CaveMan's 240 Gal with 2-29 gl. Specific Tanks

CaveManNOhio

New member
Hello All,
Here are some pictures and a brief summary of my future system.

I currently have a 125 gal AGA RR tank with a 30 gal Refugium with a Berlin Skimmer Phosban Reactor and a CLS powered by a Dolphin Pump. The lighting is a 72" Light Fixture with 3-250 watt MH 20k and 2-96watt PC's. I also have a Cyclone Chiller.

The plan is to move all of the contents of the 125 into the 240. The filtration will be moved to the Basement. Which will be 2-150 gl. Rubbermaid's(sump & fuge). I will also be adding in the future a cryptic sump. I will be up-grading to a Geo Skimmer and Kalkwasser for water top off's. Then add a Geo Calcium Reactor in the future. Pumps are 3 Hammer Head's, 1-main return pump, 2-CLS.

I will be sticking with the 4" sand bed, will be starting out with about 250 lbs of LR, may add more later. I will be sticking with the Lights I have now and just keep low light corals off to the end. In the future I will do some DIY pendent's to fully light the ends.

My corals are LPS, Softies, and Leather's. I also have 4 Clams. Fish load very high. 15 fish to be exact.

The two 29 gl. specific tank's that I mentioned will be on the bottom of the stand below the 240 and tied into the plumbing sysytem.One of them will be a seahorse & pipe fish tank and the other will be an angler tank. The lighting will be 2-T5's. I will be wrapping the stand with Oak sheeting. All of the overflows will drain into a 2" drain line and return in 1.5". Then reduce to 1" inside the tank. The CLS on the 240 will be 2" suction with 1.5" returns then reduce to 1" pipe inside and under the sand and the riser's will be 3/4".

Now for some pictures.

Here is the tank the day I brought it home.
86936mini-P2190005.JPG


Here it is after removing Paint
86936mini-P2200037.JPG


Here it is after removing the Coraline and other nasty stuff, and let me tell you Vinegar and dead sea stuff really smell:eek1:
86936mini-P3010002.JPG


And here it is after being cleaned inside and out
86936mini-P3160127.JPG


And this one show's it with the 29's in place, I will be adding some brace's to replace the two I have to move that are in the middle of the 29's.
86936mini-P3160126.JPG


Here is the drawing lay out's
86936mini-image001_gif.jpg


Here is the back view drawing
86936image031.gif


This is the above view of the CLS, the circle's are the riser locations.
86936mini-image004_gif.jpg


Any comments or suggestion's are welcomed and appreciated.
 
Wow, that cleaned up well. Looks like swiss cheese. What are the dimensions of the tank? How old is it?

Chris
 
I knew I forgot some thing. The tank is 8'L x 2'W x 2'H and I think it is about 2 yrs. old, not real sure on the though.
 
Lookin' real nice! I have one question. Are the gree returns on a different pump than the blue returns? If not, how will you keep your display from draining half way through the returns if your green pump goes out? Just trying to keep you on your toes!;)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6978532#post6978532 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hollback
Lookin' real nice! I have one question. Are the gree returns on a different pump than the blue returns? If not, how will you keep your display from draining half way through the returns if your green pump goes out? Just trying to keep you on your toes!;)

Yea the green dotted one's are the return's from the CLS pump's The purple are the suction to the CLS pump's. And Thank you hollback. Watch out I may call on you when it comes to the basement part.

Thank's Geo. It is sweet. I can't believe the differance from when I brought it home.

I did get two coats of black on all three tanks today, I will post pictures later. I also got the basement plan's drawn up and will get those posted as well.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6979429#post6979429 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by szwab
woowee looking good and nicely planned out.

when does it get water?

Thank's. The cleaning really wasn't all that bad. Just really smelly once.:eek2:
I am trying to plan this out all the way. And take it one phase at a time. I'm looking to get water in the system by mid to end of summer.
Right now I'm getting the tank's ready, next will be the stand. My plan is to wrap it with oak plywood. I also need to move those two brace's that are in the middle of the 29's. Would you guy's take the tank off the stand to do that work or do you think I could get a way with leaving it on there? As for the Braces I would put the new one's in place before removing the current one's.

Next step after that is the basement. I would like to have the basement part complete before draining the 125. My plan right now is to tie all my current overflow's and return's into the new system. Let it cycle for about a month then move all the LR down to the fuge and put all the Corals, fish and other critters in the sump. Then put all my sand in bucket's with water. Then move the 125 and bring in the 240. Hook up all the plumbing let it sit over night then put in sand and LR and let the tank circulate on just the CLS for about a week then open up the overflow's and returns, and move every one into their new bigger and better home.

Here is the plan for the Fish Room basement lay out. This is where I really need to know if I'm on the right track.
86936mini-image035.gif
 
I wouldn't risk leaving the tank on there to do the stand work, you might end up hitting it then you'll be mad. If you've got the help to move the tank I would take it off especially if your going to cover it. the stand I'm sure is heavy enough to move around by itself and you'll need to move it around.

Keep us posted, looking good so far
 
That's kind of what I was thinking. But since the sheeting will be flush to the top of the stand and there is a 2x4 there it gives me enough space to nail and the tank be safe. I will most likely go a head and take it off. That will mean recruiting some help. I will also have to move more stuff in the garage to make room for it to sit on the ground on 4x4's. But it would be the safest way to go.
Right now I can lift one end enough to drag the stand out so it's sit's the width of the garage, but I don't like doing that to much. In fact I most likely wont do it again, with the tank on there.
 
sounds like a good plan however I am not sure if I would reuses the sand. I did this on my 240 and had a huge nutrient problem when I first setup my tank that was caused by the sand. much less headaches using new sand and seeding it with older sand.
 
I only had time for a quick glance but you don't want your main return pump (hammerhead?) pulling out of your cryptic fuge. A cryptic fuge should only have about 75-100 gph flow through it. I'd put the cryptic on the top, then your fuge then the sump on the bottom. Have your return pump pull from your empty sump on the bottom. I'd T-off of the drain from your display and feed your cryptic fuge with gravity. Then have it drain into your fuge or sump. Give me a call and we can talk more... pm sent. ;)
 
hollback said what same thing i was going to say buy putting sump on bottom and gravity feed both fuges from overflow
 
I will rearrange the drawing and submit it later. Thank's for the advice hollback and tabndust.

ronc98, I'm adding 200 lbs of non LS on top of my old bed. I want to maintain the 4" of sand. And I really don't want to spend that kind of money all over again. Plus my sand isn't even a full year old yet. I've had a couple other people say they think I should be ok. I guess only time will tell. Thank's for your input though.
 
Looks great. Will want to see it when its finished. Just being the devils advocate here ( and speaking from a bad experience ) I would want the drains running through two lines vs one. I realize it would take something way out of the ordinary to plug that line up, or the need to service it for what ever reason, but two lines would be better in my opinion. I have just recently discovered redundancy in everything when it comes to these things. If you plan for it to happen, it will not, if you don't plan, it will happen.
 
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