CountryBoy72's 110G SW Tank Build.

[CountryBoy72]

Just waiting for the local guy to bring me my tank that he was drilling and painting the back for me. Tank is 30"Hx18"Dx48"L. I have finished building my stand for the tank. It's all stained and doors are on. It's 36"Hx24"Dx54"L, 2x6, 3/4" plywood construction. I have ordered my SRO Protein Skimmer, Eheim 1262 Return Pump, Eshopp 35G RS300 reef sump tank, gate valves 1" & 3/4". Going to be doing a Herbie Drain an Berlin Style Sump. The water guy should be here tomorrow or the next day to install the R/O system.

Need to order 2 powerheads, decide and order lighting, water testing kits, salt, heaters, circulating pump for mixing water, powerbars, timers, tubing/pipe for plumbing, small fan for under stand, live rock, dry rock, live sand an other bits and pieces.

The tank will start as a FOWLR. Once the tank is stable an mature, I have a good grasp on the whole SW tank thing I will try adding some easy corals. Have to decide what livestock I want as well.

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[CountryBoy72]

One question I do have is. Do you have to use the rigid pink foam between the tank an the plywood ?

[lastlight]

If the tank doesn't have the black plastic trim (which the bottom pane floats inside) then I'd say yes to foam otherwise definitely no.

[CountryBoy72]

I am using an Eheim 1262 for my return pump, Is this pump going to need to be restricted by a gate valve ?.

[reefwars]

ive never had that pump so i cant say for sure if it needs to be throttled down or not but i can say that a ball valve is fine for restricting flow on return pumps as gate valves are 10 times the price of a bv:)

[MarkoD]

I think you should have foam no matter what.

It makes the tank self leveling and it takes an pressure points off the bottom glass if the wood under it isn't perfectly smooth and flat

[reefwars]

I think you should have foam no matter what.

It makes the tank self leveling and it takes an pressure points off the bottom glass if the wood under it isn't perfectly smooth and flat


if a tank has a raised bottom from the black plastic frame then no foam is required

[MarkoD]

if a tank has a raised bottom from the black plastic frame then no foam is required

Oh ok. But still to level it out, foam would work, right??

[reefwars]

Oh ok. But still to level it out, foam would work, right??


it would, i guess the question goes from what i remeber is if your side panels of glass sits on your bottom then foam is ok and if the sides come down past the bottom pane then no foam?? cant quite remember and i cant find the link i believe it was anthonys tank who blew out(seahorse fanatic) because of foam or at least i think it was him anyways lol :P

if theres trim on the bottom and the tank is raised i would think with the weight of the tank settling on the foam theres a possibility of the tank shifting or cracking(not guaranteed as i have ran tanks with foam under raised tanks)where as if it were on solid ply or other wood then it wouldnt shift ,only what the stand does .

if your building a big tank then a metal stand is best to reduce any possibility of wood settling or shrinking, small tanks i wouldnt really worry about it but anything over 100g's and i would start questioning on whether or not the foam is a good choice:)



i always shim my tanks as i fill them and adjust as necessary so level has never been a real problem for me, smaller tanks ive shimed the stand when full but bigger tanks i level as its filling using a level on both directions and checking diagnally:)

wish i could find that link, the search engine here needs some updating when you type common words into the search box to much junk comes up lol:P

[CountryBoy72]

Thanks for the input on the foam. I Went to HD/Rona an got the pvc cleaner ,glue, An all the fittings to use hard pvc pipe an spaflex pipe. I bought a bunch of gate valves from J&L. Not sure exactly what I will do setup/configuration wise yet. The Eheim pump that I am using as my return pump has the option of using 3/4" or 1" nozzle off the pump. The bulkhead through fitting is 3/4" for my return. Will likely use 3/4" spaflex on that. Anybody got any pictures of there setups ? In a Eshopp RS-300(sump tank) I plan on running a Berlin style sump w/LR(insump), Protein Skimmer, GFO Canister, heaters. Think my plumbing should be minimal.

[MarkoD]

I have a 180 gallon euro braced tank with a wooden stand sitting on 1" white styrofoam and it's perfectly level and no problems.

But that's with no frame

[reefwars]

I have a 180 gallon euro braced tank with a wooden stand sitting on 1" white styrofoam and it's perfectly level and no problems.

But that's with no frame



haha sounds about right;)

[CountryBoy72]

Should get my tank back in the next few days. Went to Rona/HD an got some plumbing pieces an pvc cleaner and cement. Got my Eheim 1262(my return pump), Gate Valves. My SRO Protein Skimmer will be here shortly.
Will the 1262 Eheim be a big enough return pump ?
Looking at getting a GFO reactor, either a Phosban 550 or Precision Marine. What size pump do you need with a reactor of this size ?

Will 2x Korelia Magnum 5's be enough for my 110G tank ?

What about heaters, how many an what size(watts) ?
Like this; http://www.bigalspets.ca/True-Temp-T.../dp/B0058V46GK (http://www.bigalspets.ca/True-Temp-Titanium-Heating-System/dp/B0058V46GK)
http://www.goreef.com/JBJ-True-Temp-...ller-500W.html (http://www.goreef.com/JBJ-True-Temp-Titanium-Heating-System-w-Controller-500W.html)

[Bblinks]

[QUOTE=CountryBoy72;673976]Should get my tank back in the next few days. Went to Rona/HD an got some plumbing pieces an pvc cleaner and cement. Got my Eheim 1262(my return pump), Gate Valves. My SRO Protein Skimmer will be here shortly.
Will the 1262 Eheim be a big enough return pump ?
900 gph for the eheim should be plenty enough, just make sure ur skimmer will match the return rate. Remember you can always just put a union ball valve to throttle back the output of the pump.

