Mike's Starphire 150 w/ frag tank build

[polyped]

Well things have out grown my old 46 bowfront tank so I have been planning an upgrade for the last year.

Glass tanks:

150 gallon 5' X 2' X 2' Starphire glass front, sides, and eurobracing from Plane Inc.
30 gallon 2' X 2' X 12" Starphire all the way around, frag tank

Acrylic Tanks:

63 gallon 48" X 16" X 19" 3 chamber Sump from Advance Acrylic
34 gallon 20" X 20" X 20" reservoir from Advanced Acrylic

I think I may have just slid into the Large Reef Tank section.

I tend to think long and hard over something before I get started and RC has definitely helped me greatly along the way. Especially the following threads:

I started looking here:

Herbies overflow system

which led me to here

BeanAnimals overflow system click here

and then to the tank that was pretty much the epitome of what I wanted my tank to be like.

Toms 375 click here

I plan on using both overflow systems in my setup. The herbie for the frag tank and beans for the display. So here it goes... fingers crossed

 

[polyped]

The reason for this upgrade is that I can not keep up with the Ca and Carbonate demands of my SPS. This system will quadruple my current 50 gallon volume and combined with a Ca 2+ reactor I hope to keep things much more stable.

I think it would be best for some pics of my current setup before I get to the plumbing

 

[polyped]

Here is my FTS as of today

but it did not always look like this so here is the progression of the tank over the last year

~4-4-09~

~7-2-09~

 

[polyped]

I know that I will deliberate long and hard over what I will add to the tank but some of the current occupants are no brainers

~Tommy Knockers Acropora Prostrata~

4-22

6-24

Finally getting the black tips that made me want the coral so bad

9-7

1-4-09

4-4-09

7-2-09

 

[polyped]

~Purple Passion Acropora Secale~

4-22

6-24 still waiting for the base to spread out but it has started some promising shoots...

9-7

1-4-08

4-4-09

7-2-09

 

[polyped]

~Watermelon~

This is probably my best close up ever

 

[polyped]

Here are the tanks

oh and I liked this pic through the side of the Starphire

 

[polyped]

If you rent I suggest you don't do this.... But hey I have been here for 5 years the landlord never fixes anything and besides he will never know.

Had to have a dedicated circuit

upstairs

downstairs

the new GFCI outlet

patching

edit: sorry I didn't realize those pictures were so fuzzy hope no one gets a headache

 

[polyped]

The stand was built by a friend of mine and though it does not have gussets we are confident that it will hold. Does anyone think otherwise?

The powder coat is Eagle White it has a texture to it that covers any imperfection in the metal nicely. I asked for what ever was in the gun to cut down on cost. It turns out that someone payed a bunch to get a stand this color and they just slid me in on their job. Thanks North County Powder Coating.

 

[hatfielj]

Great Growth Shots! And Beautiful corals. Your new set up is going to be sweet! Can't wait to see the end results...Keep the pics coming.

 

[polyped]

I cut 3/4" plywood for the top and the bottom then applied a few coats of paint to each side to cut down on water absorption and possible swelling over time.

I didn't want the edge of the plywood to show so I bought some door molding from HD and cut it to skirt the the plywood. It also has a ride above and below the ply. The ridge above will hide the 1/2" foam padding from HD and the ridge on the bottom will hold the ply in place in relation to the stand. I didn't want to screw anything into the metal so I went this direction. I do wish that I had some tabs to screw into but I will make do.

After I cut it and nail gunned it in place and puttied over the nails I stained it with Minwax Brazilian Redwood gel Stain.

I think it turned out nice. I plan on skirting the tank with Natural Birch ply with the same stain and then attaching it to the tank with magnets sunk into the back of the sheets. I figure I then have full access to the guts of the system by just pulling the sides off.

Oh and all the junk outside is because we are getting our carpets cleaned before the tank goes in. They needed it especially after all the cutting, patching and sanding of the drywall.

 

[polyped]

Well I got the tank on the stand I and I quickly noticed a problem. There was a 1/16" space between the plywood and the rear right corner of the stand.

