180 gallon upgrade (skimmerless)
- Thread starter sltloser
- Start date
palmer373
New member
can wait to see the finished product, im looking at a 180 upgrade in the future from my 75. i do have one question sortof relating to the 75, my 75 is drilled in the bottom for an overflow, unliek yours i see, and i was wondering if i could like put a plug somehow in the bulkhead and then cut out the overflow box so i could use the tank as a sump also. any ideas? i know there is a risk of a leak but is that high?
thanks
thanks
King001-thanks, i can't wait to see more to! haha 
Palmer373- I think that if you were to leave your bulkheads in that you have now, and cut a small piece of PVC (maybe 6 inches) and glue it into the bulkheads, then glue a PVC cap on it you'll be able to keep it from leaking.
In order for the tank to sit flat i think you'll have to use a dremel or something similar to trim the bulkhead down so the tank will sit flat.
To get the overflow out, just use a razorblade and cut down the silicone. Then the overflow should pop out easily. Hope that helps some.
Forgot to mention that i think the tank, and lighting will be coming in this wednesday!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed
Palmer373- I think that if you were to leave your bulkheads in that you have now, and cut a small piece of PVC (maybe 6 inches) and glue it into the bulkheads, then glue a PVC cap on it you'll be able to keep it from leaking.
In order for the tank to sit flat i think you'll have to use a dremel or something similar to trim the bulkhead down so the tank will sit flat.
To get the overflow out, just use a razorblade and cut down the silicone. Then the overflow should pop out easily. Hope that helps some.
Forgot to mention that i think the tank, and lighting will be coming in this wednesday!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed
palmer373
New member
ya true i think i have to sell my 75 if im going to upgrade becuase of the cost. dcopeland you have a point but everything is a lot more expensive and harder to find when you live in alaska! craigslist always has good deals plus im freinds with the LFS's here so thats a plus! i might just build a custom sump with some ideas off of melevsreef.com if i cant find a cheap sump/tank that i can use for a sump. i can build a build a sump to my preferance so thats a big plus! ill figure it out when everything comes together!
nahham
New member
First of all, very nice build. I hope to see this through and I hope you will have a successful sustainable tank.
A question: Can you talk more about water circulation: how much and how?
I too am planning to run a skimmer-less tank, with one major difference: I am by the sea and planning to circulate natural saltwater (yeah and the tank is around 19,000 gallons
)
A question: Can you talk more about water circulation: how much and how?
I too am planning to run a skimmer-less tank, with one major difference: I am by the sea and planning to circulate natural saltwater (yeah and the tank is around 19,000 gallons
)Zaheda- My previous tank was skimmerless and i loved it. South Africa WOW long ways away from where i'm at! Glad that others believe in this method also
nahham- thank you for the kind words. All of my flow will be supplied by tunze pumps. Right now i have 3 6045's, and 1 6105. I'm going to see how this works, i may have to add more but i'm not too sure yet. It's hard to explain my idea of where the pumps will go, so i'll make sure i get a picture when the tank comes in.
I've been following your thread, and i think it's going to be a wonderful tank. I guess if it were me i would look into using surge tanks, they will produce a HUGE amount of flow, and you can adjust the size to the amount of flow you want. I also think that this will produce a very natural wave motion.
nahham- thank you for the kind words. All of my flow will be supplied by tunze pumps. Right now i have 3 6045's, and 1 6105. I'm going to see how this works, i may have to add more but i'm not too sure yet. It's hard to explain my idea of where the pumps will go, so i'll make sure i get a picture when the tank comes in.
I've been following your thread, and i think it's going to be a wonderful tank. I guess if it were me i would look into using surge tanks, they will produce a HUGE amount of flow, and you can adjust the size to the amount of flow you want. I also think that this will produce a very natural wave motion.
jenjen
New member
Hey sltloser, appreciate you mentioning you had an upgrade on the go... I'll definitely be following the thread to see how this one turns out! Couple of questions:
1. how long did you have the 75g running? and did you start most of the corals as frags, or colonies?
2. with that many corals and no water changes, what was your calcium at? I know most of them are softies, but there's a couple of calc users in the mix there.
Thanks!
1. how long did you have the 75g running? and did you start most of the corals as frags, or colonies?
