90G Tank Move
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Main
Forum Name: Tank Threads
Forum Description: A place to show off your tank build.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=57757
Printed Date: November 28 2024 at 2:53pm
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Topic: 90G Tank Move
Posted By: Deluxe247
Subject: 90G Tank Move
Date Posted: July 12 2012 at 1:04pm
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We just moved from Roy to Salt Lake, and now that we're getting settled into our new house, I have a little time to document the tank move. I took the opportunity to make some "minor" adjustments to my setup (i.e. plumbing the system to a sump in the basement, setting up a completely new sump system, hanging the lights from the ceiling, and installing a second return pump for simultaneous or bypass operation). I'm pretty much finished with all the technical stuff, and really the only major thing left to do is put some sort of sweet skin on the tank stand frame. I'll post some pictures as I have time. I'm pretty happy with the way things are set up. Any comments or suggestions, are always welcome.  ------------- 90G Mixed Reef |
Replies:
Posted By: papa-squid
Date Posted: July 12 2012 at 1:27pm
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Well glad you moved from Roy to slc haha. And Congrats on your new place and setup design. ------------- Officially Addicted! new upgrade from 40cube to 55g. and helping friend and his mom with there new 55g. Dallin Anthony |
Posted By: Deluxe247
Date Posted: July 12 2012 at 9:49pm
I said I would post some photos so here are a few cell phone pics of the process. The first step was of course to build a stand. I started with just a wood stud frame, which I will skin later with some nice wood (haven't decided yet).  Next, I set the tank on the stand, leveled it, and began to fill. I was in a hurry to get livestock out of the coolers they'd been in for more than 2 days. So I put in all the rocks, sand, fish & coral, and filled it to about 3/4 full. I hadn't rigged the plumbing yet so i couldn't have water in the overflow.  Next of course was to install all the plumbing and get the sump set up. Although my wife knew about my plans to plumb it to the basement, she was still initially upset when she saw the two holes in the nice hardwood floor. I just about burned out my drill getting through the T&G decking below! I wanted to go through the wall, then down, but it's quite difficult to do that with the 1920's wall construction.  Originally I planned to resurrect a broken 55G tank I had lying around. I replaced the shattered back panel with a 3/8" piece of clear acrylic (not cheap BTW).   Unfortunately, the silicone did not adhere to the acrylic. I'm not sure why, other than maybe it was too hot sitting out on the deck for two days. Anyway, now the tank can be an excellent TERRARIUM if I remove the baffles!  This little setback was actually a blessing in disguise. I was about to shell out $200-300 for a brand new acrylic sump (around 40-60 gallons) when my wife pointed out that we now have an abundant supply of plastic storage totes we used for moving all our stuff. I have seen them used before successfully, but I also know that they can sometime off-gas and leach unwanted chemicals into the water if they haven't fully cured. The totes we have don't smell strongly of plastic, so I decided to go for it. Now I have a much larger water volume than I would have had with a different sump. Plus, I have built-in shelving with the system. I used some of our extra wire shelves and offset the uprights to compensate for the level change form the concrete pad to the floor.  Drain line split between skimmer chamber and refugium  Skimmer  Refugium  Live ghost shrimp for my dwarf lion. Hey if anybody has any ideas on better food, or how to get the lion to eat frozen krill or something that would probably be healthier for him in the long run.  Here he is salivating So with that all set up, the tank is looking and running great. Here are some pics with the aquascaping done:   As I said before, I will put some sweet wood on that frame and build in some doors to access the plumbing and electrical controls. Finally, due to the failure of my nice expensive >:( Little Giant 4-MDXQ-SC pump, which produced a ton of fantastic flow at the increased head height, I've been running on a spare. It's a smaller Little Giant, and after I refurbished it, it runs surprisingly well, just doesn't throw quite as much water as the other did. A few days ago i had the idea to plumb in a second pump (since i have another spare) to either run simultaneously to increase flow and/or serve as a backup/bypass if I need to service the other. So I rigged it up, and currently they are running side by side and producing roughly the same flow as the original pump did. The question will be how energy efficient they really are...I know if you're like me you like pictures, so here are some:  Single pump  Dual pump setup with ball valves to shut off the inactive pipe   Both main pumps, and three Koralias (hidden behind the rocks) are all controlled by a second-hand WaveMaster. ------------- 90G Mixed Reef |
Posted By: Deluxe247
Date Posted: July 26 2012 at 1:47pm
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updated pics ------------- 90G Mixed Reef |
Posted By: Melissa
Date Posted: July 26 2012 at 2:38pm
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Tank looks nice. It must be nice to have so much room to mess with your sump stuff now.
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Posted By: tfmreefs
Date Posted: July 26 2012 at 2:50pm
Wow really looking good, great job. I never thought about doing the plumbing through the floor but thats a good idea haha although i am only 15 and my parents would never let me do that  ------------- "The early bird might get the worm, but only the second mouse gets the cheese." |