Pgr11's TRFS/AA 265 upgrade

[pgr11]

Well the journey has started as my wife and I have begun our upgrade. We initially started with a 45 gal tank we bought off cl got it home and before it even got wet we decided it was just too small, so off to look for another. We extremes on a 55 gal with a nice stand & canopy, got some live rock and began the cycle. After a few weeks the cycle was complete and we started to think about getting some livestock but my wife gave me a little hint that she could consider going even bigger. Well I posted the question here and the overall consensus was do it. So off again to find a bigger tank. I found a 125 with a stand and snatched it up. Transfered it all over from the 55 and waited. The cycle didn't take long and we were ready to go. This all started back in june of last year. The tank has come a long way in that time and we have loved having it but it has now become too small. My wife loves the tank so persuading her to go as big as possible was not an issue. So out came the tape measure to see how big we could fit. She told me if were gonna do it were going BIG. The wall we have for our tank was a little over 100" long but it we went the max it would crowd the walking spa e from the hallway and coming from the kitchen so 84" was decided. Next came the height. Our current tank is 24"t and since my wife is in the tank all the time she said no taller, not a problem. Now depth. I love a deep tank and after more measurements 30" was what we wanted. So our tank was going to be 84x30dx24t. Now who to build it. We have had a awesome relationship with jason at Tropical Reef Fish Store since he opened and he has been a world of help so naturally I talked to him about it. Acrylic was the way to go and John at Advanced Acrylic was the man to build it. So jason called him up and worked out a amazing deal with him for the tank. I can't say this enough without jason this would have been a little tougher journey. After multiple discussions on overflow size overall tank design drain setup return set up we went with a 48" external overflow with 3 drain holes and 4 return holes. John also designed a matching sump/fuge with 2 sock holders,skimmer section, and return. The tank would be 3/4 all the way around and 1/2 top. 3/4 allowed us to have 2 very large openings on top to allow large rocks to be added and plenty of space for my wife to get in the tank. John also would hand polish the tank along with the front corners. Needless to say we were super excited. That was three weeks ago. Tonight we went to pick up the tank. John was going to deliver it to trfs but was still polishing it all up so we decided to go to him and pick it up at his shop. What we saw blew us away. The tank is gorgeous, stunning, exceeds my expectations. Johns work is top notch this cannot be stressed enough. I've heard all the stories about him but forget all that noise john builds some gangster tanks. So without further ado here are the pics. Sorry for the cell phone pics tomorrow I will try for better pics and bigger ones as well.

My catfish

And of course my 2 dogface puffers and my angel fish

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[pgr11]

Ok now for some more. Since we were getting a lg tank and didn't want to worry about too much heat being put in the tank from MH lights we went with led's. 4 AI units were ordered to light this bad boy. Depending on the coverage once the tank is up we will decide if a couple more are required and let the pocket book recover a little as well.

The stand is currently being built by a welder named travis. His stands are amazing. This stand should be sweet. Travis is having it powder coated and is also building a custom light rack that will pivot to allow the lights to be moved for Maint of the tank. Stand will be made from 2x2x120 steel. As stated before sump was an AA sump that john set up for this tank. Skim duties will belong to the new cadlight skimmer model tia-1350. The duty of returning water from the sump will be performed by a reeflo dart gold pump. This will also power the brs dual reactor and anything else that comes along. A new apex controller with 12 total outlets ph and temp probe will control it all. As far as fuge light im thinking about mounting a par 38 bulb from like costco or HD. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I also picked up some awesome shelf rock from a local guy on another fourm. Gorgeous pieces and big. most 24" wide

Picked up this one from jason at trfs

Once the stand is here I will start laying out the plumbing.

 

[bmullikin1]

Nice tank, like the led aspect as well, here's my swing arm on my old 125, just upgraded to a 180, so added some more leds and t5's.

