Mat's 255 Gallon Rimless Aquarium Build

So after realizing that I need to put the protein skimmer in the sump before I slide it under. I had to get 8 gallons of vinegar to soak the skimmer. It was really nasty. After about 4+ hours, the skimmer came clean and it fits nicely in the sump. Now I have to get the pump for the skimmer all cleaned up and I have some mods I need to perform on it so that my effluent from the recirculating bio pellet reactor will go directly into the skimmer. This was a mistake I made the last time I tried bio pellets. I'm going to do it right this time around. Getting close to sliding this thing in and start finishing the plumbing.
 
@mwilk19 wrote:
Mat said:
Well it depends on what you call ravaging [smilie=thinking.gif]

I have tried a couple angels for some reason. I guess I like the color pattern on them. I had some zoo's that were growing where I didn't want them, and I knew he would eat them. He ate every zoo in the aquarium. Took him some time to eat them all. He also ate almost all the yellow sponges that grow all over. I think that is what made him completely transform colors from Juvenile to Adult. He is absolutely gorgeous!

Well he is a bad boy and rules the tank. My mature tangs stand their ground though so it works out. IF any LPS gets cut or whatever you have to remove the coral or he will eat it. If I frag something it has to go to the sump to heal before putting in the display or he will eat it. So as of right now, he is not really bothering much. He can nip at stuff, but all the colonys I have are pretty big. If he starts to eat everything, I will have to get rid of him.

So far so good.
 
I love that sump Matt ... also, brilliant idea on the loc-line ... I may have to steal that idea from you - thanks.
 
Matt love the new sump. It's been years since I have been out to your place. Need to make a trip back over there :)
 
Thanks. Well I finally got all my new pvc parts to start getting everything installed. I have the drains finished in the herbie style. I cant want to see how it works. I also started the plumbing for the returns. I guess I should have glued them indoors like the drains because it is not straight. ()*#&()*&#(*&#)(*&()#*&# [smilie=angry.gif] [smilie=angry.gif] [smilie=angry.gif]

I guess I will put the returns together now the best I can, and redo several months down the road.
 
I had some tight quarters to plumb my external devices like my reactors, here is a pic of the completed return. It hard to see all the ports but they are there. I will see if I can find a better angle.
 
The refugium turned out way better than I thought. You really cant tell that there is water moving in the entire sump. Really smooth operation. The surface looks like glass, yet I have great movement in the sump. Now I need some algae.
 
Here is a close up of the refugium. As you can see there are no bubbles being created in the refuge and its running right now.
 
After getting the sump in and after like a week of overflow from the skimmer. It finally settled in...so I started to work on my new biopellet reactor modifications. I took a threaded T for an MPT insert and cut the ends of it off to add to my valute on the skimmer.
 
I super glued the mod to the valute and it fits real nice. Now my effluent from my biopellet reactor will go directly into the skimmer. This will reduce the amount of contaminants being sent to the display and hopefully illuminate the Cyano algae it can create from the waste.
 
After hooking it up, my skimmer went crazy and I couldn't get it from overflowing. I had allot of bubbles in the skimmer area as you see here. I couldn't figure out what was going wrong. After overflowing for several days, I found that I hadn't pushed in the tubing all the way in the mpt. Once I did this it has settled in.
 
very cool concept .. it seems like I have seen some skimmers with a port for biopellets? I like this concept though better ....
 
Super build....I have a similar project coming up on my things to do list...enjoy...I might ask to borrow your bor bits if they are too expensive....I bet their cheap at harbor freight though.
 
@Carabelli wrote:
very cool concept .. it seems like I have seen some skimmers with a port for biopellets? I like this concept though better .... said:
Thanks it seems to be working. When I had the reactor on not going to the skimmer I saw the green algae come back immediately. Now that I have it hooked up to the skimmer I see less of it, after I cleaned the stuff off the glass. I will see how it works. I'm sure I need to add more pellets, but I'm not sure on the schedule I will do that.

I havn't seen one, but I bet the new ones have the option.
 
After getting the filter back on the aquarium and working well, my pink Floyd chalice is coloring up nicely. One of my fish knocked it off the rocks, so I tried to get a good pic before I glue it back.
 
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