Dual Display, ~300g System

[token]

Over the next two months I will be moving my separate 100g & 75g displays to my new home, which happens to be less than 700 sq. ft. In the process, I will be linking the two displays to a common sump-system, with attached DSB/Chaeto tank and a separate refugium.

Tanks:
100g Display // 36"w x 24"d x 28"h Oceanic glass tank (SPS with clams and Ricordea)
75g Display // 36"w x 18"d x 28"h Oceanic glass tank (various "softies", possibly clams)
100g Sump running 40-50g (tbd) Rubbermaid Stock Tank
55g Refugium running @ 40g Oceanic glass tank, inverted light cycle
75g DSB/Chaeto running @ 45g Oceanic glass tank, inverted light cycle
55g Frag-growout running @ 40g Oceanic glass tank, inverted light cycle

System Pump -- Reeflo Sequence Barracuda
CL Pumps for Displays -- Reeflo Dart with OM 4ways, one for each

My new home is over a two-car garage, one side of which will contain the sump room. Plumbing will go over-the-back, through the floor and to the various tanks in the sump room. It will then leave the tanks and join in the sump.

I added a rough diagram to my gallery. I will add a SketchUp perspective of the displays in the room to the thread later today.

I have not decided on lighting in any way. 250w or 400w? DIY or OTS? I lean to 2 x 400w OTS on the 100g and 2 x 250w OTS on the 75g. I really like the Current HQI/T5 Orbit canopy but have not noticed a 400w version. I would DIY but doubt my ability to have a finished look that is sufficiently minimal to be pleasing (hard to describe and harder to model but my living area has only an 83" plate line but that rises to a hip-cathedral ceiling).

I have also not settled on a single skimmer to replace the two I am currently using, nor have I decided on how to supplement Ca/Alk.

I look forward to posting pics and updates as I continue renovating the new home in preparation for my move.

Wish me luck?

 

[meschaefer]

Re: Dual Display, ~300g System

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10057237#post10057237 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by token
Wish me luck?

Who needs luck with carefull planning!

Why the 400watt MHs on the 100 gallon, seems like overkill to me. If its 24 inches high, I think 250watt MH would be sufficient. If its 30 inches high, you may need tothe 400s

 

[token]

Re: Re: Dual Display, ~300g System

Re: Re: Dual Display, ~300g System

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10057913#post10057913 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by meschaefer
Who needs luck with carefull planning!

Thanks for that! I am trying to plan and seem to be succeeding... but I need all the help I can get.

If its 24 inches high, I think 250watt MH would be sufficient. If its 30 inches high, you may need tothe 400s

Both tanks are 28" high, that "in between" height. 250w would probably be fine on the 100g but I hate to invest that much to regret it later. I am shooting for a "dimmer" environment on the 75g so 250w is more than fine and I could probably scale back to 2 x 150w. It seems to me though, and here is where I could be wrong, that 250w's allow me the flexibility to raise the canopy a bit if the 75g is too bright.

Just my current thinking... I may end up with 2 x 250w OTS canopies on both tanks and simply adjust the what goes in the tanks and where.

 

[meschaefer]

28" is in the inbetween, and at leat witht he 400's you know you are safe especially with sps clams. I am looking for a 24" 180 gallon tank, and have come across some really good deals on 220's that are 30". I have passed on them, as I don't want to have to go to 400 MH to light up six inches of height. The money I would save on the "good deal" tank, would be eaten up in a year on the extra electricity to light it.

 

[token]

3d drawing from SketchUp:

The room as it currently looks:

The future sump area:

A wider view of the garage:

As anyone can tell, this is a bit of an undertaking. The bones of this garage were built in 1937 and a flood took the apparent wall in the fourth picture straight down about eight inches ten years later in a flood. The slope was stabilized and the building has not moved since. The original floor, visible as a bit of green in the second photo, shows evidence of that movement.

