New 150 Gallon SCA Tank And Custom Stand Build

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal

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At least 20 pounds or so. Way more than enough for lighting. It’s made from 5/8” solid alum bar. The nice thing about it is it has rubber pads and sits right on the eurobracing (it’s light). Easy to move around or take off.
Might not be enough for a T5 fixture... My ATI 8 bulb is a lot heavier. Super clean design though! I'm enjoying your build thread!!
 
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vpierce3

vpierce3

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Thank you so much for sharing your build. I myself built a stand for my 90 gallon years ago and thank God it’s still standing You have some good craftsmanship and you used it quite well on your stand. Great job
Awe shucks. Thank you. I just love tools and working in my shop. Building the aquarium has been great therapy for me.
 

jmichaelh7

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I made lots of progress today: the tank is RUNNING!
Yesterday I put the sand in the water and it cleared enough that this morning I decided to move everything over to the new tank.
I started by finishing the plumbing and sump equipment. I tried to make things as easy as possible to service.

D43D687D-0226-45EF-A14E-DBF9EB3FF5C3.jpeg
What size skimmer are you running
 
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vpierce3

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What size skimmer are you running
I’m running the Aquamax ConeS Q-2. I’ve had it for 3-4 years on my previous 75 gallon tank and it worked very well. It might be a little undersized for this tank but I watched the BRS video about Roller Mat filters and Skimmers. They said that the Roller Mats are so efficient that it’s good to undersize the skimmer so that nutrients don’t zero out which can provoke dinos and cyano. So I’m going to see how things work out and adjust as needed.
I also made my bean-animal plumbing so that I can control how much water goes through the roller mat and how much dirty water I can let into the sump near the skimmer intake.
 
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vpierce3

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So it’s 8:25 in the morning and the fish are already out swimming like crazy. The lights don’t come on until 14:00 and they usually sleep in. So they seem super happy….kind of like a child’s first trip to the “big kids pool”.
The other thing is how quiet the tank runs. Even my wife is happy with it.
The next project will be making a new cover for the top…..the netting was delivered the other day.
 
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vpierce3

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Any concerns with the wheels embedding into the wood floor?
The wheels are about 4” long and 2” diameter. And they were machined smooth on my lathe. They are also sitting on oak “shim pads” that level the tank.
the front leveling bolts are sitting on 3”x3” aluminum plates with a divot machined into the top to keep the bolt head in place.
Also the tank is about 2000 pounds total. Divide that by 8 points of support and we see each support puts only 250 pounds of weight on the floor. So not bad at all.

image.jpg
 
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vpierce3

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Might not be enough for a T5 fixture... My ATI 8 bulb is a lot heavier. Super clean design though! I'm enjoying your build thread!!
Yeah a T5 fixture would be heavier for sure. But if you really wanted the design and are concerned about the stress on the eurobracing, you could make it a little wider with feet that fit over and around the top edge of the side glass panels. Or you could run the main supports behind the tank and bolt to rear of stand.
Maybe increase the size of the bar to 3/4” square.
I’m glad you are enjoying my build. I like to think out of the box, and I hope to inspire others to innovate and make their systems their own as well.
 

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal

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The wheels are about 4” long and 2” diameter. And they were machined smooth on my lathe. They are also sitting on oak “shim pads” that level the tank.
the front leveling bolts are sitting on 3”x3” aluminum plates with a divot machined into the top to keep the bolt head in place.
Also the tank is about 2000 pounds total. Divide that by 8 points of support and we see each support puts only 250 pounds of weight on the floor. So not bad at all.

image.jpg
I'm confused... where is the wheel?
 
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vpierce3

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This morning I also put my ATO on the tank. Its the Tunze Osmolator (or however it’s spelled). Last night I soaked the sensors in vinegar to get rid of the calcium deposits and gave the pump a good cleaning. One bad thing is my Apex power bar stopped turning the outlets on. It has the voltage error….ugh. So I will be buying a new one. At least I can still read the probes and control my dosing.
 

thatmanMIKEson

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The last thing I did was install the weir and overflow box. I chose the 16” model from Modular Marine. The tank from SCA is drilled for another brand….but I was not impressed with their quality; especially for the price.
Anyway, if you email the folks at Modular Marine they will make a overflow for SCA tanks. The precess was easy, the price is reasonable and the quality is top notch.
I wish I would have done this, its definitely the weak link in my system, I hate it! I have the 120 and went with the brand overflow, against my better judgment, and with some small issues so far its holding together.....good move tho I wish I went with the 150 also, good luck! Sweet build!
 
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vpierce3

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I wish I would have done this, its definitely the weak link in my system, I hate it! I have the 120 and went with the brand overflow, against my better judgment, and with some small issues so far its holding together.....good move tho I wish I went with the 150 also, good luck! Sweet build!
Thank you! Yeah I did a lot of research about the overflows because they can really be a source of irritation.
I had it narrowed down to between Modular Marine and Exotic Marine Systems. In the end I went for Modular because of the higher flow rating.
 
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vpierce3

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So I think I found the fix for my Apex Powerbar. The unit would power up everything but would not turn on the outlets.
I opened it up and started testing. The hot from the cord goes directly into the circuit breaker. So resetting that only works if the total system is dead.
‘I had 120 volts at the contacts (hot side) of all 8 outlet relays. But no power going to the control side (relay coils).
So I went on YouTube and found videos by FixReef. His videos are awesome. He shows how to fix reef keeping equipment like Apex stuff.
It turns out the 12 volt power supply which powers the outlet control circuits was dead. Apex used extremely low quality capacitors on that power supply board; you can see the board in the picture. It’s a very common problem. The fix is replacing 4 capacitors; which I just ordered from mouser.com for $14.60 with shipping.
I once fixed a Miller plasma cutter by doing this, so I’m optimistic.
And even if you don’t want to solder new parts. You can take the part number off the board and order that. That way you only have 4 pins to solder to install the new board.

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A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 64 36.8%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 59 33.9%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 14.4%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 26 14.9%
  • Other.

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