Pressing the RestStart Button: JonezNReef 180g 2.0 (plus 120g breeding system)

[siliconinja]

Looking good Jonez! Did the drilling give you any trouble? The hole on the left looks clean, im assuming the right side one hasn't been wiped down yet?

Did you decide to drill returns or will you go over the top?


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[JonezNReef]

Originally Posted by worm5406

Nice updates. Thanks for sharing.

FL must be nice to be able to take it outside and let it sit. Here in DC area is is 46 right now.

Sorry just noticed your comment and thanks for checking things out and leaving a comment.
One of the few perks to living in FL is while most places are snowing and iced over, we still get to run around in shorts LOL. The past week though its been getting below 40 on some nights which is quite cold by our standards. But the day I did the transfer that happened to be the last day in the 80's before we got our cold front. I actually had to run and cover all the tanks outside because it had rained at one point which was the front moving in. I think when I started working on the tanks it was 78 degrees out and was in the upper 50's when I got everything transferred back.

But it should be close to 80 again this weekend.

[worm5406]

Must be nice. It is supposed to be 30 here this weekend.

HAHAHA

But I bet we get to 'build a snowman'

[JonezNReef]

Originally Posted by siliconinja

Looking good Jonez! Did the drilling give you any trouble? The hole on the left looks clean, im assuming the right side one hasn't been wiped down yet?

Did you decide to drill returns or will you go over the top?

Drilling went super smooth. I think drilling this 180 was easier than the first just because I wasn't as worried about something happening to this tank. I drilled it with the same pattern as the other 180 so if I decide to change things in the future the over flow box I made can work with either tank.
As for the picture after drilling, I didn't clean off the other side before I took a picture because it was getting dark and I was trying to get things picked up and inside in a hurry. It was a last minute decision to work on it.

As for the returns on the new 180 I think I am going to drill them after all. Just need to figure out if I want to do 1" or 3/4". I do know that I want the returns to have eductors or flow accelerators on them as well for extra flow. I am leaning towards 1 inch for the returns because I want to change my return pump to a Fluval SP4 or SP6 or possibly even a Reef Octopus VarioS-6 or Deepwater Aquatics BLDC8 but still undecided as well. Not sure if I will really need that much control over my return, just know I want a lot of flow. Another thing will be figuring out is if I want to go the checks valve route on the return or another way.

[siliconinja]

3/4" LOC-line is much easier to find fittings for. I went with a 1" return all the way up to a T, then reduced to 3/4"


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[JonezNReef]

So I was able to get a little bit done today. I was able to get all the wood for the stand cut except for the legs. I am making the legs one by one since the floor is uneven due to it being the old garage. So after I had everything cut I did a quick test fit to make sure I didn't mess up with my math. I don't math well some times LOL. And I did mess up on two cuts but luckily it was cut too long and not short. Here is my high tech designing software

The test fit for the frame...which was 3" too long. Luckily an easy fix with the chop saw

Here is a test fit on the stand top

And here is the wall after removing the old 180 and before cutting it for the new one.

I took my trusty saws all and cut out the wall for the new tank frame.

Here's the frame in place. Also if you look to the left bottom you can see where the old tank was versus where the new one will sit.

And here is a picture with a 2x6 in place so you can get an idea of where the tank will be

I will have the bottom of the tank sitting at about 4 feet. I went with this height so that accessing the bottom tank will be easier. Also I won't have to hunch over to look into the tank. There will also be a 11" ledge in the tank room side so I can stand on it when I need to reach in the tank I won't have to rely on the ladder. This week I plan on putting the stand top together and painting it with a few coats of paint.
Also since the frame is in place I can go ahead and work on the bedroom wall as well. Also I need to finish running electrical and putting up sheet rock in the fishroom and painting the walls. Then I can think about getting the stand in place. Hoping this doesn't take too long to get done but with work, family, and helping my parents on the farm time is scarce.

