150 gal Reef Build

tureefik87 · Feb 5, 2015

Just recently purchased a 150 gal tank from a fellow reefer, and I'm in the process of setting it up. This weekend will consist of planning out the plumbing, RODI station setup, aquascaping, and painting the stand (dark grey). I plan on doing a mixed reef of Zoas and SPS corals.

Here's the fish I had in mind,
Mandarin goby
Sailfin Tang
Hippo Tang
Pajama Cardinals and some randoms, I'm sure the list will grow once it's cycled lol

Here's the equipment I have currently,
Jebao Doser
Jeboa DC12000
4 D120's
ATI 200 & 250 skimmer
Sump (50-70 gal)
OBD reactor
RODI (6 stage) with reservoir
ATO

Needing or wanting
Power heads - open to suggestion and past/current experiences
Bigger return pump
Reef monitoring system i.e Apex or Reef Keeper, feel free to suggest one that is effective and won't hurt the wallet too much

This is a very exciting time for me and I'm looking forward to hearing your guys feedback.

-galvin

FTS

tureefik87 · Feb 7, 2015

Stand and hood have been sanded and one coat of paint has been applied. I'll post pictures later today and also photos of the aquascape.

-galvin

Reefer's Paradise · Feb 7, 2015

Sweet build! Ill follow along

tureefik87 · Feb 7, 2015

Painted the hood, stand, and doors (all still need another coat of paint). Planned out the plumbing and now about to play with my aquascape.

Here's a sneak peak

tureefik87 · Feb 8, 2015

Here's the photo of the rock scape I had in mind, this is just to get an idea of what I'm going for.

-galvin

tureefik87 · Feb 9, 2015

Update:

Just purchased x2 RW-15's and x2 Evergrows it2060's. About 85% of the painting is complete and will be finished this coming weekend. Planned out the plumbing and water flow, to be continued.

-galvin

tureefik87 · Feb 15, 2015

Finally decided on my aquascape design. I got some tips from YouTube videos, lol. I also received my x2 it2060's and x2 RW-15's. Still deciding on plumbing.

Lights in two different modes, just wanted to see how they looked!

Final aquascape design

LEDs

RW-15's

-galvin

Pepcrylic · Feb 17, 2015

tureefik87 said:
Just recently purchased a 150 gal tank from a fellow reefer, and I'm in the process of setting it up. This weekend will consist of planning out the plumbing, RODI station setup, aquascaping, and painting the stand (dark grey). I plan on doing a mixed reef of Zoas and SPS corals.

Here's the fish I had in mind,
Mandarin goby
Sailfin Tang
Hippo Tang
Pajama Cardinals and some randoms, I'm sure the list will grow once it's cycled lol

Here's the equipment I have currently,
Jebao Doser
Jeboa DC12000
4 D120's
ATI 200 & 250 skimmer
Sump (50-70 gal)
OBD reactor
RODI (6 stage) with reservoir
ATO

Needing or wanting
Power heads - open to suggestion and past/current experiences
Bigger return pump
Reef monitoring system i.e Apex or Reef Keeper, feel free to suggest one that is effective and won't hurt the wallet too much

This is a very exciting time for me and I'm looking forward to hearing your guys feedback.

-galvin

FTS

Good looking system you have going on there Galvin.
Is the top on your stand soild plywood, all the wat out to the edge? The plastic trim on the bottom of your tank carries the full weight of the tank. Looks like all the weight of the tank is resting on the overhang of the top.

tureefik87 · Feb 17, 2015

Pepcrylic said:
Good looking system you have going on there Galvin.
Is the top on your stand soild plywood, all the wat out to the edge? The plastic trim on the bottom of your tank carries the full weight of the tank. Looks like all the weight of the tank is resting on the overhang of the top.

Dave, yes the top of the stand is solid ply wood. The top of the stand overhangs about 3/4" and the tank doesn't go all the way to the edge of the overhang, as it sits on the supports of the stand itself. Can't wait for a sump

eace:... Who could build me an awesome sump!?!? Lol!

Pepcrylic · Feb 18, 2015

Awesomeness comes at a price. LOL
Good to hear the top is plywood and the tank is supported correctly

tureefik87 · Feb 18, 2015

Pepcrylic said:
Awesomeness comes at a price. LOL
Good to hear the top is plywood and the tank is supported correctly

I'm willing to pay the price for "awesomeness" lol!

tureefik87 · Feb 21, 2015

Update:
Tank/stand/hood finished painting
100 gallon sump (in the process of building)
x2 RW-15's
Reeflo Dart 3600 return pump
x2 IT2060's
Apex Neptune System with lab grade pH probe from BRS (being shipped)
6 stage RODI BRS unit w/reservoir (fresh/mixed)
Reef Saver dry rock (aquascape can be seen in previous thread)
Deciding on a skimmer - looking into a Vertex Omega 180i
JBJ ATO
Jebao doser

Some things have changed since my previous post. I'm very close to getting the tank wet!

