300 Gallon upgrade

[redfishbluefish]

Rich, I’m also all black and I look at it this way; The plain black woodworking doesn’t distract from the main focal point….the fish tank. You don’t want adornments that distract from looking in the tank. Here’s an example….What are you looking at?….most likely not the tank.

I know it’s going to look great!

 

[TanksNStuff]

FYI: These rails http://www.incra.com/product_jfc_ttrackreg.htm hold the AI lights perfectly. I mounted these inside my canopy about 10" off the top of the tank.

Nice link, thanks. Those might work for my Apollo LED's also. I was originally looking at these though. If you keep shopping around, they have different cut lengths that go on sale occasionally and they're really cheap.

Richie, I think the all black looks great. When the leds are setup and the room is dark... it will look awesome!

 

[lefkonj]

here is what it looks like when the canopy is on the tank

 

[TanksNStuff]

Sorry for the minor hijack of your thread Richie... but lefkonj, did you build that canopy yourself? If so, do you have any pics of the build?

I'm looking to build something similar and would just like to know the basic structure of it (frame, how the front panel is attached, etc.) That's pretty much exactly what I need except I want a front and back panel to be identical. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out once I know the rest.

 

[lefkonj]

No sorry I bought it, MarineLand. Definitely not that handy.

 

[Nickjr000]

Lookin good, I like the all black look

 

[ricwilli]

FYI: These rails http://www.incra.com/product_jfc_ttrackreg.htm hold the AI lights perfectly. I mounted these inside my canopy about 10" off the top of the tank.

Those rails are nice. Unfortunately I put some time in making the L-brackets. The brackets also allow me to put a splash guard on the led's since I'm not able to raised them high enough, to prevent splash from the water. Thanks

Rich, I’m also all black and I look at it this way; The plain black woodworking doesn’t distract from the main focal point….the fish tank. You don’t want adornments that distract from looking in the tank. Here’s an example….What are you looking at?….most likely not the tank.

I know it’s going to look great!

Where do you find these pics? LOL...... I'm definitely not looking at the tank. More at the plant on top of it. But one thing I did notice, is the moldings on the front panel of that stand. Thanks

Sorry for the minor hijack of your thread Richie... but lefkonj, did you build that canopy yourself? If so, do you have any pics of the build?

I'm looking to build something similar and would just like to know the basic structure of it (frame, how the front panel is attached, etc.) That's pretty much exactly what I need except I want a front and back panel to be identical. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out once I know the rest.

No worries on the hijack. I was going to ask him the same question about the canopy. If he build it himself.

Lookin good, I like the all black look

Yeah, I think once I put the moldings on the front panel, the look will change. Its just too plain. Thanks

Yesterday, I was home taking care of four kids so I took advantage and worked on cleaning the plumbing and manifold. There was some water in them since the time I took the 215 down. Boy did the basement stink like rotten eggs. I also removed some of the rocks and put them into a 55 gallon drum to cure for a couple of weeks. I'm hoping that I should have water in the tank some time this week. I still have to put the rails on the canopy to hold the led's.

 

[ricwilli]

Water change

When my 215 was running, I was doing 50 gallon water change. Before doing the water change, I had too shut the return pump, skimmer, heater and CA off. I was draining the sump and refilling it with new water. I also had to make sure the temp of the new water was correct. I was doing this every two weeks.

As some of you know from following my 215 thread, that my sump has three sections. Each section can be drained individually as I drilled each section and installed valves underneath the sump.

My plan is to do water changes twice a week without having to shut anything off but the skimmer.

The drain from the 215 use to come straight down into the first section of the sump where the skimmer is. That section of the sump holds approx. 17 gallons of water. Section dim. 19.5 x 17.5 x 12. Don't mind the algae on the skimmer. Thats from the light of the LPS tank next to it. LOL. I will be putting a shaded plexi glass in between the LPS tank and the sump to prevent that.

As you can see in the pic below, I added a Union, Tee and a Union shutoff valve. I also moded my skimmer to shut off with a roller swith.

This modification will allow me to make approx. 17 gallon of water change without shutting anything off but the skimmer. All I have to do is turn the skimmer off with the roller switch and turn the union ball valve to divert the drain water to the second chamber of the sump, through the tee. I will than open the valve underneath the sump to drain the water in the skimmer section. Once the water is drained, I will close the valve underneath the sump, fill the skimmer section with new water and re-open the union gate valve.I don't even have to worry about the temp of the newly made water. I don't think it will matter in a 300 gallon system. I'm thinking that it should not take no longer than 10 minutes.

And here is my neglected LPS tank. Haven't done much to it since I started the upgrade. Once the 300 is up, I will clean it up.

 

[grink]

Amazing!!!!!!

water change

when my 215 was running, i was doing 50 gallon water change. Before doing the water change, i had too shut the return pump, skimmer, heater and ca off. I was draining the sump and refilling it with new water. I also had to make sure the temp of the new water was correct. I was doing this every two weeks.

As some of you know from following my 215 thread, that my sump has three sections. Each section can be drained individually as i drilled each section and installed valves underneath the sump.

my plan is to do water changes twice a week without having to shut anything off but the skimmer.

