Wrasse Retreat 2.0: Evolved's 270g Peninsula

[evolved]

Latest FTS (6/28/2020)

Tank Specs
Titan Aquatic
3/4"acrylic, 1 end black
270 gallons, peninsula setup
6'x3'x2'
Drilled w/ 20" Synergy Reef overflow

Stand
Custom 80/20 extruded aluminum
Black anodized
40" tall
Divided into separate wet/dry areas
Reclaimed barn wood doors

Sump
Titan Aquatic, custom built
36"x32"x16"
80 gallons (~50 gallons actually running)
4 mesh filter socks

Skimmer
Reef Octopus Regal 250INT

Other Filtration
Titan Aquatic 2 chamber custom easy change reactor
One with BRS HC GFO
The other with BRS ROX carbon
Fed via return manifold
Skimz MBR157 macroalgae reactor (w/ Sicce pump)

Return Pump
Ecotech Vectra L1

Tank Circulation
MP60 QD (x2) (Ecotech battery backup)

Dosing
Avast Kalk Stirrer
Geo 612 Calcium Reactor

Controller
Neptune Apex (w/ integrated web cam)
Trident (since May 2019)
AFS, 1x/day w/ PE mysis pellets
1500VA 900W UPS backup

Heater/Fan
250W Eheim JAGER (x2)
Basic 10" clamp-style fan over sump

ATO
Controlled via Apex, 1+1 floats with a Titan Aquatic custom 21g reservoir

Lighting
ATI 60" 8 Bulb Sunpower, 2 60" Reef Brite Tech Strips

Substrate
Rock: ~200lbs of Marco Rock (with 40lbs "prime cuts" for the bottom)
Sand: Caribsea 120 lbs, Seaflor

 

[evolved]

A new home, a new tank. And bigger of course.

As I'm a fish guy over corals (although I love both), I am going to focus on the fish this time and make the corals the secondary. In which case, I am moving away from SPS and metal halides to LPS, more dimly lit, and dirty water. I tend to feed the wrasses quite a bit, so doing them in an SPS tank tends to feel counter productive at times. And they should be a bit more at home in dimer lighting. Plus, I'm really sick of dealing with AEFW but more so Pocillopora, so this is also an opportunity to move away from that.

Here's the plan:
Tank: Titan Aquatics 6'x3'x2' Peninsula, Acrylic, 1 End Black
Stand: Custom 80/20 Extruded Aluminum, w/ Reclaimed Wood Doors
Sump: Titan Aquatics Custom
ATO Tank: Titan Aquatics
Overflow: Reef Synergy 20” Overflow
Return Pump: Vortech L1
Skimmer: Reef Octopus Regal 250INT
Rock: ~200lbs of Marco Rock (w/ some "prime cuts" for the bottom)
Sand: Caribsea 120 lbs, Seaflor
Reactors: Titan Aquatics Prototype
Lighting: AI Hydra 52s (x3 w/ 60" rail and hanging kits)
Heater: Eheim 250W (x2)
Powerheads: Vortech MP40 QD (x4)
Neptune Apex Classic (from current tank) (w/ WXM)

 

[evolved]

I've been working on this plan and executing it since February. Our closing date on the new home is August 11th, so we're getting into crunch time now.

Here's how the tank will be placed into the new home:

Behind the tank, I opted to add two 20 amp dedicated circuits for the tank. I've got plenty of power!

One of the first things I worked on was getting my rock delivered. So 150 lbs of Marco rock plus 40lbs of "prime cuts" got delivered to me. I did an acid wash on it and have had it cycling in this 50g stock tank since early April. I cannot reuse my current rock if I wish to rid myself of Pocillopora.

The next thing, and so far the biggest undertaking, has been the stand. You may have noted the 80/20 plan above, and I do have to say it's so far been an awesome approach.

For those that do not know, my professional life is that of a mechanical engineer. Which is pretty handy for considering the 80/20 route, as there are no real instructions with the stuff. However, they do have a deflection calculator on their site, and that's pretty handy if you have just a bit of knowledge. Their deflection calculator could really provide enough guidance for most users, but I happen to have some superior tools at my finger tips. Accordingly, here is what the stand frame plan ended up looking like:

Isometric View

Side View

Top View

End View

You might notice there is a slight bias with the vertical supports; this is intentional. The "short" end will be divided from the rest of the stand, and be the "dry" area for all power, controllers, etc. The double door side will be the "wet" side of the stand, with the sump and such.

