The BobbyV Build - 150 Rimless Starphire with Shadow Overflow 60x24x24

[BobbyV]

Nice job, cant wait to see tank , amazing how this hobby always sucks you back in

Yes . . . been itching to waste $1,000's of dollars. Could not stay away from this endless love/hate money pit hobby.

Wow build is going to be great.

Thank you . . .

just put the tank on it already!!

Looking forward to the day . . . might need a few people to help me when that day comes.

Looking good[emoji245]

Thank you . . .

 

[BobbyV]

Finally found some time this weekend to paint the foundation of the stand.

Randomly found two pints of white in the attic.

This paint must be 7 years old.

I believe I bought it to use on my previous 300 build and just got lazy.

Not this time!

Saved me $50 bucks or so which is nice.

Used the KILZ 2 as the primer based coat.

Then followed up with the VALSPAR Enamel paint. Figured the Enamel properties should hold up well over the years. I put on 3 coats on the base of the stand floor.

As for the black top paint, randomly found some of that at well.

Saved a little money . . . lucky me!

 

[BobbyV]

My beast of a sump brought into the house.

I am going to mode some of the chambers and create a HUGE cheato growing refugium.

20% of the display volume will be dedicated to my refugium area.

Every successful low phosphate easy to maintain system I have ever scene had one thing in common, a giant refugium.

I never had an algae issue on my previous 300DD. Why? I ran a 40 gallon refugium.

Technically this current refugium build will be larger to display scale.

I want my corals to be well fed expressing vibrant coloration. This is how I will help make it possible.

When I am out of town, just going to tell the wife to throw in couple of frozen Mysis cubes.

No need to strain the water and over complicate the feeding process.

Keep it simple, Keep it Old School!

Measures: 52 inches long x 17 inches wide x 18 inches tall.

Total water volume roughly 68 gallons.

 

[BobbyV]

My custom made frag tank to fit my area.

Notice, I have an external shadow overflow with two 1 inch drains so that I may plumb Herbie.

I have it level with the bottom of the display tank so that is not in the way. Also left some room on the sides if I choose to clean the side for view.

Not sure why I would care since I will not be able to see the sides.

I will wait and see how I feel.

Two very well made acrylic frag racks also included.

Inserted in a staggered position.

18 inches wide x 18 inches deep x 12 inches high.

The shadow external overflow is excluded from the measures above.

I will probably end up using a cheap 1st or 2nd gen Radion XR30 as my frag tank light of choice so I may have even spread.

Lighting installation will be a VERY long time from now and who can tell what options will be available by then.

 

[chgries]

What kind, size of screws did you use?


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[BobbyV]

What kind, size of screws did you use?


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Grateful to have had some nice powder coated anti-corrosive "Deck Mate" deck screws left over from my previous 300DD build.

2 x 4 lumber is 1.5 inches thick and 3 inches wide so I assume the screws I used where the #8 x 2 inches. (Or maybe they were 2-1/2 inches, not 100% sure.)

You must get the T-25 star bit screws or similar. Phillips bit screws will strip very easy under high torque and will not be as durable.

The only issue is if you are going to do it right and end up buying the the deck screws, they unfortunately are pretty pricey per box.

$30 for a 5 pound supply. I do not remember, but I believe a 5 pound small box might be just enough to get the job done.

I must have been, the heck with it long before to save 5 bucks and bought a 10 pound box from the start.

I had a bunch of them thankfully in the drawer. I never want to buy these screws again.

Way over priced, but a excellent to work with.

You do not even need to drill a pilot hole with Deck Mate screws, they just bite and go right in flush into with the wood.

 

[chgries]

My beast of a sump brought into the house.

I am going to mode some of the chambers and create a HUGE cheato growing refugium.

20% of the display volume will be dedicated to my refugium area.

Every successful low phosphate easy to maintain system I have ever scene had one thing in common, a giant refugium.

I never had an algae issue on my previous 300DD. Why? I ran a 40 gallon refugium.

Technically this current refugium build will be larger to display scale.

I want my corals to be well fed expressing vibrant coloration. This is how I will help make it possible.

When I am out of town, just going to tell the wife to throw in couple of frozen Mysis cubes.

No need to strain the water and over complicate the feeding process.

Keep it simple, Keep it Old School!

Measures: 52 inches long x 17 inches wide x 18 inches tall.

Total water volume roughly 68 gallons.

Yep, I would get rid of the last section which is supposed to be a ATO section. put the ATO under the frag tank with some heavy duty slide out rails for easy fill up. Move the second to last baffles down for the return pump. Move the first one down to fit a skimmer. And a sock, when you want one. Take out the rest and have a good sized refugium.



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[chgries]

Grateful to have had some nice powder coated anti-corrosive "Deck Mate" deck screws left over from my previous 300DD build.

