hatfielj's 187g SPS Build

[hatfielj]

I'm back! Well, not yet, but working on it Going big this time with my largest tank yet. This will likely be a slow build. I still have a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it all.
Specs:
Custom Aquariums 60" x 30"x 24" with steel stand 187 gallons, plus the sump, which will likely be over 50 gallons. Drilled for a synergy overflow.
I got a great deal on this tank as it was a "scratch and dent" deal. Though there arent any scratches on it at all. Apparently the customer that originally ordered it wasnt happy with the beveled edges or something. To me it looks just fine. I'm very happy with it.
I dont have anything else yet. I'm thinking of going with 100% LED lighting this time. Probably radions. Although I'm still undecided. More details to follow.

Pics! Tank arrived today and it was A LOT of work getting it off the truck and out of the crating.

Got the tank and stand out of the crating and proceeded to immediately get the stand down into the basement where the set up will be. I had to remove the stairs to get it to fit. Not too bad actually.

The tank was a problem however. It is HEAVY. It's made out of 3/4" glass. I had 5 people come over to help and it turned out not to be enough. My plan was to drop it down the stairs directly onto the stand. But, we didn't have enough of a grip on it to do it safely. We decided to wait. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to get it down the stairs. I'm probably going to rent heavy duty suction cups and get a lot more people here to help.

For now it sits outside waiting...

 

[glb]

How exciting!!! Yes do wait until you have more people. The thought of that tank racing down to your basement without you may give me a nightmare tonight.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

That's the kind of tank I hope to have someday soon, so I'll be following along!

 

[hatfielj]

How exciting!!! Yes do wait until you have more people. The thought of that tank racing down to your basement without you may give me a nightmare tonight.

I know what you mean. I had trouble falling asleep last night because I was thinking about it too much. But, safety is #1, so we're going to take our time getting it down there and not rush it.
I'll post again when it's downstairs.

 

[Birddog]

Great to have you back! I as surprised a year or so ago that you sold everything.... you had some great corals and I enjoyed looking at your photography.

 

[hatfielj]

Great to have you back! I as surprised a year or so ago that you sold everything.... you had some great corals and I enjoyed looking at your photography.

Thanks, yeah we thought we were going to move at the time so I had to simplify things a bit to free up my time. We've since decided to stay put for a while. So, I figured why not go with a bigger tank this time around. Should be a fun one!

 

[BigAsh]

Wow, I have the exact same tank from Custom Aquariums with the same overflow too. I didn't have to get it into a basement, though. The ground floor was tough enough. Best of luck!

 

[hatfielj]

Wow, I have the exact same tank from Custom Aquariums with the same overflow too. I didn't have to get it into a basement, though. The ground floor was tough enough. Best of luck!

Very cool! I love your stand. Question for you...since you're using a shadow overflow box as well, have you found that the water level being so close to the top is a problem? Do you get any splashing? I'm thinking of adding a Euro-brace to the top of mine to prevent splashing with cleaning or with the pumps.
Also, I would love to put it somewhere on the first floor of our home, but my wife will not even consider it! I've been banished to the basement with my hobbies! The good thing about that though is I can do whatever I want down there, so it's kind of nice.

 

[BigAsh]

If I had it to do over, I would have spent a bit more time checking the hole location for the overflow and I would have lowered it by an extra half inch. I have two Gyre 250s (one one each end) running in OTC mode at 100% and I don't have any slash issues. I mounted one Gyre on the Shadow box (had to trim the internal brace with my Drimmel).

 

[BigAsh]

BTW, I have thought about drilling a row of extra holes in the weir below the slots. I'm pretty sure that would lower the water level by 1/4" or so.

 

[aquavista99]

Amazing new tank! You always had a good eye for the colorful sticks too. Looking forward to seeing your new project turn into an amazing reef

 

[hatfielj]

Thanks AV99. Can't wait to see your beast come to life. You're going to have the most killer reef in town for sure!

Small update, but a LOT of work this week.
I started working on the tank room that I'm building for this system. The tank is going in the basement of my very old house downtown, so it's not going to be quite as pretty as I'd like it to be (can't do much about the dirty old foundation walls right now), but I'm going to make this system as organized and easy to work on as possible.
I'm basically building a divider to hide all of the equipment and electrical connections for the tank. It's going to be set up so that you can enjoy the tank without seeing all the clutter and working parts (unless you want to). There will be nothing under the tank at all because I don't like bending over if I don't have to It's also going to have some window exposure that will bring natural sunlight to the reef in the morning.
The sump room will have all the equipment and components neatly lined up and on display in a single row to allow for easy maintenance and check ups. There will be a separate area for a salt mixing tank and an area for fragging, bagging, and shipping.
I ordered a killer sump system from Advanced Acrylics that I'm super excited about. It's essentially a dream box clone. It should be here in 4-6 weeks. There will be a frag tank plumbed into the main system as well as a remote fuse that I plan on filling with nothing but live rock rubble and will function as a cryptic zone and large beneficial bacterial filter.

