Ok so, I am going to use this thread as my build thread for my 125g Reef Tank. Going to use this post to set up my to-do list or checklist.
-125g tank - Will need to be drilled in back wall to set up for a Coast 2 Coast overflow.
-96 LED DIY Light Kit - Ordered from ReefLEDLight.com
-30 gallon custom acrylic sump - Already built this
-ASM G1x Protein Skimmer - says its good up to 150 gallons, should be good to start, not sure if I'd need to upgrade once I start to get a lot of livestock
-Return Pump? - Not sure what size I will need for this.. probably 1250gph or something in that range?
-Powerheads - Already have two Koralias a 1050 and 750. Along with a strong return pump, I think this will be good to start.
-Controller - Will eventually decide to purchase an Apex or Reefkeeper.
-Sand - Really like the Bahama sand from Marcorocks.com that I saw posted on another tank build thread... Just want to get more info on it and see how light it is and make sure it won't get blown around since I will be using a Deep Sand Bed.
Can’t think of anything else at the moment. I will probably add to this list as things move along. It’s late here, so my mind is a little cloudy.
Here is my first stab at what I think I want the wiring diagram to look like on the LED light kit…
Some of the lines look like they are missing, but I think you’ll get the idea.
The light kit is 3 18" heat sinks each with 16 XP-E Royal Blue and 16 XP-E Cool White LEDs. The Yellow colored LEDs on my picture are going to be blank spaces at the moment that I fill later with CREE XP-G Cool White LEDs to simulate a “High Noon” effect. I have spent enough money on this kit as it is, those LEDs can come later.
The 8 little boxes on the far left and far right are Inventronics Dimmable 40 watt LED Drivers.
Here is what I ordered for the LEDs:
48 CREE XP-E Royal Blue LEDs
48 CREE XP-E Cool White LEDs
96 Carclo Frosted Wide Optics w/ Holder
96 BJB Solderless LED Connectors
3 18" x 8.46" Heatsinks
8 Inventronics 40watt Dimmable Drivers
I should have the DIY kit by the end of the week, I’ll make sure to take plenty of pictures of the whole processs… should be fun.
just my experience w/ reefkeeper elite: not easy to use, no salinity probe available[they kept putting it off, retesting, never got it straight], sometimes would send 100’s of emails. sold it
[quote=“ihuntinde, post:1, topic:4278”]
Ok so, I am going to use this thread as my build thread for my 125g Reef Tank.
-Sand - Really like the Bahama sand from Marcorocks.com that I saw posted on another tank build thread… Just want to get more info on it and see how light it is and make sure it won’t get blown around since I will be using a Deep Sand Bed.[/quote]
Hi ihuntinde, I am going to correct you a little. Statement above is like going to buy tires for your car and asking for pretty looking tires and don’t care of the function. Any way, for DSB to be successful, it MUST be properly constructed and maintained(99.9% of DSB maintenance is hands free). Grain size is very specific and overlooked the most, it must be .25-.1mm, no more than .5 for most of it. Don’t waste your money on “live” sand, there is nothing live it it besides bacteria, which will populate anyway. After bacteria populate DSB (1-2 month) you will need to spend money (probably 3 times what you spend on LEDs) to make it “live”, worms and microfauna need to be purchased to make sand bed functional, otherwise bacteria will glue all the grains together and sand bed will become a “nutrient sink” within few years and will fail after. I would recommend visiting Ron Shimeks forum on marinedepot.com, ask questions, read through the threads. This is THE ONLY place were information on DSB is good and correct!
[quote=“ihuntinde, post:1, topic:4278”]
Ok so, I am going to use this thread as my build thread for my 125g Reef Tank.
