5ft of questionable decisions....

[Knology]

I made some progress over the weekend. We got the walls done and part of the main ceiling done. I ordered some LED recessed lights, cool white, to go in x4. Plus the wiring and switch. Once we get some lighting in the room I am going to seal the corners and seams and then do a couple coats of oil-based primer.

Then we will start getting the frames in. The areas left open right now are so I can get things routed before I close it up. Piping has to come down from the tank and terminated in unions. Then I can route after the counter tops and frames are in.

I'm going to leave the upper space open for now until I can get a feel of where I want cabinets, quarantine tanks, and supplies. My goal is to get water flowing and the DT setup so I can begin cycle. Then I have months to get a feel for how the fish room can be finalized.

 

[Knology]

Ok ok....time for an update.

Fish room is moving along.

....and a little tease. The custom sump baffle kit came in today. I'll get that put together once I have a final pump size. I am probably going to move up to dual Jebao DC pumps rated for higher head pressure. Like 2 DCP-15000's (30ft) and tune them down for flow. I'll use the DCP-8000 I have for the saltwater mixing station or something.

 

[Victoria M]

That sump is pretty cool.

 

[Victoria M]

The fishroom rocks!

 

[ReeferPat]

So the story begins. Well, it actually begins a decade ago but let's not get into that just yet.

After years in the hobby, with wavering dedication, I come upon the beginning of my first real mature reef build. My family just purchased our first home we intend to stay in for a while, so naturally, I am ignoring all the needed projects and jumping right into a built in reef tank.

I spent a lot of time staring at random walls, and gutting the basement, to finally settle on a wall in our kitchen that has no real purpose. It had a granite desk built in which holds no value to us, so out it goes.



The trick is that below this will be the utility and fish tank equipment room. It also sits against a load bearing wall and spans over 5 beams. So, I am confident of the home taking the weight with no issues.

Originally, I was eyeing a SCA 150g starfire on sale for $895. As many suggest, just get the tank you want up front or you will live to regret the foundation of everything else. That being said, I was seduced into buying a 120g off Craigslist right afterwards for $100.

I'm a ***** for a good deal. That lasted about 2 days though.I recently moved back to ATL but was on a different side of the city and wanted to check out the LFS on my side of the world. I was a bit spoiled living a couple blocks from Pure Reef up in Alpharetta.

We went from store to store until I walked into one of the largest known in the area called Premier Aquatics. Great selection, great prices....and then they stole $900 bucks from me. What I mean by that is I stumble upon a fully established Red Sea 625XL. I stared at this thing for like 15 minutes and realized the real difference between a 4 foot tank and what that extra foot really gives you. I then spent the next 48 hours convincing my wife why the $100 tank in the back of my SUV wasn't going to cut it.

So, after a few e-mails to Steve over at SCA, I found myself ordering a custom tank.





It is a custom Starfire 5' tank drilled for two return and the Reef Synergy Shadow overflow. The eurbrace has been raised to be flush with the top and the overflow will mount almost flush to create a waterline of only about 1.7" below the top of the tank. I went ahead and added some depth as well because why not. They didn't even charge for the extra depth. If anyone is interested in the price, message me. Going custom was very minimal.

Funny. I bought and set up one tank, a 40-gallon cube. Had quick success but within a few months realized it was too small. Got a 92 gallon bow front off Craigslist. Didn’t like it and never set it up (impulse purchase). Finally settled on my beautiful 75 gallon. I agree with everyone who says “get the tank you want right from the start.”

 

[tripdad]

Who made the baffle kit? It looks nice and clean in execution.

 

[Blutspitze]

Wow! The room is looking great! Thanks for the update!

 

[Knology]

Who made the baffle kit? It looks nice and clean in execution.

The sump kit was made custom by a seller on eBay. "jax.racks"
It is best to look over the items he sells and them message him directly with any questions. He will give you a direct call and go over your design, his suggestions, verify your measurements, and I got my kit within a week. I had a 75 gallon so it was outside the normal templates. No issues. Fit and quality is incredible. Mine as well be a $1,000 sump.

 

[Knology]

I did a thing.

Rough in for the sink is done. I still need to come up with a sump pump solution to pump this up to the ceiling drains for the basement PVC piping. Details.

It is a small sink but I can upgrade later if needed.

I ordered a DCP-20000 DC pump for the sump. It's overkill but I know the head pressure will drop off a lot of the flow. With is being DC, I'll tune it to where it needs to be.

Also ordered the 1" random flow generators from BRS. Added another 1" check valve so both of my return lines runs off a check valve.

I think I'll spend the weekend running the plumbing and putting the sump together.

 

[Knology]

I got a few things done over the weekend.

-Got the PVC plumbed to the back of the tank and ran lines down underneath.
- Drains are roughed in down to the fish room.
- Return lines are ran under than tank but ran out of PVC.
- Quarantine tank shelf installed. This will hold 2 x20L tanks.
- Storage shelf put in for supplies.

Next I am going to get the plumbing roughed in down to the sump area and terminate them in a union. I can mock those into the sump afterwards.
Room needs painted. I got a light gray for the walls, dark smoke grey for the frames, and appliance white epoxy for the main counter tops.
Jebao DCP-20000 came in. It is massive.

