150G Build By PMG

[PMG]

I would first like to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Paul and I am a new member of C-Sea and Reef Central as of September of '08. I have already had the opportunity to meet some great people throughout the club and I'm positive that I will meet many more.

I am a little late starting a thread on this build as it's been a busy year raising three daughters and managing an extremely busy work schedule as of late. I've been squeezing as much time as possible into this project over the last six months, and will more than likely need a few more months before I add any water to this tank.

So with that said I'll try and get everyone up to speed on the progression of this tank to date.

The tank itself is a 150 gallon (5' x 2' x 2') acrylic reef ready with two 1-1/2" drains and two 3/4" returns with a center overflow. I got a great deal on the tank from a gentleman that bought it new about a year ago and never even unpacked it from the skid it was shipped on. He had big plans for the tank, but couldn't find the time or the resources to get it going.

The stand I built myself out of dimensional lumber, solid oak trim, and veneer plywood. I have a bad habit of over building, and this was no exception. Here's a picture of the stand and canopy once it was complete and moved to its final location in our finished basement.

I first purchased a small 29g sump/refugium that I later decided was not adequate. I opted to build my own acrylic sump with a slow flow refugium, higher water volume, and more room to fit the required equipment. It holds water, but it's not the prettiest thing.
The tank, lighting and sump along with most of the plumbing in now in place. Here's a few current shots.

This weekend and the rest of the week I have a little vacation time to try and get some of the larger things complete like my little tiny fish room adjacent to the left of the stand in the utility room. So far this weekend I've added the small counter top, sink, and RO/DI unit on the wall. I still have a lot of stuff to try and squeeze in this room.

I look forward to everyone's advice and comments throughout this project and beyond.
I will definitely get more in depth about the details as the thread go's on. But for now I just wanted to get a thread started and introduce myself.

Happy Holidays,
Paul

 

[sailoracu2]

Welcome, everything looks great.

 

[aerius007]

Wow, great looking setup, nice work with the stand.

 

[rbd0331]

Very nice work!!

 

[chuggy]

unbelievable nice craftsmanship would you be interested in building me a SIMPLE hood for my 120

 

[serpentman]

Very nice. You are definitely on the right track. Keep 'em coming!

 

[BigTuna321]

wow that setup is amazing great job building the canopy

 

[PMG]

Thanks everyone for the great comments!
I thought I would take a moment to make a short list of the current system specifications and potential equipment that I plan to use.

Main Display

• 150 Gallon - 1/2" acrylic (60" x 24" x 24")
• (2) 1-1/2" drains W/ Durso Stand Pipes
• (2) 3/4" returns split to equal (4) 3/4" Loc-Lines
• Center overflow
• Black rear panel

Stand & Canopy

• Custom oak stand and canopy by Myself
• Stand is 42" tall & 120" in length overall
• Canopy is 60" long and around 18' tall
• The two offset wings to the sides of the main display are 20" wide X 30" long x 38" tall. The two wings will house equipment below, and will support a Q/T tank on one side and a Hospital tank on the opposite. ( I am still undecided on what size tank to fit on top of these wings. I would like them to be aesthetically pleasing since they are right next to the display tank)
• (4) exhaust fans mounted in canopy
• (2) 20 amp circuits ran inside the stand & (1) 20 amp to the fish room as well as the (2) previously existing circuits already behind the stand and fish room.
• (1) of the dedicated 20 amp circuits is wired to our in house emergency generator ( I had to disconnect the entertainment system from the generator panel to accomplish this. I'm sure my wife won't mind?).
• 1/2" Styrofoam between the tank and stand.

Equipment

• Return Pump - I need to decide what I am going to use. I have a Blue Line 100HD (1950gph). I have been advised, and I agree even with all the tee-offs, elbows, ect. this pump is way too big.
• Precision Marine Bullet III skimmer W/ Blue Line 70HD pump (1750gph) and Precision Marine waste collector.
• Reef Octopus CR-140-2R dual chamber calcium reactor
• 10 lb. CO2 tank, Reef Fanatic regulator and solenoid, and Milwaukee PH controller.
• Ozone - RedSea Aquazone 100mg/hr
• UV sterilizer- Aqua Classic 25 watt
• Bulk Reef Supply GFO & carbon reactor.
• Aqua Controller III W/ PX1000 probe expansion to handle the multiple float switches and water sensors I plan to use.
• Power Heads - I was going to use (4) Koralia 4's until I found out how much room they're going to occupy in my tank. I am waiting for someone to talk me into getting (2) Vortechs, But right now am a little hesitant on the reliability based on reviews. But I know for sure I will not be using the Koralia's.
• Sump - 36" x 16" x 16" DIY acrylic sump W/ slow flow refugium, bubble tower, and DIY ATO using multiple float switches for top off and safeties.

