Ward's "Man Cave" 150g Build

Ward9320

It's NOT a Nemo!!!
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2013
Messages
273
Reaction score
13
Location
Burton, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Well I have finally decided that I am far enough along in my build to start a thread on it and share it with everyone. My wife doesn't get near enough excited about as I have each time I get a new item for the build or finish something for it so its time to get some fellow reefers that understands the excitement, joy and accomplishment you get out of starting a new tank.

So here is the story that goes along with the build and explains the process:

Back in July I started a nano and immediately I was hooked! The tank sits on my desk at work and I enjoy watching my clowns swim around all day but I wanted to have something to look at while I was home too. From what I have read everyone gets a tank and then shortly after gets the "Must...... have..... bigger ...... tank" syndrome :bigsmile:. In an attempt to avoid that I decided to go straight to a 150g. [FONT=&amp]After speaking to my wife on the subject of where to put a new tank in the house she suggested that we put it up in the basement. While that sounded like a great idea the problem is my basement (man cave in the making) is only about ¾ of the way finished (I am hoping that it will be finished within the next month).

[/FONT]So the search began for a tank and the equipment I would need for this system. With the expenses of finishing the basement and life I decided to start picking up things little by little for the 150g build as soon as possible to avoid a mad rush for equipment right when I set the tank up.. I looked on forums, Craigslist, and eBay and still couldn’t really find what I was looking for. Luckily enough for me my father-in-law is in the pet industry and surprisingly although he does not sell aquariums he can still get them. He told me to look in the catalog and find what I wanted and he would let me know the price. After picking out a 150g and stand I got one heck of a deal considering I only had to pay cost. Currently the tank and stand is sitting in my father-in-laws warehouse just waiting for my basement to get finished. In the meantime I have been collecting the rest of the equipment I need.

Below is a list of everything I have collected so far:

Tank: Corerflo Aquarium Black Xhigh - 150 gal. 48"x24"x30"
Stand: Majesty Rectangular Stand 48"x24"
Sump: Trigger Systems Ruby 26" Sump - 34.5 gal. 36"x15"x16"
Skimmer: Reef Octopus NWB200 *" Pinwheel <250 gal.
Controller: Apex Lite + VDM & extra Energy Bar 8
Lighting: 2x EcoTech Radion XR30w G2
Powerheads: 2x Vortech MP40
Sump to DT Pump: Mag Drive 18
Refugium Light: Makers L.E.D. - 10x Deep Red, 4x ES Royal Blue
Heaters: 2x Theo Shatterproof Heater - 400w
Water Filtration: BRS 4 Stage Value PLUS RO/DI System
Water Storage: 2x 25 Gallon Vertical Plastic Storage Tanks 18" dia x 30"H
Water Change Pump: Pan World 50PX Magnetic Water Pump
RO/DI ATO: Auto Shut off kit for RO/DI Unit
Display Tank ATO: JBJ ATO Water Level Controller
ATO Pump: Toms Aquatics Aqua-Lifter Dosing Pump
Quarantine Tank: 20 Gallon Aquarium
Quarantine Pump: Hydor Koralia Nano
Quarantine Filter: Fluval C3 Power Filter


The Water Change Area, Sump/Refugium, and the QT tank is all set up in my utility room and the DT is going on the other side of the wall of the Sump/Fuge . When I built the room I made sure there was enough room for this stuff to go in there. Some things didn't turn out exactly as I envisioned it but I made it work.

Excuse the mess and the unfinished walls, Like I said its still a work in progress.


My Water Change/Mixing Station. (Left: Saltwater Right:Ro/Di Water) I still need to label that containers and I have since moved the Ro/Di unit above the containers.

Mixing3.jpg
Mixing1.jpg




Sump/Refugium on the bottom and QT tank on the top. Both of these tanks have plumbing running to them to make water changes much easier.

Sump.jpg
QT Tank.jpg
QT&Sump.jpg





I will post more on this build as it progresses but for the most part I am at a halt until the basement is finished. I have done most of it myself but I am at the point where I need someone more qualified than me to finish it off. I have a contractor that is a friend of the family that told me once it gets cold outside he will be over to finish it for me. Well its currently 40 degrees outside so he should be coming soon :bounce:
 

revhtree

Owner Administrator
View Badges
Joined
May 8, 2006
Messages
47,787
Reaction score
87,416
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Very cool! Looking forward to this build!
 

Velodog2

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 7, 2013
Messages
759
Reaction score
14
Location
Central Maryland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This just occurred to me when I saw you running pipes through what look like 2x4 studs. Once upon a time I had the mechanicals (sumps, pumps, reactors, etc) in the basement for the display tank in my living room. I found that if you do not want your entire house to hum and vibrate when running through structural members you should use lengths of vinyl tubing in the lines to absorb the vibrations from your pumps. Before I did this there were places I could stand where I could feel the floor vibrate.
 