2. with that many corals and no water changes, what was your calcium at? I know most of them are softies, but there's a couple of calc users in the mix there.
Thanks!
andyjd- Hopefully you can try this one of these days! if you do make sure you let me know i would be interested in seeing how it works out.
jenjen- great job on your build btw. Well the 75 was up and running for about 6 years. It first started out as a fish only tank, and was like that for a year or so. I got into corals and added a refugium underneath to help with nutrients. Most of the corals started as frags exept the brain on the bottom, that was from a guy who had it in his tank and it was starting to die on him so i bought it. The smallest frag was the red monti that's in the middle of the tank, the frag was about the size of a normal frag plug and within 5 months it grew to the size in the picture. I got the toadstool from a friend, and it started out the size of a half dollar! but enough of my babbling..... I kept my calcium around 500, ph was about 8.4, temp was 80-82, alk was 10, and mg was around 1400.
jenjen- great job on your build btw
. Well the 75 was up and running for about 6 years. It first started out as a fish only tank, and was like that for a year or so. I got into corals and added a refugium underneath to help with nutrients. Most of the corals started as frags exept the brain on the bottom, that was from a guy who had it in his tank and it was starting to die on him so i bought it. The smallest frag was the red monti that's in the middle of the tank, the frag was about the size of a normal frag plug and within 5 months it grew to the size in the picture. I got the toadstool from a friend, and it started out the size of a half dollar! but enough of my babbling..... I kept my calcium around 500, ph was about 8.4, temp was 80-82, alk was 10, and mg was around 1400.
Last edited:
Mrbeachbum2
New member
Nice to meet you today Brady! Tagging along in your masterpiece.
Ryan
Ryan
Nice to meet you to! I got a few things in the other day
Got my lights, ballasts, bulbs, pH meter, miracle mud, and DC4 in
Got the Lumenarc mini stealth 250w DE
My ballasts are a dual blueline e ballast
The other is a single
I also got a portable pH meter
Bad news is that it doesn't look like my tank will be here till next week :mad2:
Got my lights, ballasts, bulbs, pH meter, miracle mud, and DC4 in
Got the Lumenarc mini stealth 250w DE
My ballasts are a dual blueline e ballast
The other is a single
I also got a portable pH meter
Bad news is that it doesn't look like my tank will be here till next week :mad2:
EleganceMan
New member
Brady,
Interesting build....i like the stand mods....I am moving my tank this weekend and may steal some of your ideas!
Interesting build....i like the stand mods....I am moving my tank this weekend and may steal some of your ideas!
Well sorry for the lack of updates, the tank hasn't gotten here yet. It's suppose to be here this wednesday so i'll have a big update that night . But i was able to hang the ballasts,DC8,DC4, and a light to illuminate the fish room. I also and got most of my stuff put into the fish room like RO filters, plumbing, pumps, etc. Here's a pic of what it looks like right now. There will be 2x10 gallon tanks, one for quarantine and the other for culturing copepods.
. But i was able to hang the ballasts,DC8,DC4, and a light to illuminate the fish room. I also and got most of my stuff put into the fish room like RO filters, plumbing, pumps, etc. Here's a pic of what it looks like right now. There will be 2x10 gallon tanks, one for quarantine and the other for culturing copepods.
Well after waiting for way too long the tank finally came in!!!!:bounce3::celeb2:
I started out by painting the back of the tank blue
After doing that we brought the tank downstairs and put it on the stand, then started filling it.
While the tank filled i started to work on the canopy for the actinic supplementation. Here's how it came in
I then took the tops off, and the brace that they were attached to
Once that was done i started wiring the lights in
After getting the canopy all done i started hanging the metal halides
I added sand and water and BAM it's all cloudy lol
Here's the left side of the sump where the rubble rock, and bubble chamber is
I started out by painting the back of the tank blue
After doing that we brought the tank downstairs and put it on the stand, then started filling it.
While the tank filled i started to work on the canopy for the actinic supplementation. Here's how it came in
I then took the tops off, and the brace that they were attached to
Once that was done i started wiring the lights in
After getting the canopy all done i started hanging the metal halides
I added sand and water and BAM it's all cloudy lol
Here's the left side of the sump where the rubble rock, and bubble chamber is
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