-galvin

Dextereef · Feb 21, 2015

following along on this one. love that scape!

tureefik87 · Feb 21, 2015

Dextereef said:
following along on this one. love that scape!

Thank you Dexter! The only thing I'm being very indecisive about is my skimmer... Lol

Dextereef · Feb 21, 2015

I understand. The equipment gathering stage is exciting but darn frustrating at times with all the options available. My rule of thumb is just make sure it can handle about double the water volume that you have. That way you can handle more bioload which means more fish and coral!!!!:bigsmile:

tureefik87 · Feb 21, 2015

Dextereef said:
I understand. The equipment gathering stage is exciting but darn frustrating at times with all the options available. My rule of thumb is just make sure it can handle about double the water volume that you have. That way you can handle more bioload which means more fish and coral!!!!:bigsmile:

I intend to have a high bio-load lol. I was looking into a Reef Octopus 200INT or maybe something larger?

tureefik87 · Feb 23, 2015

DT Overview:
I have a total of x4 1” overflows. Here’s the breakdown of my overflow system I have planned,

Two of the four will be fully submersed about 3” from the rim of the tank (full flow)
1. If the power were to go out and the water from the DT were to overflow into the sump it will not over flow
One overflow about 2.5” from the rim of the tank having a slow trickle into the sump
The last overflow being 1” from the rim completely elevated over the surface of the water to act as an emergency if the DT does decide to overflow

Sump Overview:
1st chamber will overflow into a 7" sock and the water will be skimmed followed by a baffle (12"H), rubble rock will be placed in this section as well. The baffle will be painted black (skimmer side) to deflect light from the second chamber to decrease algae growth. It will then overflow into my Frag/Rubble rock section.
On the first baffle a bracket will be placed to hold my Apex probes, pH, temp and later ORP and salinity (height will be adjustable). As outlined in the photo I will have two heights of frag racks for various types of corals that require higher spectrums of light (light brand TBD). Rubble rock will be placed underneath the frag racks.
This will be followed by a second baffle that will be 2” from the top/bottom of the sump. The reason for the baffle not being at the rim of the sump is to ****** the baffle in case of an overflow. With the baffle being 2” from the bottom of the sump this will allow the chaeto to tumble with rubble rock at the bottom as well. A strainer will be on the inside of the sump to act as a filter to prevent any large pieces of debris from entering the return pump and possibly clogging the return lines.
Almost forgot to mention that the water height will be 11” in depth. Here are the volume breakdowns for the two sections in my tank and sump,
Sump Volume

Chamber one – 18 gallons
Chamber two – 55 gallons
Total – 73-75 gallons

Return Overview:
The return will be teed off going to the DT

DT (4 lines for returns 1”) blowing down the back side of my tank to disrupt any dead matter from being pushed towards the front
Water changes

Alternative Design (4 way from the return pump)

DT (4 lines for returns 1”) blowing down the back side of my tank to disrupt any dead matter from being pushed towards the front
Water change 1”
X2 1” pipes for reactors (GFO and calcium) with gate valves and another going back into the frag area. By doing this this acts as a small closed loop system back into the sump

I have a Reeflo Dart 3600 so it will be able to handle the water flow, worst case scenario I run a separate pump for my calcium and GFO reactors. I anticipate the actual water flow to be around 2400-2600 gph an hour with piping and loss of head pressure taken into account.
By all means this has been the very first build of my planning things out such as plumbing, if you notice a huge discrepancy in the outline please provide feedback. I look forward to hearing from my fellow reefers!

-galvin

tureefik87 · Feb 25, 2015

Bump, What's everyones opinion in regards to the MP40's QD? In addition to what skimmer has worked best for you for a 200+ gallon system with a heavy bio-load.

-galvin

tureefik87 · Feb 27, 2015

Another essential piece to the build!!! Excited to dive into what the Apex is capable of!!

Dextereef · Feb 28, 2015

I Just bought an apex last month and it's the best purchase I have made for my tank. Such great automation options. You won't be sorry. That sump design is sweeT too! Such a well thought out design that gives you so much versatility. I don't have any experience with the vortechs but once people have them they tend to fall in love. Apex has a great program for them as well. Good luck!