Marty's 8' 300g/sump room build. ~750g system

[dbraun15]

Scape doesn't look half bad for just throwing the branch in there. Looking forward to seeing this filled.

 

[Mshort03]

Scape doesn't look half bad for just throwing the branch in there. Looking forward to seeing this filled.

If I can pull off what I have in my head it should be a pretty awesome scape! Plan to have a lagoon incorporated to have my euphyllia garden in this tank with an un godly amount of flow happening.. Try to create that "dead spot" for them. I have many various types of rock to choose from so should be pretty sweet!

 

[Mshort03]

Got few things done tonight. Finished the drain plumbing under the tank, found a few pieces to make it work

The two 1inch dry emergency drains come together at a 1.5 inch tee, then that jumps up to 2 inch for length of run. This will be more than sufficient should the situation ever present itself, hopefully these pipes never see water.

I also got started on building a manifold. One of the 3 pumps will power this thing which so far will have my skimmer feed, GFO, and possibly my UV..not sure if I'm gonna put my 25w on or wait till I get a bigger one. Either way I have 5 ports which should be plenty and also max out my 2k gph pump. I used all 1inch pipe to reduce friction loss with all the turns and such.

Surprised how filled tank is so far! I had 30g of top off water made so I dissolved a box of salt in it and added to tank so I wouldn't be adding salt directly to get stuck in sand and such. I have to order more salt tonight so I'll have it in couple days.

I'm gonna let it fill over night and shut it off before work in am. This should bring me pretty close to weirs so I'll leave it there till everything else is ready to go.

I added a heater and the mp60s to get it up to temp and some water movement.

Tomorrow I'll start dismantling the 40b sump and see if I can get some of these baffles in the 125.

 

[crusso1993]

Got few things done tonight. Finished the drain plumbing under the tank, found a few pieces to make it work

The two 1inch dry emergency drains come together at a 1.5 inch tee, then that jumps up to 2 inch for length of run. This will be more than sufficient should the situation ever present itself, hopefully these pipes never see water.

I also got started on building a manifold. One of the 3 pumps will power this thing which so far will have my skimmer feed, GFO, and possibly my UV..not sure if I'm gonna put my 25w on or wait till I get a bigger one. Either way I have 5 ports which should be plenty and also max out my 2k gph pump. I used all 1inch pipe to reduce friction loss with all the turns and such.

Surprised how filled tank is so far! I had 30g of top off water made so I dissolved a box of salt in it and added to tank so I wouldn't be adding salt directly to get stuck in sand and such. I have to order more salt tonight so I'll have it in couple days.

I'm gonna let it fill over night and shut it off before work in am. This should bring me pretty close to weirs so I'll leave it there till everything else is ready to go.

I added a heater and the mp60s to get it up to temp and some water movement.

Tomorrow I'll start dismantling the 40b sump and see if I can get some of these baffles in the 125.

Really coming together nicely!

 

[twf0369]

Following along. Great Start.

I too just received my Glass Cages tank.

 

[Mshort03]

Following along. Great Start.

I too just received my Glass Cages tank.

Thanks!

And that's great, I've seen many of their tanks and I am happy with their quality.. Customer service was a bit off for my experience with the chip but I did end up getting some money back from them so that kinda makes up for it

 

[Mshort03]

Did Some work today. got the rest of plumbing to the tank and room done, got the drains positioned into sump, got one of the 90s cleaned and in place.

the other 90g only has one hole in overflow, so to get around this issue I used the hole in this 90 to run a pipe up which splits to feed both 90s. (Other one will be there after I empty it from my temp setup)

I also wrapped the pipe in blue electrical tape for that poor mans colored PVC look! Lol..

For the return over top I was thinking about pointing the returns towards the back to get flow back behind scape.. Since the eurobrace makes it stick out I figured pointing back not only puts flow behind scape but also keeps it from coming more forward to be an eye sore. What do you guys think??

My girl friend spent all day finishing painting the doors... Were taking a break to have dinner (slow cooked some ribs on the grill for 6 hours ) and then hope to get doors mounted at least on stand tonight. Will be making more progress tomorrow too!

 

[crusso1993]

Did Some work today. got the rest of plumbing to the tank and room done, got the drains positioned into sump, got one of the 90s cleaned and in place.

the other 90g only has one hole in overflow, so to get around this issue I used the hole in this 90 to run a pipe up which splits to feed both 90s. (Other one will be there after I empty it from my temp setup)

I also wrapped the pipe in blue electrical tape for that poor mans colored PVC look! Lol..

For the return over top I was thinking about pointing the returns towards the back to get flow back behind scape.. Since the eurobrace makes it stick out I fired pointing back not only puts flow behind scape but also keeps it from coming more forward to be an eye sore. What do you guys think??

My girl friend spent all day finishing painting the doors... Were taking a break to have dinner (slow cooked some ribs on the grill for 6 hours ) and then hophope to get doors mounted at least on stand tonight. Will be making more progress tomorrow too!

