# New 225 Drilled-Tank Malawi Setup



## Blooper01 (Mar 1, 2013)

Chapter One: In Which I Learn that the Aquarium Industry Considers Use of Instructions & Manuals to be a Form of Cheating... :roll:

New 225 gallon tank arrived today! :dancing: Seems beautifully made, cabinetry and quality fantastic. Pictures later. Tank is drilled for sump: 3 outlets; 2 returns. My one complaint is I would have loved to have at least a one-page parts list with diagram. The parts did make a lot more sense after I realized that some of the plumbing pieces were hiding in larger plumbing pieces. Duh! Hey, it's a "pro" tank, and I guess that means it's for the pros to set up. As it was, I guessed that the rubber gaskets surely must go on the wet side of the glass, not the (ideally) dry side.

Installed the tubing, and put two gallons of water into the overflow with empty sump right below it to catch leaks. After a couple of hours, some leakage. Drained overflow; identified likely one outlet that is the culprit. Removed that one and cleaned the gasket (rubber washer) a little more thoroughly this time. Being a scuba diver, I tend to want to blame gaskets/washers first -- and could not resist putting a tiny amount of very pure silicone grease on the rubber washer. That's silicone grease, not silicone sealer/glue. Next water test tomorrow. We shall see.

Nice Eshopps WD-300CS also landed today. This one had a couple of pages of sort-of-instructions, but again No Parts List. The 300CS is a "complete system," meaning it includes a hang-on-back overflow and plumbing for over-the-back return. With a Parts List, it would be easier to see from the get-go what's in the box that I don't need for a plumbed tank. I guess the correct strategy is to start building the thing and see what is left over (as well as what parts need upgrade for use with plumbed system -- splitter for the return, different hose attachment, etc.).

If it's too easy, it's not a hobby!


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## Blooper01 (Mar 1, 2013)

Photos / Links / Backstory for this Project as it Unfolds in Real Time (Warning, Kinda Long)

The tank is a DSA (Deep Sea Aquatics) 225 "pro" (drilled, overflow). I'm very pleased with the modern look and the wood grain. The tank is 72 x 27 x 27. Total height with cabinet 66".









This wall could have accommodated a wider tank. Previously, the space it had a 6' (125g) and a 3' (65g breeder) side by side but was a pain to get at the sides and back of the tanks and looked kinda trashy. Those tanks were only @18" wide, this one is @27" (and taller). This arrangement leaves plenty of access space on both sides.

Here are all the plumbing parts. Probably obvious to you. I had to think about this a bit.  Would have loved just one page of instructions as a security blanket.









You can possibly buy the tank with a generic black stand from LFS, but I'm glad I went with the manufacturer's option. The stand is a full 34" high and most importantly the doors open all the way (not true of some generic stands I have). Nice hinges, too. Lotsa good access here.









DSA has a showroom in Dallas which you can visit by appointment. I just dropped in on them the other day and they were very gracious about it. Owner asked me, WHY?!? getting a drilled tank for African Cichlids. (100% of retailers and manufacturers have asked this!) My standard answer is, "Because the folks on Cichlid Forum Talked Me Into It, LOL, HA HA", no but really, I am Very Happy with the decision and grateful for the input from this forum. Lots of future flexibility, easier to see & thus maintain, and less junk to manage behind (or over the back edge of) this whopper of a tank. Here's the link for historical FYI. 
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=255233


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## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

Very, very jealous. Post some pics as you get it further along!


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## Morpheen (Jul 21, 2010)

An aquarium building company seriously had to ask why you wanted a drilled tank for a freshwater setup?? That boggles the mind.. :O

Tank looks great though!


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## b3w4r3 (Dec 14, 2012)

Nice setup. What size return pump did you get, or have you gotten it yet? I imagine you will want a mag 18 (or equivalent) to drive that beast. Could even use two smaller pumps maybe to good effect.

