500+ gallon Build

You have mg dosing listed but that should be handled by the calcium reactor if it is dialed in correctly. Kalk off an ATO is a dicey thing as you can't control the dose and it is more dicey with such a big tank with big evaporation. I would drip it.
The UV sterilizer is nice to have - I have one - but my tank is only 26 gallons and the UV is just a 5 or 9 watt version. On such a big tank the UV could get pricey and expensive to run. A luxury item with benefits but comes with a cost. My 2 cents on your list.

matt

 

Matt you have a point with that - I have mine tied into my apex so if i get a high PH spike it kicks off. I actually have been looking into changing that up a bit but my PH luckily has been pretty steady.

 

Congratulations on the divorce- I think?

Also, keep in mind, until your bio/coral load increase from what you had/have, the consumption rate actually seems to be lower when you increase the WV by such a large amount.
I found that increasing my total WV by over 100g that the element consumption actually seemed to decrease- with the same amount of coral/bio load when I went from a 125/40 to a 180/125 system.

Well,
you asked for advice:
I would NOT use a DSB- certainly not in the DT.
I wouldn't use Bio Pellets
I would use a larger than large amount of Macro Algae- I'm partial to Chaeto myself- easy to keep, and trake it away often for beer, frags, gifts, or to your lfs for credit. I'm talking massive- a 40b would not be enough for a 500+g DT. Consider most of the 125 for massive amount of macroalgae for that 500+g DT.
(I'm currently using nearly a 1/3 of a 125g sump for my chaeto alone on my 180- still not enough IMHO)
I also keep at least 110g WV in my 125 sump/fuge at all times.
This way, you do naturally what 'bio pellets' 'GFO' attempt to do.

However, most reefers don't seem to want to keep it as simple as I do, while being relatively successful at it.
Just think 'outside the box' some, and I'm sure your build will go well.

I'll be checking in also.

 

Todd, what is 110g WV?

welcome back to the hobby and it seems your return is coming back BIG! that large of a tank is way out of my knowledge zone but you have lots of great advice so far!

 

Fairly sure he's talking total water volume in the system... DT plus sumps etc.

 

and by the way... I am all for simple... simpler the better. I have been debating the deep sand bed... I read so much in both directions.... some folks advocating... others on the other end... This is EXACTLY the discussion I was hoping for and why I came trotting back to 3reef...
and yes, the divorce was a VERY good thing... my ex and I getting along great and we are each happier than we ever were together.... we are great friends.. we just sucked at being married... so we are both happy now.

And besides... now I can build a monster tank...

 

For what its worth I run a 114W Aqua Ultra Violet on my 300gal and it's overkill. I only run one bulb at a time and switch to the other bulb at six months.

 

Todd... I like your thoughts... help me iterate please....

I have been debating, among other things, what to do with the volume in the stand under the DT if all my sump stuff is in the sump room....

I could create a 8' long, 3'wide, 1.5' deep 270 gallon tank under there... fill it to 1' deep for 180g of water.... fill the whole darn thing with chaeto and live rock as a monster refugium... that would give me a bunch more water volume as a buffer and a ton of chaeto....

I would split the overflow from the DT.. part to the sump room... part to the under DT refugium... then gravity drain the sump room back into the refugium and do the return pumps in the refugium since that would be the lowest point.

Thoughts??


That would allocate as follows...

Under DT Refugium
Sock Filters
Live Rock
Chaeto
Return Pump

Sump Room
Skimmer
CA Reactor
Alk Dosing
Chiller
Heaters
Electronic Controller
Top Off

Frag Tank

Quarantine Tank ??
Chemical & Test Kit Storage
Water Change
RO/DI Unit


Under debate...
UV Sterilizer
Other Reactors
Other Dosing


In that scenario, I'd get an external pump for the return pump instead of a submersible... put the pump in the sump room so it is quieter... and have the intake from the fuge... output into the DT....

Keep in mind there is only a wall between my living room/display tank and the sump room.... all I have to do is poke a hole through sheet rock...

Thoughts???

M

 

Hey NASA nice to see you back I remember when you were on this form all the time.

Do you have room for both sumps in the sump room?
If so I would just put everything in there and leave the space under the tank empty. I think this will be a lot easier, the tank it self will be dead silent, and you will have better access to everything

 

Couldn't do that big a refugium in the sump room... I am really "thinking out loud" on the forum here... brainstorming out a solution...

A tank and total system this size is not going to be inexpensive... I want to get it right the first time... typing on the forum to iterate an answer is free... but screwing it up in hardware could cost thousands in a mistake....

Want to avoid that if possible...


I was thinking the BIG tank would be more complicated than the 120g I used to run... as it stands now... the only difference is upgrading to a CA Reactor... getting a much bigger fuge and eliminating the GFO/Bio pellet/Carbon reactors that I ran.... bigger refuge is "easy"... The small fuge may have been my problem on the 120g... I had a 40g sump and only a portion of that was the fuge... Much bigger fuge and more chaeto makes sense...

Just need to figure out how to integrate the sump room... I really didn't like everything being crammed under the tank.... too hard to reach. I want EASY access.

Thanks for the welcome back... and thanks to everyone for helping me think it through!!! Much appreciated.