wangspeed September 10, 2017 Share September 10, 2017 (edited) I've been tankless since we moved to our new home in Dec 2015. Tough being away from a hobby you love, though my wife doesn't mind We planned on putting the tank in our basement, which was unfinished when we moved in, so the basement had to get built out. After many designs, we ultimately decided the basement wasn't the right place for it, and that the small office near our kitchen would be better. I started contacting a few aquarium builders and ultimately settled on Crystal Dynamic. Some of them were from Lee Mar. Trent and Zoya run the show, and Trent seems detail and quality oriented, while Zoya was easy to work with, and helped answer my many questions. My tank and stand are built, but still need to be shipped out. In the meantime, I am amassing a huge amount of equipment that I don't really have space for since our basement is still not done, and my home office is a bit of a wreck, since I'm awaiting the tank to finish out cabinetry. My collection of equipment so far: Crystal Dynamic aquarium 84'l x 28'w x 22'h 3 sides Starphire Starphire euro brace Internal glass overflow (no room for external) 5 x 1" bulkheads in overflow, in Bean Animal config + 2 returns Precision Marine R48 Pro Plus sump GHL Mitras * 5 Bubble King Double Cone 200 GEO CR624 Calcium ReactorFed by Watson Marlow 520Du pump Reef Octopus Varios 8 return pump Neptune Apex and many modules Iwaki MD-40RTpump rapid amounts of water from basement And because this would be boring without pics: The aquarium to be delivered in a few weeks: Calcium reactor parts: GHL Mitras LX7, closest look to MH from an LED that I have personally seen: Big box o gear near one of my other hobbies: Edited September 15, 2017 by wangspeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangspeed September 10, 2017 Author Share September 10, 2017 This is where the tank is going to go. The room is about 10' x 11'. I'll have to explain some of these pipes. Near the top: Tape over the hole leading to a radon fan to vent outside the house dedicated 20A circuit above tank, Neptune apex cable, and a second outlet on the same circuit Near the bottom: 3 sheets of 3/4" plywood as a base for the steel stand lots of shimming to do, as the floor is very uneven Emergency drain for sump area debatably useful. I may just seal it off if I can't find a good way to plumb this upwards to the sheet of ply in the stand From left to right in primed area empty 1" pipe to basement area rapid fill of RODI or NSW re-purpose as chiller loop if needed dedicated 20A outlet Neptune Apex cable leading to above aquarium gray electrical conduit box that will be used to run 1/4" tubing for peristaltic pumps and another very long Neptune Apex run to basement equipment repurposed vent stack that I can remove the vent cap (not in pic) off of and use as impromptu drain 1/2" cpvc leading to soffit for skimmer air intake another empty 1" pipe to basement area Warren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangspeed September 10, 2017 Author Share September 10, 2017 I think I'm also going to cut a hole from the left side of the room into the mud room, and install an inline fan to pull air from the mud room to the cabinet area to help vent humid air out of the cabinet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowefx September 10, 2017 Share September 10, 2017 Wow! I'm following along on this ride! Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds September 10, 2017 Share September 10, 2017 darn. Nice size What's your plan for internal flow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangspeed September 11, 2017 Author Share September 11, 2017 darn. Nice size What's your plan for internal flow? 2 Maxspect Gyre XF280 to start with. I saw them on the Maxspect 8' tank and I couldn't hear a thing. No vibration either. If that isn't enough I will mount 2 Neptune WAV pumps to the overflow. Neptune says the external magnet can be in water. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami September 11, 2017 Share September 11, 2017 Looking good, Warren! Put a good check valve on the output side of that CO2 regulator to keep saltwater from potentially backing up and damaging the works. (I've had this happen and it was an expensive lesson. I now use this check valve from AquariumPlants.com. I also use their recommended CO2-resistant polyurethane tubing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangspeed September 11, 2017 Author Share September 11, 2017 Looking good, Warren! Put a good check valve on the output side of that CO2 regulator to keep saltwater from potentially backing up and damaging the works. (I've had this happen and it was an expensive lesson. I now use this check valve from AquariumPlants.com. I also use their recommended CO2-resistant polyurethane tubing. It's hard to see, but the check valve is attached to the CR, at the bottom of the bubble counter. Geos included it. I haven't been sure on which CO2 resistant tubing to use though, so maybe I'll pick some up from AP. Thanks for the suggestion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami September 11, 2017 Share September 11, 2017 It's hard to see, but the check valve is attached to the CR, at the bottom of the bubble counter. Geos included it. I haven't been sure on which CO2 resistant tubing to use though, so maybe I'll pick some up from AP. Thanks for the suggestion! Make sure it's a good one and find out if there's a replacement schedule or maintenance schedule that you should employ. It plays such a simple role but failure can result in costly repairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangspeed September 11, 2017 Author Share September 11, 2017 I would be extraordinarily sad if saltwater creeped all the way back to my very nice regulator! