My 180g reef - Build thread

T

the3dwizard

[Hey I have a new toy, have to share it with someone!

The canopy, stand and tank came through Saltwater Paradise. I wanted to be able to access the tank from both sides, as the tank will separate the kitchen from the family room. So talking to the carpenter we came up with a gull wing design. There is a channel going down the center to hide the fans and ballasts. However I told him I wanted it 12" inches high. Trouble is we forgot to update the plans when we added the channel. So attaching the MH to the channel would leave only about 3" between the water line and bottom of the light. So we came up with notching the channel for the lights. I think this turned out better as some of the heat will be vented out of the top of the fixture.

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The stand is built on a 6" riser. This puts the bottom at the lever of the counter. However, if we ever move the tank we can lower the stand by removing the riser. The doors have hinges that make it very easy to remove them.

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[Thanks All,

The tank is just a standard Oceanic 72.5 x 24.5x25. I had them put the overflow at one end.

Tony, after we get ours set up we should have a north central tank tour :lol:

Now to start the plumbing!]
 
[Well had planned to post more pictures before now. However, I couldn't tear myself away from reef building.

Here is a picture of the sump out of the stand for those who are interested. It came from SW Paradise as well.

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For the lighting I am going with two 250 W MH and 560 W of VHO. My plan is to put the SPS under the MH and the LPS will populate the rest of the tank. I am going with PFO HQI Mini Pendent and an IceCap MH ballasts. Here is a shot of one set all wired up. They mounted real well into the notches we cut into the channel. As soon as I get a pick of that I will post it. Just need to do the VHO next

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I also did the plumbing this past week and started filling on Friday. Took all weekend to fill from the RO/DI unit. Found a use for an empty salt bucket. It will serve as my auto topoff reservoir. I have ReefRelief autotop off system to control the RO/DI and a float valve as a backup. It will never look this clean again :lol:

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Edited By the3dwizard on 1111467208
 
[I agree, the red acrylic looks cool. Maybe I should find some to make my float switch hangers out of :)

Well the starboard arrived last night! I am using 3/4 " which put the top of the board at about the level of the drip ledge on the stand. It did take several pieces of rock to hold this stuff down.

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Edited By the3dwizard on 1111590746
 
[Yes, It will be hanging down from the canopy. I will be using a QuietOne Pump going through a OceansMotions Super Suirt. Two outlets will be at the far end pointed back towards the overflow. The other two will be near the middle with Oceans Motions Revolutions on the ends. I am going to build it then place it inside after I aquascape.

Cheers!]
 
[The bulkheads for the drains are 1" as the plumbing for those.

The return bulkheads are 3/4" The plumbing on either side of the bulkhead is 1". The 1" plumbing is reduced to 3/4" inside the tank at the top of the overflow. The plumbing inside the tank outside the overflow is 3/4", (the grey pipe and the black Flexible Ball-Socket Joint Tubing ).]
 
[Well I got industrious and finished the closed loop. It is being driven by a QuietOne 5000. I am using a OM Super Squirt to divert the flow through four outlets. Right now it has the drum option 3 in the OM SS. This diverts flow to both revolutions at the same time then to the surface outlets on the end. I have a delayed sequential drum (#2) that I may also try. The setup really keeps stuff suspended, well until I get the rock in there that is. If I think I need more flow pointed down I may place another revolution on one of the ends. Hopefully when I aquascape the pump will be less obvious. It will be more or less out of sight from the main viewing side. Oh, the things we do for our corals :)

Here is a diagram with some details and a couple of pictures of the setup as well.

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Whole tank view

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OM SuperSquirt

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Pump

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Lots of surface action!

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Edited By the3dwizard on 1111795401
 
[Well I got the autotoff done. I wanted to make it totally automatic so that when I travel on business I do not have to worry about it.


The RO/DI unit is under the sink. I have the feed line to the unit plumbed through a Reef-Relief system. The water from the unit goes into an old salt bucket for storage. The Reef-Relief will shut off the water if either float switch in the bucket is activated (open) and if there is a power failure. This maintains a constant level of fresh water in the bucket.

I have two ways to feed the sump, either directly from the RO/DI bucket or through a kalk reactor. The kalk reactor is feed using an Aqua Medic SP 3000. This is setup so that until my Ca demand increases I can still maintain constant level in the sump. Also if the pH rises too high the kalk pump will be shut off but the sump level can still be maintained by the fresh water powerhead. There may come a point in time that all the top off will go through the kalk reactor. However, this will be easy to program in the AC.

I use a AC III Pro to run the system. Some things it does:

Turns on the kalk dosing pump at night. I will control the time period depending upon Ca demand.

If float switch 2 (hi level) is activated the power to the power head, the kalk dosing pump and the reef-relief are turned off.

If float switch 1 is activated, which means the water in the sump is at the correct level, the power to the power head and the kalk dosing pump are turned off.

If the ph rises above 8.4 the kalk dosing pump is turned off.

It turns on the kalk mixing pump (not shown) four times a day for several minutes.


Future additions:

I plan to add another float switch which will sound an alarm if the level in the sump gets too low.

Also, plan to add a water on floor sensor which will sound an alarm and may have the AC III Pro turn of some of the pumps and reef-relief.


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RO/DI Unit with in-line TDS

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bucket and kalk reactor. Inserts are the Reef-Relief controller and hi level float switch. Excuse the mess I still need to bundle the cables :)

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