Yet Another Oceanic 90g Tech Tank Build Thread!

[mrharris3]

Everything is looking great. I think the idea is wonderful. I would like to offer you a little home builder advice seeing as I've been in the business for around 11 years. I would be careful as to the area your installing and put some way to stabilize the temperature in the room whether it be hot or cold. Looks like the basement so cold will be your biggest issue. Look into putting some type of thermal foam on the concrete. The recreation room as well will have a large amount of fluctuation in temperature. Looks like it was an addition as there is insulation in the wall and the door isn't designed to keep out hot and cold. I would reccommend possibliy using a sheet of plexi glass over the viewing window to help as a thermal barrier between the two rooms. I would use construction grade poly mil plastic to cover the insulation, however be careful tha the fiberglass frags don't make it into your tank. Day late dollar short on my part. I wasn't paying attention the the remaining pages. Still if you can rework anything it may help in the long run on the items above.. Looks AWESOME!!

 

[supercon71]

Thanks for the advice Mr. Harris......

Actually, the entire basement was finished as part of the initial construction of the house. This room wasnt actually built afterwards, but was part of the overall design of the basement. Specifically for those people that took the "optional bathroom" in the finished basement. We didnt take that option, so the room (small...but big enough for a fish room) remained empty, DOES have insulation (I just removed all the insulation around the area of the tank and sump) and basically just housed the breakers, security system, patch panel for cable, internet and wiring.....oh and has the french drains/sump. But this room has always been well insulated from the rest of the finished basement and the temperature has never fluctuated very much down there for the 6 years we've been in there.

Basically all we did was cut a hole in the existing drywall, removed insulation, and built an awesome stand (for the tank and the sumps....my brother Ian who is in construction as well, did this)

The only concern i've had, which my brother Nate mentioned, was possible humidity issues with the drywall. I began to notice this, and have put in a de-humidifyer which has completely managed this, as well as made the room warmer slightly.

pfy333, i'm purchasing an additional 100lbs of tonga in about 2 weeks and then the final aquascaping will be completed.

Hey, i'm glad you noticed the emergency over flow! That was designed purposely to make sure things like auto-topoff, siphon, or power outages never are an issue. That bulkhead goes directly to the sump that gets pumped outside. Works extremely well!

 

[lukin]

Andy,I would like to see some pics of your new aquascaping....the last time we talked everything sounded great.I would like to come over soon and give you a hand with ATO and some other things if you want.

 

[calli]

Nice so far.. will have to follow this one!!!

 

[supercon71]

It's been awhile since i've updated this thread, so here are a bunch of pictures that I took last night.

The tank has matured a bit more since the last update.

I've added about 65 lbs of Tonga LR, have my refugium back online (with a 5500k bulb going 24/7), added a Green Chromis, A Firefish Goby and a few corals.

The corals were given to me by my brother who recently re-did his tank to a 5g nano (I think that's the size) and no longer had the room. Huge thanks to him for that......

These pics just show a bunch of the tank, corals, fish, lighting (from behind the wall) and my tunze skimmer.

 

[supercon71]

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[cdness]

The following is a very simple bubble trap I built for my drain line. The concept would be the same for any size pipe but a few things would need to be modified to make it work with your system. Also it is a bit large so it may not work, but this concept can be used on the pipes connecting the different sumps too... My parts list (or at least what I can remember off the top of my head) is listed below:

1 12" long 4" Diameter PVC Pipe
1. 4" PVC Cap
1 3/4 in flex hose to PVC (Threaded bulkhead like thing)
3/4 in PVC pipe (length depends on the application
3/4 in T fitting (fits inside the 4" pipe

Drill a hole on the top of the cap large enough for the bulkhead for the drain line.
Drill a couple small holes in the top for air release
Drill 4 - 6 3/4 in holes on the bottom of the pipe for water flow
cut the internal 3/4" pipe to drop to the lenght just above the water line in the sump.

You would need to adjust the lengths of the pipes depending on the depth of the sump... you should try to keep the cap of the 4" pipe always above water.

Also I didn't glue anything since it all fit together tightly. This leaves room for adjustment if needed in the future...



Also I see a pool table in the pictures... Are you using any acrylic or anything to protect the tank from rogue pool balls? If your friends are as bad at pool as some of mine that's asking for trouble...

 

[supercon71]

Thanks for that cdness! Much appreciated......

My bubble issue has been pretty much a non-issue for the past couple months. I had reduced the bubbles significantly by reducing flow through my 3 tank sump, then I also reduced it further by using pvc t's and finally the biggest help involved using filter socks.

However, I recently have taken the socks off as I was cleaning them about every 3 days and my skimmer just wasn't working as efficiently when they were on. Overall, I can live with the bubbles that are in the tank.....in the grand scheme of things, they are pretty minimal.

Yes, that is a pool table and I really had not even given a stray ball much of a consideration, although I might now.

Unfortunately, the table isn't used often..... only when guests are over. In the past 8 months I think it's only been used once......

It's a shame really, but at least I know the tank is safe....... but I suppose it only takes one time!

 

[supercon71]

 

[atwinparadox2]

Re: Updated Pics

Re: Updated Pics

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12465471#post12465471 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by supercon71
Here are some pics from today, including the diagram of the sump design:

THIS IS THE GREATEST CAD DRAWING I HAVE EVER SEEN!!! NICE!! Just kidding...great setup and build, tagging along for the ride!

 

[lukin]

Nice aquascape, I like the open look. The corals look good, I hope the colors come back for you

 

[pfy333]

^X2 on the aquascape, looking nice.

 

[lukin]

Hey Andy, how's the tank doing? You take some nice pictures...wanna take some shots of my tank for me? I'll make sure to have some belgian beer on hand

 

[supercon71]

Tanks doing good.....I need to take more pics. All the sps you gave me are doing really well and i've added a couple things. My chaeto is growing like nuts, and the DT doesnt have even a hint of any nuisance algae. The startings of coralline can finally be seen on the powerheads and back. It took me much longer to get this growth than most do.

You should stop out sometime and take a look.

Yup, i'd be glad to take pics of your tank......and any beer would be fine by me.

I'm in Boston all weekend for a hockey tournament though......

 

[supercon71]

A few new pictures:

Among them, you'll see a pair of tomato/melanopus clowns, hairy mushroom, some coral growth, and a bartlett's anthias.....