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speyside's new 90 gallon reef build!

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Mark Peterson View Drop Down
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    Posted: October 28 2017 at 12:32am
Originally posted by speyside712 speyside712 wrote:

I'm still toying with the idea of throwing my "dry rock only, no pests" idea out the window and buying a piece or two of live rock to seed it with more life.  I feel like i'm missing out on some of the good stuff.
Yep. The ocean is so full of both cool and weird, yet amazing animals and algae. The few that can be "pests" are not that big of deal and we(I) know how to deal with them, to add animals that eat them and to create conditions that keep them under control and gradually eliminated. The things that come with mature LR are well worth getting an occasional unwanted thing, that with careful attention, can be eliminated.

I once worked at a place where LR was transshipped in. It came direct from the ocean without going through a distributor. As it was placed in the "curing vats" (no light, huge skimmer) to "clean it up". I would sort through to find the most unique fist size or double fist sized pieces that had tons of sponge, algae and any other animals. The company didn't mind me buying the small pieces that couldn't be used or would have been considered rubble in a client aquarium. Sure, this LR had stuff on it that was dead and decomposing, but when placed in a mature aquarium the mature biofiltration handled the dead stuff while providing excellent water conditions for recovery of anything still alive. Every couple of months I would take a few pieces home and place them into my established reef. I cannot describe all the cool things that began to grow in my system from that uncured LR straight from the ocean. New things often emerged many months after introduction.

Why do distributors "cure" LR? My take on it is that aquarium maintenance companies don't have the time to carefully watch the aquariums they maintain and most hobbyists don't have the experience. desire or time to deal with new creatures, or don't have experienced fishy friends like here in the WMAS to help them understand and deal with strange new creatures.

Why this current trend among hobbyists to use dry, dead LR? It's a bit of a mystery to me.

That said, When getting LR from a fellow hobbyist or advertised here or on ksl.com, I'm still very choosy about what I take. I pass up a lot more LR than I accept.

Just today I was moving some rock around and felt a large soft and squishy something on what had been a small piece of LR. The rock had basically grown into a ball of live Sponge. Big smile This is the kind of animals I give away, yes give away, to people that come to me for LR to help start their new tank. Smile

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote speyside712 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2017 at 9:21pm
Hey thanks! And thanks again for the algae, it was full of pods, I can see them running all over the sump now!

Live sand might not be a bad idea. You've got a good looking build going. I'm jealous of how much room you have for the sump and all that extra water volume. I bet you have nearly double your display tanks size in total water volume with those 2 extra tanks plumbed into the system.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote backwards32 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2017 at 8:46pm
I am glad you came by and got some macro algae. Looks like the tank is doing well. If you need a little bit of live sand come on over again
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote speyside712 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2017 at 3:22pm
Lol this is what i mean by "i know some people hate them" HAHA

We must have a different type of bristle worm.  mine never seem to get longer than 2 inches, occasionally youll see a big one thats 3 inches long, but thats about the max.  Mine dont hurt me, fish, coral.  They really just eat anything that dies in the tank, or i've seen them dine on my tangs... well... excrement... to put it nicely.  Either way, they seem useful to me.  Further speeding up the nitrogen cycle and reducing waste.

I have heard of big ones that eat coral though, maybe you ended up with the bad kind....
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hogie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2017 at 2:33pm
I HATE bristleworms!!! I'm tired of my fish getting stung by them, I'm tired of me getting stung by them, and I'm tired of there uncontrollable ability to show up everywhere! I'd put every last one of them in a bath of vinegar and watch them squirm if I could.
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Edited by Hogie - October 27 2017 at 2:34pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote shaggydoo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2017 at 1:33pm
I've never had an issue with bristleworms either, and I've always had a ton.  Currently, I have several very big ones that are not bashful about coming out every time I feed. I consider them a part of my CUC and they help me when I overfeed (which is often). I can harvest them easily with a trap I made out of a plastic bottle if I ever feel the need to remove any. 

