New 180 Build - Mini Coop's Dream Tank

Fudsey · Dec 24, 2017

Just read through, setup is looking GREAT ! !

I put a tank 1/2 that together because it's the largest thing I can do in space provided. I too have a plumbed basement sump that this site got me through. I have only 11 ft of hp and wanted internal so my choices were even more limited than yours. Although I believe you got a great pump.

I rushed my rockscape and now kinda regret it. Take that part slow and take lots of pics or make marks. Wish I took more pics because they didn't go back together exactly the same

Victoria M · Dec 24, 2017

slow is the way to go.

I am the hobbyist, and I drag my husband and boys to fish stores and the occassional frag show. My husband does all the heavy lifting like plumbing, woodwork and electrical. I do have a rebuild thread but it does not show all the original build. No rocks yet. going slow, too.

Mini Coop · Dec 28, 2017

Ok - so here is the update!! We have been VERY busy bees!!! Thank goodness for Christmas break and great friends!

So - my only quote without jackhammering the floor to put a drain in for a sink was $1200!!! I can't do that - all my $$ has gone into the tank and equipment! There was a guy on my local forum that does plumbing for a company here in town and installed it and my RO system for $300!!! It was such a blessing!! Also, in working with re-doing the existing plumbing, we were COMPLETELY frustrated. Electric was no problem - plumbing is a whole new ball game! I am sure I have over $100 in parts and pieces that we haven't used! I am just hoping we can find the receipts and what we got where to take back! I am sure we have made over 12 trips to hardware stores! A couple days ago, my "coral guy" that now lives an hour and a half away came to give advice and bring me my Kessil that I bought from him. And in a matter of 2 hours, they had my drains plumbed and glued, and the returns started along with advice for my husband and I on how to finish! It was SUCH a help!!

As of today - 12/28/17 - we are completely plumbed - just need to glue the rest of the returns and buy ONE LAST PIECE!!! We need one more reducer. I will take more pics once we r finished! And thank goodness for Spa Flex White PVC - freaking life saver!

Mini Coop · Dec 28, 2017

Rock Curing Update:

I have 130 lbs of dry rock from @Bulk Reef Supply that I have cured for a month. I just did this in RO/DI water - changing it over the course of a month. It is now ready to assemble into my aquascape! I will be working on that for a few days.

I also purchased 130ish lbs of rock from a local guy tearing down a tank - this is for the refugium in the horse trough in the basement. It might not be in the tank right away when I start cycling, but I don't want to rush getting it in. I have seen BRS videos on acid, bleach, and some say just do saltwater. I kind of combined all of them and did it my own way. Some were saying not to do bleach because then you have to rinse it too much to get it all out. SOOOO - I soaked each piece in the sink with a little bleach mixed in the water and scrubbed each rock with a brush. Then rinsed each one and put it in the barrel that is filling with RODI. I will run this for about a week, drain, re-fill and do another week, then one more after that. This way all of the new rock that is from a live tank will be cured too. I will be testing nitrates along the way to see how we are doing!

So - here is the finished cured live rock for the main tank

And here is the rock scrubbing party/ready to cure rock!

Mini Coop · Dec 28, 2017

Also - got my MP40 today! Does anyone else use the clamp for the cord? If so, where do you put it? I was following the instructions, then realized when I put that cord clamp on the glass, it is this big white square on the side of the tank

Anyway - MP40 on one side, Gyre 250 on the other - this should get some massive flow!

Daltrey · Dec 28, 2017

You could put the cable tie on the black frame at the top so you dont see it. I would definately use it. Ask me how I know, ha. Mine fell off into the floor when I first turned it on after setting it up. Luckily it didn't break.

Us men tend to have a problem with skipping the directions, ha!

Daniel Waters · Dec 29, 2017

Mini Coop said:
Does anyone else use the clamp for the cord? If so, where do you put it?

Use the clamp. The MP40 dry side will sometimes disengage from the wet side. The dry side will then fall and possibly could become damaged.

I place my clamp on my bottom trim piece so it is less visible. My MP40 will still fall, but it will not hit the ground as the clamp catches it (this will depend on your tank stand height and how much length between your mp40 cord and the clamp). I've had times where the weight of the mp40 rips the clamp piece off when it falls because i have the clamp so much lower, but I figure it still reduces the fall force significantly enough to prevent any real damage to the dry side of the MP40 when that has occurred.

Mini Coop · Dec 29, 2017

Daltrey said:
You could put the cable tie on the black frame at the top so you dont see it. I would definately use it. Ask me how I know, ha. Mine fell off into the floor when I first turned it on after setting it up. Luckily it didn't break.

Us men tend to have a problem with skipping the directions, ha!

HAHA - I am way worse at following directions!

Thanks for the advice!

Mini Coop · Dec 29, 2017

Daniel Waters said:
Use the clamp. The MP40 dry side will sometimes disengage from the wet side. The dry side will then fall and possibly could become damaged.

I place my clamp on my bottom trim piece so it is less visible. My MP40 will still fall, but it will not hit the ground as the clamp catches it (this will depend on your tank stand height and how much length between your mp40 cord and the clamp). I've had times where the weight of the mp40 rips the clamp piece off when it falls because i have the clamp so much lower, but I figure it still reduces the fall force significantly enough to prevent any real damage to the dry side of the MP40 when that has occurred.

thank you -I will certainly use it then! Since I already have one on the glass, I will leave it and maybe replace it later! THANK YOU! You probably just saved me a pump and tile (tile floor in the tank room)

Fudsey · Dec 29, 2017

I agree with @Daltrey put it on the black trim, should blend right in. Seeing as you already have the cord going that way.

