Clevers 220g Tank Build

[cleverbs]

I am setting up my first big tank, I will be upgrading from my 75g reef to a 220g Reef tank.

The tank will be Bare Bottom with a bean animal overflow and an LPS, Softy, Clam Tank. Possibly a few SPS but maybe only two or three.

The Plan: I am moving into my new house on Aug. 8th so I will be setting up the tank then. I am currently working on finishing the stand and sump. The tank is a standard 220g Perfecto 6ftx2ftx2.5ft

Equipment:
Reeflo Dart
Reef Octopus DCS 250
ReefKeeper Lite Pro
2x WP 40
4x 120w Full Spectrum LEDs with 90Degree optics
220LB of BRS Reef Saver Rock (100 LB New 120lb established rock from the 75g and sump)
50g breeder or 30g Breeder Sump, The 50g may have a leak so I will see if I can fix it first.
Sheet of Black HDPE for the bottom of the tank.

Here are some pictures!

The tank


The stand


Rendering, Made this before deciding to go with a beananimal overflow.


The 75g


More pictures to come!

 

[worm5406]

Noce upgrade.

How far along are you? Just the stand so far? Well you have to wait until you are moved really though.

What else are you going to stock in it?

 

[cleverbs]

Noce upgrade.

How far along are you? Just the stand so far? Well you have to wait until you are moved really though.

What else are you going to stock in it?

Well i have everything for the tank already. I am going to order my skimmer today but need to figure out of I want the dsc 200 or 250. The 250 has a 10" body so I'm thinking ill to with that. In my book better to over skimm then under skim.

Fish I will have for sure are

Flame wrasse
Blond naso tang
Orange shoulder tang
Purple tang
Hippo tang
2x pairs of clowns. I have a pair of extream snowflakes already and will add another designer clown pair or a pair of tomato/fire clowns
A shoal of 10+ chromis
Blue mandarin
Copper band butterfly
Laytail anthias trio
A few random wrasses
And probably some other random smaller fish

So far I am the process of fixing my stand. I have to paint it still. I'm going to coat it in kilz primer latex then paint the outside black.

After that I will have my 48x5x7 overflow made and install that into my tank. At that point ill be ready to plumb it when I move.

Still need to build the "canopy" that will hang over the tank but that will be a simple build.

 

[cleverbs]

Ordered my DCS 250 ReefOctopus tonight

My equipment list is complete now so at least I am done spending money on all that stuff. All the big purchases are out of the way.

 

[worm5406]

Not a bad stock list.

 

[cleverbs]

So i have done a few things with the tank.

1st I made my screen tops, I love them and they look great! I wish I would of done this with my 75g



2nd i cleaned my stand! the stand was a mess after 10 years of filth had accumulated on it without being cleaned. I went out it first with cleaner and a sponge but quickly found out that wasnt going to work. So then i decided I would just sand the whole thing with my sander and paint the outside black and the inside grey (Kilz tinted). The stand looks amazing now after all the sanding its like its brand new. I will also be putting a full back on it with holes cut out for the pipes as well as a top on it. the stand is 7ft and my tank is 6ft. Oh and also I will be putting trim along the top.



3rd I got my lock line and put it in along with my beananimal overflow, I still need to buy the glass for the overflow box and install that.



Also leak tested the sump because sadlly I cant even get it out of the stand....The stand was taken apart to put the sump in and I dont want to take the stand apart again even though I found out where it was taken apart at and I could easily do it.

My question thats in the air right now is if I keep the Reeflo dart or do I downgrade my return to match the ~500gph of my skimmer? I would get a mag drive of some kind.

 

[cleverbs]

Well a lot has been done. Haven't been updating because iv been super busy moving into my new house. But I'll give a quick update and ill post some pictures soon

First of all I made some equipment changes
- switched from a 40g breeder for sump to a 30g breeder. This allows me to remove my skimmer without taking my stand apart.
- got a water blaster submersible return instead of the reef dart.
- bought 3 aqua illumination hydras for lighting. Figure it will be a nice upgrade and well worth the money over the evergrow LEDs. I have had nothing but problems sense I switched to them on my 75g so why even risk it with my new build.

What iv done
- I installed the 3.5ft overflow
- I moved the stand and tank from my old house to the new house and into the basement. (That was a chore let me tell you)
- I started the plumbing but its difficult with my limited space in the 30g breeder but I think I have it figured out.
- finished my stand, painted it black and put all new trim and higes on it.