Not a bad idea to give it some time, and if you don't see the feather dusters, various harmless worms, and/or sponges that we mostly like, you can always carefully seed at a later time.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote speyside712 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2017 at 11:47am
Ya that's kind of what i was thinking.  I have an established tank with plenty of rock that i'm taking down, but its full of flat worms, tiny white starfish, and millions of pyramid snails.  So i'm being careful to not transfer any of that to the new one.

I may see how the tank is doing without seeding it for a few more months and then make my decision.  Maybe i can pluck a few bristle worms out of my old tank for the new ones. I would like a few of those to keep the sand free of detritus.  Some people hate those, but i've never found them to be a problem.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote shaggydoo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2017 at 11:37am
I would seed the rock with some LR from an established system. Maybe see if someone on here that has a relatively pest free (no aiptasia, bubble algae, etc.) system would be willing to seed some rock in a sump for you for a few months. Then you can get some of the beneficial critters without worrying much about unknown pests tagging along.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote speyside712 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2017 at 11:23am
Hey thanks guys. I've done some more work the last couple nights, a bit more progress.

I have another thread going in the General Discussion section about the trouble i'm having with my apex probes.  But last night I got 4 of 5 probes working as intended.  The 2 ph probes and 2 temperature probes are now working well.  two are in the filter sock/skimmer section, and two are in the return pump section.  I've got the temperature set to bounce between 77.7 and 77.8, it never seems to be more than .1 degree off, and the ph probes are currently fluctuating between 8.1 in the day time and 7.9 at night.

The PH had previously been a lot lower, but I think that was due to the cycle finishing.  The 2-part i've started dosing daily has helped too.  I'm dosing a small amount of 2-part daily until I can get my Calcium to 450 and my Alk to 9.  I was at 400 and 7 when i checked 4 days ago.

Once I get them up to this point I have a feeling I won't have to dose hardly anything since I have almost no coral at this point, and no stony corals.  Once i start adding corals i'll keep checking my parameters and adjust the 2part as necessary.


I was given a big piece of chaeto from a fellow reefer in Kaysville.  I already had a little bit in my tank but was really after the amphipods and all the live that comes along with it.

I inspected the 2 zoa frags I got from The Fish Tank last week, making sure I didnt get any pests I didn't want.  After using no live rock to start it and all the hassle that comes with, I should probably be pretty careful what I put in there.  The frags had a little dark red coraline algae and two tiny feather duster worms.  The kind that everyone has in their tank that grow on everything.  I don't particularly mind the worms so I left em on there.

I'm still toying with the idea of throwing my "dry rock only, no pests" idea out the window and buying a piece or two of live rock to seed it with more life.  I feel like i'm missing out on some of the good stuff.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote evan127 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 26 2017 at 4:52pm
Very nice build! I love the aquascape!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dion Richins Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 26 2017 at 4:48pm
Just found this thread ;) Looking awesome!!!!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote speyside712 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 22 2017 at 11:25pm
I bought a couple zoa frags at The Fish Tank, making the first corals in this tank. My plan is to buy mostly frags and wait for the grow out.

My anemone decided to make the wrong side of the tank his home, where neither he nor the clown fish can be seen from the front. I've been trying to encourage him to move to a more visible spot with some flow adjustments, I think I am finally making progress. I aimed a small power head right at him. Not enough to damage it, but just enough to piss it off so it would go looking for a new home. I think it worked because he was starting to move tonight as the tank lights were going off for the night. Fingers crossed he is front and center in the morning.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote speyside712 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 22 2017 at 10:47pm
Made some more progress on the tank this week. I installed 2 BRS dosing pumps inside the cabinet, ran the lines through the wall to my "fish closet" and mixed up my first batch of 2 part. I haven't actually dosed any yet, planning to measure my calcium and alk tomorrow to gauge how much I should dose. I bought a digital timer to run the pumps the right amount of time.

