hul kogan's 127G Caribbean Biotope Shallow Reef In-Wall Build

@Dave: Thanks sir! I may be able to bring some things back after this trip if I have time to collect for myself, we'll see. I'll definitely be utilizing some of the rock. It's moving along so mechanics and the 'scape should be on the table soon.

@gweston: Haha, well said. I had another person tell me that I could park a Jeep on top of it. I take both of these as a compliment! I think it will be a great overflow system...can't wait to get it up and running. And speaking of the Zinsser, I just used the last of that gallon tonight. Time to snag another.

SMALL UPDATE
No pics for this one, but I put the last coat of sealer on the inside of the stand skin and did another round of sanding and spackle on the wall this evening. Dust storm engage!
 
great build so far! had a couple questions about your over flow. what are the dims of the internal overflow? look about 2 inches high by 1 inch? dims on the external? any advantages making it larger? do you think it needs to be supported by any means? i noticed your holes are 1 in., are you going to use 1.25 in. piping or 1 in.? keep up the good work
 
@torino06: Thank you! Sure, no problem, the internal weir is larger than it appears. It's 5" tall and 1.5" width. It may seem small but when you consider the 56" length, I think it will handle overflow capacity quite well. The external is 20x8x6. You could certainly match the length of your external box with the internal weir, but it's not necessary.

I've been contemplating having my glass shop cuts some supports for me. The internal is fine, just speaking in regards to the external. It seems ok, but I like to err on the side of caution (as you can see by my stand, haha). I'm still undecided. And yes, drilled for 1" BH's...I may bush the emergency drain out to 1.25".
 
Don't mean to step in.. sharing a few thoughts:

56"x1.5"x5" should be plenty for the internal weir. For my (in progress) 125Long my internal weir is going to be 48"x2"x5". That is the actual dimensions. When the glass is all put together, the actual weir opening is about 1.75" wide as the glass is .25" thick.

1" holes out to the rear box should be plenty too.. and you have three of them. I am going to do the same. Good spacing between the holes too. Important to not put them too close to one another or you'll play 'connect the dots'. I forget what the suggested distance is. Something like 1 hole width spacing between is perfect.

Not sure how big your external box is, but the box I am putting together is something like 24"x4"x6". I am going on memory here, so it may be somewhat larger than that. My box is pretty much just big enough I think. It is to just hold the plumbing and allow for flow and maintaining siphon. It isn't a reservoir per-se.

By using a good solid silicone adhesive (such as the RTV100 series adhesives) you probably don't need additional supports for the external box. It certainly wouldn't hurt though. The important bit is to -not- add any stress to the plumbing. Support it properly. Honestly, you'd probably be fine with any proper silicone.. but for myself, I tend to try to overbuild.

The bean flows work perfectly fine with 1" plumbing. Some upsize to 1.5". The siphon gives you a lot of flow even thorough 1".
 
Wow great job so far, almost exactly same as what i hope to put together.

Did you cut out the back trim on tank or get it custom from glass cages that way?

Where did you get your hole saws from?

Will you be putting a front access panel on this tank too?
---Im debating to on mine, i love the look w/o and just trim around it, but having abillity to get in from front and set coral is winning.

Great job i will be following along.
 
@gweston: Thanks for your feedback/comments. I see no problem with your weir or external dimensions, either. Those will serve you well. And as you mentioned, yes, bracing your plumping is the single-most important thing you can do (aside from building it properly to begin with).

Bean actually bushed up the plumbing on his own setup, mainly because his tank was already drilled for 1" BHs. As long as you aren't going too large and the plumbing isn't already vastly overrated for your setup, it won't hurt. For our volume, 1" seems to be perfectly fine and widely used. Never hurts to bump the open drain a bit larger, though, so we'll see what I decide upon when I get the plumbing underway.

@ludiNano: Thanks much! The trim work on is as it arrived from GC. I purchased my hole saw from Glass Holes. Yes, there will be a front access panel. I understand your struggle, as I went through the same thing. The bottom line was...it just makes working with the tank easier, especially due to my stand height and front to back depth. Glad to have you on board!
 
PLUMBING UPDATE
Been working on odds and ends for the last month or so. The tank, with completed overflow, is now back on the stand for good (fingers crossed). In addition, I've been rounding up some of the last components that I need. More on that later.

