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Jon and Maureen’s 350g Tank: The Reef Awakens


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"The system advertises a 2:1 waste:product ratio, but that's only if your tap water hardness is below 180 mg/L. "

 

That's great info Jon!  I need to test my water. I dont trust the Fairfax #s b/c I know we have hard water.  Wondering if that is the reason for the occasional pinhole leaks. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

This is an amazing build with tons of useful info. Tagging along for sure. I have a question about finishing the stand, well the whole area around the tank: Are you gonna make a wall off the plywood you mentioned before so the tank looks like it's built or are you just skinning the stand and making a top leaving the 2 doors to the side visable? It might be answered before but I missed it....

 

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This is an amazing build with tons of useful info. Tagging along for sure. I have a question about finishing the stand, well the whole area around the tank: Are you gonna make a wall off the plywood you mentioned before so the tank looks like it's built or are you just skinning the stand and making a top leaving the 2 doors to the side visable? It might be answered before but I missed it....

 

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Thanks! The stand will be wood with cabinet doors on all three sides, like a piece of furnature. The two white house doors will be partly visible behind the tank and stand. The hood will also be wood and cabinet doors. Both the stand and hood will be open in the back for air circulation.

 

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Based of the last aquascape you guys did, I was blown away. Can't wait to see what happens here.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have a quick question.

Am thinking of building a stand for my 90g glass tank.

Are there any websites for me to design the proper size of T slots?

Was also wondering what the pricing will be for my tank along with suggestions for sources to get them fabricated in the DMV area.

Thanks.

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I have a quick question.

Am thinking of building a stand for my 90g glass tank.

Are there any websites for me to design the proper size of T slots?

Was also wondering what the pricing will be for my tank along with suggestions for sources to get them fabricated in the DMV area.

Thanks.

 

I recommend you work your specific design with someone from 80/20.  They make it pretty easy to do, and then you'll know which materials you need and the cost.

 

Here's what I did.  I sent 80/20 a short email describing what I wanted to do, and they connected me with a nearby 80/20 distributor (Pennair) with design specialists.  The Pennair design guy contacted me and I sent a sketch with the key dimensions, load, and what I thought the general stand build should look like.  I also explained that I wanted near-zero deflection so the tank would be fully supported with no sag. 

 

I plan to do a cabinet skin in wood, so I had to figure out exactly how I would build the skin and attach it to the 80/20.  He helped me determine which 80/20 doodads I needed for that.  I also planned the design of the cabinet so the 80/20 fasteners, especially the 45° braces, would not be in the way when I open the cabinet doors.  If you want a more contemporary look you could leave the 80/20 aluminum exposed and add acrylic panels or doors (also from 80/20).

 

The design guy and I exchanged phone calls and emails until he had a design that looked good to me.  He ran the calculations to ensure the various parts could support the load.  When I was happy with it, his shop cut the pieces and machined the connection spots.  He also figured out how many connectors I needed and which type.  Some connectors sit inside the machined-out holes and are flush with the bars so you don't see them.  Other connectors are diagonal braces.  You pay extra for the machined-out holes.   Then he arranged the packaging and shipping.

 

Even with all the middleman involvement, the 80/20 stand was only about 10% more than an equivalent powdercoated steel stand.  It's way lighter and it's easy to attach things to the slots, like plumbing clamps and shelves.  You can't use magnets with the aluminum frame though.

 

If you're handy, familiar with 80/20 connectors, and willing to look around eBay and Amazon for parts, you could probably DIY and same some money.  But I think your cuts needs to be spot on for the stand to get it's maximum strength.  That's not something you can do with a hacksaw.  The cost of connectors add up fast.  Be careful that waste material and spare connectors don't eat up the money you saved through DIY.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

In early September we finished the closed loop plumbing.  The plan was to use two Vectra L1 pumps for in-tank circulation, each with their own separate intake and discharge plumbing.  The discharge plumbing would run underneath the sand bed and loc-line nozzles would blast the front face of the rockwork.  I'd get great upwelling flow and detritus removal all along the front of the reef.  So we installed all the plumbing, filled the tank with tap water, and actually got water flowing between the display tank and the basement sump room.  Success!

 

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As we marveled at our work, we both soon realized we didn't like the way this turned out at all.  For one thing, we've always liked an expansive and open sand bed at the front of the tank.  But the black nozzles would be a jarring contrast.  Also, the sand bed would have to be much deeper than we really wanted in order to hide the plumbing.  Finally, the under-sand plumbing complicated rock placement and would make any future changes to the plumbing almost impossible. 

 

Do-over time.

 

We decided to move the nozzles from the bottom front of the tank to the top front.  This meant moving the closed loop pumps and completely re-plumbing both sides (intake and discharge) of both closed loops.  But the new plumbing scheme would be much less visible and would make changes much, much easier.  The new plumbing also gave us more freedom on sand bed depth and rock placement.  Finally, if I want to add or remove a nozzle I just turn off the pump and make the change to the plumbing.  Even re-pointing the nozzles is easier when they're near the waterline instead of poking out of the sand bed.

