Slawmans Solar Reef - New Skimmer - TOTF May Winner

[slawman]

Well here I go again. I am still running my cube however a heater incident a month ago triggered my persistent need to get a larger tank. My dear wife has also become quite vocal on the subject, almost demanding I get a larger tank (well that is what I hear anyway). Planning for the new system is well under way and I am finalising suppliers for the tank build and stand at the moment. Hope to have water in it by the end of April.

I have struggled to find a top quality builder for the tank and stand and was planning to use Dave from Extreme Reef however he has stopped building for the time being. The last big tank I had made was by Laurie at St George Aquariums who are sadly no longer about. I am down to three suppliers now and planning to go out and see examples of build quality over the next week to make a final decision. I must add that I am slightly alarmed by the number of suppliers who seem willing to "have a go" with a big tank and some of the design suggestions are scary (10mm glass, no bracing, someone even tried to convince me that I would need an 18mm base).

The big difference with this setup from my cube will be the increased water volume (hopefully translating to improved stability of water parameters) and the use of sunlight via two 250m solar tubes. I have a few improvements planned to make it easier to maintain however a lot will stay about the same, just on a larger scale.

System Objectives: A healthy stable tank full of a few fish, clam or two, some SPS and a few select LPS

System Type: Mixed Reef

Display System:

Strike up Date: April 2013 est.

Display Tank: 1500 (L) x 800 (W) x 600 (D) Starphire with coast to coast rear weir. Beananimal design plumbing.

Display Lighting: Solar tubes (2) supplemented with LED and T5

Stand: Standard cabinet and collar stained to match the kitchen

Hood: Yes, Open top and back

Sump: 800 x 600 x 500.

Refugium: Not at this stage

Support systems:

System Water: Natural salt water

Display Water circulation: 2 x Tunze 6105

Return Pump: Red Dragon speedy3 80w

Skimmer: RLSS 8u until March 2015 now Deltec 2060

Evaporation Top Up: Auto Osmolator

Chemical Support:

Calcium Addition: Kalkwasser as toppoff

Alkilinity Addition: Randys two part

Other Chemical Maintenance: Not at this stage

Water Chemistry Target values : If applicable
Nitrates: 1.5
Phosphates: Zero on a Hanna checker
Alkalinity: Around 7.5 dKH
Calcium: Around 410ppm
Salinity / Specific Gravity: 1.024/1.026
Magnesuim: Not tested

[CBrian]

This sounds very promising, I'll be following. I'd suggest using Leng as your tank builder, his build quality is exceptional in the absence of Dave, I think Auburn Aquarium and Aquaristic use him to build all there tanks. That's who I would go for

[slawman]

Many thanks CB. Yes, Lang comes up over and again as the builder to go for. He is pretty pricey is the only thing but at the end of the day you get what you pay for.......

[CBrian]

Yeah, I've actually sold a few of his tanks and set them up, and I'll say that he does do excellent stuff mate

[slawman]

Quick update. I have decided to go for an acrylic DIY sump. I like the idea of being able to drill holes where I like and stick things on to the side (like probes etc....). I am also going to implement a permanent (daily) water change system using a Kamoer dosing pump. I like the idea of making the water changes as simple as possible and the slow change process promotes stability.

Pumps and extra heaters have been ordered!

I will be having the tank build by Craig at Salt Aquarium. After discussing the build with several prospects, and visiting their workshops, I am confident he has a great commitment to customer satisfaction and quality. I have always been impressed with the way Salt runs their setup and hoping this will translate to a great build....

[mattyc]

I too am looking for a tank builder and was going to use extreme reef, who is Leng where does he work at?
Cheers..

[slawman]

I too am looking for a tank builder and was going to use extreme reef, who is Leng where does he work at?
Cheers..

He is available through Majestic aquariums and Auburn aquariums that I know of. I suggest getting in touch with Craig from Salt as part of your research. Have inspected a whole lot of tanks over the last three weeks I am confident his build quality will be every bit as good as Lengs and he has been great to work with as my design develops......asking lots of questions to check everything was as I wanted and coming up with design ideas which is exactly what I was after in a builder.

[slawman]

Research this week was on my top off system. I want to go for a daily, 10 litre or so change. I want to automate this as far as possible so it gets done reliably. I know how easy it is for me to miss regular water changes and they will be critical to my objective of maintaining stability at optimal water quality over a long period.

I am going to run 10mm line from an IBC in my garage into the sump then pump tank water to waste at the same time. Not a new idea and there are a few on the forums who use a similar method. This method uses a bit more water than the traditional changeout to achieve the same result but I like the idea of the stability it maintains and as I mentioned, the fact it is largely automated means it will probably end up much more effective for my particular setup.

I ended up with a choice between a dual head diaphragm setup from Reef Filler and a Stenner dual head peristaltic pump. Both are very reliable and accurate. The trick is to match the input and output without having to calibrate every second week. The diaphragm will be noisy and my have trouble self priming, it also does not come in a 220v config. It is however, bulletproof. The Stenner on the other hand will be very quiet, comes in 220v but may need tube replacement every 1000 hours or so (year and a half).

I am about to order a Stenner dual head from the US. Should end up with it landed for about $450 so it is also a fraction cheaper than the reef filler. On a side note, the price I have been quoted for the Stenner pumps locally runs between 1250 and 850, I am buying at 283, man sometimes i wish I was in retail......... Dusting off my US mailing account

I am also trying to work out how to paint/cover my solar tubes. They will be exposed for the 70cm drop from the ceiling to the tank and sit about 30cm off the top of the water. Not sure if I want to paint them and may end up with a shroud of PVC piping or similar but then I have to mount this to the ceiling somehow.....Thats a solution for next week.

[mattyc]

Thanks mate, I wish I had seen this earlier so I could of went out there today to check them out.. I talked to the guys at aquaristic today and im getting a price back tomorrow, they also use so you know..

[slawman]

Thanks mate, I wish I had seen this earlier so I could of went out there today to check them out.. I talked to the guys at aquaristic today and im getting a price back tomorrow, they also use so you know..

The guys at Aquaristic are great to deal with but they don't do cabinets and I wanted to go with someone who did both.

I also like the idea of going with someone who can help me out with some premium livestock down the track