After the flood we're keeping 300

[mlb75]

Well as the title suggests we recently had a flood in the house. I've had fish tanks small and large since about 1990 and never had a problem but Friday before last we had the sump blow out on our current 180. Luckily the wife was at home at the time and was able to save everything except (obvioulsy the sump) one Tunze power supply and possibly our Reef Keeper 2. To say it was an interesting phone call while I was at the office and she was in damage control mode is an understatement.

Bottom line ~70 gallons on the floor, Serve Pro, a bunch of fans, and two huge dehumidifiers later it's time to rebuild.

Part of the reconstruction required that we remove the tank so the carpet under it could be removed and replaced so for the time being the tank has been moved to a friends shop (The Reef Chief whom I can't thank enough) while we get the house put back together. While the tank is out we figured now is the time to go bigger so here we go.

I've been a member of the board here for quite some time and have learned SO much from everyone else I figured I'd try to document my build in the event it can help others as well as head off any hair brained ideas I come up with along the way. While I don't have pics right now the plan is to include quite a few along the way to document the progress from here forward.

Planned equipment list:

Tank: 300 Gallon Deep Dimension w/ starphire glass
For the price etc they just can't be beat. I've seen so many great build based off them lately I just hope to be able to keep up.

Stand: Custom cabinets across the back wall of the living room
I've wanted to do this for some time and so now I've got the motivation.

Sump: Some discussion here but I think it's going to be a three tank setup with a 45G deep sand bed / fuge, a 30G breeder for the central tank / skimmer, and a third tank for the return pump etc.

Skimmer: Bubble King Super Marin 250
The thing is a beast and with the ATI light fixture is easily one of the best purchases I've made in this hobby

Lighting: Going to reuse my existing ATI power module 8X80 T5 fixture
I can't say enough good things about this fixture. I'd like to have the ten bulb unit but he intention is to leave a lot of open room so I'm fairly confident this will be enough.

Flow: I'll have 4 Tunze 6105's w/ multicontroller
This should be plenty for quite awhile

Return pump: Blue Line Model 70
I've already got it and love how reliable and quiet it is. It's a bit much as far as turnover but will also probably be using it to feed a couple other filters

So as the existing tank is currently at the spa (that's what the wife calls it since it's being taken care of much better than usual) we start down the road of building a better home for all our fish and corals.

This is going to be very fast paced for the next few weeks anyway because we need to get everything back as soon as possible.

The first order of business is going to be getting the stand built so the new tank can be installed and our livestock brought back.

 

[mlb75]

One of my inspiration threads on this build is Mike's 300 Double D found @ http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1775327

I'm hoping our wall unit will turn out similar with the the only exception being I think we're going to go with a stained wood finish and a wood top instead of stone.

The tank arrived this evening at the shop and hopefully we'll get to take a look at it tomorrow as well as get started drilling an additional 1" bulkhead into each overflow. The extra hole will allow me to use a Bean Animal style herbie overflow. My intention is to cut down on the tanks noise as much as possible with this monster so that overflow style will be key.

At the moment I'm in contact with a couple builders for the cabinets but may just take on the project with a friend of mine since we've done good work together before and it may just be more rewarding in the end. I hope to have made that decision by the end of the week.

In the mean time I'm trying to figure out the sump layout.

 

[jsdancer]

Sounds like you got things planned out. I follow along. Good luck!

 

[mlb75]

All right an update. The tank is still at the Reef Chief and things are coloring back up nicely. For what it's worth having your tank stored at a store filled with corals for sale is a bad thing We've picked up several new frags and I'm sure we'll have a bunch more by the time we actually get everything back to the house.

A few pic's of what we had. These are a couple somewhat recent ones of the existing 180. There was definitely some room left in it due to pretty much starting that tank over just before Christmas. At that time we had a Majano infestation that was so bad the only option was to pull EVERYTHING out and start over with a cleaned out system. To say I lost a few corals to those pests would be an understatement but since then things have been doing really well. This upgrade will just allow for more room for the corals and fish (which I'll be adding more of).

Here's another of the tank with the older 4x400 watt MH setup. I dont' miss that setup at all. We've been so happy with the color and intensity of the T5's I can't imagine ever going back to the 400's. The main difference is before the entire room was lit up by the fish tank now all the light stays in the tank, no more tanning while watching TV.

 

[mlb75]

Next few are of where the new tank and cabinets will be.

The french doors right there will make bringing everything in MUCH easier. The tape on the ground outlines roughly where the new cabinets will be.

Speaking of the cabinets they are being built now and have been told we should be able to bring them in by this coming weekend.

They will be stained to match the other Cherry and Mahogany furniture in the room and will have matching raised panel doors. The side cabinets will have a full height door to the outside and on the inside there will be a drawer and another door. It'll be nice to finally have a place to store all the misc stuff that accumulates with this hobby.

We went back and forth on what to do for counter tops and decided to go with wood tops. We felt that in the room to go with granite or the like would be to much especially since the granite we used in the kitchen wouldn't look right in that room. To make sure they don't get ruined they will have several coats of clear on them which should allow them to hold up. The units are being built though so that if down the road we wanted to switch the side cabinets to stone tops we could without disturbing the tank.

