Kooma's 225 Peninsula

[Kooma]

Hey, thanks for checking out my thread.

FTS - 1/15/2026:


Please jump to post 7 to get started, my idea changed...

I found a Miracles discus tank a few hours from me and looking at the design, decided to go for it and convert to a peninsula tank. Let see how that goes.

Kooma

 

[Miniblade]

As far as lighting goes I'd honestly get a pair of Noopsyche K7 V3 Pros over the XR30. Very similar output/growth at a fraction of the price. For flow, I'd do a pair of MP10s or the new jebao MP10 clones. If you want realistic water movement definitey invest in a good dual nozzle RFG and a wave engine. If you're wanting low maintenance i'd run a filter roller and some sort of algae scrubber. Phos reactor is fine but an algae scrubber is a lot less annoying to maintain and helps keep "nuisance" algae to a minimum.

 

[Kooma]

I have been doing some digging and am wondering your thoughts. I am seeing that the MP10 has a fairly limited glass thickness, something that I remembered from the last one I owned. I had the OG MP10, and when I moved from my cube to the 1/2" miracles tank, I ended up selling it as it would work. I had moved to a maxspect gyre, which I loved, but am having some wire issues with it, so its not the best solution. (If you have a good XF150 motor block, PM me!).

What are your thoughts on a single MP40 in a tank that is roughly 22 front to back, 40" wide, and 16-18" tall? I would like to have the flow from the left side. Return and overflow would be on the same side also, think peninsula.

Would you go with another gyre, or mp40, or what? I was partially also hoping to use the MP10 on my cube until I finish the new build, new equipment excitement and all. Maybe I can use the MP40 on the cube until the upgrade...? lol

 

[Miniblade]

I have been doing some digging and am wondering your thoughts. I am seeing that the MP10 has a fairly limited glass thickness, something that I remembered from the last one I owned. I had the OG MP10, and when I moved from my cube to the 1/2" miracles tank, I ended up selling it as it would work. I had moved to a maxspect gyre, which I loved, but am having some wire issues with it, so its not the best solution. (If you have a good XF150 motor block, PM me!).

What are your thoughts on a single MP40 in a tank that is roughly 22 front to back, 40" wide, and 16-18" tall? I would like to have the flow from the left side. Return and overflow would be on the same side also, think peninsula.

Would you go with another gyre, or mp40, or what? I was partially also hoping to use the MP10 on my cube until I finish the new build, new equipment excitement and all. Maybe I can use the MP40 on the cube until the upgrade...? lol

I've never had an MP40 so I cant really give my judgement on them. All i've had are jebao pumps, both gyres and AI Nero clones. If I were you I would just get some variation of a smaller gyre pump, think jebao sc70. My brother has one in his 40g, it's turned all the way down, and it's still a LOT of flow. If you're planning on SPS dominated, i'd get a pair of Jebao SC70s or similar. If you're just doing softies/LPS a pair of MP20s or similar is plenty. Softies/LPS aren't as big on randomized strong flow as your acropora/anacropora/etc. Whatever pumps you go with, just make sure you're comfortable disassembling them and cleaning them. You can have the best pumps in the world but if you can't maintain them there's no point in even having them.

 

[Kooma]

Added a Nero 5 to the cube that I will take to this lagoon. Its a bit too powerful for the cube, but being able to set schedules and turn it way down is very nice. Worth noting that 1% is still saying over 900GHP... The fact that it supports over 1/2" glass, can be setup for schedules/variation in flow, and is half the cost of an MP40 won me.

Albeit unrelated, I finally replaced my awful return on the cube with a sicce and my wife thanks me for the once again silent tank. Hopefully I can use this as a reactor pump for the lagoon.

As for the lagoon, I am nailing down measurements. The stand is going to be 49" Wide, by 25" deep. I am overly tall, so I am expecting to have it at least 3, maybe 4 feet off the ground. Tank is looking like a 45 Wide, 21 deep and 16 tall rimless, left side overflow, lines through the bottom glass in the water box. I am planning a dry area for MP40/dry side magnets, and due to the length, probably a pair of XR15s over 1 XR30.

