# Neil's 242 gallon custom starfire Big cube indulgence



## aks72ca

Well almost a cube - 4 feet Mixed Reef Aquarium plan 

Tank dimensions are 48” Length X 42” Width X 26” Height. 
3 side starfire ¾ “ thick rimless. There are a total of 08 drilled holes/bulkheads 
75 gallon sump for the filtration of this approx. 242 Gallon system.

Tank is now finally in my basement fish room on a custom made stainless steel stand - picture attached.

Seeking guidance on a closed-loop plumbing system.


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## noy

Looks like a great system, can't wait to see you set it up.

As for the closed loop, I would use one of the larger holes as the intake and have a common manifold feeding the outflows. Because you have different sized holes I would suggest a ball valve to control flow for each of the drilled holes. Use union fittings liberally so you can easily service each part of the system and pump.

Here is a simple example (with a single ball valve controlling the outflow)

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1958876


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## fesso clown

Matt Dean on this forum runs a closed loop. Look for his thread. I believe you should find a used Ocean Motion flow diverter to randomize the flow for the CL. 
The link Noy provided is great, there are tons and tons of threads on CL on Reef Central, do your research! 
Beautiful tank, this should be awesome! Tagging along!


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## noy

Here is good article on aquarium flow.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/1/lines

The cube lends itself to a circular flow with some randomization (if you are going for the rockwork in the centre). You can get randomization from the Oceans Motions wavemakers like fesso said or even throw in a powerhead/gyre to mix things up. I'm a big fan of the rockwork in the middle setup (or at least with a pathway behind the rockwork) Your fish (tangs) can do laps around the rockwork and i think it really reduces aggression because of broken sight lines (especially if you have holes/caves in the rockwork for little guys to squirt through).

The only setback with closed loops is that it will be difficult to set up a wave/pulsing flow (stacked rockwork at the backwall with a wave pulsing front to back or side to side type setup).

I don't recommend the hydor flow rotating deflector- I really don't think it works that great for high flow setups. Mine keeps jamming up and I'm constantly taking it apart for fixing.


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## silent1mezzo

Really excited to see how this turns out. I was tempted on this tank.


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## PaulF757

Looks good so far, can't wait to see this up and running. She's huge.


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## mattdean

Yes I do use a closed loop and I am SO happy I did. My set up is different, but my first setup had rock all around the returns so you could only see the very tips of the flared end. It was very clean. How I set it up was to create a vortech so the water would flow in a circle to and from the overflow. I also have an MP40 on one end of the tank to finish it off. The corals love it!

Here are pics of the old set up :


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## advanced reef aquatics

Ditch the closed loop, years ago when options were few they were a great choice, drawbacks are less then stellar oceans motions, power hungry reeflo pumps with crappy seals, invest in two or three mp40s and your further ahead, same money you will spend on plumbing, ocean motion and pump will buy your EcoTech units. Plus the flow options are better with ecotechs.


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## aks72ca

*Neil's 242 gallon - Thank you pointing me in the right direction !*

Good Evening Gentlemen:

Thank you very much Noy & Fesso Clown for the suggestions & link to closed loop system with ocean motions.
Very useful and a great read. You guys are the best. Fellow reefers on this forum are so informative & helpful !

I am leaning on a Mixed Reef system with rock work in the center or maybe a Peninsula reef tank.

Matt Dean has inspired me when he showed me his beautiful tank. 
Thanks Matt - you had given me a free Frogspawn coral (Euphyllia divisa) a year ago which has grown quite large in my 75 gal.

Paul Ferreira, I had contacted you earlier for building a sump for this Tank. Still going over the budget in my mind !

Flavio/Advanced Reef Aquatics, I will place an order for 2 x EcoTech Radion XR30w G3 LED Light Fixture (if in stock) soon.

Have a nice night, guys !


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## deeznutz

Sounds like this tanks going be real nice. I ran a CL on my last tank. There are pros and cons like everything else.

I have an OM with a m10 red dragon pump(3000gph 90watts) for sale if you are interested. PM me.

thanks

-dan


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## aks72ca

*Neil's 242 gallon - update on CL plumbing*

Quick update on the Closed Loop plumbing -

	Looking for a closed loop pump strong enough to run 04 bulkheads. Leaning towards a Reef-flo Dart @ between 3000 - 3200 gph at the very least.
	Acquired a Coral life Turbo sea 1790 which is rated @ 2000 gph (approx.) to run the other 2 bulkheads. Comparable are Pan world and Blue line.
	Optional - Another 2000 gph pump to be used as a return pump or block/cap the remaining 02 holes  to be used at a later stage if additional flow required.
	The 2 drilled holes at the bottom center & towards the left side at the back. Need to ensure they are at least 3.5 " high to avoid the CaribSea Dry Aragonite Special Grade Reef Sand from being sucked-up.

Next update on custom Acrylic sump - being worked on currently - trying to pick my brain with google sketch !

Neil


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## aks72ca

*Neil's 242 gallon - Closed Loop plumbing completed*

Update
=====

Tank is finally wet !