The center section holding the tank will be 40" deep and a couple inches taller than the side units. The idea was to get the tank a little taller without making the other counters too high as well as add more visual interest to the design. I decided to go 40" deep as it should allow for more room under the stand since all the equipment has to fit there but more on that later.

 

[mlb75]

OK these are of the tank in it's temporary home.

 

[Cannon7]

Wow sorry to hear that. I'm sure the new tank will help you forget though.

 

[mlb75]

OK things have been moving more slowly than I wanted but we're finally making progress. The cabinets are here and being installed and lets just say it's HUGE. Here are a couple shots of the setup.

Here are a couple on the support structure any and all comments are welcome I want to make sure everything is right now rather than have to chase something down later.

 

[mlb75]

The upper side rails and rear span are 2x8's with 2x4's in the corners (standard way) and the screw strips in the rear are 2x8 while the front ones are 2x6. The extra rear supports are 2x6 and those as well as the rear top beam are screwed to the wall studs. The front is a little more complicated the screw strips double as supports for 2 additional 2x4's behind a 2x6 the 3 boards are needed as the front of the tank does not sit at the front of the stand. There are 2 2x4's in a T formation in the middle supporting the front 3 beams.

 

[mlb75]

Now for a question... Which pump do you think would do better duty as the primary return pump. The two main options are;

Blueline 70HD (it's what I was using on the 180 and liked it but now is the time to change if I'm going to)
- Inlet: 1" MPT
- Outlet: 1" MPT
- Max Total Head (FT): 39
- Max Discharge (GPH) @ 0ft: 1,750
- Input (W): 290

Or

Reeflo Dart (this is one that I've had for awhile but never hooked up, with the A.O. Smith Motor)
- Inlet 2" FPT
- Outlet 1.5" FPT
- Max Total Head (FT): 12
- Max Discharge (GPH) @ 0ft: 3600
- Input (W): 146

I'm sure either pump will provide enough flow just curious about others experience with noise and heat.

The pumps will be in the stand directly under the tank, will most likely have 1.5" input and output, and running to 2 1" returns in the overflows with 3/4 lockline at the top with Y's.

Thanks

 

[OkR33Fer]

I would go with the Dart, twice the flow with half the power consumption, just put a valve inline and throttle the output down to where you need it.

 

[mlb75]

Yea that's why I started thinking about using it. I'm guessing when you add in the head pressures they'll put out close to the same volume. My main concerns are Heat, Noise, and Reliability. The BL was very quiet and reliable I've just always head the same about the Dart so figured I'd ask for other experiences and opinions.

Thanks

 

[mlb75]

Figured it didn't need any introduction

Tank is in place (that thing is HEAVY) the stand is tall but I love how we will be able to actually look into our little slice of the reef rather than down on it.

 

[mlb75]

Stand and the rest of the cabinets should be done on Thursday. In the mean time I'm busy roughing in the plumbing and sealing the inside of the center stand.

For some reason one of the bulkheads won't accept a 1" piece of PVC on the bottom so will have to get a different one tomorrow to finish installing the bulkheads and the drain and return plumbing.

 

[mlb75]

Time to start thinking flow patterns. I've got the 4 6105 but am undecided where to put them all and after that how to set up the controller. Here are a couple scenarios I'd thought about, what do you think?

1.

I like that one because the units are all on the back wall leaving the sides open and uncluttered but am concerned that I won't have enough flow on the front of the rocks where the majority of the corals would be.

2.

I think this may be the best because it will provide the most flow both back to front as well as side to side, but not sure.

3.

This one would be very typical but now I have all the power heads in plain site and I really don't like that and don't have much to any flow front to back.

TIA

 

[mlb75]

Looks like I figured out the sump setup. If you're looking at the tank the far left will be a 45g setup as a deep sand bed / fuge over it (probably 8-10" of sand). Next just to the left of the center brace will be a 65g main tank which will house the skimmer and the overflows from the tank. The 65 will overflow into another 45 with filter socks at the front followed by a bubble trap and then have the return pump mounted off the side near the rear or the stand.

Please excuse the rough drawings but they're quick, easy, and get the point across.

 

[prop-frags]

So far, so good, Mike.

About your countertop choice - However much clear coat you think you need, you should do more. The top is going to get wet...A LOT. And, you'll be standing on those things... A LOT. The only way to get at most of the tank will be from the sides, and so you'll need to make sure the side cabinets can support your weight with no worries. You'll be up there more than you're in front of it for the first 6 months

On your Tunze setup, I like option #3. (I know, I know, you don't want the pumps on the sides, but you'll need the flow). One thing you need to do is show us how you plan to plumb in the return lines. I recommend using penductors from both sides. Then, with this flow giving surface agitation, and you can generate the necessary flow across the bottom of the tank. Check out this thread for some excellent tips on flow in large tanks and some design ideas.

On the sump layout... have you thought about having the main sump and filter sump combined into one? I wonder about your rationale in having two separate tanks for that. You might be able to use a submersible pump?