Pole's Mini Monster 210+ Build

So you might have seen from the last post…  I decided to go with a Reef Octopus 200INT skimmer.  I got this used from another site for a good price, and after a good scrubbing the skimmer almost looked new.  In total, I think the skimmer is a little undersized for my setup and I will likely need to upgrade this in the future, but for now it should suffice.  The hardest part in picking a skimmer was finding something with less than a 15”x15” foot print that the sump would allow.  I have looked at some of the Nyos skimmers as possible upgrades in the future.   If nothing else I could go with an external skimmer. View attachment 963 The next, and biggest challenge, was plumbing.  I know next to nothing about plumbing or PVC so this was a huge learning experience for me.  I am so glad I took the time to draw everything out, but no amount of planning can replace basic experience in this case.  You can see the plumbing plan I drew up above.  I used this to place my initial order with BRS.  It seemed that no matter how I tried, I always needed another fitting, or more pipe, or something.  All in all I probably had to place 6 or so orders with them to get everything I needed and in the end I had a few rather expensive left-overs. View attachment 964 One lesson learned is to get the ratcheting cutters for PVC!!!  I did 95% of the plumbing using a miter box and hacksaw, then sanding each piece of pipe individually.  I happened upon the cutters at ACE and oh my god they are life changing.  The cuts are quick and effortless, accurate, and require no sanding. View attachment 965 The tank and fuge are plumbed with Herbie style overflows.  I got some little snail guards to put on the standpipes, and while this will require me to regularly clean them, the peace of mind is worth it.   View attachment 966 In my original design I was feeding the fuge off the manifold.  After some discussion here I decided to tee off the overflow from the DT to feed the fuge.  This made tuning the Herbie a bit harder, but slow and steady adjustment allowed me to get everything next to silent.  The overflow from the fuge then was feeding into filter socks.  The more I thought over this, the more I wasn’t comfortable with all my pods ending up in filter socks and needing to be “saved” each time I changed socks.  I have three socks and that would just be a pain.  Thankfully I did myself a favor without knowing it.  I didn’t glue the stand pipes in place in the DT or the fuge.  Everything past the bulkhead is glued, but I had left the standpipes loose so they could be cleaned if necessary.  I was able to swap the standpipes in the fuge and now the main overflow line feeds into the skimmer chamber and not the filter socks. View attachment 962 I think the thing I am most proud of was my manifold.  This was surprisingly easy to build and should serve me well in the future.  I don’t have anything running off of it now, but I am strongly considering adding a nice bio-pellet reactor in the near future that will be run off the manifold. View attachment 961 Overall there were many other challenges that I didn’t document with the plumbing, and with my busy schedule combined with having to reorder parts so often, plumbing took me around 3 weeks, and I am so glad it is done! View attachment 968 View attachment 967 Post bonus… <br id="yiv6648910521yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1489070784155_89979" />All my corals are currently in my QT waiting to make the move to the DT.  I bought a small frag rack from Lone Star Reef at the club frag swap that is now filled with zoa’s.  I have another small magnetic rack for corals requiring a bit more light, but the addiction is real!  I ran out of space and needed something on the floor of the QT to put corals in, so I whipped this up from stuff laying around the house.  
 
Looking good!If you do upgrade skimmers, +1 on the NYOS, love mine.I have the same screens on mine and you will be happy you have them. Good piece of mind to know fish and snails can't get down the return, because they will get in that section at some point. They are easy to take out if you don't glue them, snug enough you don't need to glue, clean mine once a quarter.Good looking manifold! You will be glad you have it, I didn't think I would use mine much but you definitely find uses for them! Think I only have one open port left!Always a good idea to have egg-crate laying around..I make all kinds of stuff with it lol.
 
No wories on the sump you will get to show it off for sure. People love to see whats under the hood so to speak. We all love to see whats going on under the tank. Seeing other peoples goodies gives us ideas or maybe how to do something better. Dos and donts. Its all nice to see.
 
Top