StPeteReefer's 80 Gallon Rimless Build

[StPeteReefer]

Hey guys! This is my first time posting on a big boys reefer page (all nano pages before lol) I am upgrading from a 25 Gallon Lagoon I've had for 2 years to an 80 Gallon Rimless by Deep Blue. Figured now would be a good time to post build info and plans before I get too far into the build.

I started with measurements for the stand, and with the help my dad and his woodworking business, had the stand done in about a week while the tank was in route. It's Red Oak with Birdseye Maple trim. The door is one large magnetic removable door for easy access with a boat cleat for a handle.

The tank I custom ordered with no overflow in non tempered glass. I'm not a big fan of the durso style drain nor the corner overflow nor the return on the same side as the overflow so I decided to drill the tank for a Synergy Reef Shadow Overflow box with 2 returns on either side.

I ordered a the return kit from Glass-holes.com and it was excellent quality. I ordered the 63mm Drill bit for the shadow box from Amazon which got lost in shipping so I had to order another one (which ended up being way less quality) from synergy reef. It got the job done, and I got the tank drilled, back painted black, and returns and overflow installed. (The better drill bit showed up the next day -_-)

I also had my brother give me a hand with welding some custom hanging brackets for the lighting system I plan on running which is going to be the Aquatic Life T5 LED Hybrid which will have my 2 AI primes from my lagoon on it. I bought some sections of 1" Square Weldable Steel Tubing from Lowes, we cut and welded the brackets, then grinded sanded and painted them black. I have them mounted to the back of the stand so I don't have to drill holes in my ceiling.

I ordered the plumbing from BRS on St. Pattys Day which is blue pipe with all schedule 80 fittings. I will be running 2 spears gate valves for drain and return balance and 2 Cepex ball valves for additional equipment later on.

Here's the tank how it sits now.

The return pump is a Current USA EFlux DC pump.

The sump will be a Trigger Systems Sapphire 39.

Rock will be CarribSea LifeRock, Fiji Pink Sand.

Still undecided on the skimmer and heater but am open to suggestions.

Any input at all is greatly appreciated

 

[Brew12]

Hey guys! This is my first time posting on a big boys reefer page (all nano pages before lol) I am upgrading from a 25 Gallon Lagoon I've had for 2 years to an 80 Gallon Rimless by Deep Blue. Figured now would be a good time to post build info and plans before I get too far into the build.

I started with measurements for the stand, and with the help my dad and his woodworking business, had the stand done in about a week while the tank was in route. It's Red Oak with Birdseye Maple trim. The door is one large magnetic removable door for easy access with a boat cleat for a handle.

The tank I custom ordered with no overflow in non tempered glass. I'm not a big fan of the durso style drain nor the corner overflow nor the return on the same side as the overflow so I decided to drill the tank for a Synergy Reef Shadow Overflow box with 2 returns on either side.

I ordered a the return kit from Glass-holes.com and it was excellent quality. I ordered the 63mm Drill bit for the shadow box from Amazon which got lost in shipping so I had to order another one (which ended up being way less quality) from synergy reef. It got the job done, and I got the tank drilled, back painted black, and returns and overflow installed. (The better drill bit showed up the next day -_-)

I also had my brother give me a hand with welding some custom hanging brackets for the lighting system I plan on running which is going to be the Aquatic Life T5 LED Hybrid which will have my 2 AI primes from my lagoon on it. I bought some sections of 1" Square Weldable Steel Tubing from Lowes, we cut and welded the brackets, then grinded sanded and painted them black. I have them mounted to the back of the stand so I don't have to drill holes in my ceiling.

I ordered the plumbing from BRS on St. Pattys Day which is blue pipe with all schedule 80 fittings. I will be running 2 spears gate valves for drain and return balance and 2 Cepex ball valves for additional equipment later on.

Here's the tank how it sits now.

The return pump is a Current USA EFlux DC pump.

The sump will be a Trigger Systems Sapphire 39.

Rock will be CarribSea LifeRock, Fiji Pink Sand.

Still undecided on the skimmer and heater but am open to suggestions.

Any input at all is greatly appreciated

This is a fantastic looking upgrade!

Oh, and Welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[StPeteReefer]

This is a fantastic looking upgrade!

Oh, and Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Thanks! What do you guys think about this plumbing plan?

I know it's not that great of a schematic but it's the best I could do lol.

 

[Brew12]

Thanks! What do you guys think about this plumbing plan?

I know it's not that great of a schematic but it's the best I could do lol.

