Nootch's 220 Build Thread. A Set up as Odd as the Builder

Nootch · May 21, 2020

This is the starting of a 6 month (as budget allows) build tread on a custom tank that was inspired by a good friend to "go for it"

CONCEPT:

Refer focused tank with a variety of flora and aquatic life that can amaze and captivate myself and my friends.

TANK:

220(ish) gal custom tank set into a wall adjacent to the mechanical room. 40gal 'fuge tank with all the bits needed (list to be determined with the help of the community)

REEF:

Due to shape of the tank, I hope to set up regions of soft/LPS/SPS of coral growth with an overlap area where they can decide who takes over best. A visual diversity and habitat for all types of aquatic life that can be seen from many angles.

Keeping in mind that my previous knowledge up until 36 hours ago was what i just gleaned through random sources and seeing other well set up tanks. So when I speak about this set up, I will inevitably speak out of context or turn, and will need guidance to be corrected to make a tank that is my first and last tank build for that particular house. The goal is to make a one and done ULM set up that is done right form the beginning and my knowledge as i gain it over the next 6 months of building will be evident as this thread progresses.

With that being said, lets talk about the set up. The 220 Gal tank will be set up against the wall of my mechanical room on the long side with a 3-4id" mid height (6-12") bulkhead drain from the negative space seen in the top right corner of the tank on the 45* angle. The 40 gal 'fuge tank will be set at a height that the level of the main tank will not exceed the level of the 40G tank. There will be two pump that pump in to the corners (top left and bottom right) of the display tank to create good mix of high change out and low change out sections for the various corals i want to grow. I am leaning towards a proper set up with a few GYRE flow pumps set up on each end to create the right flow from the start. Power heads will be added for dead spots as needed. The sump tank will feature a Chaeto section with an area for UV filter change out (inline to filter water in and out of sump) to help continually clean the water hopefully in a ratio of 0.5-1.0 change out per 24h. I will take suggestion on if that time line is too great or little. It won't be the mainline focus of my tank cleaning, but a bit of continually disinfected water won't hurt. I will be utilizing mass spectrometer testing and micro dosing specific elements as needed. Top off will be done manually with set points on the main tank level as a reference point. I like the idea of looking at the level daily to make sure i am paying attention the the water levels. Water top off will be done with an RO system that will also be plumbed into my icemaker and kitchen. 5-10gal reserve tank.

If you are scratching your head asking why my Sump will at the same level as my main tank, it is to serve two purposes. the first being if there is ever a pump failure, the tank levels being the same will not spill over. The second is the negative pressure into the surge tank will be created by the positive addition of water at each end of the main tank. It seem to be a more elegant and safer solution that allows me to hide the sumps inlet behind a coral structure in the middle ground of the tank.

Nootch · May 21, 2020

5-19-2020 UPDATE

Had a rum and sat down in the basement with a roll of tape painters tape. Laid out the basic idea of the shape of the tank and where i want the major components. Started into the rabbit hole of BRStv and the rest is... well future history.

Nootch · May 21, 2020

5-20-2020 UPDATE

Had a rum with a friend and did arts and crafts time after work. Mocked up the tank on sawhorses to see what it would look like. It is bigger than I expected, but I am not making it any smaller. Cleaned out the mechanical room and planned out the possibility of making more headroom over the tank (HVAC movement) and sat back to ponder the finer details. I am leaning towards a custom wood cabinet underneath with storage for board games and such. This will be the games room in the end after all. The overhang in the ceiling you see on the main picture is some HVAC that i am sure can be moved. If it cant, I will recess a A360X into it so it appears to be pot lighting, as the distance to water from there is 8" exactly with a 34" tall base. If I can modify the area to make more room, it will mean a higher base so its easier to see from standing height. The area to the lower right will end up being the higher SPS formation as there is more option and room for lighting. The long side (upper left) will be the Soft/LPS area. So far as my mind eye can see at the moment. As it stands there is a 1.5" kerf lip on the tank so the walls are 25.5" tall for a projected 24" water height.

That is it for now, I welcome all advice and knowledge at this point. I would rather make the mistake in my mind in the planning stages than in the final points where it costs time and hard parts. I hope to update this more often than the season changes, but it is 2020 after-all. things have been weird.

Thank you for stopping in.

~Nootch

Nootch · May 24, 2020

5-24-2020 UPDATE

Been a slow few days at work, so it was more YT and research/planning. last night i went into the mechanical room and did a VERY MUCH needed clean up in there removing things i no longer need that came with the house. Like the humidifier attached to the HVAC and the wall mounted vacuum. Made for some much needed room. I did a rough measure up of the space i have available for the sump and i can fit a 12"w-36"l-16"h on the wall. Bringing the level to 16" in the sump and keeping the sump/display tank at 58" top of water brings the floor of the sump above the P-trap that is on the plumbing stack. This allows me to build a spill/overflow tray that the sump will sit on and the tray can drain right into the drain. A nice and simple automatic overflow solution. The top of tank kerf will be slightly lower than the display tank to ensure the first spill over point is in the sump.

