Finally started my 180 build

[boydx6]

I finally started building the stand for my 180. It has an oversized stand with a beer ledge on the front and sides. There is a 6 in ledge in back for the return plumbing. I will be using all 4 holes in the overflows as drains. The bottom of the tank will be 43 in. I still haven't decided what I will skin it yet. The whole stand was built around the sump. Don't laugh, I got a good deal on the sump but it is the same width as the tank so it created build issues. brucem came by today and we knocked it out. Now the fun part begins. I will post pics soon.

[boydx6]

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0485.jpg

[boydx6]

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0488.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0490.jpg

[boydx6]

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0492.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0495.jpg

[boydx6]

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0496.jpg

[boydx6]

I plan to either use granite or corian to cover the ledge and hide the tank trim. Anyone have any ideas on that?

[mflamb]

Love the beer ledge!!! It's looking great so far.
I'm doing that on my tank with granite.

[boydx6]

Thanks Mike

[ReefArtist]

Alright Stephen! Looking good and now your garage and driveway looks like mine :blown:. Yes, love the ledge and I also have one planned but not sure what material I'll be going with.

Congratulations and it looks like a great start!

[CMcNeil]

off to a great start Stephen,the extra space you guys built into the rear of the stand,is that for plumbing to run?

[boydx6]

Thats right Chris, I wanted the stand to be against the wall to keep little fingers from playing with the wires and plumbing.

[ycnibrc]

looking good....you have 3 good helper there....:-)

[boydx6]

Anthony, LOL, if you only knew how much help they were.

[wvarnado]

boydx6
Looking good. Like the helpers. You can never have enough help.

[ReefArtist]

Stephen,
just a note and wanted to make sure you did this - so I'll ask :).
Do you or are you going to put small 2x4's or 2x6's under the board that holds the sump up off the ground? Also might put one or two feet in the middle for a little support also - the tensile strength of wood is VERY high but - you know me - "Build them big and tough or not at all" LOL!

Just making sure because I know you don't want to get any water on that floor! Looks great!

[daywn]

looks like your off to a good start.

[ycnibrc]

by putting the pump back behind the sum is that goning to give you a problem to service it in the future since you will have the tank against the wall.

[boydx6]

Carol, this is what is under the plywood on the bottom.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0486.jpg

Anthony, I will have doors on the sides as well as the front. It may be tight getting there but there is room. There is enough room above the sump that I could get to the pumps that way as well. There is about 20 inches of room from the top of the sump to the bottom of the tank. I am trying to plan for the worst but anyone that has been in the hobby for a while knows that we don't think of everything. Keep the questions and ideas coming so I can make any needed changes before it is too late.

[ycnibrc]

what type of flow do you consider for your tank close loop or power head?close loop then you need to plan out more for efficient plumbing with power head then you don't have to worry about plumbing. I have both CL and power head in my tank and if I have to do it again I will go with power head only since the more plumbing you have the more chance of leak in the future.

[boydx6]

I have a Dart for the return, it will come over the back with at least 4 outlets. I have a Tunze 6100 and a wavebox for additional flow in the tank. Hopefully that will be enough. The Iwaki in the pic is for my skimmer.

[ReefArtist]

So the strength of the screws and glue is what will be holding up the sump - is that correct? It most likely will hold without any issues but you could cut a few small pieces to fit right under the bottom frame - then you're 100% sure. But I really don't think it will sag much - really looks good :D.

[boydx6]

Carol, I think I do not understand what you are asking. I have 3 2x4's going from back to front supporting the plywood/sump as well as the frame on all 4 sides. Are you saying that I need something to go from the floor up to the bottom of the plywood under the sump? If so, how many do you think I need?

[ReefArtist]

I don't see anything supporting the frame of the sump - except the nails/glue that is holding it to the 2x4's. I'd just fit a 2x4 from the floor to under the frame on each corner. On the center I'd put one on the back and then one under the center brace. This would give it 100% support and you would have NO worries of the sump ever coming through - not that it would but wood rots really fast with saltwater. I actually have this problem with my 65g sump. It leaked for a while and now it has a definite sway to it.

[boydx6]

ok, now I understand what you are saying.

[mflamb]

Good eye Carol! That is an important thing to add.

[boydx6]

So far nothing to add this week. Hopefully I will get some time this weekend to work on it.

[a2fire2i]

Looking good! Let me know if you ever need any help!

