High Tide Aquatics

ZeroInverse 150 gallon tank

zeroinverse

zeroinverse

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In case people want to see my 150 gallon tank setup.

I've been 8+ years out of saltwater reefs and back in September 2011, I got back into the hobby. First with a 90 gallon and shortly upgraded to a 150 gal. It was all because I saw people with 120 gal tanks that had a 48"x24" footprint. I really liked the depth.

Slideshow showing my tank build.


150gal tank setup

Here is the plumbing. A bit overkill, but will simplify in a future round.




Reef DIY sump plumbing

Here is my custom SUMP design made from a 40 gallon breeder (from Petco's $1/gallon sale).
You can see my 2x4 wood stand with plywood siding.
You can also see my DIY crawlspace floor supports to support the joists under my tank
(150gal tank + 40gal sump=190 gallons) @ 8lbs/gal water = 1520lbs.


Reef Tank DIY

====================
COPIED FROM MY ORIGINAL POST ON NORCALREEFCLUB (NCRC)

Thought I'd share the tank and the related build of my multi-purpose sump.

Sump will be a 40+ gallon tank split into
1) display refugium (18" wide x 5" deep x 15" high) to host microfauna
2) frag tank & remote deep sand bed (18" wide x 10" deep x 12" high) to avoid ugly frag racks in display tank & also provide some additional nitrate conversion
3) macroalgae (chaeto) growout section (18" wide x 5" deep x 12" high) to remove excess phosphates & nitrates
4) protein skimmer (older generation Euroreef model)
5) return pump

It's set up so you can look at the sump and see the fuge & frag tank.

SEE BELOW POSTS for detailed info.
 
In case people curious, I got this a few months back and decided to use it as my profile pictures.
DSC_0016.JPG
 
Awesome job on the plumbing! I really like the internal, coast to coast, overflow as well as the custom sump. Nice work!
 
I really like your sump design. I was thinking of something somewhat similar but I really like your layout. How is it working for you?

Would love to pull that off in my 20L TruVu sump-fuge system but not quite sure there's enough space.
 
Actually, the original coast to coast was already there (from when I bought the tank). I ultimately rebuild a acrylic "box" that was narrower.

Coast to coast DIY overflow

I made it a bit "taller" so that I would get a "deadzone" refugium area. The thought was to use it as a macroalgae growout area. Instead, it's kind of become a detritus collector, which I don't really siphon out. I occasionally use a turkey baster to agitate it and have it run down to my sump with mechanical filtration (filter sock or foam/sponger filters).

In future, I should make it out of black plastic. Actually, it doesn't really matter since now coralline algae has entirely encrusted the surface so you can't see it anyways.
 
Very nice plumbing.
Smart decision to use gate valves.
Ball valves seem to get sticky more often than not.
I will keep an eye on this thread.
Worth watching when DIY is done with careful thought. :)
 
Nice!
I love the crazy tangle of pipes.
Getting all that to fit, be accessible, and so on, is HARD.
I have been dealing with the same thing lately - finally fixing my "temporary" mess.
 
JAR said:
Very nice plumbing.
Smart decision to use gate valves.
Ball valves seem to get sticky more often than not.
I will keep an eye on this thread.
Worth watching when DIY is done with careful thought. :)
Click to expand...

The gate valves were used for the return lines so I could fine-tune & control flow going back to the two return outlets.

The drain lines I used ball valves. In retrospect, for the SIPHON drain of my "2-pipe beananimal", I should have used a gate-valve so I could fine-tune the siphon flowrate. You can get by with a ball-valve, but it can get sensitive.
 
JAR said:
Very nice plumbing.
Smart decision to use gate valves.
Ball valves seem to get sticky more often than not.
I will keep an eye on this thread.
Worth watching when DIY is done with careful thought. :)
Click to expand...

Ahh, but are you using quality ball-valves, or Home Depot/Ace/Osh/Lows type?

Asahi America, can't go wrong and they never sieve up on me... and you can replace the ball on the true union versions :) Handles on any of them can be replaced, true union or not.
 
That LED setup looks very cool. Is the lift manual or do you have plans to mechanize it?

Very nice tank by the way! I really like the size.

~Charlie
 
Charlie, no plans to mechanize it. Just that many more things that can fail with rusting...
Plus manual is enough. Designed to slide out of the way while still illuminating the tank so you can dO work. I have a 2-story ceiling so didn't want to hang wires from 2nd floor.
 
Hi Zero............ killer looking corals man! Happy and healthy, congrats. Do you have a FTS with the coral in there??

Welcome!
 
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