iReefer’s 220 Build

iReefer12

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
791
Reaction score
675
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Hi All,

(Moving my build thread over from RC to R2R.)

For 5+ years I had a 180 gallon tank setup. I moved to Denver Colorado about a year ago, managed to keep most of all my livestock alive in a giant Rubbermaid for a year while our house was being built. I decided to upgrade from 180 to 220 by just going taller on the tank. This allowed me to keep the same stand etc as before.

Custom Aquariums built the tank and had Modular Marine tag team with the Overflow. So far really pleased with both.

Pretty early stages but here is the project so far.

fdecbb56cc77e988357b456a49b70b9b.jpg
driving my livestock a 1000 miles across country, everyone made it, only to lose 1/2 of my fish from Ich 3 months later [emoji24]

400a9aeea2930f67b717c313ffeba2c1.jpg
the temporary holding tank. Ugly but did the job.

c49edd96862742f447b9e0b636a1963f.heic
mid build, where the tank will go (on the back wall)

9f4ee01d46f52a628ebee2892f54be86.heic
tank in the space, not arranged yet.

ebca0c9459502c18ed9bdefdea38aa6c.heic


6899393547e4e8d00e6bd39656f593e9.heic
f9b80836139ad803d6acff61245b544b.heic
plumbing the overflow Beananimal style.

43b5773fba7a9519d2a74ee76bf033d7.heic
8d3d0788423d7f23fc48cae04ff308d2.heic

The module Marine Overflow is killer, uses so little space internally.

1d3cfe71d645b27607909e2d8efc6911.heic
behind the tank, the mechanical room will be the semi-fish room.
 
OP
OP
iReefer12

iReefer12

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
791
Reaction score
675
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
c84e99e9c1a085de937298f35dcb0b37.heic
filled in the joints with a resin (legacy industrial, quick set 100)

3bb5b4f9587ecc3af47e75159225052f.heic
put a epoxy coating on the floor to make it a bit nicer.

4f788c08394d07686718af51820dd409.heic
framed the back wall to give more wall space. Probably going to hang some drywall up to allow more wall mounting options.

421b8739e658644724175a883f791665.heic
hole in the back wall to allow access to the overflow etc

That’s all for now. Got to drywall the fish room walls. Leak test the tank (yes I know, better to do this in a garage, it just wasn’t possible, I had a move Team of 4 guys come help me move it, could not justify having them here twice to move into garage leak test and then move again downstairs. I’m leak testing with just tap water and will address in place if anything comes up.) then it will be time to add rock and sand. [emoji51]
 
OP
OP
iReefer12

iReefer12

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
791
Reaction score
675
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Managed to get some drywall hung this weekend. Mud n tape tonight hopefully.

119eb6eaa3f0a37737b9ba8883c20238.heic
1dd230a034151f00151aca35ccd41f7a.heic


I also switched out the stock bolts on the custom Aquariums braces, found some titanium bolts that are a little easier to work with as well being non corrosive, thinking future self will thank me for this.

b4a28ebcf3c3e225cf1caf927753fe0f.heic
 
OP
OP
iReefer12

iReefer12

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
791
Reaction score
675
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Added some supports for the plumbing. Just to help reduce some of the weight on the overflow box.

dcc1edb62f116937363f4cfc0803308c.heic



I’ve started to fill the tank to do a leak test.
761fe5561464d849c92a20152f7ae184.heic


Here’s my stand
ea171cb5f050244e99ee6e97ec80de4f.heic
e6f17009949ae227d82b2ce8b9439669.heic
 
OP
OP
iReefer12

iReefer12

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
791
Reaction score
675
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
It’s running okay, been dialing in the overflow and trying to find a good setting to reduce the noise from the overflow box and drains.

Full of water.
d69e76b4d46367f0042b9c669617f3f6.heic


Will drain the tank tomorrow and move into the final position against the wall.
 