 

[evolved]

Now, any of you who know some engineering tools might have an idea that the above pictures are from a fancy software tool.

You would be correct, and as a structural analyst, I couldn't help myself but to do some analysis and understand how the stand would behave under load. So cue the fancy pretty picture results, from the fancy analysis tool.

These images are with the full weight of 270 gallons of saltwater even applied across the top surfaces of the top rails. The behavior is scaled (magnified) just for visual understanding of what is happening.

The fist one below is the total deflection of the stand. Note the scale on the left; this is in inches.

This one is similar to the above, but this only illustrates the vertical deflection. Therefore motion in the horizontal plane is removed; I am simply trying to get a good feel how much out-of-plane distortion the bottom of the tank might be subjected to. Basically, 0.008" of deflection on the cross bars. That's about two sheets of paper in thickness; nothing exciting.

Going one step further, the image below is just the upper side rails with only vertical deflection. You can see here I am looking at 0.0025" of deflection at worst on the side rails; not much.

This last image is simply stresses of the metal. These stress levels are boring in my world, and a long ways from yielding. There is plenty of margin in this design; it is deflection controlled long before it is stress controlled.

 

[evolved]

Here is the reclaimed wood I picked up locally, stack up on the patio. Time for some woodworking.

Closer view; they call this "speckled gray". It's shades of gray really, with some tans too.

There will be 7 panels on the stand; 4 doors for the wet half of the stand, 2 fixed panels for the dry side of the stand, and 1 door on the end to access to the dry side. To do these, I'm using 1/2" birch ply, first painted black.

And this will be the divider for the stand. I took off some thickness on the edges; it will slide into the extruded aluminum channels.

That should be more clear later, for those that are a bit lost on the description. You'll also see the box I started building which is attached to the divider. This will serve as the mounting place for the electronics, as well as a place to stuff power supplies, cords, etc. You'll see me sketching out a general idea of what will be mounted where below.

So now back to the reclaimed wood. Here's a panel coming together.

It's like a small assembly line; too bad it was 100-110F this whole week I was doing this. Not so fun, but it must get done.

Getting closer; a finished stack.

I was planning to finish the wood with some wood wax. I did a trial on half a scrap end, and I didn't like it at all. Much of the gray gets lost and it turns a lot more brown, plus some character gets lost. So abandoning this plan; the wood is unfinished for the time being and may just remain that way.

I will also be using 3/4" finish grade birch for the top and bottom of the stand. Here are those pieces cut and freshly painted.

And lastly, my teaser shot for now, in crappy lighting and a bit blurry. But this will have to hold everyone over.

It at least gives you an idea of what the full finished product should look like. And I probably didn't mention it, but you can also see all of my 80/20 pieces are the smooth profile, black anodized. If you look a bit closer, you'll also see the plastic finishing channel on the exposed outer pieces. That basically makes the groove go away visually, and kills the erector set look. This will be in my living room, after all.

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

Congrats on the new home!! Looking forward to your build!!

 

[kschweer]

I really like that "fancy software tool" it's way over my head but I like it. Best of luck with the tank and the new home!

 

[evolved]

Congrats on the new home!! Looking forward to your build!!

Thanks Krista!

I really like that "fancy software tool" it's way over my head but I like it. Best of luck with the tank and the new home!

Thank you Kevin. The tool is ANSYS Workbench, if anyone is dying to know. It's software I use nearly everyday.

 

[Duke4Life]

Very nice with the wood. I'll be following along.

 

[shadow1013]

I love 80/20! Are you attaching the door between the supports or on top of?

 

[urbaneks]

Hunter - Great start to the new tank. Look forward to seeing how your cabinet progresses.

 

[Mike&Terry]

Congrats on the new tank and new home! Looking forward to following your progress...

 

[WhiskyTango]

I've been working on this plan and executing it since February. Our close date on the new home is August 11th, so we're getting into crunch time now.

Here's how the tank will be placed into the new home:

Behind the tank, I opted to add two 20 amp dedicated circuits for the tank. I've got plenty of power!