Here's the progress I've made so far...Did all the framing and electrical work myself

Day 1, framed in the room with 2 x 4's

Day 2, added all the electrical outlets and an overhead LED light on a switch. I have a dedicated 20 amp circuit to carry the load of the entire system. I'm going with only very energy efficient equipment, so a single 20 amp circuit should be more than enough. I haven't decided if I want to add a second 20 amp circuit yet. I certainly could without too much trouble, but I don't see needing that much juice. I should probably sit down and calculate out energy use with my expected equipment before putting up dry wall. The mixing station, frag station, and overhead lights will be on a separate 15 amp circuit. I won't have to run a chiller on this tank since it's in the basement. My old system never got hot at all.

Placed a separate set of outlets in the ceiling just for the lights. My goal is no visible cords this build.

Day 3, decided to hire a moving company to get the tank down the stairs. This thing is a beast and required a team of 5 guys to slide it down the stairs safely. It was a nervous experience, but they did a great job and got it on the stand without a scratch.

Preparing for the drop! Yikes!

Lowering it down, I was biting my nails at this point

And finally...It's safe and on the stand! It will chill here for awhile until everything is ready for it to move into place and be leveled.

Next steps
1. Build the bench along the wall where sump and equipment will rest.
2. Drywall (thinking of hiring someone to do this quickly)
3. Paint. Will probably also place some sort of water resistant wall covering behind the sump to allow for easy cleaning and not have to worry about water damage.
4. Continue to collect equipment (I'm waiting for stuff I want to go on sale). Already picked up 2 vortech MP60 pumps on sale this weekend and my Reefbrite T5 fixtures for supplemental light (also on sale). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Radions go on sale over the holidays, but I know it's unlikely.
5. Get some live rock and start curing it in a rubbermaid stock tank.

 

[hatfielj]

Also, if anyone has any suggestions for a better photo sharing service, I'm not quite happy with the one I'm using because I can't resize the images (vgy.me). It's free and easy to use, but the pics are coming in too big?

 

[Jmblec2]

Where in cincy are you? i saw the guys 513 tat on his leg, haha

 

[hatfielj]

Where in cincy are you? i saw the guys 513 tat on his leg, haha

Yep 513, we're near downtown

 

[FrankAbagnale]

Loving the build!

 

[hatfielj]

Equipment list to summarize what I'll be running...
Most of this I've already purchased (on sale...thanks to MACNA and Labor Day!)
* means I haven't purchased yet, hoping to find on sale
Tank
Custom Aquariums 60 x 30 x 24

Steel Stand 27" tall

Sump
Advanced Acrylics Acrylic/PVC Hybrid System
48 x 20 x 15 Sump
16 x 20 x 20 Fuge
16 x 20 x 20 ATO container

Frag Tank
Deep Blue 36 x 18 x 12

Lighting
Display
*4 Ecotech Radion XR15 G4 Pro*
4 x 54 Watt T5
2 x 48" Reefbrite XHO Blue

Frag Tank
4 x 24 Watt T5
2 x 24" Reefbrite XHO Blue

Skimmer
*Bubble King 200 SuperMarin*

Return Pump - Very undecided on this still
*Ecotech Vectra L1 vs. Royal Exclusiv Red Dragon 3 Speedy*
The Vectra will be half the price, but is an unproven technology still. I like it's wireless controller that will sync up to the MP60's though. The Red Dragon is a rock solid pump and is all around excellent (and much more powerful), but lacks the wireless controller and is a lot more expensive

Powerheads
Display
2 MP60's

Frag Tank
1 MP10

Heaters
2 300 watt Eheim Jagers

Calcium Reactor
Koralin 1502

 

[Antics]

Looking good. Are you planning on keeping that plywood under the stand?

 

[hatfielj]

Looking good. Are you planning on keeping that plywood under the stand?

No, I just have it sitting on there until it's ready to move into place. I haven't decided on whether to put Styrofoam under the tank though. Any thoughts??

 

[Antics]

I'd do whatever CustomAquariums recommends to be honest. Got any pics with the overflow installed? I'm curious about the water level.