375 Build - my last display tank

[adova]

It's been about 10 years since I left the hobby. As I moved into my forever home, I decided to put together my forever tank. As I approach 60 years old, I think this will be the last one I will tackle. Of course, I won't rule out the occasional side tanks :).

I am hoping this thread will serve as a diary for myself and my children as well as a place to help others see my challenges, mistakes and solutions.

This tank is a 120" x 30" x 24 (high) and will serve as a pseudo room divider between my living room and kitchen. AI helped give an idea of what the final product might be like.

I also used Fusion 360 to draw up plans:

I have purchased just about everything I need to get started - many of it from other users - and I will create a post in this thread to detail as much as I can.

 

[adova]

Tank, Sump and Stand:

I started an order for the tank and sump In February from Acrylic Habitats near Orlando. It is made out of 3/4" acrylic all of the way around. The tank price was $3400 and the sump was another $1400 - both delivered for $800.

The stand is made of extruded aluminum by Framing Technology and cost $2500 with $735 shipping. The expensive part of the shipping was the 10' sections which had to go LTL. The tank will overhang the front and back by 1/2" so that when the stand is skinned, the skin will match flush with the tank.

 

[vandy]

Love it. Do you plan on suspending the lights from the ceiling like the ai photo? Excited for the build!

 

[adova]

Floor Support
The floor structure is a sealed crawlspace with 2x10 joists that run parallel with the tank. Estimated weight will be somewhere around 5000 - 6000 lbs. I had a few options when deciding how to best reinforce the flooring, but the challenge was the limited space to work in the crawlspace. In the end, I ended up going with headers positioned exactly under each of the stand feet where the load was concentrated. Here is a VERY rough diagram.

I will be using some screw jacks like this to maintain pressure - they are rated at 25k lbs.. I am aware that they are not within any code and are labeled as "temporary". Using these, 4x4's. 4x6's, 2x10's and ties, I hope to provide adequate reinforcement.

 

[adova]

Love it. Do you plan on suspending the lights from the ceiling like the ai photo? Excited for the build!

Thanks! Yes, I think ceiling suspension is the way to go. I just placed my order for 3x Meridian 35's with the edge bars. $6800 - yikes! They are backordered till July 31, but I think I have enough to do to keep myself busy till I need them. I am looking for some better description / images of how the hanging mounts are. The ones that Reefbreeders sells are too short for my ceiling.

 

[adova]

At one point, I was going to put the tank in my office, but the width of the tank made it jut out too far. I sent an AI image over to my friend and he turned it into a video lol.

 

[adova]

Pumps and Water Movement

I wanted to try an experiment and got some of the new Jebao Jecod pumps:

Return Pumps: 2x GDP 20000

Gyres: 2x GCP-75

Wave Makers: 2x GMP-80

For the wave makers, shout out to Kris Cleven of Turbulent Aquarium Shop for custom making some better guards for the GMP.

 

[Ernie Mccracken]

Wow, huge potential on this one. Some interesting equipment choices already. Can't wait to see how the aquascape comes out.

 

[56longroof]

Nice!

 

[vandy]

Pumps and Water Movement

I wanted to try an experiment and got some of the new Jebao Jecod pumps:

Return Pumps: 2x GDP 20000

Gyres: 2x GCP-75

Wave Makers: 2x GMP-80

For the wave makers, shout out to Kris Cleven of Turbulent Aquarium Shop for custom making some better guards for the GMP.

I think you went right with the peninsula room divider. Way more room for coral since you can build out both sides of the rock

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Well this is going to be one awesome tank!

 

[adova]

Tank Underlayment:

I sourced some 5x10 marine plywood for the underlayment for the tank and the sump. I am using some neoprene Anti-fatigue Roll Mat from harbor freight ad the padding. I applied it to the raw plywood using 3M Super 77 Spray Glue. To help with clean edges, I used an electric hot knife (from Amazon).

For the rest of the plywood, I stained the sides and top with Valspar Neutral Base Solid Exterior Wood Stain and Sealer.

 

[adova]

Sump Planning:

Doing some basic layout of the sump. Dimensions are 7' x 23" x 15" (h). The baffles after the first and before the last chamber are adjustable to regulate water depth in the adjoining chambers.