Next I followed some of Mark's advice. I was regretting not painting the back of the tank black before installing it. Mark suggested hanging something black behind the tank to solve this. I ended up using a black garbage bag, the thick contractor type. I taped it to the back edge of the tank and taped the bottom corners in place. It was a little tricky to snake it in front of all the wires and plumbing, but it came out looking pretty good in the end. You can see a crease or two where the bag was folded, but I'm hoping the creases will go away with some time.

I also added a little bit of life to the tank. Jeff down at The Fish Tank hooked me up with some chaeto for my refugium and a bottle of tigger pods. I got some pods in the mail from algaebarn.com too along with some live phyto plankton. Algaebarn seemed pretty expensive to me but they had a buy 1 get 1 free going for first time users so I ended up with 2 of everything.

Since I didn't start with any live rock at all I'm having to specifically buy each of the "critters" I want in the tank. Luckily the chaeto I got from Jeff had some amphipods running around in it. I will probably buy some calerpa too in hopes of getting a little more bio diversity going.

Edited by speyside712 - October 22 2017 at 10:50pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Corey Price Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 29 2017 at 11:15pm
Looking good!

I would have to disagree with Mark. Your plumbing is not bad.

In the future, you could consider what I did on my 120g tank a LONG time ago: drill the back of the tank at the overflow, about half way up. It allowed me to put three pipes in the tank. I'll see if I can find a picture. I would have suggested it a while ago but it's only been in the last few weeks that I've really been back at this stuff.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MadReefer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 28 2017 at 9:11pm
Nice work.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote speyside712 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 28 2017 at 4:44pm
Hey everyone, after taking a few weeks off from the forums I am back with some more updates on my 90 Gallon build.

The tank has been progressing slowly.  I have been adding equipment slowly (clearly I bought too much stuff!).  I mounted a BRS dual reactor in the cabinet and loaded it up with GFO and Carbon.  I bought a larger pump to run the reactor instead of the MaxiJet it came with.  I tried out the MaxiJet and it wasn't strong enough, even with the ball valve completely open the flow was really weak.  I couldnt get the GFO to tumble at all.  There was no visible movement in the GFO at all and I feared it would become a solid rock after a week of that.  The pump has to lift the water about 2.5 feet, so that must have just been too much head pressure for the original pump.

The new one didn't exactly fit the 1/2 bendable pvc that BRS supplied with the reactor.  To fix this I snipped 2 inches of rubber tubing off the end of a water change syphon kit.  This fit perfectly over both the pumps output and the 1/2 pvc and doesnt leak (it sits in the sump anyway, so a tiny leak wouldn't matter anyway).  The result worked out pretty well, the GFO is tumbling ever so slightly to prevent it from turning to stone.

At this point I was ready to build a mounting board.  I bought some wood at lowes and was able to put it together pretty quick.  I built the board to sit on a shelf in the closet behind the tank.  It has 4 legs, with the back 2 being longer than the front 2 so it sits slanted toward the front.  All the wires get concealed under the mounting board and on top of the shelf.  I mounted the following so far:

2 energy bar 8's
2 jabeo powerhead controllers
1 Tunze Osmilator controller
1 Reef Octopus return pump controller
1 Apex Classic
1 Apex Display module
1 Apex WXM module
1 Apex ALD Leak Detection module
1 Apex PM2 Salinity module


Here is a picture of the mounting board.


I was planning to use a spare Google Nexus 10 tablet as a full time tank controlling device and leave it on the shelf in the closet, but i'm finding that the Apex Fusion app doesn't work at all on android, the home screen doesn't have any buttons and is basically a frozen screenshot.  Due to this I have to navigate to the website and log in every time in order to control anything.  I might as well just use my phone to do this so i'm not standing in front of the closet for long periods of time.  Its much easier to control from the couch on my phone. LOL

I have yet to calibrate my probes and get those working, but I do have my fusion account set up and the energy bar 8's configured.  Since I dont have the probes working yet I have a few items set to "always on." That is the next item on my list to fix.


Now to the exciting stuff - As the whole project is being done to upgrade an existing tank, I have 5 fish waiting to move into their new home.  Now that the tank has been cycling for nearly 4 months it should be good and ready to start adding life slowly.

