Midwest 200 Gallon Peninsula

[special-ops-s2k]

Welcome to my official build thread!

I’ve been wanting to build my dream reef tank for years and finally got the determination to do it! I didn’t want to cut any corners and wanted to do things right the first time (as much as possible)

The tank is a peninsula approximately 200 Gallons of 3/4” Starfire glass 72x26x24 it is the glass component of the Waterbox 7226 but due to my wanting a larger sump and remote ATO I’m using a custom stand and sump. The tank is in my basement living room with the wall end of it up against my utility room, this allows me to put all the control components and electrical systems behind the wall.

For the mix station / ATO:

I finished / drywalled / insulated my garage and will be running 2x 60gal poly tanks for my RODI and mixed saltwater. I have a stenner pump for AWC duties and plan to automate them through the Apex.

I’ll update this thread as things progress. Right now I’m waiting on the sump and mix tanks. I’ve gotten most of my other gear already and hope to have the tank together and cycling in the next 30-45 days. My original plan was to use TBS live rock and run bare bottom, I’m not sold on that however as I’m afraid of pests... we will see if I go TBS or dry rock. Suggestions and comments welcome!

 

[Hallowhead]

Where are more pictures!!!

 

[special-ops-s2k]

I started prepping for the project a couple months back by finishing up my garage and area for my mix station. I also had fiber internet installed and ran dedicated ethernet to my control room / Apex... I also ran 2 new 20a circuits to the wall behind the tank

 

[special-ops-s2k]

I then pulled in an outlet box above the mix station location with 2 apex controlled outlets. Finished painting the garage

Then I ran a junction box to hold my FMM module and the RODI lines for my AWC/ATO/RODI

 

[special-ops-s2k]

Got my elevated aluminum stand for my mix station in place and 1/2” plywood top painted and sealed. Drip tray in place and ready to hold the tanks and mix pump. I elevated the tanks and drip tray so I can plumb in an emergency drain in the containment tray.

 

[special-ops-s2k]

At the same time I started work on the back side of the wall the tank will go against. This wall is in my utility room and I have limited space behind the door that enters the room. I mounted a PVC control board with hinges and magnetic clasps so I can access the wires that will all be routed behind.

Then I started mounting gear to get a feel for where I will route all my power cords and grommets to hide all cords behind.

 

[special-ops-s2k]

Then on release day my friends at Saltwater Aquarium .com called me up and I was able to purchase a unicorn... so I promptly built it a home!

 

[special-ops-s2k]

I had some downtime the past week so went to work putting in the plumbing to drain my AWC/TRIDENT waste to my utility drain. I also ran the plumbing for my remotely mounted dual Pentair E50S UV Sterilizers.

 

[special-ops-s2k]

Next up is the stand. Custom built Framingtech 8020 with ABS panels.

It arrived a couple weeks back and the quality is amazing. I did have an issue with the top rails being cut the incorrect length. But they were eventually able to resolve it and get corrected length rails sent out to me (with no help from fedex, they bent the first replacement set)

 

[special-ops-s2k]

Currently working on cutting and finishing the 3/4” Marine ply top for the stand

Today the refugium lights from Orphek arrived and I was able to check out their custom grow spectrum

 

[special-ops-s2k]

The stenner pump for AWC duties was mounted in the ceiling of my utility room

 

[special-ops-s2k]

That brings us up to date as of 6/29/19 I’m currently waiting on the mix tanks to arrive so I can plumb them into the system and for my custom sump to be finished. In the meantime this pile of toys waits

 

[Deep dive coral]

Nice little stock pile going

 

[Devaji]

this is pure reefing ****! you had me at peninsula...

I love everything about this build!
sucks that they cut the 80/20 short but glad you got it sorted out. how in the heck did fedex bend the stuff?? not an easy thing to do?
to bad it's pricey i think its the perfect aquarium stand material. what did it end up running you if dont mind sharing?

fallowing for sure!

 

[special-ops-s2k]

this is pure reefing ****! you had me at peninsula...

I love everything about this build!
sucks that they cut the 80/20 short but glad you got it sorted out. how in the heck did fedex bend the stuff?? not an easy thing to do?
to bad it's pricey i think its the perfect aquarium stand material. what did it end up running you if dont mind sharing?

fallowing for sure!

Those rails are the longest “beams” in the system and so even though made of aluminum are fairly heavy... they also are prone to damage if impacted in the center of its length. When originally shipped as a pallet they are hard to damage but when shipping them solo via fedex they are more vulnerable.

As far as pricing goes, everyone will have different experiences because these are custom designed to your specs. Mine was around $1700 total... $300-400 of that was the custom cut 3/8” ABS plastic side and floor panels / magnetic mounts. The plastic floor piece was the most expensive add because it’s odd size requires to be cut from a new sheet of abs which costs FT $250 for the raw material.

These beams are cut so precisely that once you bolt them together and tighten them down they are laser square and mate up perfectly. I don’t know for the life of me how they made a mistake on the length of cut on the top rails. They were even marked as the incorrect length and didn’t match the technical drawing provided.

 

[Devaji]

wow crazy! well once again I am glad you got it taken care of.

I have been dreaming of a 80/20 type of stand for a while.
it's supper cool the WB just sold you the tank. custom order? how long did it take?

really excited to watch this come together. I am very much stalled on my RS 750 XXL build so I get to live through you...haha

 

[Albertan_Reef]

Definitely following this one!

 

[lakai]

Nice. I did the same thing but decided to use 3/8" bulkheads instead of 1/4" and added an extra line to draw fresh air from outside. Do you have any concern about the FMM module eventually failing being enclosed inside the box like that? It might be worth adding a conformal coating to the FMM pcb to protect it from humidity and corrosion.

https://www.amazon.com/MG-Chemicals-Silicone-Modified-Conformal/dp/B008O9YIV6/

 

[special-ops-s2k]

wow crazy! well once again I am glad you got it taken care of.

I have been dreaming of a 80/20 type of stand for a while.
it's supper cool the WB just sold you the tank. custom order? how long did it take?

really excited to watch this come together. I am very much stalled on my RS 750 XXL build so I get to live through you...haha

Full disclosure I purchased the tank and stand first but then decided to go a different route. I contacted WB to see if purchasing the tanks separately was possible but they at this time will not sell them outside the kit. So I have plans to use the stand and other items in a future project or sell them if someone needed them. For now they are in the original boxes on the pallet! I just HAD to switch stuff up...

 

[special-ops-s2k]

Nice. I did the same thing but decided to use 3/8" bulkheads instead of 1/4" and added an extra line to draw fresh air from outside. Do you have any concern about the FMM module eventually failing being enclosed inside the box like that? It might be worth adding a conformal coating to the FMM pcb to protect it from humidity and corrosion.

https://www.amazon.com/MG-Chemicals-Silicone-Modified-Conformal/dp/B008O9YIV6/

I did have concerns it may shorten its lifespan... thanks for the tip I’ll order some of that and coat the board!