We have the same sump, and that is almost identical to how mine is set up. The only difference is that I don't have any 90's in my drain lines. I have read that using a 90 in a full siphon drain can cause issues (not sure if it actually does) so I avoided it. Using 2 45's also gives some 3d flexibility to get things lined up with the sump. That was challenging.

I added unions below my synergy overflow just in case I ever need to redo something. I also added a union right above my barb fitting on the return pump to make pulling the pump easy. Disconnecting that silicone tubing can be a pain.

I'm guessing the gate valve on one of the return lines is to help balance flow with the other side? I'm liking that idea.

 

[StPeteReefer]

We have the same sump, and that is almost identical to how mine is set up. The only difference is that I don't have any 90's in my drain lines. I have read that using a 90 in a full siphon drain can cause issues (not sure if it actually does) so I avoided it. Using 2 45's also gives some 3d flexibility to get things lined up with the sump. That was challenging.

I added unions below my synergy overflow just in case I ever need to redo something. I also added a union right above my barb fitting on the return pump to make pulling the pump easy. Disconnecting that silicone tubing can be a pain.

I'm guessing the gate valve on one of the return lines is to help balance flow with the other side? I'm liking that idea.

Interesting. I'll try the 90s and update you on my experience with it. I didn't include unions in the schematic but I did purchase a handful of them. I'll be putting them below the overflow for sure, and the idea of putting it above the barb is a fantastic idea, thanks for the input!

Yes hopefully the gate valve on that side to balance flow helps I'll keep you posted. Do you think a 1050 Gph return will be enough, should I buy a 2nd one and plumb them separately, or take this one back and trade it in for a larger one?

Also what are your thoughts on the sump? Haven't ordered it yet but it's next on the list. Would you buy it again or go with something else it you had the chance?

 

[Brew12]

Do you think a 1050 Gph return will be enough, should I buy a 2nd one and plumb them separately, or take this one back and trade it in for a larger one?

I think that is more than enough, but I like to run my sump a little on the slower side. I run less than 1050gph on my 187g system. Fortunately, you can dial that way back with the DC pump so you should be fine. You will have a wide range of flow to pick what works for you. Since the highest recommended flow is typically 10x tank volume, you can easily reach that or you can dial it back to the 3x-4x that I prefer.

Also what are your thoughts on the sump? Haven't ordered it yet but it's next on the list. Would you buy it again or go with something else it you had the chance?

I love the sump. I wouldn't have minded something a little larger but it would be fantastic for a system the size of yours. The only thing that doesn't seem well thought out is the "media rack" between the baffle plates after the fuge. I want pods to flow through to the return so I don't run with them anyway, but they don't sit in there very securely unless I was doing it wrong.

 

[StPeteReefer]

I think that is more than enough, but I like to run my sump a little on the slower side. I run less than 1050gph on my 187g system. Fortunately, you can dial that way back with the DC pump so you should be fine. You will have a wide range of flow to pick what works for you. Since the highest recommended flow is typically 10x tank volume, you can easily reach that or you can dial it back to the 3x-4x that I prefer.


I love the sump. I wouldn't have minded something a little larger but it would be fantastic for a system the size of yours. The only thing that doesn't seem well thought out is the "media rack" between the baffle plates after the fuge. I want pods to flow through to the return so I don't run with them anyway, but they don't sit in there very securely unless I was doing it wrong.

Perfect thanks again for the input. Today the plumbing arrived! One step closer to getting water in this thing....

 

[StPeteReefer]

Today I made a mock sump with exact dimensions out of cardboard and drew the lines inside to replicate the chambers. Cut and glued almost all pipes and fittings with the exception of those that will need to be exact fit when the sump arrives. I'm pretty happy with how well it came out, although I didn't have much room for unions on my drain lines outside of those on the overflow box. This may change before the final fitment depending on where I position the sump under the stand. Keep on reefin!

 

[Brew12]

Today I made a mock sump with exact dimensions out of cardboard and drew the lines inside to replicate the chambers. Cut and glued almost all pipes and fittings with the exception of those that will need to be exact fit when the sump arrives. I'm pretty happy with how well it came out, although I didn't have much room for unions on my drain lines outside of those on the overflow box. This may change before the final fitment depending on where I position the sump under the stand. Keep on reefin!

That is looking really nice!

A little Flexseal spray paint on the cardboard and you will be ready to fill!

 

[StPeteReefer]

That is looking really nice!

A little Flexseal spray paint on the cardboard and you will be ready to fill!

