My 150 gallon build

Wantsomemora Acrapora · Jul 27, 2020

The Sump: So I’ve debated for months on weather I was going to make my own sump. Everything in this hobby is over-priced and in my opinion, sumps are at the top of the list. Having said that, I don’t want a leak and I don’t like the glass sumps so I’ve settled on this one from Bashsea. I think I’m going to fabricate a lid on it to help with the noise.

HeyJay · Jul 27, 2020

Nice build! I'm so close to pulling the trigger on the same tank, but with an internal overflow.

Trey · Jul 27, 2020

Sweet build so far! How do you plan to run your cables over to the GFCI and keep them out of sight??

Wantsomemora Acrapora · Jul 28, 2020

HeyJay said:
Nice build! I'm so close to pulling the trigger on the same tank, but with an internal overflow.

This tank is beautiful imo! I get compliments from friends all the time. Good investment.

Reef Tripp · Jul 28, 2020

Go, Gfci and titanium probe?

Wantsomemora Acrapora · Jul 28, 2020

Trey said:
Sweet build so far! How do you plan to run your cables over to the GFCI and keep them out of sight??

Keep the receptacle behind the tank non-GFCI and make the next receptacle upstream (or any receptacle upstream of the tank receptacle) a GFCI. It doesn’t matter where the GFCI is as long as it’s on the same circuit and upstream of the receptacle you want to protect. All receptacles on the same circuit and down stream of the GFCI will be protected.

Trey · Jul 28, 2020

Wantsomemora Acrapora said:
Keep the receptacle behind the tank non-GFCI and make the next receptacle upstream (or any receptacle upstream of the tank receptacle) a GFCI. It doesn’t matter where the GFCI is as long as it’s on the same circuit and upstream of the receptacle you want to protect. All receptacles on the same circuit and down stream of the GFCI will be protected.

Ahh I see! So I don’t need my equipment plugged directly into a GFCI then? And do I need an in wall GFCI if I have one on the same circuit in the box?
Sorry for all the questions, I’m not an electrician and am hiring one to put in a dedicated 20amp circuit just for my build.

Wantsomemora Acrapora · Jul 29, 2020

Trey said:
Ahh I see! So I don’t need my equipment plugged directly into a GFCI then? And do I need an in wall GFCI if I have one on the same circuit in the box?
Sorry for all the questions, I’m not an electrician and am hiring one to put in a dedicated 20amp circuit just for my build.

questions are welcome! No you don't need an in wall GFCI but having one as an additional provides you with redundant protection. The in-wall GFCI's often fail and should be replaced according to manufacturers recommendations. Like aquarium heaters they can fail on or off (failing on=they won't trip=no protection; failing off=they won't reset=no power to your tank until you replace the receptacle). The circuit breaker GFCI's are more reliable. But, if you have a redundant setup and your in-wall GFCI trips the circuit breaker GFCI will also trip. When this happens you cannot reset the in-wall GFCI until the circuit breaker GFCI is reset.

Wantsomemora Acrapora · Jul 29, 2020

Wantsomemora Acrapora said:
questions are welcome! No you don't need an in wall GFCI but having one as an additional provides you with redundant protection. The in-wall GFCI's often fail and should be replaced according to manufacturers recommendations. Like aquarium heaters they can fail on or off (failing on=they won't trip=no protection; failing off=they won't reset=no power to your tank until you replace the receptacle). The circuit breaker GFCI's are more reliable. But, if you have a redundant setup and your in-wall GFCI trips the circuit breaker GFCI will also trip. When this happens you cannot reset the in-wall GFCI until the circuit breaker GFCI is reset.

As an addendum, if you have redundant GFCI's and the in-wall GFCI fails on, you will still be protected by the breaker GFCI.

Wantsomemora Acrapora · Jul 29, 2020

tkd-tripp said:
Go, Gfci and titanium probe?

GFCI protection is better than no GFCI. Not sure what the probe you mentioned is for.

Wantsomemora Acrapora · Oct 23, 2020

Well, I'm wet finally! I would never have guessed at the turn this build would take but I am completely happy with it (even though it's still a work in progress).
It became obvious that I wasn't going to be able to pack this equipment into that cabinet space. so I decided to build one. The logical choice was wood but while looking for ideas I just got tired of it and since my stand and light were extruded aluminum...well, here you go! The aluminum bars within the cabinet allowed me to build in "3d" so to speak. I'm not done; there's more stuff going in there. I think I'll finish it off with polycarbonate doors. The power bricks are attached to the back which is 1/8" thick aluminum. The whole thing is essentially one big heat sink. The combination of lights, stand and cabinet complete the industrial look I was going for. I hope you like it.

benapilot · Oct 23, 2020

Looks great!

I’m waiting for my SCA 150 to be delivered and also have a Bashsea sump underneath.
I am in the planning stages for plumbing. Do you have any pictures of how you plumbed yours? Are the return bulkheads 3/4”?