Rebuild: 180 Gallon Reef - Room Divider

R

RyanM

Just to give you a little history about what is going on here; I started in the hobby about 24 months ago and have been heavily consumed with the possibilities since. This is my 4th system and I have finally settled on this particular size and location within the home.

This system sits in my foyer and divides my formal dining and other entry areas to the home. The nice thing about this setup is that it sits right outside of my home office and I get the wonderful opportunity to stare at it during my daily duties.

I have to thank DFWMAS and it's members along with the other resources available. It has inspired me to reach new heights during my time in the hobby.

I am going to document this "rebuild" to expect constructive criticism and different opinions on things that might make more sense. I also hope some can learn from my experience and give them the opportunity to see something worth reading.

Enjoy!
 
Sounds like it's going to be an awesome setup... Let's get it started by posting some pic's! [smilie=wink.gif]
 
Current System Details:
1.180 Gallon RR

2. 55 Gallon Sump/Fuge w/Trigger Systems 300 Skimmer.

3. Lighting is 2 x 250 watt Lumatek Ballasts, 2 Lumenarc Large Reflectors, 20K SE Reeflux Bulbs.

4. Less desirable stand and canopy that was purcahsed with the tank from another DFWMAS member.

5. Livestock
1) Red Sea, Desjardini Sailfin - 5 inches
2) Purple Tang - 4+ inches
3) Yellow Tang; Hawaii - 3-4 inches
4) Lavender Tang; Hawaii - 3-4 inches
5) Red Coris Wrasse; Hawaii - 6 inches
6) Mystery Wrasse - 2-3 inches
7) 2 African Cleaner Wrasse
8) 2 - Limbaugh's Chromis
9 ) 4 - Green Chromis
10) 1 - Indigo Chromis
11) 2 - Vanderbilt Chromis
12) 1 - Hawaiian Snowflake Damsel
13) 2 - Orange Anthias
14) 1 - Gold Stripe Maroon Clown - 4 inches
15) 1 - Aiptasia Eating Filefish
16) 1 Female and 1 Male - Orange Peel Pseudochromis
17) Chrysurus Angelfish - 5-6 Inches (Tank BOSS and somehow reef safe thus far)
18) Australian Blue Devil Grouper - 6-7 inches.
19) Longnose Hawkfish - 4+ inches

6. Inverts
1) Hundreads of snails and reef crabs.
2) 10 inch Rose Bubble Tip Nem.
3) Tuxedo Urchin
4) 2 - Sally Lightfoots
5) 1 - Red Reef Lobster
6) Plenty of creepy crawlers in the sump too.

7. Coral (Will work on list soon. A good bit of everything.)
1) Pending.
 
Coming in the following days:

1. New Customer Stand and Canopy. Being made by a local pro and should be completed in the next few days. See attached sketch for design ideal. I am going to stain this using a matching color from my wood flooring. Hopefully Sherwin Williams and get me there.

2. Lighting Changes: Moving to XM 10K Bulbs due to PAR and adding 2 new Ecoxotic PAR38 LED Aquarium Lamps - 5 Cree LEDs, 455nm Royal Blue. http://www.marinedepot.com/Ecoxotic_PAR38_LED_Aquarium_Lamp_-Ecoxotic-XX06850-FILTBULD-vi.html
I am thinking that this might work well with the depth of my tank and give a good spread of spectrum. Let's see what happens as it should be interesting. I have not yet seen anyone with this exact setup so I am hoping for good results. I have seen a solid amount of positive reviews on these LED bulbs and I think they are to provide me the thing that might be lacking with a 10K 250 watt XM bulb.

3. Filtration. Lots of changes here to speak about....
1. New DIY custom sump/fuge (likely stay with 55 gallons).
2. True Cryptic Zone. DIY build using the same concept of the RDSB http://www.linomareefs.com/viewtopic.php?t=715, but will be making a few
tweeks along the way. I think this will work really well and be able to help me manage the flow along with allow me a dark area to grow the filter feeders.
3. Adding Bulk Reef Supply Dual Media Reactor. However, going to use the new Warner Marine EcoBAK bio pellets. I have seen some very promising results
from other reefers who have a solid bio-load like I do. Not sure where I will plumb this yet, but both items are being shipped now.
4. I will continue to use my Trigger Systems Skimmer. It's a beast and works well.

