Rob's Really Rad 180 Reef Rally

[Reef370]

Looking AWESOME!!! I think we all have things that come up in the plumbing stage that we have to overcome. No matter what even the best laid plans have issues. I'm just about to start my plumbing for my sump and after setting the sump on the stand I noticed immediately that a couple of the inlets line up perfectly..... ..... with the electrical outlets above them;Facepalm

 

[Reef370]

Big milestone! Plumbing is complete!

I have to put in a few braces/supports for the plumbing but I'll do that just before I leak test it. Few things I could have done better, but that blame goes back to the planning stages (that's all on me obviously). However I made the few minor annoyances I found work and will catalog that into the overall learning experience should I do this all over again. I was happy that I didn't have any ugly glue runs all over the place or obnoxious sharpie lines etc. small wins.

All praise painters tape!!

Next steps are tinting the back and moving the tank into place before I leak test. If i can find some local I might even be able to make that happen this weekend.

Following will be a short video tour of the plumbing and sump followed by general pictures. I'm no photographer so feel free to scoff at my feeble attempts.

Video

Photos

Basically same shot different light

Full view

Eventually I will get some controllable LED lighting installed under the stand once I get this thing up and running.

Thanks for viewing! Constructive feedback and advice for improvement is always welcome!

Dude, it looks great and all...... I mean looks awesome and alll..... but your missing like 75 union’s!!!

 

[BAPrince]

Your build is SO FUN for me because it's SO close to what I'm aiming for with my build... and you're just 2 months ahead of me!! This is what I worked on yesterday... and even though my tank and stand won't be here for weeks, I placed a partial order of plumbing parts today! You video caused me to already put a few more parts in the shopping cart

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Dude, it looks great and all...... I mean looks awesome and alll..... but your missing like 75 union’s!!!

Lol I failed to meet the BRS standard

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Your build is SO FUN for me because it's SO close to what I'm aiming for with my build... and you're just 2 months ahead of me!! This is what I worked on yesterday... and even though my tank and stand won't be here for weeks, I placed a partial order of plumbing parts today! You video caused me to already put a few more parts in the shopping cart

Hey at least you made a drawing! That might have saved me an extra order and a delay of game lol. I tried to minimize the unions. I can completely disassemble that thing with one union and one valve per run. Kept the cost and time down without sacrificing anything. I found it's not that difficult to hard plumb with a few techniques. I need to dive into your build thread to catch up to where you're at.

 

[Reef370]

 

[Reef370]

What in the world happened to Sponge Bob???

 

[BAPrince]

Hey at least you made a drawing! That might have saved me an extra order and a delay of game lol. I tried to minimize the unions. I can completely disassemble that thing with one union and one valve per run. Kept the cost and time down without sacrificing anything. I found it's not that difficult to hard plumb with a few techniques. I need to dive into your build thread to catch up to where you're at.

My build thread is pretty weak at the moment, I just started it last week. Plumbing is actually one of the parts I feel most confident about in this project with so many uncertainties.

 

[JoshH]

Lol I failed to meet the BRS standard

As long as there are a few unions kicking around that's all that matters. Personally I love unions and have about 20 of them on my closed loop system and will have another 40 orso going into the rest of it, BUT I have a fair bit more plumbing in my setup. Can't wait to see that baby all tested and flowing as it should!

I do agree, Hard plumbing scares a lot of people however with a few tricks and a teeny bit of practice it's usually smooth sailing.

 

[Reef370]

As long as there are a few unions kicking around that's all that matters. Personally I love unions and have about 20 of them on my closed loop system and will have another 40 orso going into the rest of it, BUT I have a fair bit more plumbing in my setup. Can't wait to see that baby all tested and flowing as it should!

Im just busting Robs chops.. hahah

 

[Reef370]

@JoshH I was going to check your build thread out but there’s 58 pages ... holy smokes!!

I’m on it!

 

[RobB'z Reef]

As long as there are a few unions kicking around that's all that matters. Personally I love unions and have about 20 of them on my closed loop system and will have another 40 orso going into the rest of it, BUT I have a fair bit more plumbing in my setup. Can't wait to see that baby all tested and flowing as it should!

I do agree, Hard plumbing scares a lot of people however with a few tricks and a teeny bit of practice it's usually smooth sailing.

Agreed, I can't wait to see detailed pics of your closed loop system. I think it's bad 'butt' your going old school like that!

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Im just busting Robs chops.. hahah

He does that

 

[Rp8]

I'm totally binge watching this build... good work

 

[Reef370]

Agreed, I can't wait to see detailed pics of your closed loop system. I think it's bad 'butt' your going old school like that!

Mannnnn do not look at JoshH build thread yet!! Hahah

 

[JoshH]

@JoshH I was going to check your build thread out but there’s 58 pages ... holy smokes!!

I’m on it!

Ahhh you can skip a few But you're more than welcome to check it out! Just got it wet a few weeks ago, cycle is done, first fish order going in on Thursday

Agreed, I can't wait to see detailed pics of your closed loop system. I think it's bad 'butt' your going old school like that!

There are a few kicking around in my thread, although I made a couple adjustments to fix a repeating leak I had.

Definitely lessons to be learned on an old school method and at one point I will be writing an easy article on closed loops in the near future highlighting my experiences. If you take a look around at some of these new builds, especially peninsulas, you will see a number of them implementing closed loops which I think is fantastic. I've come up with sort of a hybrid idea of an internal closed loop that I wish I had have thought of earlier which avoids the holes in the tank all together.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

I'm totally binge watching this build... good work

thank you! I love how we all learn from each other, I'm following quite a few myself and get so much inspiration!

 

[Rp8]

thank you! I love how we all learn from each other, I'm following quite a few myself and get so much inspiration!

For sure, since I've gotten back in thei place has been a wealth of knowledge and saved me a lot of wealth in the process... LOL

 

[JoshH]

thank you! I love how we all learn from each other, I'm following quite a few myself and get so much inspiration!

I've learned I really like green plumbing ;Smuggrin I actually wasn't a fan of it atall at first but your build with the grey makes it look super sharp!!

 

[RobB'z Reef]

I've learned I really like green plumbing ;Smuggrin I actually wasn't a fan of it atall at first but your build with the grey makes it look super sharp!!

Honestly I was looking for a color combo not well represented out there. There's so much red/black and ahem...

totally not referencing a controller