Now I need to start planning out power outlets.

 

[Blutspitze]

Looking so amazing with the room buildout. Can't wait to see everything fully functional, but it's awesome to be able to see the process.

 

[Knology]

Thinking out loud about the next steps.

- I'd like to put in UV from day one. I've been watching a good deal of BRS TV so I'm trying to figure out how they best suggest one be installed. I want to set it up to handle parasites and pests. I also want it to interact with all of the water. Not just a small amount circulated from the sump, through, and then back into the sump. So sure on how yet.

So here is the conundrum:

Algae turf scrubber vs Refugium vs Skimmer?

There is a lot of new information that is showing a good deal of evidence that a ATS may do enough to not need a refugium or even a skimmer. So I am a bit stuck as to what to add, or add first. I have room for a fuge, of course, and a skimmer, and even an ATS. What is more obvious with these new findings though is there is no reason to have them all. Which is a sin of reefing I have seen for 20 years. "Just buy ALL of the things that could help". I don't think that is true anymore by a long list of evidence. Plus, I have other hobbies I could put that extra $$$ into.

I think the UV is a good first start. Having that from day one is fine. Having a skimmer or fuge from day one isn't going to do much for me. The fuge has nothing to eat and the skimmer has nothing to skim.

The ATS though may be a good day one addition. Over a few months it will keep things out of the new rock and DT as we cycle. I won't have any fish to provide fuel really for the fuge or skimmer for a while.

That being said, I think the real key in reefing in 2020 is that we look at what is needed, as it arises, and find a solution for that issue instead of buying the entire farm catalog before you have a single cow or seed. I agree that prevention is key and that starts with knowing what you are putting in your tank(livestock) before you put it in.

I'm also curious about automatic roller mats and DIY solutions. I only really like the way the Theiling runs, in the standalone offerings, but that $400 price tag is steep.

 

[Barnabie Mejia]

this is a pretty awesome thread! I have been in kinda the same position with my build, but I am trying to place a 75g. It will be going in to our living room in the corner, but we can decide if we want it on the south wall or the east wall! haha I can't believe that you have made that many moves and I hope when we get to page 9 of this thread that its not back in the day room! haha keep up the good work, and you have given me some more fire to get the finish wood work done on my stand.

thanks,
Barnabie

 

[Knology]

Getting there....

 

[Blutspitze]

Dang! Looking incredible! Keep it up!

 

[Barnabie Mejia]

what kind of paint are you using in the fish/ sump/ utility room?
for my stand I am thinking of using kilz as a primer base coat and not sure what to use as top coat..... this is for the inside. the outside I want to use a stain or oil based black paint

 

[Knology]

Semi-gloss oIl based paint for the walls on top of a Kilz oil based primer.

The inside of the stand/sump area I am using a gloss enamel paint. I think it is a Rustoleum product. Gloss smoke grey.

The counter tops I will be using a gloss white appliance epoxy.

 

[Barnabie Mejia]

Semi-gloss oIl based paint for the walls on top of a Kilz oil based primer.

The inside of the stand/sump area I am using a gloss enamel paint. I think it is a Rustoleum product. Gloss smoke grey.

The counter tops I will be using a gloss white appliance epoxy.

Sweet. Thank you! I want to paint this weekend if it warms up a bit, crazy El Paso weather.... Monday it was 70* and yesterday we had snow with a high of 36*, today its cloudy with a high of 42* then tomorrow they're saying it will be 68*…. who knows it may snow sunday? haha

 

[Knology]

Finally got the bulk of the remaining painting done. Must have 30 hours of painting into this tiny room. Layers though save yourself some headaches later.

All that is left paint wise is to epoxy the counter tops and the floor. I wont do the floor until most of the work is completed.

I ordered some ball valves so we can plumb the drain and returns down to the sump area. I am going to do a temporary return setup as I want to run redundant return pumps sooner or later. I'll set up the DCP-20000 with a 2" return tee'd to 1" lines. I know that will drop flow but I've got over 5K gallons p/h to work with and I only want 5-8x turnover. I'll just put unions in a way where I can reconfigure the setup for 2 pumps easily down the road.

That's it for now. I'll mock up the dual pumps in the sump chamber and then I'll map out how I am going to glue in the DIY sump baffles in the 75g.

I'm hoping to have water in this thing within the next 90 days and start cycle.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Finally got the bulk of the remaining painting done. Must have 30 hours of painting into this tiny room. Layers though save yourself some headaches later.

All that is left paint wise is to epoxy the counter tops and the floor. I wont do the floor until most of the work is completed.

I ordered some ball valves so we can plumb the drain and returns down to the sump area. I am going to do a temporary return setup as I want to run redundant return pumps sooner or later. I'll set up the DCP-20000 with a 2" return tee'd to 1" lines. I know that will drop flow but I've got over 5K gallons p/h to work with and I only want 5-8x turnover. I'll just put unions in a way where I can reconfigure the setup for 2 pumps easily down the road.

That's it for now. I'll mock up the dual pumps in the sump chamber and then I'll map out how I am going to glue in the DIY sump baffles in the 75g.

I'm hoping to have water in this thing within the next 90 days and start cycle.

Looking good.