Blue Tang Clan

Drywall is up. Purple board is the same as green board

Thanks! I have to do a lot of exporting and down-reszing the file sizes, so I have been lazy about keeping up.

Stand is in place, and I have a mock-up of the tank built on top. Now to get more framing and drywall started...

This is a bit of a catch-up...

Foundation is poured, garage is poured, and fish room is getting poured!

Sorry to hear that! Heartbreaking that it happened so quickly too. What size white flex tubing are you using in the last pictures? Have you been happy with it?

Seems like a reverse breakout box idea. Breakout box: gather on/off signals from devices and send those to the Apex to control This box: take different signals being controlled by the Apex and attach physical buttons to them Thanks again!

Live rock and refugium section will be a separate 40G breeder. I attached my layout which explains it a little better. There is an in-line frag tank, as well as a "Noah's Ark" frag tank that will isolated as a backup in case I do something really stupid in the display tank. The sock trays will likely only be used when I'm cleaning (vacuuming) the display tank and sand/detritus gets kicked up. 200 micron socks usually last me 4-5 days, and full mesh much longer, but I don't plan to use them much either way.

Sump Update: I selected local builder PimpedOutAquariums to build my custom sump. I have a 72" length for my steel stand so I went with 70" for wiggle room. Option for socks, but I'll probably skip those other than for times when I'm cleaning the tank and stirring up stuff. There a lot of bulkheads, as I will have my display tank drains (right side) and then Refugium and Frag Tank returns coming into the sump.

Thanks! I just shot them a note!

Hi all -- I was in conversations with Pure Reef Systems to get a custom PVC sump made, but the owner is on vacation - potentially indefinitely so I need a new option. Does anyone know of local(ish) builders that do tanks or sumps in PVC? Dimensions I'm looking for are 70x24x24, and PVC will definitely be strong than acrylic. (I don't want to be talked into acrylic) Anyone have recommendations?

I was in off-and-on again contact, looking to have a PVC sump made. I've seen some of his work and it's pretty bada$$ so I hope he does resurface from vacation, personal struggles or whatever.

I was thinking of a second siphon - maybe a 1” to feed a different part of the system. That would be on top of the standard BeanAnimal siphon. Unless there are other clever ideas of how to use a second siphon, I guess I can mix the idea.

I am finalizing my overflow with Modular Marine right now (72” long!) and I was wondering if anyone had ever plumbed more than three drain holes in an overflow. Could I use a fourth as a manifold feed or for some other purpose, or is it adding too much complexity?

That's exactly what I was looking for -- thanks!!

I may have already made my first big mistake!! I ordered my stand and it arrived last weekend. It's gorgeous and exactly 120" x 36". The problem is, the tank I am building will be 120"x36" will have a 5/8-3/4" frame on the top and bottom, which will extend past the direct support of the stand. 3/4" plywood will be underneath the tank (along with a foam pad) and I can extend the plywood an extra 3/4" all around, but will this present a major issue for supporting the tank? Technically the glass will be supported, it's just the outer wrap that will stick out below the vertical beams below. Thoughts?

A question on overflows: I want to have a long long skimming area. Modular Marine can actually do a 96" custom version, which would be insane. Here is a pic of the 60" version. The question is, since the overflow is so long, does it make any sense to have an extra pipe put in so I could potentially do 2 siphon overflows? Not 6 pipes, but 4 total. I really don't think I want to do two separate overflows, as tuning two can be tricky and I don't want 6 pipes. Is 4 doable? 2 siphons, one ball valve trickle, and an emergency?

A few weeks ago I picked up some water storage from WAMAS members -- two 100 Gallon containers and one 175 gallon container. I'm still looking for another 150+ gallon container if anyone knows of any sitting around gathering dust!

I don't think it's going to be possible given the very tall height of my display tank. The stand is going to be around 42", plus plywood etc. and almost 30" of tank height, and that is 72"+ off the ground. Having a 75-90 gallon refugium sit higher than that (I know just the drain has to be above it) isn't going to be a good balance of weight on my steel shelves. Many pods are small, and may have a chance of making it through the return pumps.

Thanks! I had the same thought about keeping the meds away so those two tanks are going to go elsewhere in the room. The refugium will not be able to drain directly into the display tank; I'm not going to have anything up higher than the display. It will drain into an area of the sump that is post-skimmer so I'm not too worried about pods getting chopped up by too many things. It's par for the course when dealing with return pumps. While the UV will definitely have some flow coming out that could power other devices or reactors, I should have enough power to run everything separately. For maintenance purposes, I want to keep everything as independent as possible.

thanks! It's going to be a journey, but I'm excited to have input from the local WAMAS folks along the way!

Here is a work-in-progress view of how I imagine the fish room will look. Yes, I realize that I am mixing overhead views with side views, but I don't have time to draw all this stuff out in sketchup etc. The display tank will face the main family area.

Ha, I'm definitely not rolling that well off -- those houses on River Rd can be $3M! My new place is within a mile or so, but will more modest. I rejected 99% of the house layout plans that I saw because there wasn't a good way to incorporate a big tank on the main level, while also keeping it "out" of the house on its own foundation. Once everything is all set up and running, hopefully I can invite a few WAMAS folks over to see the fish room and the display tank. Everyone brings great ideas and experiences to the table so I'm happy to host a meet up if people are up for it.

Here is the plan for the tank room, and why it's different than most setups. The room will be positioned OUTSIDE of the foundation of the house, on a separate slab, similar to the garage. But, you'll be able to walk from one to the other as if they were connected and part of the same house. If there are any tank leaks, they will be caught be a trench/channel drain that divides the Fish Room from the Morning Room. So, no damage will come to the house, even if the glass cracks. [ignore some of my markups, I'm still waiting on final architect drawings.] The display can stay on the main level for maximum viewing, while still having a basement for the house Keeping it separate from the house mitigates damage risk from any potential leaks Concrete slab eliminates weight concerns for display, holding tanks, etc. -- lots of water!

I'm going glass! Yes, it's going to be heavy. Really really heavy. But, I also don't plan to move it once it's in place. The durability (scratch-resistance) of glass makes it an easy choice, as I'm just not going to buff out scratches in acrylic. I'm still up in the air on the tank manufacturer, but I am considering AGE, Custom Aquariums, Coast to Coast, and I've heard a little bit about TankMeUSA.