375 gal Slow-build

[Poriferan]

This will be my 1st build thread here so I hope it being slow isn't too bad. I thought to wait a while and start once it get further along but I'll start anyways.

I am currently running a RSM 130d reef and an 85 FOWLR.

This obviously brought me to want something bigger. I found a killer craigslist deal on what was supposed to be 96x 58x58 yeah right.... When I got there after the 3 hour drive it was 96x30x30.

 

[Poriferan]

Now the story goes when I got there the tank was in and old run down garage and the college kid selling said his uncle had to get rid of it. No lights inside, so I attempted to inspect it as it sat on the stand. Finally decided for the $$ to take it home.

The stand is old but solid. Biggest problem was the top. It is made of pressboard and laminated with Formica maybe. Needless to say, the return must have leaked as the press board went from 3/4" to about 2" where the PVC went through it.

I have already removed this and will replace it with 3/4 plywood and foam board/insulation. Is there a particular thickness I should choose, or is this tank too large to use the foam it at all?

 

[Poriferan]

I had to build a large rolling furniture mover for the stand as it took 6 men to lift and move it onto the the trailer, plus it needs to be mobile for me to restore it in the garage. Getting it off the trailer alone was quite the feat.
Unless you count my son's "help"

 

[Poriferan]

It came with this skimmer which I know nothing about and seems to be called something else now.

Total height is 63" and 34" to the top of the collection cup.
Any input on this would be appreciated.

 

[dahenley]

post a picture of the skimmer
http://www.superskimmer.com/ETSS_800.htm
here is what i think it is
and you can buy aditional risers to make it this
http://www.superskimmer.com/ETSS_1400.htm
with this kit
http://www.superskimmer.com/Tower%20Extenders.htm

 

[dahenley]

have you water tested this tank?
good idea to do that, and make sure the garage door is open at least a little. last guy i knew that did it with the door shut, the water blew the door off the tracks and put a crease in the middle of it.

cant wait for this thread to kick off.

more pictures.

 

[Poriferan]

:eek2:
:eek2:

That would be bad!

 

[azsaltman]

I don't know what you paid.. But I have my setup for sale stil.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1871360

It's 96x30x30 on a Good quality Stand.. And canopy with extra height for halides.

It comes with everything you'd need and I only want $1500 for all of it..

Check the link out and let me know I'm in sunny Phoenix, AZ

 

[jason_hardin85]

ooo a tank
but i cant bring up your link for some reason....think its cause i just became a member today :hmm5:

 

[Poriferan]

A bit more progress.

I sanded the inside of the stand.

Removed the particle board top,which was swolen to at least 3 inches in one spot.

Replaced the top with 3/4" plywood.

Added a 1" foam insulation piece.

And did a fresh water test.

 

[Poriferan]

Now I will drain the tank and seal the plywood.
Add some trim and refinish the stand.
Then I will polish out the scratches.

Oh here is a full shot of the skimmer I have for it.

 

[Poriferan]

The tank has 3 holes drilled at the bottom of the overflow box. What is the best method to drain this tank using it's current holes?

 

[dahenley]

your skimmer will require an pressure rated pump.
external pumps are favored for this.

i would run one straight to the skimmer.
the other, inside the overflow, i would put a street90 pointing upward with a 4-6in riser. then on the back side, i would go to a gate valve (this will allow you to create a solid siphon. (totally quiet. if this tank is going to have a fish room, then you can go with standard durso's.)

the third one, i would put up a few more inches with nothing on the top, and no gate valve. this will be your emergency.

that is one plan.

you always want your skimmer to suck raw water straight form the tank.
weather it be from the tank overflows, or the first chamber in the sump. (before the refugium or any other type of filtration.)
this will ensure that your getting the dirtiest water and the return for the skimmer can go to the refugium, or to the return section of the sump. some skimmers require a filter sock or something to prevent micro bubbles in the tank. your skimmer might not put out any, but thats later down the road. (also, your skimmer will need to be re-broke in because it has sit for so long, and you wont know for a few weeks of operation if you will need some kind of bubble def user/trap.

keep us going!!
its been too long since the last update!!

