drummereef's 180g in-wall build

[drummereef]

OK guys, first I wanted to thank each and every one of you who make this thread so great! Everyone's input is valuable and I appreciate all the insight you bring to the hobby. It's great to have an open forum where opinion is valued and respected. Thanks everyone for making this hobby so fun.

So I wanted to recap all of the various projects that have been included in the first 100 pages of this thread for easy reference. I've listed them by page and by project type, so scroll to the post of interest. Hope this helps you in your reefing journey.



Pg 1 Sump Room Construction
Pg 2 Stand Construction
Pg 3 Laminate Installation
Pg 5 Stand Trim
Pg 10 Return Pump Riser
Pg 12 Plumbing Sketchup / Plumbing Begins
Pg 13 Plumbing Construction
Pg 14 Plumbing Construction Continues
Pg 15 Plumbing Construction Continues
Pg 16 Plumbing Construction Continues
Pg 17 Plumbing Construction Continues
Pg 18 Plumbing Construction Finished / Fresh Water Testing
Pg 22 Reeflo Dart Seal Replacement
Pg 30 Basement Remodel
Pg 32 Lumen Bright Mini Reflectors / Lighting Sketchup / Light Rack Construction Begins
Pg 33 Light Rack Construction Continues / SWC 250A Skimmer
Pg 34 Light Rack Track Assembly / Utility Sink
Pg 35 Light Rack Track Assembly Finished
Pg 36 RODI / Marco Rock / Light Rack Wiring
Pg 37 Electrical Panel / RODI Panel
Pg 38 Conduit Construction / Light Testing
Pg 39 RODI Plumbing
Pg 40 Sump Room Trim / Aquascaping Begins
Pg 42 Aquascaping Finished / Water! / Tank Startup
Pg 44 Live Sand
Pg 49 Canon Rebel XSi DSLR
Pg 50 Tunze Osmolator / Top Off Plumbing
Pg 52 RODI Mixing Station / Algae Free Tiger Shark
Pg 53 Conduit Construction Finished
Pg 55 Drummereef's Bubble Killer
Pg 56 Quarantine Tank Setup
Pg 59 Algae Cycle / Drip Acclimation
Pg 60 NextReef MR1 Reactors / GAC & GFO
Pg 65 Manifold Updates
Pg 66 Warner Marine EcoBAK Biopellets / NextReef SMR1 Reactor
Pg 69 Hanna Phosphate Checker
Pg 73 DIY 2-Part / Brightwell Aquatics MB7
Pg 77 Neptune Systems Apex iPhone App
Pg 78 Neptune Systems Apex iPhone App Continued
Pg 81 Voltmeter
Pg 82 Aquascape Updated
Pg 83 Bottled Copepods
Pg 85 New Corals / Fragging SPS
Pg 90 Vortech Battery Backup
Pg 94 Apex Controller Panel First Look
Pg 95 Hanna Phosphate Checker
Pg 96 Korallen-Zucht Zeovit Additives
Pg 97 Apex Controller Panel Finished
Pg 98 NextReef SMR1 Biopellet Reactor Down Tube Mod

[Taqpol]

Congratulations!

Edit:

Dang it! You beat me!

[psteeleb]

Brett congrats on the 100 pages

and something tells me you have too much time for this
great stuff

[tegee]

Been with you since the teens......my eyes hurt...lol. Congrates on an awesome build and helping the RC community along the way learn some great stuff!

[resplendantreef]

Thanks for the index. Makes lurking much easier.

[gary faulkner]

Great idea on the index and should keep you from having to answer the same questions over and over again.

[jjwill_sdsu]

Originally Posted by gary faulkner

Great idea on the index and should keep you from having to answer the same questions over and over again.

Except when you get to 1000 pages and have to start making an index of indices... "Page 100 - Index 1, Page 200 - Index 2..."

