Oregonic Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 Guess its time to start a build thread since I have a tank in route to me and other equipment has started arriving. I am upgrading from my E170 with a sump to an Innovative Marine int 112. I have been planning this upgrade for a while and now that the world is getting back to normal and the wife has returned to work she told me to pull the trigger in celebration of my new job I got during all this craziness going on in the world. I received all the rock just over a week ago and have the centerpiece built. Spent hours getting the scape just right using e marco 400. Received 2 Orphek OR3 blue plus lamps today. Ill keep this thread updated as the build comes along, figured Id start by sharing a few pics of the centerpiece for the scape. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obrien.david.j Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 I love branching rock structures! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregonic Posted July 2, 2020 Author Share Posted July 2, 2020 Tank arrived today, it is huge. I got the stand most the way put together tonight. Going to have to do some massive rearranging this weekend to get the stand in its spot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MERKEY Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 Nice start! Can't wait to see it full!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregonic Posted July 8, 2020 Author Share Posted July 8, 2020 Finally had a little time to finish the stand. Also got my sump I bought for the build out if the garage where I have been storing it. It looks so small compared to the stand. Going to need a check valve for sure. I think it will hold just enough back flow from the tank if the pump shuts off given I come up with a creative syphon break on the return. Excited to actually have some spare room in the stand so I dont need to have my dosing containers and ato res sitting next to the stand like my current tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 Stand looks really nice Be careful with check valves. I had one on my last tank, no issues. Put one on my current tank and it would hammer open/shut repeatedly when I turned off the return. Super annoying. I took it out (wasn’t necessary for my sump). Some people have the same issue if you read about it. My only advise would be to try and mount it up higher instead of just after your return pump. Any reason your sump is so small? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregonic Posted July 8, 2020 Author Share Posted July 8, 2020 9 minutes ago, Blue Z Reef said: Stand looks really nice Be careful with check valves. I had one on my last tank, no issues. Put one on my current tank and it would hammer open/shut repeatedly when I turned off the return. Super annoying. I took it out (wasn’t necessary for my sump). Some people have the same issue if you read about it. My only advise would be to try and mount it up higher instead of just after your return pump. Any reason your sump is so small? Its an odd sized stand, cant quite fit a 36 in sump under it. I really wanted a larger refugium section so my options were limited. The sump is 20x20x16 high with 11 gallon refugium. I actually considered one that was 30in wide, but it actually held less water volume because it was narrower and shorter. I think my calculations are correct 🤞🏼and it should be just big enough to hold the water volume with about 2-3 gallons to spare, given I get a little creative with a syphon break. The check valve would just be for a little added safety. The sump does have adjustable baffles as well and I did my calculations on the refugium section being max height, full 11 gallons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higher Thinking Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 Finally had a little time to finish the stand. Also got my sump I bought for the build out if the garage where I have been storing it. It looks so small compared to the stand. Going to need a check valve for sure. I think it will hold just enough back flow from the tank if the pump shuts off given I come up with a creative syphon break on the return. Excited to actually have some spare room in the stand so I dont need to have my dosing containers and ato res sitting next to the stand like my current tank. Crystal Reef Aquatics... Nice sump. They built mine as well. It's a shame they ended up closing their doors. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregonic Posted July 8, 2020 Author Share Posted July 8, 2020 8 minutes ago, Higher Thinking said: Crystal Reef Aquatics... Nice sump. They built mine as well. It's a shame they ended up closing their doors. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk Yea I actually bought the last one of this model. Drove up to Lakewood a few weeks ago where the owner met me half way. The quality is amazing and has great features. He still has some stock of some stuff at a bit of a discount. Super nice guy too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higher Thinking Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 Yea I actually bought the last one of this model. Drove up to Lakewood a few weeks ago where the owner met me half way. The quality is amazing and has great features. He still has some stock of some stuff at a bit of a discount. Super nice guy too. Was that Mike? I know there was a rift between the Mike (the builder) and his business partner. Hopefully Mike ended up with the overstock. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregonic Posted July 8, 2020 Author Share Posted July 8, 2020 (edited) His name was Eric, he was the son. It sounded like Eric and his dad Ed bought the company at a bad time, and it was just to late to save it. @Higher Thinking Edited July 8, 2020 by Oregonic Forgot to quote 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregonic Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 Tank in place, floor trim done. Need to get plumbing done, and crawl under the house and support the floor before I can water test the tank. Also working on running wire from breaker box to give the tank a dedicated plug. So happy to have the tank in place, was starting to feel like I was never going to get it moved. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obrien.david.j Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 16 hours ago, Oregonic said: Tank in place, floor trim done. Need to get plumbing done, and crawl under the house and support the floor before I can water test the tank. Also working on running wire from breaker box to give the tank a dedicated plug. So happy to have the tank in place, was starting to feel like I was never going to get it moved. I like the floor trim, give the setup a really clean look. