alcoolaid's 200g Reef Build

[alcoolaid]

So after a few years of having my 6' 125g with triple 25g sumps running, I felt it was time for an upgrade.

Decided to go with a custom tank from Concept Aquariums so I could have a large quiet overflow and starfire glass.

Everything will be on a steel stand comprising of mostly 2x2" steel for the base and 1.5x1.5" steel for the canopy. The canopy is mounted on 4 sliders and goes up and down on two electric actuators that can be remotely controlled.

The base is 96"x26"x38". Custom fabricated by my friend and I.

Display tank:
200g
72"x26"x26", 48" external overflow, starfire glass, bean animal overflow

Frag tank:
30g
20"x 26"x 14", 10" external overflow. herbie overflow

Sump tank:
100g
60"x20"x20"
25g refugium section

All plumbing will be done in SCH80. Cepex union ball valves.

Return pump is a ReeFlo Dart
Flow will be provided by 2 of my current MP40's and 4x Jebao WP40's
Lighting will be my old custom led setup (650w+ of LED power)

More details later as the build goes on....

[alcoolaid]

Here is a shot of my current tank from a while ago
http://i.imgur.com/U3Q5YGXl.jpg

The custom LED array with cool whites, neutral whites, royal blues, blues, cyan, green, red, uv. Will be adding 4x 60" T5 bulbs later on
http://i.imgur.com/8mjgVLwl.jpg

[alcoolaid]

Steel stand fab
http://i.imgur.com/uqqEbc9l.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/c25X9yel.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/tqt6rmQl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/eHmgar9l.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/MiFnrKpl.jpg

Curing some extra live rock from a month ago
http://i.imgur.com/B64fGrEl.jpg

[alcoolaid]

Picking up the tank at Vancouver Purolator
http://i.imgur.com/qNivD1zl.jpg

Had to wait inside for a while because they couldn't find a huge wooden crate
http://i.imgur.com/kL08Q4El.jpg

Video of the pick up
http://youtu.be/RbFWZURzGQ8

http://i.imgur.com/WCiXSlnl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/6AiLws7l.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/8QsDNbql.jpg

Three tanks made it safe!
http://i.imgur.com/lptPusXl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Ldt9tRIl.jpg

Starfire
http://i.imgur.com/mY67q7Dl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/dw4K3ADl.jpg

48" overflow, 3x 1.5" drains, 4x 3/4" returns
http://i.imgur.com/cWiJUZcl.jpg

Getting ready to test the pump for leaks
http://i.imgur.com/nZQXs50l.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/XZFYIoel.jpg

Video of the test
http://youtu.be/pwrmBeeWB2A

[alcoolaid]

So much work to do...
http://i.imgur.com/Cv4GGgpl.jpg

Messy
http://i.imgur.com/1zKWKk6l.jpg

Cutting 3/4" plywood
http://i.imgur.com/8mOE6Mpl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Mjptzq0l.jpg

Measure once, cut 3 times
http://i.imgur.com/K2bpO4Ml.jpg

Success
http://i.imgur.com/vzbVr8Vl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/fWkCLvml.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/WrZ9Atbl.jpg

1" foam cut
http://i.imgur.com/817URyFl.jpg

Acetone wiped and ready for primer and paint.... this is as far as I got so far.
http://i.imgur.com/XU8LNAcl.jpg

[WarDog]

Holy crap... this is going to be huge!!! Subscribed for sure! :pop2:

[Tn23]

out of this whole thread so far.... all I notice is that sweet sweet Subaru of yours in the background :mrgreen:

[Madreefer]

Nice. Will also be following along.
And yea sweet car too.

[reeferfulton]

Looking sweet.
Subscribed!

[alcoolaid]

Painting. Had to do it inside because temps too cold and humidity too high.
http://i.imgur.com/ws8bOAdl.jpg

Called 3 friends over and moved the tank. Had to go sideways through the back door.
http://i.imgur.com/TmjwVQ2l.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/c1WM5lhl.jpg

Reflection from the 125g. Pretty cool. New tank will be going where the current one is.
http://i.imgur.com/KeSm3VXl.jpg

Going to be doing LOTS of plumbing now.

