Mike's 300 Double-D

[d3hree]

Just caught up Mike after being a little absent of late. It looks great! I love the sump and it's stand, it almost looks like a coffee table feature the way you have it in the photograph

 

[prop-frags]

i couldnt find the thread...... but someone used some 4" pipe and a "Y" to stop splashing and bubbles in his Rubbermaid

he cut teeth in the pipe, placed it on the bottom of the sump. then had his incoming water come in the side portion of the "Y" and exted the top portion a few inches.
this stopped his bubble problem, becuase they could pop in the pipe and no spray salt everywhere... they were a little big though.


just curious.... where is your water coming in, and where is it going out.

and, is the sump first, or rubbermaid? this will make a difference in what is required.

Thanks David. If you can find that thread or a pic of this it would be helpful. I think I get what you're saying. We intend to have dual drains from the display - one feeding into the new shallow sump and one into the vat. Here's our high-quality design drawing:


nt 1115 by terryl93, on Flickr

WOW!!!! that sump looks amazing, nice job. Those cable management cutouts were a great idea. Sorry to hear about the wrasse, it sounded like he was gonna pull through for you.

Thank you Brett. We're still smarting a bit from the loss of our Lineatus. Watching the other male in the tank makes us sad - he seems more shy now and hides more.

Maybe late to this...but like 120-180 grit on a hand sander works great for rounding edges. Worked great rounding edges on my frag tank build! I think if you get too fine, you clog the paper.

Great tip. We'll get out to the box store this weekend and grab some of that sandpaper. The edges definitely need to get rounded off - no doubt we'll get cut if we don't!

That's one nice sump stand! Oh, and the sump is nice too

Thank you sir! We had company over this past weekend who suggested that we just set it up as a display tank in our front room

Just caught up Mike after being a little absent of late. It looks great! I love the sump and it's stand, it almost looks like a coffee table feature the way you have it in the photograph

Welcome back, Matt! We are actually very pleased with how it turned out. It's almost too good to use as a sump. Can you say CLAM TANK! muahahahaha!

 

[Flyboy17]

Just got done reading through the entire threat and wow! I'm so glad you all stuck with it after all the trials you went through. The new setup is absolutely fantastic!

 

[kinlayan]

Sorry to hear about the lineatus, these things happen and you did all you could so you have to surrender to the fact that all the fish will die some just sooner than later, it is sad but dont dwell on it too much - look at all those other beautiful fish you have looked after so well.

The sump looks amazing i wish we could get good acrylic work like that done here but alas we dont have such good acrylic workmanship here yet.I think the improvements you are making are great- perhaps you could make an acrylic cover for the rubbermaid tub, with some holes for gas exchange?

 

[prop-frags]

Just got done reading through the entire threat and wow! I'm so glad you all stuck with it after all the trials you went through. The new setup is absolutely fantastic!

Flyboy17, thank you for the compliment and for participating in our thread. We really appreciate it.

Sorry to hear about the lineatus, these things happen and you did all you could so you have to surrender to the fact that all the fish will die some just sooner than later, it is sad but dont dwell on it too much - look at all those other beautiful fish you have looked after so well.

The sump looks amazing i wish we could get good acrylic work like that done here but alas we dont have such good acrylic workmanship here yet.I think the improvements you are making are great- perhaps you could make an acrylic cover for the rubbermaid tub, with some holes for gas exchange?

Kinlayan, good advice regarding our fish and much appreciated! We've been so busy doing the prep work for the sump room re-design that we haven't really had much time to think about the cover (if any) for the stock vat, but the acrylic does seem like a good idea.

And speaking of the sump room, we have an update...

