245 Gallon Custom new build with basement "fish room"

[Dreadnaught]

Almost done with this piece but I need to remove a few inches from the bottom.

 

[Dreadnaught]

Added sand, heat and Dr. Tims to start the cycle.

 

[Dreadnaught]

That's my BAM (Big butt Manifold)

 

[Dreadnaught]

 

[Dreadnaught]

Let there be light!

 

[fragit]

Looks awesome man, great work all the way through!

 

[Dreadnaught]

Thanks man. End is in sight. Skimz 252

8" PVC for Bubble trap.

 

[TheHarold]

Fantastic!! Love all the equipment above

 

[philfree]

This is great.
Following along.

 

[Dreadnaught]

Here is the return pump and plumbing. Iwaki MD-100R(T)-115. I estimate 2000GPH once you figure return height and elbows in the plumbing.

 

[Dreadnaught]

Refugium set in-place. Traveling the next few days so plumber and filling it will wait.

 

[Dreadnaught]

Scariest moment of this build. Fingers crossed on this shelf.

 

[Dreadnaught]

Refugium running. Took me a little while to figure out how to keep full draw and divert part of the flow but it easily dialed in.

 

[revhtree]

Awesome job! Are you getting good flow from that manifold?

 

[Dreadnaught]

Yes. Running the manifold with a Waveline 10000. I have the pump on its lowest setting and running skimmer and GFO/Carbon no problem.

 

[jsker]

That is one heck of a build

 

[themcnertney]

Built my own light rack from Aluminum angle iron. Primary lighting with 3 x Radion G3 Pro and supplementing with 2 x T5. I can easily add additional LED's or T5' if needed. The rack is attached using drawer hardware so it can move a few inches as well.

Could you tell me where you got those single bulb t5 fixtures?

 

[Dreadnaught]

They were tough to find! I found them at a hydroponics store. Below is the manufacturers name. You can probably go to their website and find a local distributer.

 

[foxt]

Nice build. I am planning a basement sump for a 220g build, and am following your progress. What size return line are you using off of the Iwaki, and about how much head loss do you have?

 

[Dreadnaught]

It's 1" matching the Iwaki output. I used a thin wall (Sch 40?). I goes straight up ~11ft before it exits though the plumbing above. I get almost too much flow for the baffles to handle. Im a little concerned of any flow restriction through the baffles as the tank ages. However I can easily restrict the flow with the ball valves.

Remember the bigger your return, the bigger the bulk head, the more tank real-estate you will lose to the overflow.