It's offical with this thread! 260 gallon build begins!

[iplumbsome]

The 'refugium' thing goes round and round. I think basically if you want one there's no harm and it's fun to have that extra life in the system. Certainly not a required item though.
As a plumber I don't need to tell you but, ACCESS. Make it easy to get at everything for future maintenance, revisions, etc.
LOVE the idea of putting in a bulkhead for easy drain off at water change time. Very jealous of the floor drain!
Plan for a frag tank, even if it never happens at least you can stub out the plumbing and have the space ready.

The bulkhead I thought was a good idea but what seems common in this hobby is I started to second guess myself. My plan was to do 40-45 gallon water changes so I would figure the volume and drill bulkhead that many inches down from water level. Dumping it right into my sanitary sewer (yeah city sewer!). I was going to plumb the water from my mixing station back to my sump to fill it back up. Does that sound reasonable?

Like I said I was planning on piping the refugium in no matter what, but is there any reason I couldn't use that as a frag tank eventually?

 

[iplumbsome]

I would go fuge.... Take a look at the Triton method. I’m switching over to that here soon

I will check that out. Thanks!

 

[iplumbsome]

looks like a good start already. I like the server rack in there too, be careful running all saltwater in that same room, may cause some of your computer equipment to get rusty. id get/make a lid for the sump/refug + a dehumidifier

That kind of crossed my mind. That rack is about 15' away. Do you think that would be an issue. I had a tank in my old houses basement next to my steal beam and don't remember seeing things rust.

I could add another inlet from my ERV just to remove the moist air.

 

[don_chuwish]

The bulkhead I thought was a good idea but what seems common in this hobby is I started to second guess myself. My plan was to do 40-45 gallon water changes so I would figure the volume and drill bulkhead that many inches down from water level. Dumping it right into my sanitary sewer (yeah city sewer!). I was going to plumb the water from my mixing station back to my sump to fill it back up. Does that sound reasonable?

Like I said I was planning on piping the refugium in no matter what, but is there any reason I couldn't use that as a frag tank eventually?

Refugium full of chaeto or other stuff won't work as a frag tank, but you could certainly switch the space back and forth as you like. Different lighting though too.

 

[andyg1960]

Looks like the beginnings of a great build. Following.

 

[iplumbsome]

Refugium full of chaeto or other stuff won't work as a frag tank, but you could certainly switch the space back and forth as you like. Different lighting though too.

Thanks! I was assuming it would have to one way or the other. The way the guy had this piped before was a 2" pass through pipe. From what I was reading the other day some say that a stand alone fug should spill back into the sump. Do you have any opinion one that? I could put it up on a stand to achieve this.

 

[iplumbsome]

Not much happened on the build the following week or so other than picking up a 55 gallon tank I was planning on using for a quarantine tank. I picked this on craigslist cheap and it came with the canister filter, HOB filter, HOB skimmer, and LED light. Along with a few other items. Is it ok to use this type of filtration for a quarantine tank? I was thinking of just doing a bare bottom and throwing some live rock in there also.

View attachment 2018-01-21 12.22.49.jpg

 

[iplumbsome]

This is what has kept me busy and the wife happy. We are doing a concrete counter top on the bar and on the little bar I was planning in front of the tank, so even though I don't do any aquarium work this week this part of the build needs to be done before I can put this bad boy in place. Hopefully pour the tops next week, finish up the plumbing and appliances and I can devote more time on this build.

 

[iplumbsome]

So I was working on framing up the counter tops so I can hopefully pour them next weekend. It dawned on me I might have messed up on the height of my cutout in the wall for my tank. I think the way I had it you would see my waterline through my cutout which I don't think would be desirable. I was looking at some pics of others tanks and trying to remember how my last tank (over ten years ago) worked. My water level will be the bottom of teeth of the overflow box correct? If this is the case my water level will be about 2 1/2" below the top of my tank. Does this make sense?

