New 190 Gal setup

[ReEfErAdDiCt]

Hey guys, I know I'm posting this super late; or early, whatever you wanna call it haha but I'm just too excited about it to wait! And I'm up messing with the tank anyway haha. Well my buddy saw this tank on craigslist. The dimensions are just what we've both been looking for, and since I was already in the market for an upgrade, I went ahead and picked it up. We're in Palm Springs CA, and the tank was in LA so we made the 2 hour trip late yesterday afternoon since that was when the seller was available. And that is the reason I'm still up! We had a long day driving out to get it and when we got back to my place I filled it right up. (To do a leak test of course! lol)

Anyway, it's a 190 gal Lee Mar. Its dimensions are 60"x30"x24", starphire on 3 sides, and it's a peninsula tank. The seller had painted one of the long sides black and had it up against a wall so it was; well still is, only viewable on two sides; one length side and one width side.

I'm posting some pics of how the previous owner had it setup and also some pics of it in my place now. If you notice in the background of my pics, you'll see my current setup that this tank is meant to replace. I'm thinking though that I might want to remove the paint from the other side of this new tank and skin the current back of the stand so I can utilize the peninsula viewing that the tank was meant for. It's a tough decision because I like how the previous owner had it setup and as I'm scoping out my living room I'm seeing a lot of potential for making this a peninsula style tank again. If I end up setting it up as is right now, it will replace my 90 but I’ll probably scoot the overflow side up against the wall. Decisions, decisions...

Well here are some pics, and I'll include some pics of the sump I'm going to use. The sump is actually from my 500 gal tank that's sitting in my garage (for sale or trade by the way lol). Let me know what you guys think. I'd love to hear any input, thoughts, or ideas. I'm pretty new to the hobby so it's all appreciated. BTW, please excuse my mess in the pics. I threw everything around when we we're trying to get it in.

I'll add things to this thread as I go that I might have forgotten or changed. Also, I'm def. on a budget so I'll try to get it up and running ASAP but my pockets don't run as deep as I'd like them lol

Thanks for looking!

-Vince



This is the setup that the previous owner had going

Here is a pic of his filtration, it was plumbed on the outside of the house.

Here's his aquascape before he added corals.

And another pic from the previous owner. SeaSwirls on top.

Here's the view from the end.

Rear/side shot

Rear/overflow side shot. The hole in the stand is from the plumbing the previous owner had going outside of his home.

Front/overflow shot. Doors are quick release so it's very convenient

Another front/side shot. Pretty cool the stand is almost a perfect match to that big piece of furniture back there.

[Jhuneke]

Love the new setup... That stand is gorgeous!! Wish I could fit one that size in my place. Did you buy that rock "island" as well? Looks pretty cool if it was one piece.. Congrats on the new build..can't wait to see your updates!

[wholagan]

Nice setup. The rockwork from the previous owner had was amazing. I've been itching for another tank in the house and this isn't helping lol.

[jada1]

Nice set up..

[jbvdhp]

That is a nice set-up. I saw it on CL too. You got it for 900$ right or something close to it? If so, that's a great deal!

[ReEfErAdDiCt]

Thanks everyone! I just got the tank and stand so a bit less than $900 which IMO is definitely not bad! I have the sump already. Well worth it!

[jbvdhp]

^how heavy was the sucker? How many people did you need?? I had a 180 that I could do with another 2 people and that was already heavy.

[ReEfErAdDiCt]

^how heavy was the sucker? How many people did you need?? I had a 180 that I could do with another 2 people and that was already heavy.

Well it wasn't too bad when I picked it up because the previous owner had rollers to get it right up to my truck. My buddy and I lifted it on pretty easy. Because of that we thought it would be no prob to go from my driveway to my living room with just the two of us. But we were wrong lol carrying it from my truck about 50 feet to my living room almost gave us both heart attacks and hernias lol we def should not have attempted it but we got it in safely thank god. I should have known better because I've moved large glass tanks before that have taken upwards of 8-10 dudes. Next time I'll use a dolly of some sort for sure or more ppl.

[ReEfErAdDiCt]

Ok, I've been super busy and haven't gotten to do much but get the tank cleaned up.
Today I worked on my return pump. Its a used Iwaki MD-70RLT I acquired in a trade deal about 6 months ago. The guy just gave it to me because it had been sitting forever in his garage because he hadn't gotten around to removing and replacing a couple corroded impeller housing bolts.
Anyway, the whole pump was attached to a wood board that was used as the base. The bolts that attached it were super rusted so I couldn't get them off at first. I just sprayed on a good amount of WD-40 and let them soak for a bit and they came right off. I have a feeling the impeller housing bolts aren't going to be as easy and I don't want to break them inside the motor body. I'll try with the WD-40 first but if I'm twisting too hard and I feel they're going to break, I'll somehow try to soak just the part of the pump with the bolts in vinegar and see if that works.