[boydx6]

Thanks Corey. This weekend I will be adding the braces that Carol pointed out.

[boydx6]

I didn't get to do anything over the holidays except buy most of the plumbing parts for the tank. I had planned to work on the plumbing on Christmas day but ended up playing the HALO edition XBOX 360 all day. LOL My wife surprised me with it. I am 40 years old and believe me it was a surprise! I ended up playing Call of Duty 4 most of the day. My kids were jealous. I will get my priorities back in line after the new wears off of it.

[ReefArtist]

Very nice Stephen - I think you've deserved a few days of play. Wow - HALO I bet your son was jealous as could be - LOL.

[boydx6]

He probably is not happy with me. I haven't opened the Halo game yet. I have been playing the rented games first.

[boydx6]

Well, I finally got some more done to the 180. Thanks brucem for doing most of the plumbing today. Here are some updated pics of the tank in the house.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0627.jpg

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0630.jpg

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0632.jpg

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0633.jpg

The one overflow that is by itself will feed the fuge.

[boydx6]

I have a dart and an OM 4-way to return the water from the sump. I hope to get the OM plumbed tomorrow.

The area to the right of the sump/fuge will house the reactors.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0634.jpg

The money shot!
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0635.jpg

Skimmer and dart feed plumbing
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0636.jpg

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0638.jpg

[boydx6]

Once I get everything under the stand situated I will work on the lights and get some water in it. After that, I will work on the skin. I am still undecided on what I want to do there.

[boydx6]

I am about to start plumbing the OM-4 way and need suggestions. I will have a dart going to the 4-way (1-1/2" in and 1" out). Should I run 1" pipe all the way to the outlets or reduce it to 3/4"? I will have 3/4" LocLine as the outlets.

[mflamb]

Run the 1 inch as far as you can.

[boydx6]

Thanks Mike

[boydx6]

Here is a quick update. I am almost done with the plumbing. I still need to add 2 more outlets on the ends of the tank as well as add the LocLine. Hopefully I will be doing a water test this weekend.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0652.jpg

[ReefArtist]

Looking great Stephen! If you need any loclines I have lots of them.

Get some water in that thing!

[~sp0ok~]

looking good

[thor32766]

looks great so far!

[boydx6]

LOL, Carol, I was going to place an order for locline this weekend. I think I have enough for maybe 4-5 outlets. Let me know what you want for them.

[ReefArtist]

I have a boat load so no need for ordering. What type of nozzles do you like - the 3" wide nozzle or the rounds type? You know to ask me first - LOL.

[boydx6]

I have never used the wide ones, I have only used the round type.

[MMM33732]

What size is that larger main drain line? (the one they all go into)

[boydx6]

MMM33732,

The main line that has 3 drains into it is 2". The 4th drain will feed my fuge.

[boydx6]

It has been a while since I updated this. I caught a case of the lazies. This weekend I wet tested the overflows and found 1 bulkhead leaking. I got that taken care of and then had to add another baffle for the fuge. I didn't have any acrylic so a friend gave me some old stuff he had. Thanks Greg. Now I know why he gave it to me. Getting the paper off was a PAIN. Spent a couple hrs on that.

I cut it on the table saw and the measurements were right on but I guess the blade is not square. When I set it in the sump it would not sit on the bottom on one end. I had to use some of the weldon 16 to glue it down. Tomorrow I should be able to wet test the rest of the plumbing and sump/fuge. Wish me luck.

[boydx6]

Ok, I have had a few problems this week. I had some space issues behind the sump. I have a dart with a 2" ball valve that was in the way of the bulkhead that feeds the skimmer pump. I finally was able to figure out a solution (after 3 trips to Lowes)and put water in the sump. Then I find out that the bulkhead is leaking. I took it apart and put it back together several times but could not get it to stop leaking. I ended up replacing the bulkhead. Problem solved. I now have sand in the fuge section and saltwater to the level that I will be running the sump. I started running the ro/di water to the tank last night and have about 8 inches of water in the 180. It should be full in a couple days and then I can mix the salt. Next I will make the frame for the canopy in order to hang the lights.

[mflamb]

I got to see the progress "live" yesterday. Looking real good. I hope there are no more leaks. That was the worst part for me. Thanks again for the DC8 loaner.
What lights are you going to use?

[boydx6]

Thanks Mike, glad I could help. I have 3 of the new IceCap 250's and will suppliment with VHO's run off of IceCap 660's.