 

[pgr11]

Nice light setup. The way that my setup will be is that there will be 2 arms,1 on each side of the tank. Mounted to the tank will be a round sleve that round bar will slip into. part way up the round bar will be welded to square tubing and then 45 over the tank. Next we will have 2 rails mounted that will run horizontal with the tank. This will be on a pivot as well. Each side will operate indepently of each other. And should swing towards the back wall. Its a little hard to explain when its all done I will get some pics up. Thanks

 

[geaux xman]

man thats a nice looking DT and SUMP. You guys are lucky to have a local builder. That easily saves 500+ on crate and shipping charges.

You mention your external overflow was 48"L. how deep and tall is it?

I am looking at a similar size acrylic tank too and am gather ideas. Thanks..

 

[pgr11]

man thats a nice looking DT and SUMP. You guys are lucky to have a local builder. That easily saves 500+ on crate and shipping charges.

You mention your external overflow was 48"L. how deep and tall is it?

I am looking at a similar size acrylic tank too and am gather ideas. Thanks..

Thank for the compliment on the tank. As far as the over flow its 48" long x 5 1/2" deep x 9 1/2" tall. I had it drilled with 3 holes. 2 will be main drains and the third will be an emergency drain. We wanted to be able to skim a lg amount of water but in order to do the we would loose alot of valuable space inside the tank. When my lfs guy Jason suggested the external overflow it was a no brained. I must say I love the way it looks it will keep the tank looking way less cluttered with equipment.

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[krjackso]

super excited for you my friend. glad this worked out. looks familiar, ahaha. I hope mine is nice and shiny when I get this plastic shrink wrap off. everything looks top notch for you though. keep the pics coming. Lets keep bouncing ideas off one another, since we are kind of doing similar builds here.

Couple considerations...
1) what about electrical. got some dedicated outlets, etc? this thing will be pulling some power
2) skinning ideas?
3) got a pic of where its going?

 

[pgr11]

super excited for you my friend. glad this worked out. looks familiar, ahaha. I hope mine is nice and shiny when I get this plastic shrink wrap off. everything looks top notch for you though. keep the pics coming. Lets keep bouncing ideas off one another, since we are kind of doing similar builds here.

Couple considerations...
1) what about electrical. got some dedicated outlets, etc? this thing will be pulling some power
2) skinning ideas?
3) got a pic of where its going?

Thanks man. Im sure your will be very shiny. He had me show at his shop at 8:30pm and when I got there he was just finishing buffing it out. When I saw it I about fell over it was stunning. He went over the whole tank with me to make sure I was satisfied and then loaded it up. I truly have no idea how you have the restraint to keep the wrap on your bad boy.
Now to you questions. The elec while not a dedicated line it is on a breaker that is used for my front room in the house. We have nothing pluged into that room and have not for 15 yreas we have lived here.
Skinning. For now a nice black curtain will cover the stand. Im looking for skinning ideas as well. so if anybody has some i would appreciate them. Just remember, im a dummy with wood.
Pics of where it going well it will be going in the same place as the 125 is currently. here is the pic.

I just got a text with some pics of the stand. The builder is another reefer and said he will post some pics and info on it in a few days. The stand is looking awesome though must say. I will try and keep the pics and info coming.Here are some of my current tank

 

[pgr11]

Here are some pics of the stand in progress. He still needs to weld the rest of the legs in place and add a few gussets. The light rack will be next.

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[blkg35]

Pgr11, what city is the stand builder in? I need a stand done for my tank too.
Looking forward to pics of the finish stand.

