600 Gallon Upgrade Build
 

It's time for an upgrade. I love my 225 gallon reef with all my heart but I am looking out for what is best for my fish, corals, and future stocking.

This whole build will be a DIY. To start off, the tank will be 84"L x 48"W x 24"H and drilled with a closed loop. The main circulation will be a Reeflo Dart pump and will be running six 1 1/2" Sea Swirls. If I don't like the flow I will add 2 MP60's into the mix. The overflow will be a call flow with 4 drains done with the bean animal overflow. I am still deciding on either doing a 1 1/2" or 2 " drain going into the sump.

The closed loop will have two 2" drains going into a Reeflo Dart pump and returning with six 1" returns.

The sump will be 72"L x 36"W x 24"H. Here is a picture of the sump I will be building but without the baffles. In stead, I will be adding a refugium.

http://s1207.photobucket.com/albums/...t-34855-PM.png

For the Skimmer I will be getting the Reef Octopus Recirculating Skimmer.

http://www.aquacave.com/reef-octopus...umps-1136.html


The stand will be about 44 - 46 inches high and made with a combination of 2" x 6"s and 2" x 4"s.

As for lighting I will be doing a DIY with approximately 270 LEDs. It will be a 50/50 mix of actnics and cool whites with some UVs added(probably).

I will be transferring my current livestock to this tank and I assume it will take about 5 or six months depending on how much of my original tank water I will use to start this tank with.

I will have about a 2" - 3" sand bed and continue to use the black sand. I believe 300 lbs should be suffice. I will add another 200 lbs of dry rock and what ever is left over will be broken down and put in the refugium.

This will be a slow build as I have budgeted a few dollars a month to put this together. I will build the sump and stand first, the tank, and then accessories along the way. So lets get'er done.

I started building the sump and all was going good until I dropped the Weldon 4 can. But this is what I have done so far.
http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1315144990
http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1315145808
http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1315153918
http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1315233193

You can wrap your picture URLs in Image tags [img] ... [/img] to get them to display inside your posts, or just click on the yellow "mountains" button in Edit mode and paste the URL there.

Dave.M

I would go with the 2' drains if it were me
looking good so far
i have a bunck of extra live rock if you want to come look at it
tagging along

looks like it will be a great setup! I can't wait to see more!

http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/...-32-57_652.jpg
http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/...-31-33_741.jpg
http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/...-16-30_953.jpg
http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/...0-03-01_17.jpg

Looks okay now to me. Anyone else having problems seeing the images?

Dave.M

Correct me if I'm wrong, but should the bubble trap not be turned up side down? You may want to go with more than just one drain too. The filter socks should work great, I would use 7" mesh.

http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/...t-34855-PM.png

Subscribed.

Maik1

I do not have bubble trap in my sump just used extra live rock and no bubbles in my dt

I can relate to slow progress because of budget! Are you fabricating the big tank too? Who's acrylic you using? Looking forward to it!

IMO...the 1 1/2" Sea Swirls is unnecessary ...unless you're using something like an 'oceans motions'and alternating the returns...the dart could not 'feed' six 1 1/2" returns...save your $...you could get away with 3/4" SS

Will the closed loop be alternating?

You are probably much taller than me, BUT that stand is VERY high, making the top of the tank about 6'...how high is the ceiling, because it will be hard to get high enough to work on the tank and place live rock in it. (I know this from experience, and had to reduce my stand by 6")

I would recommend some add'l green & possibly red LEDs to balance out the spectrum. I have 360 LEDs (24 are green) plus an add'l 10 48" HO T5s on my 8' tank.

If you move all your current LR/livestock (with MINIMAL additions) and most of your water at the same time, the tank can be running 'instantly'...which is exactly what I did when I upgraded from 2 tanks (170g & 130g) to my 450g DT

My tank build which was completed in June 2010 is on Manhattan Reefs... if you'd like the link, I can PM you.

Good suggestion and something to think about.

Yes I am. The acrylic I am using is from a company down the street that builds aquariums also.

It wont be an oceans motion but it will be alternating the returns. Someone suggested the 3/4'' SS with eductors on the ends and 3/4" returns on the closed loop also.

Yes I am 6' but I have 8' ceilings in the place where the tank will be. I am weighing out the options of lowering the stand also depending on the skimmer and clearance I need.

If I can get a major deal on a large plastic tank and make enough SW then that sounds like a plan.

Are you building your stand out of wood or metal.
I would make the stand lower that is the reason i am going to a 300 dd becouse my tank is too tall with my hood on my tank is 8ft.
My stand is tall enough at 36' but the tank is only 27' tall so i will be ok i hope.

looking good, wish I could do acrylic like that....affraid i would glue myself to the acrylic.....lol
looking forward to more pictures

Eductors are probably gonna be too big and not look good on the SSs.
If you really think you need them, you should look at penductors.

Why do you need a large plastic tank?...it would be good for water changes, but not necessary for the initial upgrade. After you finish putting the whole new system together, you will need to water test it (usually with fresh water), when everything looks good, you can refill the tank with the amount of salt water you will need for the changeover.

I am building the stand out of wood. The tank is going to be 24" in height so I can play with those 3" in the stand.

That's the good thing about acrylic. You cant glue yourself to it. The Weldon goes on and it adheres the acrylic to itself. I have tried and mad mistakes and no glue on my hands. It evaporates before it sticks to you.

I was originally thinking to use it to make new water. But my second thought was to fill the tank and sump with fresh RO/DI water and run it a few days and if no leak just add salt to it until it gets to the right SG.

What are penductors? And can I use them also for the return on the closed loop?

I like to throw away the first test water...hopefully, it has 'washed' out the tanks and pipes and you're getting rid of any residue, etc...then fill it with RO/DI
penductors are smaller eductors

I thought I would have my sump finished today but the acrylic shop had a machine failure and I will have to wait until tomorrow to attempt to finish it. As of now this is how much I have accomplished.
[IMG]http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/...-31-24_502.jpg[/IMG]
I also made this rolling cart so if or when I have to service the sump I can roll it out.
[IMG]http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/...-13-54_146.jpg[/IMG]

I'm pretty sure, those dollies are from Budget Truck Rentals!!!!:eek:

good idea with the dollies
build a fish room just add it to the budget lol