Upgrade Time... 210 gallon Build

[EddieJ]

Starting the fun journey to a new tank! I have had my 90 running for over 3 years now and feel comfortable stepping up in volume. The new tank will be a mixed reef as the wife pretty much wrote that into the deal LOL! She likes things the move with the water. I just finished the rock work for the 210 using E-Marco 400 Mortar from MarcoRocks with BRS Reef Saver dry rock. That combo is really easy to work with and extremely strong. Below are some pictures:

I am planning to keep the aquascape pretty open with plenty of room for growth and for the fish to stretch their fins. The 2 formations will be placed onto HDPE boards and placed in the tank below to cycle.

The rubbermaid will be part of the sump system which is located below the tank in the basement. I plan on also plumbing a frag tank into the system as well.

Planned equipment list (subject to change)

210 RR Aqueon Tank
Super Reef Octopus XP-3000 External Skimmer
3X250 Radium 20K or Phoenix 14k on Elite reflectors. Galaxy or Lumatek ballasts
Supp lighting is in the air still, VHO or ReefBrite LEDs
Panworld 200 return pump
2 Vortech MP40s and 2 MP10s (on the back)

I am also going to build the stand and canopy.

Here's hoping for a successful build......

 

[dzfish17]

The rockwork looks great. Im using E-Marco 400 for my rockwall aquascape too and I agree that it really holds things together well. I like your choice of skimmer. I just bought an sro xp5000ext for my tank. Good luck on your project.

 

[EddieJ]

Rocks are in and ready for some bacteria. Added ammonia to 2ppm. I plan on adding some bio spira and some other strains of bacteria for some diversity. I will add a skimmer after the cycle has been working for a bit.

 

[muttley000]

Looks to be a fun project to watch! Where is Brunswick??

 

[EddieJ]

Looks to be a fun project to watch! Where is Brunswick??

Located Southwest of Cleveland and Northwest of Akron...

 

[Fish4Me2]

I like your rock formations. I didn't use the cement, but I did something similar setting up my 205. You might not have needed the ammonia, based on my experience: the eco rocks produced some significant phosphate in the cooking process for me.

 

[EddieJ]

I will keep an eye out for high phosphate levels. Overall I was really pleased with the quality of the rock and how clean it was.

 

[EddieJ]

Update

Update

A few things have changed in the plans. I have been researching ZEOvit for quite some time now and have decided to go full Zeo on this new build. I have had good success on my 90 with vodka dosing so there is definitely a method to the madness. Just received my new skimmer, a Precision Marine Bullet 3 driven by a GenX-40 pump. I decided to go with the Beckett style skimmer with the ZEOvit system.

The rocks have been in water over 2 weeks now. I just added a couple silvesides to help get some bacteria going. I have been monitoring PO4 closely and there was only a very little rise to .08 so far. One of the main goals is the keep the PO4 in check from the rocks and sand prior to introducing them to the tank. At that time I will start the ZEOvit 14 day cycle.

 

[EddieJ]

Update and Herbie overflow question

Update and Herbie overflow question

The rocks have started to cycle as the ammonia has gone down to zero and the nitrites have climbed along with nitrates. I added some more ammonia back to 1ppm to keep the bacteria thriving. I am very impressed with the rock as phosphates have only climbed a little.

I am currently in the process of designing the stand and canopy. The canopy will have a power lift incorporated in it for ease of access to the tank and for bulb maintenance. The 3 LumenMax Elite reflectors are on order and should be here by the end of the week. Currently I am leaning towards Phoenix 14k bulbs as that is what I have over my 90 gallon tank and really like the look. I will also add 2 VHO bulbs as well.

Is anyone here running the Herbie style full siphon on dual overflows? If so, what is the optimum way to plumb the main siphons? Should I place a gate valve on each line or combine them into a common and use one gate valve? Since my sump is in the basement, where does the gate valve work best? under the stand or down in the basement over the sump? My tank is an Aqueon 210 RR.

 

[EddieJ]

Reflectors

Reflectors

Received my 3 LumenMax Elite reflectors on Friday. Nothing like the feeling of spending $450 on some tin and light sockets!!! LOL!!

The rocks processed another 1.5 PPM of ammonia back down to zero. That's a good sign that they are building up pretty good bacteria colonies.

Been doing a bunch of reading regarding the Herbie and BeanAnimal style overflows. I like the idea of the BeanAnimal overflow as it appears much easier to adjust. Tough part is incorporating this into a RR tank with the internal overflows. Since I am limited to a 3/4 and 1 inch bulkhead in each overflow. Bean suggested running the full siphon and open channel in one overflow and the emergency/dry in the other. He also suggested filling up the overflow with sand to avoid stagnant water. Give you mini DSB so to speak. I am aiming for around 800 to 1000 GPH from sump to tank and back..

 

[dakineacct]

Nice build. I am working on a similar, although smaller, build right now. New 120 gallon, dual overflows (2-1" bulkheads) and basement sump, and am also weighing plumbing options. Have you given any more thought as to which direction you are going to go?

I like the concept of the Bean the best because of redundancy and ease of adjustment, but I am not crazy about the idea of filling one overflow with sand or leaving one overflow with stagnant water. Right now I am leaning towards skipping the Herbie and Bean style systems and running 1 Durso and 1 return in each overflow.

