Eric's 240 build

[erichm20]

Green palythoas are slowly taking over my 90 so I have decided to just upgrade. I found a 240g tall (72 x 24 x 31) on craigslist at a local thrift store I guess it was donated by someone so they were just trying to get rid of it, so I got it for a steal! The stand is solid teak and comes with a matching lid. It came with a ton of extra miscellaneous stuff, but did not include a return pump so I picked up a reeflo dart/snapper, leaving the dart impeller in it, which is 3600 gph. The only way I could convince my wife to do this upgrade was by agreeing to keep extra purchases at a bare minimum. So my goal for the thread is to show how one could do a larger tank without having to spend 10k. Im planning on this being a mixed reef with lot's of fish. I encourage and welcome all comments and suggestions along the way.

 

[erichm20]

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[Greg5OH]

thats a nice BIG tank, can you show a pic of the top too please? i like the wood stand.

 

[erichm20]

Here it is with the top.



The top is nice, but not very functional. First off, because it opens from the top, it adds 5 inches to an already tall tank- so it's 3 feet from the bottom up to the rim of the hood.

Second, I have no idea how I'm going to mount the LEDs. I could try to fasten them to the top but it is already pretty heavy, and it just doesn't seem very practical.

Here's the sump it came with.



The sump is setup with a 1 inch bulkhead but the pump has a 2 inch inlet and it says not to restrict the input. I will need to cut a bigger hole to fit a two inch bulkhead.

Tomorrow I will be cleaning the sump and cutting the hole. I will also be adding a liberal coat of polyurethane to the inside panels of the stand, then begin plumbing.





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[coralbandit]

Nice score!
Are you handy carpentry wise?
I had same setup with top and built a "lifter" with three doors for easy access on my 180.
By adding an extra 12-16 inches in the canopy height I also have three doors that make easy access to top of tank.
Look at my pics and you will see different tanks that are basically the same.
Before and after the lift.

 

[erichm20]

Well, I like to think of myself as handy but I am also realistic. My dad, however, is a carpenter by trade and loves little side jobs like this, so I may have to pick his brain for ideas.

I checked out your pics, coralbandit, and you have some nice tanks! I saw one pic with the hood open and could see what I think you were talking about - a lift for the light setup? I like the idea, but unsure how I would fabricate it with the hood as is. I have seen other tanks with this feature where the lid itself is hooked up to some type of lift.

The system came setup with a retro fit cfl lighting system but I'm thinking that would be downgrade from a lighting perspective, in my opinion.

I also thought about nixing the top altogether and just going for the open top but am concerned about the extra light spilling out into the house.

As for now, I will be putting some braces across the width of the tank for the lights to rest on but will definitely plan for a hood mod at some point.

I have decided to do a pretty deep sand bed in the DT. I'm going for 6 inches or so, just so I can work on the bottom if I need to. I also want to go for some nice undulation and banks with the sb. According to this calculator: Sand Bed Calculator I will need 420 lbs of sand!!

 

[erichm20]

Picked up a new toy!



Found it on CL for 175 and barely used.


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[coralbandit]

the 2 FTS are dark,but one has a lid like yours that opened on top(I built it),and the second has the "middle section" placed on top of tank with the lid on it(just a 3 sided light shield).
The pic with door open shows the window in the hood that is above the tank before the addition and how I hang my lights.
Your dad can definitely make something pretty easy I would think.
Nice score on the V!

 

[markodeniro]

That looks great will be watching with interest!


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[mr_X]

I think your return pump is way too big for this system. 2000 gph is plenty. You will find you are going to want to choke this pump way back.
As for the sand, you live in Florida....just go down to the beach with a wheel barrow!

 

[TheTodd]

My 240 has the top removed from the hood. Depending in what lights you go with, you can probably come up with a way to mount them. Light does come out the top, but it has never bothered me.

Nice score too. Amazing that someone donated that instead of selling it.


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[erichm20]

Hey X, You think it is too much? I thought about it and decided to go bigger and dial it down if I need to. The manual encourages restricting it (at the outlet) bc it will "lower the amperage and lengthen the life of the seal"...

I will also be teeing off the main return to feed a separate refugium and both DT returns will have ball valves that I can adjust.