-Powerheads - Already have two Koralias a 1050 and 750. Along with a strong return pump, I think this will be good to start.[/quote]
Please be careful mixing DSB and coralias, if power head gets knocked off and make sand storms you will have a problem, DSB MUST not be disturbed once setup. Think about 2 MP40s or closed loop
Thanks for the info Rosti. I saw this sand mentioned on Reef-Geeks.com when one person was talking about setting up a new tank and trying to decide whether they wanted a deep sand bed or not. At this point, I haven’t decided what type of sand I am going to use, only that I am pretty sure I want to have a deep sand bed, and even then, I am not 100% convinced if I am going to go that route or not. I figure I am at least 2 months or better from really starting to build the tank itself. So I have lots of research to do and decisions to make.
As for the powerheads, I’ve not had a problem with the Koralias falling off of the glass on my 55. I’m actually not real sure how that would happen, as long as the outside magnets are left in place… Regardless, I just bought the LED kit for the tank, and that cost me almost $1200.00 (so I’ve sort of blown my budget for at least a few months…) and 1 or 2 $450.00 MP40s are not in the budget especially knowing that a 125 is going to require parts that I haven’t had to have on my 55.
Thinking about other miscellaneous parts, what is not on my initial post that I should be thinking about? I’d imagine reactors and what not are more about what I am keeping in the tank as opposed to what size the tank is, right?
I didn’t think LED kit was $1200, DSB critters are around $300-400. Think about BB setup with extra large skimmer, is another option.
Add to the list BRS GFO/carbon reactor, it seems to be the norm this days.
Kalkwasser reactor for auto top-off
Definitely go with APEX, or I will sell you mine DA for 1/2 price.
Lol I wouldn’t spend 300-400 on worms, they’ll grow themselves in the DSB. At most I’d buy a few and let them do their thing. I never purchased any in my previous DSB and there were plenty of worms and interesting creatures in the sand.
Why going the DSB route? I plan on setting up a remote DSB this time around, you get the benefits of a DSB but the ability to pull out if you need/want to and you can still have a BB tank. Just something to think about.
[quote=“Rosti, post:8, topic:4278”]
I didn’t think LED kit was $1200, DSB critters are around $300-400. Think about BB setup with extra large skimmer, is another option.
Add to the list BRS GFO/carbon reactor, it seems to be the norm this days.
Kalkwasser reactor for auto top-off
Definitely go with APEX, or I will sell you mine DA for 1/2 price.[/quote]
The kit I bought from ReefLEDLights.com came to like $1187.00 or something like that I think…
I didn’t find anyone else that was close to that price that had the reputation that this guy did. According to a few of the forums that I visited that talk about DIY LED kits, the guy that owns the website is in the saltwater reef hobby, which carried a lot of weight with me. I initially priced a kit from RapidLED.com but was talked out of it, regardless the difference in price wasn’t much.
As for your controller, what do you have and how much do you want for it?
[quote=“IanH, post:9, topic:4278”]
Lol I wouldn’t spend 300-400 on worms, they’ll grow themselves in the DSB. At most I’d buy a few and let them do their thing. I never purchased any in my previous DSB and there were plenty of worms and interesting creatures in the sand.
Why going the DSB route? I plan on setting up a remote DSB this time around, you get the benefits of a DSB but the ability to pull out if you need/want to and you can still have a BB tank. Just something to think about.[/quote]
Yea, I didn’t purchase worms or anything when I set up my 55 either, they came in on the rocks and now I have tons.
As for the reason for a DSB, I really like the look of a sand bottom, looks more natural to me. Not to mention the benefits you get as far as biological filtration. Tricky part is keeping it clean, which I am admittedly having a tough time with on my 55.
yes module is available, but salinity probe is being on backorder for over a year now.
I have RKL with latest sw, 2 PC4s, SL1, NET, updated programmer, 1 PH, 2 temp, 1 ORP probes, double float switch set, all in excellent condition
$300 will do
For those of you that aren’t watching over on Reef-geeks.com… I have had to put this build on hold. The addition to our house that was going to make this build possible has hit a pretty major snag. Hopefully we will find a way around it so we can get everything back on track…