What's the consensus on a tank side directly against drywall in the long term?

 

[strich]

It sounds like you'd like to go somewhat realistic in ecosystem, so I wouldn't go straight for a filter roller or skimmer - They're nutrient exporters that you can solve in more natural ways. If you're putting the effort in for a sump then you should be able to solve it with macro and cryptic zones. By the way, macro can look fantastic in a lagoon tank too so don't forget that!

Check out this Macro tank build: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/alexlt-macroalgae-tank.1088792

 

[Kooma]

Things have escalated.

 

[sabbythesavvy]

Things have escalated.

Sweet!!

 

[Kooma]

It’s been a busy few months.

I bought a local 150 gallon system with rock and fish, moved that into a miracles 80 I found on marketplace, and sold the 150 system minus livestock rock and equipment.

I also found a miracles 225 72x30x24 tall double eurobraced and armor seamed tank, stand, apex, sump and more that I picked up 3 hours away.

I’ve started working on the sump and have the stand in the basement, next up is glass for the sump and get movers to bring the tank downstairs.

I need to grab some plumbing pieces and finalize a sump design, decide on a pair of return pumps and start filling this thing!

 

[Kooma]

Decided on a pair of Jeabao DCP-10000 return pumps that were on sale, they should handle the required 1,000GPH each nicely.

I have also built the base for the stand, laid down a 2x6 platform with 3.5x6" 7/8" thick steel plates to spread the load on our floating LVP floor. Still working on movers or friends for the tank move, for now its in the garage. The glass is being ordered for the sump.

I'm also dealing with a ich treatment on the 150 inhabitants, the yellow tang started showing signs and was getting worse, so all rock was removed to totes to sit fallow for 76 days and the fish have been in 2.15 of chelated copper for the last 10 days. The push is on to get this setup soon so I can move the fish into it once treatment is over.

Thankfully, I set aside half the rock in a tote when I moved the fish and that's been fallow for 65 days now. It will be ready when the fish are done to all go into the 225.

I'm also running the plumbing for the returns up and over the display to enter on the short end in the middle of the room. Flow i think will benefit, but I will likely build a canopy for the tank and stand down the road to hide it and the lights plus help with humidity in the house. I am expecting to setup an air exchanger in the canopy to exchange outside air, I've found this has drastically helped my PH of the QT system placing my air pump in the outlet of the current air exchanger and leaving it on a low fan speed.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Good luck with the ich treatment!

 

[Kooma]

This weekend was productive for the tank move. I was running out of options for movers to come help with the best quote $900 and no insurance overage. As a last ditch I texted a friend who pulled through the next morning bringing himself and 3 other guys to help. It took every bit of us to get it down the stairs and onto the stand, but it is thankfully safe on the stand. Reminder, its 5/8" glass, and double braced with overflow and armor seams... It is a BEAST.

Sadly I found that the stand isn't as perfect as I thought.. Turns out the stand has a hump in the center even with the middle feet off the ground and the 500lb tank on top its roughly 3/16" out across the 6 feet. I decided to shim between steel and plywood and have gotten the plywood flat across the 6' down to 1/32". I am basically shimming each end up and then reducing the shims as they approach the middle. Sanity check me on this please, I think its good, especially with the 7/8" foam between plywood and tank, but let me know.

Copper treatment has been going well, I suspect i may be dealing with flukes also but haven't found any yet. My sailfin was flashing and rapidly changing colors last week, a FW dip has helped him considerably. Once copper is done I will be switching to a fluke medication, any suggestions for such I can get in Canada would be helpful.

Here are some photos of the setup, the hump, and the shimming. Went with the old playing cards trick, they have massive compressive resistance, obviously they need to stay dry, as does the plywood. Ill likely wrap the stand and tank trim in a exterior flashing tape to let any water that might get behind the stand boards drain off without touching the wood.

Here are the 6 tool steel feet. 6" long and 3.5" wide bottom pad. With around 500lbs on each foot, they spread the load to 23psi, about 33 percent of the underlayment capacity. It then steps to a 2x6 that will spread it further to around 11.5 psi at most.

