# UTC Fishroom Build (PIC INTENSE !!!)



## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

With the official move date quickly approaching (May 22nd) and having my current 165G setup for sale, my better half thought it would be a good idea to drill my new DT before the other one is sold and I'm left without a tank.

I'm going to be doubling in my fishroom size and going a little bigger in water volume 

Here is the plan:

180G Miracles Tank with dual overflows
3 x 250w IceCap MH's running 14K ReefOptics Bulbs
8 x 39w T5HO Actinics
180G Sump
180G Refugium full of live rock
180G Refugium with a DSB, Rock and Macro Algae
Euro-Reef RS250 (I will have enough natural filtration this should be ok)

Once I have this setup running, I will then pickup the 8 frag tanks that will be built (48x24x6).

Here are the pictures of the drilling I completed this afternoon. Not having the luxury of turning the tank on it's end I decided to try the following trough idea. I now have officially 20 holes successfully accomplished without any cracked tanks 

I never use a cordless drill when drilling glass or ceramics. I purchased this drill a few years back at an auction for $5. All my diamond coated hole bits were purchased from THK Diamond Tools. 









Plumbers putty is very handy whether you are drilling horizontally or vertically









I used an old windshield washer fluid container to make the trough.









Here is the trough and the bit in the background









More of the trough and how the bit will sit.


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

Here is the guide I made out of some pine. Traced half of the drill bit and cut it out using a jigsaw


















Here is one end of the tank. I will be drilling both ends, near the top and dead centre width wise.









I always duct tape both sides of the glass.


















I use the same with pine on both sides of the glass just so the clamps aren't pressed right up against the glass.









Here is the trough mounted to the glass.


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

I have filled the trough with water. After a couple of minutes of drilling the water warms up and the plumbers putty tends to loosen a little, just need to use the free hand to put it back in place.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Woooo! That went well! I was all nervous reading lol


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

Never attempt any of this without your safety glasses on. I accept zero responsibility for anyone using this thread to drill their own aquarium. I do rent out the diamond bits for "free"  I will provide guidance, but again it is do it at your own risk.

Now with that out of the way, I will be placing my order for glass tomorrow from a place I have been using for years, "Palace Glass & Mirror". I will be going with a "Calfo Style - Coast to Coast: This link provides a good view of the overflow" overflow on the ends of the tanks. These overflows are great for surface skimming. I used this on my 35g tank and was really pleased with it.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

Cool! This is going to be a really neat thread, I never thought of doing it this way.

Agree with safety glasses. I met someone who eventually lost one of his eyes for not wearing safety glasses while trying to drilled a hole on a tile! Do wear safety glasses and use gloves when handling power tools! Accidents happen when you least expect it, and especially so when you're just a hobbyist (as opposed to someone who's doing it for living).

I finally decided to check out price of standard 75G tank with overflow. $359 at big als. Maybe I should just get a tank and drill it for overflows..


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## hojimoe (Mar 7, 2008)

yeah drilling your own tank makes perfect sense, I drilled mine and I save like $200 on doing so!

Chris, why never use a cordless? I used a cordless to drill mine, and with your bit!!!!

looking good though, It took me a moment to realize, 180 display, 180 sump, 180 refuge, 180 refuge dsb....that's a ton of volume! 720gallons without frag tanks! woah, you need a pool pump to run that thing.... actually that's probably not a bad idea, seeing as there are specific pumps for SW pools


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## xr8dride (Feb 24, 2009)

Yes there are now with saltwater pools becoming more popular. I think a 1,500gal saltwater filter at crappy tire goes for under $200

Looking for the link....one more....second...
and here it is!!
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...essories/PRD~0813166P/1%2C500+Gallon+Pump.jsp


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

I will not be upgrading any pumps or skimmer. The only additional equipment for the setup (not including the frag tanks, cause I'll need lighting and powerheads) is power heads. I will be using my Mag18 to feed my display and then the water flow will cascade down through the frag tanks on either side of the DT, then into the sumps. 1 refugium will be for the left side of the tanks and the other handling the right side of the tanks but in the end they will feed into a central sump where the return pump will be. I'm not about huge return rates, I like it nice and slow.

I'm no good with all these drawing programs and sketchup I couldn't get to work cause I'm running vista on my laptop. All my drawings are all old school on graphing paper.


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

Sorry Jim, missed your question earlier about the drill. I had been at a shop watching someone get their tank drilled and after 6-8 minutes of continuous drilling on one hole the drill began to loose power then I saw the drill catch and kaboom.

The drill I have is variable speed and unless the power is cut off I know the drill will last the entire time. Just playing it safe especially now. The last think I need a week and a half before moving is to tell the princess that I need to go out and find a 180G again


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## nickeleye_rt (Dec 16, 2008)

wow that's gonna be a lotta water!

