110 SPS BB tank build - would LOVE help and suggestions!

[naterealbig]

Ok so to make a long story short, I decided not to set up the 180gal tank in the pic below due to money restraints.


I had saved up $1800 for 6 vortec pumps that I was going to use for circulation, and decided I could get everything I needed for a 110 with this money. Keep in mind, I work a second job at a local fish store and I get wholesale prices on most of the stuff that I buy. I wanted to start this thread for a couple of reasons. One; I would like to share my experiences with others - maybe I know a couple of tricks I can pass on (although I'm sure there are hundreds of threads like this on RC and TRT). Also, I know that several heads think better than one, and if I mess something up, hopefully it can be caught by someone before the damage is irreversable. I've already made a couple of boo-boo's which I will share shortly. I'm setting up a 110gal 48x18x30, modeled after my 65gal sps reef which I have been fairly successful with. The pic below was taken 3 months ago.



PLANS:

Tank:
110 rr AGA glass tank, and 39"tall AqualWood stand and canopy

Return Pump:
Mag 9.5 (run externally)

Circulation:
7x Koralia 4's (appx 8.5 thousand gph) - only have 4, still need 3 more

Filtration:
30gal long aquarium, split into 3 sections-drain/skimmer, refuge, and return
ASM G3 (skimmer)
Refuge containing removable DSB and Chaetomorpha (lit by CL 96W PC)
Bare bottom Display (does this count if I have sand in my refuge?)
However much it takes to set up the rock how I like it (have 350lbs curing in a tub in my dining room)

Supplimentation:
Oceans blend 1,2, and Mg, until I pick up a calcium reactor (prob. an MRC)

Control:
AquaController III

Lighting:
2x400W Refflux 12,000K MH on Lumenarc Mini's, run by Reeflux electronic ballasts.
2x96W PC's - simply for dawn/dusk effect
2x lunar lights - not purchased yet

Misc:
2x200W AGA heaters
AGA overflow kit w/ locline return

[PHIL GUY]

nice tank!!!!!

[naterealbig]

My plans so far are to set this tank up with a bare bottom. I love the idea of having a limitless amount of flow in my aquarium, and I actually like the look of a bright white tank bottom. If you checked out my equipment, you probably noticed that I don't have a large return pump and I probably have a less than ideal skimmer for the typical bare bottom job. You may have also noticed that I want to model this tank after my 65 which does have sand in it. This is my theory: I don't like the idea of a nutrient poor tank. My corals have absolutely beautiful colors and my fish are fat and healthy.













I have a 2-3" sand bed in the 65 display and its refuge is a bb with chaeto and LR. I'm basically just flip-flopping the scenario with the 110. I will have bb w/ LR in the display and I will have a sand bed w/ LR in the refuge.

Also, I don't plan on using any filter floss or filter socks as I was fine without them in the 65.

I like the tanks that I have seen with a black background so I will be painting the back of the tank black. I have seen many tanks with nothing but the glass bare bottom. I don't think this is very pretty, with or without coraline covering. I have seen several tanks done with starboard or cutting board, but this "substrate" eventally gets covered in coraline and I don't like that either - especially since there is no way to clean it well. I decided that I am simply going to paint the underside of the tank white. I will be able to keep the bottom clean by using a magnet scraper. Whatever I can get from the bottom I can scrape off manually from the top.

[naterealbig]

Thanks Phil

[naterealbig]

Well, I wanted to build the sump first, but I guess I should fix the stuff that I have messed up so far first. I didn't have the foresight to ensure that all of the doors on my stand and canopy were secure before I drove them home in the back of my pick up. Wind + Unsecured Canopy Doors =







......dummy

There really wasn't enough wood to secure it with screws or nails so, I broke out the gorilla glue. These pics were taken about 10 min. ago.

[crvz]

Glue is stronger than nails would be anyways, but that Gorilla stuff can be a pain to work with! At least the stuff I used was; it wasnt water based, and it took me days to get it off my hands. But, it will work great to glue that door back together.

[naterealbig]

post deleted

[naterealbig]

Thanks crvs.

[naterealbig]

This is my plan for a sump:



The red bowtie looking things are ball valves, and the t's facing eachother are pvc unions. I don't have plans for an auto topoff or CR yet so this is all I can think of as far as plumbing goes. The OF on this tank is a single drain and singel return. I would have loved a double drain, but oh well. Please critique. Be brutal. As an afterthought, I may place a frag tank inline with the sump, but I'll let you know if plans change.

[naterealbig]

Ok, here is an update. I have drilled the 30g long which I am using as a sump. I put a 1" bulkhead fitting, that way if I want to upgrade to a larger pump I can without having to redrill. Going to head to the store and pick up some acrylic peices and silicon so I can install the sump's baffles. Here's some more pics.

[gwaco]

well your pic of the proposed sump shows rock work and other stuff in it , i would not put anything in the sump at all except for equipment , your making your tank easy to clean but you will make your sump a p.i..a. to keep clean.
next , you don't need the run your tank nutrient poor , you can run it as dirty as you want , feed as much as you want etc. , but the key is exporting as much as you import or close to it . if you say your skimminr stinks than you probably will not be able to run it nutrient rich , you will have to work around that skimmer and set -up accordingly .

[motorslave]

I agree with gwaco ont eh bb issue. The whole advantage is so you can feed alotto keep everything healthy and that is where a really strong skimmer comes into play. It all works togetehr along with the lighting.

[naterealbig]

Ok, back to work. I almost said "forget it", it seems as though too many people have trouble keeping sps alive in these bare bottom tanks. I've been dealing with sps for a while now and feel pretty comfortable with my base knowledge, so here goes.

I want to paint the bottom of the tank white, so I started by taking the bottome brace off of the tank.

I then took a razor and cut all of the silicon that was being used to hold the bracing in place. After I cut the majority of the silicon off, I went back and scraped the rest of the silicone film off of the glass - this took a little longer. I wanted to make sure that I have completely clean and smooth surface to work with, because I don't want the paint to come off. Will be a little hard to touch up once the tank is in place.

Lastly I cleaned the bottom of the tank with some windex to take off any thing else that is left. Time to paint.

[naterealbig]

Another update. I taped off the bottom pane and the overflow area. Wasn't sure if the bulkheads would still seal through the spraypaint so I decided to be safe. Oh, btw, used white krylon fusion for the bottom and will use the same for the back (except black).

[naterealbig]

Doesn't really seem like too many people are intersted.......I guess I'll just wait until I finsh the setup and post a final pic....?