The stand with the base. I also ran 2x4's along the length of the frame and topped it with a sheet of plywood. The sump will sit on white foam inside the stand and sunken down a few inches onto this plywood base. A drip tray will be built on the open end with Apex water sensors to buy some time if a leak happens. The whole basement is waterproof LVP as well, so no real concerns if there is a leak besides the wood spreader base.

The sump is still going slow, I haven't ordered glass yet. I am thinking of keeping it incredibly simple,12" area for the ATO resi, a 24" area for skimmer, a roller mat, heaters, any media I want to place there. The bubble trap and returns chamber with dual returns will be far left near the back wall of the tank. Thoughts? I dont plan to run an overly complicated system, my tanks have never ran socks, usually just a heater, lights, and a skimmer. Dosing will be added to this tank, and the reef mat is a new tool id like to try to help keep my sump cleaner.

The tank made it in one piece.

The stand and tank are 10" from the wall to allow for plumbing. This will be boxed in as part of the stand skin in white painted wood. Access doors will let me get to the siphon, the overflow box and dry sides of the MP40s.

The hump. Hard to see, but just above the middle leg, it humps up. Over 6' this is only 3/16 or so, but more than I am happy with. I want that top FLAT.

Here is mid leveling of the wood. This stand and tank are edge supported, this adjustment has made the plywood perfectly flat with the 500lbs empty tank sitting on the stand but slid over 2" to adjust and set the level on the plywood. I cannot detect a hump anymore.

A keen eye might have caught the return lines on the end of the tank above. I am trying something new running dual return pumps and dual return lines along the top of the euro brace to these 1" bulkheads in the end euro brace. Peninsulas are bad for getting water to the end of the tank, I am hoping this will help. I expect my wife wont love the look, plus the light spill from the 4 XR15s, and want a hood anyways so why not go for it.

Why the stand has a hump is yet to be determined, when doing this the feet in the center were off the ground, adjusters all the way up, so its not the ground pushing on it unevenly. I spoke to Miracles on leveling the stand but am calling tomorrow about the hump. The tank has about an inch of water in it for cleaning and some weight, and all looks perfect at the moment. I also spoke to the owner of miracles on the plates under the feet and 2x6 base. We use a flooring product called DMX 1Step under our LVP so there is a 69psi limit on the floor, spreading that load was a requirement.

Let me know your thoughts on how I adjusted it, if you think this will be fine for the next 10 or so years, and what you would do, I would like to hear your ideas.

Before I leveled with cards, every corner had wiggle room in the foam, but now everything is snug. I will bring out the laser before I fill it to check and monitor any shifting or settling while I fill it. Hoping to get RODI in it by the end of the month.

 

[fish_collector]

Great write up! That'll be really nice when you get it going.

The hump in the middle of the stand is a bit concerning for me as well. You will think about it every time you look at it. I would not use the stand in the current configuration, it's too easy to correct it when there's not a tank full of water on top of it. The foam will "probably" make it useable but gosh what if... Personally, I'd take the tank off, cut out the middle legs, straighten the top tubes and reinstall the legs. Easy right lol?

My buddy runs a metal fabrication shop so I know very well what he'd do to correct it, but not everyone has access to such a person.

 

[Kooma]

I spoke to Miracles this morning, the owner suggested to lift the center feet the height of the hump and fill it, the tank will apply central pressure and set the stand down. While this sounds scary, it makes sense. He also advised to have white foam under the tank, which I have 7/8" white foam under the entire span. He mentioned that this foam will absorb up the hump as well.

He didn't suggest using the cards like I have due to moisture, which I now understand and agree with. Shimming he advised could be done with thin galvanized sheets, or bring the corners up and then inject an epoxy between the stand and plywood to give continuous even support.

I haven't decided the route I want to take yet, as mentioned its much easier to deal with now before it's full...

Buying a used tank always comes with some excitement..!