Why are you gonna have such a big sump and refugium?


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

It isn't really going to be that much water in the end. 2 of the 180G will have approximately 500-600 lbs of rock and one will have a dsb as well. It's all about trying to go with more natural filtration then hopefully go skimmerless. Doing a inwall setup you end up with a lot of what could be wasted space. I'm going with the large sumps which will also act as frag tanks. The one will strictly be for return pump, skimmer, heater if I need a couple and rock. The other two will add approximately 12sq ft of growing space for each sump. I find it a little strange that the grow-ops talk about how much water volume they are running versus how much square footage they have. Not taking into consideration my DT, the tentative plan is to have 72-96 sqft of growing space in a 10x10 room


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

It's been a month since my last post so I figured it was time to put a few more pics here.

We took possession of our house May 22.

May 22 - Built Stand
May 23 - Ran Electrical, Plumbing, Installed new tank and sumps
May 24 - Did the transfer from the 165g into the new setup

Here is the stand almost complete


















With the type of overflow I'm using, it is common practice to drill the cap with a small hole and enlarge it if necessary. I have taken this a step further to precisely gate how much air enters the overflow. I used a tap set and installed a valve in the cap.



























Here is one of the 150g sumps, wiring and plumbing needs to be cleaned up.










Next steps:

- Awaiting 800lbs of rock
- Consult with custom tank builder and have frag tanks built
- Install 250w MH over 150g sump for frags
- Install experimental tanks
- Aquascape DT
- Confirm cultured coral shipment for next month

Over the next 3 weeks things are going to be full steam ahead with getting the fishroom closer to completion


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## cablemike (Jan 7, 2009)

i guess im gonna have to come by and see this puppy soon


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## Doctor T (Apr 23, 2009)

I'm glad you updated this thread! 

The air valve in the standpipe is a really cool idea to control the air intake! How big is the diameter of the drain pipe? (I'm wondering if I can implement that on a smaller scale)

I'm glad you documented how to drill the tank horizontally. I have a couple of newb questions though:
- how long does it take to drill the glass?
- assuming it takes a few minutes doesn't your arms get tired or do you use some sort of brace?


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## hojimoe (Mar 7, 2008)

Doctor T said:


> I'm glad you updated this thread!
> 
> The air valve in the standpipe is a really cool idea to control the air intake! How big is the diameter of the drain pipe? (I'm wondering if I can implement that on a smaller scale)
> 
> ...


you can do the valve on a smaller scale, I believe those pipes are 1.5"

drilling glass takes about 3-10 minutes depending on the glass thickness in my experience 

you won't really get tired, you're too pumped on adrenaline due to not wanting to crack the tank, and get it over with lol


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

This is 2.5" PVC piping within an ABS cap. Yes, you can use the same methodology on a smaller scale.

Jim is right on the drilling time. Take your time and don't apply a lot of pressure, use lot's of water and keep your drill going at a pretty good rate of speed.


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## hojimoe (Mar 7, 2008)

UnderTheSea said:


> This is 2.5" PVC piping within an ABS cap. Yes, you can use the same methodology on a smaller scale.
> 
> Jim is right on the drilling time. Take your time and don't apply a lot of pressure, use lot's of water and keep your drill going at a pretty good rate of speed.


I stand corrected, 2.5 inches...wow! That's huge, how big are the holes? and how much are those bulkhead? my 1.5" pipe bulkhead was liek $14... a 2.5 must be about 25? guessing you have more than one glass bit now?


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

I believe the holes are around 2.5". Got the Bulkheads from BA's and price matched to JL & MOPS. The two cost me $30 taxes incl. 

I've gone a little bit oversized on the overflows as I will be feeding my DT and then letting this feed all the frag tanks back down to the two sumps. Keeping the 1000 gallons flowing properly couldn't afford to have small overflows.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Wow I am soooo impressed with your set ups.. holy wow.

Chris, who did you get those rubbermaids from? Looking for something like that myself.


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

Ciddian said:


> Wow I am soooo impressed with your set ups.. holy wow.
> 
> Chris, who did you get those rubbermaids from? Looking for something like that myself.


Thanks very much !

Special Order. If you need one let em know.


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## Doctor T (Apr 23, 2009)

Jim, Chris:

Thanks for the responses.

- Rob


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## nraf (May 24, 2009)

Great work


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## KnaveTO (May 13, 2007)

So... what is happening now?


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

It has been a very busy month with the house and the business. Added another 250lbs of spaghetti rock to the sump and finally plumbed the overflows this past weekend. I built a small frag rack measuring 42x20 and will be building one more measuring 36x18 this evening. I will take some pics this evening and post if I don't get all tied up setting up a nano. Main tanks cycle is complete all 360g worth. Will be adding the subtrate this week and then placing an invert order early next week (if you need anything live stock let me know as I will be placing a large order). Now that the display tank is setup I can now focus on the 8 frag tanks. Over the coming weeks I will be retrieving my colonies from the babysitters (thanks to those individuals) and begin to frag depending on growth rates.