 

I used Flex PVC and clamps below and behind the tank, and transitioned to rigid PVC on the top.  Each side is built to move out of the way if needed.  I didn't want the rigid PVC to always be in my way when I open the hood to get into the tank, so I used long runs of loc-line to reach the middle of the tank.  This keeps most of the front eurobrace clear, and I can reposition the loc-line while I'm doing maintenance.  The end result is six adjustable nozzles across the front of the reef.  I finished this last week.  Here's how version two looks:
 

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Edited by Jon Lazar
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Another change I've been working on recently was building a new external overflow.

 

We test drove the tank a few weeks ago and the Ghost overflow worked pretty well.  There was a moment of dismay when I first fired the return pump up because the pump was putting out WAY more flow than I anticipated.  It took all three drains to keep up with the flow, and I hit the panic button to stop the pump before things got out of control.  After a little research I learned that the Hammerhead/Barracuda hybrid pump ships with the larger Hammerhead impeller installed, but all my calculations were based on the smaller Barracuda impeller.  So I installed the smaller impeller and the pump acted more like I expected it to.

 

I plumbed the Ghost overflow using the Beananimal method.  The overflow started fine and ran nearly silently with only the slightest trickle coming from the interior overflow box.  I was doing all this without the removable strainer part of the internal overflow in place, so I could see the water level better.  When I put that piece in place where it belonged, the water level rose very high, very fast.  I hit the panic switch again.  I tried it again and the same thing happened.

 

Now, the Ghost/Shadow overflows have a great reputation.  I don't know what it was about our tank and overflow that made it act this way, but it was pretty scary.  I need to have peace of mind that my overflow is robust enough to handle variations in flow, a partial obstruction to the overflow or plumbing, or whatever.  That's the whole point of snaking all those big PVC pipes through the floor. 

 

So I decided to make a more robust external overflow box.

 

Our overflow box has two major differences.  First, I used 1.5" bulkheads instead of the 1" that came on the Ghost overflow.  This will let a lot more water through the backup and emergency pipes.  Second, I made the box as tall as the aquarium.  This provides a little bit more static pressure to help during startup.  More importantly, it gives the water level more room to rise without overflowing during startup or when flow is interrupted or disturbed.  The larger bulkheads and the taller height led to a much larger box.

 

I made the box from 0.25" acrylic and assembled with Weld-On #3.  I also ran a fillet on all the internal seams with Weld-On 16.  It's not as neat as just using #3, but I'd rather it be strong than pretty.  I used schedule 80 PVC bulkheads for the three drains and glued them in place permanently with Weld-On #33, which is formulated to bond PVC and acrylic together.

 

The box passed its leak check and I finished installing it and re-doing the plumbing connections yesterday.  I may re-do the interior box at some point down the road, or maybe just modify the stock one.  I don't want teeth on my overflow box, and I'd like the water level to be a little higher (but still safe!).

 

The Marco mortar arrived Friday night and we've started building rockwork and rinsing sand.  We're coming down the home stretch!

 

 

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Looks fantastic.  I think you'll be happier with the more robust overflow and the peace of mind that comes with it.  I still have a bunch of acrylic rods here if you want to use with your rock work.

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Looks fantastic.  I think you'll be happier with the more robust overflow and the peace of mind that comes with it.  I still have a bunch of acrylic rods here if you want to use with your rock work.

 

Thanks Roni, and we agree! I've got a couple of acrylic rods on hand and I think that will be enough. I'll send you a note if it looks like we need more.

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I've spent hundreds of dollars on overflow boxes that are far inferior to what you've whipped up there. Looks great, keep up the good work. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
With the plumbing complete it was time to start aquascaping.
 
We set up a large table in the living room to practice building our structures. We knew we wanted a large cave/arch and a free-standing bommie. We started stacking the larger rocks to form the base. Part of the process was to pick out rocks that were really interesting shapes and sort them. Once our initial build was finished we broke the layers down and labeled them. Just like our previous aquascaping adventures, we knew it would change as we moved it into the tank. It's just the nature of the process. We also knew that using Marco mortar and acrylic rods would allow us to stretch our vision and the build. We're very happy with the outcome. 
 
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We knew we wanted the rockwork to stand fairly tall in the tank; we wanted it stable; and we wanted it open. I decided to use both Marco mortar and acrylic rods to assemble the rockwork.  

 

This was our first time using Marco mortar and I really liked the product. The instructions were a little vague but I experimented with different thicknesses until I found a consistency that worked well. Too dry and it wouldn't stick to the live rock. Too thin and it would drip off. "Just right" was something like Play-Doh: very slightly crumbly, and moist but not wet. It dries very gray so I scratched it up to give it texture and covered the wet mortar with live rock dust. The curing time for the Marco mortar is about 24 hours, so the build was slow going as we only connected one level at a time and waited for it to be fully dry before adding any weight to it. 

 

 

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Once the tank is wet I'll order a box of fresh live rock and spread it around the existing dry rock in order to import some biodiversity.

 

 

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Fantastic! I love it. I also like how the arch doesn't connect.

 

 

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We're adding water! I'm mixing up saltwater in the basement and pumping it up to the display 50 gallons at a time. The bulkhead plugs in the tank bottom are leak free, and I'll check the closed loop plumbing once the water level gets high enough.