Closed loop plumbing in place. However, minor setback being the 75 gallon sump will have over flow issues. Eventually will be upgrading to a 120 gal.
So will need to tweek the plumbing a bit in ensuring less water drains from the Cube to the 75 gal sump.

For the time being The Super Reef Octopus skimmer SRO-3000EXT will not run.

Surprisingly the Reeflo Dart pump is very quiet !


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## sig

try to have installed small piece of flexible pipe from the pump to the sump. It will reduce vibration pressure on the glass and could prevent glass cracking if you eventually move the pump.

I personally would also do it for the close loop pump

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## aks72ca

*Neil's 242 gallon - Closed Loop plumbing completed*

Good suggestion, thank you.
I will try it first on the sump / pump line.


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## CoralConnoisseur

Awesome looking build! Tagging along for sure.

Not sure if your sump overflowing issue is from returns or drains but... I use a one way valve (or back flow preventer) on my returns. I return water from my 75g sump to my frag tank well under the surface of the water in the frag tank. If I didn't have the one way valve, and power went out, well over 3/4 of the frag tank would drain and overflow the 75g sump. The valve makes a horrible slapping noise when I turn the pump off. But all plumbing is secured to the wall safely, and the return is not through a bulkhead, so no chance of jarring.

Nice setup! And I hope I explained that decently.


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## johnnyriker

Great looking build. Wish I had my own.


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## aks72ca

*Neil's 242 gallon - Tank is cycling with some rock added*

Update

Finally, closed loop plumbing in-place the last couple of weeks with no leaks etc.
Super Reef Octopus skimmer working well.

75 gal sump still an issue but will make do for the time being. 120 gal would have been ideal for this set-up.

Next steps adding Carib Sea Argonite sand..

Added some pictures.


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## deeznutz

Your closed loop returns look quite odd. How come you only have two returns? Why are they placed where you replaced them?


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## aks72ca

*Neil's 242 gallon - Returns*

to stop the gurgling sound ?


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## aks72ca

*Neil's 242 gallon - Adding some corals*

Few pictures of coral on The Rock column !
The single piece of rock in the middle stands almost 23" tall, to be surrounded by smaller 3 to 4 rock islands.

it's a slow process - trying to set up a coral garden...


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## aks72ca

*Neil's 242 gal Big cube indulgence - Fish room*

Folks,

Finally - Fish room build completed.
Houses a 242 gal Starfire Cube with closed loop, 2 X 75 gal sump(s); Mechanical Filtration and a Super Reef Octopus 3000 skimmer.

A few pictures of the frames..


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## aks72ca

*Neils 242 gallon BIG cube - pictures*

Dear Reefers,

Some additional pictures as the Tank is settling in.
New addition : 5.5" Blue Hippo Tang

Happy viewing...

Neil
Mississauga


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## aks72ca

*Neil's 242 gal BIG cube - pictures of some coral/fish*

After nearly 2 years, the tank is settling in fairly well.
Some pictures to share my progress - A video soon to follow...

Thanks,
Neil
Mississauga


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## aks72ca

*Neil's 242 gal BIG cube - pictures of some coral/fish*

some more pics..


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## aks72ca

*Neil's 242 gal BIG cube - YouTube video post*


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## aks72ca

*Neil's 60 gallon cube with spawning pair of Tomato clowns*

Hi Reefers -

Recently set up a second (smaller) cube reef aquarium.
A few pictures as the Tank is settling in quite well.

Kind Regards,
Neil
Mississauga


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## aks72ca

*Neil's 242 gallon BIG Cube - latest pictures*

Dear fellow Reefers:

A couple of pics of the BIG cube - stable the last 3.5 years.

Regards,
Neil
Mississauga


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## Rookie2013

aks72ca said:


> Dear fellow Reefers:
> 
> A couple of pics of the BIG cube - stable the last 3.5 years.
> 
> Regards,
> Neil
> Mississauga


Nice tank you got there going Neil...time to add some more corals...


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## littletnklvr

Beautiful tank but after 3.5 years I would have put a lot more rock and coral in there lol!


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## aks72ca

*Neil's 242 gal Big Cube - pictures*

Its been 4years for this Big Cube....
A few pictures of the gigantic anemones on The Rock column !
The single piece of rock in the middle stands almost 23" tall.

Neil
Mississauga


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## Rookie2013

Looks great Neil....


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## aks72ca

*Neils 242 gallon BIG cube - pictures of the Giant Anemones !*

Dear Fellow Reefers,

Some pictures of the Anemones - 2 of the larger ones have almost taken over the entire Rock scape !!

Enjoy..

Neil
Mississauga


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## aks72ca

*Neils 242 gallon BIG cube - pictures of the Tank(s)*

Dear Fellow Reefers,

Some pictures of the Tanks - stable & disease free :-
Need to add a lot more corals $$$

Enjoy..

Neil
Mississauga


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## Rookie2013

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## Rookie2013

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