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## Announce (Aug 27, 2008)

Wow very cool stuff. I am setting up a 90 at the moment so you may hear from me soon if I need some live stock. Any chance you will be doing live rock to?


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

It's been a while since I added any pics.

I've just been taking things slowly making small tweaks here and there. I added a 140lbs of subtrate last night and have 60 more lbs to go.

Clean out the pentair towers, changed the carbon and changed the carbon in the eheim 2217.

Now that things are starting to look good I've began dosing phytoplankton and golden pearls twice daily.

Here the latest pictures....

In sump Euro-Reef RS250 with a bucket half full of live rock and chaeto. The bucket has several holes in it to allow the water to flow out but keep the chaeto stationary instead of floating around the tank.










Another pic of the skimmer










Left Side Overflow










Overflow again










Large Sump










View from inside the fish room










Full tank shot










Pentair towers


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## Doctor T (Apr 23, 2009)

Looks great Chris! In the 3rd last pic, is that your RO/DI set up w/ an ATO in the sump?


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

Yes the RO unit is on the left side there. I have the solenoid hooked up right before that, tied into a timer that turns on for an hour each day and then there is a humidifier float valve in the sump.


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

On Thursday I decided to finally clean out my sump, clean my skimmer, install frag rack and put in more rock....

Buckets of the water.









Frag Rack Frame

















Loading the frame with rock.









Frag Rack Top









Installing the skimmer and the frag rack













































Finished product. I have a 100 Mangroves on order and will be lining the edge of the sump with them.


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## hojimoe (Mar 7, 2008)

cool stuff Chris, one question, is your chaeto emersed? looks like you just have the skimmer outlet forcused on it?

lol @ 100 mangroves, that's crazy!


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

yes, I was just snapping shots between adding back buckets of water. It is submersed.

My idea is to use the mangroves to edge the sides and back of the sump, create a nice natural background.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Oooh you are so smart with your space chris


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

Thanks Cid, until I get that green house up and going I'm limited to only about a 100 sqft of grow out tank space. Maybe more coming soon but working on details. For now I have to try and utilize as much space as possible.


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## hojimoe (Mar 7, 2008)

hey Chris, I think we need some updates man!


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## aln (Jan 26, 2010)

lol i agree


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## mr_brixs (Jun 18, 2009)

nice.. as a non experience driller me my self practice drilling an old tank i did some experiment like bare dry drilling and halfway end to end dry drilling now i see this method and im going to try this..


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## dl88dl (Mar 8, 2010)

Wow, those LR must have cost an arm and a leg or 2...LOL
I would love to see some update pics too.


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

Sorry everyone, moving and the birth of my second daughter, things were a little hectic in 2009.

Most of the tanks are setup now, a few more to go. Over the last 6 months I'd say the focus has been on education and experimentation. We continuously try to improve our C-Food and this can only be done through the two. We are now in the process of sourcing nutritional analysis labs to be able to provide our customers with the information that is important to many reefers.

And now for some pics...


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

dl88dl said:


> Wow, those LR must have cost an arm and a leg or 2...LOL
> I would love to see some update pics too.


When I first got into the hobby, it was very common to use oystercrete. For those that may not have come across this term, it is portland cement, oyster shells and sand mixture to DIY Rock. With the low price of alternatives like our spaghetti and pipe rock, DIY Rock is not as common now days. I start my first system (165g) with about 80% DIY Rock and the remainder was Fiji. This was very successful and never had any issues. Over the last few years I've added, spaghetti, pipe, miyaki and tonga to the mix.


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## dl88dl (Mar 8, 2010)

Congrats on the birth of your second daughter. BTW, those are some very nice corals...keep up the good work.


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

While feeding RBTA tonight the PE Mysis was floating around the tank and I noticed the ric's had snagged a few. Within a couple of minutes they were consuming the mysis, here are a couple of pics.


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## dl88dl (Mar 8, 2010)

Very nice pictures...what camera and len did you use?


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

A camera is definitely something I need to invest in. When our first daughter was born we went out and purchased an Olympus C-725 Camera and a Samsung SCD71 Camcorder. I would like to upgrade both  

Most pics I post are with the Olympus, no special lenses and no special settings.  I'm a total newb when it comes to photography.


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## dl88dl (Mar 8, 2010)

UnderTheSea said:


> A camera is definitely something I need to invest in. When our first daughter was born we went out and purchased an Olympus C-725 Camera and a Samsung SCD71 Camcorder. I would like to upgrade both
> 
> Most pics I post are with the Olympus, no special lenses and no special settings.  I'm a total newb when it comes to photography.


Wow, for a newb you take very good pictures


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