rear box to about 3/4" to 1/'2" Below the top of the box. This in conjunction with dialing in the gate valve on the primary. Once set you should never need to adjust it. The emergency pipe is the highest and is above the secondary. No need for any type of hoses or tubes like are used in a bean animal setup. Just make sure to drill a hole in the top of both the primary and secondary pipes to allow air to escape on startup.

We have something in store for the "U" pipes. We are just trying to get them protected first so other people don't start copying them. Seems like everyone wants in on our overflow at the moment. Trust me, good things are coming We want to make it plug and play.

Amazing build. Been following along. I noticed in an earlier photo of the tank all sides were clear acrylic. Then the photo with the overflow show the rear all black. I'm assuming that is not the design of the overflow, so did you add some black acrylic? I believe you also built Toxic's tank, which also has a rear black panel. Was his an acrylic piece also?

Thanks! Correct on the tank being all clear. We use a special vinyl coating on the rear of our tanks. We didn't build Toxic's tank, that is a Reef Savvy tank. It is glass, we don't do glass. But we both use the same material on the rear of the tanks. We did build the filtration system for Toxic though.

 

[don_chuwish]

Thanks for the informative reply. I think I need to lower the primary a bit on mine then, and drill a hole. The angled cut makes sense too. Custom U pipes? oh my! Hope it works out!

 

[revhtree]

Is that "new" RR Rock? Like just unboxed?

 

[mixer911]

Is that "new" RR Rock? Like just unboxed?

Majority of it is. I also transferred in a lot of the established rock from our old build.

 

[mixer911]

Big boy skimmer arrived today. Vertex Alpha 250 is a beast!

Someone was as happy as me to see it!

Got it in a vinegar bath and running nicely. Try to get it installed in the next few days, but my schedule it full!!!

Update on the tank. Big diatom outbreak, but that was expected. A few of my larger colonies are not happy after the move. They are bleached but still alive. All of the Fish, LPS and other corals are doing fine.

 

[Bps619]

That's a killer skimmer

 

[don_chuwish]

Monster! FYI, on my 150 I found that the foam in the silencer wasn't quite effective enough. A wad of filter floss (or polyfill) to fill up the space made it much quieter.

 

[arnel0387]

Can you please post a pic and explain how you attached LEDs to your Giesemann Spectra? You said you posted one a few posts back but I couldn't find it

 

[mixer911]

Can you please post a pic and explain how you attached LEDs to your Giesemann Spectra? You said you posted one a few posts back but I couldn't find it

I used 3M VHB double sided tape. Just stuck the aluminum u channel to the fixture. Here are some pics.

 

[mixer911]

So was able to get some work done on this today. New skimmer is in and has been running for about 2 days. Starting to produce some skimmate! Still breaking in though. Also changed out the main Vertex V6 return pump for the Vectra M1. I will be using the Vertex V6 again as my secondary return pump that will feed the manifold. All that will be built here soon as well.

Built the electronics control center today as well. I used the same laminated PVC material that I used under the tank and for the base of the stand. It turned out really nice. Still finishing up all the wiring, but here are some in progress shots.

CNC'ing the panel first:

[/IMG]

I then took a 48" piece of anodized aluminum and made 4 brackets to hold this panel on the stand. I attached the brackets with stainless steel screws.

Mounted it in place:

Now here is a before with the wires everywhere!!

And the after, still not complete:

The backside, I am still in the process of getting all the wires into the wiretracks:

 

[don_chuwish]

Very nice. Good planning!

 

[mixer911]

Very nice. Good planning!

Thanks. I have been planning the build for over 1.5 years. I drew everything out in CAD to make sure everything fit how I wanted. Planning is the key.

 

[Warddman]

Nice looking setup

 

[don_chuwish]

Yeah, CAD is one of those skills I wish I'd had a chance to develop over the years. I fumble around in Sketch-Up but I'm terribly slow at it and can't do anything complicated. Builds like this really show the old adage "If you can't draw it, you can't build it."

 

[bknapp]

Looking great Rick! Love the wire management. Very clean.

 

[Viner87]

Epic mate!!

 

[markalan]

That panel looks wonderful.

 

[revhtree]

So was able to get some work done on this today. New skimmer is in and has been running for about 2 days. Starting to produce some skimmate! Still breaking in though. Also changed out the main Vertex V6 return pump for the Vectra M1. I will be using the Vertex V6 again as my secondary return pump that will feed the manifold. All that will be built here soon as well.

And the after, still not complete:

The backside, I am still in the process of getting all the wires into the wiretracks:

I hare you....

 

[dorky]

Man I need to work on the cad sketching lol I'm horrible wit tht