Kessil

300G in-wall reef tank rebuild

GurmagAngler

GurmagAngler

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I've been keeping reef tanks since around 2004, but when the kids (3!) were born starting in 2009, I started having less and less time to spend on maintaining the reef tank. When we moved in 2013, I built a 300G in-wall, but ran it as a FOWLR until I would have more time to spend on it. In late 2019, I had an auto top-off accident and lost my prized 17+ years old Black Tang. I got him from a fellow reefer in 2005, who had him for 3 years prior. As a result, I decided that I was either going to go "all in", or should exit the hobby until I did have the time. Since I didn't want a huge empty hole in my wall, I decided to fully return to the hobby. So I upgraded all my equipment, and am starting the rebuild. Here are the tank specs:

• Main Display: 300 gallon Envision Acrylics custom tank (48”L X 48”W X 30”H)
• Refugium: 75 gallon Envision Acrylics tank (24”L X 24”W X 30”H)
• Skimmer: Bubble King Supermarin 300
• Water Circulation: 4x Tunze 6155
• Lighting: 4x Hydra 32, 2x Hydra 64

My current water parameters:
  • Salinity: 1.026
  • pH: 7.9
  • Calcium: 455 ppm
  • Alkalinity: 9.1 dkH
  • Magnesium: <haven’t measured>
  • Nitrate: 2.5 ppm
  • Phosphate: 0.08 ppm
 
Here's a full tank pic from today

IMG_8304.JPG
 
Oh yeah!!
That’s some killer real estate

Congratulations on “old fish”. Most don’t get that luck. I currently have a purple tang that’s 16 and many fish over 10 years
Feed them
Love them
 
Boy howdy that is some tank! Sorry to hear about your black tang, that sucks.

But man you kept this as a FOWLR since 2013? And you had the BK SM300 skimmer? Overkill? :D
 
sfsuphysics said:
Boy howdy that is some tank! Sorry to hear about your black tang, that sucks.

But man you kept this as a FOWLR since 2013? And you had the BK SM300 skimmer? Overkill? :D
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haha no, I just got the BK. I originally had a Deltec AP1003 on my 240G reef that I ran on different tanks for 10+ years. When I got to the FOWLR, one of the pumps had already broken, so I just ran the skimmer with 2 pumps. I had a feeling the remaining 2 pumps would be going soon as well so I decided to upgrade to the BK.
 
Rostato said:
That tank is awesome! Let’s see some pics of the equipment room
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The tank is in the garage so it's not pretty. We also park all of our cars in the garage so there's not as much room as I would like.

Here's the refugium: (I think you probably recognize that light! :) ) I built a box out of lighting diffuser as you suggested and it's working really well. The chaeto is starting to establish itself and grow.

IMG_8305.JPG


The sump is custom made from my first reef tank back in 2004, and I've always just kept it. The media reactor is a Deltec PF509 that I've run also for 10+ years. I'm embarrassed about my plumbing; I did it in a haste when we moved. One day when I have enough time, I'll go back and redo it, but for now it works and doesn't leak.

IMG_8306.JPG


Back of the tank
IMG_8307.JPG


The depth is a blessing and curse at the same time. I love the additional dimension, but it's also very hard to clean since it's an in-wall and I don't have access to the front. I'm thinking of knocking out more of the wall so I can have access to the front of the tank from the room. Additionally, the tank is 30", and I'm only 5'11", so for me to reach the remote corners of the tank I'm getting pretty wet...
 
Welcome to BAR. Do you find it hard to keep the temp stable since it's in the garage? I bet it cuts down on the noise in the living room. Looking forward to your progress.
 
glee said:
Welcome to BAR. Do you find it hard to keep the temp stable since it's in the garage? I bet it cuts down on the noise in the living room. Looking forward to your progress.
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In the winter, I put acrylic covers over the main tank to help with the heat loss. But even so, in the winter I have to have ~1kW of heaters to keep the temperatures stable at night. In the summer, it’s not a problem and I just use a fan to evaporate the water.
 
I'm considering doing an in-garage sump in my new house, how have you found the humidity in the garage? Do you have to do any venting to avoid corrosion to items in the garage or heat in the summer?
 
gunit said:
I'm considering doing an in-garage sump in my new house, how have you found the humidity in the garage? Do you have to do any venting to avoid corrosion to items in the garage or heat in the summer?
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I haven't had any issues with humidity or corrosion. I used to have a 240G in my living room, and I had much more humidity in that room than I do now in the garage. I don't do anything special venting the garage, but the garage door is opened a couple of times a day just because the cars going in and out so I think that helps a lot.
 
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