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My Modern Ocean


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Finally decided to start a build thread to document my journey into this new system.

I'll start with my stand. I knew I wanted a metal stand so I asked offroaddodge to build it. I told him what I wanted it to be able to do and let his mind make this magic. Not only was he in constant contact with me to make sure I got EXACTLY what I wanted, he added in GREAT little options that really took it from 4 simple legs to a beautiful center piece.

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As we worked out exactly what the perfect stand was for me, Jeremy sent me these photos during the build.

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After the stand was built, it was dropped off at my house so I could paint it and begin to start my journey!

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I decided to use a dark metallic that blended good with other items in the house, and something that would amplify any salt creep so I would wipe it up quickly.

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With the stand ready to accept the DT and sump I just had to wait for the tank to be resurfaced.

I bought the 90 rimless used off the forum, and it came with a couple gnarly scratches on the front, but after seeing the work first hand of accent glass resurfacing I was confident it wouldn't be a problem for Aaron to fix.

I originally built a sump out of a 75 gallon tank I had bought off Craigslist which can be seen with the oak trim here.

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I designed and built the sump on my own and really enjoy the design. The only problem I was having was to get my skimmer in past the large 10 inch glass brace. The day I glued in the last piece of acrylic I got a call from a friend who had a 75 gallon tank with 2 inch pvc brace he didn't want. Away I went to get it, and when I got home I began to cut out EVERY last piece of acrylic I just glued in. After I got everything cut out I realized I never leak tested the new 75 tank.

Luckily when filled with water, we had no issues.

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I let it sit for 48 hours and then pumped the water back to the other tank to hold for full system leak test.

I then began to re glue all the acrylic into the new tank, the gain of 8 inches was well worth the tube of silicone I lost in the first sump build.

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With the stand half loaded I got some guys off the club to help move the 90 rimless over. Big thanks to 0ozarka, gig 'em, and Brian.srock!

I set it up in the garage and filled both tanks as much as possible to test weight and for any leaks.

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After 72 hours, and the tanks still held up fine I began to start working on water movement. I honestly hate having multiple pumps inside my tank, multiple things to clean, and multiple nitrate factories so I wasn't going to have it. Having spent time at a job where I built manifolds and did research and development I designed a manifold that would make my system happy and run everything off 1 pump.

The manifold has 8 ports, because I calculated I might need 4, so my rule of thumb it to automatically double that number and start building. Who cares if I never use more than 4 ports, the 8 bucks in parts is worth knowing I CAN, if I want.

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I quickly realized that I didnt take a moment to measure and decide if it would be able to be put into the stand, luckily it fit just snug.

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About 8 o clock at night I got a wild hair and decided, I want this tank in my house NOW! so did I bother asking for help? Did I bother waiting for help? HELL NO! I put my shoulder into the whole thing and began moving the ENTIRE system solo. It wasn't easy but it made it inside!!!

Buddha seemed to agree it was a zen moment, so we sat and gazed at my modern ocean.

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Every ocean needs a sun, so of course I had to put some fire in the sky and begin to light this little slice of joy. I threw a 48 inch BML custom reef fixture on and decided I might go a diffrent route, but for now it will keep the system happy.

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I always like to step back for a moment and take a look at my project. After dropping the skimmer body in it really is starting to look like a system! (ignore the polyfil the pups wanted to remove from their toy.)

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Now when I bought this skimmer I wasn't sure of the size, and of course we go big or go home!

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I was able to tinker on the system once in awhile and fill it with RODI while I leveled out the system and made sure we were 100% dead center level. Because we all know the better half will kill us if we let this much saltwater tip!

And finally with 2012 coming to an end I said Merry Christmas to myself and realized, my modern ocean is starting to grow into my vision.

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I've been calling this system my modern ocean because I'm slowly replicating ocean zones. From the large whales to the dwarf seahorses, everything in the ocean has a home. I found a good deal on a DSA neo-nano and decided it would be my perfect Tide pool.

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With all the tanks sharing a common sump, I gain stability with water volume. The neo-nano will hold seahorses and clams since it has a beautiful top down view, just like the tidal pools I watched in Hawaii and Puerto Rico. I love the water fall design and rimless look that blends well with the other system.

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I still need to bring the biocube into the system to fill in the other side gap, but with it currently running and school I've slowed down a bit to focus on class.

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Wow, that is awesome...dare I ask, how much that sort of thing sets one back?

I am honestly not sure at this point how much cash is in this system. I've traded for some items, bought some items, traded work for a few items.

I still need to put my apex onto the system and finish skinning and a few other things but so far this is where I'm at :)

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Thanks guys! I'm hoping my vision and reality meet one day and I have a system to sit and enjoy. If people have ideas toss em out :)

and Victoly, I'm not sure what to think of that gif :P

The system has a 90 on top 34 nano to the left 29 biocube to the right and 75 sump.

I'm guesstimating that the 75 sump only has about 55 gallons in it. So by my calculations I'll be at a total of ~210 gallons.

Looks great. How many gallons total will the system have?

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Each tank plumbs intot he sump on the right side into the bulkheads and there is space for one more to be added if I ever wanted a display fuge.

The mag 18 runs all the water back to each tank and right off the manifold I have valves so I can make water go exactly where I want. I use the 90 to take all excess pressure off the system. As the last pieces come on I might need to throttle the 90 back to increase pressure on other ports but at 1800 GPH I shouldn't need to. I use the valves to match each tanks return rate with the drain and make sure to eliminate any gurgle by filling the plumbing pipes how I want.

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Freakin' cool Chris! 8 valves in a row is as sexy as plumbing can get.

When you come by to pick up your food remind me to run my plans to plumb my new frag tank into my DT's sump. Looks like you've got that concept under control.

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Freakin' cool Chris! 8 valves in a row is as sexy as plumbing can get.

When you come by to pick up your food remind me to run my plans to plumb my new frag tank into my DT's sump. Looks like you've got that concept under control.

The only thing I can think of that is sexier is 9 valves.

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Freakin' cool Chris! 8 valves in a row is as sexy as plumbing can get.

When you come by to pick up your food remind me to run my plans to plumb my new frag tank into my DT's sump. Looks like you've got that concept under control.

The only thing I can think of that is sexier is 9 valves.

8 is sexy, 9 is just smutty.

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