Planet Aquariums Custom 280 Gallon Office SPS Dominant Build

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robby2782

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Thank you, Tim! Same to you on your system! I actually just added to mini X's to supplement each of the tank to give more of an even spread of light after seeing the par results. Unfortunately I had to make my own bracket to mount it effectively to accomplish this, but I was able to still keep the clean look. I'll share the par readings shortly, and I also plan on supplementing with 6500k T5 HO bulbs for about 5 hours per day.

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I ended up adding a check valve to my return line as added redundancy. There has always been debate whether or not to use these because of the added head pressure to the pump, and they need to be cleaned periodically, but I have a spare to swap out while I soak it in citric acid 1-2x per year, and my pump is oversized for my system anyway. I was surprised how much flow was reduced from it, and I had to ramp it up an additional notch to match the previous flow.

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Here is a quarantine tank (Fluval Evo 13.5) I set up over the weekend for corals, inverts, and delicate fish that don't handle copper well. I'll probably copy Humblefish's method of using a black Molly to pick up on any introduced diseases and will probably wait until the tank cycles. I dumped several cubes of frozen shrimp to speed up the process, and I'm using a 4" deep sand bed using live sand, and using the middle chamber to grow chaeto with a submersible light. I'm not the biggest fan of the light, but it does put out ample par, and I'll be using a smart outlet to turn it on and off.

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Very nice!! I like the unions on the overflow pipes. How do you like the trim on the stand by the bottom of the tank? It looks like it would be in the way and water would fall between the trim and tank.
 
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Thank you! It was a lot of work, but it was well worth the effort, and completely silent!

I would've preferred to have a floating bottom on the tank instead of the the PVC bottom with it sitting flush on the stand, but this hasn't been a problem aesthetically or functionally. Reef Savvy actually builds a floating bottom on tanks this size, but not sure it's worth a 12 month wait at double or triple the cost. Planet does outstanding work and they're local for me, so it was well worth the tradeoff.
 

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Looking great! Congrats!
 
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So I picked up what I was hoping was a true flavocoronatus butterflyfish like the one I had previously, but it more likely crossed with a Burgessi, or possibly of the Roaps Declivis and Roaps Burgessi. I'm optimistic there is some of the Yellow Crowned unicorn in there since this was caught in the Marshal Islands, but this definitely isn't 100%. However, this is still a stunning fish, and still super rare.

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I also got this awesome little pump for the coral qt tank that was even smaller than I expected. I put my key beside it to show it's size. Secondly, this Santa Monica submersible light is perfect for the center chamber I converted into a refugium.
 

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moreef

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Despite the negative reviews I read on a couple older threads about the Tideline external overflow box, my plumbing and overflow is completely silent! I am trying to upload a video I took of it running, but to the credit of the bean animal overflow, raising the channel overflow just 1/2" below the emergency drain line, and restricting the amount of water running through the secondary line with a dedicated gate valve allow me to dial this to where there are zero air bubbles going into the sump, and there is absolutely zero noise going in through the weir. The only really source of noise is some air that can be heard coming through the Sicce pump that circulates the Geo Calcium reactor, and one of the Gyre pumps has a slight rattling noise I need to address. Everything is completely silent.

Im also setting up a planet tank with tideline overflow in next few weeks, although much smaller tank at 104g. This will be my first bean animal drain and wondering if you put the gate valve on both full siphon and secondary drain? I only ordered 1 but will get another if you recommend it.
 
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You definitely want the second gate valve on the channel drain unless you don't care about noise. you will need to close the valve to regulate the flow through the secondary line. The people that complain about the Tideline Overflow being loud aren't wrong if the plumbing can't be dialed in like this.

Also, make sure you raise your secondary line up as high as you can to where the waterline is just 1/4" below the top of the emergency drain.
 

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You definitely want the second gate valve on the channel drain unless you don't care about noise. you will need to close the valve to regulate the flow through the secondary line. The people that complain about the Tideline Overflow being loud aren't wrong if the plumbing can't be dialed in like this.

Also, make sure you raise your secondary line up as high as you can to where the waterline is just 1/4" below the top of the emergency drain.

Ok I will order another gate valve. So having the channel line closer to emergency drain is just bringing water level higher in overflow box I assume. My current tank is loud because of the water flowing over and down inside of box. Thanks man appreciate info.
 
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Correct. If the water level in the overflow is too low, you'll be able to hear the water flow going through the weirs. If the water level is up above high enough, you barely hear a trickle of water. My tank is so quiet I only hear the vibration of one of the gyres when it ramps up.

Also, make sure your syphon line is 2" below the water level in the sump to ensure it purges the air from the line, and the level in the overflow box is at 1" from the bottom to keep air from getting sucked down.
 

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Correct. If the water level in the overflow is too low, you'll be able to hear the water flow going through the weirs. If the water level is up above high enough, you barely hear a trickle of water. My tank is so quiet I only hear the vibration of one of the gyres when it ramps up.

Also, make sure your syphon line is 2" below the water level in the sump to ensure it purges the air from the line, and the level in the overflow box is at 1" from the bottom to keep air from getting sucked down.

I’m about to setup my tideline overflow, where did you find all these details? I’m just starting to research it and sounds like it’s pretty easy to get it wrong. Mine came with zero instructions (although it is pretty).
 
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I just studied up on the bean overflow system, and read the negative feedback on the Tideline Overflow to see where they went wrong. Mine is dead silent, so feel free to copy what I did. The only caveat is fine tuning the gate valves to maintain the water level to keep it high enough to reach that point of silence.
 
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Today I received the algae scrubber from Santa Monica, and my reasoning for switching to this from using a standard refugium because of a few reasons:
1. The space I have in the middle chamber is pretty narrow for the size of tank, and it may not be as effective as the scrubber
2. I wanted to use the middle chamber as a cryptic zone for anaerobic bacteria and sponges
3. I like the idea of injecting more oxygen into the water if I do end up keeping the glass tops on long term, which will help offset the trapped co2
4. Probably what made the decision for me- keeping coraline algae from growing inside my skimmer, and on my pumps

The air pump I bought for this thing was bigger than I imagined it would be, but it puts out a ton of air! I need up adding a needle valve to tune it down just a little bit since it was pretty loud inside the box. I also have the box protruding the water level in the sump about 1/2" since the air bubbles coming out of the hole was super loud too. Since this is in my office where I have weekly meetings, and my office staff answer the phones, this needs to be silent. So far all I can hear is one part of a gyre pump that vibrates when the power ramps up, and what sounds like some air bubbles trapped in the pump on the calcium reactor.
 

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kenchilada

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Have any pictures of your overflow plumbing? Did you use 1.5” pipe on both sides?

I think I need the primary siphon to be almost at the bottom, the emergency drain very near the top of the box, and the secondary 1/2” below that. Gate valves on primary and secondary.

I’m still not totally clear why the secondary needs a gate valve. I thought you adjust the primary and the rest goes down the second.
 
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Correct. I use the gate valve on the secondary drain to adjust to the volume of water going through the pipe to reduce the noise in the pipe. It also gives me better control of the water level since I can raise the water level by adjusting the secondary gate valve. I use 1.5" pipe for all 3 drains.
 
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