# Matt Dean's 125 Custom Starphire Peninsula



## mattdean

Hey all,

So, been reading the forum for a little while but thought I would make my presence known and share some pics of my little slice of heaven.

I went to great expense and trouble to do things right and make sure I would have the tank i have been dreaming of since I was 10

Well, I think the money and effort was worth it! I have had NO algae problems ever. My phosphates have been 0 and nitrates have been 5 or 0 from the beginning. So, I have had very few problems and very healthy corals and fish.

Equipment consists of 5 X 2 X 20" 3 side viewable custom starphyre peninsula tank with closed loop and coast to coast overflow. 55 gal custom acrylic sump. Red dragon pumps for return and closed loop. MP20 for additional flow w/ battery backup, Bubble King 200 skimmer, UV, GFO/GAC, refugium with chaeto/live rock, TLF 150 reactor with EcoBak bio pellets, Tek 8 bulb 54 W T5 light, Reefkeeper Lite Plus controller, Profilux 3 pump doser fro Ca, Alk and Mg, GHL 4 fan Propellor breeze, ATO connected to my RO/DI.

I used some rock from my old 46 Gal tank and the rest is Marco rock. I have no dead spots for flow and have created a circular vortech of flow which keeps everybody happy. I can't wit to see the tank when it grows in in a year. ut should be incredible.

So, a pic is worth a thousand words...... (First the two sides of the tank)



















Clams:




























Some corals:


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## mattdean

More corals:





































There are over 100 corals in the tank, so obviously can't post pics of them all

And here is the tank in the room that I renovated to accommodate the build!


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## ameekplec.

Nice tank - I love the first side. 

Is the MP-20 enough for flow across 5'? Are you planning to upgrade to a 40?


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## rrobbiiee

*drool*

How long has that tank been up for?

Would love to see pics of the sump/plumbing as well...the tank is so clean with only the MP20 in there, at first glance I didn't even see the returns for your closed loop 

Nice studio too!


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## mattdean

Thanks. Yes, the first pic is the "show" side. the other side is facing my office/studio.

Yes, the MP 20 is perfect since I have 4 returns on the closed loop and 4 on the sump returns. I have created a 'vortech' in the tank so everything flows to the overflow and there are NO dead spots in the tank.

I don't have great pics of the sump, but here's what i have. The pics are from the beginning. the algae is much bigger and there is more rock in the fuge. The carbon bags are in my canister filter (used solely to pass water through GFO, GAC and my UV)



















The plumbing would have been MUCH cleaner and organized, but I had plumbed Blueline pumps in and then, due to the noise levels, replaced them with Red Dragon pumps. The pumps are very different and I had to do some weird plumbing to make it work with what had already been done.


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## Ciddian

Holy crow... Wonderful job and studio!


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## mattdean

Thanks! I forgot to answer this; the tank is 10 months old.


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## UnderTheSea

Very nice, great setup.


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## gucci17

I've seen your tank on other forums...was wondering when you would share it with GTAA'ers lol. Beautiful tank man.


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## PACMAN

amazing tank! And the starting song on you website is pretty damn catchy!


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## mattdean

Thanks. That was my latest single. Check out the animated video. It's playing in Europe (hit #6 in the clubs in Belfast this summer) and all over on internet radio stations as well as in the U.S.. Enjoy!

http://www.mattdean.com/berlinmixvideo.mov


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## sweet ride

I've seen this tank in person, got to say one of the cleanest and quietest system I've ever seen! Thanks for sharing Matt!!!! and welcome to GTA Aquaria!!!!


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## mattdean

Thanks Ian, It's going to look even nicer when those frags I got from you grow in. BTW, the orange Digi is growing like a weed!

Yes, QUIET was the name of the game. Everyone who comes by to see the tank has commented on how quiet it is.

Cheers


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## caker_chris

nice tank, I am totally jealous, I wish one of these days I can set a tank up like you and sweet ride have.

If its not too much to ask, would you be able to make a video of your master piece. I am sure everyone here would love to see this in action.


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## Chromey

Welcome to the Darkside MAttdean... Over here theirs no Un needed Admin police thats a DICK head.


Love the tank like always, Love the beats.

I never noticed the ehiem before, Whats it doing?


