Stooges3tx 265G/400G System

[stooges3tx]

So This will be a long slow build I want this system to be set up right and would love advice from all of you. I will try to post as many pics for you all since I know everyone loves eye candy.

I am building a system consisting of a 265G drilled tank with a 75G frag tank a 90G fuge an 80G water change tank and a 100G rubbermaid stock tank. The system will be split between my "man cave" as my wife calls it and my garage. The main tank, frag, and fresh water tank will be in the home. The sump and fuge will be exposed to the elements in my floridian garage. I have already hit a few bumps and figured it was about time I start this thread.

As I said it will be a slow build. Patience! Here are the first few pics. btw.... I am not a photographer yet.

The tank has been cleaned up a bit since.

Drilling the 2" bulkheads in the sump.

Viola!

This is what the sump and fuge looks like currently

Two independent 20A GFCI circuits for all the urban sprawl to follow.

The 80G salt mixing tank. The sump is just on the other side of the wall about 5' from this.

It is a bit messy but hey, without a mess there is no work being done. The lid on the sump will be cut to fit around the skimmer that will go in it and will be cut around the edges of the sump with a lid on hinges cut into it. I should get 2400lbs of aragonite in tomorrow and then I can fill the fuge to about 12".

I already made the mistake with starting to plumb with 1" pvc. I will step up to 1.5" pvc so there is less head loss in my system. Shoulda started the thread sooner.......

 

[MaryG]

Looks like a good start so far Jon. Keep the pics coming

 

[stooges3tx]

I should be getting my Aragonite sand today to fill my fuge and get the sump and fuge going in a closed loop!! Pics will follow today once the sand is in.

 

[Jhnamie]

^ 5 Jon

 

[stooges3tx]

Okay.... so I have hit another bump in the road. I was planning on having two pumps run my system splitting the workload in half but after thinking about the water temp I came to a slight head scratcher.

I have a 1/3hp JB Artica chiller that is rated up to 340G Considering that the 100g sump and 90g fuge will be outside in the heat would it be wiser to have a main pump go through the chiller and into the 265g MD or just have it recirc the 100g sump in the heat so that all the water going out from the sump is conditioned?

I am thinking the chiller cooling the sump is the best idea since the entire system would then have water that is cooled to the proper temp rather than pull only cool water from the MD and hope it filters to the rest of the system. Thoughts anyone?

 

[h2ocrazy]

So, where's the new pictures?

I hope you have gone with the chiller in the sump. Seems like the most logical way for it to go.

 

[stooges3tx]

Thanks for following along Eric! I do plan on plumbing the chiller into the sump. It makes sense to me as well since the sump will have a large amount of water in the heat and it will supply all of the tanks with cool water.

I would have new pics but no good progress has happened.... I worked on plumbing all weekend and fired up the pumps only to have them leak... Stupid Mag drives suck when run externally... I ordered two pumps though and will get them on Tues. Then I can put them in and frag tank, fuge, and sump should be ready to run 100% of the time. I will post pics of that.

As of now I got nicked up hands and a sore butt from sitting on a salt bucket all weekend sweating my butt off!

 

[h2ocrazy]

Who needs a sauna when you have your tank in the garage? LOL
I know Will, is helping out, but if you need anything let me know.

I just noticed, this is my second post since 2007.. haha.

 

[cutnup]

What pumps did you end up going with?

 

[SMOOTHIE]

PM me where to get one of those 80g mixing tanks

 

[stooges3tx]

I ended up getting two pumps for now to run the half system.


Pump to stir the fresh water for water changes- Iwaki WMD30RLXT

Pump to run the frag and fuge- Dolphin Amp Master 4k/3k

I also got my sand in. 2400lbs of Bahama Oolite Aragonite. I am really impressed with this sand. The buffering capabilities of this sand is astounding. I added 13" to my 90G fuge.

Pics to follow.

Here is the 80G tank I picked up.

http://www.tank-depot.com/productdetails.aspx?part=A-SP0080-RT

 

[cutnup]

Any new pics?

 

[stooges3tx]

Here are some new pics for all my fans!!!! :dance: I took a long time to post new stuff because my old pics got little interest. If you all want to see more ask and I will post. I want to now start to focus on what type of aquascaping I want in my 265G then I will build around that.


This is a full set up shot of the garage. 100G sump with 90G fuge

Dolphin Amp Master and Iwaki to stir my water change water in the 80G jug.

Chiller, sump, skimmer. I need to organize and label all the electric outlets so I know what I am killing and what I am not.

RO/DI and Fuge

Fuge has a Sand sifting goby in it and mangroves suspended on PVC to encourage root growth

 

[BigCountryEsq]

I'm not sure if your sand bed is deep enough......

 

[almees]

That s good looking set up almost as nice as seeing it in person.

Thks for the frags by the way they are looking great!!!!

 

[stooges3tx]

Thank you almees!

The sand bed is deep enough to ensure I have an anaerobic area in my fuge which will eventually establish organisms to remove the nitrates from my tank. My fuge is only starting to take hold. It is insane how many pods are starting to develop. Here is one of my sources.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/deepsandbeds.htm

Based on this snippet from the article and others I have read,

* Note: you must be mindful too of the fast rate of dissolution of some sand beds. In most healthy systems, fine aragonite has a "half-life" of 18-24 months. That means that after two years, perhaps, a 3" sand bed will have been reduced to 1.5" and possibly failing in its duties (another unheralded cause for the unfair criticisms of mismanaged DSBs). For this reason, aquarists seeking optimum nitrate control are advised to resist being frugal and apply honestly deep sand beds, and adding more substrate as necessary in time.


PH drops can be caused by low Alk. Thus, the composition of the sand I used will break down to buffer the sytem and also aid in keeping my CA and Alk balanced but when it breaks down I have a bit of wiggle room making my system more maintanence friendly. I have already seen a significant difference with the amount of 2-part that I have had to dose.

SPS- Stability Promotes Success!

 

[MaryG]

Looking good! I think you need more sand. Lol...:fun2:

 

[cutnup]

Everything looks great! What kind of circulation are you going to use in the big tank?

 

[stooges3tx]

Was thiniking of using an Oceans Motions 8-way. Any opinions?

 

[almees]

Not an oppinion to your question, but I was wondering about your sand sifting gobie in your fuge will he have and negative effect on your macro growth or anything.

I have my fuge empty and have so much algae growth that I was thinking of adding something in the fuge to eat some of it. I have a huge ball of cheto and alot of green hair alge along with other colors and millions of pods. I was just wondering if this would defeat the purpose of the fuge?