[JonezNReef]

So today I finally got around to breaking down the 40gB frag tank. I kind of hate seeing it go but at the same time it's exciting because I know I need it out of the way to get the new system in. Plus it's nice to see the other side of the 120. With that said I had to move everything from the 40 into the 120 and now there is little to no space on the floor of the tank. The only thing that I am biting my nails on is how my Malu Seabae Anemone of 4 years does with the move. The last couple times I moved it the Seabae expelled all its zooxanthellae. Guess we will see

[JonezNReef]

So far all is well with everything I moved over from the 40. Since I ran both tanks the same I didn't acclimate anything and for the first time the Seabae didn't expell any zooxanthellae when I moved it to a new tank. Also the clown was happy to be reunited with its anemone for the first time in a year or so.

[siliconinja]

That looks pretty awesome! I like the barebottom look, that tank is nice and long plenty of swimming space


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[JonezNReef]

Thanks it's my first acrylic tank. It is a 6' long by 2' wide by 16" tall roughly 120g. It's actually just being used to house all my coral and fish until I get the new system completed and up and going. Once I get the 2 180g up and running then I will buff the 120 out and the section it off to make a clown fish breeding tank with 3 sections.

[JonezNReef]

So I got a few things accomplished this weekend. I put the stand top together and test fitted it in the wall frame. Once I saw the stand top was good to go and got it level I measured for the legs. Then I took it back down so I can paint it the entire stand top before I install it for good. The top it made of all 2x6s and the held together with TiteBond 3, 3" screws and truss ties. I will be making the legs out of 4x4s and 2x4s but still need to buy the wood for that.

Also I was able to get the electrical boxes re wired and moved and I was also able to put up drywall too.

[Benson0219]

Lots of good work getting done there. The videos were great. I set up a 180 today. Upgrading from a 105. What fish are you going to have in the 180 DT?

[JonezNReef]

Congrats on you new 180...you have a build thread for it?
I currently have a Yellow Tang, Scopas Tang, 1 Ocellaris Clownfish, and 3 Blue Chromis for fish. I also have a Seabae Bae Anemone and a bunch of different coral. I know I want another Clown for sure. Not too sure if I want much more though. I might get a Blue Tang since my wife and kids want one but I am still up in the air. Not sure what other fish I might want. I am more focused on coral with the DT. I do know that I will have a 3 or 4 pairs of clowns in another set up for breeding so I will have plenty of fish to tend to which kind of makes me want to keep the DT lightly stocked.

[bigdave438]

very nice build...
is there a big difference in clarity between glass tanks and acrylic tanks ? i am very curious to hear your opinion, being you have both..

[JonezNReef]

Yes there is a huge difference. My next tank will either be acrylic or low iron because going from having everything in a regular glass tank to acrylic was like going from a Tube TV with an antenna to HDTV with blue ray LOL. Only thing I don't like about acrylic is the fear of scratching it. Makes me wish my new tanks were atleast low iron but I'm sure I can live without it for a few years

[JonezNReef]

So yesterday my skimmer pump died. It was a quick and quiet death that happened some time through the day. I'm not sure how old the pump was since I got the skimmer used. Luckily I had a return pump sitting around, so I had to improvise and take the Sedra 15000 off of the return and replace it with a smaller return.

The Sedra is rated at 1500gph and was originally bought to power a 5g bucket skimmer I had made for my old system. When I shut down that skimmer I used it as a return pump on the 120.

I took and added the venturi back on the Sedra so I could use it on the skimmer and raised the skimmer body up to the point the bubble plate was almost above the water line. Then opened the drain all the way and made a loop on the inlet with 90s to drop the gph's down. So far it seems to be working surprisingly well but I will just have to keep and eye on it.

So now I guess I will be getting a new return pump a little sooner than expected. I planned on getting a new one anyway with the new system so I could have more flow than I have had in the past. I atleast know I want a DC pump but im not sure which one yet

[worm5406]

What ones are you interested in?