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregonic Posted August 7, 2020 Author Share Posted August 7, 2020 Got all the plumbing dry fit tonight, except for the return, need a few 45’s to direct it around the drain in its way. Super happy that I went with the purple pipe. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregonic Posted August 16, 2020 Author Share Posted August 16, 2020 Made great progress this weekend, supported the floor under the tank and did a leak test. Sump doesn’t overflow when pump shuts off, has about 3 inches to spare. Best news no leaks! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gumby Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Looks awesome! Look forward to seeing it running! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higher Thinking Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Made great progress this weekend, supported the floor under the tank and did a leak test. Sump doesn’t overflow when pump shuts off, has about 3 inches to spare. Best news no leaks! Great work! Did you happen to test it without the check valve being installed? Depending on how deep your return output sits in your tank, your sump may overflow if (when?) that check valve fails. Personally, I don't use them because I don't trust them or have confidence in them. It only takes the slightest little buildup on that flap to prevent it from being water tight. Even a small bump from a feather duster or something will allow the water to slowly siphon back into the sump. Overall tank setup looks super clean, though! Love that trim work around the base. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregonic Posted August 17, 2020 Author Share Posted August 17, 2020 1 hour ago, Higher Thinking said: Great work! Did you happen to test it without the check valve being installed? Depending on how deep your return output sits in your tank, your sump may overflow if (when?) that check valve fails. Personally, I don't use them because I don't trust them or have confidence in them. It only takes the slightest little buildup on that flap to prevent it from being water tight. Even a small bump from a feather duster or something will allow the water to slowly siphon back into the sump. Overall tank setup looks super clean, though! Love that trim work around the base. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk The check valve even new slowly let water past. If I were to really submerge the returns it probably would overflow. I will probably just stick with the wide fan returns the tank came with and keep them somewhat near the surface. That 3 inch buffer was with tank filled all the way to where it was tricking down the first emergency drain and the return nozzles about inch and half maybe 2 below water line. It seems to have better flow with the nozzles just at the surface pushing across. When shut down with nozzles at surface there was about 4 - 4.5 inches of room to spare in the sump. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higher Thinking Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 The check valve even new slowly let water past. If I were to really submerge the returns it probably would overflow. I will probably just stick with the wide fan returns the tank came with and keep them somewhat near the surface. That 3 inch buffer was with tank filled all the way to where it was tricking down the first emergency drain and the return nozzles about inch and half maybe 2 below water line. It seems to have better flow with the nozzles just at the surface pushing across. When shut down with nozzles at surface there was about 4 - 4.5 inches of room to spare in the sump.Good to hear!Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregonic Posted August 17, 2020 Author Share Posted August 17, 2020 9 minutes ago, Higher Thinking said: Good to hear! Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk I was slightly nervous that I may have miscalculated 😂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregonic Posted August 24, 2020 Author Share Posted August 24, 2020 The tank is running and salty. Got the lights all hung, a Kessil AP9X and 2 Orphek OR3 blue plus strips. Moved over some seeded bio media out of current tank along with a few pieces of rock that had been cooking in the sump. Added some cheato thanks to @shaywood 😃. I had to mix 55 gallons of saltwater at a time so saltwater has been on sand for a 5 days but only circulating for 3 days now. Im surprised im already seeing a few diatoms on the sand, must be because of adding seeded media 🤷🏻♂️ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregonic Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 Transfered everything this weekend. Old tank is officially dry and sitting in the backyard. Everything is going ok, no casualties coral wise. A few corals are a little upset but slowly settling in. My red coris wrasse went straight into the sand and I have not seen him in a few days now. Im assuming he came out when lights were off at least once because he darted into the sand near a rock my watchman goby and pistol shrimp have claimed as their home right where they decided to make their front door. Parameters are all a little low, alk 6.6, cal 375, nitrates .5, phos .01, and no sign of ammonia what so ever. Im really happy with ph stability, my old tank had a swing between 7.75 - 8.12 every day. New tank has stayed a solid 7.95 -8.08, assuming that is due to the much larger water volume and a refugium vs an ats in the old tank. I pulled my dosing pump offline yesterday temporarily and an testing alk 2 times a day and dosing by hand so I dont get lazy and get a feel for the tank. My goal is to bring alk up .3 - .4 per day till back up to the 7.8 - 8.2 range. Want to hold it there for several days before relying on the dosing pump again. I am a firm believer in manually doing a task such as this keeps you more in touch and involved in the tank, and keeps me more aware of what is going on. Diatoms on the sand are disappearing and the slightly cloudy water gets clearer by the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 Looks great! Love that hairy skull, what a creative use of a torch 😂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregonic Posted November 14, 2020 Author Share Posted November 14, 2020 Just a few pics of the progress in the reef. Tanks consumption has really increased ordered a calcium reactor, I know the consumption will just continue to increase and Im already getting tired of mixing 2 part. Picked up a Maxspect Jump skimmer, big upgrade from the Curve 5. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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