60g Shallow Reef
by
, 01-26-2010 at 02:01 AM (10021 Views)
Well for the past four months now I have been reef-less and it's seriously killing me. I had to sell my 3 reefs for a move to a new city. I'm all settled in now and ready start my next reef.
I am currently having a custom acrylic tank and sump built by a very talented local club member. The tank measures 36X24X16 and will hold roughly 60 gallons. Here is a sample photo of a similar tank that my friend has built.
It is made of 1/2" Polycast acrylic and is euro braced. It will house an internal overflow which will have 2-1" drains and 1-3/4" return.
The sump, which is very similar in design to Marc's sump design "F" will be housed in the basement and will hold approximately 50 gallons. The sump will hold a skimmer, return, and refugium sections.
As far as equipment goes, I'm keeping this reef fairly simple. Equipment list is:
Lighting: Tek Elite 6X39w T-5 lampsThe release date for the Elite fixture just got pushed back about a month, so I may end up going with the ATI Sunpower instead.
- 4x ATI Blue+
- 1x ATI Aquablue Special (12000K)
- 1x KZ Fiji Purple
Skimmer: Vertex IN-180 or MSX-200 I realize that both of those skimmers are a tad over powered for this build but I always like to have the upper hand. I also plan to plumb a frag tank and probably an anemone tank into this system as well.
Flow: 1 Vortech MP20 to start. I will add another MP20 as corals begin to grow out.
CA & KH supplement: I will dose a two-part system via 2 Drew's Dosing pumps.
Carbon: I will dose GAC via a Bulk Reef Supply carbon reactor. Carbon will be changed out every 2 weeks unless otherwise dictated.
I have been using Coralife salt mix for the past few years with great results. I don't see any reason to change now.
Ok well I think that is all for this entry. My next entry will include some info about my aquascape plans along with livestock lists. Once the build really gets going I will saturate my posts with pics. I'm only home usually 2 days a week so at the beginning, this build will take some time.
Ciao