Sandman's 187g Tank Build

My USPS lady throws my packages in the yard. She broke several different pieces of equipment. Sometimes she throws them in the bushes, I wont find them for days. USPS is the worst service.

I sent corals via USPS to someone in the OC, took 6 days, and the package went to Massachusetts first. What a waste.

dwolson2 wrote:Glad to hear that! Are you making your own overflow? Did Jimmy(or I) tell you about the place in Camarillo that sells ABS plastic for the overflow?

I actually need the name of the place, you told me today but I forgot.

dfladermaus wrote:My USPS lady throws my packages in the yard. She broke several different pieces of equipment. Sometimes she throws them in the bushes, I wont find them for days. USPS is the worst service.

I sent corals via USPS to someone in the OC, took 6 days, and the package went to Massachusetts first. What a waste.

Massachusetts! That is rediculous. I think FedEx is the way to go if possible, just costs more.

I want to say its American plastics, its off of the 34 in camarillo.

Yes, I've been there before. They didn't have what I needed so they gave me a piece of acrylic for free.

American Plastics
463 Dawson Dr # 1N Camarillo, CA 93012
(805) 484-3333

Thanks, I'm going to call them tomorrow and order what I need.

Hey out there in MASVC world, I need some advice on return pumps. I am looking to push 1800gph from my sump into the tank via a return pump. I have two 1" return lines at 5 ft. I have looked at a few, but want to hear from those with personal experience. I understand that a pump rated at 1800 won't be pushing 1800gph 5ft.

If I were to only try to return 5 times my tank, it would be just under 1000 gph.

I am leaning towards the HY-7000 (Water Blaster) which pumps 1800gph at 105watts.

Let me know what you think, and what philosophy you used to make this decision.

Are you looking for internal or external? I like the new tunze pro pump. I heard its really nice.

I'm doing internal now. I have seen te tunze pro, they are expensive. I believe 340 for one that would be adequate, very nice though.

Hey all, I am in need of a silicone that will adhere acrylic to glass. I have read that GE 1200 Series Construction Silicone Sealant will work, although not sure where to purchase as most locations that sell it are closed on the weekends.. Does anyone have any suggestions?

you can't find aquarium silicon? You can get it at extreme marine.

GE silicone 1 is safe for aquariums. you can find it at home depot or lowes

I have heard of GE 1, just not sure about the strength long term.

I could appreciate your concern however you can't believe everything you read. it's funny how things that are online get dwindled down from post to post to just the basics, story behind using silicone 1 is that back in the day silicone 1 did not have a warning on it stating not to be used for fish tanks. the reason for that warning is because somebody decided to make a 150 gallon fish tank using that silicone, a year later the tank sprung a leak and that person tried to sue GE, which prompted the warning on the label. since then it has gotten a bad wrap.

I wouldn't be concerned the slightest with using GE silicone 1. if you were using it to put together a 100 gallon plus tank I would advise another product.

there's no reason for concern.

LET THE CURING BEGIN!!! Just finished attaching the overflow box to the tank. I want to set the tank upright, but I'm going to let it cure overnight before doing that.

I now have almost all of the plumbing I will need, except a few pieces that are on special order. 2 weeks is the goal for water, although looking like it might be 3.

that sounds good, let's see some pics. did you use black or clear silicone?

I will post some pics tomorrow after I put the tank on the stand. I wasn't able to get a clear picture the way I have it positioned right now.
I used clear silicone, figured I would rather have clear than a black that might cure in a different shade than the overflow box and back wall. Tomorrow I am brining the tank inside, and will have it plumbed down to the True Union Ball Valves. Once I get the sump home on Tuesday I will finish the plumbing into the intake section. ALMOST THERE!!!

Wow you have come along way. Can't wait to see it set up.

As promised, I am posting pictures! It's tough to get a decent shot of the overflow box as it blends in so well.

And here it is, a picture of the tank and stand finally inside and in place!


I have to admit, it was much more difficult to get this inside than I originally anticipated. We had to carry it around the entire house and go through the slider.

I have been working on the plumbing today, and I'll take pictures once I have it complete.

Looking good. Measure twice cut once on those plumbing parts!

Or if you are good, just measure once and cut once.

The second measure is just for good measure.

The good thing about plumbing is most of the time no one sees it, but I am a fanatic about things like this so all good so far.

Couple more pics of the plumbing from above.


from the side

I hate to post just to comment but, that looks really good.

Very nice!

Thanks, I will get more done tomorrow once I get the sump home! Very excited about that.

