Reef Envy 120

[superdragon]

Reef Envy 120
I decided to have my tank custom built since aquarium local stores and local manufactuers couldn't meet my strict expectations, tolerances, and keep letting me down with excuses
blah blah blah, here are pics

[IMG]http://i43.*******.com/308zjnk.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i39.*******.com/2m7f7sw.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i42.*******.com/ng7oz6.jpg[/IMG]
Raceway sump, fuge, ATO in one
[IMG]http://i44.*******.com/2qu6qer.jpg[/IMG]

Yes, your EYES aren't fooling you... that's A ONE PIECE STARPHIRE EUROBRACE & 36 INCH OVERFLOW.

[vitodog]

Very nice. If you don't mind, what are the dimensions of the tank and sump?

[tuanc]

nice build, can't wait when it finish

[superdragon]

Originally Posted by vitodog

Very nice. If you don't mind, what are the dimensions of the tank and sump?

Thanks, it's a standard 120g 24x24x48.

Originally Posted by tuanc

nice build, can't wait when it finish

Thanks, you and me I'll post the rest of my equipment.

[superdragon]

Everyone has a "dream tank" well this is my dream tank after 6 months in the making. Work has really tied me up as well as opening a new office, it's hard to find balance to enjoy my hobby.

Tank: 120g custom starphire tank with one piece eurobrace (24x24x48), semicoast to coast overflow, beananimal style overflow, acrylic backing, made in Canada

Sump: Custom glass raceway sump with 5g fuge and 5g ATO, made in Canada

Stand: Custom metal stand 24Lx48Wx36H 1.25" tubular steel made by a local reefer (photoguy)

Skimmer: Reef Octopus POV DC1 Skimmer

Return: Waveline DC 2640gph

Lighting: Ecotech Marine Radion Pro x 2, custom mounting vaulted ceiling

Reef Controller: Reef Keeper Elite

Flooring: 12"x12" Absolute Black Granite

[superdragon]

[IMG]http://i44.*******.com/23wvddl.jpg[/IMG]

Somebody likes it more than me.

[RAG_83]

Awesome tank

[Snook65]

Following. Cute baby by the way.

[jkoot]

Awesome tank and sump!!

Looking forward to following the progres on this one!

>jason

[superdragon]

Originally Posted by RAG_83

Awesome tank

Thanks, I really like my tank so far and hope it inspires other too.

Originally Posted by Snook65

Following. Cute baby by the way.

Thanks, my 1 yo daughter is interested in the tank. The tank and sump is built directly on plywood and the bottom is 1/2" glass vs. sides is 3/8" so I guess my 6 yo daughter could fit too, but I was too chicken to put her in.

Originally Posted by jkoot

Awesome tank and sump!!
Looking forward to following the progres on this one!
>jason

Thanks, I didn't know what the manufacturer could do with the sump and pushed their limits. They drew the sump for me about 30 times before I approved.

[superdragon]

I took some current photos tonight with Raidon Pro's at 5% intensity.

[IMG]http://i39.*******.com/24yoi7a.jpg[/IMG]

I prepared the space for 2 weeks to put in the granite. Husband vs. wife until we settled on a spot for the new tank. Then I used a oscillating saw to freehand cut out the solid bamboo floor. Installed tile and black grout.

My stand welder made the stand, but it wasn't totally level. I tapped the bottom with 6 holes and installed bolts as leveling feet. I also coated the stand with Truck bed liner, spray can was $13 at the local automotive shop. I used 2 cans. For some reason everybody told me it was very expensive and it wasn't. After 4 layers that stuff is like thick bubblegum.

My neighbor a famous reefer on RC (pk-sd) gave me an idea with my sump. I recycled plywood from the shipping crate, got black floor underlayment from my neighbor, a glue gun and went to town.

[IMG]http://i39.*******.com/1zyvwgk.jpg[/IMG]

The concept of lights was such a pain planning... ceiling too high 15ft!... DIY light poles... Canopy, but why pay more for a one piece euro top... Push came to shove and I took a risk.

I hung the lights 6ft from the vaulted ceiling with a strange angle 30 to 45 degrees... wasn't as hard as it sounds, centering was not bad either. I used Ecotech's hanging kit. There's a trick

(Mark where you want the hanging wires to end up on the tank top, on the tank tape regular string as crosshairs, from the ceiling use a long string/hanging wire with a weight like a plumb line, have your friend help center the plumb line when your up 15ft on the ladder, mark ceiling, drill, and the rest is history. This worked so well, I was disturbed, I doubt if my wall is square)

I tried to use the Ecotech Radion Short Rail kit... utter failure because of the distance the 2 units were bowing in the center. Even though the guys as ecotech told me otherwise. It doesn't feel good to see expensive lights bowing, so I went with a brs style DIY aluminum rail. It even looked better IMO.

[IMG]http://i44.*******.com/2co2yz9.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i39.*******.com/xpvdpf.jpg[/IMG]

More pics of tank quality and sump

[IMG]http://i40.*******.com/2lo0i7p.jpg[/IMG]

Having a external overflow allows so much room in the main tank

[IMG]http://i41.*******.com/ayu64n.jpg[/IMG]

Now on to plumbing.

[RoscoPColtrane]

Beautiful tank, looks like you are off to a great start. Did you need to buy longer wire to hang the lights so high?

[Ranger Daryl]

That sump looks awesome, I would love to see it in action.

[PaulieReef]

This sump looks insane.. curious what you are going to do with all them compartments, super interested. Following.

