50009 Posts/Points: 1717/1999
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| 02/03/2012 04:19 PM |
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Posted By ninjazx777 on 02/03/2012 04:47 PM
sone please tell me your not going to go bare bottom on this tank that would just be way too much bare glass and sand looks so much better anyways
I am not going bare bottom.  I know some people love it and I like it for easy cleaning but I hated my tank for 3 years because it was bare bottom. I have always been a sand guy so I will be happy to have it again! |
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Creston Posts/Points: 665/811
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| 02/03/2012 04:28 PM |
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That's crazy that you hated your tank and so many other people loved it. I thought it was beautiful. That said, I like sand too. |
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Cedar Rapids Posts/Points: 172/224
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| 02/03/2012 09:36 PM |
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This is an awesome build, getting me motivated to start mine! I do have to say I would of been disappointed to see a bare bottom tank, sand is the way to go! |
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Iowa City Posts/Points: 1115/1333
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| 02/03/2012 09:39 PM |
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AWESOME!!!! With my next tank I'm going to do a sand/faux sand bottom. I'm going to do faux sand in the front and front corners (in all the high flow areas) and then coarse sand throughout the back. |
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| Andy Long
GIRS IC/CR Regional Trustee
"Yeah, apparently the bacteria feed on the alcohol, and then the corals feed on the bacteria... then the corals slur their speech, fall down, throw up, become your best friend, and essentially make fools out of themselves." -addict @ RC
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50009 Posts/Points: 1717/1999
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| 02/04/2012 09:18 AM |
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I think it is pretty well divided on the sand and bare bottom stance.
Here's a pic of my bb tank from about a year ago.
Here's a pic of my previous tank with sand in it now. |
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Cedar Falls Posts/Points: 838/1066
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| 02/04/2012 11:07 AM |
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You have a fish wish list for your new tank? |
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50009 Posts/Points: 1717/1999
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| 02/04/2012 04:47 PM |
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Posted By ruggerkc on 02/04/2012 12:07 PM
You have a fish wish list for your new tank?
I'm not sure what to do about fish. I have put some thought into it but I haven't begin to formulate a list or anything like that. I am thinking a nice population of clowns but I'm not sure how well they would get along when there are 10+ in a tank and with them being different types of clowns. I also like angel fish but most of them are not reef safe and I don't really want to gamble on it whether they are or not. Maybe I will add a school of fish to it as well but even then, I'm not sure what kind I want. So basically I have no set list of must haves, just going by what I feel like when the time comes. Maybe my aquascaping and coral selection will dictate what I put in there because it is a reef tank first and foremost. Fish are usually an afterthought for me. |
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50009 Posts/Points: 1717/1999
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| 02/05/2012 03:47 PM |
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Ok, I am finally done with my plumbing! The general design of the system was based on the return pump, an ATB Flow Star 4200. It is rated for 4200GPH but with head loss and plumbing, I was going to be in the 2500GPH neighborhood. With that said, 2) 1" drains wasn't going to be able to handle that much water, I knew I had to use the 2) 1" returns as drains as well. With the drains using all 4 holes in the overflow, I decided to run the return externally. I ended up with a 1", two output manifold that hangs over the side of the tank. Hopefully this will give me enough flexibility as to where I want to point the flow. It also allows me to keep the outputs on one side of the tank vs having outputs and pumps all over the tank. I had a few goals in mind and I think I got them all. First, I wanted the plumbing to look as clean as possible. Second, to make it clean, a lot of it had to be hidden. Third, I wanted to use as much flex PVC as possible to keep the system quiet. From my experience, the flex PVC is softer so it absorbs more noise with water passing through it than standard PVC. Last but not least, I wanted an output from the return pump to power a couple fluidized reactors. This will help reduce the output of flow from the return pump and it will also eliminate the need for extra pumps in the sump to power the reactors. In theory, everything works but I have yet to try it with the system running. I wanted to try it earlier in the week but I didn't have all the parts I needed at the time. Regardless, I shouldn't have any major plumbing changes even if I have to change some things. Anyway here are the pics of the plumbing project.
This is the hole on the right side of the stand where the return will come and over the top of the tank.
Here are the holes that I ran the plumbing through to keep everything hidden
Valves on the left side to help control the amount of water going through each drain
Here are the drains on the right side of the tank
These are the valves that controls the drains from the right side, they are located near the left drain
Here's the Durso style drains that came with the tank. I figured I would go ahead and give them a try. If I don't like them, I will switch them out with strainers on the ends
Here is the return output coming up the right side of the tank with a valve to help control the output
Here are the 1" outputs that will be visible in the tank
Here's a close up of the pump. The valve pointing to the left if what will be used for the fluidized reactors
And here's a shot of the stand from the fish room. Again, I wanted the plumbing to be clean and I think I have achieved that. |
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Creston Posts/Points: 665/811
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| 02/05/2012 03:57 PM |
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Beautiful!
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Cedar Rapids Posts/Points: 903/1057
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| 02/05/2012 04:00 PM |
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that looks really good. Any reason you didn't go with more of a manifold style setup for running reactors etc.? Each feed off the manifold having its own valve to control flow. That's what I ended up doing in my tank and its working out really well.
One thing on these tanks is its really hard to get enough flow through the overflows to keep water off the center bracing. The teeth spacing are such that it just won't allow serious flow. I have to recirc quite a bit of the water off my 1270gph pump to keep the center brace out of the water. The drains handle the volume just fine, its the overflow teeth that back everything up. You may have to do a little modifying there to get the kind of flow you are looking for. |
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| Current project - 250 gallon marineland deep dimension |
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50009 Posts/Points: 1717/1999
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| 02/05/2012 06:05 PM |
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Thanks, Jim! I hope I didn't disappoint you with the plumbing! 
