210 AGA W/ 125 AGA converted to sump/fuge

[husslr187]

first off this build isn't going to be fast and this is my first attempt at saltwater as well. at the moment the 210 is a FW oscar tank and will continue to house them until i put in saltwater. i also dont have limitless funds but enough to do this once i get the initial purchases down. when i start its going to be fowlr until i get the chemistry down then im going for sps dominant mixed reef along with a clown pair with a anemone or two.

i have most of the plumbing ordered from two vendor here (bulkreefsupply and marinedepot) for valves/bulkheads and pvcsupplyonline for a few less common fitting(reducing S,S,FPT tees/ side 90's/ MPT,FPT street 90's ect). the rest i going to get at home depot. the 210 im converting is "reef ready" with two 1" and two 3/4" bulkhead going through a tempered botton glass. my plan is to use those to supply the tank and drill additional holes through the back glass for two 1 1/2" and two 2" schedule 80 bulkheads. the pump that i have planned will be a reeflo super dart gold to run everything

as of this moment i have the stand almost complete, the sump has the bubble traps in and i have/will have 95% of the plumbing need for the tank/sump. the stand needs to have the rest of the red oak skin one one side and the doors to be built then its going to get stained and polyed as far as the plumbing so far i ordered/have
four 1", two 1 1/2", and one 3/4" spears gate valves.
one 2" and one1 1/2" cepex true union ballvalves
three 2" schedule 80 bulkheads
two 1 1/2" schedule 80 bulkheads
two 1" standard bulkheads
two 3/4" standard bulkheads
many 90's, unions, tee's ect
glass hole saws for the new bulkheads

im still trying to figure out if i should go with 4 mp40's or two mp60's. skimmer is still in question as well as lighting all though im leaning toward radion led's just dont know how many. im planning on the 300gpd rodi unit on the brs website and building a smaller cabinet next to the stand to house the ato and possibly an external skimmer. once the sump goes in i will have room for a cal reactor and other equipment as well. i also want a reef controller i cant think of the name at the moment but it is highly recommended on this site. overall i done alot of reading, planning, and some posting to get this far and im pretty sure that i can make this a success

when the plumbing comes in i'll be sure to take pictures and post them whenever i find the cable to my camera

 

[husslr187]

pictures

pictures

not really good at progress pics so there is a large gap in the stand build
stand
i framed it so i can insert 2x3's to make it easier to carry the holes will be able to be plugged by 1x4 red oak and will match the rest

sump

valves

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

Hey we dont all have it like that. I am balling on a budget too. My build started in October last year and so far I only have the tank on a tempary stand in the garage. Take your time and do it right the first time. Then you can enjoy the pleasures afterwards knowing you did it right.

 

[husslr187]

i should have the tank plumbing done by mid july. i have all the fittings and valves, all i need now is the pump.

i have been looking at skimmer more often now, more specifically reef octopus sro's external. will a 3000 do the job or will i have to step it up to a 5000? plan in the end is sps dominate

 

[SPotter]

you're off to a great start!!!! setting up large tanks take time and patience....newbie will attest to that right Wayne???? If your tank turns out half as nice as your woodworking skills I see a future TOTM winner here! As far as the skimmer goes....I would go with the 5000 so you wont have any restrictions on how much you can feed later on down the road. It might be a little overkill in the beginning when your bio load is light but once you start stocking the tank it will be well worth it.

 

[husslr187]

so here i am thinking i was done with the polyurethane on the stand............then it starts raining, hard and windy. shouldn't have been a problem except the polyurethane was still tacky and now has runs everywhere. :sad1: guess i will have to sand it with a 400 or 600 grit tomorrow and re-coat yet again. this will be coat number 5 so i should have a decent build of film to sand

 

[MattyO]

Looking good so far, sorry to hear about the weather though. I like the stand and maybe it's the photo angle but it could be tough to work under there with the top side panels. As far as controllers I guess the 2 big ones are the Apex and Reef keeper elite, I have a RKE on my 90 and it's fine. I also have radions, 2, as you should need one per 2' span, so I'm guessing 3 for u. If ur going slow and starting fowlr I would look I to the DIY Led's as u have some craftsmanship skills.

Final question, have you thought about a QT set up? I have 3 tanks and 2 all the fish were fine but my newest(90) got ick and it sucks... I'm setting up a QT now and will always in the future.

