125 to 225 gal upgrade

[m2140]

i looked at my Aqua Planner log and I just hit a little over 2 years since my tank build has been up. It's time for an update.

Currently I have a short list of problems I have been fixing over the last couple of months.

1. My fat lazy *** with a bad knee having to bend down to do all maintenance
2. Not enough skimming
3. Auto Top off
4. Nitrates & Phosphate problems.

A lot of my issues with Nitrates & phosphates are due to the hassle it is to perform any maintenance. I have a bad knee and being down and working under the tank has gotten unbearable. That combined with my space issues and not being able to add the right size skimmer It was time for a major update.

So my solution was to:
- increase the water volume
- reduce energy consumption
- add a 2nd sump
- Raise the sump so maintenance is easy
- use the same space for the ATO tank & sump
- Keep is cheap

My tank goes thru about 15-20 gallons of RO a week due to evaporation so I needed a big tank. I could not really find something on-line and customer ordering would have been too expensive. So i went with a 32 gallon BRUTE trashcan. I use them for water changes so I know they are strong and they are cheap. they only actually hold a mx of about 30 gallons of water but I only needed to hold 25 so it was perfect. Combined with a Tunze ATO I had my auto tipoff setup.

Now I had limited space for the ATO and the new sump. My plan was to create a platform that would support the sump on top and have enough space for the ATO tank below. I built the platform out of 2x3 to save space but still keep it strong and created a platform.

For the sump, again budget is tight so I had to find something cheap. After months of searching for a good size cube I could not find anything. People just wanted too much and far more than I could pay. So i went to tractor supply and got a 42 gallon feed tank. It was only $40 and made of rubber. It's strong and gave me the most amount of water volume for the small space at the lowest cost. Because it was rubber it was easy to drill and light weight so it was easy to setup on my own. I put a 1 1/2 bulkhead drain on it and ran the supply form the top of my tank.

In the new sump now I have more than enough space to grow and fine tune all my reactors. Maintenance access is easy now and not a pain o my knee anymore. No more bending over to the bottom of the tank. changing out the media is also much easier and with the ATO I only have to touch the tank once a week now.

the only drawback has been the tubing. I used regular braided tubing to avoid kinks. But it's very rigid so I could not make it nice and organized. The tubing just won't stay. I'll work on that later.

Check of the pics and let me know what you think.

 

[Neverlost]

I like the big ATO container. 55 gallon rectangular ones can be had for about $150, but thats 3x what a brute costs. I hope that the tank is doing well!

Looking at your system, the weak link looks like the skimmer. Having 300+ gallons at this point and nutrient issues like you said, I'd consider a larger unit. But you did mention that yours was doing a great job so perhaps it is enough. My concern would be dwell time in the unit.

How are the coral doing? Also, your power management solutions look awesome.

 

[m2140]

Thanks. Brute tank is around $25-30 with wheels $60. It saved me money and it's easy to move. I considered a 50 gal barrel but not easy to put on wheels.

But I agree, the skimmer has been the biggest problem. I get good skim and fill the cup every 2 days because I have a waveline 6000 on it. But my water quality could be better with a larger skimmer.

So I'm looking for a bigger skimmer. But they are expensive. Minimum price is around $800. With most around $1200. I've been waiting to find a used one I can adapt but large skimmers are not an easy find. I did not upgrade before because I could not get one under the tank. Now that I do have space, I'm getting something within the next month.

As for corals, my SPS and brain coral are not doing so hot. Everything else is fine. It's been a slow decline the last 2-3 months and I'm forced to make the recent upgrades to improve my weekly maintenance. I let my maintenance lag because of the hassle of getting in there. I would change reactor media late and just not monitor the system.

Now I'm doubling my refugium size and putting the reactors and skimmer all at eye level in my office. Easy to access and easier to maintain.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jetsetter57]

Skimmers are new school nutrient export. Although great you're not overloaded with livestock on a system that size. You have a big chaeto ball somewhere? Amazing what they do. My skimmer was too overpowered and with chaeto I starved my sps.

 

[m2140]

I had a 20 gal of the sump as a refugium with a combination on chaeto and rock. I'm doubling and dedicating most of the sump underneath as a refugium to reduce my phosphates. It will be close to 45 gallon refugium.

But problem has been nitrates. I've been forced to daily dose carbon ( NoPox). My SPS color gets affected by it but without it most would die. So I'm hoping the larger refugium combined with a better skimmer would help reduce the requirement for dosing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk