DIY Concrete Aquarium 5,000 gallon - Anderson Family Reef

[lubeck]

Quick work Dave. Looking great. The corals have gotten huge since I was there last. And them tangs, geeesh.

 

[dca22anderson]

Quick work Dave. Looking great. The corals have gotten huge since I was there last. And them tangs, geeesh.

I finally have the filtration in a good place... and the sumps are working out great. It's coming along!

Check this out…

Some of the well known SPS growers are all about eliminating detritus so I elevated the live rock in the sump and hit it with a pump now any build up comes right to the front edge of the sump for siphoning! (That’s a weeks worth)

I’ll eventually do this in the other sump as well once I move the corals to the new frag tanks!

 

[dca22anderson]

Paint done

 

[bradreef]

Paint done

Looks good. You are moving fast on this stuff

 

[MantisShrimpMan]

Why not pour all at once?

Just an interesting fact, they’re pretty sure the concrete all the way in the middle of the Hoover dang is still liquid, not solid, because of how thick it was poured

 

[MantisShrimpMan]

Just an interesting fact, they’re pretty sure the concrete all the way in the middle of the Hoover dang is still liquid, not solid, because of how thick it was poured

Oh my god it autocorrected to dang this might be the funniest thing I’ve seen in a while

 

[dca22anderson]

Put a few tanks on the new frag stand that I had laying around (40 breeder & 2 - 30”x30”-10" acrylic tanks)… may go with some 4’ frag tanks and custom make some acrylic frag tanks to fit the leftover space…

 

[dca22anderson]

Ended up going with two 48”x18”x12” (45gal) frag tanks on the main shelf plus I’ll build a custom acrylic tank for the end cap. It will work great for keeping an eye on small frags as they get established and ready to place in the big tank.

I’ll also build one tank for the whole top section (41.5”x37x10”) or I can drop the height of the shelf on top and duplicate what I have on the main shelf.

The 40gal breeder QT fits perfectly on the floor on the end.

I’ll run this for a while and if I don’t love it I’ll build a full frag tank that’s 5’x3’x20” that will fit on the whole main level.

 

[dca22anderson]

-Painted the fish hospital tank stand - second coats on new frag tank stand and bridge over the pipes on the floor

-Moved the Kalk reactor into the sump

-Made a bigger shelf for the Kalk dosing pump

-Swapped out the bulkheads on the 45’s and the 80 gal so I can hard pipe them in (got rid of the cheap barbed ones it came with) soon. Dialed them in for plumbing

-Cleaned & moved the small skimmer to sump #1

-Painted the metal brace around the sumps

-Replumed the auto top off and Kalk reactor

-Made 300 gallons of new salt water

Fun fish day!!

 

[dca22anderson]

This is how far I got this weekend…more plumbing up next

 

[Sltloser]

I love the combined sumps, they look like they're much more useful and better equipped for the tank!

Two questions:
1. Where did you get the sumps at?
2. How is the plumbing to the second sump (plumbing on the ground then up to the sump) going?

I'm thinking of doing something similar for my upcoming build, but it would be from the overflow to the sump so I can situate it in a better spot in the space and then create a walkway over the plumbing. If that makes any sense....any thoughts?

 

[dca22anderson]

I love the combined sumps, they look like they're much more useful and better equipped for the tank!

Two questions:
1. Where did you get the sumps at?
2. How is the plumbing to the second sump (plumbing on the ground then up to the sump) going?

I'm thinking of doing something similar for my upcoming build, but it would be from the overflow to the sump so I can situate it in a better spot in the space and then create a walkway over the plumbing. If that makes any sense....any thoughts?

Thanks for checking it out!! Love how they are working in series. Gives me tons of flexibility for different filtration options moving forward.

1. Where did you get the sumps at? - All About Tanks - 500 ROTT (https://allabouttanks.com/products/500-gallon-ret-open-top-tank?_pos=1&_sid=6dcc5ac9c&_ss=r) Drove up to Idaho to pick them up which cut out the shipping cost.​

​

2. How is the plumbing to the second sump? - (plumbing on the ground then up to the sump) going? - It's going great with the upright breathe pipe... they flow great. Sump one is about 17" in active water height while sump two is 14.5" so it flows downhill even with the rise into the second sump...​

The walkway over the connection pipes is great and makes the separate room locations of the sumps work well.

One thing I would do different is maybe just use 2 - 4" connection pipes rather than 3 -3".

As long as your overflow is higher than where the water enters the sump you should be good. You may just need to adjust the height of the breathe pipe...

 

[dca22anderson]

Up Next: Tank to do’s

-Platform build - CaRx & Sulfur Denitrator, paint and stage them there

-Plumb in drains & returns for frag tank rack

-Move water tanks under the stairs

-Plumb in hospital tank and 300 gallon flow through drains

-Manifold for 80 gal, (stub for future top tank), 300 barrel, media reactors, CaRx, sulfur denitrator,

-Extend main drain for 300 gal water change to frag rack for easy drain of the 300 flow through

-Install two part dosers

-Hang Radions over frag tank

The fun never ends!!

 

[GBRsouth]

Up Next: Tank to do’s

-Platform build - CaRx & Sulfur Denitrator, paint and stage them there

-Plumb in drains & returns for frag tank rack

-Move water tanks under the stairs

-Plumb in hospital tank and 300 gallon flow through drains

-Manifold for 80 gal, (stub for future top tank), 300 barrel, media reactors, CaRx, sulfur denitrator,

-Extend main drain for 300 gal water change to frag rack for easy drain of the 300 flow through

-Install two part dosers

-Hang Radions over frag tank

The fun never ends!!

Just reading this, I feel tired now and have to lie down!

 

[Sltloser]

Thanks for checking it out!! Love how they are working in series. Gives me tons of flexibility for different filtration options moving forward.

1. Where did you get the sumps at? - All About Tanks - 500 ROTT (https://allabouttanks.com/products/500-gallon-ret-open-top-tank?_pos=1&_sid=6dcc5ac9c&_ss=r) Drove up to Idaho to pick them up which cut out the shipping cost.​

​

2. How is the plumbing to the second sump? - (plumbing on the ground then up to the sump) going? - It's going great with the upright breathe pipe... they flow great. Sump one is about 17" in active water height while sump two is 14.5" so it flows downhill even with the rise into the second sump...​

The walkway over the connection pipes is great and makes the separate room locations of the sumps work well.

One thing I would do different is maybe just use 2 - 4" connection pipes rather than 3 -3".

As long as your overflow is higher than where the water enters the sump you should be good. You may just need to adjust the height of the breathe pipe...

Thanks for the insight on this and I'm glad it's working so well for you! I'm hoping I can do it with a bean animal setup and keep it all silent.

 

[dca22anderson]

CaRx, sulphur denitrator & dosing shelf in the works… it will go in that corner above the fuge section of sump #2. (Don't mind the Geo Trains mess, my wife is cleaning out the storage closet )

 

[dca22anderson]

Still need to cut out the 3/4” plywood top for that shelf but it fits nice!!

 

[dca22anderson]

Nightly feeding of peas and shrimp.

 

[dca22anderson]

Spun up the 40 gal breeder QT for some special arrivals tomorrow from New York Aquatics!!

Can’t wait, grown fella Christmas coming early!!

 

[Sltloser]

You can't leave us hanging, what's in the Christmas present(s)!?