Eb0la11's 165G Reef Tank Build
 

Hey guys,

ok so I have been around asking tons of questions over the last 3 months and finally have collected almost all of the hardware to begin setting up my tank. I've got a 165G six foot tank built from Bow Valley Aquatics and am very pleased.

I have used a 30G tank I had laying around to build a sump and I am now beginning the setup. Here are some pictures:

Full Tank Shot
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k.../TankShot2.jpg

Top of Tank Shot
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k.../TankShot3.jpg

Overflow
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...1/Overflow.jpg

Overflow Box
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...verflowBox.jpg

Sump
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...0la11/Sump.jpg

Cracked Sump!!! :cry:
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...rackedSump.jpg

So I was cutting the board for the bottom of my tank so I had a nice level space to put the sump, QT tank etc and the above shot shows what happened as I slid the sump from one side under the tank to the other and hit one of the braces idiotically...

Sooooo, I'm thinking of just leaving it in there cracked and buying a new glass pane that is cut to size of the inside dimensions and I'll silicone it inside of the sump. I'll lose 1/8" or so but it should be ok. Is this a plausible solution?

Bulkhead
 

Another quick question I had is whether the rubber o-ring for a bulk head goes inside the tank against the glass or on the outside of the tank against the glass? Does it matter?

Good question. Have a look at this thread for your answer.:biggrin:

Where is a good place to get plumbing parts in Calgary? I found Home Depot wasnt extensive enough.

Rona here in Edmonton has a good selection.

Rona is generally better that HD. i usually go to Wosley, they will have anything you need (except gate valves)

Which we stock at RC:mrgreen: also other specialty parts. *holds up product with cheesy infomercial guy smile*

Ok I have 3 parts that I am having a hard time finding.

1. 1/2" Ball and Socket PVC (Lock line I think its called or something?) I keep finding 3/4" but not 1/2"

2. 2" PVC Gate Valves

3. A 1 1/2" Y Connector

Do you have all those parts? If you do, I'm literally going to come by tomorrow. And if thats the case I would also probably get a small sheet of 5mm glass cut, I think 13 and 1/2" x 11 and 15/16" but I can talk about that there I would think.

Anyways, let me know.

1/2" loc line is there, pretty sure we have 2" gates, not sure about the "y"... Give Kevin a call after 1pm to make sure 4033381880.

Ok, so I got the 1/2" loc line from Red Coral. I decided against the gate valve for now cause it was pricier than I was willing to pay. 59.99

I think I can find it for 20-$30 elsewhere. The fellow there, his name slips my mind, not Kevin, said that they might drop the price if I found it cheaper elsewhere. Ive already seen them online for 20 dollars so I think I just gotta look.

So I had three questions now.

1) Do you guys feel if I installed a herbie style drain if I could have only one of the pipes have the gate valve on it? The secondary pipe acts as an emergency anyways and I feel like it has no need to be restricted ever. Thoughts?

2) When I plumb, I use PVC cement for slip fittings and teflon tape for screw fittings, correct? Is there anything else that people use to help if there's a leak? Is Oatie PVC glue reef safe? Or is there a different brand I need to buy? Is teflon tape reef safe?

3) For my four 1/2" returns I am wondering if a 90 degree 1/2" pvc hose barb wouldnt be best. I know 90s restrict flow, but this would be the only one in the lines. How do you guys feel about that? Ive seen other enthusiasts do it, so I feel like it'd be ok. Am I wrong?

Gate valves are pricey but i doubt you will find them cheaper in the city or at all (other than RC, which it where i got mine:biggrin:). you can get them online for cheaper but by the time you pay shipping/tax/pst/duty (depending) and your time it might be worth it just to grab one and bite the bullet.

1) You dont want to restrict your emergency drain. If something happens to your main drain you want it to be able to handle all the water your pump is pushing. Also leave it out of your sump water so you can hear it trickling so you know something is a miss.

2) Use the primer as well as the glue as it makes for a better seal and cleans the dirt off. Both teflon and the Oatly glue are reef safe. Make sure you give the glue time to dry before running water through it. and when you glue give a 1/4 turn to ensure a good fit. Remember when you dry fit to leave a little extra in your measurements for when you cement as it will go a little further in then when you dry fit.

