Help me build my 540 gallon

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Clay;4764817; said:
The freshwater community is in love with Dursos, and tbh, they leave a lot to be desired. Siphons and safeties are the wave of the future. :)
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Yup, when I installed my first Durso, I was impressed with how quiet it made things. But like I mentioned earlier, a Durso only addresses the noise in the overflow box, and does nothing for the gurgling splashing sound going down to the sump. That's when I looked into the Herbie method and modified the setup on my planted tank. What a huge difference! The setup is so damn quiet now, not even the slightest sound of moving water.

MFK is known for big tanks and big fish, but the reefers have us beat when it comes to the DIY department. People here don't take the time to research their setups. They get a huge tank, add a huge sump and pump, then complain when it sounds like a waterfall in their living room.
 
You guys are terriffic. I want to thank you for all the feedback. I have taken a step back to take time to reinforce the seams of the tank. I have contacted tenecor, IPS weld on, local acrylic fabricators, TAPS acrylic and MFK expert Chompers. All have been very helpful. I am going to reinforce the tanks using 1' acrylic bars and weld on 16 and build a stand, and water tesst before making any other investments in filtration or lighting.

I would like to use the equipment and existing tank holes but otherwise am open to ideas regarding plumbing and filtration. I havent found a sump but will. I am not going to return water from the sump through the bottom of the tank based on everyones feedback- I am concerned about check valve failure and too much flow from the hammer head.

I could use the two 1' (exising) holes in the bottom of the tank to create a closed loop filtration system using the pondmaster 3000 running the 3 ocean clear canisters( if I can back it down?). Sand substrate and all the flow this could result in alot sand getting sucked into the intake- so I dont know if this will work. I can also put two 1.5' in drains in the overflow box, feeding the sump returned by the hammer head pump through two 1in returns ( exisitng holes) in the overflow box and some other returns to the top.

Thanks for the feedback and videos, keep it coming, I have defenitley averted some mistakes and potential complications based on everyones feedback.
 
So, closed loops are primarily a circulation function and not a filtration function. Keep the filtration on it's own open system (sump, canisters, etc) and you can avoid some potential plumbing disasters.
 
Water tested and all the seams were good. To be safe I injected the discolored areas with weld on 4. Then I reinforced seams with with 1' acrylic bars using weld on 16.

Next buff out some scrathes.
Then temp plumb pumps and water test.
Build stand ( using 2x6, 4x4, hex bolts)
Still looking for sump......

Heres a pic of my Armatus anxiously awaiting his new home.....

seam 1 (2).JPG

seam2.JPG

armatus 2.JPG
 
That should hold may have worked better with 16.
Check out this site "Us reefers use it all the time" GREAT source for DIY.
You could drill a few more holes in the bottom of your tank and do the closed loop also.

You do not have to go crazy like my reef tank (for the record this I found the tank tank on craiglist all the plumbing was done-not my brain child)

My returns run down the back of my tank to the return pump into a 4 way ocean motion wave machine.

You could do that or drill the bottom a ball valve for around $200.00
Very cheap way to move alot of water and thou water circulation plays a larger part in a reef tank, It would also aid greatly in keeping waste suspended longer.
Or you could sell it to me-I might have found me a 460 gallon 3/4 glass monster.

Bulk Reef Supply.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store...bing-fittings-and-valves/ball-and-gate-valves
 
My brother (carpenter) came over to help me build the stand. This thing is gorilla strong. I had to modifiy the rubber maid stock tank to keep my stand to a resoanable height.

stand build.JPG

stand 1.JPG

stand 2.JPG
 
Nice project you have going there. I'm glad that you are reinforcing the questionable seam as it looks very suspect to me. A bad seam has been described to me as white in between the panes. The white is the acrylic bond pulling apart.
 
thats what i call a stand, ur brother is a great man in deed!!!
loved reading everything, loads of knoledge on this particular post, much apreciated, keep up the good work and i wish you loads of luck with this particular project.
 
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