New Build - DIY heavy...New FTS!

[Marc.The.Shark]

Wow, nice job on a great build! What are your stocking plans?

Mixed Reef. Want to add a few acro's this time & see how it goes. I've always run skimmerless in my 14+ years in the hobby, but I've always had smaller tanks ~8g. Adding a skimmer this time, plus a reactor. Going high tech! for me...lol

I got to start working on my build I have been in the planning and buying stage for about one year,Iam pump up now,thanks

Glad I could be of some inspiration. I've gotten plenty from people over the years, and ideas too. This was going to be a 3-4 month project, but alas, well you know! I have a running tank, so that still feeds my addiction!!

 

[Cary Hover]

Good point on how far the holes actually are. I love your build and your sump setup looks fantastic!

 

[imustbenuts]

Nice looking and thought out set up. I don't remember seeing any pad under the tank. I would definitely put something between the stand and tank if it were me.

 

[Marc.The.Shark]

Nice looking and thought out set up. I don't remember seeing any pad under the tank. I would definitely put something between the stand and tank if it were me.

Thanks & yeah there's a pad under the tank, it's just black & blends in with the cabinet top.

 

[Bocce Man]

I'm a fan of it. Great job!!!

 

[Steve Tobias]

nice

 

[Marc.The.Shark]

I'm a fan of it. Great job!!!

nice

Thanks guys! Appreciate it.

On another note. One issue that I had was overflow noise. I have an abundance of 90's in my piping. I know this is advised against & my current setup is pretty much straight down with only a set of 45's. But I wanted the piping out of the way as much as possible. Tried all kinds of different things, scouring the web, till I came upon the Reverse Durso. This shut the noise right up. Takes up some room in the overflow chamber, but I wasn't planning on running a sock in there anyway, sick of cleaning those things. Just going to run blue filter pad to trap big stuff before return pump. Here's a couple pics, you can run the horizontal at or below the water line. I tried it both ways & didn't make much of a difference, still silent on my freshwater tests. Final version is moved a little higher than the below pic


The holes in the caps let any trapped air escape. Also I read that the T should be a full size up in piping. As I am running 1", they advised going to a 2" T. Well, I didn't have room for that, so I used a 1" to 1 1/2" T with no issue. Plus I guess if you're still getting noise out of the vent hole, you can add a piece of airline or stuff some floss in the top part that's above water. I didn't need to do either. The only thing I hear with the door open is the slight hum from the Jebao(took a chance on that, hope it lasts)

 

[projectx]

Wow, sick setup. love all the DIY. That LED looks like you bought it not built it. Keep it up

 

[R_C]

Looking great!

 

[Marc.The.Shark]

Wow, sick setup. love all the DIY. That LED looks like you bought it not built it. Keep it up

Thanks. Yeah, light came out better than I expected! My 1st time working with acrylic & I surprised myself! Lol

Looking great!

Thanks RC

I also added some of my Apex components to the slide-out & got the fixin's in for some magnetic float switch holders. Not many good options for float switch holders that don't look like total crap or take up a lot of room. May have a cheap solution to that. I'll post up some pics when I get them assembled.

 

[eliramos]

Whoah!!!! This is beautiful
I can't even get my egg crate to cover my tank the right way...

 

[TriedAndProven]

Tagging along!

 

[Marc.The.Shark]

Whoah!!!! This is beautiful
I can't even get my egg crate to cover my tank the right way...

LOL, thanks for the compliment. And to be fair, I didn't make my tank cover, had it done by a member here (@cromag08), he does great acrylic work.

Tagging along!

Thanks for stopping by, gonna get interesting this weekend when I fill 'er!

 

[Marc.The.Shark]

Filling the tank this weekend...


Cleared up nicely by the next day. I did minimal rinsing of the Tropic Eden Meso Flakes. It was a little cloudy, but not bad. I like the consistency of this sand & shouldn't blow around like my current stuff. I have one bare spot, but just need to adust where the left return is pointing.


I added BioSpira yesterday & started with the ammonia.

 

[Chrisfish]

Awesome set up can't wait to see it stocked!

 

[treedog5]

Wow, nice work. You have some nice skills, thumbs up!!

 

[Marc.The.Shark]

Awesome set up can't wait to see it stocked!

Wow, nice work. You have some nice skills, thumbs up!!

Thanks! It' been a long time in the making. Pretty much how i envisioned it turning out. I have a bunch of livestock from my other tank that will be making the trip over after the cycle. Added BioSpira & dosing ammonia to kick it in gear.

One other issue is my water level. Its a little lower than I'd like. I had it perfect with the DCT-6000, but added a Georg Fischer check valve & the stopper on it is quite heavy. I think this is the issue impeding my flow some. I'd like the water level about an inch higher. I can either do away with the check valve (which I really like) or get the DCT-8000 which will give me another 500gph and what i should have purchased in the first place. Think I'll just get the bigger pump, pretty much the same size & realatively cheap on Prime. Gonna have to have one big garage sale at some point! Lol

 

[revhtree]

Looks great! I am also considering a larger grain size of Tropic Eden sand. How are you liking it so far and can you get a little closer shot of the sand?

 

[Marc.The.Shark]

Looks great! I am also considering a larger grain size of Tropic Eden sand. How are you liking it so far and can you get a little closer shot of the sand?

Here you go Rev. I like the Meso Flakes. Was gonna go Reef Flakes till they came out with this, a little smaller grain size, doesnt create a sand storm & i have a pretty shallow tank. Pretty consistent size, so you dont get the tiny stuff blowing around.

 

[rebekwl]

Very nice setup!