We spent this past weekend re-working the sump room, replacing our old 125g sump w/the new shallow acrylic sump and 150g stock vat, as well as moving the 75g prop-tank/refugium outside of the room. Here are some pics:

Water testing the new shallow sump:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6022149851/" title="ssump1 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6207/6022149851_2e0767da22_z.jpg" width="640" height="411" alt="ssump1"></a>

The new "home" for the 75g prop-tank/refugium:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6022144415/" title="nt 1278 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6131/6022144415_228d3aa1ca_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 1278"></a>

Moving the 75g tank opened up quite a bit of space on the left side of the sump room making room for the new 150g stock vat:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6022728960/" title="nt 1280 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6083/6022728960_b98dc42ab2_z.jpg" width="425" height="640" alt="nt 1280"></a>


The new 150g vat:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6022145883/" title="nt 1283 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6085/6022145883_e72e39a648_z.jpg" width="425" height="640" alt="nt 1283"></a>

And a couple of shots of the new acrylic sump:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6022705960/" title="nt 1285 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6201/6022705960_baa4c83b54_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 1285"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6022704252/" title="nt 1284 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6083/6022704252_f49dd03852_z.jpg" width="425" height="640" alt="nt 1284"></a>

After all that work, it was time for a cold one!
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6022142645/" title="nt 1275 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6192/6022142645_3e68daea91_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 1275"></a>

We still have a bit of work to do, but we are in business! :dance:

 

[CRAZYFIZH]

great work on the the fish room and the sump looks great love all the little details on the acrylic work.

 

[drummereef]

New shallow sump looks amazing! :thumbsup: The drain seems like a great way to regulate water level in the sump too, just adjust the riser to match water height. Is it noisy at all with it set up that way?

 

[aquaph8]

You are having way too much fun in that room. So much nice stuff going in there lately. Im thinking a kegerator would fit next to that stock tank, just an idea.

 

[prop-frags]

great work on the the fish room and the sump looks great love all the little details on the acrylic work.

Thanks! We'll be watching your build. Hope your custom work comes in the way you plan.

New shallow sump looks amazing! :thumbsup: The drain seems like a great way to regulate water level in the sump too, just adjust the riser to match water height. Is it noisy at all with it set up that way?

The drain is surprisingly quiet, Brett. Granted, it's a bit noisy out in the sump room, so I guess it's all relative. The drain line dumping into the sump from the DT is louder than the drain from the sump into the vat, that's certain. We're very pleased with how steady the water level is with this approach. Having the 2" drain is crucial though. We initially had a 1" reduction fitting in there (since we didn't have another 2" threaded fitting handy on Sunday night), and it was causing all kinds of crazy behaviors with water levels rising and falling.

You are having way too much fun in that room. So much nice stuff going in there lately. Im thinking a kegerator would fit next to that stock tank, just an idea.

Hahaha Brett great minds think alike! You saw that CO2 tank sitting there and jumped right to the logical conclusion! :beer: We have been driven by all the great examples of sump builds and makeovers. We still have a way to go to get it where we want it, but sump room version 2.0 is much better than what we had!

With all this work in the back office, we didn't want to neglect why we do all this geek stuff! How about some pics from the front office!?

Orange Pavona:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6027375245/" title="nt 1294 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6145/6027375245_a447f5a258_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 1294"></a>

Rainbow Monti:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6027923756/" title="nt 1293 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6126/6027923756_01c393a290_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 1293"></a>

Blastomussa:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6027371487/" title="nt 1292 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6139/6027371487_b2e0dfb02e_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 1292"></a>

Undata:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6027371415/" title="nt 1291 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6205/6027371415_21a52a1322_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 1291"></a>

Baby Setosa:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6027922450/" title="nt 1290 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6184/6027922450_95d5bf23b7_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 1290"></a>

Chili Pepper monti:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6027922172/" title="nt 1288 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6195/6027922172_5255d437e5_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 1288"></a>

Dino egg monti:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6027922060/" title="nt 1287 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6146/6027922060_78c5d9db4c_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 1287"></a>

Right side:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6027921944/" title="nt 1286 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6130/6027921944_275ab03286_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 1286"></a>

 

[canyousee]

That's what I love about you guys you put together a great plan and then you get to work and make it happen.Very nice set up top to bottom(hell your sump looks better than my DT)

 

[Reef_Noob]

the Coral shots are Sweeeet....

Great monti collection ya have there...

I need to gravely improve my photography skills and upgrade my camera to get shots like that into my build thread once i start stocking fish and corals in few weeks time...

Your photos are a big inspiration

 

[amsi]

What are the 2 fish with orange spots on them? Love the look of the tank

absolute beautiful

 

[CRAZYFIZH]

any reason you went with the starboard rather than eggcrate.i was going to use eggcrate but just trying to get you opinion.was the ero braceing marineland's doing or did you want it done.
the tank looks better than ever was i could see it in person.
terry is a lot more understanding than my wife would have been.
still waiting on my tank to show up will start posting some more picture very soon.