[jmait769]

Congrats Brett! I have also watched from the beginning and have used a lot of your ideas and concepts in my current tank build. That’s the great thing about your thread and RC – sharing of ideas, knowledge and information!! Thanks!

Jay

[drummereef]

Originally Posted by Taqpol

Congratulations!

Edit:

Dang it! You beat me!

Thanks Alex! I think it was a tie.

Originally Posted by psteeleb

Brett congrats on the 100 pages

and something tells me you have too much time for this
great stuff

Haha, thanks Pete, and you are probably right about this.

Originally Posted by tegee

Been with you since the teens......my eyes hurt...lol. Congrates on an awesome build and helping the RC community along the way learn some great stuff!

Thanks tegee, much appreciated. Don't try using tank water in place of saline drops. It burns. lol

Originally Posted by resplendantreef

Thanks for the index. Makes lurking much easier.

You are welcome resplendantreef. Lurkers always welcome here.

Originally Posted by gary faulkner

Great idea on the index and should keep you from having to answer the same questions over and over again.

Thanks Gary!

Originally Posted by jjwill_sdsu

Except when you get to 1000 pages and have to start making an index of indices... "Page 100 - Index 1, Page 200 - Index 2..."

Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Originally Posted by jmait769

Congrats Brett! I have also watched from the beginning and have used a lot of your ideas and concepts in my current tank build. That’s the great thing about your thread and RC – sharing of ideas, knowledge and information!! Thanks!

Jay

Thank you for being a part of the discussion Jay!!

[salali]

Each page got a topic congrats

[drummereef]

Originally Posted by salali

Each page got a topic congrats

Thanks salali.

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


I'm finding more life as the tank progresses... Tiny bristleworms, tube worms, and this little guy, an Asterina Starfish. If it's the same one I saw last night, this starfish moves fast! All the way across the tank from the rock to the glass in less than 24 hours. Impressive.

[gary faulkner]

Originally Posted by drummereef

UPDATE:


I'm finding more life as the tank progresses... Tiny bristleworms, tube worms, and this little guy, an Asterina Starfish. If it's the same one I saw last night, this starfish moves fast! All the way across the tank from the rock to the glass in less than 24 hours. Impressive.

No way this is the same one. You probably have many many more. First you see one then the next thing you know there are hundreds. Have you tried looking at night with a red light. You might be amazed at all the life that's in your tank.

[duncantse]

How many pounds of rocks you got there? That's some nice minimalist aquascaping

[drummereef]

Originally Posted by gary faulkner

No way this is the same one. You probably have many many more. First you see one then the next thing you know there are hundreds. Have you tried looking at night with a red light. You might be amazed at all the life that's in your tank.

Ha! You're probably right. I was going to say this little guy has marathon legs.

Originally Posted by duncantse

How many pounds of rocks you got there? That's some nice minimalist aquascaping

Thanks duncantse. Rough estimate is about 80-100lb (dry) Marco Rock. I bought 3x 50lb boxes but only used about 2 in total volume.

[T Diddy]

Hey drummereef,

I've been following your build here for a while. Mine is an in-wall as well. Could you post a shot of your display with the viewing room lights on? Great job by the way...

[justin_g]

Brett,

Nice build, I will be modeling my plumbing after yours, espically the cleanliness. Unfortunately models don't always go together as planned

[drummereef]

Originally Posted by T Diddy

Hey drummereef,

I've been following your build here for a while. Mine is an in-wall as well. Could you post a shot of your display with the viewing room lights on? Great job by the way...

Yes I will try and get an updated shot of the room but in the mean time check out Pg 30. It has some shots of the basement shortly after remodeling where the display is located. Trim still not finished... Hopefully when we get a good stretch of weather I can finish that project up.

Originally Posted by justin_g

Brett,

Nice build, I will be modeling my plumbing after yours, espically the cleanliness. Unfortunately models don't always go together as planned

Thanks justin_g. I'm sure it will be great.

[T Diddy]

That basement looks outstanding! I'll need to update my thread as well...all that's left is the bathroom.

