210G Upgrade / Build (Lots of Pics)

Stand is looking good, sorry to hear about the tank mishap. Perhaps the 55 was tempered all around? I know that many of the 55's used to be all tempered glass, not so much anymore though.
 
Yes. I was discussing with a friend and he also suggested that it was tempered. The breakage pattern is definitely from tempered glass. A million pieces. I didn't even consider it b/c I thought it was usually just the bottom glass. Seems that the older tanks are all pretty much tempered glass all around. Now I'm concerned about the used 75G I picked up to be my sump is tempered as well. Might not be able to drill it either....

I found some info on how to check with polarized light. Going to try it out.

What are you using for your sump?
 
Yep most newer tanks wont be tempered besides the bottom. You can check with a pair of polarized glasses and a laptop or lcd screen. I plan on using a 75g for my sump.
 
Made some more progress...

Fish room plumbing is moving forward.

IMG_1217.jpg


Got some more rock in. Decided to add another 50lbs especially after upgrading the size of the tank from 210G to 250G. I really like this dry rock. Pictures don't do it justice.

IMG_1213.JPG


New toy. Swabbie for the skimmer.

IMG_1221.jpg


Mock up of the raised panel doors for the stand. Walnut scrap. Top of the panel has walnut stain and the bottom is danish oil and poly.

IMG_1224.jpg
 
I hope I'm not too late..

On the drain you're going to plumb into the septic, make sure you have an air gap or a valve between the sump and the septic, otherwise if the septic ever backs up, it could back up into the sump.
 
Cuervo,

Yes, I will have a valve. I was actually planning to use gravity feed for the water change. I will use a ball valve on the sump tank exit positioned very low to allow the sump do be nearly drained. The exhaust water will go directly into the house septic plumbing (through a trap under the house to prevent any fumes from coming back up just like any other waste drain).

One of the key goals of this build is to get everything as low maintenance as possible. I'm lazy at times, so I need everything easy to help me be successful, plus that's one of the fun parts for me, all the details to get things working together. I think the water change system is one of the big issues with this, so I'm hoping this turns out to be a good solution.
 
michael_in_nc said:
Cuervo,

Yes, I will have a valve. I was actually planning to use gravity feed for the water change. I will use a ball valve on the sump tank exit positioned very low to allow the sump do be nearly drained. The exhaust water will go directly into the house septic plumbing (through a trap under the house to prevent any fumes from coming back up just like any other waste drain).

One of the key goals of this build is to get everything as low maintenance as possible. I'm lazy at times, so I need everything easy to help me be successful, plus that's one of the fun parts for me, all the details to get things working together. I think the water change system is one of the big issues with this, so I'm hoping this turns out to be a good solution.
Click to expand...

lol I'm right there with ya brother, I have a 210 and water changes are a pita. I've been thinking about how to at least partially automate it so I can stop dragging a hose across my dining room, which mysteriously equates to having at least a half gallon of water on the dining room floor somehow.. plus when it's a hassle it somehow gets pushed back a day to sunday, then a day to monday, then work calls, and it ends up being next saturday. ;)

I worked at a car dealership where they had a 650 set up, and a fish guy who came like once a week to check on it. They had something cool setup where there was a sewer drain in the floor. Going to the drain they had the skimmer drain tube and the water change stuff - but there was an airgap so that if the sewer backed up it went to the floor instead of up into the piping from the tank. it might be worth considering, if you're plumbing would allow it. (mine wouldn't but I thought it was cool when I saw it)
 
I was thinking about that on the skimmer waste, too. I was concerned about how it might work. I think I'll have it in the plumbing, but cap it off initially and just see how the skimmer is working before going that far.
 
where do you get the slef cleaning neck deal? How much I have the super reef octo 2000 have any idea how much it would be for that?
 
I got the "swabbie" from Avast Marine. My neck size on the skimmer was 8", not sure on the 2000 model. There is a small difference in price based on size. It's around $130.
I think Octopus makes some, too, specifically for their skimmers. They are a little higher and I saw more people using the "swabbie".
 
Got the ro/di unit mounted and the TDS meter installed.

IMG_1242.JPG


"fish" room is still coming together. Right now it's the holding zone for a lot of the build gear.

IMG_1245.JPG
 
James404 said:
Looks good so far, one thing though... I would strongly recommend against using those marineland stealth heaters, they are known to split open at the seam and cause massive damage to tanks.
Click to expand...

I have seen it happen first had to a friend of mine.
 
The heaters I have are actually not the stealth ones. They are the old visi-therm ones. I did pickup a jager one too. May use the marineland ones in qt where there is less risk. Still need to research the visitherm ones to make sure they are not affected. I have used the visitherm ones for awhile on my current tank with no issue.
 
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