[JonezNReef]

Top choice would be a Ecotech Vectra M1 because of its controllablity and great customer reviews but Im not sure I can justify spending that much on a return pump at the moment. Between the other million thing I need to complete this build (such as the 200 to 400lbs of sand) plus house remodeling, money is tighter than I had really hoped.

Another pump that caught my eye was a Reef Octopus VarioS-6 but its flow rate is lower than I would like, also Deepwater Aquatics BLDC15 which is nice but if I am going to spend the money on it then I should just spend the little extra and get the Vectra. More than likely I might lean towards something like a Jebao DCP-10000 which may not be the most highly reviewed band but at the price I could buy about 3 of them for the price of one Vectra.

So mostly it boils down to reliability and over all cost. If the Jebao's are so bad I will have to replace it 3 times in a year or so then I should just hold off and get the Vectra. If the Jebao can hold up for at least a year and preform close to its specs then I might just get it for now and upgrade later on.

Another thing I need to figure out is if I am going to do a closed loop on this system or not. I know if I do a closed loop I will want a Vectra on it for sure. But with Gyre's these days are closed loops more effective or just a higher risk way (drilling glass)of getting what I would from a Gyre?

[worm5406]

What about the L1 vs the M1 ??

A L1 would be better on a closed loop from what I read. (I might have read too quick too)

[JonezNReef]

If I had the extra money I would really like an L1 on a closed loop but I don't know if I am going to do a closed loop on this tank after all. If the tank was much larger I would definitely go with that. Which could be sooner than later LOL.

For the time being I am just going to go with a Jabeo return and some kind of current pumps....possibly a cheap cross flow or something for now.
I still have a lot of things to get so I can get this system up and going and some of these house renovations aren't exactly cheap. So I will get what's needed to get it up and cycling and once we take a break on the house I can start up grading to better equipment.

For now here's a couple of crappy cell phone videos of a couple of corals in the 120g holding tank after feeding the fish.
Acans

Brain Coral (about the size of half a football)

[JonezNReef]

So a quick update. Skimmer is working great with the new pump even though the pump is rated at almost twice the gph than the old pump...went from 880gph to 1500gph.
Here is only a couple days of skimming after I cleaned it

I was able to get the legs on the stand and some added supports. I also mudded, taped, and sanded the wall. I also was able to start painting the wall and stand. Hoping to finish painting everything this week. Then I want to add a water proof barrier around the bottom of the fishroom. Just as and extra precaution for the unthinkable lol.
Here what is look like at the moment
Fishroom side

Bedroom side

[JonezNReef]

So I have finally made up my mind and have decided to go with a closed loop on this tank after all. I want to use this to have good flow towards the bottom of the tank without having powerheads sitting low. Now to decide on what pump. I can use either an external or a submersible so I have quite the options on this. I can run a submersible pump because the rock structure that I made is hollow and would hide the pump and bulk head behind it.
I also need to figure out if I would also like to run penductor/eductors on the closed loop because if I go that route I will need to have a pressure rated pump which would be external more than likely. Or I could go with a DC controllable pump which I could hook up to a controller in the future and randomize the flow...unless I went with the Ecotech Vectra pump which has a random reef closed loop setting on it. Decisions decisions.

Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

[JonezNReef]

Just as soon as I think I have everything figured out I change my mind lol. I have decided not to do a closed loop today after drilling the returns. Everything went well with drilling the returns I am just going to go with 2 gyres instead so I don't have to drill holes for the closed loop. So since the returns are drilled and I'm not going with the CL I went ahead and got the 2 180s and in place

[JonezNReef]

Now that is know it all fits I will take the lower tank back out and paint the floor and then I will start the plumbing which will be quite easy since the drains will be straight down and the return will be straight up. I will just be waiting on ordering sand and the new pumps. Still researching to make sure I get what I want the first time as far as sand and pumps.

[Benson0219]

So, any new updates? Did you get the plumbing done?