One of the first things I worked on was getting my rock delivered. So 150 lbs of Marco rock plus 40lbs of "prime cuts" got delivered to me. I did an acid wash on it and have had it cycling in this 50g stock tank since early April. I cannot reuse my current rock if I wish to rid myself of Pocillopora.

The next thing, and so far the biggest undertaking, has been the stand. You may have noted the 80/20 plan above, and I do have to say it's so far been an awesome approach.

For those that do not know, my professional life is that of a mechanical engineer. Which is pretty handy for considering the 80/20 route, as there are no real instructions with the stuff. However, they do have a deflection calculator on their site, and that's pretty handy is you have just a bit of knowledge. Accordingly, here is what the stand frame plan ended up looking like:


You might notice there is a slight bias with the vertical supports; this is intentional. The "short" end will be divided from the rest of the stand, and be the "dry" area for all power, controllers, etc. The double side will be the "wet" side of the stand, with the sump and such.

Looks good man. I just looked up 80/20 extruded and I can't tell from the pics, but how are the members connected? Is it a prefab kit with fasteners, or is it welded together?

I thought for a second you bought an FEA license for home. It's cool they have those tools on their website.

Best of luck with the transfer.

 

[FoD]

Ummm...acrylic?

Setting up nicely Hunter. I'm liking the weathered look. I am in the middle of a project similar to this (outdoor bar for friend). Looking forward to regular updates.

 

[Reefrookie220]

FISH LIST!?!?

I mean seriously... I stalk ALOT of builds, but This one has me giddy just thinking about the wrasses!

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

Great work! Looks like you got your hands dirty getting into all the gritty details. Keep it up!!

 

[catlinth]

I'm looking forward to see this one develop!

 

[Tahoe61]

So happy for you, congratulations.

Love the design of the stand, can't wait to see the results.

I am intrigued by your shift to less sps. Never ever will I buy Pocillopora again no matter how attractive it is. But I still covet every other sps.

 

[evolved]

Very nice with the wood. I'll be following along.

Thanks sir

I love 80/20! Are you attaching the door between the supports or on top of?

Thank you, and between. The doors are out in front. Using their lift off hinges.

Hunter - Great start to the new tank. Look forward to seeing how your cabinet progresses.

Thanks Brad.
I have to give some extra credit here, for Brad's stand certainly helped fuel the inspiration for my stand doors.
Brad's tank is truly as stunning as it appears in all of his photos. I didn't realize until I saw his tank how similar the dimensions of our tanks will be; that aspect was purely coincidental.

Congrats on the new tank and new home! Looking forward to following your progress...

Thanks M&T. I'm keeping an eye on yours for sure!

Looks good man. I just looked up 80/20 extruded and I can't tell from the pics, but how are the members connected? Is it a prefab kit with fasteners, or is it welded together?

I thought for a second you bought an FEA license for home. It's cool they have those tools on their website.

Best of luck with the transfer.

The 80/20 is basically cut to order. You've got to pick all the parts yourself. It's attached with fasteners and nut plates that slide into the channels.

The only tool on their site is a deflection calculator. But I can verify it's accuracy is good enough.
The FEA above is a work perk; I stayed late at the office one day.

Ummm...acrylic?

Setting up nicely Hunter. I'm liking the weathered look. I am in the middle of a project similar to this (outdoor bar for friend). Looking forward to regular updates.

Thanks Andy. Yeah, acrylic. But only because I have a friend in the right place; Titan doesn't do retail. I think you'll be a fan once all the tricks planned are revealed.
I'll do what I can for updates. Things will be bit stale soon until the move.

FISH LIST!?!?

I mean seriously... I stalk ALOT of builds, but This one has me giddy just thinking about the wrasses!

That's really TBD and off the radar right now. One step at a time.

Great work! Looks like you got your hands dirty getting into all the gritty details. Keep it up!!

Thanks!

I'm looking forward to see this one develop!

Thank you!

 

[evolved]

So happy for you, congratulations.

Love the design of the stand, can't wait to see the results.

I am intrigued by your shift to less sps. Never ever will I buy Pocillopora again no matter how attractive it is. But I still covet every other sps.

Thanks Cheryl. I think I'll be happy in the long run, or maybe that's just my hope speaking.