Edwardw771
NJRC Member
got pics.
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180g In-Wall Reef
- Thread starter Patriot76
- Start date
ok so today was quite a day. here we go-
a few weeks back i got a new 55g to use as a sump/refuguim for my 180g. i used sheets of glass to make three partions. section 1 would be where the overflows drain into, as well as the skimmer. section 2- refuguim. section 3- return pumps. i was planning on using the red sea berlin skimmer from my previous tank (55g fowlr). i soon realized this skimmer was just not going to cut, so i got an asm g3 with all the upgrades. i was under the impression that this skimmer would be able to fit in the area i planned on using for my skimmer (section 1), but i was sadly mistaken. so after going over several configurations, i realized that there is no way this skimmer can fit in this sump without changing the partions unless i emilated the refugium, which i was not prepared to do. i also figured i could have holes cut on each ends and i could use bulkheads, thus elimating space in the tank for the drainage pipes and the return pumps. so i drained the sump and brought it to the local glass cutter to get the holes drilled. i picked up this morning, and as i was checking the bulkheads fitting into the pump, i hand tightened the bulkhead and attached the pump to the pvc pipe extending from the bulkhead. i should have left the bulkhead loose, but i didnt and the tension from the weight of the pump cracked the glass. i then cut my finger pretty bad on the broken glass while moving the cracked sump out. i probably should have gone to get stitches, but i was more concerned about getting my tank straight. so i immediately starting thinking about getting a pre-made sump. once again dyi costs more money in the long run. while waiting for advice about where to get a new sump, i had an idea. i could a new 55g and just use it for a sump (skimmer/heater/return pump), then use my old 55g (which is reef ready) for a refugium. i didnt want to use this tank as a sump b/c of the built-in overflow. only problem is this would never fit in the room behind the fish tank unless i removed the fridge used to hold the keg for the bar. well since i seem to be entertaining less and less as i get older, and drinking less and less when i do entertain, maybe i do with out having beer on tap at this point. i mean they do sell beer in bottles and cans still right!? so i bought a new 55g, an iron stand for the 55g refuguim (i never thought i'd own one of these stands). i would have rather built a wooden stand and incorporated it into the same stand as the 180g, but i didnt have the time or patience at this point. i stopped at home depot and bought the plumbing i would need for the 55g refugium. i have a spare mag drive i can use, and i still the pc fixture i used for this tank before when it was a fowlr. so i figured this project would not cost me all that much (remember i said that). i stopped at target and bought some plastic cutting boards to partion the new 55g sump (i couldnt even think about removing the glass partions from the cracked 55g sump). i silconed the new sump and set it aside to cure. with the help of a couple furniture dolly's, i was able to get the fridge out of the fishtank room (as my wife calls it). i got the old 55g (rr) out of the shed as well as the pc fixture. i leaned the fixture against the house on the patio while i cleaned the tank with the garden hose and a sponge. as i finished cleaning the tank i heard a crash. the wind had knocked the pc fixture over. i plugged it in, but nothing lights up. i went on to install the old 55g and cut and glue all the plumbing from the tank to the sump. i still have a little more to do once the partions are cured in the sump and it passes leak testing, but the refuguim is pretty much ready to go. my bro-in-law stopped by to help me load the fridge into my truck, as well as the broken 55g sump. i also grabbed the pc fixture to go get new bulbs. i took the old fridge and tank to the dump and it up AO. I got four new bulbs from AO and tested them in my fixture there, luckily it was just the bulbs that broke and not the fixture itself (those bulbs still had a good 6-7 months left on them too). so after all this, a new 55g tank, an iron stand, and 4 new pc bulbs this project cost me about $250. but the good news is now i will have a 55g refuguim and a 55g sump. plus i have room for an even better skimmer now, just no money to upgrade!
sorry for such a long post, just had a lot to say. it may have taken you a minute or two to read it, but think about how long it took me to type it with a big bandage on my left middle finger!
anyway, its been a rough day, i need a drink!