Again, great job.

[henrystyle]

Your gonna need a Harlequin Shrimp soon with those starfish. They populate fast. When I see those starfish in my tank I pluck them out.

[henrystyle]

Question. Do you have a floor drain in your fish room?

[gary faulkner]

Originally Posted by henrystyle

Your gonna need a Harlequin Shrimp soon with those starfish. They populate fast. When I see those starfish in my tank I pluck them out.

I don't know about yours but the ones I have eat nothing but algae. The less algae the smaller the population.

HTH

[yoccm]

Hey Brett - I have been following your thread from early on and find myself coming back to different pieces of it over and over as I continue to plan my own 300G in wall build. Thanks for the page by page reference - that makes it so much easier Again, awesome build thread!!!

I do have a question. I am ordering a Marineland 300G DD tank and was wondering your opinion on the Marineland corner overflows on your tank. Do you find the two dursos provide enough flow? Also how quiet is the water in the overflows as it drains out to the sump??

I have thought about using the Beananimal system to keep it quiet and failsafe from flooding but the Marineland setup isn't very conducive to that. So thinking I might just go with the standard setup as you have but wanted to hear your experience with it.

Thanks, Chris

[drummereef]

Originally Posted by T Diddy

That basement looks outstanding! I'll need to update my thread as well...all that's left is the bathroom.

Again, great job.

Thanks again T Ditty. The basement is a work in progress but getting there... I'll have to check out your thread too.

Originally Posted by henrystyle

Your gonna need a Harlequin Shrimp soon with those starfish. They populate fast. When I see those starfish in my tank I pluck them out.

Thanks Henry, I'll look into that if they become a problem.

Originally Posted by henrystyle

Question. Do you have a floor drain in your fish room?

No I don't but there is one directly adjacent to the pump wall, next to my HVAC. I'm thinking of plumbing a PVC riser in the sump room and have it drain to the floor drain to make water changes easier. Currently I run some tubing to the utility sink which is also near the HVAC (same unfinished area of the basement) when I do water changes.

Originally Posted by yoccm

Hey Brett - I have been following your thread from early on and find myself coming back to different pieces of it over and over as I continue to plan my own 300G in wall build. Thanks for the page by page reference - that makes it so much easier Again, awesome build thread!!!

I do have a question. I am ordering a Marineland 300G DD tank and was wondering your opinion on the Marineland corner overflows on your tank. Do you find the two dursos provide enough flow? Also how quiet is the water in the overflows as it drains out to the sump??

I have thought about using the Beananimal system to keep it quiet and failsafe from flooding but the Marineland setup isn't very conducive to that. So thinking I might just go with the standard setup as you have but wanted to hear your experience with it.

Thanks, Chris

Thanks for the kind words Chris! The durso drians will obviously be louder than a continuous siphon drain but they aren't bad, at least in my situation where all the plumbing is in the sump room. I think my Vortechs and Dart Return pump is louder than the water noise but the room also has a concrete floor which causes some noise reflection. If you end up going with a Marineland they do custom work so you can add an external Bean overflow if you want. Prop-frags had a custom 300DD Marineland tank build. Reinforced bottom panel with a center overflow, pretty sweet. Link below... Melev also had a large custom Marineland tank built but you'll have to google that one.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...775327&page=19

[yoccm]

Thanks for the input - I have actually followed both of the threads you mentioned. I did think about doing custom order with them especially after seeing what happened to Mike's first tank from them - makes the extra eurobracing sound like a good idea!!! From everything I have read and in my efforts to get a custom quote from them it is difficult and a very long process.

To your point, my drains will be behind a wall and 3 feet back from the front display. My LFS said his distributor has 50+ starphire 300g dd tanks in his warehouse and is pricing it for me at under $1,500 because they are so overstocked.

Think I will give it a shot - can always convert to bean animal system if necessary.

Thanks again and grats on hitting 100 pages - your build has been a real inspiration.