180/240 Build

[mguiling]

I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on an in-basement sump setup. My new tank is 60x24x30. Here's how my plumbing is set up:


I used the glass-holes 3000 for my overflow and am running 2" PVC on both the overflows and return. The water level in the basement is about 8' below the top of the dp, so I expect my Reeflo Dart to move a little over 2000gph.

I also have a closed loop system with a canister filter which I'll tuck in a corner of the base cabinet which draws from a 1 1/2" bulkhead. It is powered by a 2000 gph Danner. After the water leaves the canister, it splits to 2 Switching Current Water Directors http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=10668

Once the tank is in place, I'm planning on setting concrete bricks on edge to support the dry rockwork, then put aragonite between the bricks and for a 4" sand bed.

In the basement will be my current 100 gallon tank and a 140 gallon tank that has my live rock in it. All of my current tank and 1/2 of the 140 will be lighted refugiums.

The dry rock in my current tank has just started to grow coraline, and I'm hoping to save as much of my current eco system as possible during the transition.

Thanks for any advice or comments.

 

[mguiling]

Good progress this weekend. Got the base built, tank placed, laid the foundation for my rockwork and got the plumbing done into the basement below.

View attachment 193656
I also ordered an LED light to supplement my t5's.

http://www.aliexpress.com/product-g...hout-fan-Cree-XP-series-leds-wholesalers.html

 

[mguiling]

My babies are in their new home


I'm recirculating the water in the tank for now because I ran into a problem when I started up the basement sumps.




If you are familiar with the glass-holes skimmers, you know the bulkhead fittings are installed backwards, with the seal on the outside of the aquarium. Below these fittings I had another bulkhead installed normally.

The blue back on my aquarium is a veneer glued to the inside back of the aquarium and sealed around the edges. So, when I raised the water level in my dp to the point water started flowing through the skimmer bulkeads, it also started flowing down to the lower bulkhead between the veneer and the tank back and dripping out of the back of the tank.

So, I'm hoping I can seal the two sheets of acrylic with epoxy or super glue, or both around the glass-holes openings, but this means draining water from the tank and removing the bulkhead fittings with some giant channel locks I bought.



But overall, the first test went well, I'm going to change my sump plumbing a little and bypass the refugium with half of the water returned, since my converted beananimal returns must all be in suction mode to keep up with the flow.

With a little luck, the system should be operating by this weekend.

 

[mguiling]

Hmm, no comments? Did I post this in the wrong forum?

 

[adam87]

Very nice setup.

 

[mguiling]

Thanks Adam, still some details to attend to, but overall it's gone pretty well. I sealed the glass-holes holes with epoxy and that solved the leaking problem, now I have a lot of noise coming from the skimmer, not gurgling, but just the sound of falling water. While I had the system down for the hole repair, I added a couple of vents on the laterals in the basement that I hoped would help. It seems a little quieter now, but nowhere near what I need to have. Maybe somebody here has a solution?

 

[bretcummings]

Nice build. Im actually in the build process too. Its going to be similar to what you are doing, so im tagging along.
I have a 135 that has a similar background as your tank. With the acrylic glued to the back of aquarium. I originally purchased the 135 to be my main display, but when I finally got to the point of cycling the tank I noticed a drip. Water had gotten between the black acrylic wall and the glass wall it was glued too. I almost gave up but thought about the rewards of reefing and came across a great tank(235 gal.)84"x24"x27". Im going to seal the 135 and make it a basement sump. SO IveI been surfing alot of threads trying to get as much info on basement sumps as possible.
I think you can post your build in a few areas. If your going be doing a reef you can post in "Large Tank" or SPS threads.

 

[petedoc]

Just a thought about your SCWDs, I have three in a 270gal and the ones that are situated upside down have run continously for 5 yrs, the others fail after about 2 yrs.

 

[mguiling]

Bret, as long as your bulkhead fittings seal inside the tank you shouldn't have a problem.
Pete, glad to hear some feedback on these I'm going to need to replumb that part of the system anyway due to noise from the pump I was using. When I do, I'll turn them upside down. How do you filter the water before it enters the SCWDs?

 

[mguiling]

Bret, if the water was creeping in somewhere other than a bulkhead, you could install all your bulkheads backwards and solve the problem that way. Just a thought.

 

[petedoc]

Filtration may be part of the problem with my SCWDs. Water from the main tank is run through my large refugium and into my sump, then through the SCWDs to the tank. My tank is bare bottom but stuff gets into the water and may eventually jam the SCWDs.

 

[.Marshall]

Oh wow, those are some nice clowns, Black ice or Onyx?

 

[mguiling]

Oh wow, those are some nice clowns, Black ice or Onyx?

Ocellaris, they are by far the most consistently entertaining fish I have. Watching them work out their sexuality is a little threatening, when the male to be quivers in submission to the larger fish. :love1:

 

[mguiling]

Filtration may be part of the problem with my SCWDs. Water from the main tank is run through my large refugium and into my sump, then through the SCWDs to the tank. My tank is bare bottom but stuff gets into the water and may eventually jam the SCWDs.

Sounds like my setup, as soon as I get my overflow quieted down (hopefully tomorrow) I'm thinking I'll move the pump and filter to the basement and get this part of the system working. I hadn't found a lot of posts from people using the SCWDs when I decided to go that way. It's nice to hear from somebody who has some experience with them.

 

[petedoc]

Yes, I have one that splits the flow from the return pump and a pair the split the flow from an internal 1000 g/hr pump, within an overflow box. They all have penductor outputs, magnifying the flow. I also have one Ecotech and a pair of Tunzes all on alternating cyclic flow patterns. It is all pretty random and occasionally makes for an amazing amount of circulation.