180g In-Wall Reef

[Patriot76]

I recently decided I had put aside enough funds to take the plunge into reef keeping. I had been setting aside a little bit each month, and when a good deal on 180g came along, I figured the time was now. I had a 55g FOWLR that was built into a wall in my basement for the past 6 years or so. I removed the LR from this tank and took my fish to the LFS. I cut a bigger whole in the wall, and framed it out. I built a bigger stand to withstand the massive amount of weight the a 180g tank. Like I said, this tank will be in my basement, so I did not have to reinforce any floors. I plan on using the 90lbs LR I had in my 55g, plus another 360lbs from Tampa Bay Saltwater. I am fully aware of the hitchhikers known to come with the LR from TBS, but the rock is like none other, so I guess its worth the risk. Besides, trying to catch a Mantis Shrimp can be fun, or at least I keep telling myself so. The 90lbs of LR I had in my 55g was also from TBS, but luckily the bad hitchhikers I had were a few Gorilla Crabs. I am also planning on using 180lbs of Live Sand also from TBS. I hoping to place the order with Richard at TBS this week. Just waiting for the tank to fill, RO/DI unit is taking quite a while. I also want to have at least 100 gallons of fresh water ready to make water changes during the cycling process to avoid as much die of as possible as the amonia levels rise. Ok, on to equipment. A large part of my budget went towards the purchase of a new Current USA Outer Orbit fixture for this tank. It is 3x250w 10k MH's, 4x96w T5 Atinic's, and 12 Blue & White Lunar LED's. I also bought a new 55g to use a sump refugium. I choose not to use my old 55g as it was RR and I figured it would just be a hassle to trying to work around an overflow, espeically since the area is already very tight. So I have a 55g RR tank if anyone is interested. I partionined the new 55g into 3 sections. The first section is where the over-flows drain into (13 inches), this is where the skimmer will be. Middle section is the refugium (22 inches). I plan on using some of the LR & LS from TBS in this area, and maybe some macro algae. I bought a 24 inch 2x65w fixture for this area. The final area (13 inches) is the return pumps and heaters. My heaters are two Jager 250w's with a Ranco controller. I also have a JBJ ATO unit for this section. Fresh water will be produced from my RO/DI unit and keep in a 30g tank. I will be using the skimmer from 55g for the time being. It is a Red Sea Berlin model. I am giving serious consideration to getting a ASM G-3. This skimmer is rated for a 250g tank. I would like to get a the G-4 model, but the G-3 is the biggest I can fit in the area of the sump. I will also be using a Fluval FX5 for carbon and a phosphate sponge. Water movement in the tank will be provided by the 2 return Mag-18 pumps (total of about 1800gph after head loss), 4 PowerSweep 228's (total of about 1000gph), and the Fluval FX5 (about 900gph after head lose). Total of about 3700gph, will this be sufficent water movement?

Am I forgetting anything?

I look forward to hearing you suggestions & advice!

Thanks,

BG

 

[Edwardw771]

In the wall tanks rock, I'm doing a 265 now. The question everyone asks about flow is what are you going to keep. SPS require more flow than other corals. post up some pics so we can follow along.

 

[MikeNapoli]

I plan on using the 90lbs LR I had in my 55g, plus another 360lbs from Tampa Bay Saltwater.

450lbs of LR in a 180 might be a little much. Are you planning on using some in a stocktank or refugium? Or is it all going in the main tank?

Have you checked Marco Rock. It's really nice and I'm sure it's less expensive. It comes dry but with your 90lbs of LR you can see the Marco rock. Check it out if you haven't yet.

It is 3x250w 10k MH's, 4x96w T5 Atinic's, and 12 Blue & White Lunar LED's

Are these T5's or Power Compacts. T5's don't come 96w so I think they are PCs. Either way the lighting sounds perfect. You may want to change out the 10K bulbs later on down the line. I have the same fixture in the 48" with the T5's and I like it.

Water movement in the tank will be provided by the 2 return Mag-18 pumps (total of about 1800gph after head loss), 4 PowerSweep 228's (total of about 1000gph), and the Fluval FX5 (about 900gph after head lose). Total of about 3700gph, will this be sufficent water movement?

I'm not sure if you'll want to use two return pumps. You may want to go with one. I think there's a rule about using 2. Someoneelse can chime in because I'm not sure on that one. About the water movement... It all depends on what kind of coral you'll keep.




Sounds good otherwise. Start taking pictures. We love pictures.

 

[Phyl]

I was thinking you should start with an additional 150# of rock, less if using Marco (125?) rather than 350 additional. That rock will take up a LOT of space!