 

[Kooma]

Quick update, the tank has been moved to a temporary wood stand, this ensured we only needed two guys to slide it across. The steel stand is being cut and welded to set the top perfectly flat.

I should have it back and the tank on it later this week.

 

[Kooma]

Update time.

The stand was cut and welded to remove the hump, the top rails are perfectly flat and am glad that was done while the tank was empty.

The tank is back on the stand and we have moved the tank over slightly to center it on the basement doorway on the other side of the room.

Two buckets of instant ocean arrived last week, need to put in an order for some epoxy, RO filters and a few odds and ends.

I am now working on the lights, adding bracing to the ceiling and electrical. First hang and test tonight, this has always been a good kick of motivation to keep going. Still need to order the sump glass and a few plumbing bits, power hookup, skin the stand and likely build a small canopy. Half my rock has been fallow for over 100 days now, so I will have something to setup the tank with thankfully. The rest will be 76 days fallow on Halloween. If the fish are in good shape in a few weeks I’ll get them and my fallow rock moved over.

Need to rinse and test the sand that I received from a system I purchased, I’d like to save some $ on the sand, that stuff has gotten expensive.





In other news, my fish finished their QT in copper so I am now monitoring them for issues for a couple weeks before they will eventually move to this tank. My yellow tang has been notoriously bad with ich lately, which started the QT of all fish. A prazi dose is going to be coming up next.

More to come soon. I am hoping to have this wet and fish moved over by the end of the month if all goes well.

 

[marcus aurelius]

Nicely done.

 

[Kooma]

I was able to make some plumbing progress this weekend, I found a clip design that I modified and printed for the euro-brace plumbing in PETG and ran returns to the back of the stand. I need to glue it all up, paint it black and space out the pipe stands. Depending on how that turns out, we might skip the canopy. The tank is going to be running a pair of 2600gph pumps, one per line, and only aiming about 1000GPH each. The plan or goal here is trying to create a good front to back flow of water to improve turnover of the tank.

The electrical was also run with a dedicated circuit for the tank and a GFCI. Next up will be sump glass, which I'm dragging my feet to order, and then glue up the PVC and fill it.

Once the tank is up and I have a few less totes and tanks of fish into this one, the stand skinning will be next.

Lets take bets if I can have that done before Christmas...

 

[Kooma]

As expected my cart is a bit before my horse. The glass for my sump baffles is on order, but I couldn’t wait to move the rock from my holding tote to the display. I have another tote worth that is needing to sit fallow until Halloween, then I’ll work on moving it over as well. I’m hopeful that by then I’ll have the sump done, the system running in basic form and can watch for any cycling. All rock is well cured for 20+ years so shouldn’t be a problem.

I tested my totes phosphate, it was 1.21 even after soaking a 1/4lb of GFO in it for a few weeks. It will be a bit before it’s all ready to move my coral over…

Right now it’s around 1.024, 77F and just acting as a big rock holding tank. I’m hoping to run the rest of the plumbing once the sump baffles are in, but being dad and working full time doesn’t leave me much time before bed.

More to come, I found a light for under the stand and want to build a drip tray in the stand to catch any small spills. I am still undecided on where I will put my electrical panel. Any suggestions?

 

[revhtree]

As expected my cart is a bit before my horse. The glass for my sump baffles is on order, but I couldn’t wait to move the rock from my holding tote to the display. I have another tote worth that is needing to sit fallow until Halloween, then I’ll work on moving it over as well. I’m hopeful that by then I’ll have the sump done, the system running in basic form and can watch for any cycling. All rock is well cured for 20+ years so shouldn’t be a problem.

I tested my totes phosphate, it was 1.21 even after soaking a 1/4lb of GFO in it for a few weeks. It will be a bit before it’s all ready to move my coral over…

Right now it’s around 1.024, 77F and just acting as a big rock holding tank. I’m hoping to run the rest of the plumbing once the sump baffles are in, but being dad and working full time doesn’t leave me much time before bed.

More to come, I found a light for under the stand and want to build a drip tray in the stand to catch any small spills. I am still undecided on where I will put my electrical panel. Any suggestions?

Sweet new tank!