Newbie012000

I’m following. I’m in the same boat. I have used instant ocean epoxy at a local LFS and had great results, but am about to drill as well and use acrylic or pvc rods. I tried some of the fiberglass driveway markers at Home Depot seem to work well for lighter rock work.

I will have a canopy but the rear will have a lot of ventilation. Thx for the response, I’m feeling good about this. I will have the chiller hooked up just in case, but it doesn’t seem like I will have to worry about it running too often

Thx. Since I acquired a pretty good one when I picked up a bunch of used equipmet I will have it on standby, but hope to never use it Attached is a pic of the unit. Does anyone know how many watts this will consume? It states the amps used.

Hello everyone. Do you residents of the DMV area find it necessary to run a chiller while running LEDs? My tank is not set up yet and will be in the basement of my house. It is a 265 gallon tank and I plan to run one pump and a skimmer in the sump. I plan to have a manifold, so hooking one up will not be a problem, with the exception that I am trying to use equipment that will be energy efficient and these thing suck up a lot of power Please share your experiences. Thanks

Where do you get your rocks from? I love the set up.

That’s exactly what I did. I had to cut the bolts. I’m gonna plug the holes with silicone. Plan to make a stand for the 100 gallon container for the RODI water and mixing station

So I have managed to clean the inside a little with some water and bleach, but the plastic is still stained from the rust running down the interior. Should I fear possible leaching of the rust into the plastic? I think I’m good to go. I will do a TDS test to be certain

Update: The aqauscaping is not going as planned so I ordered another jumbo sized piece of pukani. I really want the scape to be suitable before Moving forward. So in the meantime, I decided to examine the used 100 gallon water storage container I acquired. I quickly noticed that it had screws that held small brackets that rusted over time and stained the inside of the container. Take a look: One pic contains the rust from the interior screws and shut off valve

Update: The aqauscaping is not going as planned so I ordered another jumbo sized piece of pukani. I really want the scape to be suitable before Moving forward. So in the meantime, I decided to examine the used 100 gallon water storage container I acquired. I quickly noticed that it had screws that held small brackets that rusted over time and stained the inside of the container. Take a look: One pic contains the rust from the interior screws and shut off valve

Great. Thx for the input everyone

Yeah I will definitely order more than think it requires and looking at the cost, not too much will be from BRS.

Thx. Will definitely check them out this evening. When you say not as nice are we talking the build or aesthetics?

Hey everyone. I have been planning my build and guesstimate needing approx 1 gate valve, 7 ball valves, 1 WYE check valve and about 10 unions for 1 1/2” plumbing. I really underestimated the costs of this. I have not shopped around much. I simply used BRS as a guide. If anyone had a good experience obtaining quality parts at a decent cost with a supplier please advise. Thx in advance

That is a nice set up. I also like the way the return extends from the wall. What’s funny is the initial tank i purchased with the stand and extra equipment was a peninsula and set up to have everything run beneath the tank because the stand and canopy are constructed for an island type tank with all four sides having cabinet doors. I sold the DT because the silicone was wearing and now I have this one with the two overflows. I think I will stick with removing the overflows and plugging the holes on the bottom. If I were ever to try to take advantage of setting an island type of tank I would probably try to find a DT with no holes pre drilled and then drill the center for the plumbing. Reef synergy has a 20” ghost overflow I will continue to research. Hopefully I get some feedback on those.

YH, thx for the input. I am really leaning towards your suggestion. It was not in my original plans and I guess it is extra work that I really did not want to do, but I do agree it will be much cleaner and the cost is minimum when considering the overall investment. I was researching some of the synergy reef ghost overflows this morning. If anyone has recommendations of any ghost overflows please advise. Thx

Thx John. I will do the same.

Here is the DT. I do not want to drill, but am considering cutting out the overflows, plugging the 1” drain and return holes and drilling holes for a ghost overflow once I determine if I can drill the back of the tank. Again, I really do not want to drill, but wonder if one day I may regret the little bit of real estate they take up. Any thoughts?

