ZM's 200g build

[zoomonster]

Originally Posted by MontyRay

Following along! I am starting my own DSA200 build. It is a great tank! Since I live in the Houston area....just down the street from DSA (Dallas)...I did not suffer with the delivery issues you faced. My LFS called his distributor and had the tank in his shop the very next day....delivery next Wednesday .

I am building my own stand and canopy....copying a lot of ideas taken right off this forum....so my build will take a bit longer.

I have been using a Reef Octopus skimmer on the current tank (extremely pleased) and plan to use exactly the same skimmer you bought.

However, I will be going a bit different direction on the lighting. I have been using Chinese LED's for the last 5 months on my current tank. They have performed extremely well, the corals ALL love them, and you sure cannot beat the price. I will be purchasing two more for a total of 4 over the DSA and solid-mounting them in the canopy...no hangers for me!

Still making choices on some of the other equipment you mentioned. Will be following your experiences with interest. I just wanted to thank you for sharing. As soon as I get some pix worth viewing, I will post my build.

LOL the sign on 45 near where I lived for years in Houston says "Dallas 300m". You probably lucked out because of your dealer using a different distributor, the tank not being custom and it probably came from a local distributor warehouse vs. DSA in Dallas. Kind of a joke that the black back and pvc stand liner tank options made mine a custom order but that's another story. Good luck on the build and start a build thread. Hopefully my build will get rolling again here shortly.

[zoomonster]

Two days after it was promised I finally got a tracking number for the tank. Supposedly the trucking company failed to show and pickup yesterday. 724 pounds on its way today with projected delivery to my dealer on Monday who hopefully won't take more than a day or two to deliver

[canlax]

Just caught up on your thread - I can't imagine how excited you must be to get your hands on that tank so you can start! Looking forward to seeing the beauty in place...

[zoomonster]

I had thought about using all schedule 80 but being local HD does not carry it any more and Lowes has a very limited selection of 3/4 and 1" only I went with schedule 40. I bought a bunch of stuff and think I have pretty much everything on hand now to plumb the tank. I also debated using a manifold or using separate pumps to drive Ca reactor and GFO/GAC reactor. I decided to go ahead and give a manifold a try. Clean solution and its at least two less powerheads in my sump. I also considered gate valves i.e. Spears but at least for now no real need and went with far less expensive ball valves. Spears from BRS would have cost me $121 for 3x.5 and 1x1 with shipping plus I want 3 x 1" valves for drain lines. None of these lines really needs fine adjustment so they should be fine. Each one of the valves was handpicked for smooth operation as some are pretty bad. The GFO/GAC already has another valve down line for fine adjustment and the CA reactor uses a step down assembly. The third line is a spare for future expansion. That empty middle valve is getting a 1/2 Mur-Lok for the GFO/GAC reactor. I ordered an extra and may eventually convert the CA reactor over. I didn't figure the exact cost but this whole assembly cost about $25 not counting glue/cleaner and new PVC cutters I needed anyway. The most expensive part was the Mur-Lok fitting at $6.98. I did buy clear PVC cleaner to avoid the unsightly purple mess and it works great for cleaning off the ink printed markings they use on PVC parts these days. If I decide to change valves or fittings they just unscrew. Especially if your putting out for Spears gate valves your much better off using threaded vs. slip. The plan is to have this located over the sump so if it ever were to leak it does so back into the sump.

3 x 1"-1/2" slip tees
2 x 2" pieces of 1" PVC
3 x 1 1/4 pieces of 1/2" PVC
3 x 1/2 adapters slip/NPT
3 x 1/2 NPT threaded ball valves
1 x 1/2 90 NPT/barb fitting
1 x 1/2 NPT plug
1 x 1/2" Male NPT x 1/2" Mur-Lok

[zoomonster]

The trucking company attempted delivery of the tank today to the store but the plywood box was too large to get in the store and they didn't want to uncrate outside because of probable rain today. So the crate is getting rerouted for direct delivery to my house tomorrow afternoon. The dealer will be here to uncrate, inspect and bring it in house. In the end it all works out and I still should get the tank tomorrow afternoon.

[lluv24]

Man U have had a journey with this tank;-(

But I'm sure it will look awesome;-)

[zoomonster]

LOL the saga never ends... It was supposed to be delivered yesterday and there was a problem and it was rescheduled for 10 this morning. The tank guys showed up this morning and the truck didn't show until 12:30. It was supposed to be a skiff and they showed up with a full sized tractor trailer. So the guy opens up the truck and says "****" they packed the truck wrong and tank is way back. He was going to leave but the vendor yelled until he unloaded the other stuff to get to the tank. Then the tank box was too large for the pallet jack to go on the lift so 6 people had to drag it out. Few minutes of disassembly and the tank, stand and glass tops arrived in one piece and the guys got it inside. All good right? Not quite... DSA failed to send the damn plumbing kit so I'm screwed until at least tomorrow. The vendor called DSA and its supposed to be overnighted.

