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 DIY...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 DIY. On those, I will try to post detailed photos and plans although that may go in the DIY 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, VHO 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

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]

Looking Good

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. 8)

 

[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]

180

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 8O .

 

[loganj]

Lifereef sump

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]

Berlin skimmer

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

 

[fishfreek]

You could use the drip plate area as you describe. Depending on how much stuff it catches you might want to clean it weekly.

It will also provide a good place to put carbon should you want/need to run carbon for a short period.

 

[Anemoneman]

I would not use the upper box and drip plate. Certainly don't use the floss. Run your hose(es) to near the bottom of the sump so they are submerged, makes that part very quiet.
Maybe a 90 fitting between the pump and skimmer would make plumbing easier. Or maybe a header to collect the output of the skimmer and dump it 90 degrees to the outlets back in the sump.
Carbon can also be placed in a Lee's specimen container (with the bottom drilled out) placed beneath the skimmer return header.

 

[loganj]

Do you think a 90* between the pump and skimmer would be better than having it on the suction side between the sump and skimmer pump? Or would it make any difference? I was originally gonna put the 90* on the suction side. Good idea on the carbon. I guess that would help dissipate the bubbles that will be coming from the skimmer return?
Now, for another question...I have a Little Giant 3-MDQ-SC (rated 700gph@1'head). Planning on ordering a Magdrive 2400 also. Which one should be used for the sump flow? I plan on using the other for circulation only. I know the big Magdrive probably isn't the best way to go, but it's the only thing I have found that will both fit the budget and provide the needed flow.
Logan J

 

[Anemoneman]

Do you think a 90* between the pump and skimmer would be better than having it on the suction side between the sump and skimmer pump?

You lost me. Got a sketch?

 

[loganj]

OK, the 180 is going into high gear. The eyecare center called this week and said they were ready for the tank back. So I'm scrambling to try and bring it all together. The best part is that they are having an open house the first week in May and they would like their tank to be looking good by then. That may be difficult. The stand is almost done. There are a few things, ordered from Champion Lighting, that haven't come in yet. A Little Giant 4-MDQX 1225 gph pump. Two 4" fans for the canopy. A Pro Heat 2 titanium heater (350w). Bulbs from Aquatic Tech ( www.aquatictech.com ) will be here Monday.
The stand is wired and the sump is installed. 2 Icecap 660 ballasts are in place. The reflector is in the canopy. I used white painted aluminum for the reflector...took about 15 minutes to make it on a sheet metal break. Lighting will be 2 URI actinics and 2 URI white actinics. I'm using the old Little Giant 3-MDQ pump as a closed loop. The 4-MDQX will be used for the sump circulation. Other circulation will come from 4 Maxi Jet 1200's and a Natural Wave wavemaker. Since Home Depot declined to transfer the Southdown sand, after they told me it would be no problem, I'll have to use something else. After checking with www.purearagonite.com, I found that I can get CaribSea a little cheaper from one of our wholesalers. The plan is to put in about 300lbs of CaribSea Aragamax and top it off with LS. Then about 100lbs of base rock and maybe 50-60lbs of LR. I think I'll start the cleanup crew out with about 100 blue legs, 50 astreas, 20 scarlets, and a couple of emerald crabs. Any suggestions appreciated. Here's a few pics.
Logan J

 

[loganj]

more pics

More pics.

 

[fishfreek]

WONDERFUL

 

[loganj]

Got the 180 in place and plumbed in. Sorry...no pics right now...will try to get some later. Ordered 150lbs of honeycomb rock (dry). Put some of the smaller pieces on the glass and used them to support the larger pieces. That way they aren't pressing down on the DSB. Added 270lbs of CaribSea Aragamax and about 60lbs of LS for an average depth of 4 1/2". Filled the tank up about 1/2 way with SW and added about 50lbs of LR. Two MaxiJet 1200's, one on each end of the tank, are keeping things moving. Due to the turtle that is residing in the RO container at the store, (trust me, you don't want to know) I didn't have enough RO/DI water to fill the tank any more than 1/2 way. I guess it'll take a week or so to settle anyway. Bulbs still are not here...getting a little irritated with Aquatic Tech. Although they had the best prices, they were out of the actinics. No big deal except that they didn't bother to tell me. I think when someone orders something and you're out of it, you should make the effort to contact them and let them know. Think I'll pay a little more in the future and order from Hello Lights or Champion. Anybody got any tips to boost coraline growth? I've read that leaving the actinics on longer will help get it started. Opinions?
Logan J

 

[EMS503]

What type of fitting do you have connecting the PH to your skimmer? I have a Berlin turbo setup in my sump and want to reduce the space between the PH and skimmer, so I can add another divider in my sump.

 

[EMS503]

Missed the second page of the post, You are very good that is a great looking setup very neat and organized. Want to build me one