 

[rodstar]

Mike,
Quick question. I hear the overflows are removable. I am thinking about removing them for good and plugging the bulkheads and then drilling the back glass with external overflows.

Are my assumptions correct?

 

[billrob71]

Man thats some nice looking corals!! Really like that pavona.

 

[riemannp]

Hey guys, I would be interested to know if your system withstood the earthquake OK. Hoping that over-enginerring of your rebuild has served you well. Forgive my lack of familiarity of your location vs the epicenter. Living in the Pacific Northwest, I would have expected earthquake to hit us before you guys! Hope all is well.

 

[prop-frags]

That's what I love about you guys you put together a great plan and then you get to work and make it happen.Very nice set up top to bottom(hell your sump looks better than my DT)

That's the "labor of love" part of this hobby, eh? We really like how the sump turned out as well. Still have some work to do there to get the details set up right - thinking about placement of the filter sock brackets, manifold, reactors, and probe holders. Thanks for the kind words and contributing to the thread.

the Coral shots are Sweeeet....Great monti collection ya have there...I need to gravely improve my photography skills and upgrade my camera to get shots like that into my build thread once i start stocking fish and corals in few weeks time...Your photos are a big inspiration

Thanks! Tank photography is something that takes just as much patience as keeping the tank parameters steady! The good news is that the cameras keep getting better and cheaper. We'll be watching for your updates.

absolute beautiful

Thank you, Amsi.

any reason you went with the starboard rather than eggcrate.i was going to use eggcrate but just trying to get you opinion.was the ero braceing marineland's doing or did you want it done.
the tank looks better than ever was i could see it in person.
terry is a lot more understanding than my wife would have been.
still waiting on my tank to show up will start posting some more picture very soon.

There were a couple of reasons for the starboard. We are using some rather heavy rocks that are elevated using the tree structures we've built, and in the case of an accidental break, we wanted to guard against a falling rock creating a sharp impact on the tank bottom - the starboard provides some protection there. Another benefit is helping to spread the load of the rock out over a larger surface area, and avoid pressure points.

As far as the eurobracing, we ordered it from Marineland.

Thank you for the compliments - we are waiting to see your pics!

Mike,
Quick question. I hear the overflows are removable. I am thinking about removing them for good and plugging the bulkheads and then drilling the back glass with external overflows. Are my assumptions correct?

Derek, the overflows are removable. Take a look at this thread. You should check with your local dealer and make sure you know the implications to any factory warranty, but it certainly looks like a straight-forward project. We're big fans of the coast-to-coast style back-mounted overflows. Even with the box we had built at the factory, it is pretty limited in flow rate over the weir. A future project is to widen the teeth on the weir to get more flow from the main return pump.

Man thats some nice looking corals!! Really like that pavona.

Thanks! Now if we can just keep everything steady here and let the livestock grow in.

Hey guys, I would be interested to know if your system withstood the earthquake OK. Hoping that over-enginerring of your rebuild has served you well. Forgive my lack of familiarity of your location vs the epicenter. Living in the Pacific Northwest, I would have expected earthquake to hit us before you guys! Hope all is well.

Hi Paul! We were out of town when the Virginia earthquake struck - we live about 35 miles from the epicenter. So far, we've had 5 aftershocks; this morning's aftershock was 4.5 magnitude, so we're still a bit unsettled here. Thanks to you, we have not seen any problems with our tank, stand, or structure. We just got back in town from vacation, so we are planning a full inspection today. How is your tank build going?

 

[aquaph8]

Glad to hear everything's OK after the earthquake.

 

[prop-frags]

Wow, first earthquakes and now this:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6086888988/" title="irene01 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6207/6086888988_447d686887_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="irene01"></a>

Our electricity utility dropped at about 3pm ET; approximately 250,000 are without power. Our battery back up carried on as expected. At about 3:45 pm, we fired up the generator; we are powering essential components of our reef system (main pump, skimmer, tunze stream pumps).

Things are OK here, but blowing like crazy! Sustained winds are ~45 mph as of now, gusting up to 60 mph.

 

[Giga]

I feel ya I'm right here too!