As for the tank for 200g its a behemoth and taller than I pictured. I'm 5'8" and I will need a small ladder to get into the tank at all with height at 59.5". Pretty happy no breaks, scuffs or scratches. The black back and PVC stand liner are also very nice and glad I got them. The cabinet is spacious and easy to get into and of course a smooth finish for easy cleaning. Now if I can just get the overflow/return kit I can really get started. Also with the delay assembling its given my wife too much time to think... "maybe we should rearrange the furniture and put it on another wall"

[zoomonster]

[zoomonster]

Trust me pictures do little justice to enormity and room impact and its just a 200g

What I also just noticed is the bottom is black also. Not sure if that is the norm for DSA or part of the "marine black back" option. In any case I like it...

[zoomonster]

Another shot of tank after I moved it to its new spot. At about 700 pounds empty thank god for tile floors for sliding. The wife got her way and the room got rearranged although she's not completely happy with the layout yet so I'm not holding my breath lol. I kind of like it better here but it kind of throws the whole room off (TV/stereo used to be there). If it stays there that works out a little better since the laundry room is behind that wall which will make RO/DI and ATO supply a little easier and I can run a drain line to the laundry room sink for water changes. I was trying out one of the glass tops and not sure if I will use them or screens. Maybe now I can clean out all that dirt from it sitting in a warehouse for weeks before they shipped it.

[canlax]

boom there it is, looks great

[zoomonster]

Well as my back will attest the whole freaking room is rearranged again and the tank is back in its original spot. DSA dropped the ball again and failed to ship the missing plumbing yesterday as promised. At least now I have an overnight tracking number for tomorrow. Not just me but the dealer has sworn to never do business with DSA again.

Anyway I did mount the lights to see how that was going to work out. Those glass tops are going to have to go. Basically the same cheap, gonna break, plastic hinges you would find on an AGA or Perfecto. One already fell in the tank and its beyond me how it didn't break. With the drain/return kit here tomorrow I'm going to knock that out as quickly as possible and try to get the sump plumbed by this weekend so I can start adding water/sand/rock before my wife has a chance to change her mind again

BTW that's with all the lights on. Even with the 4 x 80w T5's turned off I can't get over how blue the Hamilton 14k's are.

[zoomonster]

This is what the inside of the single large overflow looks like and what is included in the overflow kit. Underneath your basic bulkheads and they supply them with barbed fittings. I flipped up one of the durso's and that will be an emergency overflow.

[zoomonster]

The overflow and return plumbing are done and the overflow was filled with water to leak check. Not too bad just one bulkhead needed tightening. The drains were a real PIA with the spacing which of course even using two do not line up with the sump. Not completely happy but ended up cutting up an old drain hose and using that for now. The third drain is for the durso that was flipped up and drains directly to the return chamber if need be. The sump has two sets of fittings top left 1) a small speed fitting that should work for the ATO. 2) Pipe and elbow that I added a 1/2 speed fitting to. That will be the return from the BRS dual reactor. I'll have to see how that works out and if I have a problem with GFO fines. If so I may setup something with an extra filter sock holder I have. I moved the fittings around on the manifold and the speed fitting will feed the BRS reactor and one the CA reactor.

[zoomonster]

I have not setup a permanent location for the RO/DI yet. I hooked it up and flushed for an hour and then started filling the tank direct. Input to the DI seems to have settled at 4-5 PPM and output is of course zero. Looks like water pressure is about 75PSI. I have the power heads in tank and as soon as they are at least covered I will start mixing salt in tank. Its been running a few hours and I'm up to about 4". Plan is to fill 1/3-1/2 tank, check salinity, add sand/dead rock then fill out the tank from container mixed water. The slow fill gives me a chance to ensure no leaks before I add salt.

BTW its been a while since I used a RO/DI but not sure where BRS gets "water saving" from. Output and waste flow are basically equal so roughly its 150g of waste per 150g of output a day.

Hopefully I will have a full running tank by tomorrow night

[reelredfish]

Originally Posted by zoomonster

I put the XP3000int skimmer together for a bathtub test drive. Assembly could not be any simpler and unit is exceptional quality. Disassembly for cleaning should be a breeze too. When its in sump I will adjust orientation of things, trim that airline and hookup the cup drain line (cup is huge though). That us/brit pipe on drain will also get replaced with a down turn for quieter operation. The only negative comment I would make is about the lid. The lid is ventilated with 8 holes on top. Even if I don't use ozone (probably will in the end) the stench of skimmate will be oozing out the top. I took a look and don't see anything premade so I guess I will be making a homemade carbon cap for it. Last thing I need is wife *****ing about smell. If anyone knows of a part other than DIY let me know please.

