180g Build (1 Viewer)

[rlpardue]

Hi everyone,

I'm a long-time lurker who needs some direction in how to go about a 180g build. I'm not a technically-minded person so my dad and sister (the engineers) will be holding my hand the whole time.

I've been running a 75g SPS tank and a 30g seahorse tank for about 9 months and have decided it's time to move to a 180g and take the seahorse tank down. I'd like to get this project up and running before my wife and I have a baby and I take a professional exam, so I figure I have about 4-5 months to safely plan without getting in too big of a rush.

How does one go about a complex build? I don't even really know where to start. Basically, my system will be as follows:

I'm going to be placing my tank along a wall in my den that's a tad over 6 feet long. The wall currently has bookshelves built-in, with some cupboards beneath it; on the other side of this wall/bookshelves is a bathroom, and on the far side of the bathroom is an under-stairs closet. I want to place the 180 about a foot and a half in front of the wall (so there'll be 1.5' gap), then punch a whole in the wall to the bathroom and install two mini-doors (like for a pantry or something), and combine the bookshelves space (about a foot) with the 1.5' gap to leave me a 30-inch space behind the tank for sumps, equipment, electrical etc. I also want to place a RODI and freshwater storage container in the under-stairs closet on the other side of the bathroom from the tank, and run a PVC pipe from the closet to the sump area for ATO purposes. I think I'm going to install steel shelves along the right and left sides of the sump area, so that I can place a 30g refugium (hopefully higher than the DT), place a 30g saltwater-mixing/water change tank and the 40g sump on either side of the sump area behind the tank. I hope that gives an idea of what I'm trying to do; too bad I can't upload a Visio file.

Also, I'm leaning towards installing a closed-loop with two outlets per side and a SQWD with a Dart or similar pump. I have an MP 40 on the 75g but I hate having multiple powerheads in a tank to hit the rear corners, behind the rocks, and all the places the MP 40 doesn't reach. In order to save money (haven't bought the external pump yet), I think I'll drill the tank and install the piping for the closed loop but hold off on adding the pump until the tank grows in a bit and two MP 40s are no longer enough.

I own an incredibly ugly retrofit fixture with 3x250w MH and 2 6-foot VHO bulbs that I plan on placing in a canopy. I do still need to actually buy the 180/stand/canopy but am not sure whether I should go with steel and have a contractor weld it or just make my own wooden stand. I like the steel idea personally, and hopefully my family engineers can do the math involved.

For filtration I'm going to use my 150g Reef Octopus skimmer that's currently running on the 75g, my 40g sump, and I also want to incorporate a 30g DSB/mangrove refugium.

I'd like to plan out the whole build before I start making a mess of the living room. The goal of this build will be to end up with a 180g tank with plenty of front-to-back space for stags, plenty of water volume, and absolutely no fish-clutter "creep" around the living room. Right now I have a pretty den with an ugly 75g stand and mismatching canopy. I also have a 30g trash can in my living room which is ridiculous and has to go!

For those of you who've done projects like this in the past, how do you advise that I go about this? I created a Visio document that outlines my plans. We'll see how the upload goes; as a lurker I'm not too experienced with such things

 

[tektite]

Sounds like a great start to your plan! Steel stand all the way if you don't mind the expense, the area gained vs. a wood stand is really really nice especially for large builds with a lot of equipment underneath. Very cool that the bathroom is right behind the tank, creating easy access to a drain will make water changes super simple. It sounds like you're wanting SPS, is the tank going to be mainly SPS? I can tell you right away that 2 MP40's is not nearly enough for a 6' 180 gallon, unless you're going with mostly LPS or other corals that don't need too much flow. If the main corals are going to be SPS, might as well get the CL up and running to begin with.

There's a bunch of large tank builds here on MARSH, going to see some of the setups in person is extremely helpful if you've never done a big setup before. Just to look around and see how others have done it, get plenty of ideas before committing to one particular way of doing something. So many options for what you want to do Many different ways to get it all together.

 

[flexrac]

looks like a solid plan, can wait to see the progress.

 

[Diesel]

Sounds like a plan.
Remember if you tell yourself it's gonna take you 5 months..............don't be surprised that it will take you double that time.
Especially if you going the SPS route.
Just what Tektike said going SPS you better get moving.
I did my build in a the speed of light, but hey that's me I'm a contractor.
After I visit and been talking to a lot of members of Marsh I made my plan.
Once I had all equipment I start the build and I didn't got side tracked, stick with your plan.
About less than 4 weeks, http://www.marsh-reef.org/marine-reef-general-discussion/35572-202-gallon-diesel-tank.html
Good luck bro, and remember you never be alone on your build here, there are plenty of ppl on here that can give you good advise or sometimes a helping hand.
Btw, congrats on your future little frag in a few months.

