Modular Design plumbing help needed

Nice thing about the racks is the shelves are adjustable in 1.5 increments. That will help for gravity feeding the daisy chain of tanks in the system.

For my overflows I figured I'd use threaded / slip 90's turned up and trimmed down to the desired water level with mesh to keep out large debris that could clog the plumbing. My bulkheads will have internal and external threads to add versatility to the setup.

I've been looking at the miracle mud for my fuge. Thinking I may attempt to mix it with the Carib sea sand to get the benefit of both substrates and lighten the density of the mud to eliminate the chance of creating anaerobic zones within it. I've considered floating some red mangroves in my fuge to help with nutrient export.

 

You are lucky to have such a great fish store. I would definitely keep going back there. It's always nice when you come upon someone in the hobby for the enjoyment of it and sharing it with others,not just for the money alone.

If the rock is cured when you buy it then you will still experience a cycle, but nothing compared to that of a usual cycle. I would predict about 2-3 weeks and then you could add fish.

EDIT: I've not experienced with miracle mud myself, nor have I done much research on it. Some swear by it, others say it's not worth the money. But I don't see a problem with mixing it half-and-half in your 'fuge.

 

Another thing I'm looking into is an ato unit and reefkeeper like setup. Trying to plan ahead as I tend to have to work out of town for a couple weeks at a time. I don't want to have to leave major maintenance upto my wife. I'm looking to have a system with a large enough volume and just enough bio load to maintain a healthy bacterial colony yet be able to be nearly hands free for upto two weeks at a time. It will be hard to get her to have anything to do with feeding my peacock mantis while I'm gone. May have to train my oldest son to catch snail in the fuge and transfer them to its tank every other day or so.

I'm excited to get this build started. Just have to wait till the end of the month when I'm back in town to be able to devote the time and energy to it. Patients isn't my strong point, however I do understand the only thing that happens quickly in reefkeeping is disaster.

 

You will obviously want a large water reservoir for your auto-top-off water. This will be Distilled of (preferably) RODI water. When the saltwater evaporates, slat stays behind. So top-off with unsalted water to keep salinity of track and stable.There are quite a few float switched and top-off systems available, but for your budget and situation I would recommend the Tunze Osmolator. For about $200, you get the ATO switch, a pump and water level controller which will worn you when the water is topping off, too low, or too high. It also has an alarm for these as well.

Your other option would be to buy a reef controller. This can be used to control all equipment for the tank(s) and watch parameters, taking any action needed at the time. Some of the most popular controllers are the Reef Angel, Digital Aquatics Reef Keeper Lite and Elite, and the Neptune Systems Apex, Jr., Lite, or full. Most of web capabilities (but not all) and can send notifications to your phone in case of an emergency. You could tell it to turn on a fan or turn off the heater/other equipment if the tank gets too hot, etc. It really is a great way to automate your tank. You can also add expansion modules to any of these units for additional control.