Matts 500 gallon funhouse

[dmatt88]

Well, anybody in this hobby understands there is never a tank big enough.

I started with a 55. Still have it, yet it has become my qt. Soon it will be replaced with a 20 or so. Too big for qt.

The 125 is nice yet not tall enough to stand and really admire. I find myself having to bend over to look at it and...

Well anyway, thanks to Craigslist I found a 220 in a local ad. $113.00 on a u-haul and a few hours later. Here we go.

Over the last few hours I have added water and (thank god) no leaks!

Now the fun will begin. I have used canister filters on both my other tanks and they work fine. This ones gotta have a sump and one hulluva light system. Man this things tall.

Wish me luck. If anybody has good ideas on how to make a sump and the correct size tank I'm all ears. I figure that the sump has to fit through the front opening in case of a leak for removal. Seems a shame though. If I could put the sump tank in through the back it could be huge!

 

[Reefmack]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

What a great deal on a really nice tank! Good luck with it!

 

[seabass]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Nice find!!!Congratulations!!

 

[redneckgearhead]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Can you put a door on one end? Or make an end removable some how so you can slide your sump in through the side? Just a thought.

 

[jpsika08]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Congrats on the great tank, for that size of I would recommend at least 80gal under the cabinet (Including Fuge), the more water volume your system has the better it will be.

As Scott said above, maybe you can have an opening on the side so you can slide the sump inside.

Here are some sump ideas:
melvesreef.com

 

[dmatt88]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

It would appear that the stand uses the wood on the sides as support for the tank. I may be able to customize the end to support a door. Good call. Why the 80 gal, im assuming you want a sump 25-30% of the water in the tank.

This may be a rediculous question yet I understand that gravity will feed the water to the sump. What keeps the amount of water exiting the tank the same as the amount returned to the tank?

Am I being illogical? Matt

 

[Midnight]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Im guessing your going to use a overflow so once you set that the the only water level change you should see would be in your sump. You want a big sump for a tank that size so if you have a power outage the back flow doesn't end up on the floor. With a 80 gallon sump gives you more play room because you will not be able to fill it all the way up. I had a 55 gallon under my 75 and I would say it had about 40 gallons of water max in it at any time, so that gave me 15 gallons of room for a power outage.

Does that make since? lol

 

[dmatt88]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

judging by the corner supports I have 23 inches max to work with that leaves a 75 gal the largest to slide in. That measure is without adding the additional support on one side. Sufficient?

 

[Midnight]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

I would think so just after you set it up fill the sump about 25% full and let it run for a min or two and then shut off the pump and see were you water level ends up.

 

[dmatt88]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Allright, update time.

Leak test went without issues and I did settle upon a 55 for the sump.

Mixed my salt in the trash cans (let me just add that having these sit around for a few days really pleased my wife)

Since Im just too cheap to buy a sump or too untalented to make the whole glass thing, I added a few buckets. A 5 gallon full of live sand for the dsb and a 2 gallon to house the pump.

Adding 60 lbs of additional sand and moving everything from the 125 and 55 created a little cloudiness to say the least.

FYI. These tanks dont look as heavy as they really are. Bring friends and buy a few beers for good luck.

Too keep suction on the CPA Aquatics overflow I didnt want the siphen hose in the tank so I put it in the sump. So far so good with ZERO bubbles!

Added a few filter socks to the gravity fed hoses that run into the dsp. The sand and the bucket really kill the bubbles.

Some of the live rock had to rest overnight since I couldnt see through the tank!

Good thing for me, the 10 gallon worked perfect for a few shrimp and the mushrooms. The fish are in the 55 qt and will stay there til early January.

 

[dmatt88]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Looks to me like I am about 24 hours from a clear tank.

As soon as I work out my sump ignorance and make it fool proof I will be a little happier.

Mushrooms really seem pleased to have a little wiggle room.

I am having real good luck with this seio prop 1500 powerhead. I couldnt afford the ecotech but other than size it really pushes some water. I am happy to announce that the temp in the tank is staying at 78 with the inline heater vs the 81 that the 125 was running with cheap powerheads!

