Steve's Retirement 260g Tank Build

Steve2020

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For the past few weeks i have been gathering the components for my build. The following is a list of items for my build:

CDA 84x30x24 (260g approx) tank, 40" steel stand with black wood wrap with contrast white interior and custom adjustable light rack. Modular Marine 24" overflow,

Advanced Acrylics 72" PVC/Hybrid Acrylic Combo Sump/ATO/Refugium modified to 24" wide, Grey and Blue with 7" cups and silencers.

7 Stage BRS Pro Plus 200GPD Water Saver RODI with Booster Pump and Auto Flush.

GHL Profilux 4 Mega Set Black, Expansion Box, 4 Mitras LX 7206's Black, Doser 2.1 Slave for 2 part and sensors for ATO, AWC and RO tank.
Reef Octopus Elite 220-INT 9" Super Cone Skimmer.

7 Ecotech Versa Dosing pumps for AWC and ATO. Will be running 2 for RO tank to ATO tank, 4 for AWC , and 1 for ATO. Was going to use the GHL Maxi Dosers but due to the 47' run from mixing station to aquarium Vinny from GHL said that would be pushing the limit. Versa can handle the distance according to Ecotech.

2 100g mixing station tanks from Norwesco.

Reef Octopus Varios 6 for mixing station.

Ecotech Vectra L2 Mobius Ready for return.

Ecotech Vectra M2 Mobius Ready for refugium and any auxiliaries i may need in the future.

2 Vortech MP60QD Mobius Ready and 2 MP40QD Mobius Ready.

2 BRS 600W heaters with controllers.

Blue 1.5" and 1" PVC pipe and various schedule 80 fittings. Spears gate valve and multiple CEPEX ball valves from BRS.

Hanna Professional Reef Test Kit and Copper High Range Tester.

Many more smaller items but to many to list.
I am still contemplating whether to go bare bottom or a shallow sand bed. Leaning towards sand CaribSea Special Grade Dry Sand.
As far as rock goes it will porobably be Real Reef Solutions Reef Rock or CaribSea Life Rock. Any recommendations on sand or bare bottom and rock would be appreciated.
Will also have a Quarantine Tank and Hospital Tank for fish and a Quarantine Tank for Corals
Tank and stand won't be ready until sometime in October so it is giving me time to do some Profilux familiarization and testing.

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Not Complete yet. Still waiting for Versa's to be available. Did make some water for the Wife's coffee.

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My 11'x10' area for the tank and control station in the lower level walkout. Wife only allowed me this area because the rest of the lower level is a projection theater, 2 attached rooms my wife is using for her sewing and quilting and the laundry/equipment room that she allowed me to put the mixing station in. The Black cabinet I got from Pottery Barn will be my control cabinet. I know it's a mess. Been testing the P4.

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JumboShrimp

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Lots and lots of fun goodies there— I will be following, for sure. Love the mixing station. I’m in the process of setting mine up now. I just set up nearly the identical BRS RODI system (6-stage— you have 7), also using the booster pump. However when my float valve shuts off, the system loses pressure after a while and the booster pump kicks back on for about 15 seconds. In facts it keeps cycling off and on like that. Did you have to adjust the very tiny screw on the pressure switch?
 
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Steve2020

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Lots and lots of fun goodies there— I will be following, for sure. Love the mixing station. I’m in the process of setting mine up now. I just set up nearly the identical BRS RODI system (6-stage— you have 7), also using the booster pump. However when my float valve shuts off, the system loses pressure after a while and the booster pump kicks back on for about 15 seconds. In facts it keeps cycling off and on like that. Did you have to adjust the very tiny screw on the pressure switch?
Sounds like you may have a small leak with your float. I have a AC solenoid valve that will shut off when my full electronic sensor is active. P4 will turn off the outlet the solenoid is plugged into. My float switch is only a backup. I don't trust floats as a primary shut off.
 

JumboShrimp

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If you get a chance, I’d love to see a close-up photo or two of that AC solenoid valve, and where it sits in the system ;)
 
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Steve2020

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If you get a chance, I’d love to see a close-up photo or two of that AC solenoid valve, and where it sits in the system ;)
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The solenoid is mounted on the output between the pressure sensor and your float valve. It will be controlled by a full level optical sensor in the RO tank and the valve will be plugged into a switchable outlet on the power bar. I am waiting for my 3/8" 2ft long acrylic rod to arrive from amazon to mount the fill and full optical sensors in the tank. The acrylic rod will be held in place using a strain relief. The float valve will be used as a backup. I will also be mounting a Mur-Loc fitting to the side of the tank above the float switch to work as an overflow in case all else fails. Overflow will be going to a floor drain. I know sounds like overkill but better safe than not in my opinion.
 