Started this new build recently. Picked up a used 265 gallon system from the Richmond are several months ago that was in mint condition but included so many goodies at a great price I had to pick it up. The stand and canopy are custom and set up for an island DT. I always loved this idea although my tank will be placed against a wall, but definitely leaves options later down the road. The initial DT was a peninsula style and the owner was uncertain of the age and since the silicone looked ok, but thin in some areas, I felt more comfortable searching for a brand new DT. As a result, I ended up finding a guy in Penn who was selling a Nused (new but previously owned, 3 yo 265 that has never seen water) Below is a pic of the stand wrapped in a little bit of shrink wrap. It is sitting vertically, as I was about to load it up to transport to a wood shop. The stands are black , but are currently being striped, sanded, and then stained to better match the floors in our house. I am currently attempting to aqauscape for a set up that is geared more to medium to large sized fish with light LPS and light SPS. That is my goal, with fat happy fish being the priority, but hopefully having a decent enough design to accommodate some nice corals. The worst part about this build so far has been transporting the tanks and hiring help to assist with moving it downstairs into my basement (It was a tight fit) Current Equipment: 40 Watt UV Sterilizer Super Reef Oct SRO - 3000 75 gallon sump with refugium Reef Octopus Varios DC Pump 135 pounds of Pukani Plan to purchase: Apex 3 Ecotech Radio Gen 4 Please share any advice or recommendations during this build as I am fairly new to the aspects of reefing, but do have experience with FOWLR tanks. Still working on the aquascape P.S. please share the best way for me to upload pics to this forum without utilizing too much space. Thx

Interesting. Man you really lucked up. I knew a guy named Mike who lived in NW DC that had a very similar set up. He liked to drink too. Good luck with the set up

If you have not heard, the companies that pull up Fiji rock, Pukani and Tonga are no longer allowed to acquire this rock (from the ocean). They have been shut down. I attempted to purchase some large size pukani from BRS this morning and was advised that BRS will no longer have any large sized pukani and that they are currently out of inventory. They currently have plenty of regular sized pukani . I subsequently spoke with Tampa Saltwater Rocks who still has an inventory of large sized dry rock, from which I purchased this morning. The owners shared with me that "I just purchased a soon to be rare commodity", as you will not be able to get any figi, tonga, or pukani rocks of any size soon. He further advised that this is not necessarily "news" as there has been talk about this coming for some time, but no one expected it to be so sudden. So this may not be news to some of you , but it sure was to me, as I am just returning to the hobby and planning a build. So if you are in need any dry rock of any type or size, jump on it now. Take care and happy reefing.

Lazar, thx for the tip. I researched it and beananimal is being incorporated into the build. Thx.

Tank is 265 gallon (7 X 2 X 30 in)has Corner overflows. It comes with durso style It also has Four holes pre filled with 1” holes The durso drains are 1 1/2” And I plan to use 1 1/2 for the drain lines as well Since the holes in the tank are already pre drilled at 1”, I am confined to using 1” bulkheads Since the tank will not be set up for several months, I have some time to make the best decision You lost me a little with the measurement of of head pressure. I not very familiar with the bean, but I think what you are explaining is that with a full siphon utilizing the beananimal (my tank height is 30 inches) I will have 30 inches of head. If I understand this correctly, then I understand why many systems have a gate valve on the drain to regulate the flow Also, if I understand this correctly, I definitely don’t want 4 drains, lol. Can a beananimal system be done with my corner overflows? Thanks for the input. Perhaps I should research and consider the beananimal method

I should have specified that the overflows drain beneath the tank, not on the back wall.

Hello everyone. Looking for some advice and input. I am planning a future build to include a sump room. Moved into a new place and want to keep the wife happy by keeping the main area quiet, neat, and clean. I am planning to plumb the main display from the back of the tank into a wall that is connected to the utility room. The only problem is that the portion of the utility room that is directly behind the tank, does not have enough room for me to perform maintenance on the sump. There is enough room for me to plumb the the tank to the sump approx 11 feet to an open area where I can place the sump, mixing station, etc.... So here is the issue. The tank is already predrilled with two overflows. I really do not want to drill the back of the tank. The stand sits 36 inches high The sump sits 21 inches high If I allow approx 4 inches for the drains from the bottom of the tank before extending into the wall, I am reduced to a difference of 11 inches in height difference from the drains to the top of the sump. My rough estimate is that the height difference from the drain to the top of the sump is approx a descent of 1 inch per foot!!!!! (Not feeling comfortable) Water will definitely travel into the sump, but is this a big concern? I believe it may drain too slowly The tank is a 265 gallon and I do have the option of utilizing four drains. Has anyone done anything similar with their sump placed away from the main disposal with minimum descent? I guess I could raise the stand also? I just don’t want to make it taller than it should be for safety purposes. Thx for reading and any input is appreciated. Stay Warm!!!!!

Thx guys for the info and advice. Definitely helps me plan this build.