3) I have used the 90 degree barbs before with no issues. yes they restrict the flow, but try this calc and see what it really does to your flow.
http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/hlc2.php

Thanks Parkins. Some good tips in there. I appreciate that! I'll visit wosely's to see if they have gate valves any cheaper, and if not I'll bite the bullet and buy the one I need.

So Im now almost ready to start plumbing and have a new question. How tall should my emergency drain be in relation to my overflow water height? Also, how can I estimate where this line will be when my tank is not filled yet? I assume the emergency drain will be above the water line but below the top of the tank. Is that correct?

Also, is ABS piping reef safe/non toxic as well?

yes ABS is fine

Wosley does not have gate valves, thats the first place i checked as their main branch is across the street from my work. Try western pump i think they have them but not the size that i wanted at the time.

Your water level, depending on your pump will rise about 1/2" above the level of where your overflow spills, if that makes sense. So you would want your emergency about a 5/8" above where the water will spill in on your overflow, and yes below the top of your tank or when your main line clogs you will have serious issues :lol:

As for the ABS, some people say its ok and some dont. ABS is for drain lines and PVC is for drinking lines. I personally would not plumb a whole system in it, but i have never tried so i cant say long term how it works/leaches. If its the black color you want you can get the dark grey PVC (i think Lastlight used the grey and it looks pretty sweet)

*** depends on pump you will get gph loss with 90's


*** Kevin

Thats why your always in a good mood when i come in there :lol:

lol

Thanks Kevin, too bad I missed you. Hopefully you guys can give my room mate the gears a bit when he comes to the bbq on Saturday. He hasnt signed up for can reef or any of that yet I dont think. I'll be MCing a friends wedding that night in BC so wont make it.

I'll see how my Gate Valve search goes. Worst case scenario its my one "specialty" fitting and might just bite the bullet.

Hey, is the wedding you are MC'ing at Panorama???

haha no its in Kelowna. Why, you going to a wedding as well? lol

Yes, Panorama :-)

Okay, back on topic... So, how's the plumbing search going? I did an inventory of all the parts that I have collected over the past two weeks and found that I'm short quite a few pieces and have a bunch of extra ones.. hehe. I finally drafted up my entire plumbing work last night though and made a laundry list of all the parts that I think I'm going to need. Will be hitting up Rona after work first, then if I need anything extra I'm heading to Western Pump in the Glenmore Industrial park. They have tonnes of tubes and fittings there.

You know, i would totally use that 135g as a sump. It would be killer! You would probably have enough room for a fresh water reservoir in that sump too! FreshWater-Fuge-return-Skimmer/overflow. Or, Frag-Fuge-return-Skimmer.. so many options :-)

If its in Kelowna, be prepared for the smoke haze. I live in Vernon and both us and Kelowna are so smokey that I can't see accross the valley that we live in. Lot's of exciting fires in Kelowna these days.

Haha I shoulda considered my 135 for my sump but dont think it'll happen this time around. My next tank it will. Whenever that is... like 5 years from now when I build a house or something and it'll be a massive 450G fish room complete unreal system lol.

Anyways, here's a small update. Got a fair bit done today. I've set up my laundry sink by running some new lines for it. Its all pretty rough since Im renting and have no desire to set up anything completely solid. I might even take my sink with me when I leave, but not sure cause its attached to the drain but as you can see by photos the lines for it arent even attached.

I will add the photo that shows it later, which might not be for 5 days since Im gone this weekend and I cant take a new pic cause I gotta figure out how to delete my old ones since my memory card is full and Im too busy to figure it out... I know... weak.

Shot of the wall before plumbing. (plumbing is now done, Ill get the shot later)
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...eforeSink2.jpg

RODI, mounted on the wall but still gotta get the TDS on it and it hooked up onto my rubbermaid reservoir with the float valve etc...
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...0la11/RODI.jpg

Check it out! Got my gate valve and I must say, Bow Valley Aquatics is quickly growing on my list for destinations for extensive aquarium needs. I got a check valve to prevent back flow during a power outage as well, so my tank should be flood proof, but correct me if Im wrong. I think I have enough extra room in my sump for any excess drainage caused by gravity during a power outage and so it'd drain until my overflow was level with the water level in the tank.
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...mbingParts.jpg

If you guys must know, I got the gate valve for $40 from BVA. I had to stop there anyways to get a pane of glass to repair the crack that I put in my sump and asked him about several parts and hes got it all man its nuts.

