Planning mid-size tank

Discussion in 'New Tank Builds' started by seaofcolors, Sep 18, 2020.

  1. seaofcolors

    seaofcolors New Member

    caught the acro itch again. want to do something like a red sea reefer 170. i've seen some great systems in those tanks and i want something cleanly designed and easy to set up. i've been seriously following the zeovit system with the zeolites in a media bag or some small scale solution like that. i want to avoid the same problems that i had in my 75 where everything was cobbled together and poorly planned. i want to do it right this time. i've rarely seen complete setups with equipment and everything detailed and explained for these size tanks.

    here is the plan so far:
    i may miss some things but i think this is a good general overview
    tank itself, i currently have my eyes set on a red sea reefer 170 or xl 200.
    t5 lighting, unsure if a 6 or 8 bulb fixture is ideal for this setup. i want to keep primarily sps.
    i would like to implement the zeovit system in this plan. i have heard that it is possible to run the zeolites media in a media bag like KZ suggests to run your carbon in. i would like to run 3 main media bags total, zeolites, carbon, and maybe gfo for phosphate control. i have seen people running similar media compositions in their aquariums to great effect.
    another option for zeolites is a custom made pvc reactor or something similar.
    a skimmer is required as well but i am not familiar with the best skimmer manufacturers or the ideal tuning methods as i have not been hands on and in tune with a high quality, functioning skimmer.
    as far as calcium/alkalinity goes i do not want to deal with a calcium reactor so i am considering some form of two-part system. i have also seen a new approach from polyp lab that is a one part dosing system that maintains levels similar to the zeovit recommendations.
    i am planning to get the hanna checkers to improve test accuracy and make tests less tedious.

    this is all i can think of right now. this is a long term plan so i will not be making any moves on this any time soon. advice and help is appreciated. i want to create something truly beautiful and stable.
     
    huntindoc likes this.
  2. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    Can't wait to see this build going forward!

    I'm not familiar at all with the zeovit system but I know many employ it with great success.

    I really am a fan of keeping it simple for maintaining alkalinity, calcium and magnesium. Calcium reactors are the bomb for large, mature SPS systems (our presidents tank is a great example). For smaller tanks like yours I prefer simple good old 2 part dosing (like BRS 2 part). Dosing individual components rather than some concoction designed to be an all in one makes much more sense to me. It's rare for any tank to have exactly proportional consumption of alk and calcium and that stability is very important in growing SPS.

    As far as a skimmer, there a lots of great choices. Depending on your fish/bioload you may not need one at all. I struggle to keep NO3 detectable in my nano with no skimmer and a small number of fish.

    I would also be cautious about running GFO routinely. Bottoming out PO4(or NO3/both) can bring some disastrous results. I would monitor and run it only as needed/indicated by your testing.

    Welcome to RRMAS!
     
  3. graciesdad

    graciesdad Treasurer Staff Member

    Exciting build ahead!
     
  4. portereef

    portereef RRMAS Supporter

    [​IMG] Can't wait!! I have heard great things about Tropic Marin All for Reef on small to large tanks!!
     

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