Spent this past weekend planning and sketching up the plumbing system. Then I went out and snagged all that I could locally. Much to my surprise, I was able to buy 90% of what I needed. I spent a bit more than sourcing it online, but it was nice to be able to visualize it, plus no shipping costs...so it probably comes close to the same total.

Here's all the goodies I snagged from the local big box. I'm sure I'll need a few more due to unavoidable tweaks, etc.
tank37.jpg


The rest of the plumbing goodies are on their way from the nice folks over at BRS. I'll make sure to post a pic when it all gets here, but let's just say expensive valves and loc-line are a go!
 
AN UPDATE?!
What's this...an update? And it has only been about 8 months, haha. When the warmer months rolled around this spring I had to push this project to the back burner due to other obligations. I started to get things rolling again a couple weeks ago and it's time to bring this thread back.

First on the list was wrapping up the plumbing. Here's a shot showing the returns and drains. As I mentioned before, I went with a BeanAnimal style overflow modified for my setup. I plan to get more shots of the sump and drain.
tank38.jpg


Fill 'er up! Freshwater test time, finally.
tank39.jpg


The display almost full.
tank40.jpg


After the tank was full I worked on getting the overflow dialed in. Per everything I've read about the BA setup, it was easy to get dialed in. I just had to add a small extension on the primary drain and dial back the valve.

Adjusting the valve was actually the most frustrating part of the process. The valves are standard ball valves from a big box so adjustment is rough, to say the least. Unfortunately I had to return the awesome Cepex valves I purchased from BRS since they were too bulky for the location I needed to place them.

I'm letting the tank run overnight and I'll check back tomorrow to see how everything is doing.
 
Looks really good so far... heck, who am I kidding, it looks terrific! Until I saw your stand, I thought I was the only guy doing serious over built construction! Mine is a 10'6" stand with a 180g and a 70g on it. Was the external BA box your idea? I haven't seen anybody do it that way before... but then most people want to be up against a wall... not a problem for you. And all your plumbing work looks first rate. Mine build is only about 18 mths old and now you make me want to do it over! :headwallblue: Would love to see a few shots of the front of the BS box. Keep the pics coming.
 
@TheFishTeen - Thanks! Haha, no doubt.

@Ron Reefman - Thank you, much appreciated...and from another overbuilder, too! Sounds like you built a monster stand, as well.

I can't take credit for the external box, as I have seen a few others go that route. I just modified the concept to my needs. You hit the nail on the head, though. Most folks don't have room behind the tank to use an external. Since I did, I was able to incorporate an internal weir and cut down on in-tank real estate taken up by the overflow setup. Were you looking for pictures of the internal weir?

@RVANANO - Thank you! I'm happy with the overflow, too.
 
Just a thought, with the styrofoam under the tank, is the full tank compressing it enough so your top separating from the tank, leaving a gap?
 
hul kogan said:
Ron Reefman - Thank you, much appreciated...and from another overbuilder, too! Sounds like you built a monster stand, as well.

I can't take credit for the external box, as I have seen a few others go that route. I just modified the concept to my needs. You hit the nail on the head, though. Most folks don't have room behind the tank to use an external. Since I did, I was able to incorporate an internal weir and cut down on in-tank real estate taken up by the overflow setup. Were you looking for pictures of the internal weir?
Click to expand...

I enjoy seeing anything other people build that is out of the ordinary, and your system sure fits that bill. Yes, a pic of the internal weir. I used the overflow that was built in to my 180 and used both holes as drains. I also drilled holes in the bottom for a CL system and a gravity feed to my skimmer. Now I wish I had a 'spare' drain line for emergency use (in case of blockage of an 'in use drain').

The start of my basic set up is below. The front and back top rails are double 2x6's that have been glued and screwed with stainless steel screws. It's been up and running for about 18 months now, but it's still far from finished!

P5010003.jpg
 
@joejoe1055: Thank you!

@Niven: I'm not sure I'm following what you're saying. Since it is fairly equal weight across the piece, compression isn't very evident at all.

@Ron: Now that's a tank of a stand! Very nice. Yes, the emergency drain is a nice feature of the BA style. It's worth incorporating if you can find a way to manage it in your existing setup.

There are a few different pics of the internal weir on the first page after I finished building it and installed it in the tank. I'll get some shots through the front glass once I get the lights mounted and can get some decent light for the shot.
 
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