Mat's 255 Gallon Rimless Aquarium Build

This is a picture of the construction of the filter sock area with the bubble trap going to the protein skimmer section. Looks like it is coming along real well.
 
Now that my sump is complete, I will be converting one of my reactors to a recirculating biopellet reactor. Hopefully I don't destroy the reactor. This is the one I think I will convert.
 
One of the main reasons for the new sump, and complete new plumbing and filters, etc for better water quality is because of this guy. I put this little guy in my reef about 10 months ago.
 
Now that I have fattened him up and he has changed colors, he is a little messy and is hugry all the time. He will actually grunt and tell you when he is displeased or hungry. Pretty cool.
 
Well I decided to work on my DIY recirculating bio pellet reactor this weekend. I was going to use my Vertex reactors, but they have a edge inside the cylinder that will require some silicone to make them work properly. I used three different types of bits on test holes in drilling into cylinders, and the step bit was the way to go. Just an FYI. I took a couple pictures with my cell phone. This shows the smooth hole it drills.
 
I dry fitted the fittings in here to see how it would look. I don't like the way the pump is so far from the unit, it is unbalanced with no water in it. I may put the pump on the top of the unit where I can keep the plumbing close to the reactor. I will see what I can come up with.
 
@mtraylor wrote:
He will actually grunt and tell you when he is displeased or hungry. Pretty cool. said:
Wonder if you will be the one grunting after he figures out how tasty your LPS and zoas are. [smilie=smile.gif]

Cheers,
 
LOL. Well he has actually eaten all my zoo's in the aquarium. I had those blue jeans and eagle eyes that took over the rock work and he actually ate all the blue jeans first, which is what I wanted him to do. then he ate the eagle eyes.

I guess it was mission accomplished since I wanted rid of the blue jean ones. I was hoping he would eat the blue clove polps that are out of control. Of course he doesn't pay them any attention. [smilie=devil.gif]
 
So I started the pre work on the sump today. I think I will try and do the actual switch out on Sunday. I got my drain pipes cut and into place.
 
I bought some of the rubber pads from bulk reef supply in the group buy and placed that under my new dart pump and drilled the sump for the pump. It fits nicely. Now I just have to drill a whole into the refugium area for the water input and I'm done drilling holes in the sump. The auto fill will be held in place with my vertex probe holders with vertical float switches to my apex. I have an electronic valve that I have to wire up this weekend as well to turn my auto fill on and off that is directly hooked up to my rodi unit.

I know..I know. I will have two float switches working from the start. The second is for backup. I have also bought an optical float, but I will need an external power source for it to be hooked up. After I get everything up and running, I will make it my primary with two mechanical floats as backup.
 
Well like all projects. This is wearing me out. I got all the plumbing out and the overflow cleaned out. That was allot of work. Now I'm trying to rewire everything so I don't have a rats nest of wires left. I got my solenoid all wired up and tested. Its great!

I thought I could finish today, but I forgot I needed to clean everything. The skimmer was really nasty. I bought 8 gallons of vinegar for cleaning. While everything was soaking I drilled the refugium for the intake. Its all finished now.

By using this loc-line for the water flow of the refugium, I can avoid all the issues I have experienced before, such as water splashing and un even flow. I can put the loc line under the water to go in areas I need flow. the drain on the left will provide the surface agitation. Much better design than I had before.
 
Mat,
Your Emperator doesn't ravage your corals? I almost wish that I had done a fish only tank instead of a reef so I could have an Emperor Angelfish.
 
I got my vertex probe holders in and I put them in place. These will hold my probes, auto top off water, and return from calc reactor and recirculating biopellet reactor and carbon and gfo reactors. I was worried about the hold power of these due to the really thick walls of the acrylic. After putting them in place, I think they will hold. I will have to see once I get everything in place. I got my fingers crossed. This is what they look like. They are very clean looking.
 
Top