Thought I'd share my 150gal project

[ReefShack]

I guess we start with the live rock...250lbs Tonga deepwater.

Another...

Cleaned. Now it just has to cure. Lots of water changes!

The skimmer was working overtime for about a week.

Garage or fishroom? You be the judge.

The closet that will house the 150.

Building the stand.

 

[ReefShack]

Laying out the back of the tank.

I think that's where I wanted them...

The beginings of my particulate filter.

The particulate filter in place.

When I do a water change I can get rid of the accumulated particulates at the same time.

The garage is starting to take shape.

13 out of the 15 holes cut in the wall.

Piping through the wall.

 

[ReefShack]

Now we're getting somewhere! The closed loop is hooked up!

The closed loop with Hayward motorized ball valve.

Growout/holding tanks.

250watt 10kK halides on icecap balasts.

FW test and looks like some good current!

A good comparison between the VHO on the 75g and halides on the 150g.

The particulate filter in action.

 

[ReefShack]

The Refugium, though I pulled the caulerpa after the Anthony Calfo meeting.

The final product in the garage.

The final product in my den.

 

[j.stagner]

That is extremely cool, man. I have to say, though, that having seen it in person, I know that these pictures just don't do it justice. This is an amazingly neat setup!

 

[esmith]

Ron, that is an amazing plumbing job. Nice work!!

So what is the total volume of the entire system...200+?

Eliyah

 

[ReefShack]

The tank holds 150, the sump 120, the fuge 50, 4 growout tanks @17 each, the particulate filter is about 18, and I have a 100 gallon Rubbermaid that houses my dsb. If you add that up, it's a little over 500. Then there's the water in the plumbing. But subtracting the volume of the rock and sand, I'm guessing around 450 gallons. It took about 3 days to fill with RO/DI at 140g/day.

 

[big t]

Hey that is one great setup you have there. It really looks like you put a lot of thought into that. I really like the particulate filter. I had been trying to think of a good way to build a detritus trap, and it seems that should work pretty good. Let us know how well it really ends up working. I also really like that ball valve you put into the closed loop. You will really like having your own fish room, who needs to put a car into the garage?

 

[ReefShack]

The system has been up since early January and has been running flawlessly. I'm in the process of building a Ca reactor since dosing kalk on this system is laborious. The sediment filter is working pretty well. I've got an Ampmaster 4700 on the closed loop so, there isn't much detritus build-up in the display and I'd say the trap catches 50% of the stuff that goes over the overflow. If the trap were a little larger, the water velocity would be lower and more would fall out of suspension. Here's a pic of how it's working.

 

[aquaman]

That is a very cool set up! I'm sure the planning was the most important part of the project, and it shows.

I don't know very much about particulate filters. How often do you clean it? Do you have a site with info building guidelines?, water flow etc.?

I am impressed with the design of the system. Do you have a drawing with the entire circulation flow. The pictures help alot. Thanks Chuck

 

[ReefShack]

Hi Chuck,
The planning was very important and took many months. I clean the particualate filter every few weeks when detritus has accumulated to appreciable levels. The flow levels are such that I turn over the entire system 4 times an hour. However, the display tank gets turned over a little more than 30 times an hour with the closed loop. Here's a diagram.

 

[mojoreef]

Ron you're a man after my own heart. All that plumbing in equipment almost brought a tear to my eye. Congratulations to set up looks also. The detritus trap is a great idea, good for you. Make sure you keep the pictures coming it will be great to see this tank progress.

Again, great-looking set up.

 

[MtnDewMan]

Not sure how I missed this thread ... hmmmm, some things slip by me I guess.

Ron that is a great looking setup. You have planned it out very well. How is that 4700 working for you?

Keep us posted on the progress.

 

[aquaman]

Thanks for the quick responce and the diagram. It helps with my planning.

 

[ToddG.]

Hey you stole my Idea LOL and I thought I was the only one who would turn thier closet into a fish tank Well I wont be to far behind you I should be starting mine here in a few months ill be watching this thread so if you see something you would have done different please let me know Im pretty much am going to do the same thing as you only all my filtration will be underneath. Heres a pic of the soon to be tank.

 

[NaH2O]

ToddG. Welcome to Reef Frontiers!

WOW!! Ron....awesome set-up! You have done an outstanding job - keep the pictures coming. Thanks, also, for posting the diagram - I can follow things a lot easier when I can see the plans (Still wowing)

 

[zeltar]

Afterthoughts??????

Ron, Beautiful setup and final product. Now that you have completed everything and has been running a while, what would you change or do differently? I am in the planning stages of a new tank but unfortunatley do not have the luxury of room that you had. So I need to plan very carefully. Just wanted to get any things you thought about after the fact and said "If I could go back in time... I would do this...."


Thanks

--Eric

 

[tankgirl]

Ron, what a fantastic setup!!
How do you clean the particulate filter?
and
Did you buy it or make it?
TIA!!

 

[wooddood]

ron all i can say is you did one fine job son very very impressive thanks for sharing