 

[rlpardue]

Yeah, I do want to go the SPS route; it's so rewarding to see the growth and polyp extension and stuff. The steel stand is what I'm leaning towards; my dad seems to think designing and welding shouldn't be too tough. One thing I enjoy about this hobby is getting to hang out with him and do fish projects together - more father-son time than I'd expected as I hit the 30-year mark. How much would you guys estimate it would cost to build a steel stand?

I need to start PMing people and making house calls to snoop around and see how people did things. If anyone doesn't mind me poking around and asking questions, I'd love to go see some setups; PMs with invitations will be followed up on It would be cool to bring my wife so she can get an idea of what I'm thinking of doing to our living room.

I'm kind of fixated on the idea of having a massive, complex closed-loop for circulation; all my powerheads and MJ-1200s will be demoted from the DT to the plumbing/sump area
Do you guys think I should plan on having something in the 4k GPH range or go higher? The project is cost-sensitive so I can't go buy a $700 external pump without cutting corners elsewhere.

 

[rlpardue]

I've been doing some thinking. I wanted to buy a 180 because I was wanting more front-to-back depth than the 18" standard 150, but what would be REALLY cool is to find a 5-foot 150g slightly used 5x2x2 dimensions would be sweet. If anyone has a 150 or 180 that they've been meaning to tear down that's 24 inches minimum front-to-back or knows where I could find one, that would be nice.

 

[flexrac]

no dims mentioned:
150g fish tank aquarium

closer to what you want in alvin:
150 Gallon, 360 View Aquarium, Reef Ready

 

[rlpardue]

Thanks! I've sent out some emails to some Craigslist entries, waiting to hear back. Who on marsh has big builds (120+) with complex plumbing? (Or plumbing that is clever instead of complex) I don't want to wait for the next tank tour lol

 

[rlpardue]

Babies!

I snagged a batch of Banggai cardinal fry tonight. They're currently residing in a bucket that's plumbed in to my sump; there's lots of baby brine shrimp for them to eat

 

[Andy]

What part of town are you in? You are welcome to check out my 748g. Steel stand with highly suggested drip pan in bottom of stand.

 

[tektite]

I snagged a batch of Banggai cardinal fry tonight. They're currently residing in a bucket that's plumbed in to my sump; there's lots of baby brine shrimp for them to eat

Very cool

 

[rlpardue]

Awesome! Thanks! I live by the west loop/galleria/I 10 area. I'll pm you

 

[rlpardue]

Very cool

You're welcome to some banggai fry if you want some tektite!

 

[tektite]

Thanks, but I don't have time to take care of them at the moment

 

[Jasonc]

Always welcome to come by my place again and revisit what I did.

Those bangaii are awesome!

 

[rlpardue]

Jason - I'll take you up on your offer; I haven't seen your new setup yet but your old cube was awesome.

OK guys, I think I have a winner of a tank here! :

180gallon tank only

I pulled the trigger on it (somewhat softly; I haven't heard back from him on it yet).

It's 5' long x 2' deep x 30" tall, so it's a 5-foot 180g. It's an odd shape but it actually works perfectly with my in-wall design. One concern I have about it is in building an overflow. I don't really feel super-comfortable having a glass shop drill a used tank, and the hole already in the tank is in an unusual location - it's halfway up the back wall on the left side. There's a bulkhead there. I would definitely build an interrnal overflow box but I don't have any experience in this area yet. Does anyone foresee any difficulties in plumbing this tank if the bulkhead is in the side wall rather than the bottom panel? I guess if I made a top-to-bottom overflow box then detritus could collect at the bottom, but that shouldn't be too hard to fix. It might even save a wrasse's life lol. What are yall's thoughts?

 

[Jasonc]

In addition to my PM -

Make sure you check out all of the seams and confirm that they look good.

The more I look at the tank the more I think you could *possibly* make that work for a bean. Use the existing hole for your main siphon and drill two more holes on the bottom for you durso and emergency. Put a 90 on both sides of the existing hole and run that straight to the sump. Put the other two on stand pipes and use the durso for water level control in the overflow and have the emergency at the highest point. Have your overflow box built to contain all of the pipe work.

You'll still need to drill more holes in the back of it if you are going to want to run a closed loop.

 

[maconbits]

Love the baby bangai.

 

[rlpardue]

Thanks for the advice Jason and Tektite. I'm going to be busy for a week so if it's still available on like Jan 2/3 then I might take it. I was worried that cheap 5' tanks were a rare commodity but another one just popped up- a 5x2x2 150g. It's currently a reptile tank though; not sure if that's a problem. It's also more expensive but still doable. Jason, I agree with your advice to avoid 30" tall tanks. Thanks sir.

Macon- You can have a couple if you grow BBS and want to try your hand at them.

 

[rlpardue]

So I've spent the last couple of days refreshing Craigslist on my phone every few hours. I've located a tank that is a candidate for my build: it's a new 120g reef-ready 4x2x2 with a starfire front panel, for under 400. This is my chance to move to a 5 or 6 foot tank but the 120 is a good deal. I'll wait for another two weeks and see if something turns up on Craigslist, then buy the 120 if I don't find anything.