Getting there!

Blue electrical tape? Lol Had you considered painting the PVC?

The 2 90's are going to be on that elevated shelf, right? If so, how is the back of the shelf supported? From the pic, it looks like the 90 is sitting away from the wall. Is this the case? Is the shelf material 1/2" plywood or ? Are you planning on adding additional support for the shelf? Is that shelf level?

Hope you and @Dyanna Diaz enjoyed the ribs! Thanks for the invite, pal! Lol

 

[Mshort03]

Getting there!

Blue electrical tape? Lol Had you considered painting the PVC?

The 2 90's are going to be on that elevated shelf, right? If so, how is the back of the shelf supported? From the pic, it looks like the 90 is sitting away from the wall. Is this the case? Is the shelf material 1/2" plywood or ? Are you planning on adding additional support for the shelf? Is that shelf level?

Hope you and @Dyanna Diaz enjoyed the ribs! Thanks for the invite, pal! Lol

Lol yea the tape was a last minute thing.. I considered painting but I was in a groove and had the tape on hand. It doesn't look half bad I don't think lol.

As for the shelf yes both 90 on top, the shelf is built in place with each leg measured so it is perfectly level. It is attached to the back and side wall as well to prevent any twisting and just make it that much more secure. it also has 4 doubled up legs currently and another removable leg going in the middle area when I'm done setting up. The beams are all sistered 2x6 with 1/2 inch plywood on top. The tanks both sit perfectly level in all directions. I too was worried so I made sure it was extra stout lol.

Here's some pics of the structure.

The tank sits back a few inches so I have a place to put my foot when working in tank since they are so high.

Oh and you deff missed out on the ribs! They were amazing

 

[Dyanna Diaz]

Getting there!

Blue electrical tape? Lol Had you considered painting the PVC?

The 2 90's are going to be on that elevated shelf, right? If so, how is the back of the shelf supported? From the pic, it looks like the 90 is sitting away from the wall. Is this the case? Is the shelf material 1/2" plywood or ? Are you planning on adding additional support for the shelf? Is that shelf level?

Hope you and @Dyanna Diaz enjoyed the ribs! Thanks for the invite, pal! Lol

Enjoyed the ribs but not the painting! will all be worth it in the end though

 

[crusso1993]

Lol yea the tape was a last minute thing.. I considered painting but I was in a groove and had the tape on hand. It doesn't look half bad I don't think lol.

As for the shelf yes both 90 on top, the shelf is built in place with each leg measured so it is perfectly level. It is attached to the back and side wall as well to prevent any twisting and just make it that much more secure. it also has 4 doubled up legs currently and another removable leg going in the middle area when I'm done setting up. The beams are all sistered 2x6 with 1/2 inch plywood on top. The tanks both sit perfectly level in all directions. I too was worried so I made sure it was extra stout lol.

Here's some pics of the structure.

The tank sits back a few inches so I have a place to put my foot when working in tank since they are so high.

Oh and you deff missed out on the ribs! They were amazing

Enjoyed the ribs but not the painting! will all be worth it in the end though

I licked my screen a little when I saw those ribs!

If I were you I would sister in 2 x 4's under the existing 2 x 4 legs, where I have it marked with purple. I would do this because, from what I can see in the pics, the existing 2 x 4 legs are single supports but, more importantly, holding the weight on only 3 screws in each corner.
Also, I would shim where I have the orange circles and anywhere it's not flush. Over time, things will settle and likely get out of square.
Oh, is that an A/C line running by the leg of the stand and is the leg cut?
I realize you'd proabably be fine without changing anything but I'm a believer in "if it's worth doing it's worth doing right."

RIBS!

 

[Mshort03]

I licked my screen a little when I saw those ribs!

If I were you I would sister in 2 x 4's under the existing 2 x 4 legs, where I have it marked with purple. I would do this because, from what I can see in the pics, the existing 2 x 4 legs are single supports but, more importantly, holding the weight on only 3 screws in each corner.
Also, I would shim where I have the orange circles and anywhere it's not flush. Over time, things will settle and likely get out of square.
Oh, is that an A/C line running by the leg of the stand and is the leg cut?
I realize you'd proabably be fine without changing anything but I'm a believer in "if it's worth doing it's worth doing right."

RIBS!

I can certainly see what you mean and can agree I could put something in. I will get shims tomorrow and I can add more bracing as well. There's actually more than three screws holding the legs its just these are the only ones visible from this angle. Also the joists going long ways dont just sit on that 2x4, they go across and sit on the legs fully supported. Only the center joist sits on the cross 2x4 in question. ...just when I thought I was done painting!

The line is actually the water main to my house lol. It will be closed in the box I'm building to hold my control panel and power cords. This box will also be removable should I ever need to service something.

