Mlsreef's 185 mixed reef build

Mlsreef

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My new build! I recently got a deal on a used Deep Sea Aquatics 185g and stand. It was a fresh water plant tank so I will have to do some customization to make it work. I have placed it in a glassed in porch and have dedicated one end to the tank. I may build a work room on the back side of the wall but for now I am limited to the cabinet space you see in the pic. The canopy came with the tank and i doubled its height. I do not have water in it yet as I'm still in the building phase. As I finish my build I will be looking for advice to make this a successful reef tank! Thanks in advance.
fish tank5.jpg
 
The tank is predrilled on the center in the back on the bottom with 4 holes 1 3/4 inch in diameter. I have a custom overflow being made along with a sump and ato from Advanced Acrylics out of California. Those guys have been very helpful with advice on plumbing in the tank. I'm very excited about the sump and overflow and hope to show pictures soon. Ill try to get posted a list of equipment i think i will use.
 
Welcome to R2R!

Good luck with the build and keep us updated! :yo:
 
Let me know what you think. I was looking into getting a 300 g custom tank with a sump and top off from them. I've heard they do some really good work.
 
Time to press forward! I got my overflow box, ato, and sump delivered. Now I need to plumb this in. I have 4 holes in bottom of tank. All are 1 3/4 inch in diameter. I found some 1 inch standard threaded bulkheads at marinedepo which seem to fit 1 3/4 inch holes. Anyone with some input as to my plumbing for a durso and what i should use these 4 holes for?
 
You stated durso; does that mean you want to know how to plumb a durso drain or do you want to know all of your options for varying types of drains? A durso is reliable but can be noisy. If that what you want you can arrange two 1" drains and use a reducing couple for 2 3/4" returns.
 
The main ones are durso, herbie, bean animal. The herbie and bean animal are "full siphon" drains, meaning that while the drain is in operation, there is minimal air in the pipe thus eliminating the gurgling sound you hear with durso drains. It seems that most people will opt for the bean animal over the herbie, if given the option. In contrast, durso drains are designed to allow a substantial volume of air to mix with the water as it enters the drain. This mixing is in itself not a bad thing, however, once the drain water exits the pipe in the sump, it does so with large volumes of air. This creates varying sizes of bubble to enter the sump and can be quite noisy. The sound can be minimized by using the straightest run possible from the bottom of the tank to sump. Also, the larger the drain pipe relative to the volume of water exiting will minimize the variation air volume being trapped by the water flow therefore minimizing gurgling. In your case, it would benefit you to use 1 1/2" drains from the bottom of the tank to the sump, as opposed to the 1" diameter bulkhead. This may not immediately make sense, but once you see a durso with a relatively small drain pipe in operation it would be clear. I don't have any schematics for the drain types but they should be easy to find here if you search for the terms.
 
My new build! I recently got a deal on a used Deep Sea Aquatics 185g and stand. It was a fresh water plant tank so I will have to do some customization to make it work. I have placed it in a glassed in porch and have dedicated one end to the tank. I may build a work room on the back side of the wall but for now I am limited to the cabinet space you see in the pic. The canopy came with the tank and i doubled its height. I do not have water in it yet as I'm still in the building phase. As I finish my build I will be looking for advice to make this a successful reef tank! Thanks in advance.
fish tank5.jpg

Great custom build! How is everything coming along?

~CI
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%
  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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