I hope you have better luck with yours than I have had with mine. I have two of there skimmers and while I like them this one has given me nothing but issues. I ordered all new parts for the pump...really pump issues not skimmer itself. Had to give serial number to ensure I was sent the right ones. Paid over $100 for parts. New parts looked a little different but seemed to fit. 2 weeks later it flew apart and messed up the inside of the pump. They took care of me even though the pump was out of warranty they sent me what was supposed to be a new pump. Well after two weeks it locked up and stopped working and the front screws are rusting really bad. Now my old one screws never rusted on it...strange

I was able to break it lose and get it running again I have sent them another email about these issues. Not sure whats going on but about to give up on that pump that comes with the skimmer.

[zoomonster]

Originally Posted by reelredfish

I hope you have better luck with yours than I have had with mine. I have two of there skimmers and while I like them this one has given me nothing but issues. I ordered all new parts for the pump...really pump issues not skimmer itself. Had to give serial number to ensure I was sent the right ones. Paid over $100 for parts. New parts looked a little different but seemed to fit. 2 weeks later it flew apart and messed up the inside of the pump. They took care of me even though the pump was out of warranty they sent me what was supposed to be a new pump. Well after two weeks it locked up and stopped working and the front screws are rusting really bad. Now my old one screws never rusted on it...strange

I was able to break it lose and get it running again I have sent them another email about these issues. Not sure whats going on but about to give up on that pump that comes with the skimmer.

Yeah we'll see... sometimes things are junk to start and sometimes you just get a lemon. Product lines move pretty fast and I was just a little annoyed/concerned when this model was discontinued no sooner than I bought it. Oh well if it craps out hopefully it will do so under warranty and maybe I'll get a better pump.

[zoomonster]

I'm getting pretty good flow out of the RODI and already close to 8", have both FS14000's running, heater going and a bag of salt mixed in with SG at about 1.036 right now.

Really liking that Coralvue 800w titanium heater. I was wondering about the heat outside and the RODI water but its coming in at 74F. Only took that heater a matter of minutes to bring the temp up to 78 where I'm set for now.

About the Jebao's... I have the 2 x FS14000 and wave maker. The pumps are the slightly improved, renamed WP40's. I've not been around Vortech's much but people always complain about the noise and rave about how quiet the Jebao's are. If that's so the Vortech's must be the pump from hell noise wise. I've been playing around with speed and mode settings and these damn things are giving me a headache. I'm running in a constant mode now and it sounds vaguely like a power boat cruising. Some of the alternating modes sound kind of like someone playing scales on Moog bass pedal. Hope that gets better when the tank is full and they are moved up higher.

I just downloaded "sound meter" for my android phone. My noisy computer measures ~55dba and the Jebao's measure 65DBa next to either one and that's H mode and both pumps full speed. That's a far cry from the advertised <55 DBa advertised by Fishstreet. I had not realized it but the FS14000 is actually a WP40 that Fishstreet (not Jebao) took and "improved" on for the sake of noise. At the lowest speed they measure about ~35 DBa although they are not doing much and half speed a very noticeable 55DBa.

[zoomonster]

Ok the Jebao's are a lot better this morning. Whether its just from running overnight and breaking in or more water and moving up the glass who knows. They are pretty good now noise wise.

The RO/DI has to be producing more than the rated 150g maybe from the good water pressure I have right now. Water was way higher this morning (up at 9) than expected. I shut it down and added the sand and all of the dead rock. Also added some sand and rock to the refugium. All said and done I have the RO/DI back on and need about an inch before it starts filling the overflow.

I added the Ocean Direct live sand first. Not too bad and just a little cloudy but considerable foam. They do include packets of clarifier (gimmicky name but basically just marine clarifier) which does help considerably. The seafloor special grade reef sand all got washed a bag at a time. When added to water that stuff is like milk.

The real pain in the *** is the lights... I turned on the T5's and one bank is not working which means the fixture has to be removed from the tank, leg and glass removed. Hopefully just a bulb that came loose.

[zoomonster]

Got a lot done yesterday but a lot left to do (and after that a lot of tweaking). The tank is pretty clear this morning and I can see the mess of rock I blindly put in. Going to need quite a bit more rock but I ordered 50 pounds of Bali Alor large to seed the tank and get going. Assuming they ship today it will be here tomorrow by ground.

I have the basics going and the tank running. I had a few more minor leaks on returns and I'll say this, use heavy duty Oatey Teflon tape (forgot I even had it). The thin, cheap stuff does not cut it.

Skimmer is running but still useless probably because of the clarifier that came with the live sand. Same thing happens with my pool, it gets sudsy when I add clarifier. Leaving it running but drain is open back to sump. Even the filter socks are foaming. All that aside I think the skimmer is going to need to be raised up a bit.