[superdragon]

Originally Posted by RoscoPColtrane

Beautiful tank, looks like you are off to a great start. Did you need to buy longer wire to hang the lights so high?

Thanks, somehow the moons were in alignment and the ecotech hanging kit comes exactly with 6ft of wire. Phew.

Originally Posted by Ranger Daryl

That sump looks awesome, I would love to see it in action.

Thanks, you and me both... plumbing is not my favortie thing to do, but I'm trying to keep it simple.

Originally Posted by PaulieReef

This sump looks insane.. curious what you are going to do with all them compartments, super interested. Following.

Yeah, I think the manufactuer spent more time on that than the tank. I'll explain in another post.

[superdragon]

[IMG]http://i44.*******.com/wtu59z.jpg[/IMG]

The ATO and refugium are reverse labeled in the drawings.

[superdragon]

[IMG]http://i42.*******.com/287ohhj.jpg[/IMG]

The tank is 48" so I opted for side space for a possible Ca2+ reactor under the stand 12" or just extra space. I figured to save space, I want a fuge/frag tank and a ATO, why not just incorporate it all.
The water goes top left drain, overflows to socks, underflows to skimmer, goes into reactor chamber for GFO/Carbon/Bio Pellets, baffles, return.
Top right is 5g ATO, bottom right is 5 gal fuge.
I plan to plumb clean return water back to fuge. Thought it would be a good idea to have a recessed eurobrace so accidental water dosn't spill out from the top.
*ato and fuge labels reversed

[PaulieReef]

Very interesting, love the concept, very complicated sump.

[superdragon]

Work has been delaying my build, but I did get some new toys today.

[IMG]http://i40.*******.com/3582kqc.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i40.*******.com/11l0vid.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i43.*******.com/wld8ck.jpg[/IMG]

[Griznock]

not sure about those 25's but i know a 40 will rock a 120 on medium great waves.i saw a video of the 60 and it was splashing water out of a 220

great looking set up for sure,good luck with it!

[d2mini]

Looks great! Love the one piece glass brace.

That's how I always hang my lights... vaulted ceilings too. But I like the Sunlight Supply kit that comes with the white rings that sit around the ceiling studs. Good job on centering! That's not easy... i know.

[superdragon]

Originally Posted by Griznock

not sure about those 25's but i know a 40 will rock a 120 on medium great waves.i saw a video of the 60 and it was splashing water out of a 220

great looking set up for sure,good luck with it!

Thanks I have supplies coming in tomorrow, LOL splashing out of a 220.
I figure two wp25's will give better flow than one wp40.

Originally Posted by d2mini

Looks great! Love the one piece glass brace.

That's how I always hang my lights... vaulted ceilings too. But I like the Sunlight Supply kit that comes with the white rings that sit around the ceiling studs. Good job on centering! That's not easy... i know.

Thanks, centering was awkward. Dennis I gave up reading your tank thread it's too long =D but I love the pictures!

[superdragon]

After lots of thinking for my new tank I figured there must be a better way and a cleaner look for my setup and to improve my existing setup.

With research I saw what other reefers did to prevent siphoning from a power outage. I used to use check valves but they end up failing and are very costly for the function they perform.

There are anti-siphon holes like this
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1472345

there are more complicated setups like this

[IMG]http://i44.*******.com/ftok0o.jpg[/IMG]

this is what I came up with that was simple and took 5 minutes to install

[IMG]http://i42.*******.com/igg4m9.jpg[/IMG]

Basically two elbows, and one flat plate...

This will raise the water above the tank as necessary and allow for multi directional adjustment to have the output exactly at the waterline.

So when there is a poweroutage minimal water will siphon into the plate and air will stop the flow. The flat plate also dosn't allow critters/snails/etc. to completely block siphoning. It's as clean and simple as I could come up with. There are no holes to drill either.

Here it is installed in my 60g cube, hard to see the tubing with the black background.

[IMG]http://i39.*******.com/vz8vg8.jpg[/IMG]

Here it is with my cell phone flash

[IMG]http://i42.*******.com/vqipw3.jpg[/IMG]

Here it is on my new tank

[IMG]http://i41.*******.com/29p99hj.jpg[/IMG]

Of course please use these plans at your discretion and check your tank during power outages. I lost only 1/2 cup of water when the power went out on my 60g cube, but my sump can handle the full overflow
Its just a extra safety in case of a power outage.

I hope this helps someone out there.

[superdragon]

I've been a night elf working at the tank day by day over the past week and have gotten some progress with plumbing.

If it's "RED" you can turn it. I also had some extra loc-line connectors sitting around and put them to use for the fuge.

[IMG]http://i43.*******.com/2805qpw.jpg[/IMG]

I tried to keep things super simple so it has a clean look and so that I have minimal loss of flow, hence flex pvc. I also used a "y" fitting for the return split.
[IMG]http://i44.*******.com/f9jxxl.jpg[/IMG]

I still have to finish the media reactor chamber in the sump.

I am so dying to fill this sucker up, but logic tells me to chill out and finish the aquascaping.

I have caribsea seaflor special select sand but now waiting on dry rock for the artistic sculpting.

[superdragon]

Work is more calm lately and have time to update pics.
Pukani rocks came in 2 months ago and everyone was involved
[IMG]http://i40.*******.com/2eutoup.jpg[/IMG]
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[IMG]http://i44.*******.com/15xk6y9.jpg[/IMG]