[mflamb]

What reflectors and bulbs for the MH?

[boydx6]

DIY like yours and I will start off with the ushio 10k.

[boydx6]

I had another setback yesterday. The baffle that holds the fuge gave out last night. I used weld-on 3 and one of the verticle sides came unglued. I was able to track down some more acrylic yesterday and will drain the fuge and repair it tonight. I am going to put some braces on there as well to help prevent the bowing.

[ReefArtist]

Stephen - what thickness did you use on the baffle? You shouldn't see any bowing and if you do no amount of glue is going to keep it in place long term. - JMO.

[boydx6]

LOL, Carol, I used some that I got from Greg. It was between 1/4 and 3/8. It was really old. It took me several hrs to get the paper off. I ended up putting some strips af acrylic vertical to on the side to hold the ends and put a horizontal brace about 1-1/2 down from the top to keep it from bowing. It worked out good and I got the sand and water back in last. I built a PVC rack for one of the rock islands last night. I am about to head to Lowes for eggcrate to attach to the rack now. Hopefully I will be able to put some rock in the tank today.

[ReefArtist]

Man I really wish you lived closer - LOL. I have lots of acrylic laying around plus I have two shops not far from my house. That use be some major old acrylic - only Greg would hold on to it that long - LOL.

Good luck on the PVC frame for your rock work - we need pictures!

[boydx6]

update: The sump has been running pretty well once I added the extra supports. I added some small nassarius snails to the fuge and they like to explore. The result is my having to clean the injector to my skimmer daily. I had to drill the hole for the skimmer feed low to be able to clear the tank return and now it is close enough that they get sucked up into the skimmer plumbing. I did put egg crate in the elbow but these snails are small enough to get through. I started work on the power center over the weekend as well as connecting the AC III to a wireless router to access it from another room. I still haven't been able to get the router connected to the internet. For now I just have a dedicated computer for the tank but will work on getting internet access in the future. This week I hope to get the calcium reactor and Phos reactor going. I am slowly getting there. The stand surround and canopy should be finished in 3-4 weeks.

PVC rock rack: Carol, I still haven't decided if I like having the PVC rack under the rock. I am afraid that it will always be noticeable and not look natural.

[mflamb]

Yo Stephen,
What's new? Any new pics?

[boydx6]

Mike, I don't have any new pics. I swapped out the AquaC EV240 and replaced it with e Bubble Master 250. It creates TONS of micro bubbles. I think I will like it better than the AquaC. At least I won't have to clean out the injector till I run out of small snails. It is skimming pretty wet right now but I will have to empty the cup tomorrow for the second time. I think that is pretty good for a new tank that doesn't have much in it to skim.

[Emster]

Everything looks good Stephen, I just came across this looking for Joe's thread. I don't lurk in this forum much because I'm not worthy with my little 90 but maybe someday soon : ) Wow a bubble master!! Those are supposed to be good.

[boydx6]

Emmett, thanks, so far I am happy with it. The frags I got from you are doing great!

[screamincamaro]

I agree we need some updated pics. I got a chance to see the setup on Saturday and it's looking great.

[boydx6]

I will take a few pics tonight. I am a little embarassed with my temp REDNECK light setup. My canopy and stand skin should be done in the next week or two.

[dilligaf_biker69]

looking good so far Jarhead !!!
One heads up though....my 125 has the same "offset" overflows and I found it tricky to get good flow back between the overrflow and the side of the tank..too much flow and sand was everywhere (dont think u were/are going barebottom) just so u are prepared for it.....btw,got some good use out of that flask bike week

[boydx6]

Roy, I am going BB so I won't have to worry about sand. Here is a pic of the lighted side. Glad the flask was put to good use.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0846.jpg

[boydx6]

Here are some new pics. I got the stand surround mounted and stained. The granite was installed today. We re-aquascaped the rock last Sat before the club meeting. Let me know what you think.
Here is the aquascaping.
Left side
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0986.jpg
Rt side
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0985.jpg
Full tank shot
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0984.jpg

[boydx6]

The Guy polishing the backsplash after cutting it to size.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0974.jpg
Installing backsplash
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0971.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0976.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0978.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0983.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_0977.jpg

[tamortman]

Thats pretty sweet great looking tank

[boydx6]

Thanks tamortman, now to get the canopy stained and the light rack built and installed.

[screamincamaro]

Looks great. Stand turned out nice and the granite rim is a nice touch.

