Aquaph8's 225 Build

Plumbing mock up second attempt: FEEDBACK PLEASE!!!!!

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First Attempt:

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Full tank shot:

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Nothing on the plumbing is glued yet. Please tell me what you think of the new design.Thanks

And for fun:

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Looking good - that big ol' skimmer is PHAT.
I think you're going to need a ball valve on that branch that is bending back down to the sump.
 
I think you're going to need a ball valve on that branch that is bending back down to the sump.

Agreed.

The flow looks like it will work a lot better though.
What are you doing with the returns tank side? IMO they look quite low in the water so potentially could back syphon down to that depth.
Are you relying on the non-return valve to stop the back syphon? or are you going to drill anti syphon holes just below the surface?

Looking nice. Skimmer looks great and looks like you have a nice amount of space to work with under the tank although I expect that will soon get filled up!
 
Looking good - that big ol' skimmer is PHAT.
I think you're going to need a ball valve on that branch that is bending back down to the sump.

Thanks Mike, I cant wait to try it out, I just hope its not too big. Im learning, If only I was an amazing sketch up like d3hree.I will add a ball valve for sure.

Agreed.

The flow looks like it will work a lot better though.
What are you doing with the returns tank side? IMO they look quite low in the water so potentially could back syphon down to that depth.
Are you relying on the non-return valve to stop the back syphon? or are you going to drill anti syphon holes just below the surface?

Looking nice. Skimmer looks great and looks like you have a nice amount of space to work with under the tank although I expect that will soon get filled up!

Im actually worried about that myself.:headwally: theres a pretty fine line between overflowing and not overflowing. Im leaning tword some sea swirls instead of the lock line. As far as the check valve goes as soon as I'm certain I dont need it, I will delete it. I would love some details on the anti syphon holes if your up for it. What would you do in that regard other than a bigger sump of course? Yeah, space will go fast, it seems theres never enough. Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it.
 
I have never been a huge fan of anti syphon holes myself. I would constantly be making sure they havent been blocked and it would be my luck that a snail would be sat over one when and if the electricity went out.

In your situation it could be as simple as pointing the loc lines upwards so the end nozzles sit just below the water surface. That way as the water level drops air will quickly enter the pipework stopping the syphon.
 
I have never been a huge fan of anti syphon holes myself. I would constantly be making sure they havent been blocked and it would be my luck that a snail would be sat over one when and if the electricity went out.

In your situation it could be as simple as pointing the loc lines upwards so the end nozzles sit just below the water surface. That way as the water level drops air will quickly enter the pipework stopping the syphon.


That's what my plan was but it still doesn't give me enough piece of mind. Guess I'll just have to play with it during setup.
 
nice setup
i just purchased the same demension tank,and will be setting up in a couple months.

what pump are you using.
 
i to was looking at those pumps,but was looking at running it external .
have you tried it out yet,wondering how noisey and if theres heat issues
 
i to was looking at those pumps,but was looking at running it external .
have you tried it out yet,wondering how noisey and if theres heat issues

No I haven't tried it yet. I've been using a Mag 12 for6 years though, so this should be a big improvement as far as heat, noise and power usage goes. I will definitely give a review as soon as I try it. Please point me in the right direction when you start your thread, I'd love to tag along.
 
Ok, plumbing is finalized. I changed it around (again) and added a couple parts. Overall Im real happy with it now and Im not touching it again ( I hope). Thanks to everybody who jumped in and gave advise, thats what makes this forum great. Please continue to give feedback on any aspect of this build, anything.

Final plumbing:

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I also set the QT back up today.

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Very impressive thus far!! This build has all the ingredients to be a great system. Really no suggestions at this point....just keep up the good work.
 
Brett, I'm really curious to hear more about the Sfiligoi Stealth that you will be using on this tank.. I always wished that the Powermodules had a 12 bulbs option. That size would truly be ideal for my tank.. Looking forward to see how you like it. Also, I noticed you are looking at a 3" sand bed depth... Why 3"? The reason that I ask, is because that depth is right between a shallow bed and a DSB.. One of the great reasons for goin with 1" - 1 1/2" SB is that siphoning the substrate during waterchanges is a lot less laborious and helps a lot to keep your tank nice and clean. Im imagining that it might be a little difficult to keep that clean at a 3" depth..
 
Brett, I'm really curious to hear more about the Sfiligoi Stealth that you will be using on this tank.. I always wished that the Powermodules had a 12 bulbs option. That size would truly be ideal for my tank.. Looking forward to see how you like it. Also, I noticed you are looking at a 3" sand bed depth... Why 3"? The reason that I ask, is because that depth is right between a shallow bed and a DSB.. One of the great reasons for goin with 1" - 1 1/2" SB is that siphoning the substrate during waterchanges is a lot less laborious and helps a lot to keep your tank nice and clean. Im imagining that it might be a little difficult to keep that clean at a 3" depth..

Hey Jon, the Stealth has been on my 125 for a while now. It took me a while to get used to T5's and I burned some LPS. Some do great with these lights and others seem to not be able to handle it regardless of where I put them, even with a the fixture being a foot short on each end. Its definetly my favorite fixture thus far but I've never owned an ATI so I can't really compare. I only have one negative thing to report about the stealth. The fans are on one side and they do a great job on that side but the right side always feels a bit hot like the fans aren't strong enough to cool all the way across. If you could combine the ATI and do fans in the top and the side it would be sweet. I havent really played with bulb combo's too much cause Im waiting for the new tank before I mess with it too much. I will report more on it later. As far as the sand goes I only ended up ordering 260 lbs which should be a little under 2 1/2". The reason I went a little deaper this time is cause Im really more into fish these days than corals ( dont get me wrong I love my corals and will never go FOWLR) and Id really like to accomidate the sand dwelling fish a little better with this tank. Leopard wrasses have always been a favorite of mine. So I decided to go a little deaper this time around but have no intensions of going full fledge deep sand bed either. Thoughts?, think I'll regret it later. Thanks for your replies and for the feedback. Other reefers contributions are really whats gonna make this tank.


Great build so far, you did a good job on that manifold. I may do the same on my build.

Thanks James. It looks like your beating me on getting set up. Your tank looks great. It'll be great to steal ideas from each other along the way.
 
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