 

[Mshort03]

If I'm not mistaken, (I easily could be) a 2x4 is good for roughly 750 lbs standing on end.. This is six supporting the main outside joists which will have another leg added in middle. I can also add more screws to increase any sheer strength and it also has about 20 3" deck screw's attaching It to back wall. But the shims is certainly a great idea and I will do that tomorrow for sure

 

[crusso1993]

You're more than good on the strength of the support structure. Just for kicks, here's a capacity of column wood calculator. I have used it quite a lot through the years. It might serve a good purpose in the future.

https://courses.cit.cornell.edu/arch264/calculators/example7.1/index.html

RIBS!

 

[Mshort03]

Today I made a bit more progress. Got the doors hung on the stand since plumbing is done. Still need to add hardware to them. I'll put the doors on top after light bar is installed.

Also I had a friend who's an electrical engineer by trade come over and hook my lines up to the box and get recepticals installed as trade in labor for brake work on his Mercedes. Its nice to know people

We used 2 double 20amp breakers, this still leaves me with a 20a free slot and a whole other blank spot in box.

The gfci outlets are on the outside of the room so they don't get tripped by salt creep and so I can easily view/reset them.

P.s. check out the red dragon...ain't she sweet? Purrs like a geriatric kitten... 0-30 eventually.

I have the cable ran to the stand so I can wire those plugs in tomorrow or Saturday. Also gotta run to Lowes to get them shims @crusso1993 I didn't forget! *RIBS*

 

[crusso1993]

Today I made a bit more progress. Got the doors hung on the stand since plumbing is done. Still need to add hardware to them. I'll put the doors on top after light bar is installed.

Also I had a friend who's an electrical engineer by trade come over and hook my lines up to the box and get recepticals installed as trade in labor for brake work on his Mercedes. Its nice to know people

We used 2 double 20amp breakers, this still leaves me with a 20a free slot and a whole other blank spot in box.

The gfci outlets are on the outside of the room so they don't get tripped by salt creep and so I can easily view/reset them.

P.s. check out the red dragon...ain't she sweet? Purrs like a geriatric kitten... 0-30 eventually.

I have the cable ran to the stand so I can wire those plugs in tomorrow or Saturday. Also gotta run to Lowes to get them shims @crusso1993 I didn't forget! *RIBS*

So very close and it's looking very good!

 

[Mshort03]

Couple things done.. Got display board built and a shelf behind it for power bricks. Also added a DJ strip into the board, the apex power strip will be on the back side. Will paint white tomorrow when I paint other leg that goes in.

I also added the wall to the sump. It will only be a single wall which will be super simple and be able to floewthe potential 5k gph that could be going through it (most likely will be 2-3k most of time)

The chaeto will be first in the sump, then skimmer separated by egg crate in same chamber. this skimmer will feed back towards the front of the fuge. The abyzz will be in the furthest back corner From the wall in this massive return chamber so I should have no issues with bubbles. This two compartment design is how I ran my 90 for 2 years and also very similar to people that run those Rubbermaid tubs for sumps with a skimmer chamber. I will build a stand for the skimmer to stand on to set water height. This will also allow me to have hose connected for the waste collection bin. The other reason I like it is its kind of future proof. I can opt to run internal or external skimmer in future upgrade without any changes or wasting of sump. Sunday is the planned first test. I will paint tomorrow and get all equipment ready so I can do a test run for a week and then probably move rocks and corals and all over next weekend.

 

[Mshort03]

Oh..and the overflow on the left is removed. I'm covering the holes with a piece of glass.

 

[crusso1993]

Couple things done.. Got display board built and a shelf behind it for power bricks. Also added a DJ strip into the board, the apex power strip will be on the back side. Will paint white tomorrow when I paint other leg that goes in.

I also added the wall to the sump. It will only be a single wall which will be super efficient and be able to floewthe potential 5k gph that could be going through it (most likely will be 2-3k most of time)

The chaeto will be first in the sump, then skimmer separated by egg crate in same chamber. this skimmer will feed back towards the front of the fuge. The abyzz will be in the furthest back corner From the wall in this massive return chamber so I should have no issues with bubbles. This two compartment design is how I ran my 90 for 2 years and also very similar to people that run those Rubbermaid tubs for sumps with a skimmer chamber. I will build a stand for the skimmer to stand on to set water height. This will also allow me to have hose connected for the waste collection bin. The other reason I like it is its kind of future proof. I can opt to run internal or external skimmer in future upgrade without any changes or wasting of sump. Sunday is the planned first test. I will paint tomorrow and get all equipment ready so I can do a test run for a week and then probably move rocks and corals and all over next weekend.

Yes, one day closer!

I also spy an integral part of almost any build! Right @NY_Caveman ?

 

[NY_Caveman]

Yes, one day closer!

I also spy an integral part of almost any build! Right @NY_Caveman ?

LOL, right. I love mine. Makes it easy to tell my wife which number button(s) will save the floor and the reef.