Started the 180g reef tank build today!

[Propjockey]

Alright, the size has been determined, and the ball is in motion...yay


Here's your chance to help someone build a tank the way you did. I plan on asking many build questions as I go, since more opinions weigh more than just a few! So if you have a few minutes to spare, throw your thoughts in the hat, if you would...


I started on the stand today, specifically the subframe for the base.

We use a 7-ply, UV coated one side, White Maple plywood for our custom cabinetry interiors at the shop. So it made more sense to me that I fabricate this stand out of laminated plys, rather than the crappy, early harvested, dimensional lumber, that the yards seem to be full of. I've used perfectly straight yard material in the past, and it always ends up looking like a dog's hind leg. Not this time. Too much weight, money and possible damage on the line. When I use this material, I know it will never twist, bow and be incredibly strong. After all, we use laminated ply beams over garage door openings for a reason...

The base and canopy will each have four doors. The two outside base doors will be non-functioning, or fixed, with the center two doors hinged toward the outside and opening in the center. All four doors will operate on the canopy. I don't really foresee the need to store a bunch of crap under the base, with the sump in the basement, so the center two doors will suffice. Moreover, with the two end doors being stationary, they will offer some lateral support to the structure; sway bracing, if you will.


I will be making all the doors so that they are "inset", rather than "overlay", like most mass-manufactured stands. There will also be crown moulding and a small ledge around the base of the tank, and larger crown on the top of the canopy. As far as finish goes, I'm leaning towards a black rub-through. Similar to the last pic.

So, question #1: My subframe is dead flat, but I've read here and there about putting styrofoam under the tank to help absorb any irregularities in the stand, and not shatter a full tank. Ideas?


Off to the basement to make a materials list for shoring up the framing under the tank. Luckily, the basement is currently unfinished, and everything is super easy to access and work on. Score one for the good guys.




As always, I'm grateful for your input!


-J-

 

[Tradewinds]

Are you going with a glass or an acrylic tank? If glass, there is no need for the Styrofoam.

Stand frame looks very nice. :thumbsup:

 

[Propjockey]

I'm going with glass, so I guess I'll skip the styro! Thanks

It occurred to me this morning that while I was hellbent on having a refugium, do I really need one? After all, isn't it just a smaller version of the DT? What would be the advantage?

My 180 will have two overflow boxes, so maybe just a 55 gallon sump, with filter socks, a badass skimmer and a bubble trap, before entering the pump chamber?

Speaking of overflows, I'm undecided on the drain type. I have a single Durso now in my 90, but I'm considering the Herbie, due to the Durso being so damn noisy. So if I do use the Herbie, should I use two holes for the main drains and two for the emergency, or do I use two for the main drains, one for the emergency, and one for the pump return line? I've never done this method before, but it appeals to me better than an "over-the-top" return line. Thoughts?



-J-

 

[Zer0.]

Hey man, I have a 180 dual corner overflow marineland tank. I went with two durso drains on each as well as reverse durso in the sump this is pretty much silent after being tuned right.

I would go with a 40B for a sump if I were you. the 55 is too tall in narrow in my opion, unless you have a very tall stand.

I have drain with skimmer, refugium (rock rubble and cheato) and then return section wise.

 

[Propjockey]

I'm hearing of lot of chatter about using a sump thats a 1/3 the volume of the DT; that's how I came up with a 55. I agree, 12" wide isn't very skimmer freindly. The place I'm buying my tank has 75g Aqueon glass tanks for a $105.

That's a no-brainer!

Again, the sump will be in the basement, for ease of cleaning, maintaining, and noise abatement. I have a wide pallet of space to build in. Frankly, my inner engineer is more excited to setup the process piping and equipment, than the DT itself! LOL

I LOVE setting up new tanks. It's like reverse Jenga.

 

[Propjockey]

Just found this little gem. Nice. >>http://gmacreef.com/

 

[Propjockey]

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

Yesterday, I spent a few hours shoring up the floor underneath where the tank is going. My tank will be parallel to the floor joists, so I took the liberty of beefing up the joists it'll rest on. I now have two triple ply 2x10 beams, with a 7' span between bearing points. The flooring on top of the joists consists of a sub floor that is 1 x 6 t&g Yellow Pine, with a top layer of 3/4"x 2 1/4" Red Oak strip flooring. If this tank goes through the floor, I'll be shocked! LOL.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention...I upgraded from the 180g to a 210g tank. Why not get the biggest one, when its only 30 more gallons.

After I completed the floor framing and bearing wall, I moved onto making the stand for the sump/refugium. I'll be going with a 75g for the size, so the footprint is 48" x 18' x 21". I made the stand 60" x 24" x 36" AFF. The tank will not stick up into the window. I also threw a cheapo florescent fixture above the tank, for some extra lighting in the area. Now, If I can just find a place to get power from, without too much voltage drop.

Today, I was able to get the sub-stand I made this week in its home. But before that could happen, I needed to remove a piece of hardwood flooring where the plumbing will enter/exit from/to the basement. If I ever decide to move the tank, I won't have a bunch of holes to patch, just put the piece back in. I'll be using flexible PVC for my plumbing lines, to keep any bending very gradual. And while piecing together a labyrinth of "hard" PVC appeals to my inner MacGyver, any plumber will tell you that less joints is always preferable to more!