For the bulkheads don't tighten them too much, you want them hand snug. Too tight will squash the gasket and make it leak.


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## fishing12 (Dec 15, 2012)

Congrats! Cool looking tank, what do you have planned for stocking?


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## Blooper01 (Mar 1, 2013)

Hi, Everyone, Thanks for your kind comments and participation! =D>

b3w4r3 asked about the pump: LFS ordered me a Tunze 1073.04. Looks good. The user manual (Yes! User Manual! Yes!) says up to 792 US gph. Haven't turned anything on yet, but if it isn't enough I can add another. Their advice was based on starting with something quiet. Thanks for the bulkhead caution. Turns out the one drain that was leaking (described above) wasn't a bulkhead hole/gasket problem; it seems to be a very subtle PVC-join problem. LFS is replacing. Meanwhile, I put a drain hose on it to divert the very small amount leaking into W/D return compartment. Tank overflow compartment has been full-ish all day with no ill effects so far. (Where's the fingers-crossed "smiley"?) I put airstones in the overflow & the W/D to keep from getting stagnant since nothing is pumping yet.

fishing12 asked about stocking: Wish I could tell you something exciting/inspirational! Malawi miscellaneous. More of a tanks consolidation at this point (re the signature re-added below). I've been letting the fish breed on autopilot for a while. So, in the 225: my "elderly haps" plus some yellow labs & synodontis multi-p. A 125 will then be free for pseudo. polit. Then I'll see how many smaller tanks I can get rid of. Hopefully all the crummy small ones. With just big ole gnarly haps, yellow labs, and synodontis for now, no TOTM for me! 

Morpheen: Why I want a drilled tank for FW seems to be the standard question. I think everyone is being helpful. Maybe I just look like a newbie (which, to plumbing, I am). :wink:

Speaking of Plumbing, Adventures in Plumbing to Follow... soon. Couple of pictures later that might help others (or inspire people to warn me of imminent disaster). Main learnings so far: (A) it wasn't as hard as it looked... SO FAR, if you don't count 5 trips to big box hardware store, and (B) even if the W/D filter comes with something that looks like vacuum cleaner hose with hard plastic ends that don't look like anything that would fit the tank bulkhead, I can use vinyl tubing and clamps to make an adapter and then use the provided filter tubes that fit into the little drip box thingies, and (C) tubing size and tubing _internal measure_ size are two very different things, and what we want is the "internal measure", and (D) soaking the end of the clear tubing in very hot sink water is a good way to soften and stretch it over the fitting!


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## Blooper01 (Mar 1, 2013)

Chapter Two: Adventures in Plumbing...

See learnings above. Plus, here's a photo. FYI, there is now less appearance of torque on the hoses than shown in photo, as I've moved things into place a little better. The grey hoses (look like vacuum cleaner hoses) came with the Wet-Dry filter. I know there is a little loop here (not a full turn, though) as maybe they are too long. Since the ends of them perfectly fit the Wet-Dry drip tray inlets, and not a good place to cut them, I am going to hope this is OK. If it seems sub-optimal, I guess I can replace with 1.25" vinyl hose, but then I'll have to mess with the fittings on the filter end. Nothing has been turned on yet, so I don't know how it operates under pressure. I keep forgetting, this is not scuba-tank pressure, nor water pressure at 100' down -- it's much lower. 









From left to right, this is:
3/4" return from W/D
1.25" drain to W/D
1.25" drain diverting a leak (LFS to replace PVC stand-up/bulkhead assembly)
1.25" drain to W/D
3/4" return from W/D

If your reaction to this is "OMG, it's gonna explode!" please let me know.  Otherwise, I'll test soon but need to decorate first! Glad this is all "downstairs" at the house with a concrete floor!


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## Blooper01 (Mar 1, 2013)

It works!  Nothing is leaking!  Since 4 pm yesterday, and with no problems. What was all my fuss about? :roll: This one doesn't even need a "Chapter Three" title. Really.