 

I also unboxed our first two ReefBreeder Photon V2 fixtures and hooked them up to provide some light. Logan at ReefBreeders was running a great Black Friday sale so I ordered another two fixtures. We'll get better coverage with four fixtures at a lower intensity, than we would running just two fixtures at higher power.

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YAY!!! I have been following and coudn’t wait to see it get wet! You have done an outstanding job explaining everything and showing pictures! This is truly a beautiful set up soon to be an amazing Reef! Congrats to you both and thank you for all the information!

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Fantastic! I love it. I also like how the arch doesn't connect.

 

 

Love the scape. That second photo looks like a gremlim signaling a touchdown.

 

YAY!!! I have been following and coudn’t wait to see it get wet! You have done an outstanding job explaining everything and showing pictures! This is truly a beautiful set up soon to be an amazing Reef! Congrats to you both and thank you for all the information!

 

 

Love the aquascape!  Super excited to see this baby in person!!!!!!

 

 

that aquascape is even more impressive in person :)  lights look good.  you've been busy

 

Thanks everyone!  We tried to picture the rock covered with mature colonies, and spaced the rock out to leave room for that to happen.  There's also room on the sand for a few spurs of rock to reach out from the main structure.  But we really want to keep things clear and open.

 

Doing the rock this way with the Marco mortar and acrylic rods allowed there to be WAY more open space, passages, and overhangs between and under the rocks.  It's a huge difference from what we would have if we were stacking rock without any mechanical connectors.  And it's much more stable.  

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  • 4 weeks later...

The tank has been cycling for about a month now and I've been bringing other equipment online and ironing out the minor wrinkles. I set up the Apex, which I found very confusing compared to my old Aquacontroller. I also broke in the skimmer and tuned it, and added the swabbie and skimmate locker. There were also some bulkheads that were dribbling from the threads. I want everything stable before we start adding livestock.

 

 

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We used dried out live rock we had been storing from our previous tank. We wanted to take our time building a rock structure that would have lots of open space and passages, and would also be physically stable. Dry rock let us play around with shapes and do a little bit at a time. But the big drawback of using dry live rock for our build is the lack of any real biodiversity.

 

 

 

Back in the day our reef tanks were built on live rock air freighted directly from Fiji or other sites in the central Indo-Pacific. It was teeming with sponges, macroalgae, crabs, shrimp, encrusting hard and soft corals, pods, clams, and worms of every sort. Some of this stuff died during shipment, but a lot of it lived on and I believe this was a valuable part of the captive reef ecosystem.

 

 

 

With our tank up and running, I decided to start looking for a vendor that ships live rock pulled from the ocean so I could add a box of fresh rock to the tank. Just to seed the dry live rock already in the tank with the critters, sponges, and macroalgae present in fresh live rock.

 

 

 

I had a hard time finding vendors that still sell fresh live rock flown directly from the Indo‑Pacific. Many of the big guys sell dry rock. Others sell what I learned is called “boat rock”, meaning it shipped from Fiji on a boat. I’m sure bacteria survive and it’s effective filtration once it’s cured, but I’m also sure that most of that biodiversity dies off during the multi-week trip. That’s not what we’re interested in either.

 

 

 

We were all set to buy a box of live rock from a collector in Key West when we realized that adding a whole box of rock could have a negative effect on the existing aquascape and make it very cluttered. Especially as we know some of our future coral additions are surely going to come on rocks of their own. It started to feel as if we were in danger of inadvertently creating piles of rubble in the tank instead of an aquascape with lots of open space and room for corals to grow.

 

 

 

So I did some online research on buying wild corals encrusted over live rock and eventually found a vendor. There’s a bit of a leap of faith required here because the corals are sight unseen and even just one box of corals is pricey for a hobbyist. And the workload is high to get the shipment at the airport, acclimate, dip, de-pest, and generally help the corals recover from two days of travel. There may be DOAs. But we decided to take the risk and we’ll see what happens. If it pans out, this could simultaneously give us a boost of biodiversity from fresh live rock, and some nice zoanthids and mushrooms, without adding tons of live rock we don’t really need or want. I’ll report back here on how it works out.

 

Meanwhile, I'm working on another project for the basement tank room. More about that next time...

 

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But the big drawback of using dry live rock for our build is the lack of any real biodiversity.

 

But a lot of it lived on and I believe this was a valuable part of the captive reef ecosystem.

 

Ding, ding, ding. 

 

I agree with your assessment. I used dry rock in my display as well. What I did is got containers of sand from reefers I trusted, or chunks of rock from their fuge, and set it in the display for a month or so during cycle. I then moved them into the sump, with some live rock. I'll eventually start removing the live rock and sand from the fuge as I feel I'm getting the biodiversity I need in the DT. 

 

Interested to see how this works out for you!

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Looking great!  I think your idea is a good one and probably the best way to get some real diversity into the tank.  I think you could still get a rock from the keys as well and put most of it in your sump with a few pieces glued to the existing rockwork without disrupting it too much.  You can also likely tuck some pieces in here and there while maintaining the openness. 

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