270g Rimless Peninsula Build - Mixed Reef

Curley

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Hello, all! Long-time lurker, first-time poster here.

Goal
Over the last decade in the hobby, I spent many hours cruising through build threads—learning new techniques and getting heaps of inspiration. Now, I find myself assembling a potential dream tank and wanted to put this out there for two main reasons:

First and foremost, I’m going to need lots of help. One of the most important things I’ve learned in life is to be keenly aware of how little I know. This tank is going to take me into uncharted territory, and I’m banking on the community’s collective knowledge and experiences to help me chart a course.

But also, I hope my journey will stimulate others to try new things within the hobby. Maybe some will be encouraged by whatever success I may have and learn from the failures that are certainly on my horizon—let’s hope they aren’t too severe.


Background
Prior to this new build, my system was modest. Since about 2006 I’ve had a 55-gallon tank with a canister filter, compact florescent lights, and from time to time a hang-on-the-back protein skimmer. Starting with a FOWLR setup, the aquarium took a few turns as I experimented with different types of fish, went on an anemone adventure, and dabbled in soft corals—mostly torches and mushrooms. Until now, I’ve never had a sump. I haven’t used a tank controller or any type of sophisticated automation. My saltwater was made in large plastic storage containers in my kitchen—I am super pumped to now have an RODI unit and mixing station.

My fiancée and I recently finished building a new home. With the new place came opportunity for a much larger tank and a fish room in the garage. I can finally try incorporating some of the fish I dreamt of owning for quite some time, as well as try to maintain a system with the stability to try lots of different corals.


New Build
I wanted the clean look of a rimless tank and we thought a peninsula style would be great to serve as a room divider between our open concept living room and a future study. The aquarium is 3/4" glass and holds about 270 gallons—custom built by Acrylic and Glass Exhibits—and sits on a custom steel stand (also A.G.E.).

Tank Has Arrived 1.jpg


The plumbing to and from the display routes through the foundation to a remote sump and workstation in the garage. The workstation has a decent amount of storage, a sink that’s 24” deep, and a saltwater mixing station.

Sink and Sump Stand.jpeg Sump.jpg

fish room.jpg



Equipment List
The following is gear that I either have acquired (or plan to) and was derived from a combination of personal research and recommendations from the tank installer: Fish Gallery out of Spring, TX.
  • A.G.E Glass, PVC bottom tank (72x36x24)
  • Synergy Reef V2 Shadow 16” overflow
  • Synergy Reef CL-50.7 sump
  • Nyos Quantum 160 protein skimmer
  • 2x BRS 600w titanium heater element
  • Ink Bird WiFi heater controller
  • 2x EcoTech Vectra M2 return pump (one for the mixing station to have as backup)
  • Lifegard Aquatics Pro-MAX 55 UV sterilizer
  • Synergy Reef 10-gallon ATO container
  • Tunze Osmolator ATO
  • 2x EcoTech Vortech MP60
  • 3x EcoTech Radion G5 XR30 Pro
  • EcoTech Radion G5 XR15 Freshwater
  • BRS 6-stage Deluxe Plus RO/DI system
  • 2x ProTank 100-gallon vertical storage tank

Aquascape
We took inspiration from a BRS video on designing a negative space aquascape and over a few weekends, with lots of glue and a big chisel, we constructed an aquascape primarily consisting of three towers of varying heights. The rocks included 160 lbs. of CaribSea base rock, MarcoRocks foundation rock (3 large, 2 medium, 2 small), and 4 MarcoRocks Reef Saver shelf rock.

Some key things we learned were:
  1. While the bigger (e.g. 200g and 20g) tubes of super glue gel are handy because of the amount of glue in the tube, the tiny super glue tubes are much easier to work with and get into the nooks and crannies. We emptied the shelves at our local Dollar Store :cool:.
  2. Basic chemistry and a tip from some model makers had us concocting homemade accelerator using a mixture of baking soda and water (½ teaspoon of soda per ¼ cup of water). It worked quite well, but dried with a cloudy white color.
after.JPG aquascape 1.jpg aquascape 2.jpeg finished scape.jpg
 
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Ron Reefman

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Very clean. Just how did you get the bars over the tank (lights?) to cantilever out so far?
 

Pntbll687

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Looks awesome so far!!

Will the lights provide enough spread to reach the end of the tank from that mount?
 
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Curley

Curley

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Will the lights provide enough spread to reach the end of the tank from that mount?

Those are the steel supports for the eventual lightbox that will be the same length and width as the tank (72x36). I'm working with the carpenter that built the cabinetry for the house to tie together the wooden parts of the fish tank to the cabinets in the rest of the space. Up in the lightbox there will be a rail system to adjust the positioning of each of the Radions.

Just how did you get the bars over the tank (lights?) to cantilever out so far?

The cantilever design was from our home's architect. The steel bars run into, then down the wall and are anchored to the foundation. In hindsight it may have been overkill given the final weight of the lightbox; however, I wanted to ensure they would be quite sturdy...and they are.

steel supports.jpeg
 
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Pntbll687

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Those are the steel supports for the eventual light box that will be the same length and width as the tank (72x36). I'm working with the carpenter that built the cabinetry for the house to tie together the wooden parts of the fish tank to the cabinets in the rest of the space. Up in the lightbox there will be a rail system to adjust the positioning of each of the Radions.