GAC/GFO reactor is online and had a bunch of problems with that. I was like why is the GFO not budging? I had tried my 1/2 feed wide open, using a power head, reducing GFO and GAC before it dawned on me to flip the internal canister upside down from normal to get reverse flow and make the GFO tumble. It would have been nice if the directions mentioned that lol. Working pretty good now on my manifold.

I got the Apex, modules, power bar and probes installed and online in cabinet. Still another power bar and probe for CA reactor which will get setup later. Aside from that a lot of setup and config to go. Probes online but not configured right on display and temp seems a bit off compared to heater controller.

Electrical is still a mess to be done. Everything on straight power now and will be moved over to Apex and wires organized.

The overflow on the tank is pretty noisy and I have been adjusting flow to accommodate. The biggest problem is the Durso's. They have caps on top with a small hole drilled for air and they whistle badly. I have tried enlarging the holes but not there yet. Once I get rid of the whistling I may need to make a cover for the overflow box to cut noise. Of course if I use the glass tops that will probably help but they are off right now.

Back on the subject of Jebao's they are working pretty good and much quieter. I had seen someone say that laptop power supply is a fire hazard. I see what they mean... it gets terribly hot. The Waveline pump uses a similar setup and while hot the power supply is not nearly as bad as the Jebao.

Just been using one bank of T5 and installing the MH ballasts in cabinet will be next. Still need to pull the light and see whats up with that second bank. The CA reactor will probably be last.

[dave.m]

Try running a length a airline tubing down the top hole in the Durso's to control the noise. The airline should stick out the top a couple of inches and go down inside to where the vortex turns to solid flow - something you have to play with to find the sweet spot.

Dave.M

[zoomonster]

Originally Posted by dave.m

Try running a length a airline tubing down the top hole in the Durso's to control the noise. The airline should stick out the top a couple of inches and go down inside to where the vortex turns to solid flow - something you have to play with to find the sweet spot.

Dave.M

Thanks I'll have to give that a try. Meant to pick up some airline the other day when I was out but forgot.

[zoomonster]

Been kind of busy with work but the tank is running and been refining things and adding at night. ATO and CA only two things not online yet.

I was going to rig something but bought an adjustable acrylic stand specifically for my skimmer. Now I just need to pickup a few PVC parts for the drain. It's completely out of the water now like it supposed to be and is pretty noisy. Basically I will built a vent pipe that drains underwater. They sell one but its probably too bulky for my setup.

Apex is mostly done and I have Fusion working. Probes, leak detection, lights, heat, wave on and a few things left to go. I suspect it will be a while before all the kinks are out and its exactly the way I want it.

ATO is looking to be a problem. I have the Tunze but not sure if that setup is going to work. I'll have to look at it some more but don't see a valid place to put the sensors. Problem is the skimmer and refugium chamber always maintain a constant water level and the return chamber water level is unpredictable because of variances in overflow and return. I don't know that I would ever trust that water level to be reliable. I would like to not have to depend on the conductivity probe which even after calibration seems off. The calibrated refractometer matches the hydrometer at 35 but the probe is lower at 28.2 set for salinity. I'll try again when I get some more calibration fluid. One mistake I did make was thinking the main units temp probe would work for the salinity module. It needs it own so I guess I will have three temp probes, 1 for each PH and 1 for salinity.

Since I had to order a few things I went ahead and got two Giesemann T5 pure actinics. Taking down the light is a pain so might as well put those in when I check out the T5 loose bulb problem (hopefully just loose). I had wanted to avoid it but I may consider eventually hanging that light for ease of maintenance.

[zoomonster]

It's been one of those days...

Someone in Detroit started using my card for a shopping spree Sunday and the bank just flagged it today when they went shopping at HD. Must have gotten skimmed because someone created a duplicate card. About $200 worth of gas and about $100 at Dollar general and HD. Just another hassle.

Liverock order is delayed until next week. I should have researched this business better (aquacon that has a horrible rep including F at BBB) but they have promised to ship on Monday because they are in the middle of a move (gee heard that line before). Supposedly they were sold, under new management and moving to a new location. Hopefully that place will turn it around and its not just the same thieves with a new name of Saltwater Fish Depot. It would be really nice to have a reliable, non thieving online store that close. It saves majorly on shipping rock and livestock. I already told them no rock next Tuesday and the matter goes to the bank. Would be nice if the website mentioned any of that or that they are only open M/W/F now. It only took 3 days to get someone on the phone and never got a response to email.

One of the MH E ballasts stopped working and I called Hamilton. They are great to deal with but they are out of the ballast in question for ~3 weeks. I can live with that but it still sucks.

[Volcom698]

So is the Apex salinity probe not worth it? I've heard a bunch of people now say it's off from there refractometer. I was going to buy the gold, but not sure now.