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## conix67

Great tank! I wish I had my office right beside my reef tank like this one.

It's great to see more reefers show up on this forum. It's about time!


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## mattdean

Hey Caker_chris. Thanks. This is my dream tank, to be sure. I don't have a decent video camera. I hope to get a hold of one sometime soon. I have made changes to the tank since those pics. Sold all my large SPS colonies and got a bunch of nice frags. Everything grows so fast in my tank, I thought this would be more enjoyable to watch everything fill in.

Chromey, dude! Yeah, I know what you mean, I got an infraction for trying to help someone  The EHEIM is for GFO and GAC and to run water through my UV. It has the perfect flow rate for it.

Hey Conix67. I've viewed your tank on UStream. Yes, it's wonderful having the tank where i spend most of my time. It can be quite distracting though. 

Thanks everyone. Merry Christmas!


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## Chromey

Let me know when your fragging.... Ill put my order in now, Ummm 1 of everything.


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## Dis

Very nice tank, thanks for sharing.


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## explor3r

Wow amazing tank and nice size, it was about time u share with us


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## mattdean

Thanks guys.

Chromey, it will be more than a year before I frag any of what I have now. 

I do have a nice frag of a gorgeous teal acro, f you want one. Call me in the new year and you can come by.

Cheers


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## Chromey

Perfect Ill be their... Plus i want a CD


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## mattdean

Sure thing, see you next year.


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## Kweli

I have a man crush on your stuff

And i mean that in the straightest way possible


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## mattdean

Stop it....I'll blush!

Thanks, man. It's been a along time coming to finally be happy with my setup and room. And I don't mind saying I deserve it!


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## Salty1

*Blakes Living Reef*

Very nice tank, I'am jealous. Presently my main display tank looks like a green blob (old compact light fixture failing). I will be replacing it with an ATi fixture in the new year and hopefully I can change my green blob over to a beautiful tank like yours.


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## Cypher

Hey that's a nice looking tank man! 

It really looks like you know what you're doing. BTW, Welcome to the forums! Glad you decided to stay and contribute. It'd be nice to have another experienced reefer share their experience with us on this forum.

For some reason I think I may have seen this in person??? Maybe just something similar... creepy lol.


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## mattdean

Thanks Cypher. Did you buy a frag or coral off of me? I have a sold quite a few things lately.


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## Cypher

No, it's been sometime since I've bought a frag off anyone... just been buying small and medium sized colonies from stores recently . I think I'm confusing your tank with someone else's.


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## mattdean

Well, next time I frag a nice SPS, I'll let you know.

Cheers


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## mattdean

So, after a few changes to the corals and getting things settles, I thought I should post a couple of pics.

I just recently added a Reefbrite XHO actinic blue LED strip to supplement the 8 bulb Tek light. It's like the corals are battery powered now! When only the Reefbrite is on, it's like a piece of art.

Here is my new full lighting (Tek 8 bulb T5 with 1 Reefbrite XHO LED) :










Here is the blue T5's with 1 Reefbrite XHO :










And the best part...here is just 1 Reefbrite XHO :


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## altcharacter

Wow!!! did you add some nuclear waste to that water! =O


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## mattdean

LOL! That's a funny way to put it. I like that! Yes, it seems that way. I have fallen in love with my tank all over again.


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## altcharacter

Where did you get the xho's from? I'm hearing alot of good things about them and was thinking of using them for my next tank


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## Chromey

these Units came from Oakville reef Gallery.


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## mattdean

Thanks Chromey. Yes,they did. They have a group buy going on at the moment.


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## Chromey

Like always Matt the tank is a work of Art.


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## mattdean

Thanks Chromey, that's very nice of you. I'm trying to keep it up. With a crazy schedule I sometimes feel like I may lose everything, but I know I'm being paranoid


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## explor3r

Looks fantastic as always Matt, lighting really can make difference.
I think is great you fall inlove with your tank again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!love is on the water


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## 50seven

Just saw your whole thread now. Nice stuff! Thanks for the pics that show the difference in lighting (though I'm sure in-person is the best way to view it!)

I really like your large SPS colonies! Did you buy them large like that or did you grow them out?


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## mattdean

Thanks 50seven,

The pics are no where near as impressive as how it looks in person. Especially when just the Reefbrite XHO strips are on! If you're ever in my area, you can always drop by and see the tank in person.