The drain from the 215 use to come straight down into the first section of the sump where the skimmer is. That section of the sump holds approx. 17 gallons of water. Section dim. 19.5 x 17.5 x 12. Don't mind the algae on the skimmer. Thats from the light of the lps tank next to it. Lol. I will be putting a shaded plexi glass in between the lps tank and the sump to prevent that.

as you can see in the pic below, i added a union, tee and a union shutoff valve. I also moded my skimmer to shut off with a roller swith.

this modification will allow me to make approx. 17 gallon of water change without shutting anything off but the skimmer. All i have to do is turn the skimmer off with the roller switch and turn the union ball valve to divert the drain water to the second chamber of the sump, through the tee. I will than open the valve underneath the sump to drain the water in the skimmer section. Once the water is drained, i will close the valve underneath the sump, fill the skimmer section with new water and re-open the union gate valve.i don't even have to worry about the temp of the newly made water. I don't think it will matter in a 300 gallon system. I'm thinking that it should not take no longer than 10 minutes.

And here is my neglected lps tank. Haven't done much to it since i started the upgrade. Once the 300 is up, i will clean it up.

 

[Nickjr000]

Do u have stock in tru union ball valves? LOL , looks good, i like the idea of draining the sections of the sump.

 

[ricwilli]

LOL!. I installed all of the union ball valves at the beginning of my 215 setup. You know when you have these crazy ideas of setting up tanks in the basement and try to make a business out of it. Well, things in life change. Meaning.......... I started a family. LOL.

 

[ricwilli]

Par Readings

I'm not going to go crazy with this. I know the numbers are going to drastically change when I take par readings under the water. I took some readings last night. This will give me an idea anyways on how much these led's are putting out on this size tank.
I took a par reading of a single AI led. The led is 30 inches up from the bottom glass of the tank. I took readings of the led with 40/70 optics and also with ALL 70 optics. Led running at 100 percent. The led is mounted vertically. Tank measures 96x30x24.

Here are the readings of the led with the 40/70 degree optics.

This is with one led on.

This reading is in the center of the led - PAR 143

This reading is 6 inches from the center of the led - PAR 82

This reading is 12 inches from the center of the led - PAR 41

Here are the readings of the led with ALL 70 degree optics.

This is with one led on.

This reading is in the center of the led - PAR 103

This reading is 6 inches from the center of the led - PAR 57

This reading is 12 inches from the center of the led - PAR 34

Well, there you have it. Just want to let you know that I am not a pro and I did this to the best of my abilities. If you want more of a pro input and readings. You can go to this site - http://www.manhattanreefs.com/lighting and click on the LED tab. Any questions, please ask.

 

[downbeach]

Again, very professional looking job. If you would allow me one comment, although it may not be necessary, I think I'd add a couple of pipe straps/supports to the plumbing running horizontally under your sump. I'd just feel better if I new there was no stress on the bulkheads, fittings and valves.

 

[TanksNStuff]

Fantastic stuff Richie. You can tell you put a lot of thought into planning all of this.

I agree with Jim on both points. Very professional looking job and pipe straps/supports would definitely relieve some stress off the bulkheads. I know that the one closest to the right wall goes through the stand and that horizontal pipe is supported somewhat by the whole in the stand. But that's a fairly long run to the skimmer chamber bulkhead and it wouldn't hurt to strap that pipe to the vertical braces of the stand.

Par readings are lower than what I expected for you though. Even one fixture should probably be slightly higher when not even going through water. At least that's my impression anyway.

 

[ricwilli]

Thanks guys. OK, I will add a pipe strap underneathe the sump. Better to be safe than sorry. Yeah, the par on tha AI's is pretty low. I still think even with that low of a par on the bottom of the tank, that any sps can grow down there. I can't remember, but I think Sunny has his led 16 inches from the water line and his corals are really nice and growing. As well as Darrens and few other people that I know that are running them high. I only have mine 6 inches up from the water line. As a matter a fact, I'm thinking of changing all of the optics to 70 degrees even though they have less par with them. Lets see what happens.

I did another diy last night.....

Filter sock

So I was trying to figure out how to hang the filter sock without using a string. A filter sock holder would also be to big to hang in the skimmer section. So I had some time and took a trip to Home Depot. I spent about 30 min trying to find something to use to hold the filter sock. I think that's a record for me as I'm there at least an hour or more. I finally found some hooks to use. Below are the pics to show how I made a diy sock holder.

These are the hooks that I found at Home Depot

I had a piece of scrap acrylic and made this really quick. Not professional looking at all. Splash guard.

This is the bottom half of the union ball valve that goes in the skimmer section of the sump.

I drilled two holes, slipped the splash guard on the pipe and tapped in the hooks into the holes. This is what I came up with.

With filter sock on

Installed in the sump

I also spent last night tightening the unions, valves and making sure the pipes are connected correctly. I think I'm ready to add water to the tank this weekend. I wanted to go to the meeting but not sure yet. Would like to take my time over the weekend doing this rather than come home after the meeting and spending all night doing it. Don't know yet.

 

[NyteGTI]

nice DIY, looks like it was supposed to be like that..

Come to the meeting just turn the RODI on & come over.. unless you've got a beast of a RODI unit it'll be a while until that thing is full

 

[arvin]

nice DIY, looks like it was supposed to be like that..

+1. Pretty Neat. I was looking for a similar solution and there it is!

 

[Tazmaniancowboy]

GREAT idea on the DIY sockholder Rich! Really turned out well. Hope you can make the meeting, but I know what you mean about valuable time!

 

[TanksNStuff]

Awesome sock holder DIY Richie! Really like the splash guard.

 

[downbeach]

Awesome sock holder DIY Richie! Really like the splash guard.

+1 Great idea. I think you could trim away much of the anchor that is inside the pipe, since it's really just the part that's in the wall of the PVC that's holding it. I wonder if the anchor is PVC? Might try some PVC cement.