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Thank you so much; if I can't get my system to work correctly with some minor adjustments, at least now I know I have options!
 
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Steve2020

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:) The day has finally arrived. Sump, tank and stand finally arrived a few days ago. Today was the big move from the garage into the house. Thought the snow would create a problem but Premier Aquarium Services in Minneapolis handled it with ease. Mike and his crew were fantastic and took every precaution putting the stand and tank in place. This is the same crew that installed Ryan's from BRS aquarium. Once the tank was put in place I started working installing the bulkheads, overflow, adjustable light rack and lights. The aquarium, stand and light rack are from Crystal Dynamics Aquariums and they did a fantastic job. They even added soft close hinges on the 6 doors and I didn't even ask for them. Excellent craftmanship all around. The sump is a custom dimension PVC Hybrid from Advanced Acrylics. What a work of art. I had to wait a few extra weeks for delivery due to the photos they sent prior to shipping showed the sump in a left to right configuration. I ordered a right to left. OOPS!! John built me the correct one and it still arrived a few days before the tank. So all good. Will start plumbing tomorrow.

Install Photos

PXL_20201113_153501422.MP.jpg PXL_20201113_154815274.jpg PXL_20201113_154917163.jpg PXL_20201113_165745267.jpg PXL_20201113_161110920.jpg PXL_20201113_163242239.jpg PXL_20201113_163256967.jpg PXL_20201113_165745267.jpg PXL_20201113_171155040.jpg 20201113_193354.jpg 20201113_193422.jpg 20201113_193532.jpg 20201113_193547.jpg PXL_20201114_012501498.NIGHT.jpg 20201113_194010.jpg 20201113_194018.jpg 20201113_194028.jpg
 
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Steve2020

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Thought I would give an update. Started plumbing the return lines last week and mounted the UV. Finished all the plumbing on Monday. Commenced leak testing. No leaks:). My main issue was with the overflow. My fault. I plumbed the full siphon in the middle and unfortunately wasn't thinking about the tight fit for a "U" in the overflow box so had to use a strait pipe. Yep, Vortex issue but I have a fix. I drilled multiple 3/8 inch holes in the 1.5 inch pvc pipe and caped the top of the pipe and it is now dead silent. Drained the tank, sump and plumbing and started laying out my rockscape. I am no expert but the wife likes it so I guess its good lol. Let me know what you think good or bad. This will be a mixed reef with lots of fish so I made a few caves and tunnels for the fish. When I cycle the tank I will be cleaning up all the wiring to the electrical enclosure
 

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JumboShrimp

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Absolutely beautiful! May I ask, your UV sterilizer pulls from where and empties out where? (Is it from a portion of the sump to another portion of the sump? Or does it pull from the sump and connect to the return lies going back to the tank?) ;Happy
 
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Steve2020

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Absolutely beautiful! May I ask, your UV sterilizer pulls from where and empties out where? (Is it from a portion of the sump to another portion of the sump? Or does it pull from the sump and connect to the return lies going back to the ta
Thank you JumboShrimp. I know that my UV plumbing may not be the preferred method but I have an M2 that feeds the UV and Fuge. I am pulling from the Return pump section and returning the UV to the baffle section that separates the skimmer section and return section due to bulkhead constraints. My LFS recommended return to return because I am using two separate pumps. L2 for return and M2 for UV and Fuge. Again I am no expert at this but my LFS has an excellent reputation who is a sponsor on this site.
 

JumboShrimp

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Thanks, I'll be at the plumbing stage on new twin 150-gallon tanks very soon, and I'm kicking around ideas. Keep those photo's coming-- especially when it's 'Fish Time!'
 
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Steve2020

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Thanks, I'll be at the plumbing stage on new twin 150-gallon tanks very soon, and I'm kicking around ideas. Keep those photo's coming-- especially when it's 'Fish Time!'
Look forward to seeing progress updates on your 150. I will continue to post updates when they occur. I am taking my time since I have all the time in the world now since my early retirement.
 

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