So I am tripping out that my stand is not flat, even though I checked it before and ensured that it was. So I called my friends back over to help pull the tank off the stand set in on the floor. Flipped the stand over so that what was the back right is now the bottom back left and checked the plywood. It turns out the plywood has a pretty bad warp to it. I double checked the flatness of the stand, put the ply, pad, and tank back on and the same gap showed up in the same corner. Please correct me if I am wrong but if the stand was not flat the gap should have followed the move and shifted to the left side. There is still a 1/16" gap in the back right that I am confident will flatten out without putting stress on the tank as more weight is added. Anyone? ...

 

[jlt23]

Very nice. I'm doing a 150G upgrade too. How are you planning on lighting it?

 

[polyped]

Sorry been busy for the 4th. Happy Independence day everyone. I told my friends that I had to leave the party cause I wanted to get home and do some plumbing, they called me names as I left...

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15304851#post15304851 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jlt23
Very nice. I'm doing a 150G upgrade too. How are you planning on lighting it?

I am going to light it with 2 lumenbright pendants w/ DE phoenixs and a dual 250 galaxy ballast. Will probably build and stain a hanging light rack to match the finished stand. If I do that I will supplement with something... was thinking of these plasma LED's. I am trying to keep the wattage / amperage down so well see what the power bill jumps to when it is all up and running.

http://www.plasmaled.com/household_led_light_bulb.htm

 

[polyped]

The sump is from John at Advance Acrylic

The customer service there is out of this world. I ordered the sump but my diagram never got to John so we talked over the phone. Some of the dimensions must not have carried well over the phone. He built the sump and when I got it, it was not what I wanted. He said no problem and built me an entirely new sump using my diagram and I even made some changes after seeing the first one. It worked out great for me and I would suggest them to anyone.

If anyone wants a nice sump at a great price email John. John@adnvanceacrylic.com

 

[strout]

Very nice, am along to to see how it turns out.

 

[justshoe]

I've been reading alot of builds lately and the warpage on the plywood seems to be a very normal aspect of it. Most people seem to be also throwing a piece of foam atop the plywood and then shimming the spots between the ply and frame with wood shims.

 

[polyped]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15317018#post15317018 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by justshoe
I've been reading alot of builds lately and the warpage on the plywood seems to be a very normal aspect of it. Most people seem to be also throwing a piece of foam atop the plywood and then shimming the spots between the ply and frame with wood shims.

I am 100% sure that my stand is flat on top so today I meticulously flattened out the ply and secured it with self tapping metal screws. It is perfectly flat now and I am pleased. I didn't want to shim any areas the were raised due to the ply being warped as I feel that that would put a stress on the bottom of the tank. The padding is now an uniform height throughout rather than being compressed on one side. Once I get the tank in its final place (post plumbing) I will use shims to ensure that the tank is perfectly level.

Here is a pic the stain makes it look like there is still a gap but there is not.

Needless to say my friends are sick of helping me lift this tank on and off the stand so fingers crossed that I will not have to do that again until I move.

Also my roommates are getting tired of the fact that all my clutter has taken over the living room for the last few weeks / months (boxes sitting where the tank is now) so I am trying to finish this up as quickly as possible and to the best of my ability.

This is my first actual tank build all of my previous projects have been HOB.

 

[polyped]

Well this is the fun part though I must admit that I have been stressing as I have never really plumbed anything before. All this plus a half dozen more trips to HD. That reminds me I need to pick up a 1/2" X 1/2" John Guest valve tomorrow.

I went with Christy's red hot glue even though I hate the look of glue on the PVC.

http://www.tchristy.com/redhotblueglue/

and everything that I have read has told me to use teflon paste rather than tape so I got Rectorseal as well.

 

[polyped]

Here is the pump that is going to drive the system. A Reeflo Super Dart Gold. I have thought long and hard about how much head pressure and gph I will push through the different parts of this setup so before you go crucifying me about the 4300 gph this puts out let me get a little farther along.

I will also design the system so that I can easily switch out pumps (I am using true union ball valves) if need be with something smaller. Honestly I am worried that it may be too much pump as well. When you see all the tees I have planed plus the chiller and the frag tank inline.... well time will tell.

The pump just fits on the stand with enough room for the 2" intake line to pass to the bulkhead on the sump.

Here is my attempt to provide some shock absorption.