Starting a build thread for 125 gallon tank

[Ludwigia73]

Hey guys, up till now my biggest tank was a 65 gallon, none of my 10-15 tanks ever had a sump.

That being said, here's where I'm at, and will need any advice you can give.

I bought a stand from a really nice guy named Phil, it was built a little flimsy by my standards, but ended up a great deal. I bought a 40 gallon long (48" x 13" x 13") that I could just shoehorn into the stand through the top of the stand (there wasn't a base for the tank, just small supports for the rim of the tank to sit on.) For a tank with 180 linear inches on the rim of the tank, it was supported on about 40". Not enough by my standards. Then I put the sump inside, and played with the Reef Octopus 200 int classic. If I ever had to remove the skimmer, it would have been 1/4" too wide to sneak out of that tank. Plus, set up, I couldn't have even gotten the lid off the skimmer!!! Glad I didn't go with a 55 gallon for a sump!!!

Looking at the stand, the obvious reason was to knock out the hollow floor (it had about an inch and a half of unused space underneath, so after reinforcing the holy crap out of it, and dropping the floor all the way down, I gained an inch and a half.)

Then, I cut out a piece of marine ply to match the bottom, which will be stained to match. This trues up the base of the stand, which was slightly off. Also it raises the entire thing another 3/4 inch.

Then, I cut out ANOTHER piece of marine ply for the top, and cut holes in the center leaving 2" frame all the way around with a 2" center brace. This gives me ANOTHER 3/4" to play with, so all in all I gained 2 1/4" inside the stand to maneuver the skimmer when it's time to clean it.

-----Continued

 

[Ludwigia73]

So all the woodworking is done, just cleanup of the copious amounts of gorilla glue is left. Remember, I overengineer everything! That thing will survive a nuclear blast!


Here's where I am right now. I have the stand and canopy at my store, waiting for all my furniture to be delivered to my new apartment. I don't have the tank yet, I'll probably order it early next week. I'll have to move the stand, skimmer, sump, and canopy from Boca to Fort Lauderdale (I should be able to borrow my sister's Ram 3500, hopefully it'll handle the new weight of the stand!)

Currently I have the stand, canopy, skimmer, 80w titanium heater (may add another one if needed, don't think I will), 7" filter sock and holder with 2 inlets, enough acrylic to install baffles where I want them, a quiet one pump 1200 gph, a ph pinpoint meter, and I've just ordered the lights (3 reef radiance 165m's). I've also ordered the RO unit, a 100gpd 5 stage from Melev.



here come the questions:

My sump design will be simple, both overflows draining to the filter sock, in the same chamber as the skimmer. Skimmer will put out flow near the first baffle, water going OVER the first baffle, under the second baffle, and back over the third baffle, bubble trap style.
The trick here is the next chamber will be divided in two longways, the water will flow over the back half of the 3rd baffle, into the back half of the refugium. The water will flow through eggcrate halfway down the center divider, into the second half of the refugium, and then down over the 4th baffle. Water will flow under the 5th baffle in to the pump area. Pump will send water up to a Y fitting, split to the 2 returns.

First question, of course, does anyone see anything wrong with the sump design (sorry for no high end graphics, I'm terrible at that).

Second question, I'm trying to find online what size pipes and fittings I'll need for plumbing. I think it's 1" slip fittings into the bulkheads for the drains, but 3/4" for the returns. I've seen vague references, but maybe it's better to wait until I have the tank in front of me for that.

Lastly, the lighting... I want 3 Reef Radiance above, but there's a center divider. I've been told you'll barely notice the shadow from the divider, if you hang the 2 outside lights further out, but hanging at a slight angle towards the center of the tank. Any thoughts?

 

[Ludwigia73]

1 other thing, live rock and sand will be coming from LiveRockUSA in hollywood... does anyone have any experience with them good or bad? Just checking.

 

[betamed]

Mcdonald hardware on sr 84 has a great selection of sch 80 pvc. I don't think they have bulkheads. I would not get any plumbing bits til you have the tank though since you are not certain the return size.

 

[Ludwigia73]

The tank comes with the bulkheads... I guess that was part of my question if anyone knew what size they would be. Also, how does everyone feel about flex pvc or spaflex...