Next step is to finish the plumbing (hope to get this done by tomorrow night) then I will start filling the tank and transferring things this weekend I hope (not fish just live rock)

 

[cleverbs]

Minor set back. I spray painted the back of the tank a few weeks ago however after I put the tank on the stand I noticed a few spots where still a bit thin and you could see trough the tank. So I put another coat on and it reinkled te whole back of the tank. So I have to remove all the paint from the back of the tank. I will be reprinting it with regular paint this time instead of spray paint.

Hope this is my only set back.

I also installed my baffles last night in the sump and will be glueing the plumbing as soon as I finish repainting the back. Still on track to have it wet by Saturday. I still however need to go buy a box of salt for the initial fill of the tank.

The only question I have right now is if ill have muh of a cycle. I have 110lbs of cured 2 year old live rock and 100lbs of new rock that I have had cycling for over a month. I am wondering if ill see much of a cycle at all

 

[Gbear]

cleverbs I'd like to see how you did your Overflow box if you don't mind posting a pic.

Also you may regret not being able to get the sump in and out. I suggest you consider making a removeable leg if possible.

Best of luck with the repaint.

 

[cleverbs]

I have tought about making some changes to my stocking.

I want to my the focus of my reef fish instead of coral. I want coral to bring texture and color to the tank but I want alot of activity. So I was watching some videos online and something I really enjoyed was a shoal of yellow tangs in a tank

I am thinking for my tangs ill have an orange shoulder, blond naso, and 3-5 yellow tangs. The rest of the fish in the tank will be small docile reef fish such as wrasses, chromis, rabbit fish, cardinals, blennies, and gobies.

 

[prop-frags]

Nice job on the screens.
Without too much trouble, you could reinforce that stand and remove some of those vertical braces to allow much easier access to space underneath. Have you considered?

 

[cleverbs]

I have consider restructuring the tank however. I don't see how it would be cost effective. I would have to replace all the doors and Reskin the front of the tank. If I ever need to remove the sump I can disassemble it or something. I'm not worried about being able to remove the sump as much as i was concerned about removing the skimmer. I can now remove the skimmer and I figure down the line if I want I can remove the side of the stand and make it a door If need be. Until that time comes I'm happy with how it is now. I can take the side off without having to remove the tank itself.

 

[worm5406]

So... What did you decide?

 

[cleverbs]

I am able to remove the skimmer sump will be stuck in there unless theres some type of emergency. In that case I'll remove on end and install a door on it down the line. I spent to much time and money rebuilding this stand to redo it now for a 80$ aquarium. I will fix it if the time comes.

Got all my AI hydras today. Very exciting and they are amazing lights. IMO so far worth every $$$ Iv had one of them over half my 75g while I build my new tank and the growth and color has drastically improved over the ever grow fixtures.

 

[worm5406]

OK... So.. Lets see some pictures of your progress. I am very interested.

I understand about installing the door when needed. LOL

 

[cleverbs]

Been awhile. The tank is set up and fully stocked with corals. I will have to upload some pictures tonight.

Today I finally found my large sailfin iv been looking for. It's a 10"+ sailfin. He's very healthy and huge. Been trying to find one for months.

I was doing mainly Lps corals and then decided I needed some more texture in the tank so I got a few very large sps colonies that are doing very well and I plan on just fragging them as time goes on and spreading them through the tank.

 

[blacktangs]

looking forward to the updated pics... the top screens look great for diy

 

[cleverbs]

Thanks. Picked up my sailfin a few hours ago he makes all my other fish look tiny. I thought my 6" naso was big but now he looks like a chromis next to the sailfin. I took the time to measure him while he was transfer from bucket to tank. He came in at 9.25" long. Only paid 85$ for him and I was happy to get one that cheap this big. He has a bit of a chunk out of his dorsal fin that should heal up well. He was in a tank with a foot long clown trigger.

 

[cleverbs]

Alright so this thread is in some need of updates with pictures. Ill start where I left off.

August 8th I moved into my new house and probably August 20th my tank went into the house. I started right away and heres the progress.

Then cycled it with live rock from my old tank and more dry rock (all the rock is BRS Reef saver)

Then decided I didnt like Bare Bottom anymore with LPS so i added sand and some corals

Heres the tank today with a lot of corals, I have a lot of larger colonies because I just wasnt patient enough waiting for frags to grow out. I have a few frags of Chalacies and Acans along with a few other random ones but frags just dont fill a 220g tank.

 

[cleverbs]

Some close ups of my favorite corals.

Heres a few acans I have about 10 different kinds

Bi Color Frog spawn with 16 heads

Picture doesnt do thise chalice justice - Red with Blue going through eyes and Gold growth Rim

Thats about it for new stuff.