My 210 g AOI Build

[ljc]

Hello Fellow Reefers. Thank you for visiting my build thread.

As mentioned in a previous thread, I am now the owner of a 210 gallon tank that is not drilled. I'm getting older and I don't want to be crawling under the tank any more. My plan is to put an internal sump of about 55 Gallons.

Tank Location

The tank is in my basement. I could not watch them move it! I plan to build a frame around it with a floor to ceiling wall so it appears built in. There will be a small "fish nook" behind the wall once it is done. In these pictures, the Soji Screen represents the future back wall that will create a nook behind it. That's where access to the sump will take place, etc.

My vision for the final design looking at it from the main room.

The Sump Design

My initial design was to start with a 6" wide chamber starting 2 feet from the left of the tank, then expand to 12" about half way through the right of the tank. I'm trying to have a decent size for the equipment without taking up too much of the display space.

But I've decided to keep it simple and have a consistent width (8") across the back starting 2 feet from the left. Note: the "back of tank" views in both these are actually "front of sump" views-my bad .

My major concerns are with flow and I'm open to suggestions. I'll build a DIY skimmer to fit this configuration.

UPDATE: I decided to reclaim the footprint of the internal sump and do a Hang on Back overflow from lifereef. Initially I didn't want to do this, but the reviews were good and I just think it will be less cramped with the added space around the rocks.



Aquascape

I'll be making my own DIY rocks. I started with some sketches and then decided to mock it up on a small scale.

Then to the tank with larger models. I know they look like mushrooms, but humor me.

Here is a video of the mock up

I'd love your feedback!

Sealing the Tank

I did not completely break down the tank. Instead I just removed the old surface silicone, vacuumed and cleaned it with denatured alcohol, taped it, and cleaned it one more time. My plan was to do a 1/2" bead but that just seemed too large. The BF and I taped the tank at slightly less than 1/2" from the edges. We found that the easiest way to get a consistent line of tape was to have a cardboard support to rest it against and then just slowly roll out the tape along the edge of the cardboard. This way all the seams are equal.

We cut the tip of the silicone tubes at 3/16" which was probably too small - honestly, I could not see the markings on the tip and thought it was 5/16" - but it was probably just as well since the silicone came out quickly. The edging tool didn't work so we switched to the gloved finger method which worked well. We then removed the tape. One video said you had to do this really fast. We didn't find that to be the case. The tape came off easily once we completed application of the silicone. We moved fast, but not emergency fast.

We didn't even go through two tubes which doesn't seem like a lot to me. It will cure for at least 1 week. See video of final result.

(photobomb by the BF unintentional-I think)

 

[DaddyFish]

Not sure I understand your overall AIO chamber dimensions?
8" deep x 72" long, offset 24" from the left?

 

[DaddyFish]

I'm digging the more simple approach of having the AIO chamber all the way across the back. Think about this...

* AIO chamber goes all the way across the entire 8' (96") of the back.
* Angle the ends at 60-degrees (or 45), use two separate return pumps, one on each end, have them discharge out the angled faces.
* Cut your weir slots in the center with a large mechanical media filtration section in the center that feeds in both directions, left and right.
* I probably wouldn't bother with separate heater partitions. K.I.S.S. and position a vertical titanium heater at each side of the center overflow/filtration chamber.
* Then have a sump chamber to the right and a matching refugium chamber to the left. You can include biomedia in the refugium chamber instead of rock or bio balls and achieve much more surface area per cubic inch of space required. Be sure to bag the media for easy removal/cleaning.
* You could include a third chamber in each direction for chemical filtration media supporting it with racks. But honestly I would put my effort into making racks and not hard-partition the chamber. Just make the return pump section at each end large enough to support both the pump and some media bags in stacked racks.

So overall my idea would be overflow in the center, pump separately from each end.

 

[ljc]

Not sure I understand your overall AIO chamber dimensions?
8" deep x 72" long, offset 24" from the left?

I'm digging the more simple approach of having the AIO chamber all the way across the back. Think about this...

* AIO chamber goes all the way across the entire 8' (96") of the back.
* Angle the ends at 60-degrees (or 45), use two separate return pumps, one on each end, have them discharge out the angled faces.
* Cut your weir slots in the center with a large mechanical media filtration section in the center that feeds in both directions, left and right.
* I probably wouldn't bother with separate heater partitions. K.I.S.S. and position a vertical titanium heater at each side of the center overflow/filtration chamber.
* Then have a sump chamber to the right and a matching refugium chamber to the left. You can include biomedia in the refugium chamber instead of rock or bio balls and achieve much more surface area per cubic inch of space required. Be sure to bag the media for easy removal/cleaning.
* You could include a third chamber in each direction for chemical filtration media supporting it with racks. But honestly I would put my effort into making racks and not hard-partition the chamber. Just make the return pump section at each end large enough to support both the pump and some media bags in stacked racks.

So overall my idea would be overflow in the center, pump separately from each end.

Hi,

Thanks so much for all the feedback. The AIO chamber is the right five feet of the tank. My tank will be sort of semi peninsula (see updated pictures) in that you will be able to look into it from the back left 24" , the left side, and the front. I was thinking of dual pumps. One issue I am contending with is that there is a 2 food wide glass brace across the middle of the tank.. I'm trying to keep that part filled with stuff I'll likely not often touch in the future... I was going to put a slide out tray for the mechanical filtration pads/floss. I am going to ditch the bioballs as you suggest and go for media blocks in a bag!