 

[lps1212]

Great lookin rock the zeovit is definetly worth it I was at a reefers house not too long ago mshur's house in brooklyn and saw his tank a tank runnin zeovit and looked absolutly phenominal its a costly method to go by but definelty worth the investment imo after seeing a tank runnin very healthy and striveing on it GL with your upgrade will be lookin forward to progress pics

 

[EddieJ]

Nice build. I am working on a similar, although smaller, build right now. New 120 gallon, dual overflows (2-1" bulkheads) and basement sump, and am also weighing plumbing options. Have you given any more thought as to which direction you are going to go?

I like the concept of the Bean the best because of redundancy and ease of adjustment, but I am not crazy about the idea of filling one overflow with sand or leaving one overflow with stagnant water. Right now I am leaning toward skipping the Herbie and Bean style systems and running 1 Durso and 1 return in each overflow.

I am leaning toward running the Herbie method. I planning on plumbing the 2 3/4" bulkheads with 1" pipe and combining them together into a 1 1/2" pipe with a gate valve above the sump. With the 11ft drop or so I should have no problem pulling 500 or so GPH from each overflow. I would use the 1 inch for the emergency drains and plumb the return in 1" back over the top of the tank. I look at it this way, if I end up hating it because of problems adjusting it I could always cap of the 3/4" bulkheads and run 1" Durso's if I need to.

 

[EddieJ]

Great lookin rock the zeovit is definitely worth it I was at a reefers house not too long ago mshur's house in brooklyn and saw his tank a tank runnin zeovit and looked absolutly phenominal its a costly method to go by but definelty worth the investment imo after seeing a tank runnin very healthy and striveing on it GL with your upgrade will be lookin forward to progress pics

There are definitely many paths to take to success in this hobby. I look at it as another path to travel down. I always get a kick out of it when you see people get into heated arguments over ZEOvit. You see that flare up in the Reef Chemistry forum from time to time. To me it's like arguing about religion LOL!!

 

[EddieJ]

Couple more pieces of the puzzle

Couple more pieces of the puzzle

Slowly moving forward on this build. I picked up a 3" Yellow Tang who has been chillin in the QT for a couple of weeks. If everything falls together she will be able to move in with the others when the 210 is ready to go.
Received my return pump today:

Panworld 200PS, 1750 GPH: After head loss, should deliver around 1000 GPH to the tank. I also received my diamond coated hole saw and 1" bulkheads.

These will go into my 20 gallon sump which will be located over my 100 gallon rubbermaid sump. This tank is where the 4 drain lines will terminate into filter socks. I will feed the Bullet 3 skimmer from this tank as well. I will also add a drain hole on this tank for water changes. Was going to drill my holes tonight but couldn't find my plumbers putty. Don't you hate it when you can remember seeing it like a thousand times somewhere but when you need it its nowhere to be found?

 

[EddieJ]

Made some more progress on the build today. Drilled the 20 gallon tank for the skimmer feed and flow through. Man, first time I drilled glass and is that a exercise in patience! And this was with very thin glass, I can't imagine how long it takes to drill 1/2 inch and thicker glass!

I also ran a dedicated 20 amp service line. The breaker is an AFCI, which protects the line from arcing which causes most aquarium fires.

At the other end is a GFCI protected receptacle box.

The AFCI protects my house from fire, and the GFCI protects me. If you are going to run a dedicated line, spend the extra $40 and get a AFCI breaker. The most common cause of fire is saltwater spray/creep causing arcs which ignite a fire.

 

[EddieJ]

UPS man dropped some more goodies off for me today! Found these on special at Marine Depot for $116 each with free shipping! Heck of a deal!!

I am still up in the air when it comes to which MH lamps and supp lighting I am going with. The tried and true VHO Super Actinic or should I try some LED lighting? I guess T5 is also another option as well. Cool thing with the ballasts is I can go from 250w bulbs to 400w bulbs. I plan on some clams so when I am ready for that I can put a 400w in the middle bay.

Anyone replace their VHO supp lighting with LED and love it?

 

[EddieJ]

The brains of the operation have arrived:

 

[biecacka]

quiet the list of goodies!!!

corey

 

[gweston]

I'm doing similar with my sump. The display is going to drain through the rear wall to the fishroom, and into a 20 long with dual 1.5" overflows that run into filtersocks, then drain into a rubbermaid stock tank. I am thinking a 70 gallon stock tank.. though I may go with a 100 gallon. The 20 gallon also has a 1" bulkhead that feeds the external skimmer pump. The skimmer will drain right back into the 20 long. This keeps things churned up, and most everything else ends up going through the filter socks.

Seems like you are doing something very similar to this.

My thought is that the 20 gal tank will sort of act as a detritus trap. Whatever the skimmer and socks don't remove will settle in the bare 20 gallon, and can be siphoned out.

I like the Lumatek ballasts as well. I am using 3x 250HQI's rather than 400's.

Question: Did you change the standard bulkhead/plug on the rubbermaid stock tank? I know some people change theirs out and plumb in an external pump. Was wondering if you planned to do something like that.