Jono's 220 Gallon Upgrade

[JonoH]

Looking great. You won’t regret larger overflows due to maintenance issues. The could get gummed up with buildup. Fans also help with air exchange, smell, and heat. Your pH will increase, even if a little bit. Are you keeping the old tank setup and running two? Be sure to pick up extra wet side mounts for the MP40s. Makes cleaning a breeze. Also anemone guards are helpful to keep small things from going in the blender. Seriously though, so awesome!

Thanks for the help!
Def going to run a duct into the top canopy so i can draw out any smells/condensation.
The old tank will be transferred into the new (all but the sand), so only going to run one, already have another 2 tanks that the kids run (freshwater set ups) in the house also!
Will grab a spare wetside and nem guard, might end up having to get a third MP40 anyway depending on how the flow works out. Worst case though i have a couple of Tunze powerheads as spares also i could run around the back of the tank.

 

[Janci]

Picked up most of the plumbing i will need on Friday, so will start dry fitting that in the next week or so.

Today i cut out the filter sock section on the sump, then routed the opening in the acrylic to fit the reefmatt in better. It still sits a little higher than normal, but i think it will still work fine (any thoughts?)

Also water tested the sump to make sure it was all good - no leaks so i'm happy.

Next job is to glue in another baffle for the fuge (roughly shown in the last pic) with the skimmer and reefmatt in place.
Also will need to make a stand for the skimmer to lift it up around 4-6 inches.

1st Pic - water testing and showing the end i routed out (kept the rebate just in case it ever gets changed back to suit socks and a lid)

Nice sump.
Looking at the position of the Reefmat, it looks high.
But here I assume that the water level will be at this line with the new baffle in place.

Not sure what the manual says about a minimum level for the fleece filter?
Should not be that important as the level inside the filter is more important.
Nevertheless, it might become heavy if too high and full of water.

 

[JonoH]

Nice sump.
Looking at the position of the Reefmat, it looks high.
But here I assume that the water level will be at this line with the new baffle in place.

Not sure what the manual says about a minimum level for the fleece filter?
Should not be that important as the level inside the filter is more important.
Nevertheless, it might become heavy if too high and full of water.

Yes your correct it does sit high. I believe the Red Sea normally recommend it sit just above the inlet, my only concern is it making noise with maybe the water running out.
I dont think the weight will be a problem, i could always notch it into the side of the sump if i needed, but going to test it out first.

 

[JonoH]

Nice sump.
Looking at the position of the Reefmat, it looks high.
But here I assume that the water level will be at this line with the new baffle in place.

Not sure what the manual says about a minimum level for the fleece filter?
Should not be that important as the level inside the filter is more important.
Nevertheless, it might become heavy if too high and full of water.

This is off their website

So it wont be optimal, but i imagine this is only a big issue if the water is too high?

Edit - further reading on this it looks like it may make a gurgling noise.

Simple solution - Higher baffle for the new one to lift the level up - will just need to make a stand for the skimmer also.

 

[JonoH]

More progress over the last week.
Had some help and lifted the tank off the stand, then removed the existing foam and plywood - replaced this with new thicker black coated ply and high density 40mm Foam.
Replaced the bottom shelf in the same ply, then used the offcuts as a back panel to mount in the power strips.
Installed LED lighting around the inside of the frame, this is on a sensor switch, so when a door opens it will turn on.
Also sat it in the house to get a feel for the space, the Piano will be moving to where the existing tank is sitting.

 

[JonoH]

Also noticed some Asterina Stars in my tank full of live rock!
Have commisioned my kids to keep an eye out for these and remove them when they see them.

 

[JonoH]

Update!
Have been working through the plumbing now over the last week or so, was waiting for a couple of fittings to arrive which are now here, so time to get this all plumbed up!

Some pics of progress, putting in the new Bean Animal stems, and have started mapping out the bottom. Using Sanking Din plumbing for all this, its expensive, but should look great once its all done.
Dark Grey where its not seen
Red for all plumbing into the Sump
Blue for the return pipes.

Also blacked out the sides of the sump where the fuge will be.

 

[JonoH]

So cleaning sand sucks big time....
I have 12 bags of Carib-Sea Aragonite for this that need to be cleaned, which i thought i would start on over the weekend here.
I figured, its going to take me at least 20 mins per bag to get these clean....oh boy that was an under-estimation!

How it started - Like dirty milk!

30 minutes later... not much better

45 minutes ...starting to look cleaner

Just after the one hour mark

And finally 1.5 hours after starting its at a point where i am happy to use it...

Doing some quick maths, worked out it was going to take my 18 or so hours to clean all this sand.. so i did the only thing a good parent would, and bribed my 14 year old to do it for $100 dollars.

That pic reminds me that i need to fix my retainer wall....
And finally its starting to go into the aquarium - although it will be done slowly over the next week or so.

