My new 60 gal cube Reef

[Pesbra]

So I took the plunge into a Reef tank after a 18 leave of absence from Discus freshwater tanks. Things have changed a lot in that time and there are now toys I dreamed of when the Internet wasn't even there. Boy do I sound old!

So I decided to do my dream tank setup and really went all out. I am still in the process of getting some additional pieces of equipment as I refine my setup and learn what works and what doesn't.

I consider myself a beginner as this is my first serious attempt to a saltwater tank, let alone a reef, but that is where I'm headed.

I will be posting pics on my progress so if any of you kind souls would offer any advice on things to improve or pitfalls I'm headed into I would really appreciate your help.

So here is my setup. The images show my progress from early February to around mid March.

Let me know what you think. Happy reefing!

 

[marklugo23]

very nice looking.

 

[duke62]

Very pretty and clean tank. One thing though is that copperband is going to be tough to keep alive in a new system unless you can feed it 4 to 6 times per day some black worms and maybe mysis if it eating them already. They are alot easier to keep when its established and can find critters to eat all day long.Other then that good job

 

[Pesbra]

Thanks for your comments guys. I know about the Copperband. i wanted the challenge.I tried the worms. Placed black worms in a feeder for 24 hours to get him to eat on the second day. Then did the same thing on day 3 with red worms. You can see the results of that 1 week later in the picture. not good! Now I am battling an algae problem. The worms made my ammonia (NH3) spike a bit to .02. I have my setup do automatic 2.5 liter water changes on a daily basis but I had to do additional 5 gal water Changes to keep ammonia in check. When ammonia an Nitrite got under control I had the algae bloom despite having a BioPellet reactor working since I first installed the tank.

I'm thinking of installing an algae turf scrubber to have it pick up the slack from the BioPellet reactor If I ever have a similar problem again. Clearly the name of this game is "manage your inputs", but I hope that will minimize the impact of my mistakes.

I've been feeding him live brine shrimp and seemed to be doing good although it is too skinny. It seemed happy after a couple of weeks and I am trying frozen brine shrimp and mysis but I don't seem to be doing a lot of progress so I'll go back to brine shrimp until I can start culturing Mysis. I hope I'll turn him around.

I have since added a few things. Some snails for clean up crew. A Tiger Cowrie, a couple of corals and a lettuce nudibranch.

 

[BKLYN REEF]

Great job on the plumbing! Nice looking setup.

 

[RollinReefer]

cant wait to see more.. very nice plumbing!

 

[Pesbra]

This is how my system is rigged right now for ATO and automatic water changes.

I have my Neptune Apex controller setup to pull RO water from a modified Vertex Libra 5 Litter vessel. This vessel is riggedwith a NC selenoid valve which will activate to refill the reservoir each time a float switch installed on the lid of the Libra vessel is activated by the water level dropping. When the sump switch is activated due to evaporation the peristaltic pump draws water from the reservoir to complete the ATO. So the way I set things up I have an ATO system with its own ATO.

Also I programmed the Apex to do a water change every day drawing water for 45 minutes for a total of around 2.5 liters on each cycle. I usually just change a 5 gallon water jug with fresh saltwater once a week.

Since I am using the same peristaltic pump for ATO and water changes, I had to use 2 selenoid valves, one Normally Open and another Normally closed. That way when a water change is in progress both selenoids are energized which closes the water path from the ATO system and opens the water-path to the water exchange.

Below is a diagram of the system as it is currently setup with a screenshot of my programming statements.

 

[Euroreefer]

Thats alot of moving parts but if it works, it works. How long has it been set up this way?

 

[SteveZ15]

Sweet looking set up.

 

[Pesbra]

Thats alot of moving parts but if it works, it works. How long has it been set up this way?

The ATO and Water exchange system have been working for over a month now. Maybe a little longer.

 

[Pesbra]

Algae under control. Testing Oxydator

 

[Pesbra]

This is the latest equipment setup. I changed to 3 way selenoids and added a Nielsen Reactor.

 

[afernandez]

If it works for you that's great ...for me it's wayyyyy toooo complicated lol. I understand what your doing but at the same time I like to see what's going on and rather do those things my self. Your Desing is very hands off and minimal time spent but I think you will still "waste/spend" time checking if everything is working properly.

I have a 60 gal cube that I do very little to on a day to day.(feed & looks @ my corals)...considering i have an ato & a doser. I can add a feeder ..but I enjoy watching them eat lol

So you do a water change everyday? How long have you Had this going? And how has it been running?

 

[Pesbra]

Thank you for your comment afernandez. It is actually not complicated at all. This setup really just makes my top off and water changes regime extremely easy. I've been doing daily water changes for 5 months and its working great. You do need to check things once in a while to make sure everything is working properly but I do not invest a lot of time with dealing with water changes now and it allows me to control my kalk dosing easily and more importantly, remotely.