 

[jpsika08]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Great update, one thing though, the electrical outlet connected hanging besides the sump is a little too risky, if a drop of water touches that, good bye equipment, just my 0.02 cents.

The tank is looking great, keep updates coming

 

[dmatt88]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Good call. I have attached both of the outlets to the stand leaving them above the water. The pic was the first night and I was beat. The plugs werent done til day 2!

 

[dmatt88]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Heres an update. After setting up the 220 I let it sit for a week and a half to settle. I just moved a few of my fish from the qt. They have been in there almost 8 weeks due to an ich outbreak. Now, I notice the tank has a greenish color with what I guess is a diatom spike.

I am using 50/50 bulbs (t8)(6 of em) in the tank. My wife thinks that the lighting is the issue with color, I think the algae in the tank and sump is to blame.

Any guesses whats up? Matt

good ol brown/red algae. diatom?

cloudy as hell, lighting?

tangs seem to be loving it. They are by far the best hair algae cleaners I have found. They love it!

mugsy found his perch!

The sump makes a lot of noise every few minutes when the oxygen escapes. I am using a filter from a whisper hang on the back to catch particulate, cant find a good sock filter at the lfs.
Any info you more experienced can provide is appreciated! Thank you. Matt

 

[dmatt88]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Figured Id upload a few candid pics of the tangs. Gilligan loves to pose.....

Powder.

The 3 stooges never get too far apart

 

[dmatt88]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Sump update. I have rerouted the air line from the overflow to the sump to keep bubbles to a minimum on the surface as well as moving the skimmer to the bottom. The skimmer was creating bubbles as well so this piece of foam seems to cut them down. The 10 gal tank in front is being used to keep the ro water for the top offs. I have not put the auto top off in, so I have a cheap powerhead rigged with a plastic tube to switch on and off to fill. Works like a champ!

 

[dmatt88]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Just made the canopy. Needs stained and lights installed. Coming along nicely.

First stain too light.

 

[tnwillia]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Beautiful tank Matt, great work!!!

 

[dmatt88]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Ok, long story short. The homemade sump with the deep sand bed was reallly pissing me off. So limited access and continued difficulties with filtration. Well, pics speak a thousand words.

Decided to go with the Aqueaon Proflex sump model 4. Been in a few weeks now and so far so good. I like the refugeum and the pump as well as the skimmer fit like a champ.

Getting in the new sump was a challenge though. It was just barely too big, so I had to rip off one of the support boards on the front. We were both sweating.

Also decided to add the Professional series auto top off and put the old 10 gallon to use. This is one handy tool guys and ladies. Two thumbs up!

Got in touch with reef cleaners and ordered a new cleaner group as well as a rock boring urchin.

Unfortunately, all the changes in lighting created a diatom spike thats just killing me, hence the cuc.

Here is the new lights. A 12 light T5 aquaticlife with 6 led night lights. 6 are actinic and 6 of the 10k lights. Unfortunately, when the light kit arrived from marinedepot.com 5 of the lights were broken. After a phone call, they shipped new lights out. That was last Wednesday. Its monday now and Im in Indiana. Shipping from CA takes a while.

Living in the midwest, I have to give 2 big thumbs up to the folks at bulkreefsupply.com. The first sump I ordered arrived in 2 days (broken). They immediately shipped another, only 2 days with free shipping. Wow.

So, anyway here I am now with only half of the lights working and one hell of a diatom mess. Hopefully the weather allows UPS shipping to deliver. Ice is a coming our way!

As you can see I have added a few of the reef friendly rocks from bulk reef. FYI. 32 lbs of rock gives you 3, not 4 football size pieces. Now I am giving the corals (even the few that there are) some reef vitamins. Hopefully lights arrive and I can update with more info. In qt is still the pinktail trigger suffering from popeye. I have been treating and is looking better but its still going to be a few weeks until he is 100%.

Wish me luck. Matt

 

[dmatt88]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Oh hey, got some of the chaeto algae as well being moved around in the refugeum. I will try to update with how well it works.