300 gallon SA/CE community build thread!!

[calioutlaw1a]

Thanks for the compliments! Yeah, the reactor has been a pretty cool addition to the sump. I'll get some better pics up when I get back home in a few weeks, but basically the reactor is tied into the output line of the xp2 with a small pvc barbed tee reducing from 5/8 to 1/2". The 1/2" line then runs through a small valve that essentially regulates the flow into the reactor, then into the reactor, back out to the sump. The line you see in the purigen is how it looks with no valving the flow back. i basically set it up, took a picture, then realised there was too much flow into the reactor. Ideally, the flow should be set to a point where the media stays in a constant state of motion, which means pretty low. Im probably around 50-60 gph through the reactor, so ive still got some head room to play with seeing as an xp2 moves around 150 gph. Im using about 2 liters in the reactor

I used an xp2 simply because i had one that wasnt really being used lol. Any canister should work fine though, but you'll still want a slower flowrate through the reactor, so unless you really need the extra filtration from the canister, the smaller the better(and cheaper). You dont really even need a canister either. Any small water pump will work with these.

Still too early to tell if I would change anything, but once Im online and I can start datalogging all the tank parameters, i'm going to start playing around with different medias in the reactor. Once I get a baseline from water change to water change, Im going to try to turn it into a nitrate filter. If I can just figure out how to pull the 02 out of the water while in the canister, i should be off to a good start. Not that purigen doesnt work well. It does, but i think I can take it another step further with denitrate or matrix. Time will tell.

Good luck with yours however you set it up. On a side note, i own every xp canister except the xp4. I would not recommend it either. Fx5 is almost the same price and is a much better filter. Overkill for a reactor, but better than the xp4. Any small classic series eheim or rena will work fine

Yes I would not purchase an XP4 over an FX5 (I run an XP3 and FX5), I was just using the XP4 as an example thinking you had purchased the xp2 new, but now it makes sense that you just used what you had lying around.

Thank you for the info! I think I will use your reactor as a vicarious guinea pig for a couple months before I move forward with mine haha. Let me know how long the purigen lasts before you need to recharge it.

 

[Jc1119]

Cool. Good luck with your reactor as well.

I usually recharge the purigen about every month in my other tanks. Should be about the same in this tank, but it could be longer seeing as the media is suspended.

 

[Jc1119]

Couple of quick updates. Bought a new router and I'm going to hardwire the apex. Too many variables uncontrollable going wireless, plus is pretty pointless with the location the way it is. Should dive into the apex early next week........

Stocklist is going to change too. Right now I have 6 cichlids in the tank, but the festae that I had to remove is the fish i really want to keep the most. Too much chasing from the gt, firemouth and con because they are all about the same size. The larger Midas, Freddy and Jd could care less about the festae. Eventually the festae is going to get bigger and isnt going to put up with the bullying from these guys. They will get killed. So, i'm going to go ahead and move those 3 into the 90 and just have the 4 in the 300. Plus, at 3-3.5" its still too early to tell the sex of the festae, so I want to be ready either way. I figure my chances of it working would go up exponentially with the added space for each fish. The festae would end up being the smallest fish for the next year at least and potentially the most aggressive of my stocklist. The jd would have to be watched after a year or so, but I bet them growing up together stress free cant' hurt my chances.........

My wife really thinks I'm crazy now. She really doesnt understand why the biggest tank I've owned is about to have the least amount of fish in it...lol

Oh, yeah.......and i got a new camera. Actually my wife did Nikon D7000. Really excited about it. Now if the pics suck, you can blame me

 

[JeremyXXXX]

wow BEAutiful setup! :goodjob:

might I add I love the idea of the removable stand that's exactly what I would like to do once I get my huge show tank. Is that an option of some kind or was it something you did on your own?

 

[Jc1119]

wow BEAutiful setup! :goodjob:

might I add I love the idea of the removable stand that's exactly what I would like to do once I get my huge show tank. Is that an option of some kind or was it something you did on your own?

Thanks so much! The stand was all Chris at Midwest Customs idea. He explained to me a few options and i really liked how i could open up the whole stand in about a minute. It really comes in handy when working on or around thew sump. It just gives a certain amount of access options that I normally wouldnt have. I will definately have all future stands built this way.