It will not be a traditional flow. Both returns go to the center into a pair of ReefMat 1200's. A Reef Octopus SSS-6000-INT sits to the left chamber. On either end are the GDP-20000 return pumps. The empty chamber to the right will be for Media Reactor and Algae Scrubbers or whatever else I need. There will also be a UV plumbed in somewhere.

The entire sump will be sitting in Pond Liner for the inevitable flood that I will have .

 

[adova]

Overflows:

(opinions requested)

I drilled the overflows to use the Bean Animal design. The drains are drilled for 1.5" bulkheads and the returns for 1". The weir is toothless and measures 26" long by 1" high. Although it is toothless, I will probably add some sort of removable guard that will restrict flow somewhat, but, as it is, if I use .5" of water flow height in the weir, that will equate to about 1700 GPH per side.

It is my understanding that having too large of a siphon in the Bean Animal could cause issues. I believe that a 1" pipe is good to about 1400 GPH, so I think a 1.5" is appropriate. Thoughts?

My other plan was to drill an additional 2x 1.5" bulkheads in each overflow to use as wire routing for the gyre and lights. Has anyone done this and have any pluses or minuses to that approach?

 

[MegabiteOG]

This is going to be a beautiful build. Following along.

 

[adova]

I think you went right with the peninsula room divider. Way more room for coral since you can build out both sides of the rock

The only negative side to it is that it blocks the TV screen from the kitchen, and I do tend to watch a lot of TV while I prep meals and such.

 

[adova]

Love it. Do you plan on suspending the lights from the ceiling like the ai photo? Excited for the build!

Now that I am thinking about it, I wonder if it might be interesting to run black PVC across all lights, suspend the PVC from the ceiling in maybe just two spots (for additional support). Then, I could route the wires into the PVC and continue the PVC and wires through the overflow.

 

[vandy]

Now that I am thinking about it, I wonder if it might be interesting to run black PVC across all lights, suspend the PVC from the ceiling in maybe just two spots (for additional support). Then, I could route the wires into the PVC and continue the PVC and wires through the overflow.

I believe that’s how Jake Adam’s ran all his light in the reefbuilders studio. Just used pvc with a support wire

 

[adova]

Water Station:

I have a lot of plumbing coming in over the next couple of days. In the mean time, I have been prepping the water station, which will be located in the "fish room" about 20 feet away. The right container will be RODI for the auto top off. The left container will be the auto water change. Both containers are 165 gallon purchased from Home Depot - $385 each (link). Home depot was the best choice because they offer free ship to store which saved about $400 in shipping fees.

The tanks can take a beating - how do I know? The each were strapped to a pallet. I put them in the back of my F350 and headed home. I guess I should have strapped them down, cause they caught wind and shot off the truck on the highway at 55 mph at 9pm. One tried to escape over a guard rail and into the lake and the other sat standing up asking traffic to play chicken. Luckily, I was able to get both back into the truck without further incident. There is barely a scratch on them - hopefully there is nothing wrong that I am not able to see.

Both the Auto top off and Auto water change will be routed under the house through the crawl space to the tank and old water will be routed outside. I chose to route directly outside instead of the house drain system because the salt water could have a negative affect on the septic system - or so I read. No need to take a chance, I figure.

The system will eventually incorporate an auto salt mixing feature. A salt bucket will be able to be inserted above the left tank with a special lid fitted with an electronic ball valve. Under the salt bucket will be a set of scales that will be used to measure the amount of salt dispensed into the container. Using Arduino, I will be able to take fresh water from the RODI container and then add salt until the salinity measures the correct amount. In theory, at least. Should be a fun experiment anyways.

The vertical clear piece with the twisty part is called a static mixer (link on Amazon). I am not sure it will offer any real value, but it seemed interesting.

 

[adova]

Overflow plumbing:

I drilled a couple of extra 1.5" bulkheads into the overflow to route wiring for the gyre and lights. I used a 60mm Spyder carbide hole saw. Pro tip: if you have a low speed setting on your drill, use that for the best results.

I was also able to glue up the hard plumbing for the returns and dry fit the Bean Animal drain. I ordered some matching grey caps for the one pipe since BRS was out. Next up, I will start working on some of the electronic drawer sections so I will know where I can route plumbing.