Does it make any sense to start filling the new tank with water change water from my current tank? Or is that a no no? Obviously, I'll be transferring all that water over to the new tank at some point, but I'm going from a 120g setup to a 250g+ setup, and I thought maybe bringing "old" bacteria into the new tank, it would move the cycle along a little quicker. I dunnknow. Thoughts? Ideas?

Tomorrow morning, I'm off to Milwaukee to pick up my new glass boxes...fun.

 

[greaps]

Normally I would say skip the refugium, its one more system to balance that typically is way to small for any meaningful export. But with basement space, theres a lot of opportunity for a properly sized one.

 

[Joe0813]

with my 180RR i did a trigger system ruby 36s sump and then i drilled the side of a 30 tall and drain it back in the sump

 

[Stevenliu9]

Nice project! following. I just built my 180RR a month ago and I'd love to see how yours turn out!

 

[DavidinGA]

I have a 210gal (same as the 180 only taller) and use a 75gal as a sump and it's perfect

 

[intyme]

Great build! I wish I painted and sealed the inside of my stand, well at least the bottom so if any water spills you can suck it out with a shop vac

 

[Propjockey]

Thank you everyone, for your input! I'll be asking many questions as I move along, so the experience you all offer is priceless to me.

DavidinGA - How did you handle your tank bulkheads? Are you using two holes for drains and two holes for return lines? I was thinking one main drain; 6"below the weir, one emergency drain that will have a slight trickle going down it, one emergency drain a 1/2" below the top of the tank, and one return line. Does that sound sufficient?

I'm also going to have about 11' of vertical head pressure pumping from the basement. Would my current, in sump, 950gph pump be ok, or should I go with an external pump with more gusto?

So many questions, so little experience with a tank this size...



-J-

 

[jlnielsen13]

Sweet site!!

Gonna revisit this one when I get to the plumbing!!

Also, great start on the build

JIM

Just found this little gem. Nice. >>http://gmacreef.com/

 

[cvcoda]

I'm currently in the process of setting up a 180g myself. Good choice on the 75g for the sump, I did the same. As for your decision to bump up to the 210, I have a friend who had a 210 and said he wished he had gone with a 180 due to the difficulty reaching the bottom of the tank for maintenance.
If you haven't already taken delivery of the 210, it might be something you want to consider. But again, this wasn't my experience, it was a friend of mine.
Anyway, looking forward to seeing your progress. I'll be following along to get tips as well.

 

[azjohnny]

I'll be going with a 75g for the size, so the footprint is 48" x 18' x 21"

With my 180 I went with a 75 gal also, but buy a used one. Newer 75 gal tanks have a brace across the top, this is needed because they started using thinner glass to save money ( went from 3/8" to 1/4". I was able to find an older one on Craigslist for $50 and siliconed a few baffles

 

[Propjockey]

As for your decision to bump up to the 210, I have a friend who had a 210 and said he wished he had gone with a 180 due to the difficulty reaching the bottom of the tank for maintenance.

I actually gave that some consideration. But being 6'-5", I've got some really long arms! LOL. I also considered that my light would have to penetrate an additional 5" of water depth. But since my light isn't currently programmed higher than 65% of its total intensity output, I'm confident I'll have enough to compensate for it.

As far as the tank brace goes, I'll deal with it. The 75g I'm picking up is only $105, brand spanking new. That's what I like to call a "sore weiner"; it's hard to beat!

Time to get up, shower, eat, and head to Milwaukee for my new tanks. Yay! Pics to follow later today...


-J-

 

[DavidinGA]

Thank you everyone, for your input! I'll be asking many questions as I move along, so the experience you all offer is priceless to me.

DavidinGA - How did you handle your tank bulkheads? Are you using two holes for drains and two holes for return lines? I was thinking one main drain; 6"below the weir, one emergency drain that will have a slight trickle going down it, one emergency drain a 1/2" below the top of the tank, and one return line. Does that sound sufficient?

I'm also going to have about 11' of vertical head pressure pumping from the basement. Would my current, in sump, 950gph pump be ok, or should I go with an external pump with more gusto?

So many questions, so little experience with a tank this size...



-J-

I'm using an eheim 1262 return on my herbie setup. I have one primary full siphon drain, one completely dry emergency backup drain and then I'm using the two remaining holes as returns (using a lower gph pump I don't need two returns but I figure I have them so I'd minds well use them).

If your pump is 950gph at 0 head you may be very very low gph at 11ft depending which pump you have...

 

[DavidinGA]

I'm currently in the process of setting up a 180g myself. Good choice on the 75g for the sump, I did the same. As for your decision to bump up to the 210, I have a friend who had a 210 and said he wished he had gone with a 180 due to the difficulty reaching the bottom of the tank for maintenance.
If you haven't already taken delivery of the 210, it might be something you want to consider. But again, this wasn't my experience, it was a friend of mine.
Anyway, looking forward to seeing your progress. I'll be following along to get tips as well.

I'm only 5'11" and I don't have any issues on my 210gal. I would be okay going a bit higher yet if I had the option. How often do you need to reach the very bottom of your tank anyway?

 

[cvcoda]

I'm only 5'11" and I don't have any issues on my 210gal. I would be okay going a bit higher yet if I had the option. How often do you need to reach the very bottom of your tank anyway?

I'm 6'3" and from what I could tell, it would be difficult to reach the substrate and bottom glass. I like to clean the inside of the glass with my hands, so having a taller tank makes that more difficult. Also, placing coral on the substrate and down low becomes a challenge especially as you move toward the back half of the tank.