Bob's Reliability Reef: 250 Basement Fish Room Build

[bobbravo2]

now thats a mixxing tank =)

Yeah. It sure is. I just hope I can actually fit it in my basement door now. lol.

I might have to pull some trim, and definitely take the door off the hinges.

 

[Reefried]

Holy hell!!

 

[bobbravo2]

Managed to get it inside! Only had to cut a 1.5’ section of the basement door frame to get it to fit.

Also working on building the two catch basins out of acrylic. One for the protein skimmer, one for the chiller.

 

[bobbravo2]

First test yesterday. Was able to make about 60 gallons RODI in 5 hours, RO TDS was 9. I may want to get a 99% rejection RO for makeup water, otherwise this will burn DI resin. The seal on the bottom of the mixing tank started to drip, and at 6 hours I stoped the test. Need to reseal it with more Teflon tape.

 

[bobbravo2]

Working on the electrical panel walls this past weekend

Timelapse electrical panel work

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[bobbravo2]

Working on finishing the panels, and the countertop next.

Sealed the edges, and cut 2 pass throughs for the electrical conduits. Used some filler to try to even out the panels finish.

 

[bobbravo2]

Mocked up panels with paper

Initial modules placed

 

[bobbravo2]

Finishing the worktable to be ready for anything!

I’ll be away for a week or so.

Priorities when I get back:

1. Reinforce table top with a brace (important to reinforce a table that might have someone sit on it in the future)
2. Build frag tank stand (have plywood, need a few more 2x4 to frame it)
3. RODI control circuit / redundancy (finish installing floats, salinity, leak sensor ropes)
4. Add wire raceways (this blocks my OCD from having neat wires)
5. Mock up wall cut through for water and power (this may need to wait until I get sump & cabinet from waterbox)
6. Start mocking up the finalized plumbing geometry (frag tank, UV sterilizer placement, protein skimmer loops)
7. Finalize aquascape/create the final central “cave rock low scape” negative space aquascape build.

All of this, and I don’t even have an ETA for when the tank is being shipped yet. Waterbox has been good about communication which I appreciate. They acknowledged that the 10-12 week promise on their website is not correct for large tanks.

I’m thinking about prioritizing finishing the aquascape first, so I can get back the “future tank space”, and also put away the “aquascape phase” tools. Right now I have a folding table with the rock scape taking up a solid chunk of square footage. I’m running out of space!

 

[bobbravo2]

Built the frag tank stand. Still need to trim the top, and fasten the back plywood stiffening. Trying to keep the bottom open for the chiller.

Also making slow and steady progress on the Scape!

 

[bobbravo2]

Still no ETA on the tank. ugh. 12/8/2025 ordered :-(

 

[Reefried]

Coming along nicely. The table top looks sick.

 

[bobbravo2]

Primed the frag tank stand

Painted & trimmed the frag tank stand.

Got the table top/bar reinforced with a brace finally.

Up Next:

1. Finishing up the mixing station. It had a leak at the uniseal, so I had to replace that with a bulkhead. Ugh. I also figured that this might not be the only/first time I need to drain a batch, and the hose to a sink is only so reliable. I’ve got a run to an open 2” drain from the mixing tank now.
2. Finishing the frag tank stand with a final coat of enamel.
3. Calling the rockscape done. It’s beautiful, and I may spend an hour or two before the tank arrives.
4. Cleaning up the area where the tank is going to land.
5. While I wait, I’ll probably keep working on wiring the raceways, planning backup power and stress testing hydros a bit.

 

[bobbravo2]

Coming along nicely. The table top looks sick.

Thank you!

 

[Reefried]

Are you going to cook those rocks or at least some of them while you wait for the tank to arrive?

 

[bobbravo2]

Are you going to cook those rocks or at least some of them while you wait for the tank to arrive?

I wasn’t planning on it. They’re dry rock from BRS. Is that still recommended?

Edit: I do have a pressure washer, just not big tubs I’d need to prep the rock unfortunately

 

[afboundguy]

I wasn’t planning on it. They’re dry rock from BRS. Is that still recommended?

Edit: I do have a pressure washer, just not big tubs I’d need to prep the rock unfortunately

I would throw them in a container with fresh SW and some food to try and kick start the cycle. I forget how long until tank shows up but it it's still a few months out you could possibly have finished the cycle on the rock by the time the tank arrives.

 

[Reefried]

I started my tank with dry rock. It was great as I could build the scape the way I wanted it. But it was a battle. I eventually ripped it all out and went to the LFS and bought live rock. Tank has never looked better. If I were you I would definitely get a large bin and put some of your dry rock in there. Maybe add a few pounds of live rock. Small light,
powerhead, a heater and even some fish.