My OCD would cause me to scrape that off the glass

Daltrey · Dec 29, 2017

Fudsey said:
I agree with @Daltrey put it on the black trim, should blend right in. Seeing as you already have the cord going that way.

My OCD would cause me to scrape that off the glass

They are pretty easy to pull off. You may have to slide a razer under the corner to get it started. I've moved mine around enough to where it wouldn't stick anymore. I bought a pack of the same ones at Home Depot for a few bucks. They are in the electrical section with the cable ties.

Fudsey · Dec 29, 2017

I like the clip ones myself

Daltrey · Dec 29, 2017

Fudsey said:
I like the clip ones myself

Me too. I have a bag full of them, ha.

Mini Coop · Dec 29, 2017

Daltrey said:
Me too. I have a bag full of them, ha.

ok - I will get them for sure!!

Thank you!

Mini Coop · Dec 29, 2017

Making progress - ROCK SCAPE DAY!!!!
I had no clue what I really wanted to do - BUT I decided to try all of my favorite things . . .
1. I love the "valley" look - between 2 mountains, so on the left I have created this, I think.

2. I love the island look - so the middle and the right I used as an island/wall combo. The plastic you see represents the big giant branch piece I have. It will come out and be the tallest point in the rockscape. (The branch is curing . . . so I had to improvise for the time being.

3. Along with the island look - I created kind of a tee pee look on the right - a small island with holes on all sides for hiding. The island will also be set back toward the back for additional depth of field.

4. I do love the look of an arch as well. So, I was thinking of creating an arch from the center to the right island with staggering shelf rock (not the branch that is there - - - lol. It is just the piece I could get to stay without assistance).

I was afraid by doing all of my favorite things it might be too busy, but I am not sure it is. I think my biggest doubt is the arch. So, I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions!!

As I am looking, I also have tons of "rubble" pieces to fill in holes so it looks more coherent.

Think I have left enough room for real estate for corals?

Mini Coop · Dec 29, 2017

OK - drain test complete with only one catastrophe!! As I was pouring water into the drain, the bulkhead from the return started POURING out water that was missing the drain and hitting the floor of the tank . . . . Well. When the gasket is laying BESIDE the bulkhead, it doesn't work too well

THANK GOODNESS we used UNIONS all over!!! Even though it is all glued, we were able to take it apart, slip the gasket up through the hole, and fix it!! All good now!!!
PLUMBING COMPLETE!

Big G · Dec 29, 2017

Mini Coop said:
we used UNIONS all over!!!

Love me some unions. Real disaster savers. I'd say you really scored on all that rock. Are you going to glue together some of the rocks into units or just stack?

Mini Coop · Dec 29, 2017

Big G said:
Love me some unions. Real disaster savers. I'd say you really scored on all that rock. Are you going to glue together some of the rocks into units or just stack?

Not sure yet. Probably glue some of it, but I don't know what to use. I got some purple epoxy from BRS, but I am not happy with it. I used it to put a couple pieces of branch back together, let it dry for 20 minutes, and they came right off still. Not sure if it was user error or what. Any suggestions would be great.

dansreef · Dec 29, 2017

Great Build thread! I was in this same place three years ago. I have a similar thread if you are interested....https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dansreef-new-180-system.185817/page-2#post-4316729 I also struggled with my plumbing a bit. Fortunately there is another hobbyist that was a plumber that helped me out... we have become good friends.

I have two pieces of feedback for you:

a) in one of the pictures it shows what looks like a 20 gal glass tank that will hold your filter socks...that you have also drilled to drain into your sump. Correct me if I am wrong. You may want to drill another bulk head above the first one and install an emergency drain in case the first one clogs. It really shouldn't....but just a nice safety measure.

b) I like your rock scape. Are you planning to clean the back glass of your display? Some people are pretty OCD about keeping the back glass cleaned. Keep that in mind as you set your rock in the display. I have moved mine back towards the glass a bit... to give more open water up front. The fish... would sometimes dwell behind the rock.... where they cant be seen. At the same time, flow all around the rock is really good to have. Also... make sure to set the rock on the tank bottom... before putting your sand in. If you get gobies like I have, they will excavate the sand...which if your rock is not on the tank bottom...could cause rock to shift and tumble.

Great stuff. I am looking forward to seeing how your system progresses.

Mini Coop · Dec 29, 2017

Final plumbing complete:
1. Drains coming down into filter socks. We decided to put a piece of plexiglass over this side of the tank to avoid splash and make the pipes shorter to be able to just slide the filter socks in and out with ease. If there is too much splash still, we can always add pipe to the end under the cover.

2. Flow from 44 long to 100 gallon trough. Gravity flow with 2" pipe. Why? Because I had them drill a 2" hole in the tank. lol. Hence the GINORMOUS bulk head to control flow here if I need to.

Then to the trough which will house around 100 lbs of live rock (currently curing), and will have the plant growing lamps on it to grow macro algae. This sump may house a couple little fishies for biofiltration eventually too, but not yet.

Finally - the return. Got my silicone pad for vibration and couldn't be happier with how little extra pipe was needed to get to the return. I will also have a strainer on the inside of the trough!

Almost all of the pipes are up by the rafters, so I don't have walls full of pipes, and they are not right against the concrete walls, so I shouldn't have too much trouble with temperature.