2 x 4 lumber is 1.5 inches thick and 3 inches wide so I assume the screws I used where the #8 x 2 inches.

You must get the T-25 star bit screws or similar. Phillips bit screws will strip very easy under high torque and will not be as durable.

The only issue is if you are going to do it right and buy the the deck screws are pretty pricey a box. $30 for a 5 pound supply. Do not remember, but I believe a 5 pound small box will be just enough to get the job done.

Thanks for the info [emoji481]


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[matthewduren]

Where'd you get the sump? Looking for something very similar.

 

[BobbyV]

Where'd you get the sump? Looking for something very similar.

SCA got a great deal on it since I was already paying for shipping on the display tank.

Shipping on a tank or a sump will be at least $250 to start.

 

[matthewduren]

Definitely not bad. Didn't know they did sumps too, will definitely check it out.

Looking great btw. Love the frag tank idea.

 

[Webmanny]

Looking amazing so far. You picked the right size sump. I agree with your statement on the refugium size. The larger , the better. This is going to be an awesome setup.

 

[BobbyV]

Definitely not bad. Didn't know they did sumps too, will definitely check it out.

Looking great btw. Love the frag tank idea.

Thank you - what people do not know is that Reef Savvy Triton sumps and the 68 gallon SCA are about the same size. I was going to buy a Reef Savvy. Beautiful craftsmanship. But after shipping $1,000!!

If shipping was free then it would really have made my think about it a little more. Other similar size brands offer free shipping.

I discovered that SCA had one perfect for my needs and made out of 12mm glass. Built like a TANK! Plus 70% less, shipping was free do to being shipped with my tank. The money I saved on the sump. I can open my budget for a $725 skimmer if I wanted to. $725 buys you ALOT of skimmer. This was my savings on the sump choice. So really the $725 skimmer is actually free if you think about it.

Maximized my purchasing power in my budget. The SCA doesn't look as "cool" as the Reef Savy, BUT gets the same job done per water volume. Plus a nice advantage is that I can mode the dividers to my preferred orientation by simply peeling off the silicone and re-silicone. Also down the road if I need to change something I can. Or in 10 years, hopefully longer, if I want to re-sell this sump/set up and someone else chooses to change the orientation of the dividers they can.

I am in control of making a larger refugium holding area. Which to be honest was the whole point in my build.

Saved a lot by going with the SCA. But if money grew on trees, yes of course I would have chosen the Reef Savy Triton. So cool to look at. But at the end of the day, it is sump.

Once I buy a nice 150 or 180 bubble king virtually for nothing since I already had it in my mind to spend $1,000 on a sump, I will easily get over it and fast! :beachbum:

Looking amazing so far. You picked the right size sump. I agree with your statement on the refugium size. The larger , the better. This is going to be an awesome setup.

Thank you. The opening width under the sump measured out to be 53 inches. The sump came out to be 52 inches. Fits perfect!

Above let me be clear, not knocking Reef Savvy, personally I wish I could push myself to buy one - but for the deal I got on this sump at the incredible value I could not say no. This hobby is very expensive and if I can save where I can, I am going to save. Sumps to me hold water and in my budget if I can buy something slightly more basic, accomplishing my needs but at the same time opens up my budget for other way cooler equipment, this is where I chose to cut my corner on the build. I know I have a boring sump, but with the savings, I can afford to splurge on a super nice skimmer. :thumbsup:

 

[Zoahoarder]

Stand looks great. Can’t beat finding the old tank build materials for the new one. Love those deck screws. I’ve used them so much around the house on top of my last build. That sump looks awesome. I would have done the same thing as you saving money on the sump and buy a BK.

 

[BobbyV]

Stand looks great. Can’t beat finding the old tank build materials for the new one. Love those deck screws. I’ve used them so much around the house on top of my last build. That sump looks awesome. I would have done the same thing as you saving money on the sump and buy a BK.

Thank you!

Now that I have had a better look at this SCA Rimless Glass Sump, to be honest, it is not too shabby.

It doesn't have cool etched designs, fun colors and or stickers but it gets the job done.

Would not be surprised if the glass used to build this sump was also Starphire. Would make sense that it would be due to material overages from the tanks.

 

[BobbyV]

"Fits like a glove . . ."

With only 1/2 an inch on each side to spare.

Next to knock out a few dividers and she is ready!

 

[BobbyV]

A new house is being built next door.

Walked over and asked, "Who would like free lunch?"

As a result a couple of construction workers carried the tank inside and placed it on the stand.

What do you guys think?

Display Tank, Frag Tank & Sump all rimless! :inlove:

 

[bmullikin1]

looks great, fits like a glove

 

[charlieborg]

Looks like it belongs there. Matches the area.


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[Webmanny]

That is awesome. Smart of you to come up with the lunch idea. Looks fantastic.