I tested out the return lines last night, no leaks! Also I'm getting about 550 GPH out of my return pump on full power, still think that's enough?

 

[Brew12]

I tested out the return lines last night, no leaks! Also I'm getting about 550 GPH out of my return pump on full power, still think that's enough?

550gph is 6 times tank volume which is more than many reefers run. Unless you are going Triton it should be fine.

 

[StPeteReefer]

I might start with this pump then maybe upgrade to something big and fancy down the road like a Vectra.

It's actually 576 GPH I just did the math, so 7x turn-over at max.

I won't be doing Triton right away, maybe sometime down the road.

 

[Brew12]

I might start with this pump then maybe upgrade to something big and fancy down the road like a Vectra.

It's actually 576 GPH I just did the math, so 7x turn-over at max.

I won't be doing Triton right away, maybe sometime down the road.

If you do decide you need to upgrade in the future, keep this as an emergency backup. Nothing worse than having a return pump fail on a Friday night and you realize it may be days before you can get a new one.

 

[StPeteReefer]

If you do decide you need to upgrade in the future, keep this as an emergency backup. Nothing worse than having a return pump fail on a Friday night and you realize it may be days before you can get a new one.

Yea, good call I'll definitely do that. A lot more to lose with this tank than my 25....

 

[StPeteReefer]

Sump arrived yesterday, finished plumbing, filled the tank and started the leak test. One small leak after 24 hours at the threaded 90 on one of the returns, thanks to unions this was an easy fix with some additional teflon tape and an extra turn. Very happy with it so far the water level is spot on with where I wanted it to be in the display. The sump is gorgeous but one of the adjustable baffle screw holes is stripped, it arrived that way from BRS and I didn't realize it till it was installed. The adjustable baffle still works but for what the sump costs it ought to be perfect imo... might give them a ring tomorrow. Unfortunately the stripped hole is in the glued down acrylic wall so it's probably going to have to get returned if I want the issue resolved. Other than that this is a killer sump.

 

[StPeteReefer]

2 days ago I filled the tank with RO, mixed up some salt in the bare tank to 1.026 with Fritz RPM Salt.

Also added:
Cobalt Accutherm Heater
80 Lbs of Carribsea Special Grade Arag Alive
35 Lbs of Carribsea LifeRock
200 Gal Size Seachem Matrix in Sump
Dr. Tim's Ammonium Chloride
Aquivitro Seed
Red Sea KH Coraline Grow
$16 Multi Color LED light strip on PVC


I will be adding more rock next week and upgrading the heater to a NeoTherm while using the AccuTherm as a backup after the cycle is done before adding coral.

The KH coraline Grow is just to bring up my KH where I want it, will be scraping out some Coraline from my 25 to seed the tank with after the initial cycle and I'm going to heavily monitor the KH to try and get the coraline a good head start.

The LEDs have a remote for color changing and different patterns, honestly I just like low profile and affordability factor of lighting my work area for maintenance.

Next up is the Aquatic Life T5 Hybrid fixture, and an Eshopps S120 Protein Skimmer.

 

[StPeteReefer]

I've never had a tank cycle so quickly. I think the ammonium chloride sped the process up by not waiting for the usual breakdown of food by ghost feeding. By the 8th day I had 10 PPM nitrates, 0 ammonia, and 0 nitrites. I then added 6 small green chromis to keep the cycle going and they have been doing great for about a week now. Still have absolutely no algae bloom whatsoever so I am expecting at least some diatoms soon. Have not been running any lights on the tank at all which might explain the lack of algae.

 

[StPeteReefer]

One of the Chromis died unexpectedly but the other 5 are doing fantastic. No further changes yet just letting the tank mature as much as possible before adding any coral still no visible diatoms or algae of any kind. Nitrates around 20 ppm and did first water change.

 

[DumpInTheSump]

Nice progress and I'm sorry for the loss. This definitely gave me the idea that maybe I need a manifold as well since I plan to run 1 or 2 external pieces of filtration equipment! That stand looks killer by the way!

 

[StPeteReefer]

Nice progress and I'm sorry for the loss. This definitely gave me the idea that maybe I need a manifold as well since I plan to run 1 or 2 external pieces of filtration equipment! That stand looks killer by the way!

Yessir thank you! If I could do it over again I would have added one more ball valve off the manifold on either end of the plumbing for external equipment that I dont want to store in the sump. Going with the 39 sump really limited my ability to do that though, takes up virtually the entire under stand area.