*d2mini's new 200g Reeftastic Build*

[Crazy_Beaver]

Is it a Triumph ?

[d2mini]

2010 Bonneville.

[Crazy_Beaver]

Originally Posted by d2mini

2010 Bonneville.

So nice....

[d2mini]

Thanks! I don't get to ride it much these days, but at least it's payed off.

So another small update:
I stopped by Tractor Supply last night just for looksies.... I gotta get this build moving so I figured sumps is the best place to start. I was looking at the big Rubbermaid stock tanks. I decided to get a 150g for the main sump, and I'll get a smaller 50g for a combination mangrove farm and frag tank. I'll pick those up tomorrow night.

[d2mini]

Stopped by Tractor Supply tonite (one advantage to a long commute home to the country) to pick up two Rubbermaid stock tanks! One 150g and one 50g.
The 150 will be my sump with skimmer, live rock, cheato and then the 50 will be a mangrove/frag grow out tank.

This means I can actually start work on the "fish room" in the garage!

[JayGatsby]

This'll be a fun one to follow.

[drummereef]

Sweet! Very interested to see how you plumb the 50g. Thinking about doing the same thing myself. Am I seeing double or does your Prius have a twin.

[d2mini]

haha, yeah when we moved out here we sold both gas guzzlers and got two loaded Prii. But mine's no longer a twin. It's already lowered on Eibach springs, has TRD Forged wheels, hitch for the bike rack, and more to come.

I think I'm just going to get cinder blocks to support the big 150g sump. Any reason not to do that and build a wood stand instead? Cinder blocks would be a lot easier.

[rcpaul]

Blocks would be good. Cheap and efficient.

[brad908]

Can't wait to see this build. Your old one is the inspiration for my next build.

[d2mini]

Hmmm.... me thinks you guys need an update!

Tank and stand is on the way! Should be at my house this tuesday.

Meanwhile, I just finished up my water mixing station which I've been working on for weeks now on and off, and started work on the BeanAnimal plumbing.

The mixing station uses one pump and I can do the following:
1. Send fresh RO/DI water from the top 65g container to the bottom 65g container.
2. Pull water out of the bottom of the bottom container and send back to the top of the bottom container to mix saltwater.
3. Drain water from the top container into a any other container via the flex hose.
4. Ditto for the bottom container.

The last two will work great for getting water into containers and to my office for my nano tank.

You can also see some 1/4" water lines. The blue on top is the feed from the RO/DI unit and is complete with a float valve inside the container. The yellow will be run to my sump for auto top-off. Eventually there will be one more water line run to the sump which will be part of my auto water change setup using the LiterMeter pumps, just like i had in the old cube.

[Myst666]

OMG Dennis, that is so neat!! Wish I could put all of my sumps and what not down in the basement. I hate to drill thru the wood floors thou.

Your House is BEAUTIFUL!

How is Baby Doing, well she is probably not a baby any more. Post some new pics of her.

Myst

[BrklynArch]

your gunna love the bean animal setup.......its dead silent!
looking foward to following along i loved your last build

[Zobp]

Is that particle board on the shelves? if so it will definitely bow overtime.

Looking forward to this build.

[Zobp]

Is that particle board on the shelves? if so it will definitely bow overtime.

Looking forward to this build.

[jeffreylam1132]

Can't really tell from the last picture, but are those sanitary tee? If so, are they the ABS type? BTW, very clean station you got there.

[d2mini]

Originally Posted by Myst666

OMG Dennis, that is so neat!! Wish I could put all of my sumps and what not down in the basement. I hate to drill thru the wood floors thou.

Your House is BEAUTIFUL!

How is Baby Doing, well she is probably not a baby any more. Post some new pics of her.

Myst

Thanks! The lil munchkin is doing well. Just turned a year! Crazy.

Originally Posted by BrklynArch

your gunna love the bean animal setup.......its dead silent!
looking foward to following along i loved your last build

Thanks, i had the Herbie last time which was great and now this will give me the extra failsafe. And I hear it's not as finicky.

Originally Posted by Zobp

Is that particle board on the shelves? if so it will definitely bow overtime.

Thanks. It's a dense pressboard over 1" thick. I sealed it with a couple coats of kilz and the shelves have a metal cross support. If it does warp over time, the plumbing can all be disconnected in less than 5 minutes and the wood can be replaced.

Originally Posted by jeffreylam1132

Can't really tell from the last picture, but are those sanitary tee? If so, are they the ABS type? BTW, very clean station you got there.

Ya, they are sanitary tees. I painted them dark gray.

[jeffreylam1132]

Mind telling me where you pick up those sanitary tee and what size do you have there?

[d2mini]

The sanitary tees are a standard plumbing part at home depot or lowes. Along with all the other white pvc but usually grouped with the toilet/sink plumbing parts, rather than with the standard elbows, couplings, etc. They only come in 1.5" or bigger. The rest of my drains are 1" so i have a reducer on both ends of the sanitary tee.

[drummereef]

Looks incredible Dennis. Great job on the water mixing station.

Couple questions...

1. Once the water is back in the top container for salt mixing, what mixes the tank? Is there a pump inside that container?

2. What is the shelf material made of on the mixing station rack?

[d2mini]

Thanks! If only I can keep my area as neat and organized as yours.

1. The water is mixed in the BOTTOM container. The top is the freshwater container. Bottom is salt.

2. As I was explaining a couple posts up, the shelving boards are over 1" thick pressboard, sealed with kilz. If they need replacing down the road, no big deal. Easy task.

[drummereef]

Originally Posted by d2mini

Thanks! If only I can keep my area as neat and organized as yours.

1. The water is mixed in the BOTTOM container. The top is the freshwater container. Bottom is salt.

2. As I was explaining a couple posts up, the shelving boards are over 1" thick pressboard, sealed with kilz. If they need replacing down the road, no big deal. Easy task.

Oh, haha... I misread, "send back to the top of the bottom container to mix saltwater". My Monday eyes are playing tricks on me. Thanks for the clarification.

[d2mini]

The tank has arrived!
Big thanks to the guys at TnT Fish & Reef here in Houston.
The support stand (built by DSA and extends the tank warranty) will eventually be encased in built-ins, so it will look a bit "raw" for a while till I have the cash for that. Right now I need to get the tank plumbed and running!


















And here's the manifold I've been piecing together.
The cepex ball valves are from BRS and the rest is from Sprinkler Warehouse.
Two valves will be running the BRS Jumbo Reactors for carbon and gfo.
Not sure what I'll use the other two for yet.

[DHyslop]

I definitely recommend gate valves for the BRS reactors. I have one tank that I set up with ball valves instead and I rue the day.

Also if you're going all in with a jumbo reactor -- six cups at a time -- I'd go ahead and make a regen station by plumbing another reactor to a ten-gallon reservoir with a dedicated pump. Not only will you save a lot of money, but you can go months without ever having to open a cartridge.

[d2mini]

Ya, that's a good point. I could swap out for gate valves and use these ball valves in the rest of the plumbing.