OP
OP
iReefer12

iReefer12

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
791
Reaction score
675
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Big day, water cleared up a lot by this morning, so moved over all the coral in the AM, eventually got the tank completely full and started the main pumps, then all the fish in the PM

Almost full
4f9495895790f27e8cc1da215d4c22c3.heic


Full, with corals attached to the rock and fish in
97a9ac1b8d0719b68a09e0db66156f98.heic


Cleaned up a lot of the mess, gave my lights a good vacuum and wipe down and it was time to put the canopy on and the lights on top, just in time to catch some moonlight glow. Looking forward to seeing what it all looks like in the morning when the lights come on. Fish are freaked out a bit, I was moving a blue jaw trigger over and it took a nice bite on my thumb, can’t blame him, probably deserve it.
238f8d1e2f405e23bf112c8cc969daa1.heic
 
OP
OP
iReefer12

iReefer12

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
791
Reaction score
675
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Lights are on. Everything looking good so far. I lost a couple of SPS pieces in the move it seems, there’s still a bit on each that is alive so leaving them in hoping it can recover. The big phonape at the front which is unfortunate, had that piece for 4 years, got it as a piece of rubble less than a 1/4” in size and it grew to a full on colony, sad, hopefully it can recover.

69c1c25e5c7d6c1aa443c1583b191318.png


(Updated from today, the phonape birdsnest fully recovered!)
 
OP
OP
iReefer12

iReefer12

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
791
Reaction score
675
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Worked on wire management today. Made these boards that all the apex equipment will mount to, space behind them to hide the wires.

The larger board will have the EB8’s mounted to it, it’s on hinges so easy to access the wires behind.
c5382b45a4ffce9cdb1763a1e8b59426.heic
0c141e16b0bec81a75854a267c33c273.jpg
20024b185c3ea3c8837bd6142da6c0c9.jpg


EB8’s & Apex modules mounted, next up I have to transfer everything over to the new Apex, which I’m a bit freaked out about [emoji51]

6366236ebc450cecc41ac0220c87b7a2.jpg




10d607d18167fa9871ddccf15dab9df2.jpg
 
OP
OP
iReefer12

iReefer12

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
791
Reaction score
675
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Bit of an update. Managed to transfer everything over to the new Apex, wasn’t too bad, just took a lot longer than I thought it would, amazing how much code and profiles and everything that there is you have to copy and paste, took me a solid afternoon, but I took my time to ensure it was done right the first time.

Finished off the Apex mounting boards, helps tidy it up a bit.

Before
70e8e4758eb2ddedb9047cd910c5b78f.jpg


fb74017d7aa8828badcfd687b375d138.jpg


After
938b56c796c9b4c4d44730a8cfa3d887.jpg
b59d90998a83862692d2db068915821a.jpg


Still work in progress, need to tidy up the cable lines as they go trough the wall, but need to build another mounting board for the powerhead controllers and power supplies.


Also installed some strip LEDs that I had left over from another project under the tank to make it easier to work on, used a 1/4 round trim piece to get a good angle on them.
6c6037fc192276af4c978e0a57fb4932.jpg
281e29acbeecfd5d68e2c5dec4b28ecd.jpg
20c881041445ee52cf54d792a8cf6992.jpg


Got a utility sink installed in the fish room, this will make making water easier.
03cb87d5bd6242168bbb1d8a20b10766.jpg
 
OP
OP
iReefer12

iReefer12

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
791
Reaction score
675
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Had some time over the weekend to work on clearing up this rats nest of wires as they come through the wall, so difficult with all the power supplies these days.

Before
0cb5d5a071ef7ec730dc264213242222.jpg


I used the EcoTech power supply brackets, works for any brands power supply.
d68b002ae34386d47bc7feac7f60b119.jpg
0d699240d20863a52cbe1453e5372186.jpg


After
7b3b0307c68d654ad69a10410642d8ec.jpg


Tidied up the power cables a bit more too.
f422e293fa85199ad97f156e266b7e66.jpg
 
OP
OP
iReefer12

iReefer12

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
791
Reaction score
675
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Also got around to setting up my RODI unit, it’s lived in a plastic container that I would have to unpack every time I made water the past year, so this made my OCD self happy.
b8a2d57d08d8b18d72eac5d763f9a2f4.jpg
7bc675fbbd2a33174daafdfe599e6ad9.jpg
06446b5ed864730a898673297d6219e5.jpg
 
OP
OP
iReefer12

iReefer12

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
791
Reaction score
675
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
08c30785073bfbb01befa98d1713cf54.png


I’m now trying to figure out how to plumb a manifold into the room behind the tank. This was the original plan I drew, in that gap between the shelving unit and frag tank I was going to stand up a UV sterilizer and have space for other equipment down the road. So planning the manifold is tricky.
 
