Smaller place, bigger tank...My 200DD build

[E.Rude]

I started this hobby about 7 years ago with a 55 gallon FO with a SeaClone protein skimmer. It didn’t take long for me to loathe the dimensions of standard 55 gallon tanks. I soon upgraded to an undrilled 125 that went through it’s own progression of lights, powerheads, and various overflows (from two 700gph G-Holes kits to a C2C w/ external BeanAnimal). A few years ago I had a tank crash and shortly after setting it up again I began to get annoyed with the 18” width of the tank…just not enough width for the length.

We recently decided to downsize from a 2 bedroom house to a smaller apartment. It’s just my girlfriend and me, and there was so much dead space in the house that just got filled up with stuff we never used. To make the move easier, we tossed out most of our furniture and bought new stuff. The apartment is on one of the cities most desirable streets, is constructed with poured concrete, and all utilities are included in the rent…oh yessss!

It’s not without its downsides, though. There is a perfect space for a Marineland 200 Deep Dimension, however the tank will be in the living area so it has to be as quiet as possible. Also, since I can’t have a remote equipment room and the apartment is small, everything has to fit under the stand (except CO2 bottle) since it won’t take much to make the living space look cluttered. I will be moving in two days.

Equipment List… a lot of this stuff was lightly used on my 125
-Marineland 200 Deep Dimension (L overflow will be full siphon and open channel, R overflow will be emergency drain and return)
-Marineland Monterey Stand
-40B Sump/fuge
-20L Reservoir tank
-Two Reefbreeder Photon 32 LED fixtures
-Skimz Oval SV-203 skimmer
-Eheim Compact+5000 return pump (660-1320gph)
-Two 250w Jager heaters
-Two VorTech MP40w ES with battery backup
-PhosBan 550 GFO reactor
-Geo 618 Calcium reactor w/ Milwaukee pH controller
-Two MJ 1200 feed pumps for reactors, hoping to only need one
-Three American DJ power strips
-Kati/Ani 2
-200 lbs LR including 40lbs Marco Rock Prime Cuts
-160 lbs Carribsea Seaflor Special Grade Aragonite


QT tank:
-30B
-Red Sea Prism Pro Skimmer
-VorTech MP10w ES
-Two heaters
-MH/PC fixture

 

[ghellin]

Sounds great! If you are going for quiet the maxi jets get noisy see if you can find a slightly larger return pump and do a manifold to feed your reactors. You will also save on power cords, electricity, room in your sump, etc.

 

[cas1069]

Sounds great! If you are going for quiet the maxi jets get noisy see if you can find a slightly larger return pump and do a manifold to feed your reactors. You will also save on power cords, electricity, room in your sump, etc.

+1 on the idea of a manifold make for a cleaner sump area. a good dc return pump over sized that you can turn up or down would also help

 

[E.Rude]

Thanks for chiming-in guys! I love the idea of a manifold from the return pump! I was afraid of getting air into the reactors during power failures/ maintenance. I'm planning on a low-flow sump, so I think that even if I did run a manifold, the Eheim Compact+ 5000 will be fine. Is air not something I should be that concerned about?

The apartment is coming together...still unpacking things and getting settled. I moved some of my aquarium related equipment last night and my girlfriend told me I can use the hallway closet for my tank stuff. It's on the other side of the wall that the tank will be on, so I'm going to use it as a SW mixing room. I hated having mixing cans sitting around the house during water change weekend. I will post some pics tonight.

 

[E.Rude]

Here is the wall that the tank will go on. It's about 54" wide.

And here is the mixing closet/ storage room...

 

[E.Rude]

Finally got around to moving and unpacking some of my equipment. Everything made it through the move just fine. The build should be jumping off in 2 weeks. Between the move, new job, and class starting on Monday, I have my hands pretty full...

 

[win98ena]

Nice equipment .. Good luck

 

[E.Rude]

Nice equipment .. Good luck

Thanks!

I'm thinking about building a shelf above the mixing bucket to put a few 10g's on for QT using the TTM, rather than having the 30B QT taking up space in the apt.

 

[E.Rude]

Got the temporary 30B set up. I just threw it together after moving it and don't plan on setting it up any differently since it's going to be taken down in two weeks. It's got a Red Sea Prism Pro skimmer, a few heaters, a MP10wES and a Reef Breeders Photon 32. Need to mix a little more water to get the skimmer going, though.

 

[E.Rude]

Went to a few LFS's today to compare prices and they were all a few hundred less than what I was quoted a few months ago when I started considering this build. Tank should be here next week. Time to order the skimmer, return pump, and glass for baffles.

How long beforehand can I rinse the sand? It's such a PITA and I don't plan on doing all 160#s at once. I remember leaving a bucket of wet sand in the basement for a while and it got black and sulfurous...don't want to do that again.

 

[E.Rude]

Finally got around to unloading the 40B sump tank from my car.

I'll have to wait until Friday, when I have a day off, to order the glass for the baffles.

 

[maramao]

Very nice equipment!!!

 

[E.Rude]

Thanks! More to come early next week. I know the pictures aren't all that exciting but things will start progressing here shortly. My apartment is still a mess, but it will be like that until this build really gets underway.

 

[E.Rude]

Tank will be delivered on Thursday. Ordered smoked glass baffles today, which will be ready on Wednesday. Looking forward to a weekend of plumbing!

 

[E.Rude]

Baffles have arrived. Will start siliconing them in tomorrow. There is a little more room b/w them and the side of the sump than I would like, but I'm sure with a careful siliconing job they'll be fine.

 

[E.Rude]

Just a little set back...tank couldn't be delivered yesterday b/c I was called in to work. Also, none of my LFS's had tubes of black silicone so I just ordered it from BRS today. Also got the return pump, some spears gate valves for the overflow and manifold, and a new CO2 bottle...the one I had was getting a rusty patina that made me a bit nervous.

 

[E.Rude]

The build can finally start! Got a little package from BRS yesterday so now I can start the sump today. I'm going to head out to the LFS I ordered the tank through tomorrow to try and schedule delivery for Monday.

 

[E.Rude]

Got the first two baffles in. They were cut a little short, but I'm hoping that a good amount of silicone will be enough to secure them.

Have a little clean up to do, but overall I think I did a fair enough job w/ the silicone.

 

[E.Rude]

I pretty much finished the sump. Got some silicone b/w the baffles so I'm going to check Home Depot for a long handled razor blade holder. No big deal if I can't find one.

Skimmer (Skimz Oval SV203) to be delivered tomorrow and the tank will be here on Thursday.

 

[E.Rude]

Skimmer is in and the space has been cleared for tank delivery tomorrow.