Here is a pic of the sump I had built

Very nice!

seriously super nice

Sandman wrote:Couple more pics of the plumbing from above.


from the side

I have a question for the masses. My PVC male adapters that hook up to my bulkheads don't have enough thread to tighten snug. I had to use home depot adapters, and even with Teflon tape they move when I open and close my ball valves. I am considering re-building the section seen in the pics with better adapters. My thoughts is that if it is loose enough to move from me turning the ball valves, then it will probably leak.

Any thought before I do this?

I'm not sure completly what your saying, but mine do move a little bit when I trun my valves and they don't leak. I think the best thing you could do is leak test it. That said, you should move it outside when you do....

Is the bulkhead moving or just the pipe?

Sounds like a conflict in the machining process of the bulkhead verses the threaded to slip adapter. The taper tolerances of the pipe thread aren't the same. as I see it you have 2 options:

1. Load the male thread up with Teflon to get a tight fit

2. Cut about 2-3 threads off of the female end of the bulkhead to allow exposure of the smaller diameter threads, thus making the 2 fit snuggly.

dwolson2 wrote:I'm not sure completly what your saying, but mine do move a little bit when I trun my valves and they don't leak. I think the best thing you could do is leak test it. That said, you should move it outside when you do....

Mine moved without any effort, which scares me. The leak test would be safer outside, but this tank is pretty heavy. I'm going to do the leak test with the tank indoors and take the risk. The tank is way to heavy to move again.

Thanks for the ideas guys, always nice to hear others perspective on a problem.

After much thought, I decided to re-do this plumbing section. I have the opportunity to speak to a plumber at length today which gave me some ideas; I went with the same design minus the male adapter. All I needed in the beginning was a slipXthread nipple. This allowed me to get the plumbing 3" closer to the tank as well. I was still able to use the True Union Valves because they come with threaded adapters as well as slip.

Plumbing is the weakest link on our tanks, and I want to make sure that the trouble of keeping the tank from overflowing, Bean Animal design, isn't a waste of time due to leaky pipes.

Skimmer and return pump came in today! I can't wait to get water in this thing.

refugium in the far right im guessing?

Sure is, the middle is the return. This will allow for better control of flow.

yea Ive always wondered why people dont configure their sumps this way, makes more sense to me

If you ask me, the linear movement of water from one side to the other is less complicated. Granted by having the fuge off to one side you can slow the flow to just that section and have a high flow through everything else. However I'm of the mindset that it's overkill to have two flow rates collecting in a central location to be returned, if you need low flow for the fuge just set the slower flow rate through the entire sump, which helps the skimmer pull more out and aids in allowing less microbubbles to be introduced into the display.

Linear would be less complicated, but does not provide the flexibility that I desired. I had the sump built this way to provide the most flexibility with my return/fuge flow rate. I want to be able to control the skimmer section and refugium seperately. I agree that low flow through the skimmer section is opimal. I will have to monitor the micro-bubble situation though.

what are your plans for dosing? Are you going to use a calcium reactor or cal/alk doser?

Sooooo, I am getting closer to putting actual water in the tank and I need some advise. I have 80lbs of mature fiji in my current display, but I also have bubble aglae on some if no all. It has been slowing going away, and popping up in new places due to the emerald crabs. My concern is putting that rock in my new tank and introducing a problem before I even begin!

Should I let the rock dry out? Scrub it with a tooth brush one my one? Let me know what you all think.

Thanks

nikecivic wrote:what are your plans for dosing? Are you going to use a calcium reactor or cal/alk doser?

I am planning on purchasing a Magnus 3 part doser to dose 2 part and mg. I don't have a lot of room under the tank, so I am probably going to put the bottles behind. I know there is a discussion on here about 2-part vs cal reactor, I might jump in on that discussion. Calcium reactor would be cheaper in the long run, and then buffer with Alk and dose mg.

Sandman wrote:Sooooo, I am getting closer to putting actual water in the tank and I need some advise. I have 80lbs of mature fiji in my current display, but I also have bubble aglae on some if no all. It has been slowing going away, and popping up in new places due to the emerald crabs. My concern is putting that rock in my new tank and introducing a problem before I even begin!

Should I let the rock dry out? Scrub it with a tooth brush one my one? Let me know what you all think.

Thanks

Thinking outloud, but could you put it in your sump and wait for your emeralds to clean it? Would it transfer to your DT?

I think the spore would spread... I could put it the tank in the garage with no nutrients and let is die maybe?

I'm not sure, thats why I ask.
If you are going to let it die, wouldn't you be better off just drying it out then? Unless you are planning on sticking a bumch of emeralds in the tank to take care of it.

The thing is, I don't want to have to dry is out. I spend a pretty penny on this rock because it was mature (rookie mistake) and I don't want that to be a total loss.