I will attach a few crude drawings of the concept i have going on here, and try to give a concise detailed explanation of what i got going on. The numbers i will be using are not set in stone yet, but are just a guide to me. IE the sump inlet i thought would be at 8" off of the sump floor, but it reality will be at 4" so there is a drop in the pipe getting to the sump from display tank. The media brick/'fuge area will be 12/10/16 with a lip at the 12" high and a bit of a kicker at the top to promote a little extra turbulence and mixing before spilling over the ledge. The next 16" section will have the skimmer in it on a 8" ledge or pedestal. to keep it at the recommended 8" water height. the area underneath will house the 4 600W heaters set up on two levels. each level will have a main and back up heater element on it. In that same area there will be the first of the 3 varios 2 792GPH pumps.

This first 792 will be feeding two 210GPH (3.5gpm) flow restrictions. The restrictors will be Y split and one side feeds the 40W UV filter, the other flow restrictor bypasses and meets up at the other end of the UV filter and will combine into a single stream that feeds the compact roller mat ensuring that it is fed no more than 410GPH (500 max on roller mat). just before the roller mat there will be a flow meter to keep an eye on pump performance. Outlet of the roller mat will feed into the last part of the sump where the other two various 792's will be living. Those two pumps will also have external flow meters on them to monitor pump condition. The two outlets will feed each end of the display tank at roughly 300-350GPH each. There will be a 10" partition wall between the skimmer section and return section. Skimmer, UV, dosing/Water change/Top off etc will all output in this last section. The bottom of the 10" wall will have a 4-6" high perforated section at bottom to help promote flow from the heaters.

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS:

Looking up my power needs for the system i am seeing that most of the items run off of a 24Vdc system and looking at one of the BRS video's it shows a wack load of small power inverters stacked up from each individual system component. I am going to take a different approach. Adding up my 24Vdc wattage i am getting about 400W. I can get a 648W 24Vdc power supply for less than 150. Industrial power supplies easily carry 3 year warranties, and really after a few years of the system running i can put a second power supply on the wall and have a back up to switch over if the first fails. This will free up a lot of the clutter with 11+ smaller inverter packs. Also because of my work environment as a mechanic, and i am a bit of a wiring nut, the power supply will be fed to a fuse block and each component will have its own fuse. I don't expect to ever have a shorting power problem, but if i do, i want to protect the system. This is also why the 3 pumps will have flow meters on them. Instead of the Apex monitoring power usage from each plug source, it will just monitor flow, and if flow drops off, i know there is a problem with the pump. The pumps are sized to run at 50% each consistently, so there is lots of time to slowly ramp up the power to them before i need to disassemble and clean. I am also using the same pump 3 times so there is the ability to hot swap as needed.

Other design notes i have been thinking about. I am going to run twp temp probes in the system one to control the heaters, the other to monitor. The heaters temp probe and trigger point will be in the 3" line coming from the main tank to the sump before the heaters. Running a 0.5-0.75 degree window and having a longer loop will give the heaters a longer cycle time of on to off. I will be running a temp probe after the heaters and just before the return pumps to monitor thermal input into the water. It will be purely for data and curiosity of how much thermal loading the sump tank can take. I am used to several thousand HP engines and radiators with huge thermal loads, so this will be neat to monitor and learn. I am also setting the 4 heaters on a 3 stage heating range. The main 2 will be the standard deviation of 0.5-0.75f (or what ever works best) and the 3rd will be 0.5f lower than that and the 4th 0.5f lower than the 3rd. This will give a progressive heating cycle and give me the ability to ramp in up to 2400W of heat if there is ever a need. Like someone left the door open in the back and the basement starts to flood with -40F air in the dead of winter up here.

through my research so far, i do not see much information on how much%air is needed or how you maintain it. I am taking steps to reduce the air drop/splash of water in the system to help reduce the evaporation. If needs be I will add a bubble diffuser in the sump to keep 02 levels in check. I have also contacted the HVAC company and my head room is right at 8.5" from top of water to bottom of the drywall as seen in the pictures in my last post. I may end up taking the bottom of the wall to give me the extra 2-3" i need. This may force me to build a top skirt to the tank that is removable for tank service. I am not opposed to this idea as it will force the humidity into the mechanical room where i can run a dehumidifier to keep things in check there. My neighbor the electrician will be coming over next days off and we will plan out the power needs, he is also going to build the stand for the tank. His wood working skills are beyond good.

that is about all for this update. Thank you for checking in

-Nootch