Spike’s Re-Build Thread

[Spike2484]

6 years ago when building my new home I decided to upgrade from a 90 gallon reef to a 220. Although I got a lot more right this time around, I definitely made a few mistakes. I tried to mix and match and purchase equipment from different people around my local area thinking that everything would be ok. I bought a very nice stand and canopy meant to house a 220g tank from one person and the tank from another, among the other equipment I purchased. On my 180 mile drive to my new home I was rear ended at 65 mph which quickly put an end to me being able to help move and setup my tank so as a last minute request I got some help from some new friends. First we carried the stand to the basement and then the tank. Expecting the tank to slide right into place I was quite shocked when it didn’t. Here I’ve got four basically strangers doing a good deed for a neighbor holding this extremely heavy tank and me trying to scramble to make it fit. Needless to say that in the spur of the moment I tore off all the trim from the stand and re-drilled holes so that the overflows would fit. PHEW! That part was done. Unfortunately I learned after this, that the stand was built for an acrylic tank and that that additional 1/4” of trim around the bottom of a glass tank didn’t fit so well...:-(
Nevertheless with some time and effort and I ended up with a pretty decent setup

Fast forward six years later (just shortly after fighting a bad spell of AEFW) I learned another hard lesson...used stands, built out of MDF with multiple screw holes that aren’t filled, don’t hold up well to salt creep! The last thing I wanted was to come home to 220g of saltwater, fish, and corals spread out all over my floor. It was then and there that I decided I had to get this tank torn down quickly and replaced with something I felt better about and this begins my 220g re-build...

 

[Spike2484]

This time around, I insisted on learning from all of my past mistakes and although I feel much better I still learned a few more valuable lessons that I’ll share! For my new setup I wanted to go with a sturdy metal stand that was powder coated and that I wouldn’t have to worry 6 years from now and so I spent time researching and designing a safe stand...oddly enough the week I was headed out to buy my raw materials a local was nearly the exact stand I had designed because he had to move and it had only been used for 6 months!!! I quickly jumped on it and ended up with this:

This is a post new plumbing picture. This time around I also made a few upgrades. I went from an ASM G-2 skimmer rated light for a 220 to a Bubble Magus Curve 9 rated for a heavily stocked 220! I also upgraded from standard ball valves to gate valves and a manifold system to better control the flow in my tank. I upgraded my return pump from a smaller Iwaki pump to a ReefFlo Dart with the Snapper impeller. Lastly I upgraded from three retrofit 400w MH’s with magnetic ballasts to a Hamilton fixture with 3-250w electronic ballasts and bulbs and 4 60” 80w T-5’s!

 

[Spike2484]

A few other things I might mention. My flow right now will be primary coming from 2 MP40’s places on opposite ends of the tank and the return pump which is split into 4, 1” return lines. That said, I intend to put in another MP40 or two in the near future.

The tank will be controlled with an Apex classic as I had that from my previous build and behind the wall I have a fish room with a quarantine tank, calc and alk dosers, an RODI system, all my electrical, fish supplies, sink etc [emoji4]

Also just for fun and aesthetics, I decided to paint my plumbing red as that seemed best to match the rest of my equipment. Learning from past experiences I will run this tank with the bottom open most of the time, however I intend to build a magnetic/wood skirt to place around it in the near future for when we have company.

 

[reefez]

A few other things I might mention. My flow right now will be primary coming from 2 MP40’s places on opposite ends of the tank and the return pump which is split into 4, 1” return lines. That said, I intend to put in another MP40 or two in the near future.

The tank will be controlled with an Apex classic as I had that from my previous build and behind the wall I have a fish room with a quarantine tank, calc and alk dosers, an RODI system, all my electrical, fish supplies, sink etc [emoji4]

Also just for fun and aesthetics, I decided to paint my plumbing red as that seemed best to match the rest of my equipment. Learning from past experiences I will run this tank with the bottom open most of the time, however I intend to build a magnetic/wood skirt to place around it in the near future for when we have company.

A few other things I might mention. My flow right now will be primary coming from 2 MP40’s places on opposite ends of the tank and the return pump which is split into 4, 1” return lines. That said, I intend to put in another MP40 or two in the near future.

The tank will be controlled with an Apex classic as I had that from my previous build and behind the wall I have a fish room with a quarantine tank, calc and alk dosers, an RODI system, all my electrical, fish supplies, sink etc [emoji4]

Also just for fun and aesthetics, I decided to paint my plumbing red as that seemed best to match the rest of my equipment. Learning from past experiences I will run this tank with the bottom open most of the time, however I intend to build a magnetic/wood skirt to place around it in the near future for when we have company.

Very nice and clean setup like what you have doe I’d like to see how the skirting is done

 

[Spike2484]

A few more close ups underneath the tank. Ran a leak test and all is well so I’ll be transporting my live rock and livestock back to their permanent home!

 

[Michael Naegeli]

Lookin good! Well done!

 

[Spike2484]

Got my existing live rock and livestock put into the new tank! I’ll give it a bit to stabilize and then can work on filling it up with the fish and corals we all love this hobby for!

 

[Spike2484]

Added a few new tank mates today!

Some of the others were still hiding when the lights when off. I’ll have to keep an eye out for them tomorrow.

 

[Spike2484]

Just a few small updates at the moment, but slowly working on adding livestock and letting the corals grow in. Working to finalize clean up the fish room and electrical now with two EB8’s and 4 MPwo’s all fully controllable!!!

 

[Spike2484]

Got a little bit of work done on the wood facade today. I cut some 1/4” birch veneer to fit the stand and glued on some 20lb magnets to each panel. These were strong enough to hold the wood panels up but also light enough to be easily removeable. The idea being this is that the stand/sump will open the majority of the time for good air circulation but when guests come over I can quickly snap the facade frame on. When I’m don’t I intend to have it all trimmed out, stained, and sealed.

 

[Spike2484]

Just a quick picture of my acid wash bta, finally maturing and showing some color!

 

[Spike2484]

Just a small update. Added some trim to the frame to make it look more like a solid piece when magnetized to the steel stand.

Tomorrow I’ll stain it!

 

[Spike2484]

Stained!

 

[Spike2484]

Got a cool Wyze pan/scan camera for Christmas to watch over the tank, especially while away on vacation. Handy little camera with a great picture and great price. Easy to use and will allow me to look up at the display or down at the sump as needed!

 

[Spike2484]

Just working on building up the tank now. Have some amazing coral coming soon (can’t wait to post pics). Tank is building some good coralline. Alk is stable at 8.5 and calc is stable at 450 with two part dosing pumps. Until then, here are some update pics:

 

[code4]

Awesomeness