a few weeks back i got a new 55g to use as a sump/refuguim for my 180g. i used sheets of glass to make three partions. section 1 would be where the overflows drain into, as well as the skimmer. section 2- refuguim. section 3- return pumps. i was planning on using the red sea berlin skimmer from my previous tank (55g fowlr). i soon realized this skimmer was just not going to cut, so i got an asm g3 with all the upgrades. i was under the impression that this skimmer would be able to fit in the area i planned on using for my skimmer (section 1), but i was sadly mistaken. so after going over several configurations, i realized that there is no way this skimmer can fit in this sump without changing the partions unless i emilated the refugium, which i was not prepared to do. i also figured i could have holes cut on each ends and i could use bulkheads, thus elimating space in the tank for the drainage pipes and the return pumps. so i drained the sump and brought it to the local glass cutter to get the holes drilled. i picked up this morning, and as i was checking the bulkheads fitting into the pump, i hand tightened the bulkhead and attached the pump to the pvc pipe extending from the bulkhead. i should have left the bulkhead loose, but i didnt and the tension from the weight of the pump cracked the glass. i then cut my finger pretty bad on the broken glass while moving the cracked sump out. i probably should have gone to get stitches, but i was more concerned about getting my tank straight. so i immediately starting thinking about getting a pre-made sump. once again dyi costs more money in the long run. while waiting for advice about where to get a new sump, i had an idea. i could a new 55g and just use it for a sump (skimmer/heater/return pump), then use my old 55g (which is reef ready) for a refugium. i didnt want to use this tank as a sump b/c of the built-in overflow. only problem is this would never fit in the room behind the fish tank unless i removed the fridge used to hold the keg for the bar. well since i seem to be entertaining less and less as i get older, and drinking less and less when i do entertain, maybe i do with out having beer on tap at this point. i mean they do sell beer in bottles and cans still right!? so i bought a new 55g, an iron stand for the 55g refuguim (i never thought i'd own one of these stands). i would have rather built a wooden stand and incorporated it into the same stand as the 180g, but i didnt have the time or patience at this point. i stopped at home depot and bought the plumbing i would need for the 55g refugium. i have a spare mag drive i can use, and i still the pc fixture i used for this tank before when it was a fowlr. so i figured this project would not cost me all that much (remember i said that). i stopped at target and bought some plastic cutting boards to partion the new 55g sump (i couldnt even think about removing the glass partions from the cracked 55g sump). i silconed the new sump and set it aside to cure. with the help of a couple furniture dolly's, i was able to get the fridge out of the fishtank room (as my wife calls it). i got the old 55g (rr) out of the shed as well as the pc fixture. i leaned the fixture against the house on the patio while i cleaned the tank with the garden hose and a sponge. as i finished cleaning the tank i heard a crash. the wind had knocked the pc fixture over. i plugged it in, but nothing lights up. i went on to install the old 55g and cut and glue all the plumbing from the tank to the sump. i still have a little more to do once the partions are cured in the sump and it passes leak testing, but the refuguim is pretty much ready to go. my bro-in-law stopped by to help me load the fridge into my truck, as well as the broken 55g sump. i also grabbed the pc fixture to go get new bulbs. i took the old fridge and tank to the dump and it up AO. I got four new bulbs from AO and tested them in my fixture there, luckily it was just the bulbs that broke and not the fixture itself (those bulbs still had a good 6-7 months left on them too). so after all this, a new 55g tank, an iron stand, and 4 new pc bulbs this project cost me about $250. but the good news is now i will have a 55g refuguim and a 55g sump. plus i have room for an even better skimmer now, just no money to upgrade!
sorry for such a long post, just had a lot to say. it may have taken you a minute or two to read it, but think about how long it took me to type it with a big bandage on my left middle finger!
anyway, its been a rough day, i need a drink!
Just picked up a brand new MCR-2 skimmer. two problems- the water line of my sump is about 3 inches higher than the air intake knob on the skimmer. i made a skimmer stand out of a plastic cutting boards 4 pieces of PVC. The other problem is I do not have a pump for it. I just returned 2 Mag-18's to Drs. F&S a few days ago. Oh well, i had to suck it up and order a new one again.
There has been quite a few changes since the start of this project, here is the current/projected stats-
180g Display Tank overflowing into a 55g Sump w/ a Mag Drive 950 Return Pump
55g Refugium overflowing in to the same 55g Sump w/ a Mag Drive 700 Return Pump
Current USA Outer Orbit 72' Fixture- 3x250w 10k MH's, 4x96w Atinic T5HO's, 24 Blue & White Lunar LED's
JBJ 48' Fixture- 2x65 10k PC's & 2x65w Atinics for Refugium
MRC-2 Protien Skimmer w/ Mag Drive 18 Pump (pump coming soon)
360Lbs Live Rock (currently 90lbs, will be adding 270 more lbs soon)
180lbs Live Sand (coming soon)
4- Korilla 4's Power Heads inside Display Tank
2- Power Sweep 228 Power Heads inside the Refugium
1- WON Bros 1000w Heater
PinPoint Meters- Temp, Salinity, Nitrate, PH, & Calcium
A few things that I have not had the chance to do yet are-
Upgrade from the one Won Bros heater to two Jager 250w's w/ a Ranco Controller.
I also want to get a auto-top of system working as well.
Posibly a calcium reactor????
Finally, a few pics!!!
Dont mind the garbage can (temporary water storage)
you may notice a small tank next to the 180g on the shelf, that is just fresh water storage for daily top-offs. fresh water will soon be keep in a Brute and that tank may be used as a quarentine tank.
