Hornet's 150 gal Ocean

[Hornet]

I guess it's time for me to post a chronicle here so you guys can see what I have going on and have something to refer to when answering my dumb questions.

I started this project a few months ago. I've been moving rather slow because I just buy equipment when I see deals, have cash, or get up nerve to do the work :). Here's some details on some of the stuff I have or want to get/do.

Custom built Stand

Stand is 36" high​

150 gal H Perfecto Standard Tank (48"x24"x30")

Drilled 7 holes in back glass
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2 1.5" holes for 1500 gph Glass holes overflow box
2 1" returns from sump
1 2" Feed for CL Dart
2 1" CL returns
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Drilled 2 holes in Bottom glass

2 1" CL returns towards front of tank. (outputs will face reef)
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40 gal breeder

for sump and will go beneath stand
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ACIII w/DC8/Temp/PH probe

saved a few bucks on it as I got it from a guy that bought it and decided not to use it.
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Reeflo Dart pump

For cloosed loop. One of the older Darts, picked it up used off of craigslist.
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Panworld 100px-x pump

Purchased new. Pump for return from sump to DT.
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2 100w titanium heaters


Things I'm planning on getting:

Octopus Extreme Skimmer Series 200

Already ordered should be here next week.
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]48" 7 lamp Aquactinics Constellation T5 lighting fixture

Live Rock
[/FONT]

Still trying to decide between a couple of different places. Will be a mixture of dry/base and live rock.

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Here's a couple of the many pics I've taken so far:

I've already touched up some bad spots on the finish of the stand. I'm still not sure about the finish and I'm considering painting the whole stand with a solid coat of pain if I can figure out a color that will look right in the room.

You can see the Bulk Heads in back of the tank and the 2 in the bottom glass in this pic.

I'll probably be picking up the pace on things now that I've ordered the skimmer.

 

[dustin_P74]

good luck

 

[yote]

Personally,I think that stand looks great.
And with what you've already got,and plan on doing.Looks it'll be a helliva reef tank.

 

[Hornet]

Thanks for the comments.

My girlfriend also says the stand looks good. I just keep focusing on a few spots that did not stain well. I keep painting scrape pieces of wood with different colors and she always tells me to leave the stand like it is. I just know that once I fill this beast with water there is no turning back.

 

[dustin_P74]

got that right

 

[RyanG]

It looks good Hornet, trust you girlfriend the stand is fine. Coming from experience you will notice every little imperfection in any work you do but nobody else will. Looks like a great start!

 

[Piggy]

Your getting off to a great start. Nice and slow is the way to go. Once it's filled it's harder to change something. Also stand looks great.

 

[daugherty]

thank looks great

 

[Hornet]

I can use some help trying to figure out how plumb my overflow to the sump. The crappy paint picture shows 2 different ways I thought of. I'm kinda leaning towards the blue lines.

Will one of these work? Or do you have a better idea?

 

[yote]

I take it that the compartment on the right is a refugium?
If it is,Then the green paint would be my choice.

 

[Hornet]

Ooops forgot to label them.

Yes the section on the right is the fuge

Skimmer -> Return <- Fuge

 

[Hornet]

Well, it's been a LONG time coming!

I finally got some water in my tank. I got it all plumbed yesterday and I'm doing a fresh water test for leaks. Thankfully, I only found one leak so far. One of the valves was missing a gasket, but I've replaced that and all is well. I'm getting excited as I'll be seeing saltwater soon. :^:

In all my newbness I did make one big mistake in my design. I drilled the holes for the return from the sump too low. As soon as I drilled them I realized they were too low but I thought I could fix it with some crafty plumbing... dumb me. I did a power outage test and water just kept draining and draining. Far as I see I have two options: I can get some more loc-line segments and angle the sump returns up higher, Or I can drill a hole in the top of the plumbing and put a tube in the return line from the sump. I think I'll probably end up doing both. Anyways here's a few pics:





If you notice a change in the stand, I got annoyed with my crappy stain job so I decided to paint the stand with some leftover paint. I think it looks a whole lot better.

 

[yote]

Looks good.
You actually have a 3rd option on your returns.You can install a check valve that will shut when the water flow reverses.

 

[ccCapt]

You just need to make yourself a durso standpipe.
http://www.randystacye.com/dursostandpipe.htm

Are the 2 return on the bottom for a closed loop?

hmmmm...not sure I understand your plumbing. Is the hole in the middle with the strainer the drain or the intake for the closed loop? When is the drain/overflow?
The depth of your returns look fine, assuming they are the loclines.

 

[Hornet]

I've thought about that too but I'm kinda thinking I'll be good if I had a few more sections the loc-line hose (see the sideview picture above). I angled the loc-line higher and the water draining back into my sump was acceptable. The angle I had to point the flare to get the water line higher seems to be creating more aggitation(noise) on the surface than I think I'll need.

The durso pipe might be the way to go or even just a couple of 90's and some pipe to raise it up to the level of my overflow. grrr,, I'll mull it over some more and come up with something. I know I've gotta fix something.

 

[ccCapt]

Huh? So the hole with the strainer is a drain going to your sump...or the intake for a closed loop? What about the 2 on the bottom?

Take a pic head on of the front of the tank.

 

[Hornet]

That's the intake for the closed loop. I've got a Dart and a OM 4-way on the closed loop and a panworld 100-px running the return from the sump. The 2" pipe is the intake for the Dart CL. The returns from the OM-4 way are 1"

Thanks yote. You are right I forgot about the check valves. I was thinking about them after I drilled the holes to low but kinda forgot about it after I checked the price on some good 1" check valves.

 

[Bifferwine]

I agree with Yote's suggestion. I have a one-way valve on my return line from the sump. I test it every so often to make sure it's not stuck and still working. Make sure you get one that is all plastic, no metal parts. This is where I bought mine (none of the local hardware stores carried any 100% plastic ones):

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_Aquar...ng_parts_fittings_ball_check_gate_valves.html

 

[Hornet]

Thanks Bifferwine,

I was looking at these check valves as they can be easily disassembled for cleaning. Plus I just realized I don't need two check valves as I was originally thinking. I have 1" pipe coming from the pump that T's into 3/4" for 2 returns. $80 for valves was not sounding good, but 40 for 1 is doable. Any thoughts on the valve I linked above?

 

[Hornet]

Here is a picture of the madness under my tank. I can't wait to have some life in there