2 Mag18s will overwhelm your overflow (1200gph is standard on a RR tank), unless you've got some CRAZY head loss. We ran a mag 12 (with an 18 impeller for about 1500gph from the pump) on a 1200gph overflow and that was perfect. That was one pump, 2 returns, T, elbows and 3/4" pipe at the tank. Is the sump under the tank?

We run our tank upstairs, a stock tank, a frag tank and a fuge all off of one 5600gph.

Your lighting is enough to feed SPS, but your flow wouldn't be. The max you can put through a dual overflow (unless you do things differently, IE 4 drains and external returns) would be 1200gph. I wouldn't include your Fluval in the flow calculation unless it is directional output. I'd probably increase that a bit, but you'd be ok for starters. That leaves you short about 1200gph over your desired 3600gph flow (20x water volume).

 

[MikeNapoli]

That leaves you short about 1200gph over your desired 3600gph flow (20x water volume).

Which could be made up with the addtion of a couple powerheads.

 

[Patriot76]

I will upload some pics shortly.

I am planning on using some of the LR in the refugium. I still may take it down to about 410lbs of LR (total).

I thought the fixture was 4x96w T5's, but I may have been mistaken, they may be PC's.

The sump is under the tank. If 2 Mag-18's will be too much, i will just T the two return lines to one pump. Then use the second Mag-18 with a few splitters inside the tank for better water movement.

As far as what type of corals i am going to be keeping, to be honest I havent really decided yet. I was hoping you guys could help me determine that!

Ok, all that being said, let me fill you guys in to my mini disaster today. After a couple of days my tank was finally at the top of the overflow level. Which I was happy about, but the water level of was just about even with the bottom of the molding. in other words, if you were looking from the bottom up you could see above the water line. I am quite compulsive and I would never be happy if I didnt take care of this when I had the chance. Plus, I wasnt overly thrilled about how the molding looked to begin with. The bottom piece of molding had a slight bow to it, which I doubt anyone would have ever noticed, but it would have drove me crazy. So I wasnt all that upset about having to re-do the molding. I went to Lowes and bought thicker molding (3 inch), I just thought it would look better than the 2.5 inch molding I had originally used. I also bought 4 45g garbage cans to drain the water into. I cut big enough holes in the ply wood shelf for the overflwos that I could push the tank back a few inches without having to remove the plumbing (turned out to be a really smart move). So I filled up one garbage can using an old pump that I had. It took about 10 minutes or so to fill. So I figured I had enough time to put a coat of stain on the new molding while the second can filled. I used a a tension clap to hold the hose into the can. So after putting on a coat of stain, I came back into the basement to find the hose came loose and was draining onto the carpet. I estimate about 20-25 gallons. Luckily, the tank is in my basement so I didnt have to worry about messing up any ceiling below or anything. But I certainly did have a mess on my tanks none the less. I have a wet/dry vac, but it was not really big enough to handle this mini disaster. I went to Home Depot and rented a wet/dry vac. After several hours, the carpet seems to be almost dry, I will have to go over it s few more times. But, I most say, the molding does look better. All in all, after buying 4 garbage cans (gonna try to return 2 of them, keep the other two for the massive water changes I will be making during the cycling process) the cost of the molding, and of course i was out of stain and brads for the nail gun- this set back probably cost me from upgrading my skimmer right away. Or maybe push me towards buying a used one rather than a new one. I dont know. Crappy day.

 

[Baxreefs]

ahwww! What's a good reef project without a little water on the floor anyway?

Sounds like you are moving along.

Unless you've got some real coin to spend, buy a used skimmer and trick it out with mods for fractions of the cost. ... Spend the money on frags!

... or a bigger shop vac ;D

 

[Phyl]

Perfect way to break in to a big tank. Good thing water doesn't rain down onto your hardwook kitchen floor through the high hats when you overflow the tank. :

 

[Patriot76]

Yikes!

 

[Patriot76]

leaky bulkheads are kicking my arse today!

 

[Patriot76]

Progress report.

Resolved the leaky bulkhead issue. turns out that the nut on bulkhead i bought from absolute fish was just a hair too big. got a new one from AO and put that problem to rest.

yesterday i battled gurgling standpipes, a few moderations and i am good to good there as well.

the tank/sump is flowing and looks great (will get pics up soon)

i am picking up a used ASM G3 today and gotta get a new check valve from AF (AO doesnt have any).

then later today i will be adding salt and the the 90lbs of LR from the old tank.

i am in the process of filling a few garbage cans with spare RO-DI for the water changes I will be making once i get my first shipment of LR/LS (only half the LR comes in the fisrt shipment). I will be using 180lbs of LS and 300lbs of LR (into additon to the 90lbs I already have).

also, as Phyl so wisely pointed out, 2 Mag-18's would be too much return, so I T'd up the two return lines to one Mag-18 and I will be sending the other back to DR's F&S in exchange for 2 Koralia 4's (1200gph). Is this a wise move?