 

[Jc1119]

So, I moved the stock.Took about an hour. Surprised myself that i actually got 3 fish out of this tank at all much less pretty quickly. Id post some pics, but its pretty bright in the house right now. Not a great time to photograph unfortunately. Plus the new camera will be here tomorrow anyways........

6" Midas male
6" Freddy female
5" Jack dempsey male
3" Festae female, but if not it's defiantely male

6" rainbow shark
5" L204
4" L147
3" silver dollars(x6)

The GT, Firemouth and Con are now living in the 90 with some tetras and a few small plecos. They still chase and beat on each other, but the vibe in the big tank has changed dramtically. Not only is the Festae not getting chased, but it's been out front and center, colored up and everywhere, not hiding at all. Fascinated by the silver dollars and really likes to hang with the shark. Totally different fish now that I removed the three punks

The freddy looks like she is in full blown breeding dress. Seems to be hanging with the jd alot. He's alot more colorful too.

50 micron sock plus D7000...............

next pics should be interesting

 

[Jc1119]

View attachment 698296View attachment 698297One Month update and start of PHASE TWO:

it's been almost 5 weeks since i added the stock and a week since the last water change. Water tests show Ammonia 0ppm, Nitirte 0ppm and Nitrate 5ppm. Ph is a little higher then i'd like at about 7.8-8.0 but I'd rather it be stable than trying to jockey it around. I think the combination of relatively light stocking and the Purigen is keeping the nitrates pretty low. I've been feeding 2-3 times a day with either Beefheart, Bloodworms or Brine shrimp added once a day. All other feedings have been with Hikari Gold and Omega one veggies flakes.

I was going to add some Pothos to the overflows, but i thimk i might wait for a bit, because i dont think the nitrates are quite high enough yet.lol nice problem to have I suppose..........

Thought i'd have the hole drilled for my ethernet connection, but my biggest drill bit is too small. Gotta make a trip up to Lowes before I can start the Apex install.......

a few pics anyways......

 

[aaronb]

You're tank looks great. I'm curious why you went with the standard overflows. I've been emailing Chris trying to get figured out how I want to get my 180 setup when I order it. I ask him about the horizontal overflows setup up for the bean animal type. Jcardona talked about how great it was on his discus tank, so I've been considering going that way. I wanted to get some other opinions to help me decide what the best setup would be. This is my first tank I'm using a sump, so I want to do it right.

 

[aaronb]

You're tank looks great. I'm curious why you went with the standard overflows. I've been emailing Chris trying to get figured out how I want to get my 180 setup when I order it. I ask him about the horizontal overflows setup up for the bean animal type. Jcardona talked about how great it was on his discus tank, so I've been considering going that way. I wanted to get some other opinions to help me decide what the best setup would be. This is my first tank I'm using a sump, so I want to do it right.

I reread through here and saw you said you considered the bean, but didn't want it that far from the wall, so that answers my question. I'd like mine up against the wall, because we have a couple cats I don't really want to get back there and mess with the stuff. I think I'll get mine set up similar to yours. Hopefully it'll look as nice when it's done.

 

[Jc1119]

I actually almost did a Bean anyways. I was thinking about putting the tank against the wall anyways and runniung the drains through the wall into the closet, but the depth of the closet was an issue for my sump. I hated giving up the space, but it made the most sense considering I'm not sure that this is our last house and I wanted something not quite so permanent. The hallway was the best option for tank length, but depth was the compromise. I figure as long as I dont load up the tank, my chances will be pretty good with this community.

The dual herbies are dead silent though and I've actually got 2 backup drains, one sitting about 1.5" above the other. Each 1.5" line can handle the entire tank so, if there were an issue with clogging(which there really cant be due to the design of the oveflows and how they attach to the top), the water would go to the first(lower) emergerncy drain. If it were to clog, the water would go to the second(higher) drain. Something would have to completely clog 4 1.5" drains to flood. I figure the chances of that happening are greater than me winning the powerball....

And the tank sits about 1' from the wall for lighting cables and such. Just enough space to make changes if neccessary, but close enough to not eat up hallway space.

Good luck with yours!