[mflamb]

WOW dude...that looks GREAT!!!

Where's the sand???

[boydx6]

Sands in the fuge Mike!

[brucem]

that looks awesome

[Ah64av8tor]

Stephen,

It looks great, who did the Aquascaping? :) The granite looks fantastic.

[Emster]

Wow! Nice!

[boydx6]

Ah64av8tor, brucem and The Hawk'ster did most of the aquascaping. Thanks Guys.

[mflamb]

What kind of wood is that?

[boydx6]

Sapelli, it is in the mahogany family.

[Reefman79]

Very nice keep it coming !!!

[boydx6]

Thanks Reefman79
I finished staining the canopy and am working on the light rack right now. Hopefully it will be done by the weekend.

[mflamb]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12361084#post12361084 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by boydx6
Sapelli, it is in the mahogany family. Where did you find it?

[boydx6]

Mike, talk to Bruce, his brother-in-law did the cabinet work.

[CMcNeil]

man that stand looks amazing,i really like the granite beer lip :)
i wanted to do something similar on my stand but just couldnt pull the trigger.

[boydx6]

Thanks Chris, I wanted to have a place to set stuff while I was doing daily maint.

[CMcNeil]

it really does look first class and it is functional to boot :thumbsup:

[boydx6]

Thanks

[boydx6]

Here is the latest. I am about 90% done now. I still have to drill and install the door knobs and install some misc equipment.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_1004.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/IMG_1008.jpg

[sivert55]

the color combo of the granite with the sapelli is beautiful!

[rrtree]

man that thing is looking good 1st class for sure!

[boydx6]

I got the front knobs installed. I should have the side ones on this weekend. I will be adding 3 more Tunze 6100's as well and hooking up the AquaSurf. Anyone have any problems extending the wires on the Neptune Lunar lights? Mine are not long enough to get around my reflectors.

[boydx6]

Well we took advantage of the real estste slump here in Fla and bought a house. I had to break down the tank and figured while it was down I could make some changes. I bought a 180 sump setup from a Friend and put it in the garage. All of the livestock is in a 300 gallon stock tank in the dining room right now. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1484934&highlight=ghetto+lagoon
Here are some pics of what I got done today.
New plumbing under tank.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/plumbing011.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/plumbing010.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/plumbing009.jpg
2 freshwater barrels on the left and saltwater in the right.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/plumbing008.jpg

[boydx6]

filter sock on the left and water change return on right.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/plumbing004.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/plumbing005.jpg
Auto topoff tank
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/plumbing006.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/plumbing007.jpg

[boydx6]

fuge
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/plumbing003.jpg
water change to sewage line.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/plumbing002.jpg
manifold
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/shadow308/plumbing001.jpg

[boydx6]

I got rid of the OM 4-way and got a custom 6-way. Hopefully I will get the outlets ran tomorrow.

[screamincamaro]

Wow. You're making some really good progress.

[mflamb]

Looking good Stephen! Nice garage setup.

[brucem]

Hey I think I have seen that set up before

[boydx6]

Thanks Mike.

Bruce, a buddy hooked me up with it.

[Kubi]

now all you need is the ML 300

[boydx6]

I wish! Not a good time to make that change. The 300 gal lagoon almost got me moved to the doghouse!

[Reef or Die]

I need to get those water barrels. How many gallons are they?

I hope one day to upgrade to a 125 RR and copy your plumbing layout with the 4 way return.
Looks great all around.. Great build!!

[boydx6]

The barrels are 65 gal each.

[CMcNeil]

everything is looking sweet :thumbsup: i like how the walls were sleeved for the pipes.

[GlassReef]

Been doing some great work, Stephen! You've obviously put a lot of thought into water changes, etc. You're just gonna push a button and - all done - right? ;)

Be proud ....:thumbsup:

[boydx6]

Tom, wish I could take the credit for this but brucem did all the heavy thinking for this idea. It will be nice to open/close 2 valves and in 5 minutes be done with a water change. The best part is not having to lug 5 gal buckets out to the curb.

[reeferfriendly]

just curios but did the barrels come from holloways on us 41?

[boydx6]

No, they are from Vigo by the airport.

[Lowredranger]

Looking great so far, we need to see some pics of the 300g's in the living room.

I am still trying to rap my head around how i am going to build the stand and all the plumbing for my 180 that is sitting in the living room.

[boydx6]

Here is a link to the 300 gal lagoon. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/s...t=ghetto+lagoon