The cantilever design was from our home's architect. The steel bars run into, then down the wall and are anchored to the foundation. In hindsight it may have been overkill given the final weight of the light box; however, I wanted to ensure they would be quite study...and they are.

steel supports.jpeg
Good stuff!!
 

gfox

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Great looking build so far can't wait for it to come to life.Estimate of getting wet?
 

Janci

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This is going to be epic. Love the planning so far
 

revhtree

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Hello, all! Long-time lurker, first-time poster here.

Goal
Over the last decade in the hobby, I spent many hours cruising through build threads—learning new techniques and getting heaps of inspiration. Now, I find myself assembling a potential dream tank and wanted to put this out there for two main reasons:

First and foremost, I’m going to need lots of help. One of the most important things I’ve learned in life is to be keenly aware of how little I know. This tank is going to take me into uncharted territory, and I’m banking on the community’s collective knowledge and experiences to help me chart a course.

But also, I hope my journey will stimulate others to try new things within the hobby. Maybe some will be encouraged by whatever success I may have and learn from the failures that are certainly on my horizon—let’s hope they aren’t too severe.


Background
Prior to this new build, my system was modest. Since about 2006 I’ve had a 55-gallon tank with a canister filter, compact florescent lights, and from time to time a hang-on-the-back protein skimmer. Starting with a FOWLR setup, the aquarium took a few turns as I experimented with different types of fish, went on an anemone adventure, and dabbled in soft corals—mostly torches and mushrooms. Until now, I’ve never had a sump. I haven’t used a tank controller or any type of sophisticated automation. My saltwater was made in large plastic storage containers in my kitchen—I am super pumped to now have an RODI unit and mixing station.

My fiancée and I recently finished building a new home. With the new place came opportunity for a much larger tank and a fish room in the garage. I can finally try incorporating some of the fish I dreamt of owning for quite some time, as well as try to maintain a system with the stability to try lots of different corals.


New Build
I wanted the clean look of a rimless tank and we thought a peninsula style would be great to serve as a room divider between our open concept living room and a future study. The aquarium is 3/4" glass and holds about 270 gallons—custom built by Acrylic and Glass Exhibits—and sits on a custom steel stand (also A.G.E.).

Tank Has Arrived 1.jpg


The plumbing to and from the display routes through the foundation to a remote sump and workstation in the garage. The workstation has a decent amount of storage, a sink that’s 24” deep, and a saltwater mixing station.

Sink and Sump Stand.jpeg Sump.jpg

fish room.jpg



Equipment List
The following is gear that I either have acquired (or plan to) and was derived from a combination of personal research and recommendations from the tank installer: Fish Gallery out of Spring, TX.
  • A.G.E Glass, PVC bottom tank (72x36x24)
  • Synergy Reef V2 Shadow 16” overflow
  • Synergy Reef CL-50.7 sump
  • Nyos Quantum 160 protein skimmer
  • 2x BRS 600w titanium heater element
  • Ink Bird WiFi heater controller
  • 2x EcoTech Vectra M2 return pump
  • Lifegard Aquatics Pro-MAX 55 UV sterilizer
  • Synergy Reef 10-gallon ATO container
  • Tunze Osmolator ATO
  • 2x EcoTech Vortech MP60
  • 3x EcoTech Radion G5 Pro
  • BRS 6-stage Deluxe Plus RO/DI system
  • 2x ProTank 100-gallon vertical storage tank

Aquascape
We took inspiration from a BRS video on designing a negative space aquascape and over a few weekends, with lots of glue and a big chisel, we constructed an aquascape primarily consisting of three towers of varying heights. The rocks included 160 lbs. of CaribSea base rock, MarcoRocks foundation rock (3 large, 2 medium, 2 small), and 4 MarcoRocks Reef Saver shelf rock.

Some key things we learned were:
  1. While the bigger (e.g. 200g and 20g) tubes of super glue gel are handy because of the amount of glue in the tube, the tiny super glue tubes are much easier to work with and get into the nooks and crannies. We emptied the shelves at our local Dollar Store :cool:.
  2. Basic chemistry and a tip from some model makers had us concocting homemade accelerator using a mixture of baking soda and water (½ teaspoon of soda per ¼ cup of water). It worked quite well, but dried with a cloudy white color.
after.JPG aquascape 1.jpg aquascape 2.jpeg finished scape.jpg

Umm WOW! Yes updates please!
 

reef_ranch

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Great design! Looking forward to seeing this come together.

I too have a remote sump but it’s not raised. What is the height difference between your overflow and the entry to the sump? I have a 5’ drop over a 35’ run which is plenty to feed enough water to the sump through a 2” pipe for my RD3 230w return pump. I’d love to be able to raise the sump to allow for easier maintenance but am afraid I’d end up not having enough flow through the sump. Did you do any calcs to determine how much water flow you’ll be able to pump though the sump? (This begs the question how much is needed but that’s another debate altogether).
 

Mixing lighting technologies: Do you use multiple types of lighting for your reef?

  • I currently use multiple types of lighting for my reef.

    Votes: 12 50.0%
  • I have used multiple types of lighting for my reef in the past.

    Votes: 2 8.3%
  • I haven’t used multiple types of lighting for my reef, but I plan to in the future.

    Votes: 5 20.8%
  • I have no plans to use multiple types of lighting for my reef.

    Votes: 5 20.8%
  • Other.

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