125 reef build

[ccCapt]

I'll be moving everything from the 75 to the 125 on Monday. I have about 90g of fresh sw in the tank and I traded a few frags at the lfs and got about 20-25 lbs of cured live rock. (Thnx cmor for the 25' extension hose idea. It only took bout 30 hrs to make 90g.)

This is the plumbing under the tank. Really not much to see, but that was the idea. The 1 line that T's off is the return. (I have hose clamps, but didn't notice they weren't on till I took these pics). The eggcrate is just there because I have a Mag5 running and it was sliding all over the place.

Not much to describe in the basement.

And the sump. My skimmer (Octopus NW200) was supposed to be here today, but FedEx pushed it back till Tues. That will sit in the sect. on the far right. Fuge will be between the baffles and egg crate.

 

[cmor1701d]

Great setup. I hope to be able to do something like that on my next tank.
Two small items. If you're going to have macro in the fuge, some of it will get through the egg crate and into the return pump. You may want to use some screen material on the inside of the fuge to prevent that.
The shutoff valve from the pump to the tank is mounted a fair distance from the pump. When you need to do maintenance on the pump that section will have a lot of water in it. Be prepared for it.

 

[ccCapt]

I do have a strainer on the bulkhead on the sump. You can sort of see it, but the bulkhead is a slip fitting and all the lfs had was a threaded strainer so it's in there real loose. I'll have to teflon tape the crap out of it...lol

Yeah, I didn't think about the water in the line from the shut off to the pump until I had it all together and was looking it over. That's about 3' of 1" spa flex, so it won't have a whole lot of water. I'll just have to be quick with a bucket.

 

[cmor1701d]

The problem I had is that the strainer clogs, and some gets through the strainer slots. I had to take it all apart including removing the pump to clean the impeller section.

Good luck tomorrow. Stop and take lots of pictures.

 

[ccCapt]

Well after a very long day, the 125 is up and running. I still have some small stuff to do, but all the major work is done. What I do see is the water coming into the sump is making a ton of microbubbles. The baffles are stopping most of them, but there are still alot. I may have to cut the pipes so they aren't submersed. Not sure if that will do anything tho. Any suggestions? I'll take some pics tomorrow. My Octo NW200 skimmer will be here tomorrow too....and that will cause a ton of microbubble too until it's broken in.

One thing for sure, it is quiet in the house now. All I can hear is the water cascading into the overflow and that is not loud at all.

 

[cmor1701d]

DO NOT CUT the pipes. It will be very LOUD if those drains are not submersed. Do you have any macro algae in there yet? That will probably eliminate any bubbles getting to the return.

 

[ccCapt]

Microbubbles in the sump are unreal. I hope it slows down when the pipes get "broken in". I tried a 100 micron mesh filter bag I had laying around, but I don't think it did anything. I ended up draping a piece of filter pad I had over the eggcrate. That seems to have helped alot.
This is in far right side when the overflows drain.

This is the section after the baffles. The big bubbles you see are stuck to the glass, not floating around.

While we are in the basement, I got a package today.

 

[ccCapt]

A couple shots of the lighting. I called the local elec supply to get my VHO ballast. They said they are in stock and just come in for it. Well I get there and naturally they don't have any and need to order it. So for now I made a couple acrylic strips to use as braces to hold up my old lights till I get the VHO ballast.

For your viewing pleasure, a few money shots.

Right side.

Left side.

I still have lots of odds and ends to do. Didn't hook up my phosban reactor yet either. All in all I am very happy with how it turned out so far.

 

[Leader of Men]

Looks absolutely amazing! Fantastic work!!

I wish I could hire you to do a tank or two in my house

 

[Ziggy953]

Very nice job! Looks great!

What kind of pump is that you are using for your return?

 

[ccCapt]

Thanks I'm happy with the outcome.

@Ziggy: The return pump is a Gen-X PCX40 1190gph.

 

[ccCapt]

Little update on the sump microbubble problem. I think alot had to do with the new pipes and they are breaking in now, plus I made a little change. The 1" overflows now dump into 3" pvc with holes drilled in the bottom. This is working real nice.

This was before.

And now.

I also put a filter pad I had over the eggcrate after the fuge section. This catches pretty much any mb's that get thru.

Return section is pretty clear.

 

[cmor1701d]

Congrats on getting it all done. It looks great!

 

[ccCapt]

Thanks But you know, we're never done. I need some fish now. I'm thinking 4-5 Bartlett anthias. I turned my old 20g sump into a qt, so I need to get something in it...lol.

 

[cmor1701d]

That sump looks great now. Mine is pretty much covered with coraline now. It's amazing how that suff grows down there.

 

[Ziggy953]

Looks great! Nice job and thanks for sharing with all of us!

 

[roka64]

Wow, that's quite an improvement!

 

[pitt420dude]

This is one of the nicest looking tanks, stands, and DIY setups I've ever seen. Wow.

I wish I had your time/craftsmanship/funds.

 

[ccCapt]

Just wanted to give a little update. I am totally amazed by my Octo NW200 skimmer. I ran the skimmer without any mods for the 1st 2 weeks to let it break in. Then I started tweaking it. There are tons of pics and threads on RC about modding these skimmers. All I can say is you will not find a better skimmer for $200. This thing is great and I'm not done modding yet.

Just for some reference, the skimmer body is 8" diameter and is sitting in my 55g sump. I marked the line where the water ends and bubbles start. I like to skim dry.

This is about 2 days of skimmate (8" diamater cup). YUMMMMY

Yep......$200 for this skimmer. Octo also makes 2 smaller versions, and of course, bigger ones too.

 

[vietcu]

Hey cccapt what are you using as a cushion below the tank and the frame in this shot?