180 gal buildup

[loganj]

Over the next few months, I am going to do a buildup on a FOwLR 180. This post may be moved to [acronym:ae61c537ac="Do it yourself"]DIY[/acronym:ae61c537ac]...not sure about that yet. The tank will be going in a local eyecare center here. I will start with repairing/reinforcing the stand and, hopefully, end up with the tank up and running. I am going to try to post detailed photos on each stage. Some things will be ordered from different vendors and I will post where I got it, how well it worked, ect... Other parts will by [acronym:ae61c537ac="Do it yourself"]DIY[/acronym:ae61c537ac]. On those, I will try to post detailed photos and plans although that may go in the [acronym:ae61c537ac="Do it yourself"]DIY[/acronym:ae61c537ac] forum and be linked to here. Pics will go in the photo gallery as well. I admit that there is a lot that I don't know so I hope everyone will speak up with advice, thoughts, and suggestions. I will try to post plans ahead of time so anyone interested will have a chance to post their thoughts on it before it goes together. Tank will have a sump, skimmer, refugium with reverse light, [acronym:ae61c537ac="Very high output fluorescent"]VHO[/acronym:ae61c537ac] lighting, ect... I hope it will be something we can all have fun with and learn from. In the end, it should be a good basic plan for a large tank without breaking the bank. Having said all that, here goes...starting in my shop with the stand/canopy.
Logan J
Edited the comments...didn't know about the 255 character limit...learned something already

[loganj]

Next stage, after the stand is fixed (I know that part is kinda boring), will be to install the sump and other equipment into the stand. Here is what I'm thinking: Sump will go in far left side. Berlin skimmer (run by a Mag 500) will go in next, but will be outside the sump. The reason for this is that it takes up the whole open area in the sump and is nearly impossible to remove for cleaning. I would like to put the refugium in the other side of the stand elevated slightly higher than the sump. It will be fed from the sump with a powerhead and gravity return to the sump near the pump intake. I'm thinking about putting a small dam in front of the pump intakes to hopefully prevent large fragments from being sucked into the pumps...have had trouble with this before. All it takes is a few loose chunks of carbon to stop up the intake. They can be quite difficult to remove once they're jammed in there too. I would also like to separate the skimmer intake from the refugium return to prevent any of the "good" bugs from being skimmed out. Probably use an acrylic partition for this as well. Skimmer will dump close to main pump intake. Main pump, at this point, is planned to be a Magdrive 2400 which should yield about 1700 gph through the sump. A Little Giant 1000 gph will be used for tank circulation only. Heaters will go in the sump also...probably go with three 300w. Will try to update with a diagram of all this. Any ideas?
Logan J

[Bobby_Hamrick]

Hey it looks great man. I will be watching as it goes together here and in person!

[Grant R]

Wow, excellent project there. Will be a good example to others in the same boat, or with an eye for doing the same thing.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

[vermonter310]

Hey Loganj,

whats going on with the 180 build-up ? Started reading some older posts about build-ups but nothing on this since Nov.24th ?

VT

[loganj]

Well...kinda hung up at the moment due to budget restraints. This is gonna be strung out over several months. Sorry...I wish I could jump in and have it up and running next week . Lighting system should be coming in Jan though.
Logan J

[vermonter310]

Sounds good, hope you don't think I was rushing or pressuring you . I was just interested in it and wondered if you had moved ahead on the project without posting. it's one I'll surely be watching.

VT

[loganj]

Well, I was going to order the lighting system in Jan...glad I didn't. Found 2 Icecap 660's for $200...pretty good deal I thought. Anyway, they're on the way so shouldn't be too much longer on that part.
Finished the stand this afternoon. Added the plywood to the back to stiffen the frame. Also added the extra wood on top where the tank sits. It was sitting on the edge of the plywood on the sides of the stand. The weight was causing the plywood to split...not a good thing .

[loganj]

Dragged the sump out this afternoon. As you can see from the pics, it was originally built as a wet/dry system. So...I have some questions. Should I use the top with the drawer and drip plate? Or should I leave it off and just run it open? I thought the drawer and drip plate might be a good place to have a piece of floss to catch the chunky stuff, but I'm not sure if it would be a good idea or not (nitrates?). I also want to mount the skimmer externally because it takes up so much room in the sump. It's nearly impossible to get the darn thing out to clean it. I thought I'd drill the sump and install a bulkhead. Then, since the pump intake and the skimmer output are at right angles to each other, use an elbow and a union coming out of the sump and into the skimmer pump. Anyone have any suggestions about plumbing the skimmer return in a way that will minimize micro bubbles? More on this later...been a long day!
Logan J

[loganj]

Here's the Berlin skimmer I'll be using. Note that pump intake and skimmer return are at right angles to each other. Makes it a little harder to plumb it external because of that.
Logan J