Lighting

• (2) 250W SE MH - Ice Cap Electronic Ballasts - 10K Ushio Bulbs - spider reflectors.
• (4) 46" T5 (2- Actinic & 2 Actinic White) - Ice Cap 660 Ballast
• (3) LED Moonlights

Water

• Air Water Ice Reef Keeper Extreme 5 Stage 150gpd RO/DI unit

Here's some more pictures.
Return Plumbing & Durso's

Skimmer (It's a tight fit)

DIY Sump

Top of Canopy W/ Ballasts

Closeup of canopy and fans

 

[Jeff Trout]

Dont look much like a newbee to me
sweet setup!!keep the pics coming

 

[PMG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13996342#post13996342 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jeff Trout
Dont look much like a newbee to me

I'm a NewBee for sure at reef tanks. I've had many of freshwater tanks over the years, but no saltwater. About six years ago I researched heavily into setting up a reef only to come to the conclusion that it wasn't the right time. I was always moving around a lot, switching careers, working odd shifts, long hours, and quit frankly my budget didn't allow for it. It wasn't till about six months ago or more that my 3 year old daughter and myself were killing some time together and stopped by a LFS to look around. All it took was my daughter to say "Daddy, Can we get a fish tank like this?". The whole drive home all I thought about was; Steady Career now, stable residence, Decent income, no more odd shifts or long hours, and my wife always said " I wish you would get a hobby that didn't involve leaving me home all day by myself with the kids alone." Besides, I can't disappoint my youngest daughter can I. So out came all the books I bought years ago, and now with the Internet, the planning started.
It might not look like a NewBee set-up, but I know I will make plenty of NewBee mistakes. That's one of the reasons I joined C-sea. I will definitely need some help along the way.

 

[Murphs205]

Nice set up !!!! Looks to be all there for you too ....

Welcome to our nightmare.........

Murph

 

[BrunstuckyJoe]

I wish I had a newbie tank like that.....

 

[Tonycip]

Looks great, The protein skimmer looks like a tight fit. Your going to need easy excess to clean out regularly. just a thought.

 

[PMG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13997477#post13997477 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tonycip
Looks great, The protein skimmer looks like a tight fit. Your going to need easy excess to clean out regularly. just a thought.

It is a tight fit, that's a fact, but I've made sure I can get it out. It's not as bad as it looks. I just have to make sure I don't put any obstacles in the way in the future that might hinder its removal.

 

[vietcu]

Wow, very nice newbie setup. Wonder what this newbie's tank is going to look like fully set up . At least you are not that far from Akron that maybe one day I can make a drive over there to see your setup. Very nice choice on paint scheme in the basement by the way .

 

[PMG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13998412#post13998412 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by vietcu
Wonder what this newbie's tank is going to look like fully set up

Me Too!
Getting a little closer every day.

 

[Akronviper]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13998412#post13998412 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by vietcu
Very nice choice on paint scheme in the basement by the way .

Nice, I just noticed that, I think I have an inspiration for my basement now (once I run it by the wife that is )

 

[DEERE G]

Very nice looking. You def. have fabrication skills.

 

[PMG]

It's getting there, but still no water.
After an enjoyable week off throughout the holidays spent mostly with the family, I managed to still find a good amount off time left over to continue with my projects. I was able to install most of the components in the stand, get the wiring and plumbing half way organized, and start on the programming for the AC III.
This is a current shot as it sits this morning.

In these four pictures you can see I've installed the UV sterilizer, refugium lighting, ozone system, GFO & carbon reactor, Skimmer & collection cup, and dropped the heaters into place. I still need wire up the four float switches for water level control and ATO.

In this picture you can see I have placed the AC III in the most convenient location I could considering the length of the PH & ORP probe cords. The smaller pump up front is a BlueLine 70HD that should push around 1700 gph through the Bullet 3 skimmer. The rear pump is a BlueLine 100HD that I need to replace with a much smaller pump. The pump will move 1900 gph at 0' head, and even with all my plumbing (tee's, elbows, returns, ect..) I am afraid it will be too much return flow calculated at around 1500 gph. I will try over the next few weeks to pick-up or trade off for a similar pump that I will end up with about 900 to 1000 gph if not less.

This picture shows the Reef Octopus dual chamber calcium reactor, 10lb CO2 tank & regulator, and Milwaukee PH controller. I still need to complete the plumbing on the reactor. Later today I plan to head out to my shop to fabricate a few acrylic brackets to position and secure some of the tubing for the CR and ATO.

I have also started another project in the now cramped little fish room. This is what I hope will be a good system for storing RO/DI and mixing saltwater. It is still a work in progress.

Over the next few weeks I plan to pick up about 200 lbs or so of dry rock, sand, complete all the plumbing, and start adding water along with a few pieces of quality live rock to get everything cycling.

I also need to make a final decision on what I am going to use for powerheads. As of now I am 90% positive I am going to use two Vortech MP40W's despite all of the complaints on reliability with hopes the latest pumps from Ecotech have all the bugs worked out.

I am also trying to decide on what to use for a quarantine tank and hospital tank. I have areas on both sides of the stand that are 32" x 18". I could fit two 29G's, but was hoping to get a little more volume. I might have to fabricate something out of acrylic that is more like 28" x 16" x 20". The narrower length of 28" in my opinion would not look as cramped on the stand. The thought of using an all in one system like a NanoCube, BioCube, Ect.. has crossed my mind, but is a little more money than I want to spend for a QT & HT.

With the months that my tank will need to complete the seeding of dry rock and cycling I can begin stocking up on supplies. Being that this is my first reef tank my inventory for the basics (spare parts, extra salt, CA media, test kits, Ect..) is Zero. I want to make sure I am prepared for about anything before adding any livestock.

 

[DiscoReefRover]

Well i have to say is WOW ......Impresive setup and well thought out I could never be that organized .....Very nice indeed!!!

sean