OP
OP
Ward9320

Ward9320

It's NOT a Nemo!!!
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2013
Messages
273
Reaction score
13
Location
Burton, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This just occurred to me when I saw you running pipes through what look like 2x4 studs. Once upon a time I had the mechanicals (sumps, pumps, reactors, etc) in the basement for the display tank in my living room. I found that if you do not want your entire house to hum and vibrate when running through structural members you should use lengths of vinyl tubing in the lines to absorb the vibrations from your pumps. Before I did this there were places I could stand where I could feel the floor vibrate.

I was thinking about that myself. I was thinking about putting some rubber fittings around the piping where it passes through the 2x4 to reduce to vibration. Either way it doesn't make to much of a difference because that piping is just to refill that saltwater into the sump when I do water changes, so it would only be running while I am down there and for short periods of time.

One thing is for sure though, there is no way it could make more of a vibration then our homes sump pump. Dang that thing is loud! Maybe when I finished all my other projects I'll see if I can't do something about that. Haha, fish tank comes first!
 

VicD81

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 21, 2013
Messages
677
Reaction score
6
Location
LA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Where did you get the water storage containers from?
 
OP
OP
Ward9320

Ward9320

It's NOT a Nemo!!!
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2013
Messages
273
Reaction score
13
Location
Burton, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Where did you get the water storage containers from?

Actually got them off of eBay. I really didn't want to pay the shipping on these so I looked all over the place where I live and couldn't find them. After no luck finding them I went back to the internet. Most places wanted upwards of $140 just to ship these dang things. Eventually I found them on eBay, they aren't very cheap but what is in this hobby.

Here is the buyer on eBay I got them from: 25 Gallon Vertical Poly Water Storage
 
OP
OP
Ward9320

Ward9320

It's NOT a Nemo!!!
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2013
Messages
273
Reaction score
13
Location
Burton, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I'm going to be following! I'm wanting to get some ideas ;)

Well this forum is one of the best place for ideas, it is where I figured out how to do everything that I have done so far and everything I have planned for the future.:bigsmile:
 
OP
OP
Ward9320

Ward9320

It's NOT a Nemo!!!
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2013
Messages
273
Reaction score
13
Location
Burton, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Well unfortunately it is taking much longer to get the basement finished than planned. The friend of mine that does this stuff for a living that said he would do it for me keeps having to put it off later and later. Since he does this kind of thing for a living high paying things keep coming up that he has to take care of first. Since he said I pretty much have to pay him next to nothing to do my basement I can't really complain to much. So to sum up there isn't much to update as far as the "Man Cave" build is concerned but I do have other news....

I have been getting really anxious about getting a tank up and running at my house so somehow I talked my wife into letting me put one upstairs as long as I could find a tank at a reasonable price (considering I have already put a bunch of money into the future tank build for the basement). So I began to scour Craigslist everyday until I found a 45 gallon corner tank that was both ascetically and financially pleasing for my wife (I pretty much stole it). I am not really a big fan of corner tanks but with the spot we had picked for a tank upstairs we were kinda limited. Anyways, I ditched the stock light that came with it and hung one of my radions above it, drilled a couple of holes in it for a glass holes overflow I picked up and made a small DIY 10 gallon sump/fuge for it. BRS sent me way more pukani than I ordered so I took a piece of it and chiseled out some caves in it and picked out all the dead organisms I could find in it.

Its been a few weeks now since I have added water to it and it looks like it is nearing the end of the nitrite stage. I didn't cook the pukani at all before adding it and was worried about phosphates but so far I have seen none, hopefully it stays that way. Also for my first DIY sump it is holding together very well. One thing I can say that was a surprise though was the rate at which the water evaporates so I had to put an ATO on it. The only other tank I have running is a Biocube 14 that has been running for almost a year now and it is on my desk at work. The biocube also has a lid on it and the evaporation in that tank is very small.

Ugh, I hate waiting for the cycle to finish and it doesn't help that my four year old daughter goes up to the tank everyday and asks me where the fishys are. Hopefully only a few more weeks left.
 
OP
OP
Ward9320

Ward9320

It's NOT a Nemo!!!
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2013
Messages
273
Reaction score
13
Location
Burton, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Here is some pictures of the tank that I set up upstairs.
 

Attachments

  • 1394147342558.jpg
    1394147342558.jpg
    36.2 KB · Views: 176
  • 1394147355252.jpg
    1394147355252.jpg
    42.3 KB · Views: 186
  • 1394147364415.jpg
    1394147364415.jpg
    31.2 KB · Views: 168

Creating a strong bulwark: Did you consider floor support for your reef tank?

  • I put a major focus on floor support.

    Votes: 57 40.7%
  • I put minimal focus on floor support.

    Votes: 29 20.7%
  • I put no focus on floor support.

    Votes: 49 35.0%
  • Other.

    Votes: 5 3.6%
Back
Top