 

[JonoH]

So cleaning sand sucks big time....
I have 12 bags of Carib-Sea Aragonite for this that need to be cleaned, which i thought i would start on over the weekend here.
I figured, its going to take me at least 20 mins per bag to get these clean....oh boy that was an under-estimation!

How it started - Like dirty milk!

30 minutes later... not much better

45 minutes ...starting to look cleaner

Just after the one hour mark

And finally 1.5 hours after starting its at a point where i am happy to use it...

Doing some quick maths, worked out it was going to take my 18 or so hours to clean all this sand.. so i did the only thing a good parent would, and bribed my 14 year old to do it for $100 dollars.

That pic reminds me that i need to fix my retainer wall....
And finally its starting to go into the aquarium - although it will be done slowly over the next week or so.

This week i'm having to remind my Son each day...'one bag a day'

 

[DarkReefer]

Interesting build, definitely following along for more.

Do you think the 2 mp40's alone is going to be enough flow for the whole system ?
I'll be setting my 6ft tank up in a few weeks (finally), and I've been planning on buying 4x mp40's (2 on each end). Not sure if I'm potentially overdoing it or just future proofing it by doing so. Hanging out hoping to find some black friday sales local that I can buy discounted equipment for!

 

[JonoH]

Interesting build, definitely following along for more.

Do you think the 2 mp40's alone is going to be enough flow for the whole system ?
I'll be setting my 6ft tank up in a few weeks (finally), and I've been planning on buying 4x mp40's (2 on each end). Not sure if I'm potentially overdoing it or just future proofing it by doing so. Hanging out hoping to find some black friday sales local that I can buy discounted equipment for!

I think 2 is going to be on the light end of what is needed, most likely will compliment them with some Gyre style heads across the back.
But decided to wait and see how it went first.

 

[DarkReefer]

I think 2 is going to be on the light end of what is needed, most likely will compliment them with some Gyre style heads across the back.
But decided to wait and see how it went first.

Yeah fair enough, that makes sense.
Oh well, look forward to seeing how your build progresses!

 

[Janci]

This week i'm having to remind my Son each day...'one bag a day'

Soon he will reply... ' $100 dollars a bag...'

 

[JonoH]

Soon he will reply... ' $100 dollars a bag...'

Haha...its ok, he will be rewarded!
Its saving my back!

 

[BaliReefBox]

Hi nice build to date... I have a question if I may, what it the width, spacing and length of the teeth on weir? I am currently in a build and looking for overflow solutions. Yours look high and narrow so I was just wanting to compare with others cheers

 

[JonoH]

Hi nice build to date... I have a question if I may, what it the width, spacing and length of the teeth on weir? I am currently in a build and looking for overflow solutions. Yours look high and narrow so I was just wanting to compare with others cheers

This is what i sent to the laser cutters for it
They are 23mm High x 3mm Slots.
Ideally i would have made them a little taller, but i was limited by the glass behind (which i didnt want to have to replace also!), i based it off what my current tank has, but it has them spaced apart heaps more, so a lot less.

 

[JonoH]

Sand is done!
Plumbing overflows are done, just need to plumb the returns and take the chiller off my main tank so i can plumb that in also, then we should be good to fill this up, and aquascape.

Had to come up with a neat way to hang/support the pipes, so i used stainless threaded rod and rebated the nuts into the ply above to hang below, then recessed a nut into the hanging brackets.

The emergency is in grey, overflows are in red, and the returns will be in blue pipe.

 

[Janci]

Sand is done!
Plumbing overflows are done, just need to plumb the returns and take the chiller off my main tank so i can plumb that in also, then we should be good to fill this up, and aquascape.

Had to come up with a neat way to hang/support the pipes, so i used stainless threaded rod and rebated the nuts into the ply above to hang below, then recessed a nut into the hanging brackets.

The emergency is in grey, overflows are in red, and the returns will be in blue pipe.

very neat

 

[JonoH]

very neat

One of the joys of being a perfectionist...i agonise over the small things!

The plumbing is taking me ages because of it!

 

[JonoH]

Plumbing is done! Finished of the return pumps and plumbed in the UV sterilizer on its own line (2 pumps).

Water is starting to go in (going to take a while though!)

Still need to pick up the second Power Strip off my Brother in Law.

Check valve is on the back side of the UV so it should remain full of water when switched off (or in case of pump failure).

The Core 20 is running straight into the UV, its a 120 Watt UV (massive overkill but thats cool) which i should be able to run at around 1350 GPH so it should be able to max out. Was going to put a flow meter on it (which i actually purchased) but it only went up to 1600 LPH which was no where near enough!

Returns are just up over the back, didnt want to risk drilling the tank, and once the canopy is done for the top, they will not be visible.

First 100L of water in - sand sitting nice and not getting too cloudy which makes the time my lad spent cleaning it worth it!