Upgrading Basement Fish Area

[fillibar]

Up until now I have had my 200G display connected to the basement so that most of the equipment could be located in a sump there. That sump has been a 150G Rubbermaid stock tank that has worked quite well. But... my wife has decided that next year we will be demolishing the family room where the display is located. In order to do that, I need to shut down the main tank so we can move it.

Before this is done I obviously need to make arrangements. Since my tank is very lightly stocked and mostly empty I could move everything to the stock tank and move the lights down. But where is the fun in that?

So I have decided to "upgrade" the whole area down there. This is mostly consisting of:
1) Rerouting the drain and return pipes for more convenient use once the display is reconnected
2) Some minor electrical work. I had plenty of outlets down there but if anything it is too many and I want to move a couple further from where the pipes come through.
3) Expanding the water volume. My plan for this is to add a 300G Rubbermaid stock tank that will be connected by 3" pipe to the existing stock tank. The 150G will be moved and raised from the floor (cinderblock stand) and will be the area the drains go to as well as connections for topoff, skimmer, reactors, and most anything needed besides return. This will lead to the 300G which will be where I put all my livestock and lighting. The return will be off that tank. Until the display is running again, it will just return water to the drain pipes, back to the 150G. Once the display is going it will be shifted to pump up to there.

I will get some pictures of the "existing" area, then try to post more as I work on it. Suggestions and comments are welcome of course.

 

[fillibar]

First picture to show the area as it is now mostly. The only real work besides cleaning it out was adding the 2x4s to the wall to act as supports.

 

[fillibar]

Here is one more picture. A dooodle showing my general concept on top of the existing picture. There are orange boxes for the stands, green boxes for the stock tanks, and the rest are pipes. The blue pipes are the drains from the display. The yellow is the 3" between the stock tanks, and the red is the return. The red circle is meant to show a connection between the return and one drain pipe that will be used to circulate the water when the display is shut down.

 

[zachxlutz]

Interesting! Following along just out of curiosity. My house is on a crawlspace so no basement sump for me but I love following these kind of builds. Best of luck and enjoy!

 

[fillibar]

We have the oddity of being a split level with a full basement under the main floor.

 

[fillibar]

I was looking at the layout the other day and caught a problem. The large tank was going to be towards the corner. But this would make it accessible on only 1 side, which would make it tough to work on/in. By rearranging the tanks and having them come away from the wall, not alongside it, I can have access to 3 sides. This makes the return line a bit longer but I can mitigate that by having it mostly be pipe leading to the pump instead of from the pump. If anything it will make it easier to get to that also.

Here is a revised doodle.

EDIT:
I just realized I drew the 4" yellow pipe on the wrong side of the tanks. It will be on the left, not the right (you can see the existing fitting on the tank in the background). Oops.

 

[Therapy]

How about putting the sump between the 2 tanks?

 

[fillibar]

The two stock tanks in the basement are the sump(s). The display tank is up through the wall behind them, where the pipes are coming out.

For some reason my site is down so the pictures are no longer showing. Hopefully they will get it working properly again soon.

 

[fillibar]

Site's back. I finished the top of each stand last night. Just need to get the positioning correct. I also plan on mounting a vent fan above them for removing humidity. Hopefully I will have more done and a new set of pictures over the weekend.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

what make /model skimmer is that?

 

[fillibar]

@Gary:
I will check tonight, but I do not know if it has markings. I bought it used some time ago.

 

[fillibar]

Unfortunately the skimmer has no branding, logos, or anything on it. Since it is drained I was able to check every part, but nothing. Sorry.

 

[fillibar]

Here is a picture showing a "test fitting" of the two stock tanks. Turns out they need to move a few inches closer to the stairs but otherwise were pretty good. I need to put the foam on the main platform as well as a bunch more cinder block stacks for supporting it, but the basic location is done. Another difference since the picture was taken is that all the wiring is completed behind it so that area is cleaned up.

 

[fillibar]

I completely forgot to be updating this regularly. Sorry about that. I will get some pictures posted tonight.
Suffice it to say, the tanks are plumbed together, skimmer is attached, circulation pump (eventual return) is attached and a lid is being constructed. Water has been added although that takes a lot of time. I am targeting a total volume of 300G or so (not filling them to the top) and my RO/DI is a typical 75GPD setup.

 

[hartin461]

Any pics along the way...I never remember to take pictures

 

[fillibar]

I forget also... which is why I have a jump now...
Here is a picture of the "overall" at this stage. All the major components are together and I have tested all the pumps and plumbing.

Next is a closeup of the 3 inch piping and true union for it. This was originally supposed to be a direct connection between the tanks. But while the sides might look like a straight vertical there is a slight angle to them. When you put two of them together with something as big as 3 inch piping you need to be able to correct for the angle which is how I ended up with this... bit.

Here is a slightly above view of the main tank. I took off some of the covers to make it easier to see into. I am still constructing the lid but the main section is a sheet of plexi with the wood frame on it. There will be two smaller sections to cover the rest but they will have foam filling. Just this center section is clear and where the lights will be mounted.

Last for now is a picture of the return pipe. It was originally a nice straight shot but I had to replace the bulkhead leading out of the main tank and the new one stuck out some. So I had to put those two 45 degrees in to bring it back a few inches so it lined up with the pump. The pump return has a couple sections of FlexPVC in it to minimize noise and vibrations. All the return piping is 2 inch, except when it first leaves the pump since that has a 1.5 inch fitting. But that is quickly adapted to 2 inch. The flow is extremely good.

Next steps are to complete the lid. The drain piping is all set up for eventual connection to the display but I made it so the return pump can bypass that and be sent directly back into the smaller stock tank. This will be helpful when we shut down the display completely for however long it takes me to complete the remodel of the upstairs. Considering it will be just me... that will probably be quite some time.

 

[fillibar]

One added note... all the plumbing is through bulkheads now even the skimmer. This way I can make lids that seal up pretty well to minimize humidity. The only thing that will go above the edges will be the few cords for heaters and powerheads and probes.

 

[hartin461]

Thats some major plumbing. Very cool.
Keep the pics coming...

 

[fillibar]

I really wish I could have made the 3 inch a simple, straight shot... But it is working out. Everything seems to have worked out but obviously the final test will be once the display is connected again. No idea when that might happen though.
One thing I did above the pump was that there are some extra fittings there with a union. I wanted to make sure if I needed to switch to a different pump, I would be good for whatever connection it might need.

 

[fillibar]

Temperature and salinity are looking good.
Flow looks good. There is a fair suction right by the return pipe even with no strainer on it. I will have to make an even larger "cage" around it just to make sure nothing gets pulled against it. I have a power head in the main tank while trying to make sure everything is mixed properly.
Running about 300 gallons at the moment. Probably will remain at that level.