I haven't been as active on the boards for awhile so it is time to start contributing again to the forum that has given me so much in the past. I think this build I am doing is worthy of starting a build thread. Just to give you a little background on the build, the CEO of my company which is a dear friend to me has an empty 240gl FOWLR sitting in his den. The people that installed it 4 years ago didn't do a very good job on setting it up. For a premium price they put in an old trickle filter sump, no hard plumbing and a 2 bulb retro fit T5 set up. While he was on vacation for 2 weeks last July, the housekeeper tripped the breaker and all power went out to the system. Unknowingly, the house keeper just kept feeding the tank and when the boss came back, all of his livestock was belly up in the system. At the time he decided to break down the system. So he has an empty in-wall 240 that is turning into an eye sore. Him and his wife decided to get the tank going again. He received a bid from a local servicing company for $15,000 just to turn it into a FOWLR again. Knowing that I am in the hobby he decided to ask my opinion on the bid. I looked at it and it was a nice set up but I told him we can do better and turn it into a complete reef system for less money.
One of the issues he stated about the system is that it was very loud, that is because the original installers decided to use the trickle sump and a ASM G4 skimmer for filtration. There is a closet directly behind the tank, so we decided to put the entire filtration system behind the tank in the closet with a full mixing station and RO/DI set up. The idea is to make the system fully automated so it will be less worries for the owner. I will being building rock structures using plexi pillars and live rock. Any opinions or thoughts on any of this is very welcome.
The equipment list I have but together so far is as follows:
Lighting:
3 - Eco-Tech Radion G3 Pro
2 - 18" rail kits
1- Reef Link
Flow:
Still a little undecided on this, the tank is in the corner basically with the front and left side of the tank exposed. I am trying to make it as clean looking as possible and I am not sure if I want the Eco Tech MP pumps showing on the outside. I am seriously considering going with the Gyre XF 150 but i am not sure yet.
Sump:
I am going to be going to Advanced Acrylics and have him build me a 24"D x 60"L x 18"T sump. Traditional style with a refugium in the middle. I am going with the red and white PVC hybrid sump purely for aesthetics.
Return:
Since I do not like external pumps and need to make sure I can turn the 240 with 10 + feet of head, I am going to go with a DC pump. I was thinking about going with the Eco-Tech return just because I like how Eco-Tech is with their warranty in case something happens. I will also building a manifold with a secondary pump to power the chiller and reactors.
Filtration:
This where I need some opinions. Originally I thought the tank was a 180 (I haven't seen the tanks since it was installed 4 years ago). I was going to go with a Vertex Omega 200I which would have been fine to filter the system. Yesterday I found out it was 240, so the sump is going to be bigger and I need to get a bigger skimmer now. What would you guys recommend for a tank this size?
Automation:
Going with and APEX Gold system. This is going on a custom built pedestal with a tablet attached to monitor the system. I am going to be getting 4 of the solid surface leak detection probes to go along with it. Depending how far he is going to get into corals, I will be able to add the dosing pumps to the system as well
RO System:
Vertex Puratek Deluxe. I will be using 2- 45 gallon water tanks. One for fresh and one for mixing/saltwater storage. The pump will be an Eheim 1262 on this.
ATO:
Tunze Osmolator 3155. I have been running one for 4 years and have never had an issue with it. I will be using a 30 gallon water storage unit for this. The tank is going to get serviced every two weeks so I need to make sure there is enough water
I am getting ready to order everything with in the next couple of days and I will be getting some pics going when i get over to his house next week.
Let's get this build started!!!!!
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Originally Posted by row12