Thanks everyone for advice!

 

[MikeNapoli]

yesterday i battled gurgling standpipes, a few moderations and i am good to good there as well.

How did you do it... my left standpipe gurgles all the time ... can't seem to fix it.

also, as Phyl so wisely pointed out, 2 Mag-18's would be too much return, so I T'd up the two return lines to one Mag-18 and I will be sending the other back to DR's F&S in exchange for 2 Koralia 4's (1200gph). Is this a wise move?

Thanks everyone for advice!

2 Koralia 4's is good in a 180.. one at each end. You may want to add more flow later on down the line in the middle of the tank. Have you looked at Sea Swirls. You can get a 3/4" or 1" seaswirl in the middle but then you'd have to replumb your return pipes.....

You can just go with a couple small power heads as well.

 

[Patriot76]

as far as the standpipes, i just drilled bigger holes in the end cap on top and drilled a couple small holes in the PVC pipe just above the water line in the sump. i had to raise the main pipe of one of my standpipes. it was about 4 inches from the top, but still sounded like a waterfall. now the water level in the overflow box is about half of an inch below tank surface level. The other overflow box is still at about 4 inches, but not making nearly as much noise- go figure.

As far as the Koralia 4's, like you said, i planned on putting one at each end. plus i have 4 power sweeps (280gph) that i planned up using for surface aggitation. as for the middle of the tank. right now i have the two return lines pointing towards the middle, and i can adjust the angle of those if a certain coral or anemone is need increaded flow. or, just buy another small powerhead as needed.

 

[Hawkeye]

has richard indicated when the weather will break for diving for your first half shipment? I assume you're going to Newark to pick up? or r u having them ship door to door?

 

[Patriot76]

i havent heard back from richard yet. spoke to last week to let him know in advance about my order, but he didnt say if he would be going diving for it not.

yes i will be picking it up at newark airport.

 

[Patriot76]

not much progress on the tank lately. i am having micro bubble issues, so i have ordered a smaller mag drive. according to marc melev, the mag-18 i was using was way too strong for my set up and causing micro bubbles. he suggests 3-5 times the volume of the tank. i got the mag-7 (700 gph). i planning on draining my sump and making some modifications to the bubble trap as well. unfortunelatly i am away on business, so i wont be able to get this done till mid week. to compansate for the flow loss, i ordered 4 korila-4's (1200gph each). i will be returning the power-sweep powerheads, i was just not impressed with their power, i really should have known better to begin with.

my light fixture is set to arrive monday!!! also in the mail is my canister filter that i am planning on using for carbon & phosphate sponge.

before i left, i did add salt (SG 1.025) to the tank and stabilized the heat at 77 degrees. I added the 90lbs of LR that was in my 55g, its actually starting to look like a tank!

i havent heard back from richard yet, i hope to hear to from him soon. but i still gotta collect about 90 gallons of RODI for water changes.

 

[Baxreefs]

I started my first SW tank with TBS.

I really enjoyed most of the diversity that came with this fantastic aquacultured product. That said, there are some things there you won't want. I'd strongly urge you to set up a tub or something to hold it in while you take the time to really inspect each piece. You'll get mantis shrimp, nudis, pest anems, and dieing sponge ... all sorts of stuff you'll want to remove before it goes into you display.

You'll also get lots of really amazing good stuff, so I do encourage using the TBS or other aquacultured rock. I still see new critters in my tank all the time many of which I attribute to the TBS rock and it went into my first system about four years ago.

Very cool 8)

 

[Patriot76]

the 90lbs of LR that I already have is from TBS. i am aware of the hitchhikers that come on this rock, but in my opinion the rock is worth it. it is far superior than other LR i have seen.

 

[Baxreefs]

Great! Then you know what to expect. I found three small mantis way back and I am convinced that there's another rouge mantis in there still as I hear that poping noise all the time and can't keep snails and even my hermits seem to have diminished in population.

 

[Patriot76]

not a whole lot new with the tank, i got my lighting fixture today. i had one broken MH lamp. the company is sending a new one asap. the tank looks great with the new lights. i will try to get some pics up here soon. been REALLY sick with the flu since yesterday morning. ver miserable.

i still have to do some work to my sump to try to get rid of these micro bubbles. also, my new mag drive pump and 4 korilla ph's should be here tomorrow. gotta get my old pumps & ph's in the mail back to Drs F&S.