Mike's 150G SC Aquarium Build

[BfishLpond78]

It's been a while since I've posted over here...but here is the tank to date...actually this is about a month ago, i've since added a few corals and some chromis

 

[Ginu]

How did you add the YT and Purple? I have a Purple in my tank and a YT in my sump and I'd like to add the YT to the display, but i'm afraid the Purp might tear the YT apart.

 

[BfishLpond78]

How did you add the YT and Purple? I have a Purple in my tank and a YT in my sump and I'd like to add the YT to the display, but i'm afraid the Purp might tear the YT apart.

I added them all at the same time...You can try using an acclimation box. I use it on all my incoming fish and has greatly reduced aggression. Another option I think would work would be to swap the YT and PT. Add the PT sometime after and if possible change some of the rock work around.

 

[revhtree]

Looks great!

 

[Ginu]

I added them all at the same time...You can try using an acclimation box. I use it on all my incoming fish and has greatly reduced aggression. Another option I think would work would be to swap the YT and PT. Add the PT sometime after and if possible change some of the rock work around.

Was thinking the same time as I am looking to reaquascape once my corals are in the frag tank and I suppose the purp will be ok in a 20 gallon shallow tank for some time before adding back to dt.

 

[houstonreefer]

So, now that you've had it a bit, how do you like the tank so far? What's the quality of it? Did you go for the herbie overflow? Also, why did you plum your own return lines rather than what it came with?
I'm thinking of getting the exact same tank, and wanted to hear your thoughts! Also, do you happen to have a birds eye picture of the tank from an angle? I'd like to see how the euro brace looks while tank is filled

Thanks

 

[Reef_Junkies]

Looks great! I have the same exact tank! Reminds me, I should do a build thread as well. I'm curious though, why did you choose to route the return lines behind the tank versus through the overflow box?

 

[BfishLpond78]

So, now that you've had it a bit, how do you like the tank so far? What's the quality of it? Did you go for the herbie overflow? Also, why did you plum your own return lines rather than what it came with?
I'm thinking of getting the exact same tank, and wanted to hear your thoughts! Also, do you happen to have a birds eye picture of the tank from an angle? I'd like to see how the euro brace looks while tank is filled

Thanks

Looks great! I have the same exact tank! Reminds me, I should do a build thread as well. I'm curious though, why did you choose to route the return lines behind the tank versus through the overflow box?

Thanks guys the tank is still maturing and going through some growing pains.

The main reason I elected for the return lines over the back is because the supplied return hole is only 1/2 inch and my return pump has a 1 inch outlet. I didn't want to have to reduce all the way down and sacrifice turnover. Plus I wanted to try the herbie
method to get it as quiet possible. Worked out really well.

So far I really love the tank, minus the return size hole. Silicone is beautiful, euro brace is top notch, and glass is super clear.

 

[houstonreefer]

Awesome, thanks for the reply Mike. Any extra pics of the tank now?

As for the question about your return - from my understanding the tank is pre-drilled with 3 1" bulkheads. Are you saying that just the pipping was 1/2"? It seems like it should support 1", but maybe they changed how they were doing it before. Also, Can you share any more info on how you setup your herbie, and how you like it/how difficult/easy it is? Anything to keep in mind? What plumbing did the tank actually come with?

Sorry for the barrage of questions, I think you've sold me on getting the same exact tank, and wanted to get some help so I know what to expect
Thanks!

 

[BfishLpond78]

I did hear that they changed the tank to include bigger holes..if they now have 3 one inch holes in insanely jealous. Now hearing that they have 3 one inch holes, I would go with the bean animal drain and still run returns over the top..but only if you chose to go that route. As far as the herbie setup, I used a two spears ball valves to regulate return water and drain speed. Now, I wish I had splurged on gate valves for better fine tuning. Of flow, but I eventually dialed it in and got it dead silent. The plumbing supplied with the tank was the over flow kit and a T return kit.

Eurobracing is very nice. The long runs across the front/back are recessed about 3/8 inch allowing for a screen top to fit flush with the top. Back of the stand is already painted which I really like. Silicone is very nice too.

 

[houstonreefer]

Looks great! Does the eurobracing ever feel like it gets in the way? What's the quality of the overflow itself? Do you ever feel like 1 isnt enough?
Happen to have a full tank shot you can share as well?

Also, why go with the bean over herbie? I'm very new to overflows and what not, so still learning
What return pump?

Thanks!