Every SPS coral was a one inch frag when I bought them. The oldest ones are 1 year old. Most are between 6 and 9 months old. They grow like weeds in my tank! Of course, the Red Planet and Strawberry Shortcake mostly have encrusted do far, but they are finally starting to branch out. The clams have grown at least 50% since I got them not more than a year ago, as well. I go through a TON of 2-part. LOL!

Cheers!


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## PACMAN

update! update!! update!!!


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## mattdean

Well....I'm sorry to say I had an accident a few months ago and lost all my SPS. $1000 worth of corals and fish died, thanks to a stupid mistake. I accidentally grabbed vinegar water that was for cleaning a pump, instead of R/O water for the water change. It's a long story of the perfect storm of bad things all happening at once to ensure it was a disaster!

Thanks to Oakville Reef Gallery for helping me out through the turmoil. I would have lost a lot more without there help. 

That being said...I have since cleaned up the tank and salvaged what i could from the corals and have made some changes to the rock. I had to get rid of some rock as the nutrient spike caused a small isolated rock to spawn Blue Clove Polyps everywhere and I have been on a mission to kill them since. I bought a ceramico "tree" from ORG and I love the way it opens up the left side of the tank.

I am going to start populating the tank with sps as soon as I can get my hands on some special pieces.

I did buy a pair of Black Ice Clownfish. They are as gorgeous as they were expensive! I've attached a pic of one.

So here are pics of how the tanks stands right now. It's still beautiful, but I long to get some SPS on top of the rock.


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## explor3r

OMG!!!!!!Im sorry to heard that, your tank is being one of my favourites.
You did an amazing job again with the rockwork and Im glad you got to save some corals.


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## mattdean

Thanks. It was depressing to say the least, however, I will be more careful this time around with what and where I put them in the tank.


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## 50seven

Woah Dude. Sorry to hear that. Glad things are recovering now.


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## jmb

That's to bad, I hope recovery happens quickly.

The changes you made look good. The rock word looks really good. Did you get your Black Ice Clowns at ORG?


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## mattdean

Thanks. Yes, I got the Black Ice clowns from ORG. They were so nice. Funny thing....I told my wife about them and she jumped down my throat when i suggested replacing her "babies". She came into the store with me a month or so later and said "we're getting them"...end of story.  Just glad to have them. They are WAY nicer than the normal clowns.


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## Ryan.Wilton

I just... Bad reference from Lonely Island song... 

Damn it. now i gotta change my pants.

Awesome looking tank, how'd you secure the pieces of rock like that? Putty?


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## mattdean

Hehe. Thanks. Putty wouldn't be enough for a structure like this. I drilled two rocks and used an acrylic rod, plus epoxy. The other joints are Zip tied together and strengthened with epoxy/putty. I could lift the whole structure up in one piece (IF I could physically lift it, that is)


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## duckhams

Hey Matt! Sorry for your loss. Im glad you are not giving up on it! 
I actually have pics of your tank on my desktop in an 'inspiration' folder for my new setup. Your rockscape is amazing! Your lighting is exactly what im looking to mimic on my new setup. I really can't tell you enough how inspirational your tank has been. Great job! and thank you! I will be following along as you rebuild.


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## mattdean

Hey Duckhams,

That's really nice of you to say. I'm happy to say things are on the mend. My biggest problem is fighting blue clove polyps that exploded in the crash. I had none before and now they are everywhere!!

I have repopulated the tank with corals and starting the slow road back to greatness. Here is a pic of the tank now:

http://www.mattdean.com/tankhirez.jpg

Cheers!


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## sig

see it from the positive side. Old already was old and "new" setup will be more beautiful 

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## fesso clown

Indeed, it's good to see this tank's still going. I had forgotten about this thread until duckhams bumped it. It was an inspiration for me as well when I first joined GTAA! 
Who built the tank? do you have any old pics of it before adding water showing the closed loop and returns? Just curious...
Also what did you do to texture the the drain wall? That looks really cool!


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## duckhams

I read somewhere that running carbon will decrease their spread, if not wipe them out. I have no evidence of this other than a memory of reading that somewhere, but thought it was worth a mention.


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## thmh

Hey Matt!!! how is the red planet we sold you doing?