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami September 11, 2017 Share September 11, 2017 Yes, wouldn't it, though? Failure of one cost me $120 to repair my Aquarium Plants Carbon Doser, not including another $100 for a backup regulator that I used while the Carbon Doser was being repaired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Puckstable September 11, 2017 Share September 11, 2017 Nice car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerel September 12, 2017 Share September 12, 2017 I trust this'll be a promising system. Good to see a fellow GHL Mitras owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangspeed October 4, 2017 Author Share October 4, 2017 It was delivered to my home without any problems today, and Mighty Men Moving sent 4 guys to get it from my garage into the office. All done without a hitch! I will say that the most nerve wracking part was getting it off the truck. Even with the lift gate, it’s shocking to see some of it overhang the gate and have to press down the “safety flap” just to make room for it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami October 4, 2017 Share October 4, 2017 Beautiful tank and good looking stand. If it's not done alrady, you may want to caulk the inside bottom and maybe build a small wall around that drain (?) so that, should there be some sort of leak under the tank that 1) it'll stay off that nice floor and 2) there's time for a leak detector to sense the problem so you can take care of it before (1). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraffitiSpotCorals October 8, 2017 Share October 8, 2017 Man your doing this one right! Good to see! Not that the old one was wrong though. Do you have plans for any at tanks or anything? Are you going to add only named frags from vendors? I would love to come help if you need any. Did you hook up the new water heater? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangspeed November 19, 2017 Author Share November 19, 2017 Had a scare that the sump wasn’t going to fit. Trent and I thought we could slide it in diagonally on the side and rotate it. Well, it’s too wide for that. The very last hope was cutting off the cabinet mounting tabs and sliding it in vertically. That started to work, but then we got hung up on the board I had just put in place on the underside of the stand for mounting stuff. A little Hackzall action and we were good to go! I was seriously thinking I needed to get a different sump for a while there. I siliconed and taped some areas to make sure the stand would hold water and allow it to go down the little drain, which is just barely uncovered still. I learned to tape the stand against the wall after my last tank, which was against the wall, but small splashes, fish, and other objects would inevitably sneak back into the little gap between the stand and wall. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yauger November 19, 2017 Share November 19, 2017 legit build, tagging along for sure! almost time to get it wet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime November 21, 2017 Share November 21, 2017 Sweet, moving along nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangspeed December 17, 2017 Author Share December 17, 2017 I always wondered how people could manage to drag out their builds for so long. Yeah, now I am one of them. Slowly but surely making progress. I definitely regret the outlet placement now, but it will do. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangspeed February 25, 2018 Author Share February 25, 2018 I thought my sump layout was going to be pretty simple, but it looks pretty busy. Almost all done at this point. Just need to get the small tubes for constant water change, ATO from basement and CaRx done. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis February 27, 2018 Share February 27, 2018 Looks incredible! I look forward to seeing this build evolve! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangspeed March 9, 2018 Author Share March 9, 2018 Water making station is finally up and running. The quarantine and frag area is to the right. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvu1710 March 14, 2018 Share March 14, 2018 Wow, it look so unique!!! You just make me feel like to rebuild my tank several times:(..... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangspeed March 16, 2018 Author Share March 16, 2018 Slowly but surely. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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