When I turned it on, I was armed with buckets, towels, siphon, containers of extra water. Ready for a flood, for the pump to run dry, burst pipe connection, whatever. It was a little stressful. DOH! All I needed of the emergency setup was a couple gallons extra water to backfill what was moving through the hoses and top of overflow. Nothing happened, except that it ran! I could not believe it. No really, _I could not believe it_. I've made more mess than this, just reaching over the top of a tank to pour water into a hang-on-back filter to prime it. Wow. Seriously? This is it? 

Several people on this forum were very helpful in warning me to do calculations so that I can avoid flooding in case of a power outage. This would be when the pump stops pumping the water back, but the water is still coming through the drains -- and then starts to backflow through the return lines. After the warnings, I totally understood this was important, but I wasn't entirely sure at all what the problem would look like. Also, I didn't know where to begin doing the math. So, I just turned off the power and saw how high the water got in the Wet/Dry. For good measure, I raised the ends of the return nozzles a tiny bit (at the ends where they return the water outside of the overflow box). Inside the overflow box, each return pipe has a hole drilled. The hole inside the overflow box will stop further water flow _from the overflow box_, but the return nozzles seem to need a little more oopmh than just the little hole, in order for the siphoning through their ends from the main tank to break (and stop flowing). That's why I raised them a little bit. Not sure if I should do anything else?

Cannot believe how quiet this is. There is more water sound than my other tanks, but I can't hear motor sounds at all.

What did I forget to do plumbing-wise? Anything?


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

The reason it went so smoothly is because you were prepared for a disaster :thumb: Everything seems to be looking just fine, nice job.


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## Blooper01 (Mar 1, 2013)

And cycling... cycling... cycling...

Thanks Deeda & mclaren880 for kind comments.

A couple of pics. Warning: Put on your sunglasses (especially if you don't like Texas Holey Rock or light sand) as these pics are Bright! To some extent that's temporary, and I will outline below why / actions to fix it. Also, I may be erring on the side of lower resolution for easier download.










Gee, tank looks really small without fish!










Hmm... a little bit paranoid about scratching the glass & trim, eh?










So, I know this is like obnoxiously bright. Thoughts on that welcome! Here are my thoughts:
* LED lights desperately need a dimmer (in the works).
* Power head Venturi is "cranked to 11" - will dial that back.
* Not using as tight a filter pad in one compartment as I should (temporary, due to sand dust buildup). Eco Complete sand wasn't supposed to be rinsed; aragonite was rinsed thoroughly but there was of course still some dust -- been there before and it worked out.
* Cycling -- in addition to the greasy powder remaining from the sand (which tends to cling to front glass) there are a lot of "bug in a bottle" additives. Time & throughput to fix.
* Sand darker than it looks in photo.
* My plan is to let the Texas Holey darken over time (aufwuchs if lucky?). This is a mix of faux (Universal Rocks) and genuine Holey Rock.
* Plants to fill in over time. Vallisneria; currently one Anubias.
* Foreground rocks (slate flats) are coming in with the S. Multipunct. who are currently using them as apartments in another tank.

There are many views pro & con on Texas Holey, and I weighed the aesthetics. Ultimately, I decided to be like the architect who builds a house that merges with the lot it is on. Texas Holey "matches" what I see if I look out the window or drive down the street. Since this is getting into the Decoration thread or Tank thread, I'll post future stuff elsewhere later unless there are things to respond to here! Thanks for your interest, everybody, and thanks for posting all of your great tanks. None of this here is final, final, final pending fishies!


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## Blooper01 (Mar 1, 2013)

PS, also adding a second Tunze 1073.04 in the next couple days, and changing my returns from a one-pump with T fitting, to two-pump, two separate lines. Possibly a Mag18 from the get-go would have been a good idea, however these Tunzes are adjustable flow and very quiet. The redundancy of two pumps is a nice idea. So, even given added cost, no regrets so far.


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