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## mattdean

Hey guys, yes, the new setup will be better. I am happy with the changes in the rock and coral placement.

The tank is a Perfecto custom built tank. It is all but flawless.

Here is a pic of the empty tank to show the closed loop:



















The overflow wall is just covered with coralline and some zoas.

I'm going to try the carbon, combined with killing them and scrubbing where I can.

The Red Planet is doing well. It's colored up nicely, but just wish it would grow faster! 

Cheers!


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## Bayinaung

Hey dude how did you glue the rocks for the arch?


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## mattdean

I used mainly zip-ties and epoxy. There is one acrylic rod between two of the rocks, but that's it.

Guess I should post updated pics on this thread. Here they are!


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## duckhams

Great looking tank Matt. You have an awesome range of corals. The kryptonite candy canes really pop!


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## explor3r

Beautiful tank and beautiful colours and if you dont mind telling me your bulb combo, Im sorry if you already mentioned somewhere in the tread but I like to know...More pictures will be nice


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## duckhams

explor3r said:


> Beautiful tank and beautiful colours and if you dont mind telling me your bulb combo, Im sorry if you already mentioned somewhere in the tread but I like to know...More pictures will be nice


+1 on both accounts


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## mattdean

Thanks guys. I use 7 Blues/SuperBlues and 1 Fiji Purple, plus a Reefbrite XHO Blue Actinic strip on each side of the tank. Nothing beats looking at the tank with just the Actinics on.


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## fesso clown

explor3r said:


> Beautiful tank and beautiful colours and if you dont mind telling me your bulb combo, Im sorry if you already mentioned somewhere in the tread but I like to know...More pictures will be nice


Alex, YOu need to see post number 31 on page 4 and then RUN (don't walk) and buy yourself some reefbrights already.


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## sig

beautiful tank.

do you continue to run Tek 8 bulb 54 W T5 light?
thanks

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## Kweli

Can you give some details on all of these holes?









I understand the two in the center (Return flow)... but what is the small short one? Is that one of your siphons down to the sump? If so, what are the 4 holes in the overflow used for? 1-2 more then i typically see


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## PaulF757

that's a beauty. Just working on plans for mine, I may be copying some stuff of yours.


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## sig

Kweli said:


> Can you give some details on all of these holes?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I understand the two in the center (Return flow)... but what is the small short one? Is that one of your siphons down to the sump? If so, what are the 4 holes in the overflow used for? 1-2 more then i typically see


I think he has closed loop, beside regular drain/return

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## Flexin5

very nice tank! i like how you can barely notice the returns.


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## mattdean

Hi Paul…copy away! I love the tank, so you will be happy if you do 

Yes, I am running a closed loop, so no worries.

I am still using the T5 set up with a Reefbrite XHO actinic LED on each side. I LOVE the colours! I considered going all LED but I don't like the shimmer. Bugs me and takes away from the corals, IMO. This light combination has served me well and there is little I can't grow and keep colourful. As much as I don't like buying new bulbs every year, I think I will be sticking with this for quite a while.


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## Kweli

Still intrigued, and confused, on how your system works.

If your return pump (in sump) stops, what is stopping all of your DT water from running down your return pipes in the middle (and bottom) of your tank?

I guess my question is.. how do you stop your tank from dumping its contents on the floor.


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## conix67

Kweli said:


> Still intrigued, and confused, on how your system works.
> 
> If your return pump (in sump) stops, what is stopping all of your DT water from running down your return pipes in the middle (and bottom) of your tank?
> 
> I guess my question is.. how do you stop your tank from dumping its contents on the floor.


It's a closed loop system. If the pump stops, the water stays where it is, unless you have a leak somewhere, which will be a problem with or without the pump running. Think of canister filters. If the pump stops, does the water spill over?


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## Kweli

Ahhh, i get it now. So the pump, return lines, and inlet on the bottom of the tank are all attached to the single pump. 

Do these closed systems need to be rigged with valves for disconnection and cleaning? I assume the pump builds gunk without any filtration setup?


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## mattdean

Exactly. One hole in the bottom is the intake for the closed loop and the other two are the output. The sump returns are at the top-left and close to the top. So, no worries there.

And yes, there are vales on each line for that very reason. It also helps to regulate the flow.


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