180g Display Tank overflowing into a 55g Sump w/ a Mag Drive 950 Return Pump
55g Refugium overflowing in to the same 55g Sump w/ a Mag Drive 700 Return Pump
Current USA Outer Orbit 72' Fixture- 3x250w 10k MH's, 4x96w Atinic T5HO's, 24 Blue & White Lunar LED's
JBJ 48' Fixture- 2x65 10k PC's & 2x65w Atinics for Refugium
MRC-2 Protien Skimmer w/ Mag Drive 18 Pump (pump coming soon)
360Lbs Live Rock (currently 90lbs, will be adding 270 more lbs soon)
180lbs Live Sand (coming soon)
4- Korilla 4's Power Heads inside Display Tank
2- Power Sweep 228 Power Heads inside the Refugium
1- WON Bros 1000w Heater
PinPoint Meters- Temp, Salinity, Nitrate, PH, & Calcium
A few things that I have not had the chance to do yet are-
Upgrade from the one Won Bros heater to two Jager 250w's w/ a Ranco Controller.
I also want to get a auto-top of system working as well.
Posibly a calcium reactor????
Finally, a few pics!!!
Dont mind the garbage can (temporary water storage)
you may notice a small tank next to the 180g on the shelf, that is just fresh water storage for daily top-offs. fresh water will soon be keep in a Brute and that tank may be used as a quarentine tank.
Looking really good!
I really like the set-up, I'm going to make one suggestion, pull the skimmer out of the sump, you'll be able to feed it with the submerged mag18, build a stand for it outside of the sump high enough so the drain will go over the lip of the sump empty into a micron bag to alleviate the bubbles, other than that it's awesome.
That is not the ASM that is the MRC skimmer and it can be run external. I agree that it would probably work best for you to run it as mentioned.
Sweet looking setup by the way I am very glad the skimmer is going to be used to its potential instead of sitting in my storage, lol. I will be sure to follow the tanks progress.
Sweet looking setup by the way I am very glad the skimmer is going to be used to its potential instead of sitting in my storage, lol. I will be sure to follow the tanks progress.
It coming along really nicely.
One word of caution, we've had two of those 1000w WON Brothers heaters fail. In both cases, the sensor was saying that the tank temp was around 120*. That caused the heater to stay off making the real temp a bit low. I'm pretty sure I've heard a few others say that they's had similar problems.
One word of caution, we've had two of those 1000w WON Brothers heaters fail. In both cases, the sensor was saying that the tank temp was around 120*. That caused the heater to stay off making the real temp a bit low. I'm pretty sure I've heard a few others say that they's had similar problems.
From the picture shown, it appears the air injector is submerged, that's the black and grey piece coming out of the water injector. With that submerged your not allowing any air into the skimmer, also your going to have serious back pressure from the water trying to escape the skimmer which will prevent the skimmer from working to it's fullest potential. On a side note if the air injector is submerged open it up and replace the cotton ball inside.
Patriot76 said:
i understand what you are saying. the air injector is not actually attached to the water injector yet. if you look real closely at the pic you will notice it is sitting on the ledge behind the tank. i had constructed a shelf out of PVC and a plastic cutting board for the skimmer to sit upon so the air injector would be elevated above the water line. but i am not really happy with this design, so i am going to remove that 30g tank next to the 180g and put the skimmer there. More Plumbing! i should be able to get my Union's Plumber card when I am done with this project. Do you think i will have an issue with head loss if do this? the mag-18 will be in the sump, will run about 6ft of pvc with 2 45 elbows.
We all become master plumbers when we delve into this hobby 
There will be head loss going 6 feet, that's why I suggested on the floor next to the sump. I realize it will take up space.
Here's the specs
115 Volt 60 Hz
145 Watts - 1.5 amps
21 Feet Shut Off
3/4 in/out threaded
1800gph at zero feet
1350gph at 4 feet
There will be head loss going 6 feet, that's why I suggested on the floor next to the sump. I realize it will take up space.
Here's the specs
115 Volt 60 Hz
145 Watts - 1.5 amps
21 Feet Shut Off
3/4 in/out threaded
1800gph at zero feet
1350gph at 4 feet
The skimmer has been relocated and re-plumbed (is that a word?). I will be getting the Mag-18 tomorrow. Add a few hose clamps and I'll be skimming. Turns out that I have plenty of room in my sump now for a refugium, but I have already incorparated my 55g as a seperate refugium when I planned on keeping the skimmer in the sump.
Also today, I managed to run a new circuit so all equipment is not on one breaker. I also sold my ASM G-3!!!
Also today, I managed to run a new circuit so all equipment is not on one breaker. I also sold my ASM G-3!!!