Rockworm's 288g "system"

[rockworm]

I have completed the 180g rough cabinet. I am trying to round up a few reefers from here to help me lift the tank to the stand.

The cabinet is made of 2x4 and skinned sides and back with construction grade ply. The top is mdf and there is a temporary mdf brace on the front. This temporary brace will be removed and replaced when I do the finished front. The holes have been cut for the overflows, though it is not seen in this picture. I will also be sealing the mdf to help guard against moister.

Here is the wall where the cabinet will go.

This wall is 14 feet long. You can also see the two corner bow tanks in the picture. I will be constructing the cabinets for these. I am still in the design stage as there are a couple features I want in them. If you look closely at the picture (right behind the hat on the floor) , you will see one of the obstacle I am dealing with. This room is actually the garage and when they wired it originally, they put the wire under the floor, with the outlets in the floor. These circuits will be disconnected and new wiring scheme completed.

I have a hole in the wall right behind the 180. (Not shown) This leads directly to the basement sump. The return and drain for the 180 will be 90 degree down directly to the sump. I will follow with pictures once I get the plumbing started.

I hope to have the tank lifted this week. Once on, I will begin the plumbing and then start the 54g stand build. I am still not sure on the cabinet design, but I do woodworking as a hobby and have some ideas.

Hopefully next week, I will have some updates.

Ward

[skylord]

Good start....you have a plan. On a good day my plan only changes two or three times.

Scott

[rockworm]

Hee hee, Easter weekend is coming up so I have 4 days to reflect on my plan. Right now I am still making decisions on the basement fish room. The display area is easy. I know what I want. I suspect there will be lots of twists and turns getting there however.

Originally Posted by skylord

Good start....you have a plan. On a good day my plan only changes two or three times.

Scott

[Sebae again]

I really like the ''bookend'' idea. Should look really cool when finished. ''

[danny zubot]

Twists and turns will always happen, thats part of the fun of this hobby though. Coming along for the ride on this one, looks interesting. The end product should be quite striking.

[rockworm]

It has been a few weeks since I last updated. I will admit, it is slow, but progress is being made.

Remember, this is still initial stages, so "finished" look is not here yet. Further, I am just finally figuring out my daughters camera.



The back and ends of the 180g and the two backs of both corner tanks have been painted with tremclad flat black.

Most of the work has been in the basement. i finally decided on the location for the sump and fuge. They are located on the wall directly below the display tanks.

The tanks are side by side.


I drilled one end of each tank for two inch bulkheads. The tanks are connected to a sequence hammerhead via a T fitting:


The return for the hammerhead is located about 4 feet directly below the hole that goes to the display tanks are.

I added two additional 1.5 inch bulkeads to the opposite end of the sump. I am not sure how I will use them, but I can guarantee that after I get things running, I would say "I wish I had drilled a couple holes".


I then started working on the plumbing layout. Let me tell you, there is a lot of plumbing in a multi tank system. I ended up ordering a number of items from BWI. I expect they will arrive this week and then will get going on the plumbing next weekend.

My next step is to design the cabinets for the two corner units and then build them. I will be working on these this week. I hope to have them ready by the end of next weekend.

My goal is to have water in the tank my mid April for leak tests. If all goes as planned, I will be putting base rock and live rock in before the end of May.

That's it for now.

[tang daddy]

I'm going to be following this post closely, pretty intresting to see the outcome of a Moon reef tank set up. I really cant wait to see this come together I must say this is a first 3 tank side by side with a twist, well more like curve.