Industrial 250 sps build

dantdodge

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Hi fellow reefers. I have currently almost completed my 246ish gallon sps build. I guess I will start off with a little bit of history. I have been a serious reefer since 2004 and have had saltwater fish tanks since early 90s.
OK on to the good stuff this will be more of a show thread... I have had the tank up and running since April of this year. I did take pictures along the way soo I will start at the beginning and work my way to current tank status.

Goal of this build: obviously house some killer sps and gorgeous fish. But I had a few key items I wanted to stand out. One simplicity.. I want simple and effective. Secou d I wanted something different as far as look.. so my idea was something more industrialized with a hint of "natural". I believe in equipment that will last and I am willing to spend a little extra to have a good product for years. So let's see how this idea plays out and thank you for following along.

Some tank/equipment facts:

Tank: custom 72" x 36" x 22"

Sump: custom 48" x 24" x 17" there are two sets of baffles area for return 6.5in x 24in refugium area 24x24in 17in x 24in

Overflow: 1800gph model by modular marine

Stand : Custom Built by me butcher block style interlocking joints. I know there is a name for this but can't think of it right now.

Flow: two mp60s

Return pumps: fluval s2 I run dual one foe back when I go away I will run both for redundancy.

Heaters: currently 2 x 200 watt finnex heaters will be replacing with something more robust for long term.

Skimmer : sro5000 no. Space saver I will be replacing this with bubble king 200 supermarin soon.

Calrx: I went with new cr200 regulator was put together my self and I will post specifics once I get some pictures of it. Dosing accomplished with kamoer fx2 I believe...

Lights my favorite: I went with custom 6ft x 3ft 80/20 framing and hardware. On this I have mounted four 80watt t5 diy kits running 4 giesemann true actinic. These are accompanied by 3 x 250 single end radiums driven by 3 x 400watt Selecta watt on hqi setting to run the radiums as close to spec as possible.
 

Glenner’sreef

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Hi fellow reefers. I have currently almost completed my 246ish gallon sps build. I guess I will start off with a little bit of history. I have been a serious reefer since 2004 and have had saltwater fish tanks since early 90s.
OK on to the good stuff this will be more of a show thread... I have had the tank up and running since April of this year. I did take pictures along the way soo I will start at the beginning and work my way to current tank status.

Goal of this build: obviously house some killer sps and gorgeous fish. But I had a few key items I wanted to stand out. One simplicity.. I want simple and effective. Secou d I wanted something different as far as look.. so my idea was something more industrialized with a hint of "natural". I believe in equipment that will last and I am willing to spend a little extra to have a good product for years. So let's see how this idea plays out and thank you for following along.

Some tank/equipment facts:

Tank: custom 72" x 36" x 22"

Sump: custom 48" x 24" x 17" there are two sets of baffles area for return 6.5in x 24in refugium area 24x24in 17in x 24in

Overflow: 1800gph model by modular marine

Stand : Custom Built by me butcher block style interlocking joints. I know there is a name for this but can't think of it right now.

Flow: two mp60s

Return pumps: fluval s2 I run dual one foe back when I go away I will run both for redundancy.

Heaters: currently 2 x 200 watt finnex heaters will be replacing with something more robust for long term.

Skimmer : sro5000 no. Space saver I will be replacing this with bubble king 200 supermarin soon.

Calrx: I went with new cr200 regulator was put together my self and I will post specifics once I get some pictures of it. Dosing accomplished with kamoer fx2 I believe...

Lights my favorite: I went with custom 6ft x 3ft 80/20 framing and hardware. On this I have mounted four 80watt t5 diy kits running 4 giesemann true actinic. These are accompanied by 3 x 250 single end radiums driven by 3 x 400watt Selecta watt on hqi setting to run the radiums as close to spec as possible.
Great tank size!!!
 
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dantdodge

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Ok soon while I was waiting for GC to finish up the tank and sump I figured I would get to building the stand for the tank and for sump. The stand I was going to do with 2x6s and sump 2x4s..
20201002_211731.jpg
20201007_192736.jpg


Went and got the wood ripped it with the good Ole Dewalt table saw and started dry fitting before gluing and clamping. Now I will say this up front I learned a lot of does and don't and costed me a lot time look and sweat. With that being said I built the top twice!!! So all you pro wood workers don't judge me to hard. Something this large don't ever just clamp on one side...
 