4. Plumbing will have some major changes to it. I have put major thought into using some of the same concepts from a Closed Loop setup, without having a true closed loop. I will provide more pics and details on this ideal and will need some input on getting this done right. I hope this will allow me to use my existing return pump (1900 GPH) and eliminate a powerhead(s) need, but at the same time not have "Niagara Falls" running through the fuge. I will use these though: Ista Vortex Water Flow Accelerators MPT.

I know that I have high hopes and agressive plans. I just hope that all of these changes at once don't backfire on me!
 
Here is my current Frankenstein sump. It's a disaster now and very embarrassing, but I am going to completely overhaul this part of my system and it will be much better to look at.
 
I need to go ahead and "shout out" to Michael Holmes and Christoper Brown. These two "Mo's" have been elected to help me tear down and restack my stand and canopy! I am sure someone will get hurt....

Actually, Chris' wife might end up doing more of the heavy lifting than Chris. She played Offensive Gard for the Pittsburg Varsity boys football team back in 1998. She is one of the only females to every play Varsity football in the state of Texas. She's a ugly as sin, but a sweet girl....and a hell of a good cook!
 
Updated "naked" stand and canopy. Picked up last weekend. Getting the inside sealed now and will start stain and poly over the next few days.
It's hard to get a good ideal of the size and "grandeur" of the pieces, but I will obviously post a pic when I have it set.
 
I had Sherwin Williams match the stain on my flooring. I think it came out really nice and just about as close as you can get. Once I get the poly over the stain it will be very impressive. This has two coats of stain on the sample and it looks like I need to add one more to get the look where it needs to be.
 
You have a great looking tank but if you don't mind I would like to ask you a question about your skimmer. It looks to be a trigger system ts-300. I recently aquired one my self and plan on putting it to use on a 175 bowfront that I am working on. It seems that the base of it in your "frankenstein" sump is under water and this is where the gate valve is for water return. Does that pose a problem for it for performance? I don't know myself. I was planning on building a riser stand to keep mine above the sump water line. I have a EV 120 in my 75gal that I have to do this for so it will function correctly. Anyway, if you have a comment about this I would appreciate it. I actually e-mailed trigger systems about this issue as well as how to plumb it in externally but have received no response. Thanks David
 
It's time to start AQUASCAPING!

After attending the monthly meeting that was presented by Paul Whitby on "The Aesthetics of Creating a Natural System", I was ready to put my new found knowledge to the test. This was an incredible presentation an I learned so many good points.

I have also been inspired by a Reef Central member that created a bonsai inspired look.

I will post more pictures once I have a new steps completed.

I will be using the following materials for this project:
1. 150 lbs. dry Fiji Rock
2. Acrylic Rods purchased from Grainger
3. Zip ties to help hold some of the rocks together
4. Marco Rocks - E-Marco-400 10Lb Kit.
 
We just about have all of the inside of the stand and canopy sealed.

My wife has been helping me get this completed while I have been out "hustling" so I can pay for this money pit. I get some help when she has some down time after taking care of the little one. It's does not last long and you have got to keep an eye on her before she gets into something else.

We are going to start the staining tomorrow and be done by the end of the week - hopefully.
 
I also ordered the glass pieces for the sump today. It took me about about 6 hours to have all the measurements completed and that was after the endless hours it took me to come up with the overall design details. I ended up buying a 75 gallon tank to get a bit more size to work with.

I am going to attempt to do something that at least I have not seen done before. My sketches don't show how this will clearly work, but I will take a few pics this weekend. I had 9 panes of glass special cut for this project that will be situated inside of the sump. It will have a dual chamber detritus trap that the water will flow into before it hits the skimmer intake chamber. I feed heavily and house a fairly large fish population so I needed to come up with a more creative and efficient way to assist in the filtration process without always having the need to use a filter sock or floss.

I also just got in the GE RTV Silicone that I ordered from Grainger today too. This stuff is supposed to be the best of the best in terms of bonding capabilities. I will be using this to bond this creature together.
 
Just got my new fans in from Newegg.com

I went with the Cooler Master 120mm fans. These things are really incredible for the price.

90 CFM/19 dB-A - $9.99 Each!!!

I have some other goodies coming in from coolerguys.com. I will use some nice mounts and a few others items that will help keep my temps where they need to do. Will post more pics of these as well when they arrive later this week.
 
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