High Tide Aquatics

Mike and Ashley's 150g reef tank (our first)

Not to dump on another member's sale, but if you are thinking of going that route, maybe talk to Jesterix too. I'm not sure what his prices are, but he's got some definite skills to do things that seem to defy gravity.
 
I haven't even gotten started on the rockscape yet, but thanks.

Look what arrived! Had a little snafu with the Tideline 48 not fitting (it was supposed to fit, but the stand came in 1" undersized on the inside and that was just enough). Fortunately, everyone involved stepped up and Robert at Neptune let me swap + cash for a Synergy CL-44 which fits. Wow, that sump is so pretty I hate to hide it.

Plumbing is up next.
Tank and Stand.jpg
Sump CL-44.jpg
 
I can't wait to see it set up either! Plumbing is going to be interesting as one of the stand rear supports is right in line with where I would like to run my drain tubes. Likely going to need a few more bends than anticipated. Figuring that out as we speak.

Yes, those are my doubles - they are Nitrox labeled as they are O2 clean, but I usually just run oxygen clean air in them as I tend to only use the doubles for dives deeper than Nitrox (oxygen toxicity) allows.

The sump runs the refugium before the skimmer section - hope I don't suck up too many copepods (when I get them). Haven't decided on what to put in the refugium yet, so still open to suggestions for long-term use (and maybe a piece of really safe live rock from a known source to kick everything off when I get water in it).

My protein skimmer wants a depth of 6-6.5". Is there any point in spacing it up from the bottom to run more water in the sump section or just leave it on the bottom and run that depth? I ask because I have seen lots of protein skimmers spaced off the bottom - is this just because the sump people are using doesn't allow adjustment to the optimum skimmer height or is there an advantage to run more water there? FYI - the refugium is fixed at 9.5" depth.

Thanks again for all the advice!

Best regards,
Mike
 
I can adjust the skimmer section of the sump to the correct water height (it has quite the range), sounds like I should just do that. 6.5" of water in the skimmer section (it's big) just seems low in an 18" tall sump. Well, I'll definitely have some extra space to take up DT water when the power goes out.

Do any of you put some kind of rubber mat under your sump so it doesn't sit directly on the bottom of the stand (which likely isn't perfectly flat)? If so, what do you use and where can I get some? Thanks!
 
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I used 1/8 neoprene pad I found on Amazon.

I designed my sump with the fuge ahead of skimmer and I still get plenty of pods in the dt. I think more pods get killed from the return pump vs the skimmer. Only about 1/3 of the water that flows through your sump goes through your skimmer (depending on flow rates) but 100% of it goes through your return.

The biggest reason I can think of for raising the water level in your skimmer section is because as the water flows from the previous chamber it can be loud if it has a long way to fall. Mine is only about 2" but it's noticeable. Iirc your tank is in the garage so this might not be a big deal to you. Aside from that you would also have a little more total volume in your system but I think that's a fairly minor advantage.
 
Flagg37 said:
I used 1/8 neoprene pad I found on Amazon.

The biggest reason I can think of for raising the water level in your skimmer section is because as the water flows from the previous chamber it can be loud if it has a long way to fall. Mine is only about 2" but it's noticeable. Iirc your tank is in the garage so this might not be a big deal to you. Aside from that you would also have a little more total volume in your system but I think that's a fairly minor advantage.
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Good point. The tank is only in the garage to do the plumbing and check for leaks, then it goes into the family room with the back against a wall. I'll check the skimmer level with different heights of "waterfall" from the 9.5" refugium level and set it at something tolerable noise-wise.

Just ordered the plumbing, now I need to run to petco or someplace cheap and get some quarantine tanks so I can get some life started on the quarantine cycle.

Thanks!
 
Hi Phuong,

That's awesome, I'll take them. These next several days are crazy with work, can I get them maybe the 17th?

I'll just need small heaters and a decent light and I'll be good to go (I have an air pump somewhere). What height are the tanks so I can get the right length heaters so they aren't too long?

Best regards,
Mike
 
I'm flying out 17th evening so the latest would be 17th morning

Standard 10g height

150w Eheim fits along the bottom but I think that have too much temp swing. I ended up using Cobal Neotherm 50w.
 
Morning works for me. Otherwise you could always just leave them inside your atrium so I don't have to bother you. Thanks for the heads up on the heaters.

What kind of beer/wine do you like?
 
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