 

[RocketEngineer]

Poriferan,
Not a bad looking setup. Let me start with the drains: Have a look at BeanAnimal's overflow design.
http://www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx

The stand looks solid but I'm wondering if you have a fish room planned or are you going to have a sump under the tank. If you are going to put the sump under the tank then I think you will have problems working under the tank due to the low height of the stand. When I built my stand for my 75g, it was 36" tall and I still struggle when I go diving under the stand.

The skimmer looks like a downdraft model which would require a high power pump. Personally, I feel that this is an older generation of skimmer that works but uses more energy then necessary to gain the same results. I feel that needle/pin wheel skimmers have come a long way and would easily use half the electricity while getting the same results. Just an opinion as there are many different, equally successful designs out there.

RocketEngineer

 

[Poriferan]

I like the beananimal approach, however, if I was to run 1 drain straight to the skimmer there would be no emergency/third drain.
My current plan is to house everything in the cabinet aside from the skimmer which will be have to be outside the stand.

Would it be OK to run 90* elbows with pipes directly from the bulkheads to the water line in the overflow? It seems like this would let a lot of detritus collect in the bottom of the overflow.

If it wasn't done this way the overflow box would be empty and when I test filled the tank it had massive bowing due to the thin material it was constructed of. IF it cracked there would be 300+ gallons of water on the floor.

 

[TechStar]

Thats a huge skimmer......

 

[Poriferan]

Thats a huge skimmer......

It's a fairly big tank

 

[RocketEngineer]

I would go with the elbow right into the bulkhead for the bowing issue as well as the noise problem from water falling that far.

What flow rate are you looking at for the sump? Most people run 3X-5X but there is no reason it has to be in that range. If your return pump is only flowing a little more then what the skimmer can handle, why not have the siphon pipe from the BeanAnimal overflow go directly into the skimmer? Do you know what the skimmer pump is rated for? Another option would be to supply the skimmer with a separate pump to allow for fine tuning.

RocketEngineer

 

[dahenley]

I would go with the elbow right into the bulkhead for the bowing issue as well as the noise problem from water falling that far.

What flow rate are you looking at for the sump? Most people run 3X-5X but there is no reason it has to be in that range. If your return pump is only flowing a little more then what the skimmer can handle, why not have the siphon pipe from the BeanAnimal overflow go directly into the skimmer? Do you know what the skimmer pump is rated for? Another option would be to supply the skimmer with a separate pump to allow for fine tuning.

RocketEngineer

I deff wouldnt do a BeanAnimal Overflow pipe to your skimmer.
your skimmer takes a pressure rated pump like an Iwaki 55+
so the intake needs to be fully submerged at all time. thats why i would go to the bottom and use BeanAnimal overflows for the left over flow to the sump.


your skimmer looks more like a 1500 now that i get a full look at it.
if it is, then it will take an Iwaki 100.

you need to call ETSS and give them the dimentions of yoru skimmer. they have changed designes over the years, so you might have more then what it shows to be.

 

[Poriferan]

So I am thinking that if I take one pipe and run it under the water level in the overflow and use that for the skimmer. The other 2 would use the beananimal approach further up in overflow box.

My other thought is to let the tank drain into the sump and have the skimmer pull and return from there. I could incorporate the UV sterilizer into the return using the two larger pumps.



This is the "sump" that came with the tank. It is clearly a wet-dry sump and came with 2 trash bags full of bio balls. I will have to figure out if I can use it as a sump but I am thinking that the acrylic may be too thin to hold much water depth.

Here are the pumps I have to run everything.

It also came with this UV sterilizer. It appears to have been "modified" as it only has 1 functioning tube now.