130 gallon Propagation Workshop

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INTRO:
I have been keeping a salt water tank for 5 years. Its a 29 gallon mixed reef that is drilled with a 10 gallon sump/fuge below. This system is heavy on sps and i have been running out of workable room within the tank. I have been fragging the quicker growing corals for store credit at local LFS. Its proven to be worth the time, so I've chosen to expand my efforts into a propagation system.

THE PROJECT:
So we have this weird room in our basement that we have referred to as the dexter room. Its a somewhat plumbed bathroom with a sorta shower and a sink with hot and cold water. This has been where i set up my RO/DI system and made my salt and top off water. We'd love to finish our basement at some point with a 300 gallon mixed reef display that would be piped into the prop shop. But for now our focus will be on this propagation system. One regret from my 29 gallon build is not keeping a thread on reef central so i thought this would be prime time. Thanks for following along and offering insights...

Next up Gear and Assembly

 

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GEAR:
I have seen numerous people have great success with the Rubbermaid stock tanks, so i bought the 100 gallon option. For the grow out area i have ordered a 2 foot by 4 foot hydroponic tray. Lighting will be a 400watt Giesemann MegaChrome Crystal 17500k with Lumatek ballast. 2-300watt eheim heaters trying to have a somewhat redundant system. The return pump is an eheim 1048 submersible pump. For filtration I am planning on just using live rock and running gfo/gac. The dry live rock is coming from reefcleaners.

 

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ASSEMBLY:
The assembly stage is where we are at currently. A buddy and i have built a rack to suspend the live rock in the water column for maximum water flow. The rack is built out of 1/2" PVC and egg crate. We have done a leak test on the rubbermaid and found a slow drip at the drain plug so we have siliconed the gasket.

 

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I am going to try and post pictures a different way. There seems to be some issue with my pictures uploading. So here we go:

 

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The remodel of the fish room is slowly taking shape but here is the barebones that I'm currently working with

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I'm expecting my rock and flood tray to arrive tomorrow. I will start cooking the rock in the 100 gallon tub with a heater and some pool cleaner. Also i will start building frame work for the flood tray to sit over top of the 100 gallon tub. I'm excited to start running the electrical for the DJ strips, hopefully this room has nice wire management:spin3:

 

[JonezNReef]

Pictures in your last few post aren't showing up. Sounds like a cool idea...Im subscribed
Can't wait to see what you have going

 

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[JonezNReef]

I like the suspended rock idea. I never really considered doing that to the rock in my sump, but I might have to "borrow" this idea LOL. I like the 100 g Rubbermaid too. I plan on using that as the heart of my future set up. Can't wait to see the hydroponic tray up and running

 

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I will do an in depth posting this weekend as I hope to get this system built. I have half of the room painted but I still need to finish the frag tray stand, plumb, run elec, final leak test, seal the floor, clauk any joints, etc...

After my first build not so much rushing but not doing everything i wanted to do before I got the tank filled with saltwater. I'm planning on double checking the system thoroughly before the initial run.

I'll need to have a workable area to mix salt water in my 32gal Brute container which will be "Teed" into my RO/DI line that also runs to my 10gal Brute Topoff location. The space is tight, I'll take measurements and post them on here. I'm looking for feedback and ideas that will make my future endeavors easier also more enjoyable.

Thanks for your time...:beachbum:

 

[JonezNReef]

Definitely take your time. I too have rushed into a build and regretted it later on. Sounds like you have things planned out.

 

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We got more done with the stand for the prop tray

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We also worked on the actually frame work that will hold the prop tray

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Then we plumbed

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After running the system for a few days there are no leaks. Im still running straight tap water water at this point to make sure i like how the system runs. Also i figure that give the rock a bit of time to leech out and trapped phosphate.

The water in the prop tray ended up being at the perfect level which about an 1/8" below the rounded bevel. I have a 1" main overflow which is the the strainer at the end of the 90 degree fitting. Then there is an emergency 1" overflow which has the disc style strainer.

The flow from the return pump is enough to turn the water over regularly but not enough for internal tank flow. To address this problem i will be mounting two SunSun powerheads I can't remember what size they are.

As far as building and plumbing the bulk of the work is complete. There are some trim details that need to be addressed. More painting, a lot more painting, painting. White paint. A lot of paint. I be purchasing some panduit in black to keep the wire looking clean. I also ordered some blue LEDs for the base of the stand which should give the room a nice glow. So thats where ill leave it this week.

 

[Reefer525XL]

That tray does't need to be supported from the bottom?

 

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The predesignated places for the plumbing were the only four spots that touch any surface that the tray would sit on. So we framed the tray so the majority of its weight is supported on the exterior edge. But to re-enforce we placed 3/4" foam below the center of the tray.

 

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Looking clean


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Looking clustered

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