 

[don_chuwish]

Concrete countertops are great - we did our whole kitchen and two bathroom vanities. The kitchen ones were poured in place and then I ground & polished. Used these forms:
https://www.concretecountertopsolutions.com/product/square-edge
Vanities were poured into DIY melamine forms.
Lots of work but good fun.

 

[iplumbsome]

Concrete countertops are great - we did our whole kitchen and two bathroom vanities. The kitchen ones were poured in place and then I ground & polished. Used these forms:
https://www.concretecountertopsolutions.com/product/square-edge
Vanities were poured into DIY melamine forms.
Lots of work but good fun.

I have two buddies that did cast in place tops. One used the system you used and one formed them up themselves. Both turned out great! I am forming my own up. Hopefully they work out. Did you add color to yours or stain them afterwards. We are planning on keeping them natural.

 

[MarineMalecki]

This looks like a great build - following along!

I have a similar in-wall setup to yours. I don’t have a server rack in my mechanical room (it’s in another room), I did cover most of the room with 1/8” PVC on the walls to protect everything as much as possible. That said, the furnace, water softener, and water heater are all within 10 feet of the tank - I run a dehumidifier regularly.

I see that you’re in WI - have you looked into WRS (Wisconsin Reef Society)?

 

[iplumbsome]

This looks like a great build - following along!

I have a similar in-wall setup to yours. I don’t have a server rack in my mechanical room (it’s in another room), I did cover most of the room with 1/8” PVC on the walls to protect everything as much as possible. That said, the furnace, water softener, and water heater are all within 10 feet of the tank - I run a dehumidifier regularly.

I see that you’re in WI - have you looked into WRS (Wisconsin Reef Society)?

I remember seeing WRS when I was involved in the hobby years ago. I will check it out.

I have a ERV (energy recovery ventilator) once I get the tank up and running I will probably cut another inlet into that system in my mechanical/fish room. So far it seems to do a very good job at removing moist stale air from the house and returning fresh outdoor air.

 

[MarineMalecki]

That’s great - if it brings in fresh air from outdoors, that will help with keeping pH in the recommended range. I struggle keeping mine above 7.7 since my new house is pretty air tight. I use a CO2 scrubber to help keep it between 7.8-8.0

 

[iplumbsome]

That’s great - if it brings in fresh air from outdoors, that will help with keeping pH in the recommended range. I struggle keeping mine above 7.7 since my new house is pretty air tight. I use a CO2 scrubber to help keep it between 7.8-8.0

I highly recommend an ERV for tight homes. I went overboard with spray foam and sealing everything. We had a huge issue with our windows condensation in our last house. I have had zero issues with that in this home even when the temps got crazy low a few weeks ago. It is very easy to control humidity now. I also feel like I sleep better with the fresh air coming in.

 

[don_chuwish]

I have two buddies that did cast in place tops. One used the system you used and one formed them up themselves. Both turned out great! I am forming my own up. Hopefully they work out. Did you add color to yours or stain them afterwards. We are planning on keeping them natural.

Used the Cheng mix for all of them - Pro-Formula Mix 'Charcoal' color for a small vanity and 'Platinum' for the kitchen & master bath. Great stuff. Their sealer is fantastic too.

 

[[Cameron]]

It is very easy to control humidity now.

You can throw that out the door when you start filling the tank. Nothing like an aquarium to jack with the humidity level in a house.

 

[Hazmat312]

following

 

[iplumbsome]

Not much happening on the build aquarium wise, but I did finally finish up the concrete counter tops and the bars. We weren't planning on staining them but weren't happy with the gray color they turned out. The wife is happy now and we are ready to go other than getting pool table set up and recoverd for the house warming party on April 7th. I also have to get the tank in place before than, but I need to get it buffed out first.

I am going to post this question in the general discussions area also, but what do you in-wall guys do about the sides of your tanks? Do you paint those also? I am assuming with the lights off I will be able to see into my mechanical room?

 

[Fudsey]

Funny you mention getting your pool table re- felted. Just had mine done 3 weeks ago and couldn't be more happy about it.

Bar top looks GREAT ! ! !

EDIT: And I'd paint the sides