Also these 3 pin connectors arrived... now I can control the WP40's I have with a 0-10v input from the apex. Will make a box for each pair.
http://i.imgur.com/vRUvq7sl.jpg

[Claudia]

Holy crap... this is going to be huge!!! Subscribed for sure! :pop2:

Same here :biggrin:

[alcoolaid]

Plumbing fun! .... not

Some pictures of the parts... this isn't even all of it :( SCH80 is $$$$$
http://i.imgur.com/YdzMwEel.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/aHREEz6l.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/mkOsWn2l.jpg

Starting off
http://i.imgur.com/XUGYsITl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/0e9O4qll.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/6sXiCagl.jpg

Returns almost done
http://i.imgur.com/6IeYJ3Hl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/z5A1721l.jpg

Finished
http://i.imgur.com/M9fU6Ohl.jpg

Doing the drains now
http://i.imgur.com/WN0nkOnl.jpg

[asylumdown]

wow wow wow wow.

That plumbing might be expensive but it looks freaking amazing.

Did you do your own plumbing plan before hand? How long did it take to plan that?

[alcoolaid]

wow wow wow wow.

That plumbing might be expensive but it looks freaking amazing.

Did you do your own plumbing plan before hand? How long did it take to plan that?

Yeah it does look quite good actually :mrgreen:

I did draw something up really quickly on scrap paper after I finalized on the tank/sump design. Kind of envisioned it the best I could in my head and put it down on paper... where I should put a valve, union, t, 90, 45, reducer bushing, thread adapter, etc. I bought a little extra just in case because for instance on the stand, some of the vertical supports got in the way of one of the returns and one of the drains. I think it took me like 20-30 min to draw it all out on paper.

[alcoolaid]

Drains complete!
http://i.imgur.com/iwjYYJgl.jpg

Full siphon drains in the corner bubble trap
http://i.imgur.com/rADG6JYl.jpg

Had to use some pipe straps to hold the piping up on some of the longer runs. Has a good weight to it when it's full of water!
http://i.imgur.com/OQZLj9gl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/N5JZkUYl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Ic8RBSDl.jpg

This was a tight squeeze
http://i.imgur.com/gdMWPRNl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/pchuuWel.jpg

Overflow box. Bean animal setup. Super quiet!
http://i.imgur.com/uYEqmpfl.jpg

Fresh water testing
http://i.imgur.com/E65PUjTl.jpg

No leaks! And I'm not even a plumber... lol

[Madreefer]

Your plumbing looks great. Good work

[reeferfulton]

I love your build so far.
Great job. I am a huge fan of tidy well organized systems.

Looking forward to see how you manage all your wiring and etc

[belzebuth]

Wow... Plumbing looks awesome. :biggrin:

[Xadieu]

Picking up the tank at Vancouver Purolator

How did you get the tank onto your truck and how did you unload it after you got to your house?? that thing is massive!

[Tn23]

How did you get the tank onto your truck and how did you unload it after you got to your house?? that thing is massive!

He called a few of his buddies and broke all their backs:mrgreen:.

[rynoe]

Did you get all the plumbing supplies locally?

[alcoolaid]

Your plumbing looks great. Good work
Thanks!

I love your build so far.
Great job. I am a huge fan of tidy well organized systems.

Looking forward to see how you manage all your wiring and etc
Thank you. I was trying to keep it tidy because old setup was very messy.

No plan for the wiring yet but will be planning it out as I go I guess. Have some energy bar 8's to mount, vdm modules, led drivers, power heads, etc... will be probably using a lot of cable mounts/ties.

Wow... Plumbing looks awesome. :biggrin:
:mrgreen:

[alcoolaid]

How did you get the tank onto your truck and how did you unload it after you got to your house?? that thing is massive!
Did you watch the youtube video? Fork lift!

Funny thing is the fork lift operator asked me how I was going to get it off the truck. Just called 3 friends over to help break the crate apart on the bed so only the display was left, and then we just lifted it off!

Salty23 helped.

He called a few of his buddies and broke all their backs:mrgreen:.
You didn't even lift man! :suspicious:

Did you get all the plumbing supplies locally?
A lot of people asked via PM's so I'll post this response...

