CoralReefer's 680 Reef Savvy Build

[CoralReefer2110]

Out of sympathy for my RO machine and mother nature I decided to take a couple of trips to the LFS. Oh, and for hte record, walking in and asking if they have 500g of pre-made RO on hand is almost always good for a laugh.
(Joking aside my LFS - They did great in helping me out.) Got about 250 g in total from them. That saved me a few days for sure!

 

[CoralReefer2110]

It's ALIVE!!!!
Still needed to set up the skimmer, dosing, reactors, etc... Also needed to set up dry lines, refugium, manifold, and some others but just to see water circulating and no drips was a victory for sure.
It's a story that is only useful here but plugging that pump in and hearing it roar to life and just waiting, waiting, waiting to see where a drip was going to come is a torturous experience.
But - and hold it - not a single drip. I know I have complimented my builder but this to me was the testament. How do you make that many cuts and joints and not get one. Solid work. dang solid.

 

[CoralReefer2110]

After a couple of weeks of slowly adding live rock from the holding system to the display it began to look like a proper reef. Now please remember, this wasn't so much aquascaping as it was just getting stuff in there and trying to maximize surface area to expedite bacteria devlopment, light exposure to intensify coralline growth, and ultimately move through the inevitable mini-cycle.

When it comes time to talk coral, then we can get serious about aquascaping. In the meantime, we roll on.....

 

[CoralReefer2110]

It's coming together. Now we have chems, access to constant RODI, active skimming, and monitoring.
The Apex is jamming and keeping me apprised of progress.

 

[CoralReefer2110]

The FTS. Snapped in haste. But you get the idea.


And before I get asked. Current stock list:
- (8) Yellow Tangs
- (2) Blue Hippos
- (2) Purple Tangs
- (1) Red Sea Desjardini Sailfin Tang
- (1) Achilles Tang
- (2) Blue Throat Triggers
- (1) False Percula
- (2) Black Perculas
- (3) Orange Striped Anthias
- (1) Flame Hawkfish (my son's favorite)

We will get heavy on Anthias and Wrasse moving forward but wanted to make sure everything was soundly established before getting into those levels of feeding.

And all the special little critters that make a true reef possible...

 

[CoralReefer2110]

So there it is. 11 months distilled down to a select few posts. But I thought it would be more fun to start this way in looking to establish some contacts here. I do hope to hear from you all and look forward to learning more about our community.


Thanks everybody for having me.....

Andy

 

[James Mikell]

Wow this is absolutely amazing and something to inspire others to one day have somthing as nice.

 

[Ted_C]

Nice build. I saw your post on the "other site / tbrc" and had to come here to check it out.

 

[CoralReefer2110]

Nice build. I saw your post on the "other site / tbrc" and had to come here to check it out.

Thanks Ted! Glad you took the time. Will work with both obviously but with this many pics it was going to be hard to tell the tale with words alone. Thanks again....

 

[mrpizzaface]

Wow! What an impressive endeavor! I am eager to watch this build progress. I hope to be able to start my own thread this winter.
Looks great!

 

[Ted_C]

If you're looking for other ideas in regards to the skinning - I used Spacewerks out of clearwater for my stand / canopy.

 

[h20poloman2]

Nice build. I saw your post on the "other site / tbrc" and had to come here to check it out.

I'm with Ted, saw on the other site and had to come check this out. Plus I'm sort of a local to you now and have wanted a Reef Savvy tank for many years. Will need to see this one in person. Congrats!

Marlin

 

[SPR1968]

That’s a great build thread Andy and thanks for taking all the time to share it and fantastic pictures!

What’s the display and total system water volume, I see a mention of 500g’s?

 

[CoralReefer2110]

Wow! What an impressive endeavor! I am eager to watch this build progress. I hope to be able to start my own thread this winter.
Looks great!

Hey Mr.Pizzaface, He's a great guy. Super knowledgeable and takes tremendous pride in his product. Can't say enough good. Always feel free to message me if you have any specific questions. I'd rave all day about his work but don't want to turn this into an ad..

 

[CoralReefer2110]

I'm with Ted, saw on the other site and had to come check this out. Plus I'm sort of a local to you now and have wanted a Reef Savvy tank for many years. Will need to see this one in person. Congrats!

Marlin

H20Poloman,
Hey thanks for the note. I don't know what our local forum looks like quite yet for meetings or tank tours but hopefully we can make it happen.

 

[CoralReefer2110]

That’s a great build thread Andy and thanks for taking all the time to share it and fantastic pictures!

What’s the display and total system water volume, I see a mention of 500g’s?

SPR1968, The breakdown looks a bit like this:
- 500g Display
- 180g Sump & refugium
- (2) 105g water change tanks (not online yet)
- 75g shallow frag system (not online yet)

So all in all once my last two elements get plumbed in around early October we will have a 500g display and roughly 965g total system.

I will put those pics up when that phase is complete. Hopefully between now and then I can start amassing some coral frags as well. The livestock has come along nicely since that first FTS so I can now focus on rebuilding my reef.

 

[vetteguy53081]

What a project, layout , planning and Expense. I am so looking for a tank like this but used ( to keep the cost down). This is the way to go- Bigger is Better !!!!

Great job...( Drool-drool)+-

 

[CoralReefer2110]

Thanks vetteguy. Bigger is always the temptation isn't it?

 

[landlord]

And so it begins. If any of my neighbors happen to read this, I am so sorry to have had that dang saw going for almost 72 straight hours. However, you will see shortly how many cuts needed made and how much plumbing was constructed.
Again, shout out to the crew who worked night and day to make this happen. Kurt, if you're out there, I hope you got some rest!!!!

Andrew I felt pretty bad for your neighbors as well. If it is any consolation to them we pretty much burned up that saw on the last day and had to use the hand saw for the final cuts. LOL.

Rest is for the weak brother!

Kurt

 

[landlord]

Don't be surprised if I show up for the skinning and canopy install. That beer fridge is calling my name!