OP
OP
iReefer12

iReefer12

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
791
Reaction score
675
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Small update. Bought all the parts to build the manifold, should be here on Monday. Wanted to build some of the stand and bases for the equipment to stand on.

This base will house the UV, I’m going to use a bracket to mount it against the pole. It’s also going to be home to the Arid reactor (whenever I decide to buy one) the manifold will be attached to the wall behind this base.

The other base to the right is actually where a frag tank will go.

5de2eae9a4ce71894d1753df371d448a.jpg
16e05182e9def7e137df8dcd8bc18493.jpg
2b2ddcd73b1927ec0bcd897e633e3e73.jpg



Frag tank stand built

a3a91fb63bbe9e4640d2e4a0f0fdc8e6.jpg


Everything painted and in place

1004de27b8c6b651ca4dbb3ebfa4203f.jpg
39e7fe8b9876e4999ce26cc309b02aae.jpg
82e1c27240bb92cef78b9c4f37001e83.jpg
 
OP
OP
iReefer12

iReefer12

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
791
Reaction score
675
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Full tank shot. Got a serious case of Cyano forming. My phosphate is really high like 1.1 high, but I don’t run GFO or anything to control it right now, why I’m going to try the Arid some time in the future.

cfcbbbc62128e7fe5e2da77642048db2.jpg


I added a couple of Tank Bred flame angels last week, they were so small!
6af28f4ea111c5f5ad771a7f9ee2ad99.jpg
22087b1b44905055d7392a2030ad9b33.jpg


The Gladiator clowns & the nem are doing well.
14be1d2b2fdc927c16d701f9b366a343.jpg
 
OP
OP
iReefer12

iReefer12

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
791
Reaction score
675
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Did some hole drilling tonight.

This is where the pipe to feed the manifold will leave the stand and go through to the fish room.
c488fb35b26af5d230df72403603c85b.jpg


Other side of the wall, it will do a 90 and then into the manifold.
45c85655c36b2dc89fa5cf30dfa0ec79.jpg


A much larger hole, this is where the manifold return and equipment return lines will go through and back to the sump. Made it extra wide to fit the drains from the frag tank down the road.
b9464bd4135184b6dff24158321569d6.jpg
bc7023b7c4ad57ed9b07cf74b633ea0f.jpg
99beaa384cb7652e5f1e386010e0de2e.jpg


All the stands back in place
4c58ba778577160c9380856209a6f833.jpg
6b90e2eea69a6e72583992cb08cd02cc.jpg
 
OP
OP
iReefer12

iReefer12

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
791
Reaction score
675
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Plumbed in the pump I’ll be using for the manifold. COR-20, should give me the flow I need.

b0f728e901b1000dfc941d42d1f392ea.jpg


This was a major PITA, all the angles, and measurements, maybe I’m missing a trick to this or something?
c826ad6518733a57c6235040e087a5ee.jpg


Starting on the manifold
256a4a52063536d62bebf8e2fc990653.jpg

a31bf521807410c775bbbcee051979b7.jpg


This took a really long time. But finally got the manifold plumbed in. Hopefully all my joints are good, and I’ve set it up right, bit nervous to turn on the pump, will wait 24 hrs now for all the cement to cure.

How’s it look?

fae4cafe853ca1191ab2637cd5a44a0f.jpg

ac4cec2f89643b0f489f5acd9d756a8e.jpg
92f523b4714c815c9c3d6d25db2dc4d6.jpg
6a4db36a87f5753d20bf5084d7375cda.jpg
b0c7035e05ee82f39a09309bb39aad7b.jpg
62bbd0a370f49469a1cef3a73a5b4381.jpg
 
OP
OP
iReefer12

iReefer12

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
791
Reaction score
675
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Leak test went well, surprisingly, no leaks, (pats ones self on the back).

Decided to shorten the cable to the UV bulb, was about 15’ long and only needed about 2’, so because of this, now have to wait a couple days for a replacement connector to arrive in the mail.

d2d1667b956a3604e8377c5b4a0dca6c.jpg


Impressed with the COR 20, my manifold is not an easy stretch, lots of 90s and 45s, and the flow is great so far.

This is with the return to sump valve completely open, UV almost closed. And it’s only running at 20% for 5w of power, could run at 15% but at that low of a level it’s hard for it to read the watts used, so just keeping it at 20%
7af2e50729168c66a097bc15b74e6628.png
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 65 37.1%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 59 33.7%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 14.3%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 26 14.9%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
Back
Top