I'm in Vancouver so I'm close to the USA border, hence I can easily order from Bulk Reef Supply, ship it to Point Roberts, WA and pick it up from there. I bought 75% of the plumbing parts during black friday when they had 15% off so they were pretty much the cheapest for cepex union ball valves, spears unions, fittings, pipe, etc.

They were sold out of some unions so the next cheapest place I found was http://www.completeplumbingsource.com/ The ones from BRS (spears brand) actually have a larger ID though... but still better than sch40.

Locally, I got some fittings from Andrew Sheret Ltd. http://www.sheret.com/

Another place is Corix Water Products but they were closed for the holidays so I didn't get anything from them. I did drive by and they have a large location in Richmond!

[H2o2]

Well done I am in

[asylumdown]

Are you going to skin the stand? With a plumbing job that nice I might want to show it off.

[alcoolaid]

Are you going to skin the stand? With a plumbing job that nice I might want to show it off.

Yup I plan to. Will have to skin the canopy because the leds are so bright from the side.

Also the reeflo dart pump isn't that quiet... unless I have a dud. So I will skin the stand as well. Planning to use magnets.

[alcoolaid]

Here is a video of the canopy lift in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQRm3m2jEk8

[Madreefer]

Wicked! Your build is getting really cool. No cat?

[alcoolaid]

No cat?

:rofl2:

No, I have a dog :wink:

[asylumdown]

Yup I plan to. Will have to skin the canopy because the leds are so bright from the side.

Also the reeflo dart pump isn't that quiet... unless I have a dud. So I will skin the stand as well. Planning to use magnets.

FWIW I was surprised at how loud my reeflo was as well. Different people have different impressions of what loud is, but even with the doors to my cabinet closed I can still hear it humming, and that was after replacing the bearing in it with a much, much more expensive version. I don't think I'll run an external return pump again because of it. You do get used to it after a while though, just sort of fades in to the background.

Piece of advice - order replacement seals now. Yours will eventually start to rust and it sucks knowing that the need replacing (evidenced by the rust and salt creep starting to appear outside of the pump - very disconcerting) while you wait for the new ones to show up in the mail.

[asylumdown]

PS that lift is sick.

[Madreefer]

Piece of advice - order replacement seals now. Yours will eventually start to rust and it sucks knowing that the need replacing (evidenced by the rust and salt creep starting to appear outside of the pump - very disconcerting) while you wait for the new ones to show up in the mail.

Good advice. They have to be ordered directly from Reeflo out of Colorado. They seem to last 3 years from my experience with my Barracuda.

[alcoolaid]

FWIW I was surprised at how loud my reeflo was as well. Different people have different impressions of what loud is, but even with the doors to my cabinet closed I can still hear it humming, and that was after replacing the bearing in it with a much, much more expensive version. I don't think I'll run an external return pump again because of it. You do get used to it after a while though, just sort of fades in to the background.

Piece of advice - order replacement seals now. Yours will eventually start to rust and it sucks knowing that the need replacing (evidenced by the rust and salt creep starting to appear outside of the pump - very disconcerting) while you wait for the new ones to show up in the mail.
Yeah, I think Rich (bblinks) has a reeflo dart gold? His is pretty quiet.

I might sell this one and try the gold version with the baldor motor.... Anyone here have a reeflo dart gold that can chime in on the noise vs the regular reeflo dart?

And good tip on the seals! Guess I can swap them out with the ones I buy while I wait for the warranty ones to come in the mail haha

PS that lift is sick.

Thanks!

Good advice. They have to be ordered directly from Reeflo out of Colorado. They seem to last 3 years from my experience with my Barracuda.
How loud is the motor on your barracuda?

[Madreefer]

How loud is the motor on your barracuda?

It's fairly loud. It's on a basement sump below my tank and I can hear it. I would never recommend someone to put in a stand.

[FishyFishy!]

It's fairly loud. It's on a basement sump below my tank and I can hear it. I would never recommend someone to put in a stand.

Totally agree. I would leave the Reeflo's to the off site sumps. If it's going to be in a cabinet, I would use something else. All mine that were under tanks were removed because of the loud hum.

[alcoolaid]

Totally agree. I would leave the Reeflo's to the off site sumps. If it's going to be in a cabinet, I would use something else. All mine that were under tanks were removed because of the loud hum.