I have cut away the newer floor and will install the stand structure on the old floor. Pictures one and two give an indication of how the orientation looks. The left hand side of picture four is immediately below that exposed section, where the tanks will sit, from the second picture. The grey on the walls of the 3D image is to be 316 SS, 1/8" thick, in four sheets. The two behind the tanks will start just below the surface of the display support and the two enclosing the return continue to the floor. Height above the tank has yet to be determined; visually, it's a function of the height of the canopy, and will probably be 8-12". Stand construction is 2x4 construction, sheathed in T&G rough-sawn cedar, sealed at all joints. I have used this for years and am very pleased with it both aesthetically and seviceably.

The third picture may require a bit of imagination to understand. The counter will support one tank. The second tank, visible against the wall, sits where it is. The third tank, not yet in place as it is still in use, will form the third side of the "U", opposite the counter. The Rubbermaid trough is not in position, instead tucked under the counter to make a bit more room.

This garage gets a bit cold in the winter but remains surprisingly cool all summer, a feat here in Texas. I plan a pair of windows on the left wall of the final photo (not visible in the photo). I will need an exhaust fan, I am sure, and possibly a AC unit (which would necessitate a good bit of work).

Messy, messy, messy... but it's good to see where this all started!

 

[token]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10058133#post10058133 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by meschaefer
...as I don't want to have to go to 400 MH to light up six inches of height. The money I would save on the "good deal" tank, would be eaten up in a year on the extra electricity to light it.

I chose the depth of both displays and I have second-guessed myself since. I completely understand the second half of your statement; I would decide on 250w in a heartbeat, and make appropriate stocking decisions to compensate, were I more certain that I would not rue that decision the same way I rue the depth of my two displays.

...but, I sure do like that 28" depth, visually...

 

[token]

Just a quick update:

The plumbers finished last night at 9p; I now have completely updated supplies and all of the antiquated gas pipe has been removed, allowing me to set the kitchen cabinets. It also allows me to frame walls for the sump room.

The electricians arrived promptly at 830a and worked diligently to convert the main house's main panel to a new one so that the new sub-panel can be powered without major risk. They will return tomorrow to run the wire overhead and connect that sub-panel. I will then have a 125amp sub-panel with two 20amp circuits dedicated to the tanks' needs.

While the power was off, I began cleaning the lower two-thirds of the lot. Bamboo was cut, a Chinese photinia pruned and a lot of dead wood was broken down.

Slow but steady progress...

 

[Whaledriver]

Why not a single 8-way instead two 4-ways?

 

[token]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10086422#post10086422 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Whaledriver
Why not a single 8-way instead two 4-ways?

I had intended to drive the CL's off their on pumps, one pump for each display. I am seriously considering VorTechs as an alternative.

 

[token]

Well, I have made a good bit of progress though I remain a bit overwhelmed by the effort required to remodel this little place. I am close, very close, to installing the stands for the displays and the chase that will "hide" all the wires and plumbing. In anticipation of that, and because I am waiting on the plumber and electricians to arrive for the upstairs top-out, I started working on the "fish room."

The mess has been downsized by a good bit:

More importantly, parts of the fish room (if viewed though blinders...), seem almost good-to-go:

But this only lasts until the next round of construction:

I built (part of) the new wall:

 

[token]

My first goal is to get the ventilation installed. After a lot of discussions, I decided to economize by using an attic fan intended for a gable installation. It's rated for 1680 cfm, or about 2.5x the room's raw volume.

That amount of cfm necessitates 768 sq. in. of vent. I got 800 with two 20" x 20" HVAC vent filter enclosures:

It obviously needs a chase. The first of many pieces of wood needed to build it:

But the fan itself needs to blow through an opening to the outside. Out came the Porter:

And the fan needs an alternative to its traditional mounting:

 

[token]

And then the obligatory test fits:

It might be a few more days before any more progress pics but I am counting on the eagle eye's here on RC to catch any problem before it metastasizes.

 

[token]

So now a real question: I was told that I can hook this gable vent fan to a humidi/thermo-stat but I wonder about where to put it. Any suggestions?