Looking at getting a GFO reactor, either a Phosban 550 or Precision Marine. What size pump do you need with a reactor of this size ?
Maxi jet 1200 will do the trick, I like phosban and or vertex reactor due to the twist off top. Easy access means more likely you will service it or change out the media.

Will 2x Korelia Magnum 5's be enough for my 110G tank ?
That should be fine unless you want to keep sps in your tank. Maybe look around on canreef for some used mp40's.

What about heaters, how many an what size(watts) ? [/COLOR]
[COLOR="Red"]200 watt heater should be good. Go eheim jäger. Solid performance.

[CountryBoy72]

Thanks Bblinks. How many heaters should I be looking at to heat this 110G w/ 35G sump ? An what wattage ?

[Werbo]

1 heater. I like the 250W eheim ebojager heaters

[lastlight]

I'd suggest using at least 2 heaters in case one fails. I'd also suggest using some sort of temperature controller and not relying on the built-in thermostats. Even the Eheim ones aren't that great tho the heaters themselves seem very good (they continue to heat for ages and without exploding etc).

If you don't have a full-blown controller this will work: (I love mine)

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=81882

[CountryBoy72]

Digital Aquatics Reefkeeper Lite Aquarium Controller (L1)

Is this the same idea/thing that you are using ?

[CountryBoy72]

Water guy came today an Installed the new RO system, in the garage. SRO 2000I Arrived today, is nicely under the stand. Hopefully the sump and tank will arrive tomorrow or the next day. Just trying to track down some dry rock for my tank.

[CountryBoy72]

The tank is drilled an painted and finally here !!!:biggrin:
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The New RO water treatment unit too.:razz:
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[CountryBoy72]

Just ordered 100#'s of dry rock. An a Vertex Universal Media Reactor (UF-15) (http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/vt-uf15/Vertex+Universal+Media+Reactor+%28UF-15%29.html), an a Eheim Compact+ Pump 2000, a American Marine Wireless Thermometer.

[CountryBoy72]

100#'s of marco rock arrived today. 1st try at aquascaping. Just need to get some epoxy so the stack is really solid, won't fall over. Tried to gets some ledges and caves, stay away form the glass. Looks like this will give me good flow too. Will get some sand an add it next. There's alot more ledges than I was able to show with the camera.

[CountryBoy72]

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[CountryBoy72]

Finally got my sump today. Thing is alot bigger than I thought. It fits but, the skimmer ain't coming out unless I do some plumbing breakdowns. Going to have modify it just a little bit If I want to get the skimmer cup out. Will try the drain tube first. Picked up a bucket of salt. Just need to get a powerbar an a couple of heaters and powerheads. Then I will be good to go, start filling the tank an cycling it.

Will a 100#'s of LR in my DT be enough ?
What will it take to heat the tank an sump ? 2x 250w heaters or one 300w heater.
What's the easiest way to fill the whole system with that much water ?

Can I fill the tank an sump with R/O Water, heat it, then add the salt ?.
I can only do 30 gallons at a time, that is why ask ?

[lastlight]

if you're adding live rock after the tank's full and the salt is mixed in then do it right in the tank for sure.

[CountryBoy72]

Needed more room, so i ripped the floor of the stand out. I laid the 2x6's flat an screwed the plywood back down. Lined the compartment with feltex, should I have any spills It will contain them. That 3 1/2" 's made a world of difference under there. I can now get the skimmer cup out an do any maintenance alot easier. Starting to fill with RO water now :P.
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[CountryBoy72]

Changed my return pumps plumbing. I plumbed it through a bulkhead fittting, an drilled the last chamber of my new acrylic sump. Filled the tank with water. Put in the two heaters, a powerhead an turned on the skimmer. I also added my salt. I will test for salinity(adjust it accordingly) and then add some LR to seed the dry rock. I will also add two raw shrimp to get the whole cycling thing started.

[CountryBoy72]

Temp- 79.9
PH 7.5
Ammonia .6
Salinity 1.024(little bit below)

Going to get some LR(45lbs) an put it in the tank/sump. Added 75 lbs of reef sand too. Anything else I need to do ?

[CountryBoy72]

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[CountryBoy72]

Picked up a 30G tank for water changes an to use as a QT tank yesterday. Sits right next to the DT and should make things a little easier.

[CountryBoy72]

Still Waiting LOL. It's been a couple of weeks an just waiting for the diatom bloom. Then I will test my water params, turn on my skimmer an add the CUC. The only thing I am watching right now is temp and Salinity.

[CountryBoy72]

Well, it will be a month next week that I started the new tank. I just need to get another power head an my lights. Hopefully I will get a diatom bloom soon and the water parameters will all be at 0.

[CountryBoy72]

Just trying to get my CUC shipped over to me today :) Moved my two heaters down into my sump and fired up the GFO Reactor.

[CountryBoy72]

CUC should hopefully be here an in the tank this Thursday. Installed my Elos ATO toady :)


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