Hrmmm.... I will have to try to find something else then. Maybe one of the bigger dc pumps...

[spit.fire]

Hrmmm.... I will have to try to find something else then. Maybe one of the bigger dc pumps...

I'd look into the Laguna pumps

[alcoolaid]

Actually did the big move on Monday. Started at noon and finished around 9pm.

Filling water after scaping
http://i.imgur.com/TJvjbkHl.jpg

Putting in some coral
http://i.imgur.com/TZVZvWLl.jpg

Hooked up the moon lights really quickly because it's the easiest
http://i.imgur.com/x1KEGrbl.jpg

Some of the tangs are happy with their new larger home
http://i.imgur.com/dpyv83ll.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/lujWZAql.jpg

Mounting up some of the electrical stuff from old tank
http://i.imgur.com/CCmU38Wl.jpg

Hastily hooked it all back together quickly because I needed light quick! Originally the drivers were mounted behind the canopy but now I relocated them under the stand so 36 wires had to be extended :(
http://i.imgur.com/SfnHOMXl.jpg

Will clean this up soon
http://i.imgur.com/UcQ3TLVl.jpg

How it sits for now. Need to glue more coral down.
http://i.imgur.com/JNtCFeHl.jpg

Still need a new skimmer. Only running an XP2000 right now. Looking at a Vertex Alpha 250 if I can ever find one or a Bubble King Double Cone 250 with the RD3 pump... a little expensive so thats why I'm waiting to see the new DC pump coming out from reef octopus as the current ones aren't reliable.

[Tn23]

Looking real good! :mrgreen:

[alcoolaid]

Made 2 boxes to control my WP40's via the Apex. Output is 0-10v from Apex, WP40's go on a 0-5v scale. Used linear potentiometer to cut voltage in half.

http://i.imgur.com/q2t3xGnl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/uUDX03el.jpg

Blue ethernet cable goes to one of my VDM modules. MP40 power and controllability for 25% of the cost. Plus no noise and finicky wet sides....
http://i.imgur.com/MqX39DBl.jpg

Tank as of now... added an achilles tang, hawaiian flame wrasse pair, 3 purple queens, 3 dispars.
http://i.imgur.com/ygOq209l.jpg

Hung my new Hydra FiftyTwo.... so nice... lots of power and control, amazing colour spectrum.... better than the G3 radions in my opinion as the AI lights have much better efficiency.
http://i.imgur.com/7spf6R1l.jpg

New frags from big show frags
http://i.imgur.com/krYDI1hl.jpg

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Spectacular job.

Now I have to get my electronics expert friend to build me one of those controllers for my WP60. Very sweet.

Anthony

[mseepman]

Really nicely done. I used a linear actuator to raise and lower my light as well but in a little different fashion than you.

Love the DIY work. I know just what you feel like with all those wires to drivers. I went with a parallel build, fuses and resistors...what chaos. :)

[alcoolaid]

Really nicely done. I used a linear actuator to raise and lower my light as well but in a little different fashion than you.

Love the DIY work. I know just what you feel like with all those wires to drivers. I went with a parallel build, fuses and resistors...what chaos. :)
Thanks. Yeah I have 4 strings that are parallel on 2 drivers... lots of connections for a few leds but I put it all into a project box so it looks decent enough.

[alcoolaid]

Spectacular job.

Now I have to get my electronics expert friend to build me one of those controllers for my WP60. Very sweet.

Anthony
I have some extra 3 pin connectors I could sell if you don't want to cut the end off your controller. Just pm me if you ever need a few!

[Stones]

Great looking build so far. I don't envy you after having to extend all the wiring to your meanwell drivers but that is one nice looking DIY led fixture you have lighting the tank.

[alcoolaid]

Think I'm having a big problem with my tank right now.

Just got home and was walking down the hallway from the back door and noticed something looked wrong while looking down the side of the tank.

The black piece of acrylic on the back of the tank is starting to come off the back glass.... it's like bulging probably at least half an inch in some places in the middle and near the bottom... WTF???? Will be giving concept a call soon to see what's up with this....

[alcoolaid]

Looks like Concepts has a game plan to fix this. Stay tuned!

Lots of work to do but I think it will be resolved.