 

[Ludwigia73]

It also comes with the drain pipe that ends up in a U shape up top, and a hole drilled in it to break siphon if the pump quits, and a smaller pipe that goes out through the overflow housing in the corner.

 

[9r39]

I would consider using glass for the baffles will definitely hold better than using acrylic. I have mine set up 1st chamber drain over 1 baffle into skimmer section over 2 baffle into refugium then over under over bubble trap for return pump. Glass will definitely hold better when siliconed to glass vs. Glass to acrylic .

 

[Ludwigia73]

I just wanted acrylic because its easier to drill and cut, for customization. thanks for the feedback, though!

 

[rovster]

Trying to picture the sump and sounds kind of whack, LOL! Why so complicated? What is your rationale? A couple of problems I see is if you don't do it quite right, flow through there could be weird. Another thing to consider is in a tank that small, you will not have enough room to get fancy, and you will probably end up with a TINY return section. Sure an ATO will keep it steady, but if the ATO fails, your pump will be sucking air in no time. I sort of made that mistake with mine. Without the ATO I can't go more than a day without topping off. Anyway, hope that helps. Not trying to knock on you, but I am the king of overcomplicating things but the more I do this, the more I think I should listen to Eddie, LOL!

Just thought of this, but keep in mind the recommended height for the skimmer. Looks like you went through great lengths just to get it to fit. If it works best in shallower water (like mine, I had to build a stand) you may be very limited with sump depth and in turn volume, which could really put a damper on that raceway type sump design......

 

[Ludwigia73]

Yup, I installed the baffles tonight, and I decided that my water level in the skimmer section needs to be lower. Instead of 14", I went 12", and I'll be putting a 2 1/2" stand under it. It'll fit, but I'll have to take the stand out to get the collection cup off. The first section is plenty big though, since the skimmer is sharing the same space as the filter sock. This actually made it easier since the sock holder comes off very easily, getting it out of the way so I can service the skimmer.

The return section I added a couple of inches just because of what you said above, made enough sense to do it. I'm also thinking I have too powerful of a pump, the quiet one 1200 gph. I'll be doing a flow test to see how quickly the water flows in there.

 

[rovster]

Put a gate valve on the return so you can throttle it back if needed. This generally does not hurt the pump. I have one on mine and I did choke it off to increase the flow to my reactor and fuge.

 

[Ludwigia73]

Thanks rovster, was already planning on that ...

Got the sump and stand finished today, now it's just sitting at my store in Boca waiting to be moved. Going to try and coordinate that on the same night as my tank is ready.

I made a decision to put a layer of carpet padding under the stand so it won't hurt the "wood" floor, and make up for any imperfections. Any thoughts on this?

 

[firemedix911]

I'd be concern with moisture retention depending on what materiar the padding is.

By the way a build thread and no pics isn't fair man. C'mon. LOL.

 

[Ludwigia73]

I know... the stand, canopy, and sump are at my work, luckily they haven't given me crap about that yet.

I'll be ordering the tank this week, hope to have it late this week.

 

[Ludwigia73]

Part of the tank build is catching up on moving into the new apartment. I have all the ikea furniture built, I think Ikea is swedish for holy *&^% that's alot of pieces!

Seriously, my right forearm is much bigger than the left, and get your mind outta the gutter!

 

[Ludwigia73]

Finally 1st pic of the 125... got everything done on the sump, got it installed into the stand, tank is ON the stand (can't believe I did that myself), sand is in, rock is in!!! Still need to do plumbing (dreading that), and fill with water.

 

[Ludwigia73]

PS, I just love it when the rockwork comes out good on the 1st try, some of the open spaces are reserved for pieces of live rock with corals out of my 12 gallon.

 

[dadummy]

looking good

 

[Ludwigia73]

Thanks... just got a bug up my butt and decided to install the return and drain pipes into the drilled holes... It says to go 1/4 turn past hand tight, I have a very good grip, I'm worried about damaging the threads by overtightening them. Also, I don't have any tools big enough to get in there. Any suggestions?

 

[firemedix911]

Tank's looking gr8. Why didn't you do the plumbing first? It'll be way harder to do leak tests etc. Hopefully there's not an issue. Trying to get to the bulkheads could be an issue. I've used channel locks but you have to be real careful. Don't over tighten it. Just a tad past hand tight.