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dantdodge

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I slowly started to get it together. In my tiny garage and then moved it to the back porch for assembly
20201223_194859.jpg
20201223_194908.jpg


Was Def. Not perfect but good enough. Next I began sanding and sanding and planing in sanding. In between sanding I was putting together the sump "floating" stand

Tank Stand fully assembled!
20210109_174914.jpg


Sump stand much easier to work with in every aspect!
20201115_161152.jpg

Installed some German low profile casters x 6 with 246lb pound capacity a piece I wanted to be able to roll my sump after draining to do deep cleaning and yearly maintenances on equipment.

complete after sanding and staining. Well I used Danish oil and really liked the look.
20201115_155043.jpg

Don't mind the light rail there that will be coming up here soon.
20201115_184517.jpg

Some shots to show the floating aspect.
20201115_184526.jpg
 
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dantdodge

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OK signing off till tomorrow after work and I will post up some more pictures! And progress!
 

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You must be really strong, lol. That stand could take a direct hit.
Stand : Custom Built by me butcher block style interlocking joints. I know there is a name for this but can't think of it right now.

I would call that assembly dovetail joints but since they are square it's actually a box joint.
 

Glenner’sreef

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So far so cool! I built my own sump for my 180g. I enjoyed placing the baffles at exactly where I needed them. Often times there is so much wasted space. My return pump section is just 1/2” bigger than it needs to be, skimmer section same thing. That way my refugium section can be the biggest it can possibly be. The woodwork is very nice! Onward!
 

jhuntstl

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I've had plenty of bad glue ups...and I have at least 30 clamps. Patience is the name of the game, but that can be tough when your'e a 6 pack plus into your woodworking project. :p I am confused, though. Why'd you have to build it twice? Did you only have a single clamp? Regardless, it turned out great.

How'd you like working with the 80/20? I found a local supplier with good prices. I actually planned on building my next stand with it, but your behemoth has me reconsidering..
 
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dantdodge

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You must be really strong, lol. That stand could take a direct hit.


I would call that assembly dovetail joints but since they are square it's actually a box joint.
Lol well I did some calculations I believe it came out to be about 400 + lbs. Luckily my brother and I only had to move it a short distance to start sliding on the tile! "Direct hit" you had me dieing.
 
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dantdodge

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So far so cool! I built my own sump for my 180g. I enjoyed placing the baffles at exactly where I needed them. Often times there is so much wasted space. My return pump section is just 1/2” bigger than it needs to be, skimmer section same thing. That way my refugium section can be the biggest it can possibly be. The woodwork is very nice! Onward!
Thank you for the kind words yes onward I will get so.e more progress pics up. Awesome you did the sump on your own! Def wanted to maximize space. Which was my goal as well for refugium area.
 
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dantdodge

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I've had plenty of bad glue ups...and I have at least 30 clamps. Patience is the name of the game, but that can be tough when your'e a 6 pack plus into your woodworking project. :p I am confused, though. Why'd you have to build it twice? Did you only have a single clamp? Regardless, it turned out great.

How'd you like working with the 80/20? I found a local supplier with good prices. I actually planned on building my next stand with it, but your behemoth has me reconsidering..
So I did just top clamps and the whole top ended up bowing like a S shape if you looked at it from the side. I didn't want to waste the wood so I cut the ends off and planed the humps off and sanded it down so now my brother has a nice workbench top.
I liked the 80 for the light rack wasn't difficult at all. Ton of different hardware you can order for it to accomplish different things and I just love the aluminum look of the stuff.
Another pluse is you can easily mount and dismount things. So if I need to replace ballast or something two screws done.
 
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dantdodge

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Once the stand was done. 80/20 arrived and the different hardware pieces I ordered. Hanging clips, wire clips, and corner brackets to hold everything together.

I will have to look back through my emails to find the place I ordered from, But I felt the prices were fair. Below are some close ups of hardware and assembly.
 

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dantdodge

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Here is the frame completely assembled. And I'm making sure my spacing is just right for the 250's
20201108_174610.jpg


Quick test... I couldn't resist the sounds of the bulbs arcing and warming up!
20201108_235117.jpg

T5 additions
20201129_211818.jpg

And here is a look at the top where wires and ballast are all mounted.
20201129_210917.jpg


Thank you all for reading and watching I hope it Inspires for cooler greater ideas with your projects.
 
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