Anyways, next up Im gonna basically plumb this thing, try to run a seperate circuit for my lighting and then we're filling it. Im sure I'll run into a problem though lol.

I would consider the tank (with check valve) 'flood resistant' personally... flood 'proof' sounds a little too secure :lol: How are you running your return?

Looks like you're well on your way... I wish I could find plastic fittings like that here.

You better make SURE you have enough room in the sumo to handle the flowback. A checkvalve will NOT seal 100% after time and don't rely on them to keep your floors dry. The salt water loves to make the rubber seals hard in the checkvalves then they won't seal.

It looks like your return lines are drilled high enough up in the tank that you won't need a check valve. I wouldn't want to rely on one I know that.

haha I guess flood proof was a little premature. I will simulate the tank draining down during a power outage to see how well my sump responds. I think I'd have enough if it stopped at the height of my overflow, but not if it goes to the bottom of my return line holes. Eventually I'll be getting something more like a 50G sump but hopefully worst case scenario doesnt occur before then. If it did it wouldnt be the end of the world since im on a concrete floor and I think I could handle 10-15 Gallons of water on the floor.

It'd suck, dont get me wrong, but theres nothing that would get completely wrecked really, and eventually the water would find the nearby floor drain.

Nice I see some sprinkler parts made it into your build as well? Are those Orbit from HD?

Yeah there are four sprinkler parts. They are the 90s that will come out the back of the bulkheads for my returns. Anyone have any insight if that will be a problem? They are from HD, yes haha.

They wont be a problem, Ive used some of them before

the barb ends of the 90s and straight adapters they make are the exact same size as the eheim outputs. I was happy to discover them and put back the $20 in pvc that I had collected to create an equivalent adapter at HD.

Ok Ive made a lot of progress on my plumbing. I got 99% of the parts and I know this because they are all roughed in right now and I believe I just need two more male 3/4" streets or whatever its called and then I think I have everything.

Plumbing this sucker is difficult only because I cant mount to the metal frame at all. So I've made a bit of a wood skeleton that will hang over my sump and support the piping further. I'll also build a shelf for my ballasts I think too.

I'll post some pics soon.

Only question Ive really come across is how the heck do you tighten your threaded streets into your bulkheads easily? I got them pretty tight. Tight enough that I feel like I could fill it and have a strong chance it wont leak, but I just know I could get it a bit tighter some how but it just keeps spinning mostly cause I dont have a wrench big enough to hold the 2" bulkhead flange.

Anyways, I think theres a reasonably strong chance I'll be filling this sucker this weekend.

Alright I have made more progress. I've hooked up and glued all the plumbing and everything and filled the tank today. Turns out I cracked one bulkhead and it was leaking but other than that its pretty good. I got a new part and will hook it up tomorrow and fire up the system again.

If its 100% leak proof I'll probably run it with regular water for at least half a day or full day and then fill it with RODI. Perhaps next weekend we can mix up the salt and get the live rock in that we have and order more that we need.

My camera is really making me frustrated. It says memory card full but then I go to delete pictures and it says no pictures or videos to display. Im so confused....

Isnt technology wonderful?:lol:

Ya, I wish I could post pictures. I think I've got a pretty good setup going for my first ever SW tank. Ive learned a fair bit from FW but this thing kicks the crap out of my FW 120G.

Ok so the next problem Im facing is getting enough power to run this sucker. I am pretty much positive that a 50 inch tv, 120G FW aquarium and 165G Reef tank cant all run on the same circuit and so I need to run a new circuit that I'm going to dedicate just to the SW aquarium.

So, im not electrician but am tempted to DIY. I'm not a retard though and I'd ask my electrician friends how to do it since one of them lives out of town and the other never seems to be around to help.

