Finally! Natalie's 180 Gallon Shallow Reef

[CasaReefer]

Looks SOOOOO Awesome ..... Welcome R2R.... Following along with ya'll

 

[NatD]

Nice! Thanks!

 

[Vivid Creative Aquatics]

Okay! Plumbing dry fit is all done!

Beananimal overflow (primary and secondary drains are both 1.5”, emergency is 2”) and 2 1” returns with @Vivid Creative Aquatics Random Flow Generators.

Now that it’s all dry fit, I need to glue the pvc. Then I’ll use Weld-on 16 to attach the weir to the black acrylic sides of the overflow box. The lid of the overflow box fits perfectly but won’t be attached — will keep critters out but will still allow me to access what’s inside. I’m also putting black acrylic across the back of the tank behind the overflow/plumbing box to keep light out and prevent algae.

Look at all these new reef toys! It’s better than Christmas in here!

Looks great - and those 1in RFGs are goignto flow this tank nicely given the position they are in. The only thing you may need to do as add a segment or two of 1in modular hose between the nozzles the the MPT fitting to drop them just a bit lower below the water line. However, I would wet-test it first just to be sure before adding that in.

Either way, we are now following along

 

[NatD]

Looks great - and those 1in RFGs are goignto flow this tank nicely given the position they are in. The only thing you may need to do as add a segment or two of 1in modular hose between the nozzles the the MPT fitting to drop them just a bit lower below the water line. However, I would wet-test it first just to be sure before adding that in.

Either way, we are now following along

thanks!!! I left 1” between what I believe will be the water line and the top of the RFG. If I need to I’ll grab that modular line from you though. Glad to have you!
Also, I love that you INCLUDED the siphon break on the nozzle and designed it in a way that it won’t spray water all over creation. So great.

 

[Vivid Creative Aquatics]

thanks!!! I left 1” between what I believe will be the water line and the top of the RFG. If I need to I’ll grab that modular line from you though. Glad to have you!
Also, I love that you INCLUDED the siphon break on the nozzle and designed it in a way that it won’t spray water all over creation. So great.

Perfect - 1in below the water line will be more than enough.

 

[NatD]

You guys! I think it’s done. The plumbing bit anyway. It took me like 8 times as long as I thought. I’ve never hard-plumbed one of my tanks before (or anything else for that matter) so starting with a bean animal, two returns, and a basement sump was just plain crazy. But, here we are. And I think it was the right decision for the long term to support years of high flow.
A hard-learned lesson: pvc slips into the joints more when it’s lubricated by the primer and cement than it does when you are dry fitting. Yep. Makes lots of sense, but did not occur to me until we had to re-cut a bunch of pieces. Whoops! Ah well, live and learn.
Also: 13ish foot runs of PVC are dang heavy. We had to come up with something to support that weight. We used chain, eyelets, and carabiners under the stand (yes, metal, but unless I have a significant leak someday there won’t be water or spray down there) but we still need a solution for the basement. Currently we have ratchet straps supporting. Perhaps the pvc itself doesn’t need that, but I just can’t feel good about all that weight pulling on my bulkheads, etc for years and years.
Here’s where we are right now:

Today, I’ll clean all this up, remove the extra power strips, clamp lights, etc we used in construction, and water test.

Yay water test! I’m going to run it a few days with tap water to get all the dust and bits and whatever else has settled in there out, then I’ll drain it and clean it up one more time and start filling with RODI.

 

[NatD]

Welllllll..... it leaked.

From one of the bulkheads.

So, we had to drain and fix the bulkhead. Looks like it was off-center, probably from yanking it around putting the plumbing together and taking it apart and putting it together again.

Next wet test will have to wait until later in the week

 

[Jeto2004]

Nice build, very interesting. Like you innovative use of securing the plumbing. Sorry that if wasn’t water tide the first time around. Understand very well how frustrating that is.....

 

[NatD]

Nice build, very interesting. Like you innovative use of securing the plumbing. Sorry that if wasn’t water tide the first time around. Understand very well how frustrating that is.....

Thanks — I’m totally bummed about it! But, stuff happens and that’s why we test.

 

[raketemensch]

That would be an awful lot of joints and connections to not have any leaks, it looks like you did a great job.

 

[NatD]

Thanks — I do appreciate that.

 

[Katrina71]

Very cool! Hey, it's almost there!!!

 

[NatD]

What a saga that was.

We had to drain it twice to repair leaks, and the 2nd time sealed around the back of the weir as well.

Then, it turned out to be quite a chore to dial it all in so it’s quiet and the sump water level is low enough it doesn’t overflow and high enough to be able to start back up. The footprint of the tank is so wide and the plumbing holds so much water that it ended up being tougher than I thought. But, I think it’s done. Fingers crossed. I simulated a half dozen power outages to get it right.

I also got the QT filled and running, though it needs some better hiding spaces and cord management.

In a couple days I’ll drain it and start filling with RODI.

 

[NatD]

It’s full. It’s warm. And it just got salty!!!!

It’s a bit cloudy because I just added the salt. In the morning I’ll measure and adjust salinity.

This morning I ordered a super special Christmas gift for my lovely tank friend and myself — “The Package” from TBS is officially bought and paid for!!!

While we wait for better weather in FL to allow safe diving, I’ll busy myself with hooking up all the toys that are still in boxes and figuring out how to use them: Apex, ATO, etc.

I might even get the first fish into QT, if I could ever decide on my stock list. I keep going back and forth on whether tangs are appropriate in this tank. I’d sure love a whitetail bristletooth, a yellow, and a powder blue. But alas, I can’t decide if the 5’8” diagonal is sufficient — though I will situate the islands such that it’s a straight shot.

So, QT remains barren while I argue with myself.

 

[dbraun15]

Sweet! Congrats on getting it wet! Looking forward to seeing the TBS rock in action!

 

[Sixty7x]

Nice job! I love the idea of the separate refugium/frag tank/extra space. This is what I'll be doing for sure!

 

[NatD]

Nice job! I love the idea of the separate refugium/frag tank/extra space. This is what I'll be doing for sure!

Thanks! I ended up going with a pair of Kessils over it, so I could totally grow our frags in there. Would you believe I hadn’t even considered this? Thank you!

 

[tripdad]

Nice build! Make sure that the bulkheads are not carrying weight, very little. It can cause trouble later. Some type of clamping type support works best. If the bean animal keeps being touchy try drilling a 3/16" hole in the main drain about 1" above the sump water level in the side of the drain pipe. This will let trapped air escape. Following along.

 

[Victoria M]

More pictures are required

 

[NatD]

Once the rock ships I will have lots more!!! I suspect there will be weeks of hitchhiker identification and/or trapping adventures.