My 180 SPS Kingdom

[Acro maniac]

Looking good so far!

Thanks mdbannister, its been very time consuming but will be worth it when its up a running

 

[Acro maniac]

Checked tds about an hour it was 230.
Im going to let this batch run and see if it comes up if not. Thwn this weekend ill go with the rodi water and try getting tds as close to zero as possible

 

[chef choy]

wow man, i really like what you did with that stand. What stain did you use?

 

[Acro maniac]

wow man, i really like what you did with that stand. What stain did you use?

Thanks chef choy, i sprayed 2 coats and wiped the excess off about 5 min after each coat. Heres the stain

The next day i sprayed the clear gloss on in 3 coats. I dont have a picture of the container other then the picture on the stand without the doors, its sitting on top. Ill get one for you tonight if your intrested.

 

[Acro maniac]

I let the rocks soak sence Wednesday and the tds only went up to 330. Yesterday i drained and refilled the bin with fresh saltwater to start a cure.
Heres what came off the rock this week. Some organics but not much.

Today i hooked all the pipes, sump and pump to wet test the system.
With the switch panel installed i was able to plug the pump into the swith panel and install the controller for the pump in the cabinet also. Heres a couple pictures.

With the pump wired up i started filling the tank. I used a couple of flat rocks from the beach to hold the starboard down. I wanted the starboard in to try and get a total volume for the tank and sump.

While filling i stopped once the returns filled to verify the wye check valve actually holds water and it does a really good job. No leak by at all, very impressed i expected some drips and didnot have one on a 5 minute hold.
After a the 5min hold I commenced filling. I ended up filling to allow the overflow to fill the sump until i had the correct level in the pump reservoir. Then i powered up the pump to check flow and for leaks. Flow was good at 90percent. It took a little adjusting to dial in the full siphon and get it to quiet down. I could see why the gate valve is so important for dialing this in. 1/4 turns when your close makes a big difference. I dont think it would be possible to dial it in with a ball valve.
I have pretty good flow at 90%. Heres a shot

I just realized that picture was at 50% and i didnt get a pic at 90.

These shots were taken at 90 with the returns parallel to the surface of the water.

pretty good suface agitation for being split in half and 1in or better under the surface.
Also the water level was a concern when i was doing my layout, it ended up being 3/8 or better above the bottom edge of the trim. Very happy about that.
Back to the sump run hieght, it looked good here it is

and with the pump off the level increased about 4in here a picture of the pump off and the dt drained to the bottom of the overflow teeth. No other water coming down.

Ill still have about 3in to the top of the sump after all the water drained.

Well, i had no leaks durning the leak check. I let the system run while we left( l know spooky leaving) for a couple hours to visit my wifes dad no leaks when we returned. But after dialing in ( I dialed in the overflow when i came back) i had a couple drips where the overflow attaches to the back wall of the tank. It could be due to me adjusting the drain pipes in the rear overflow box. I dont know. Ill probably end up contacting synergy for a pack of new gaskits. Also i dont like the fit on the pipes in the overflow box so I think im going to order theres. Inch and half pvc is really tight and it doesnt seat in the drains very well or i dont want to put that much pressure on it, either way.
So thats where i stand.
Ill be drwing up a canopy next.

 

[najer]

Nice work, flow looks great.

 

[Acro maniac]

Nice work, flow looks great.

Thanks, Im pretty impressed with Simplicity pumps so far it moves alot of water and is very quiet.We will see how it does long term.

 

[Makers Marc]

Any updates.

 

[Acro maniac]

Sorry Makers Marc, no progress due to hurricane cleanup and trying to prep current house for sale also recover my existing system from challeges unknown.
Rock is still curing so I guess that's progress.
New house "should" be complete in 10 weeks. I'll be back at it soon.

 

[Makers Marc]

I just wet tested mine and had leaks in a few unions and behind the external overflow box. Did u ever figure out what was causing your leaks? Was it the gaskets or standpipes? Or just needed pvc supports?

 

[Acro maniac]

I just wet tested mine and had leaks in a few unions and behind the external overflow box. Did u ever figure out what was causing your leaks? Was it the gaskets or standpipes? Or just needed pvc supports?

You shouldn't have any leaks in the unions unless there not tight or racked. I would look at them and verify.
The ovefflow box on mine leaked just a drip about every minute, minute and a half. Most likely because the the piping was to rigid and not allowing the seals on the external box to seat.
Problem resolved by pushing the standpipes down in the bulkhead on the sump. This relaxed the verticle pressure and allowed the box seals to seat.
Hope that helps

 

[litenyaup]

Looks great so far!

 

[Acro maniac]

Looks great so far!

Thanks, I haven't had any free time lately to spend on it. Looks like the house will be done for the end of the year so, it's coming!

 

[Acro maniac]

Order some new parts for the build and for the new house. Just thought I'd add as an update.
(6) sb reef light
Ghl 2.1 SA 3 pump doser
And the 5 stage rodi unit.
All will be unboxed after the move.

 

[Reef dog]

Order some new parts for the build and for the new house. Just thought I'd add as an update.
(6) sb reef light
Ghl 2.1 SA 3 pump doser
And the 5 stage rodi unit.
All will be unboxed after the move.

Curious.....which lights did you order?

 

[Acro maniac]

Curious.....which lights did you order?

I went with the 16in basics. I don't need all the bells and whistles. I' m also a fan of analog timers.

 

[Reef dog]

I was able to hack the basics and put them on my controller when I used them on my old tank. You definitely wont have any dead spots with 6 and pretty even par/spread across the whole tank

 

[Acro maniac]

Thanks for the info Reef dog.
My thought was to run (2) analog timers with a power strip coming out of each, then plug white in one and blue in the other.
I've run with out controllers for so long I just can't bring myself to spend the money on one. I'd rather buy corals lol.

 

[Reef dog]

Ha ha I love mine, I use it to run my dosing pumps, ato, feed modes, and used to do my lights but my new light is built in so I don't use that anymore. I picked up a used reefkeeper and it does the job not too expensive either

 

[Acro maniac]

Yeah... I got buddy that raves about his controller, I don' know call me old school.
Well I did get the ghl wifi controlled doser