 

[BfishLpond78]

Looks great! Does the eurobracing ever feel like it gets in the way? What's the quality of the overflow itself? Do you ever feel like 1 isnt enough?
Happen to have a full tank shot you can share as well?

Also, why go with the bean over herbie? I'm very new to overflows and what not, so still learning
What return pump?

Thanks!

The eurobracing does not get in the way at all, with a bigger tank the open space on top is really nice to work with. When you have your normal cross bracing youre limited in the amount of back and forth movement you can do with one arm.

Overflow quality is good, except on mine I only have two holes where the new updated tanks come with 3 one inch holes, which is a huge improvement, when I was working with Phil from SC Aquariums I had suggested that a few additional and larger holes would def help in selling a few more tanks cause not many people wanted to plumb over the back like I did.

The Bean Animal overflow offers true peace of mind when it comes to the fail safes, the herbie consists of a full siphon and one emergency drain while Bean is a full siphon 1 overflow for trickle/surface skimming/emergency and then a 3rd that is back up if the second drain also fails. If you do a few searches within the threads you'll be able to get some great details on the two types.

I'm currently using a Vertex V6 return pump. With this pump energy efficient and dead silent were key things I needed to have since the tank is going right in the living room.

 

[houstonreefer]

Perfect, that's good to know. Thank you very much for all your input!
It does seem like bean animal is a bit more work to implement and maintain, but I'll have to research and see if that's the case.
One more question - what powerheads do you have / how powerful, and how do they work? Which ecotech-mp40?

and jeeze, that Bubble king 200 is pricey!

 

[BfishLpond78]

Perfect, that's good to know. Thank you very much for all your input!
It does seem like bean animal is a bit more work to implement and maintain, but I'll have to research and see if that's the case.
One more question - what powerheads do you have / how powerful, and how do they work? Which ecotech-mp40?

and jeeze, that Bubble king 200 is pricey!

It's not too labor intensive, I was a little nervous about plumbing over the back of the tank as well, but with a little patience it all worked out.

I currently have 3 ecotech MP-40's, they are Ecotech's middle model, they are very powerful when maxed out they will move 3,000gph. They are pretty cool in the way they work, the motor is on the outside of the tank. To keep it simple it has a circular magnet in the motor housing and on the wet side (propellar side). When the motor on the outside spins it causing the magnets to spin on both sides, their use of high quality bearings keeps them pretty quiet and pushes lots of water.

The Bubble King is definitely pricey, but with that price comes great design, craftsmanship, features and adjust-ability. I've done a few round of equipment in my time in the hobby, this tank will be setup for awhile, so this time around I did my research and splurged on the equipment I thought would yield me the best results and longevity. Oh and did I mention the skimmer is dead silent? I always have to check and make sure it's on after maintenance.

 

[BfishLpond78]

Re-did the left side of my tank. Also removed an MP40 off the back wall and added it to the left panel to get more flow across the tank.

 

[houstonreefer]

Awesome, I'm thinking of getting two MP40's as well - not 3. Do you recommend 3, and do you think your placement works well? I was thinking to just get 2, one on each end.

 

[BfishLpond78]

Awesome, I'm thinking of getting two MP40's as well - not 3. Do you recommend 3, and do you think your placement works well? I was thinking to just get 2, one on each end.

I think you will have good flow if you put them opposite each other. Especially if you get the new quiet drive version of the MP40's I believe they put out more flow and are more quiet than these. I tend to go a bit overboard.

I'm actually thinking 3 of these on the left panel and a gyre on the other side, lol

 

[BfishLpond78]

Crappy photo but I took advantage of WWC big stick sale. Here they all are acclimating to lighting before I put in their final homes.

Ultimate Stag
FF Red Robin Stag
WWC Madman Austera Stag
Paletta Tricolor
Tyree Rainbow Stylophora
$500 Efflo
Vivid's Rainbow Delight
WWC Blue Lightning Stag
WWC Tricolor
WWC Yellow Tips
WWC Red Shortcake
Jason Fox Monster Tort
WWC Honeycomb Acro
WWC Firebreather Acro
Jason Fox Sour Twist
Mike Paletta Pink Tip Stag
WWC Terra Red Acro

 

[houstonreefer]

What's a wwc sale? Also, what's this - $500 Efflo?

 

[BfishLpond78]

What's a wwc sale? Also, what's this - $500 Efflo?

WWC = World Wide Corals, they're a Reef2Reef sponsor

$500 Efflo is a type of coral, when it first came out it cost $500. So the price and name stuck, someone please correct me if I'm wrong.