This tank was set up on 4/99. It is a 180G Oceanic RR tank and my pride and joy. It was ordered originally on 12/98 from a LFS as a Christmas present from my wonderful wife. However, I did not receive it until 3/99.
It has a DIY acrylic sump, which I designed based loosely on the ETSS sump, to accommodate my ETSS Stingray 600 protein skimmer. The sump's volume is approximately 40 gallons and also served as a refugium/mangrove nursery. The refugium is lighted by 2 28w PC obtained from Home Depot. The lights run 24/7. The Durso's standpipes are used to silence the overflow with great result.
The ETSS Stingray 600 protein skimmer was powered by a Dolphin Silent Series 800 (totally silent). However, this pump along with the return pump (Dolphin SS1200 froze up after about 9 months. The protein skimmer is currently powered by a Mag Drive1200(also very quiet) and return pump is a GRI 520 (which produces more noise and heat than the Dolphin SS1200).
The lighting is provided by 2 400W MH bulbs powered by a dual PFO ballast and 2 140W actinic VHO bulbs powered by a IceCap 660 ballast. The MH's were initially German 10000K bulbs. However, one of them burned out after about 5 months. They were then changed to Iwasaki 6500K bulbs. A few months later these bulbs were again changed to Sunburst 12000K bulbs (I'm still experimenting :-)). Based on my limited subjective experience with these bulbs, my conclusions are as follow: the German 10000K bulbs give the best combination of color and intensity, the Iwasaki 6500K bulbs have the highest intensity but the corals do not color up as well, the Sunburst 12000K bulbs really color up the corals but the intensity might not be strong enough for some corals.
The K2R calcium reactor was added in 1/00 after I got tired of adding Kalwasser daily. The pH dropped to 7.9-8.0 after the reactor was adjusted. I then added a second DIY media chamber on 2/00 and the pH increased to 8.0-8.1. Due to the high SPS load, I was still having difficulty maintaining calcium level. On 3/00 I added a DIY Nilsen reactor. This reactor is being fed by a top-off water reservoir via a peristaltic pump which is linked to a float switch. The calcium level is now maintained at about 425 and pH is at 8.1-8.2.
The in tank circulation is additionally provided by 4 Maxijet 1200, 1 Maxijet 600 and 1 AquaClear 802 powerheads. These powerheads are controlled by a Wavemaster Pro wavemaker.
The temperature is maintained at 80-82F by a Teco chiller/heater unit (made in Italy and distributed by Fritz Industry) and 2 300W Acura heaters.
The Neptune controller monitors the pH and controls the lighting.
