200G Inwall Fishroom Build

[nickjj]

Finally got one project out of the way. The light rack is working out great except when you are actually needing to do work in the tank you can't see a damn thing. I bought a $20 Home Depot 4' plant lamp that I installed on the pocket door track as well.

This way when I move out the main lights I still have these so I can see in the tank. The pocket door tracks are turning out to be very usefull. Here are some pics.

 

[capture]

Looking at set ups like this make me hate living in an apartment.
Nice work.

 

[nickjj]

Finished up the refugium a few weeks ago. It's a 20G tall tank that I drill a 1.5" bulkhead in the narrow side for the return. I cut slots in an elbow for the overflow. The flow is slow enough that it doesn't gurgle and I added a little Koralia pump for some circulation.

There's a Mag5 pump feeding the tank and it is controlled by a float switch as a safety measure by my Aquatronic. I've had issues in past setups that the return could get plugged by the algae and overflow the tank. The float switch ensure that the pump will turn off if the water rises. It also emails me an alarm if it does occur.

The deep tank allows me to put a deep sandbed and still have a ton of room for the algae. Here are some pics.

 

[rbaker]

Thread updated...

 

[Fireworm]

That looks a lot taller than my 20g tall. Looks good though

 

[nickjj]

It's a Miracles tank and they actually call it a tall tall tank (ya tall tall how original) The dimensions are 20"x10"x22" (lxwxh). It was the smallest footprint tank I could find that would fit in the space.

 

[Fireworm]

That is cool. I have been trying to collect as much macro as I can for a project down the road. I have a few of them that look really cool in a couple of my nano tanks.

 

[EyesClosed]

nickjj,
if you want to increase your macro growth, may be a better idea to have the light on the side of the fuge, pointing sideways into the tank. will mean more algae surface area is exposed to light = faster growth.

 

[Fireworm]

Good idea...

 

[nickjj]

eyesclosed - I thought about doing that but I couldn't find an easy way to mount a light on the side of the tank. The Current USA 40w CF fixture works well since I replaced the original bulb with a dual 6700k/10000k lamp. I've gotten pretty good growth so far.

 

[SVTour]

Damn, what an ingenious idea to use closet door sliders for the lights.

I wish I would have thought of that when I decided to used drawer slides.

I might just need to replace mine now, as I could use another foot of clearance. So much for me having the perfect idea.

Any drawbacks I would need to be aware of?

 

[nickjj]

SVTour - It's actually a pocket door track and comes in about a 7' length. This was on of the best things I've done. I got the idea from lurking on the forums. It's inexpensive ( I think I paid $20 for each track at home depot) and it comes with all the hardware.

If you are making a light rack make sure that the aluminum is strong and your end cuts are square. This way when you put it together it all lines up. I used a product called T-slot to make my frame.

 

[nickjj]

Time for an update.

Well the exhaust fan I was using ended up constantly tripping my GFI breaker so I replaced it with a S&P TD-100x Mixvent inline fan. I don't think the conventional bathroom exhaust fans can cut it in this environment. This little guy is small ( just over 7" diameter) and allows me the flexibility to locate 4" ducts over the tank. Picture shows a temporary vent until I can install one over the tank. It's made entirely out of plastic including the fan and has two speeds. Even the electrical connection box is sealed with a gasket. Only uses 20w pushing 100cfm on low speed.

Also upgraded the lights from the Reef Optix 3 to LumenMax 3. I get a much better spread of light around the entire tank. Would have like to go with the Lumen Brights but just don't have enough height above the tank for them. One of my Ice Cap brick ballasts died after 5 years so replaced both with the newer version. I like the fact that it's one big heat sink now.

Got rid of the phosban reactor and purchased the dual BRS GFO/Carbon reactor. So much easier to change the media, now I do it more often.
Anyone that pays for their water should get an additional RO kit from BRS. Basically they give you everything to connect to your existing RO filter and you double the output (150gpd) and half the waste water. This thing will pay for itself in the long run since it only cost around $60.

Added some pics of the equipment room. I'll post some of the DP tank later when the lights are on. ''

 

[nickjj]

I want to add a deeper sand bed to my refugium since it is only about 5" right now. The tank is 22" tall, and I want to at least double it or more.

Would it be best that I take the fuge down and start over with the old substrate rinsed and just add new substrate? It has been in operation for about a year.

 

[nickjj]

I decided to slowly build the deep sand bed in the refugium up by adding an inch of substrate at a time each month. Hopefully this will allow the organisms to recover gradually.

Anyone think I could be creating problems by doing this?

 

[fireiko]

That new S&P fan looks slick! How are you controlling it? Is it based on temp or humidity or both?

 

[nickjj]

The fan is controlled by the Aquatronica on a schedule. Basically when my MH's are the fan is on. The best part about these axial fans are that they are better at handling a wind load from outside. If it is windy outside the regular bathroom exhaust fans stall and can't exhaust the air outside.

 

[nickjj]

I'm not happy with my current refugium tank that you can see in an earlier post. Its a 20G that is 22" high. I find that it has become a dumping ground for all the floating detritus and most likely the source of high nutrients in my system. It's difficult to clean cause of it's height and location in the room.

I'm considering sectioning my frag tank which is 48" x 18" x 8" tall to put the macro algae in. Do you think it could support a DSB of 5" as well. This will simplify my setup and eliminate an area where detritus can accumulate. I can run the frag tank 2 T5 lights on a 12 hour alternate cycle from my DT.
What do you think?

 

[ludiNano]

so the humidity fans was the one that triped your breaker?

 

[nickjj]

Ya the humidity sensing fan just couldn't take it after a year and probably shorted out somewhere. I don't think these bathroom exhaust fans are built for a salt water environment. The S&P fan is a much better design and it's all plastic.