If it is still too much, it came with a smaller impeller to lower it to 2600

I am contemplating getting some buckets of sand from the beach but I'm sure with my luck I'll either get arrested or the sand I collect will be contaminated with some toxin that will nuke the tank.

Todd- glad to hear it, I may end up going open to try it out.

The tank was donated to the thrift store and I got it from them for 800.

The setup came with an aqua c ev 240 without a pump. It recommends a mag18 but was wondering if anyone has used anything different?

I added a new piece of plywood on the bottom because the old one looked pretty worn, then I coated the whole interior in polyurethane.

Here is a layout of the return plumbing. I'm waiting on a bulkhead to finish the sump.






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[erichm20]

Also, I was talking to another reefer buddy and he recommended against the deep sand bed. He said that pockets of gas can form which, if disturbed, can wipeout the tank. Research has yielded mixed opinions. And seems like something they used to do more than today. Anyone with experience with DSB in a display tank and what were the results?


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[mr_X]

That pockets of gas thing is nonsense. Everyone who never had a DSB says that. A DSB is fine to use for filtration and is a benefit. Are you thinking of digging down to the bottom of your 6" sand bed for any reason anytime soon? If you are that against it, go purchase some limestone and put that on the bottom, and sand on top. This way you an still have your 6" buffer, but no risk of "nuking gasses"...lol.
I would put the smaller impeller in the pump and start from there. You can always add the larger impeller and even so, you may be choking it back anyway.

The max recommended tank is a 240 gallon for the ev240 and that's without sump and even livestock. Way underpowered IMO, and probably contributed to getting the original owner to send this tank to the thrift store.
IMO, you have way too many 90's in your plumbing. Always as little turns as possible.

As for the sand, what toxins are you expecting to be in the beach sand? a stray cigarette butt? Just rinse the stuff out, just like you are going to rinse the bagged sand you will end up buying. It's the same , calcium based, sand.

 

[Bdonaldson]

Here it is with the top.

View attachment 272352

The top is nice, but not very functional. First off, because it opens from the top, it adds 5 inches to an already tall tank- so it's 3 feet from the bottom up to the rim of the hood.

Second, I have no idea how I'm going to mount the LEDs. I could try to fasten them to the top but it is already pretty heavy, and it just doesn't seem very practical.

Here's the sump it came with.

View attachment 272353

The sump is setup with a 1 inch bulkhead but the pump has a 2 inch inlet and it says not to restrict the input. I will need to cut a bigger hole to fit a two inch bulkhead.

Tomorrow I will be cleaning the sump and cutting the hole. I will also be adding a liberal coat of polyurethane to the inside panels of the stand, then begin plumbing.





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That's amazing you got such a nice tank and stand. Wow! Beautiful wood to. Good luck with the upgrade.

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[erichm20]

Thanks!

As for the skimmer I thought about the fact that it is rated for up to 240 but it's just going to have to do for now and I will upgrade it later.

I don't know if I'll be able to use less 90s bc the holes are in the back, not bottom. I could try to use a couple 45s in some of the places.

As for the sand I think I will try the real deal and just rinse it good.




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[coralbandit]

I don't know if I'll be able to use less 90s bc the holes are in the back, not bottom. I could try to use a couple 45s in some of the places.

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try to use spa flex hose(nylon reinforced) from the last valve to tank conection.
That will eliminate a lot of 90s and get you better flow.

 

[erichm20]

I hear you, and agree the flex tubing is way easier to work with, but with this much water and flow rate I decided to keep it rigid.

Finished most of the plumbing today and got some sand from another reefer that upgraded from 180 to 300 recently and was getting rid of it. After a good rinsing I threw it in. It's probably 1/2 - 1/3 of where I want it to be.







I am waiting on a 2" bulkhead I ordered from eBay, then I can finish the sump. The same guy that gave me the sand offered me his old 75 sump for free, which I would like to do, but being 20" high it would only give me 6" or so to work above it which is tighter than I would like.

I am shooting to have it filled with water this weekend.


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[Sniperhank]

Nice job. Looks real clean. How did the leak test go?

 

[erichm20]

Thanks. I haven't been able to leak test the plumbing since I am waiting for a piece to finish it.

I found some more sand, rock, and a few fish a guy is getting rid of on craigslist, plan to go check it all out tomorrow.


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