My 80 gallon reef build

[ihavecrabs]

Hi Everyone,
         So, i have completed my 80 gallon build.  Here are the specs of the system.  The main tank is 80 gallons, and sump is 50 gallons.  In the sump, i am running reef octopus protein skimmer (works great), activated carbon, gfo, and bio-pellets. Refugium with cheato.  Love my filter sock (can't believe how much it catches).  Not in picture, but there is also a refugium light as well. The main tank is lighted by 6, t5 bulbs.  I went with a deep sand bed (about 4.5-5 inches or 180 lbs of sand).  120 lbs or living rock.  I hope to house mostly sps coral in the near future.  But i will have to wait at least another couple of months before the tank has matured before i can do that.  I will also upgrade the lighting to LEDs and buy a control unit (already ordered) to keep a better eye on my temperature and pH.  For now, there are various corals, fish, and invertebrate in the tank.   These all came from the previous 55 gallon tank.  Let me know what you think.  Good or bad.  These pictures are before the whole unit was moved.  The tank has been setup and running for a month now.  I will post an update shortly with the tank all setup.

[asp60]

Hi Elan... I think it looks great would like to see some pics with your livestock in there and everything running.

[ihavecrabs]

So here's the updated photo's.  First one is of old tank (55 gallon with no sump).  The other 3 are of the new tank.  Not much in the new one, but i'm working on it. 

[Feivel]

Doesnt sandbeds over 3" cause old tank syndrome(excess of nitrates and,nutrients caught in the sand) just a thought if you havent already considered this. What will you do to avoid this future problem? I have a 2.5" sandbed..... upgraded to a 75 about 4 month ago.

Did you use the sand from the 55? Or did you use new aragonite? I had an issue with cyano after I transfered my sand over. Didnt rince it out and all the bugs/bacteria living in the sand died. Moving the sand is like taking a wrecking ball through your house :-)  I got a bio pellets reactor to suck up the nitrates it worked great and didnt take long just make sure you add,the media very slowly. Not full dose one shot.

Cheers

[ihavecrabs]

Hi Feivel.  Thanks for the input.  You are right.  Old tank syndrom is a definite concern of mine with the dsb.  I have done alot of research and came to the conclusion that a dsb is for me.  For one, there are many "sand stirrers" in this tank to keep the sand bed from building up toxic gases.  Also having a dsb of this depth, will allow anaerobic bacteria to digest any nitrates that may also build up (main reason why i went with dsb).  With a dsb i will not have to vaccum my substrate, if i had 1-3 inches of sand, i would have to vaccum.  Vaccuming will release toxins into the water.  I also went with sugar size sand for the first 3 inches and then increasing size to 2mm for the top layer to keep sand from flying around the tank due to water movement from the powerheads.  From what i understand most tanks will have old tank syndrom (no matter how little or how much sand), unless diligant cleaning has been maintained.  From what i understand old living rock can also be a major factor in old tank syndrom (due to the release of phosphates).  Those nitrates and phosphates have to go somewhere.   The anaerobic bacteria in a dsb will turn nitrates into harmless nitrogen.  I also use cheato in the sump, this way i can also manually remove nitrates, by removing the excess cheato growth.  I run bio-pellets, activated carbon and gfo to maintain a low nutrient tank, thereby making my dsb work less and last for a very long time (i hope).  Many people call a dsb, phoshate sinks.  I don't agree.  Many of those who mention it have heard it from someone who heard it from someone else.   I can't agree with this logic.  I used aragonite sand for the dsb which will help buffer the system, if parameters get too high or low.  I find alot people talk about not doing this or that with very little practical experience and only going by what they have heard.  No matter what subject i research, there are always people suggesting conflicting results and opinions.  Now, that i have said all this be aware, my information came from someone who heard it from someone else too, lol.   Sorry for the rant, but i knew i was going to get my butt kicked on this issue by other hobbyists.  So this will be my opening statement, lol. 

The old 55 gallon had about 1-2 inches of sand depth.  It looks like alot more in the picture because of the damn engineer goby that would move it all to the front of the tank (he is now at the lfs).  I did use some sand (about 1 litre worth) from old tank to help seed the new.  Very little compared to 180 lbs of new sand.  I did however, place the remainder into the refugium.  Was this wise, probably not.  But i did so anyway.   Thanks for the info Feivel.

If anyone would like, i can post my results, of testing and problems i have had so far.  I keep a log.  It's about 5 weeks old now.

[Feivel]

I know there are benefits of dsb and an even amount of draw back. You know what your getting into and that was the poi.t of my post.i dont know your experience level. Im fairly new at this too soo I want to learn also.  Take a look at marinescapes tank (i can use them for reference right?) They have a 4 or 5 inch sandbed and anyone who has seen it knows it is imposible to reach the bottom. Its neen runnong for what about 10 years. Im sure they could have some inpit on this matter too.

Good job on the tank and keep up the good work. Also might be worth it to check out aquaticlog.com really cool site :-)  takes a bit of time to set it up but worth it in the end and you will have a blast filling it out. I have fun woth this site. And if you have problems you just go back and look. Oh I forgot a wc this week.... Thats why my corals are looki.g weak..... Or oh a reminder to dose 25ml bio pellets.

[ihavecrabs]

I know there are benefits of dsb and an even amount of draw back. You know what your getting into and that was the poi.t of my post.i dont know your experience level. Im fairly new at this too soo I want to learn also.  Take a look at marinescapes tank (i can use them for reference right?) They have a 4 or 5 inch sandbed and anyone who has seen it knows it is imposible to reach the bottom. Its neen runnong for what about 10 years. Im sure they could have some inpit on this matter too.

Good job on the tank and keep up the good work. Also might be worth it to check out aquaticlog.com really cool site :-)  takes a bit of time to set it up but worth it in the end and you will have a blast filling it out. I have fun woth this site. And if you have problems you just go back and look. Oh I forgot a wc this week.... Thats why my corals are looki.g weak..... Or oh a reminder to dose 25ml bio pellets.

Well, i am glad you chimmed in.  I am relatively new to reef tanks.  So, i am always looking for any information to help make my tank healthier, and i think most hobbyist will agree with your statement from before.  If you are mentioning marinescapes in Ottawa with the tank on youtube, i just had a look.  Looks like a very healthy tank.  I'm sure they would make a great reference and help you with any questions you may have.  I would take their word over mine any day.  The next time i am in Ottawa, i will drop by to see them for sure.  I would also be interested to hear their input on dsb.   Sounds like a good site, i'll take a look at aquaticlog.com, this may help out a bunch.  Thanks. 

[Feivel]

Aquaticlog is more of a diary for your tank. I love it.... Only thing is you have to manually enter everything but hey it makes a great history reference if ever anythong come up or you want to remember when and or where you bought this coral or equipment when the last time you added changed media etc. I know njoyrid has a profile also. As for the others im not sure.