 

[husslr187]

ty everyone for your complements. this isn't the first time i built anything but it is the first time i did finish work and im really happy with how it turned out

MattO

there is plenty of room under there. but that also depends on what you consider plenty of room. im 6'5" with long arms so reaching things won't be a problem. the stand is 32 inches wide inside and the sump is 19 inches wide rim to rim. the front top inside wall is 4.5 inches wide if you were asking about that. i'll say it like this i will have no problem getting an 8 inch skimmer in there without breaking it down but a 10 inch would be a problem. since im going with an external one that wont be an issue, i just wish i found the RC stand build plans before i started. i instead framed it like a house but way more stout. i have doubled up 2x6's around the top and bottom with 2 joist spaced evenly at the top and 3 on the bottom. i had 2x6 wall going left to right but found it was going to be too much of a pain to work in so i cut them out leaving the doubled up 2x6 corners, once i did that though it was a bit shaky so i bought eight 1/2 inch lags 15 inches long, drilled and inserted in each corner top an bottom. that alone stopped any movement, i then added 3/4 plywood for extra insurance and to have something to nail the red oak to..........ok this is getting kinda long but that pretty much sums it up. the stand is 84x32.5x42.75 tall

apex was the controller i was looking at. as far as radions i have 2' spans front to back as well so im not sure if i should do 3 or 6 i have been thinking about the diy leds as well but im unsure how much lighting i need and what type to begin with so im having a hard time pulling the trigger on that one.

QTing fish isn't just for SW tanks everything in my 210 was QTed for months in my 55gal before they went in the 210, sometimes longer. usually just so they can grow large enough to not be a snack for my oscars. to this date i have only lost one fish in QT which was an electric blue jack dempsey but that was a growth problem and they are known for that as well as disease prone he lived for 18 months and was still only 3-3.5 inches long.

SPotter
thanks for confirming that i was thinking 5000 as well but wanted to be sure. as far patience i have plenty when i have a plan but admittedly sometimes lose it when thing don't go accordingly. something i plan on not doing with this tank once started

i'll try to remember to take another pic tomorrow when i sand the runs out and re-coat it. it was smooth as glass after 3 coats so it shouldn't take too long

 

[Reef or Die]

Beautiful stand!

 

[SPotter]

have you looked at the apollo reef led solar blast leds? they are very powerful and compact. You could probably get away with three of them and then you might consider flanking the fixtures with 1-2 t5's to complete the spectrum. The apollo's are more than blue and white in color but not a complete spectrum. They will be a fraction of the price for radions and probably a little more than diy. Take a look at this thread....

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2183870

 

[husslr187]

almost forgot to take pictures..........doors in progress

all gaps have been filled and is going to be sanded and stained tomorrow

 

[husslr187]

add a little stain

petco has the dollar a gallon sale so i picked up a 20 long for the ATO. perfect fit in front of the sump. was going to get a 40 breeder but they were out

 

[m758b033]

subscribed

 

[husslr187]

polyurethane on the doors are done and the first coat of white on the inside is done. should make it a lot easier to see in there

in about two week i'll order my pump and start getting things plumbed in as well as drill the tank. i got four holes to drill in the tank, two for 1.5" bulkheads and two for 2" bulkheads. the 1.5s are the main drains and the 2" are the emergency drains

 

[husslr187]

pump and apex lite has been ordered along with other various items pending shipment from aquacave looking to start plumbing next week when it arrives :spin1:

 

[husslr187]

got some plumbing done

 

[husslr187]

pump will be here on monday and i may have a little time after work between now and wednesday to finish the manifold after work. (long hours) im looking to have this up and running on saturday minus skimmer, saltwater, reactors, ect. in the meantime i will be using the fuge for FW plants and employ some sort of filtration with the rest until i get the rest of the equipment i want.

EDIT: digging pvc glue mixed with purple primer out of your hair is a PITA:lmao:

 

[husslr187]

ok so i got the pump today and with a little plumbing i finished the manifold. i added a few temp pipes off the manifold back into the sump for a leak test of what i have so far. everything was good except the thread on the pump head. compared to all the other threaded fitting the threads on the pump head was a little loose so i had to take it apart and add more thread tape to seal it.

anyway heres the pics the last pic i will retake when i have it in the house

fill her up

heres a poor pic of it running

 

[husslr187]

PICTURES (i know i got a little cleaning to do) in the first picture i ended up cutting the 1 1/2" drain down to 3" or so to get it to quiet down. shouldn't be to long now before i change it to saltwater

 

[husslr187]

new toy to play with

next up reef octopus sro5000ext or maybe build a side cabinet