Sweet tank, all of my tanks come from John also! Keep us updated and looking forward to A LOT of pics....:spin2:

 

[pgr11]

Hey thanks
The stand builder is a little north of me so I have to drive a bit but its worth it. It ia atuscadero ( not sure on the spelling ) its just above san Luis obisbo . Im hoping to get some pics of the stand completely welded up and ready for powder coat this weekend. Then I will go get that bad boy and start setting it all up. More pics to come as soon as possible. Pm me if you want the builders info

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[pgr11]

Last night Jason the owner of my lfs TRFS stopped by and dropped off my new skimmer. Front door service doesn't get better than that. I also picked up my pump reckon dart gold and another rock from a local reefer. Hope you guys like

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[pgr11]

The stand Is finished and ready to be picked up from thee powder coater. I will get it tomorrow. Can't wait. I will get some pics as soon as possible :bounce1:

 

[pgr11]

I made the long drive yesterday to pick up my stand left at 7am and got back a little after 4pm. Nice trip but it was pouring rain most of the way. My friend and fellow reefer came over to help me move all my stuff around. I could never done all this moving without him yesterday. Juan is the man. First we had to drain the 125 gal tank sown and move it to it temporary place. It will stay up and running until the new tank has cycled and is ready for my livestock. Here it is in its new position.

Then we moved the big boy into its rightful place.

Then we put the light bars up. I think these are so cool. Each one will swing back towards the wall and be out of the way for any cleaning or Maint.

The 125 looks so small

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[pgr11]

Yoohoooooo! !!!!! My lfs stoles off all my sand last night and I picked up some plumbing parts and will start to plumb it all up. I also got a deal on an 800w heater that I will pick up this weekend. I have a question though. Im going with a bean animal drain setup and since my over flow is centered on the back of the tank it makes it very difficult to get to a valve to adjust. Could I place the valve under the stand to make adjustment easier?

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[pgr11]

Got some plumbing done and am doing a water test now. I need a 3" hole saw to drill the hole in sump for bulkhead to attach the pump. Once I drill that I will build the manifold. I got all the plumbing done behind the tank, placed foam under the stand and moved the tank back into position. Last night I mounted the lights. I will drill the sump this weekend because I have plans tomorrow night. Hopefully Saturday I will be able to do a full run and test all the plumbing. Here are some pics of my progress.

Got her all wet! !!!!!!!!!!

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[pgr11]

Almost forgot the lights. The plan is to get some more ai's as soon as the pocketbook recovers lol

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[bmullikin1]

Im liking the light tree's, very clean looking.

 

[krjackso]

Looking really sweet my friend. Loving the light trees too. Great idea and execution. quick thought, did you consider using the all black AIs? Might match everything up better. If you are still within your return window. The whites look awesome, don't get me wrong, but with the black background and frame, who knows. I have never seen them in person.

As far as dropping your valve that low on a bean animal, I don't see why it would be a problem, but oddly enough I thought I remember reading somewhere to keep it high? Can't back that up and don't want to read through 600 more pages of that thread to find it, but I think you will be fine. Just remember to terminate your drain pipes about an inch under the surface in your sump. Another good idea is to have that 3rd emergency drain line terminate above the water line. Idea here is that if it is use, something is most likely wrong and it will audibly alert you with some extra splashing. Who knows how often you will look back in your plumbing box you know.

Also another thought. Any way to get around drilling the sump for return pump? I have seen too many acrylic sumps cracked from accidentally bumping into the return and stressing the walls. Always user error, and easily avoidable, but stuff happens. Seems like an unnecessary risk if you can avoid it. Now you may be trying to reduce heat, have no room, etc, but just a thought.

So what did you put under the tank? Looks really great and clean. Ply and foam?

Keep it up bud, you are making really great progress. This is the fun part, so enjoy!

 

[pgr11]

Hey thanks. I didn't even know about the black bodies on the AI units until after I bought them but I kinda like the white contrast in color. I would ha e bought the black if I had known but I'm real happy with how they look now. As far as the drain I just decided to bring the valve down and see what happens. Under the tank I placed the same foam I put under the tank. I wanted to have it soak up any imperfections. I will take some pics of it. Now for the sump with the external pump you need to drill the sump for a bulkhead fitting. No big deal ill make sure all is secure. Thanks for the encouragement im having a blast building this beast.


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