What do you guys think about the pump? Adequate for my setup? Too much? I've heard good things about Iwaki but I have no experience with them.

[ManTis]

pics don't work....

[ReEfErAdDiCt]

pics don't work....

I'll fix it right now. Thanks for letting me know.

[ReEfErAdDiCt]

Got the broken bolts out with a little elbow grease. I still need to go to home depot to pick up the replacement bolts but I set it up in a sump I had lying around to test it out. Seems to be working fine but I hope it's not supposed to be silent. It sounds like the turbine room inside the Hoover dam lol not sure if I can handle the noise.
Can anyone recommend a good external pump that would work with my system that's pretty quiet too?

[ReEfErAdDiCt]

Just left lowes with everything I need to get this thing plumbed! Hopefully!

Im going to just set it up as is and leave the back painted black. I know there's going to be scratches on the back panel because of the rockwork being against it when it was last setup, and i dont feel like dealing with all that.

I'll prob end up changing the plumbing around a bit for the final setup but I just want to get it cycling ASAP. Prob post pics of the finished product late tonight

Some ppl recommended reeflo pumps or laguna maxflo pumps. Any experience with either of these?

[ReEfErAdDiCt]

I didn't get to post pics up last night because I was just too tired when I was finished. I managed to get it all plumbed and the tank is filled and running water through it. I put some bleach just to sterilize all the pipes, the pump, and also the overflow since I didn't have any water flowing through it last time.

Iv'e always used the Durso Standpipe method for my overflows, but I decided to try the Herbie method since this is what the previous owner had setup. All I have to say is, I don’t know why I haven’t done this with all of my tanks! It’s a very simple concept and it is SILENT! I've always had trouble with my overflows being loud and this has solved it. The only change, or modification rather, that I've made, is to the emergency overflow. Before, it was just a pipe connected directly to the sump that acts as a safety in case the main drain line gets clogged and the water level rises in the overflow chamber. It’s still basically that pipe, but I incorporated a Durso Standpipe to the emergency drain just so it will make minimum noise in case of overflow. Of course the first sign of a clogged main drain would be noise from the overflow, and now that I have the Durso on the emergency, I’ll just have to check it every now and then.

I'm looking at the tank and now I'm toying with the idea of moving the overflow to the back glass. Obviously this would require me to drill new holes but it shouldn't be too difficult. My only concern with that idea is that the glass where the overflow is currently located, I think, is not starphire like the other panels. I've looked through it to compare with the rest of the panels and there doesn't seem to be too big of a difference; and I suppose you'll only be able to tell if you're someone else in the hobby, which most people that see my tanks aren't. But anyway, that's just a thought for now.

The sump I have under there was meant to be temporary, but I sort of like the amount of space I have to work with this one. I also like the fact that it has those egg crate inserts already in the center partition that I could utilize as a grow-out area for frags. But then again, I'm going to have either my 60gal or 30gal frag tank connected to this system, so I wouldn't really need that as a frag area... Once I thought about that, I considered using that center partition as a refugium, but on second thought, once I add one of the frag tanks, I'll raise the water volume up from 200 gals approx., to either 230 or 260 gals, which would make a tiny fuge like that senseless as far as keeping phos and nitrate levels down.

On to my next thought...The sump is 30"x12.5"x16". If I keep this sump, my logic is to incorporate another tank (say a 40 breeder or something similar), to be a refugium, and with the added space I could have a decent size top off reservoir. A complete package really, all under my DT.

With the big sump I was planning on using initially (48"x24"x20"), I would only have about 8-10 inches on the far side for reactors or something. Now, since I'll have a frag tank accompanying my DT, if I use the big sump which gives me little room under my DT, I could incorporate a refugium under the frag tank.

Tons of ideas I've been having but I've got to decide sooner or later! Please feel free to express your thoughts and opinions on anything you see on this thread. I know they'll probably only make me think more and come to a more reasonable decision.

Here’s some pics of the setup:

[unbereefable]

I would get rid of the two 90s you have on the pump to reach the back of the tank. Elbows that close to the pump can sometimes cause cavitation. Instead use some nylon tubing. It will allow for a smother transition and help to decrease overall head height on the pump.