I finally pulled the trigger on my 220ish in-wall Display with basement equipment room

[Rappa]

We were going on a family vacation, so I ordered a bunch of goodie's to arrive just as I was getting back from Vacation! Sadly, I couldn't wait for vacation to be over to get back to work on this project...

 

[Rappa]

Back from Florida. I love it when a plan comes together. Goodie's arrived perfect timing.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

I've been keeping a 50 gallon Oceanic Reef tank since 2004. I have always wanted a bigger tank and expected that "someday" I would get my wish. However, life gets in the way though! Kids, pets, house renovations, running a small business, and not knowing if we'd stay in this house permanantly, were all factors that delayed and put off my "Dream Build". I did have success and tons of enjoyment with my 50 gallon tank, even with no sump and all hang-on equipment. It was very stable considering I had zero technology, and it did well and I really enjoyed it for many years. The problem was... I got bored with the limited size, always wanted the ability to keep more/bigger fish (Tangs) and more of corals that I love (SPS). After a many years of life taking priority, as well as losing some interest in the tank, it started to show. Corals slowly died off, and Mojano's took over the tank. This past year, the salt creep was really starting to build up on the bottom trim of the tank, and the wood inside the stand was expanding and bowing. It was leaking slowly and it was only a matter of time before the stand failed and the tank would crash to the ground. I'd either have to take the tank down and get out of the hobby, or finally pull the trigger and go big with my dream build. After a visit to an old friend and fellow reefer's house and seeing his beautiful system, the inspiration hit me. I'm going for it! More to come soon...

Okay, I am jealous now!! That looks like it will be amazing. I will be following along on your journey for sure.

 

[Rappa]

Back to construction...

 

[Rappa]

Picked up this restaurant style faucet from Vevor and plumbed it in. I didn't take pics of the plumbing, my bad... This thing is UNREAL. The pressure out of the hand sprayer can hurt your hand it's going to be amazing for cleaning equipment/ filtersocks, rinsing buckets, etc... I also plumbed in a 3/4" boiler drain/hose spigot direct to the hot water line. I figure this will come in handy if I ever want to wash out my mixing station bins, or whatever may come up. I can hook up a hose and spray full pressure, and with the electric instant hot water right above the sink, I can adjust the temp of the water on the fly. I had this old granite backsplash laying around for years, so I drilled a few holes and put it to use.

 

[Rappa]

I picked up a bunch of sheets of this PVC for the walls of the equipment room. I will insulate behind, then use this for walls. Can get them as wet as you want without worry, and easily wash them down. Best part is no mud and tape, or plastering.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

 

[Rappa]

Completed the rough electric work. I ran two new direct 20 amp circuits. One run is for a single 20A GFI outlet that will power the Apex stuff including the Neptune Energy Bar for the Return Pump, Skimmer, ATO, U-V, Mixing Station pump, and another Energy Bar with Heaters, Dos's, Fuge lights. The other run is for all the other 20A GFI protected outlets for the garbage dosposal, future appliances, accessories, and one other Energy Bar for my quarantine tank that will use less amperage. My general rule of thumb is "You can never have enough outlets!" When in doubt, just add an outlet because you know you will need to plug something into it someday . Is it overkill? Yes it is... I hate extension cords!

 

[Rappa]

Finished the electric, insulated, installed the PVC wall, then had the kids do some staining with some grey waterbased that I had leftover from something I did years ago... The sump will go on the bench to the right of the sink.

 

[JustAnotherNanoTank]

This is an awesome build. Definitely great for me to see for future ideas! Great work!

 

[Rappa]

Found this light at Home Depot and figured I'd give it a try. It is awesome so I bought two more. They daisy chain together and work as a group if you want. The motion sensor works the nuts, so you don't have to worry about turning the lights on and off. Or you can use them as regular lights without using the sensor. They are nice and bright, and can dim down way low if desired. Easy to hang and I love them. $80 each well worth it.

 

[Rappa]

This is an awesome build. Definitely great for me to see for future ideas! Great work!

Thank you! I Really appreciate the feedback. The good thing about building from scratch, you can put-to-use any ideas that pop into your head as your going. And... I did everything sooooo old school with the previous tank, I kinda knew the things that I wanted to do, that would make my life easier AND the make the hobby more enjoyable.

 

[Rappa]

Started installing my "goodie's". After some pondering... I decided to make everything waterproof and installed PVC wall board on the sump/pump bench. Used PVC trim to "tub" the area out and caulked every seam and screw. This way, if anything leaks, it can be contained on/in the bench area, and the leak sensor will no doubt trigger the alarm on the Apex to shut the pumps off. This was important for me, as with a remote fish room where you are sending water all over the place, things will no doubt leak... at least in the beginning until you have everything dialed in. Not only that, cleaning up salt creep or spills will be super easy.

I also started building the stand for my mixing station.

 

[Rappa]

Pump was delivered. After debating for a month or so about AC vs DC pumps, I decided to go with the Hammerhead/Barracuda Hybrid pump WITH "BALDOR" MOTOR. This is the version of this pump that comes with two/both impellars... a high flow, and a low flow impellar. A fellow reefer insisted that I get the Baldor motor version of this pump. The regular pump comes with a China motor I assume, but the Baldor is supposedly made in USA, more quiet, and superior in quality/longevity. Time will tell on that. You have to search for the Baldor version specifically or you will always get the regular one. I have to say, it isn't as loud as I would have thought. It runs 24/7 and stays reletively cool to the touch, and pumps water like a beast. I had to switch impellars to the lighter flow one because it was pumping more than I needed, and the lighter impellar saves a bit of electricity. Apex Fusion says it averages 270 watts and costs $50/month to run.

The reason that I went with an external AC pump, was because I have a 30'-ish foot run from the sump to the tank area, a 5'foot lift from sump to basement ceiling, then another 7'foot lift from basement ceiling to the top of the tank. a 30' foot distance with a 12'ft lift, plus a few elbows, 2 check valves, a flow sensor, and a future U-V... I didn't know if there would be a DC pump that could handle it. According the the Neptune flow sensor, it pumps 1250gph to the tank wide open with the low flow impellar. The high flow impellar was around 1600gph if I remeber correctly.

 

[Rappa]

Installed second power bar and pump is ready for the sump arrival. Gonna have to drill my Synergy sump when it comes, I was definitely a little nervous for that!

 

[Rappa]

Finished building the stand for my mixing station. Ordered 2 65 gallon tanks from FW Webb. They delivered them to the store and I picked them up from there. Saved a ton of money on shipping, as the shipping was big money from any online retailers.

 

[Rappa]

SUMP DELIVERY DAY! I was so excited that I couldn't even wait for the trucking company to call and make a delivery appointment. I went to the terminal and picked it up as soon as it arrived. I can tell this sump is going to be awesome just by the way it was packed for shipping. Synergy is not fooling around when it comes to shipping...

 

[Rappa]

Sump unpacking! Holy crap...

 

[Rappa]

I am blown away. The fit and finish of this sump is amazing. I can't find a fingerprint on it anywhere. Silicone is perfect. I'm really

happy with this purchase.

 

[Rappa]

Drilled my sump and installed the pump. Started the return plumbing. Drilling was way scarier in my head. Ended up going rather smoothly...