my new project...what do you think?

[Firefish]

I got bored and figured there wasn't already enough half finished projects around the house... so I started another one

I'm building this 150 gallon tank into my breakfast bar in the kitchen... just about done. The ro/di & pc ballast are located in the basement so only the canister & skimmer will be in the sump area on the right.
Access to the tank by way of two strong slides that allow 1/2 of the 8' 3" thick maple top to slide back. I used an exterior mildew & mold resistant paint on all the wood. I'll be finishing the latex paint & urethane tomorrow. The bar is 42" tall and I have a chrome foot bar that'll be in place to keep guests from knocking into the glass with the stools.

what do you think?

(Mods... I wasn't sure where to post this so please move it where it belongs )

[weez1959]

Wow! keep up the pics as you go along.... I'm dying to see the finished project!

[Firefish]

Thanks man!
Your tank is looking pretty healthy also. Very clean.
I think I'm gong with a fowlr. With the limited head room, I don't really want to get into halides. I do have a dual 250 watt halide setup but way too much heat under the counter top. It should be finished today.

[Firefish]

Made some good progress today... just about done. Sand & water in, LR going in tomorrow, then the fish! The counter tops wont be done for another week or so... I have to finish building the tops. I already bought 6 high back stools. It's going to look sweet when done.

[weez1959]

Looking really good! Do you already have the fish in QT? I noticed the kitty bowls, you're going to have a very entertained cat!

[weez1959]

Just wondering, will this top be hinged?

[Firefish]

Actually... the top ( 4 feet of it) is on sliders. So half the counter top will slide back and expose the center 4 feet of the tank for maintenance.

Ya, we have a cat...but I'm working on that;)

[Seafrmer]

Did someone say "Agressive Tank??'

[Firefish]

I have a 5" Picasso Trigger that will literally start biting the glass when he sees me coming with the frozen jumbo krill. Makes a loud "cracking" sound I can hear even from two rooms away sometimes. I'd like to have a Clown trigger but I don't know how the Picasso & Naso Tang would do... The tang is almost 7".

[AzaZeL]

Ok, I am a complete noob when it comes to this but my friend just got me into it with his reef tank. I have absolutely fallen in love with your breakfast nook/underwater world. Please keep us up to date.

-Az

[Reefland]

What are you doing for filtration on this one? It looks like there is a section off to the left that is hidden, is this for skimmer, heaters, etc?

[Firefish]

Hey Scott- did you start your project yet? I tore down and sold the tank & corals in the basement, turned it into a bar area. I was never down there to see it anyway. I kept all the equipment and picked up this 150 so I could see it from both sides... the 155 bow was painted and had dual OF's that I didn't want to work with... plus the bow would've been a real P.I.T.A. to mount in a breakfast bar.

The space to the left of the tank (standing in the kitchen) will be for the skimmer, canister filter, uv sterilizer & wave maker... the ro/di & pc ballast are mounted in the basement and come up through the floor.

The issues I'm running into are... this tank isn't drilled. I didn't really want it drilled because I was worried about a flood & there's no sump. The skimmer, canister & UV will all be hard plumbed into the tank with PVC, over the tank top. I'm counting on the individual pumps to pull the water out of the tank and then pump it back up. That way if I lose power I won't have to worry about a flood.

What I'd really like to somehow set up is my iwaki to feed all three devices but I'm not sure how to do that just yet... I'd have to put a bypass in with a restricter for the UV. I guess the best route would be 1st the skimmer, 2nd the canister & third the UV with a flow restricter (sp?). Does this make sense? Is there a better way to do it. I really have nowhere to set up a sump in the basement. I also have to pick up an auto top off, any one have one for sale

[Reefland]

Oh yeah, our tank has been running for at least 8 months now.
Building an Inwall Tank

[Firefish]

Well, I just found out why you can have the "in sump" skimmer pump water over the return ports.... it just fills up the cup with water and spills all over the floor

Anyone want to trade a tripple pass Berlin Turbo sump skimmer for a hang on?

[Reefland]

If you can pump water from the tank to the skimmer and have the skimmer return directly to the tank, I don't see why you couldn't use an insump skimmer externally?

[Firefish]

Well, the problem I'm having is that the top of the tank is only about 5" from the bottom of the counter. I'd have to build a shelf to prop the skimmer return above the tank rim, but I don't have enough room at the top for the collection cup. So, I just put the skimmer on the floor, and hard plumbed the return up to the top... but the water just overflows the collection cup before being pumped up to the tank.
If I cut 1" off the top of the collection cup, then I can build a shelf and just prop it up over the rim...

Is there even a skimmer made that will pump the return water 1 foot over the collection cup? I totally overlooked this issue when building the counter.

[Reefland]

Ah yes, that is a challenge. No, I do not beleive there is a skimmer that can/will do this. Now that you mention it, even HOT skimmers require some head room above the tank to hang (and for the collection cup).

[Firefish]

Here's an updated pic..

You can see what I'm working with.
The space on the back wall is reserved for the UV, I really have no room for the skimmer... I'll figure it out somehow

[Reefland]

Ok, a bit far fetched but...

What about a small container that the skimmer sits in, with an float that kicks on a pump at a very low level? So water is pumped from the display to the skimmer, the skimmer outputs into it's own container which then pumps back to the display? The only problem is the water level would slightly flucuate in the display?

[Firefish]

Hmmm.... I'd have to make sure the container the skimmer sits in will hold what ever amount of water siphons out of the tank during a power failure or should the return pump fail. But I like the idea...
I was also thinking... what if I just hard plumbed a powerhead between the skimmer return and display tank? A small pump should do it.
Oh but then if I lose power the skimmer will over flow the collection cup and flood out... hmmmm