Rob's Really Rad 180 Reef Rally

[RobB'z Reef]

T-nuts!

I just might have a tank stand by the end of this weekend!

 

[samnaz]

Sweet!

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Moved Sunday funday up to Saturday and assembled my 80/20 stand. I have to pick up the top for it yet (going with either type I/II PVC or HDPE instead of plywood as they are impervious to saltwater over time. On top of that I'll be using a foam pad that they typically use for treadmills etc based on recommendation from a friend on here who's had some success with it.

In progress...

Completed stand...

Stand in future tank location...

I think i finally got the time lapse video right this time (aside from a questionable sound track ;Wacky)

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Did a 75% water change Friday night on my cycling rocks. No smells of death, just ocean at this point. Since half of it is live rock I did not put any accelerator in, nor will I be dosing ammonia for the cycle as there is already beneficial life and bacteria in place, no need to stress it out. I'll do another change this coming week and begin to monitor levels.

 

[Reef370]

Yea Rob, looks good!! It won’t be to long before you have to put it all together!! Can’t wait.....

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Yea Rob, looks good!! It won’t be to long before you have to put it all together!! Can’t wait.....

hopefully the money holds out lol, I still need lights, return pumps etc... oh the agony!

 

[Reef370]

Dude, I have lights !! Just let me know..

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Dude, I have lights !! Just let me know..

kind of you I'm just belly aching a bit haha! Just gonna smooth things out so doing a lot of JIT (just in time) purchasing ;Wacky

 

[RobB'z Reef]

More supplies... Mostly for QT, media is for DT (what if type stuff)

 

[Reef370]

Cool, I have 3 leds and a whole bunch of MH lights. All the MH is brand new .. haha! So, if you ever need them let me know.

can’t wait to see the QT system set up!

 

[RobB'z Reef]

More pieces of the puzzle! Return flow components: 1" bulkheads, 'loc line' compatible modular hose and random flow generators as well as standard Loc Line modular hose. Doing 1" straight into tank, then once inside the tank 1" gets split into two 3/4" lines on each side of the tank (two return lines total). 1" stuff and flow generators are from VCA.

 

[JoshH]

On top of that I'll be using a foam pad that they typically use for treadmills etc based on recommendation from a friend on here who's had some success with it.

Hey Rob, loving the build so far! Sucks that pesky furnace is in the way of an ultimate fish room but it looks like you're making up for it lol I'm also glad given the experience you had with your Varios S2 that I didn't go with them for my Closed loop setup, two leaking pumps would have been a disaster and the S8's were high up on my list originally.

A note on the foam, I would double check with Derek at Miracles if it is okay to use under there aquariums. Last I spoke with him about it he said they only reccomend the white styrofoam and anything else can void the tank warranty. I hope the 10 weeks holds up and you have your 180 soon!

 

[Parent_usmc]

you should totally do it! I really like the Red Sea stuff, If I were doing a smaller tank I may well have gone with one of theirs.

Tank comes this week! Going to be uploading a bunch with it

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Hey Rob, loving the build so far! Sucks that pesky furnace is in the way of an ultimate fish room but it looks like you're making up for it lol I'm also glad given the experience you had with your Varios S2 that I didn't go with them for my Closed loop setup, two leaking pumps would have been a disaster and the S8's were high up on my list originally.

A note on the foam, I would double check with Derek at Miracles if it is okay to use under there aquariums. Last I spoke with him about it he said they only reccomend the white styrofoam and anything else can void the tank warranty. I hope the 10 weeks holds up and you have your 180 soon!

man, good point... thanks, I will ask him before I execute on that! Thanks for the advice. I really wish i could have that furnace moved but it's just too cost prohibitive all things considered. I will be moving water in and out thru the walls eventually for AWC/ATO etc. If i get to considering UV I might even plumb thru the wall for that. I do have a modest amount of room next to the furnace. Just not enough for the size sump I want. Aside from the initial leaking issue which i did manage to resolve I'm pretty impressed with that pump TBH, really moves water and quiet!

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Tank comes this week! Going to be uploading a bunch with it

That rocks!!! Post it up, I'll be watching for it

 

[Daveobrien]

...
I'm also glad given the experience you had with your Varios S2 that I didn't go with them for my Closed loop setup, two leaking pumps would have been a disaster and the S8's were high up on my list originally.

FYI - I went with dual S6's on my external closed loop setup. They seems to have straight threads, not tapered threads coming out of the pump - and therefore you Must use the Straight thread bulk heads provided. Teflon tape, and then threaded the bulk head fitting 100% of the way down onto the pump. Bingo, no leaks at all.
(BTW, I may have mis-used the term Straight Threads and Tapered Threads. I tried putting my threaded true union ball valve directly on the pump, and determined the threads just weren't a match.) See pict of what I mean.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

FYI - I went with dual S6's on my external closed loop setup. They seems to have straight threads, not tapered threads coming out of the pump - and therefore you Must use the Straight thread bulk heads provided. Teflon tape, and then threaded the bulk head fitting 100% of the way down onto the pump. Bingo, no leaks at all.
(BTW, I may have mis-used the term Straight Threads and Tapered Threads. I tried putting my threaded true union ball valve directly on the pump, and determined the threads just weren't a match.) See pict of what I mean.

Yep, I'm on board with what you're saying. I think they may be straight and not NPT but I'd have to measure. Oops, too late now lol. I thought it a poor design choice but that's just me. I was like seriously guys, you're gonna make me tape up your fancy DC pump? Lol

 

[JoshH]

man, good point... thanks, I will ask him before I execute on that! Thanks for the advice. I really wish i could have that furnace moved but it's just too cost prohibitive all things considered. I will be moving water in and out thru the walls eventually for AWC/ATO etc. If i get to considering UV I might even plumb thru the wall for that. I do have a modest amount of room next to the furnace. Just not enough for the size sump I want. Aside from the initial leaking issue which i did manage to resolve I'm pretty impressed with that pump TBH, really moves water and quiet!

Oh but that wall to the left of the furnace looks like prime space for a sump , you can always rearrange your water station But yes, moving the furnace would be an insanely costly move and not be good for your house.

I might have missed it but are you doing a canopy that encloses the top of the tank?

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Oh but that wall to the left of the furnace looks like prime space for a sump , you can always rearrange your water station But yes, moving the furnace would be an insanely costly move and not be good for your house.

I might have missed it but are you doing a canopy that encloses the top of the tank?

You might have missed that there are water lines coming up from the floor right to the left of the furnace. They are plumbed into the floor for radiant heating of the basement. I plan on finishing this eventually in the next year or so and I'll lose that space there to the boiler and control systems.
I was either going to do a floating canopy or just mount the lights over the tank, either from the ceiling or build my own mounting brackets from the wall or tank stand. I haven't sorted that out yet. I do know I'm not interested in a covered canopy though. I'm leaning heavy towards aqualife DX18's I think it's called, with dimmable T5's and some as yet to be determined supplemental LED's mounted down the middle.

 

[JoshH]

You might have missed that there are water lines coming up from the floor right to the left of the furnace. They are plumbed into the floor for radiant heating of the basement. I plan on finishing this eventually in the next year or so and I'll lose that space there to the boiler and control systems.

No didn't miss it lol just figured you could rejigger things around a bit and do something like this...

But I just noticed your furnace is right up against the wall so might not work depending on where the overflow sits. A floating canopy sounds really nice, can't wait to see it all come together!