Reef Central Online Community - New 100G reef tank build

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New 100G reef tank build

Hi all.

I started of with a 30l biro marine convert, then went to a 120l Juwel and now I'm in my new house I am going for the big boy whilst my live rock is kept alive in a Red Sea 130. (well as big as I can). Unfortunately I had a MAJOR nitrite spike before I moved from my old place which killed off almost everything! Very upsetting. Buy hey, it happened right.

I am going for a 5 foot x 2 foot high x 1.5 feet deep on a custom built (by myself) unit/stand with canopy above and cupboard to the right. All clad in high gloss doors to go with the kitchen/dining room look. I plan on documenting my progress and through in some questions and pleas for advice along the way.

I am doing everything from scratch so hope this may be of some benefit to someone. I have only been in the hobby for a couple of years and keen to get a decent size tank going. I also plan to make a full integrated Arduino controller to control everything from lighting modes to feeding, from dosing to temperatures and alerts, but thats for another day (or year).

The rough design for the tank unit is going to be as follows:
https://s29.postimg.org/9kobcktwn/Sc...t_21_12_55.png uploading images

As for the tank, I have a couple of questions that I would like advice on.

The units in the picture above the tank are going to be half and half cupboard and empty space to allow access to the top of the tank. If you imagine open up the top the cupboard doors you will see a 300mm high cupboard at the top running the length of the tank. The door will over hand the bottom of this cupboard by another 300-350mm or so so that it allows about 350mm for access to the top of the tank and I want it to come down a bit so that it hides the top rim of the tank hiding the bracing and the air gap at the top. Question is...

1. How much room do you all have above your tank for access? Will 350mm be enough? Too much? Could I get away with smaller do you think?

2. How high does the water normally sit? I know this is determined by the standpipes etc but as a norm, how much gap is there usually between the very top of the tank and the waterline? (So I know how far to build the unit to come down the glass to hide all the not so pretty stuff.)

Other questions relate to piping. Because of the setup in the pic, I am planning on having the exit pipes (bean animal method) exiting the tank on the right hand side as it will be hidden by the tall cupboard. I plan on cutting an access hole but the whole cupboard can be pulled out if major work needed. My original plan was to have an external weir and have the 3 bean animal pipes going straight down to the sump from there. However I am now thinking of going another route and having a small tooth weir inside (not full height) and having the three holes cut in the right side of the tank with the pipe bends happening just inside the tank but hidden from view by the weir. like this... http://www.beananimal.com/media/4054...de_500x375.jpg
...but not on the back, on the side with a smaller weir.

3. My measurements show this display tank should hold around 470 litres. After reading up between 8-10 times turnover is average. Does anyone see any problems with using three 1" pipes for my bean animal drain and 1" for the return? From what I have read, 1" pipes can carry 600GPH under normal gravity but if I understand it correctly, the bean animal method drains through two pipes, one primary and a secondary with the this as an emergency, so with both it should be able to handle 1200GPH. My source also states that 1" can return under pressure up to 2200GPH so that should be enough too. Unless anyone thinks differently?

Wish me luck!!!

Some info for number 1 & 2 above.

My canopy is 13 inches tall total (just under 350mm). I have plenty of room to open the doors and access the tank. Be mindful of selecting lights and placement above the tank.

As for the water height in the tank, it will only be as high as you set your overflow.

Best of luck and I look forward to seeing the progress.

I made my canopy almost 17 inches tall (About 420 mm) and the entire front and part of the top swings up so I have a lot of room and low chance of banging my head working in the tank. The more head room you have, the better, IMO. I also agree with Rob in that the overflow position will determine the water level in the tank. You can definitely do 8-10x turnover through the sump, but you really don't need any more than 3-5x, IMO.

Thanks for your advice. I have just posted this in a separate thread as specific to weir...

Hi. I have another thread running about the whole 100g build but I need some very quick advice so I can get my tank ordered today. This is then original thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2617239

In a nut shell I am having the outlets coming out of the right side of the tank so that it can be hidden by a cupboard. I am having a bean animal overflow system and want to make a custom weir inside on the right to hide the bean animal setup. I am thinking of doing the following design in white 3mm acrylic because the unit is high gloss white and I have put the 45 degree bend in so that you cannot see a big flat weir from the front.

https://s27.postimg.org/e5zpiy7lv/Weir_design.jpg free upload pictures

*This photo shows weir 1. I thought about a bit bigger and changed the 70mm to 100mm which in turn changed the 100mm length to 140mm.

Someone on the other thread showed some concern about the size of the weir and the water flowing over it. I asked ND Aquatics who will probably be making my tank what size their tall standard weir is and I got the following info...

Their weir:
Surface area 10cm x 15cm = 150cm2
Comb length 35mm

My weir 1:
Surface area 18cm x 7cm = 126cm2 + 10cm x 7cm / 2 = 24.5cm2 TOTAL 150.5cm2.
Comb length 28cm

My weir 2:
Surface area 18cm x 10cm = 18cm2 + 14cm x 10cm / 2 = 70cm2 TOTAL 250cm2
Comb length 32cm

What is your opinion on this guys? Does anyone see any problems with this?

Thanks in advance, Steve.

Off to a good looking start!

So I didn't think the unit was high enough so added a 6"x2" frame to the bottom which I will cover with a plinth like the kitchen units. I've also moved the top doors up and have to chop some off the top of them. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...cb4aa4adae.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...8df7868157.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...6d76d5428e.jpg

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Sorry not been. Any updates lately, still waiting for the tank and dump to be built. Should be ready next week.

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very nice, looks great.

Question, why build the 6" lift to raise it up, instead of just replacing the vertical posts in the stand to give you more room to work inside the stand?

Quote:

Originally Posted by CafeReef (Post 24958090)

very nice, looks great.

Question, why build the 6" lift to raise it up, instead of just replacing the vertical posts in the stand to give you more room to work inside the stand?

I have only built a rectangle with the 6" and picked the whole thing up and plonked it on top so there is effectively 6" more space on the inside. Also it allowed me to have a recess on this 6" so I can fit a facia plate to it to match the rest of the kitchen.

Like the image here... https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...44898a49ae.jpg

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ND Aquatics make excellent tanks, you will not be disappointed when its finally delivered!

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Quote:

Originally Posted by matthemmings (Post 24958739)

ND Aquatics make excellent tanks, you will not be disappointed when its finally delivered!

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Hopefully not mate. It should be ready this week along with the sump. Gonna go pick it up as soon as it's done.

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Great looking project, never can have enough cabinet space for fish stuff

So... went to ND and they've made the weir too small. Could only bring home the sump. A little annoying but said they would deliver it Tuesday. Fingers crossed.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...b5938e7ed2.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...42140862ee.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...7691e7a1a5.jpg

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Data leads into relay box.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f3c877edc4.jpg

LEDs arrived from furureeden thank you.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...0bab50872b.jpg

Also cleaned out the UV.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...ae4bb4f7d7.jpg

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Tank has finally arrived and treated myself to some new bits. Just painting the back black. Well happy with it. Phenomenal build quality.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3c2828fdcf.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...714727d2f3.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...2ca83ecbdb.jpg

Not posted in a whole. So... Made the LED unit. Still need to paint and finish with fans etc. Bought 72kg of live rock which I had to clean and arrange in tank. Still need more!!! But have my old tanks supply that should do. Getting sand tomorrow and will hopefully get that in tomorrow too.

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In total lights have cost me about £150 all in.

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