So... anyone know how to change a regular receptical to a GCFI (that would also be done for the 120G and then install a completely new circuit off my breaker? I think I'd need to run it maybe 15 feet all through an unfinished basement so it'd be super easy. Im thinking 20 amp instead of 15 though just so I never have issues? Whats step 1? What parts do I need etc lol

Ok guys here is my latest update with pictures! I finally got my camera to take a few shots but I need to get a new card. This one only holds 32Mb which is like 3 high quality pics...

So, here is the first shot. This one is a half tank shot of the frame I had to build under my metal stand to support pipes and act as a shelf for my ballasts. It also shows the returns and lock line that I have on the inside of the tank on all 4 return lines.
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...a11/Herbie.jpg

Next we have a view of the plumbing of the sump from the front view of the tank. I am relatively pleased with the design. Ive had to make minor alterations, such as with my check valve already and the way I designed it to come apart made the swap pretty easy. I would have maybe planned my sump a bit different the second time around but so far it seems to be working not bad. Sorry for all the cords laying around. I'll be tidying those up once my system is running to perfection.
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...umpPlumbed.jpg

Next we have a shot of the plumbing from the left side of the tank. Looks more cluttered on this side but its not bad. Ive managed to fit it all under half of my tank, so the right side of under the tank will house a QT tank, a reservoir for an ATO unit and most likely another bucket or something that will act as an emergency reserve.
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...1/Plumbing.jpg

Lastly we have a look at the valves that are above the shelf away from the piping below the shelf for easy access. I had to have a couple 90s in my return lines because finding a y 3/4" to 1/2" reducer was impossible. Ive got great flow through them though, so I am happy.
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...a11/Valves.jpg

So, now I have run the tank and it works about 90% the exact way I wanted it to. The only two minor problems Im having are:

1.) My needle wheel pump for my skimmer for some reason is not starting. I cant figure it out. I plugged it in for a second before the skimmer was full of water, but it didnt even turn on during that moment and its had a history of not starting when I tested it outside so I dont think this event has anything to do with it, but it might. I'll try to get it going one way or another. I might have to take it apart again. Oh the joys of used equipment...

2.) This problem I'll probably need some suggestions from you all. As you can see in picture number 3 I have T'd off my refugium line from the 2" drains. This has been somewhat awkward to say the least and I might cut into this line and replumb this because whats happening is very little water is actually making it through the T. I didnt want much, but theres not much more than a trickle and thats not enough. Any tips to starting a fussy pump? It hasnt ever had problems stopping running once running, just seems like it needed a little bang to get going sometimes. Kind of annoying...

Whats the best way to plumb this in? Right now all its doing basically is acting as a spot for air to enter the system and cause a ton of gurgling even if I only just barely crack the valve. Im thinking about cutting that part out entirely and having my emergency drain run into the refugium instead. I think the chances of my emergency drain actually ever taking the whole load of water is slim to none since I have my filter covers on the intake lines for both drains and also egg crate in front of my overflow and so this amount of water would be almost perfect. What do you guys think?

For some reason just edited my last post instead of new one so wanted to bump the thread. New pics above.

Looks good! Do you have enough room in your sump for backflow during a power outage?

personally, what I would do is cut it out and replumb it, except this time add a valve to the outtake of the main drain as well. This way you can close the valve to restrict the flow into the main chamber, thus forcing more water through the 'T' and into the other chamber. The valve has to go after the 'T' though.

Another thing you can do (that also requires replumbing), is right after the 90 degree at the top as fit falls down, put a 'T' there, and then at each end of the 'T' have a valve and then one side of the 'T' going into one chamber, and the other side of the 'T' going into the other chamber.

I think that whatever you do, you are going to want to put two valves in, one for each chamber, this way you can restrict the flow to one or the other chamber, thus forcing more water into one, or the other chamber.

Another option is to, again, cut out that section where the 90 degree drops into the sump. Replace the 90 degree with a 'T'. Have stem part of the 'T' drop down with a valve, and then the other part of the 'T' run a little further, then with a 90 degree, then valve into the second chamber. Or a valve right away out of the 'T' and a 90 into sump.