Planned build, 210 DT, 125 Sump

[houstonhobby]

I have these two tanks left over from my freshwater days. The tanks are

210 US gallon, 72L x 24W x 29H and 125 US gallon, 72L x 18W x 20H.

The plan is to build a 4-tank system, cannibalizing parts from my existing 2 tank system (a standard 90 and a 20 long). The system will have the 210 as a display tank, the 125 for a sump, and two 20 longs as refugiums. Theoretically the whole system will be about 370 gallons, probably a bit less since the sump will never be full.

I will build a stand to hold the 210 above the 125. The 20 longs will then be mounted on the wall above the 210. In my current system, the 20 long is mounted above the 90 on the same kind of mounting (Elfa).

These are all glass tanks, but just regular old "green" plate glass.

I don't like the "standard" notion of a big wooden top on the DT. I want to see the surface of the water and I want a general impression of lightness. I'm also not much on stands with a lot of molding and cabinetry. When I look at the tank from my desk I want to be able to see the sump so I can see how everything is working.

I intend to build with plain old 2x4 lumber, doubled (two 2x4's glued and screwed together are both stronger and cheaper than a 4x4) for the top rails and the corner stiles. I will sheath the ends with 3/4 inch plywood, not for looks but for defense against racking, and for the same reason I will make an X of 1x4 lumber on the back of the stand. There will be single 2x4 stiles at the 2 foot mark. Maybe 2x2's at the front to keep access as open as possible.

Connecting the rails at the top I'll have triple 2x4's at each end (since the end stiles have to stick out beyond the tanks to get the 125 underneath) and single 2x4's at the 2 foot marks. My 210 has plastic supports across the bottom at the 2 foot mark and I will probably insert some shims so that these are supported by the cross pieces.

The stand will sit on a mitered square of 1x6, with a 1x4 piece longways so that the 125 can sit on 1 inch lumbar and be supported all the way around the sides. Because of it's thinner width, it will be set back about 4.5 inches from the front and I'll probably find good use for that space for equipment.

If I decide to get really fancy I will paint the stand black. If you haven't guessed by now, the tank is not going in an area where the aesthetics are controlled by women. Is that a misogynist statement? I don't think of myself that way. The aesthetic is spare, expressed structure.

 

[houstonhobby]

What is the best way to handle water flow between DT and sump?

The 210 is drilled with four holes in the bottom (2 groups of two) that are sized for one inch bulkheads. However, it does not have those plastic pieces with the teeth at the top. What are those things called? I can't find them because I don't know the correct name for them. Or because nobody sells them. I'm not sure which.

Anyway, I don't know if I like them or not. My plan is to use all four bulkheads for outflow. I want to use schedule 80 2" to 1" slip to slip (BRS SKU 202605) reducer bushings so that I use 2 inch riser pipes. BRS only has threaded 2" strainers, no slip, which is a little annoying. I will need a 2" slip to thread for the top of each riser.

Underneath the bulkhead I will have ball valves for each outlet and 1" piping to take the four outputs to the left side of the sump.

Output from the sump, then, has to be over the top of the back wall of the 210. I am thinking Danner Mag Drive 18Bs. Probably two of them. I have one of these that I use for moving water around generally, and they are rugged and reliable, and with a head of around 5 feet I should get maybe 1200 gph from each of them. Does that sound right? With pipe friction figured in maybe only 1000 gph.

 

[houstonhobby]

Scavenged equipment

From the 90-20 setup I will take
1) An Azoo temperature controller
2) A Tunze auto top off, model 5017
3) A Milwaulkee ORP monitor/controller (no ozonation unit)
4) The BRS hang on back mid-size refugium, with power compact lights. With the 20 longs, this makes three refugiums.
5) Two Korallin sulfer denitrators (only one in use at present)
6) Around 150 lbs of live rock. I will fill the rest in with "dry live rock", which I will epoxy in place while everything is dry. Then live sand, then water, then move my live rock from the old system to the new, with time out of water limited to a minute or less. Doing it this way makes it hard to plan the scape, and I am a lousy aquascaper anyway (always was, even after 45 years of planted tanks). The dry rock can be fiddled with, but then the live rock overlay has to be dumped in quickly, all moved in a single day, and it will end up where it may. My thoughts, whether it will work that way in practice or not, is to make an island in down the center, keeping both front and back relatively free. The tank can be seen from the front and one side.