Posted By blackx-runner on 02/05/2012 05:00 PM
Any reason you didn't go with more of a manifold style setup for running reactors etc.? Each feed off the manifold having its own valve to control flow. That's what I ended up doing in my tank and its working out really well.
One thing on these tanks is its really hard to get enough flow through the overflows to keep water off the center bracing. The teeth spacing are such that it just won't allow serious flow. I have to recirc quite a bit of the water off my 1270gph pump to keep the center brace out of the water. The drains handle the volume just fine, its the overflow teeth that back everything up. You may have to do a little modifying there to get the kind of flow you are looking for. Right now I only have 1 reactor so there isn't a need to create a manifold for it. When and if I add more equipment, I can easily unscrew the fitting off the valve and create a manifold for it.
I have seen in some build threads on RC where they have cut out some of the overflow teeth to create the drainage needed to match the pump output. I will mod it as I see fit. I need to get it up and running before I start cutting. |
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West Des Moines, IA Posts/Points: 1445/1705
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| 02/05/2012 09:27 PM |
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Posted By slovan on 02/05/2012 04:47 PM
Here are the holes that I ran the plumbing through to keep everything hidden
Sone, I'm wondering if you should have put those holes so close to the bottom of the support member. Just like in a house, you can run plumbing through the joists but I think there's a minimum distance you should stay away from the lower edge, like one diameter of the hole or something. Maybe someone can chime in or I can show out Structural Engineer at work and see but you might end up having to put a flat piece of metal spanning a couple inches on either side of those holes just across the bottom of the beam, 'cause they look pretty close to me. It's probably OK but that's one of those things you definitely don't want to be weak ya know |
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- Bud
Formerly "Floyd R Turbo"
I maintain a 144 Reef, a 125 FOWLR and a 180 FOWLR for customers.
Currently babysitting a 125 compressed into a 37.
Custom Acrylic Fabrication needs? Contact me via PM.
See my projects in the Commercial Members & Club Sponsors forum
Sign up for information on Algae Scrubbers! |
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Creston Posts/Points: 665/811
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| 02/05/2012 10:05 PM |
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I think that stand is so overbuilt that there is nothing to worry about. There's a lot of meat above the holes. |
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50009 Posts/Points: 1717/1999
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| 02/06/2012 06:33 AM |
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Thanks for the feedback, Bud! Please show it to your structural engineer just to be on the safe side. I just thought I would be OK since they are 2x8s. If they were 2x4s or 2x6s, I probably would have been more cautious. Anyway let me know what you find out.  |
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Posts/Points: 8/14
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| 02/06/2012 06:48 AM |
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Amazing to see if go from sitting on a pallet wrapped in plastic to a soon to be masterpiece! I know you'll have this thing lookin SWEEEEEET. Looks great so far man! Thanks for helping me get BACK in the hobby.....well....kinda thanks.....going broke and pissing wife off spending so much!!!! |
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50009 Posts/Points: 1717/1999
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| 02/06/2012 02:17 PM |
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Oh come on Tim! Now that you have more free time on your hands, you might as well set up a smaller tank the way you like it. I am sure your wife will appreciate a tank full of colorful sticks! 
I am still in the process of making water. I think I will be until this weekend! For now, I am starting on my aquascape. I hope it will look like how I have it in my head! |
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Posts/Points: 737/1013
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| 02/06/2012 02:21 PM |
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check out marco rocks aquascaping mortar if you want to make some really tricked out formations.
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| 240 gallon bare bottom, T-5 lights, 75 gallon sump #1, 50 gallon rubbermaid sump #2, Octo Pro 300 skimmer, calc reactor, GFO/Carbon, nitrate reactor, 10000gph of flow, sps, lps, zoas, fish. |
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50009 Posts/Points: 1717/1999
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| 02/06/2012 03:02 PM |
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Thanks Jim! I will have to check it out if I get stumped and can't get it to look like I want it to! |
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50009 Posts/Points: 1717/1999
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| 02/10/2012 02:04 PM |
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Today makes it 7 days of continuous water making. I am very close to having the tank and sump filled but it will probably be another day before I have enough to be fully functional. So that's about 420 gallons in 8 days. That comes out to 52.5 gallons a day. My RO/DI system is about exhausted so I will need to replace the cartridges again! 
Anyway here are some pics to share. I ended up going with Carib-Sea special grade 1mm-2mm for the tank. I really liked it when I put it in my brother in-law's tank so I am using the same because it stays down pretty good without getting blown out.
140lbs worth
Now the fun begins with adding mixed saltwater! For my salt, I am using Red Sea Coral Pro. I haven't tried it yet but I am going to give it a chance based on good feedback I have been reading about.
The aquascape has changed since this picture but it is still the same concept
I had some free time so I modified the overflow teeth since I am going to be pushing more flow than what the standard overflow will allow. As you can see, there's a big difference in the modified one over the standard. I just snipped every other one with pliers and grounded them down smooth with a dremel for a clean look.
Then I added the gutter guard to it and glued it in place with PVC cement.
That's it for now! I am still in the process of painting my white egg crate black so once I get that done, I will be able to set up the skimmer and get the system up and running at full speed!
Oh and I made another change to my in-tank flow. Originally I was going to run 3) Tunze 6200s and a 6105 but I decided to go with MP40s and then changed my mind again so I will end up with 2) MP60s. I am going for the cleanest look possible so there will not be any cords in the tank. Just 2 pumps and 2 outputs from the return, all on one side. |
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Posts/Points: 813/965
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| 02/10/2012 02:19 PM |
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Good choice using the gutter guard in the overflow. I also snipped mine when I set it up and quickly had fish in the overflow so I had to add that to mine. |
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| GIRS 2012 Club Treasurer |
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