Largest Attempt....New to Me 200g Build

[litebulb]

So I'm super new here and realize some people may thing I'm stupid for doing this all so fast but i figure what the heck! I Currently have a 29g Bio-cube and a 65g rimless reef setups. I have been looking to upgrade and go larger and i was able to make a deal on a "New to me" 200 gallon setup that came in on trade at the local store. I'm going to try to update as much as possible as this has been the best community I have found and any help suggestions anything is always welcome. I haven't made the choice of going full reef or if i want to do some more aggressive fish!


I spent yesterday cleaning with (2) of my employees so this looks 100x's better than when i got it. I should have taken those pictures but typical me I forgot! The only thing I'm confused on right now is this sump doesn't have anyway to drain into socks and if i can/need to do that I will find a way to make it work. When i got it they had the "mud" in the refugium and a couple of rocks. If i don't need the sock (my 65 has it and its great) i wont worry. I also have a UV system that came with it. I haven't decided if i want to use it or not yet.

 

[charleslotz]

Very nice you will enjoy the larger tank , to me bio cube is more difficult than larger volume tanks ,... just more forgiving on mistakes.

What are you planning ? Biopellets, macro algue carbon dosing .... Sps , lps, mixed ,.... Give us some detailed on your plans ...?

I would consider changing the sump to something more modern .... It will save you some frustration later on.

 

[litebulb]

Well that's what I was afraid of lol. Im still super new to the game here. I'm honestly skimming everyones builds and seeing what i need to do. Kinda bummed that i need (i kinda figured as much) a newer sump.

 

[litebulb]

Im thinking i can retro fit some socks on the returns, that should take of the need for buying another sump wouldn't you think?

 

[ed wicks]

Just remember to keep it simple,you don't need to spend money on high tech gadgets to have a successful tank,you will get a lot of opinions,look. At other set ups,see what people are using.check out you tube videos of tanks.

 

[litebulb]

Well time for sand and water. Probably not going to be doing 200+ gallons this evening lol but who knows. I'll plumb the skimmer in next week I just wanted all the main plumbing in and done before i left the office to get my kid.

 

[Zack33]

Tagging along! Looks good so far!

 

[litebulb]

Thanks. This whole time I'm distracted by my lack of socks and how I can add them. The drains section is currently only 3" wide. Might be able to find someone that can modify that acrylic and make it easier.

 

[charleslotz]

Socks are not a requirement many don't use socks and believe they are nitrate factories and let their skimmers remove the fine particulate. If your set on filter socks look at the draw string type might be easier to make them work.

 

[litebulb]

Thanks, i do plan on getting some mud in the refugium. If i can get away and have some time im going to make a good attempt and getting it cycling today. Having 5 kids and a wife is hard to sneak away from! I guess i really need to decide what I plan on putting in the tank. I keep leaning towards an aggressive tank.

 

[litebulb]

Well today I'll be filling it up! I'm going to a dry rock dealer in town and going to get around 100lbs or so of some of the buna branch, Fiji premium and shelf rock and make this happen. I'm having a few people recommend I don't go with live sand and instead use crushed coral. Their basis for this is that if I decide to go with more aggressive fish then there wouldn't be sand being flung up and cloudy water everywhere. Any recommendations would be very welcome!

 

[NeptuneGarden]

Couple of not so good's on the pump plumbing.

1. It's a real bad idea to put an elbow in front of the suction side of a pump, or at least that close. It can cause cavitation, reduce pump efficiency and life, and increase noise.
2. It's a real good idea to put flexible hose between the pump and it's hard connections. This will GREATLY reduce noise levels. Also put some kind of rubber isolating mat under the pump to sit on. Those PanWorld pumps are not quiet.

3. If worried about messy fish, go bare bottom....

 

[litebulb]

That's good to know on this type of pump. I'm an electrician and my company's main source of business right now is swimming pool installations. So logically (to me at least!) I just plumbed it like a swimming pool filter pump that mostly have 90s right in front of them lol. I was most definitely going to put a pad or rubber isolator as you mentioned underneath the pump regardless because I'm pretty sure that would be noisy as hell as well. I'm guessing the cavitation can come from not having a basket in front of the impeller like a pool filter ration pump does. I was really hoping to stay away from hose if I could I just don't care for the look of it but if it's that big of a problem it'll be easy to change out.

Best community I have found it when people look out for other people instead of bashing their work. Thanks again Neptune

 

[NeptuneGarden]

Yeah, they did that on my pool install as well. It's really not good for a pump.
Pool pumps are also a bit more on the industrial side of pump design and can take it (and who knows how much pump life was reduced at the end of the day anyway)

Some food for thought on centrifugal pump plumbing
http://www.piping-engineering.com/layout-arrangement-for-centrifugal-pump-piping.html
http://www.pumpsandsystems.com/centrifugal-pumps/january-2014-suction-swirl-centrifugal-pumps

The vibration from the pump is transferred to the tank and sump and will make them resonate. If possible try it both ways and you will be shocked by the difference in noise level in the room.

 

[litebulb]

Thank you! With the substrate I'm Just worried that If i go aggressive and get a Bamboo shark he might cloud it up, not so much a fan of bare bottom but If I can get that Agro alive crushed coral I think i ll be okay. Or maybe a mixture of the both. so many choices and so little funds lol!

 

[litebulb]

Waters going now. Slowly but surely

 

[Zack33]

Gotta love when things start getting wet! Exciting stage!

 

[litebulb]

Well I'm 10 gallons shy and out of time lol. It's ok as I'm sending my worker to get another 15 gallons. No noise isolation under pump yet and the noise isn't horrible but definitely loud. I didn't try shutting the stand doors either as I was more concerned with looking for leaks. Got around 70 lbs of some nice clean dry rocks, shelf piece , buna branch and some Fiji soaking in some ro and will double clean it tomorrow before starting to put it in. I have live sand in the refugium and I'll pic up one piece of live rock tomorrow at the lfs to finish this round and get to cycling.

Question, it's ok to cycle without lights on it for now right ? My big Mars lights aren't due till end of week.

I also have a really cool piece of red plastic/acrylic being cut with a water jet that I'll be putting I the center of the tank with my company logo on it. Very excited for this!

 

[litebulb]

Had a small leak from a bulkhead that stopped my progress last night. I am now filtering!

 

[Zack33]

Question, it's ok to cycle without lights on it for now right ? My big Mars lights aren't due till end of week.

Of course! Actually for the first little portion of the cycle, I have found it to be a good idea to not have the lights on. It helps to limit the algal growth you will get from the ammonia and nitrite spikes. There is no real reason you need to cycle at all wit the lights on, however you will want them on for at least a week before you decide to add a clean up crew (snails, etc.). Another thing regarding lighting....you'll still get algal growth no matter what no lights or not, dinoflagellates (diatoms) don't necessarily need high light levels to grow (office lighting might be enough), so don't worry if you have no lights over the tank and start seeing algal growth.
However not having your lights overtop should help limit any hair algae or anything else like that you might commonly expect in a cycle.

Hope that helps,
Zack