The fish waiting to be moved in are 1 orange/white ocellaris clown, 2 yellowtail blue damsels, 1 flame angel, and 1 yellow tang.  I have had all 5 fish for about 6 years, so they are at least that old (not sure how old they were when I bought them).

I am trying to put the fish in in the perfect order to reduce aggression.  Three days ago I added a new bubble tip anemone, a new juvenile black and white ocellaris clown, and my larger female orange and white ocellaris clown.  All went well and they are now both hosting in the same anemone together.  Here is a shot of them together.


I had one algae bloom of diatoms near the end of the cycle, when I first started turning on the lights.  It all died off after 3 days.  I don't have any coralline growth yet because I started with all dry rock and dry sand, so I'll need to introduce some into the tank at some point.

I've been monitoring my ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels and so far so good.  My bio-load is extremely small at the moment, so I don't forsee having any problems with that as long as I keep going slow and only add fish every few weeks.

Here is a FTS taken today.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote speyside712 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 09 2017 at 12:43am
I wasn't familiar with that cartoon but I looked it up - describes my method here to a T! LOL

I have been to MWRF twice, once in fall 2011 and once in 2013 if my memory serves me right. I do remember there being an aquascaping contest when I talked to you, so that was probably it. Your tank had some hanging rocks like the floating mountains of pandora right?

Anyway, for an update on the tank - I bought a new protein skimmer from another WMAS member, gave it a vinegar bath, and installed it. It is the Bubble Magus Curve 7. I already had an ASM G4, but the G4 doesnt fit in my sump very well and I had heard good things about the bubble magus. I like that it has the pump inside the cylinder so it takes up a lot less space and makes changing filter socks a bit easier.  Its also easier to remove and clean it when needed.  I can't speak to how much skimmate it produces, as I haven't used it yet.  I'm letting the tank get as grimy as possible during the cycling phase before I turn on any equipment (other than the return pump and heaters of course).

The tank is just cycling right now so I've been taking my time and setting up all the equipment. I still have quite a bit left to install.

I ordered two test kits, one to monitor the cycling process and the other to monitor the tank post cycle. I'll have ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, calcium, alkalinity, and phosphate covered.  Those should arrive today or tomorrow I think.  Gotta love amazon prime.

The equipment I have yet to install includes:
two brs dosing pumps
The 2-part dosing containers
A tunze osmilator ATO
Brs dual reactor for gfo and carbon

I also just bought a used apex classic from a WMAS member. I need to calibrate the probes, mount the controller and get my fusion account setup. It came with a ph, temperature, orp probe, as well as the leak detector module with 1 ALD probe and an energy bar 8.

I have a long list of upgrades to buy for the apex but i plan to wait until everything else is hooked up and running before spending more.

I have the controller for all three powerheads and the return pump that need mounting too. 2 of these wont reach my "fish closet" behind the tank due to really short cords.... not sure what to do about that. I'm wondering if i can find some sort of extension cable online for the jabeo pumps.

Basically I have a decent amount of labor ahead of me that I would like to get finished here by the end of the month. The cycle started June 25th, so I imagine I have a good amount of bacteria in there now, but it doesn't hurt at all to wait little longer.

Hoping to get all this equipment installed asap. Ill post some more pictures of the equipment as it goes in so you can see the progress.

Edited by speyside712 - August 09 2017 at 11:31am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 30 2017 at 7:32pm
Awesome. You've put a lot of good analytical reasoning into this and have come up with solid, logical solutions. I'm extremely impressed. Thumbs Up

As I was reading that last paragraph, I was thinking of the solution... and then you came up with it. ClapRaising the pump, by setting it on a pedestal, hanging it or raising the intake with an elbow facing up, is something I have done with many tanks.

You've thought this out very well. I'll bet this tank will be a lot of fun for you as it grows and matures. Sounds like it has already been very satisfying and fun. 

I can see that you are more patient than me, but the pests you mentioned are easy to deal with and to eliminate if wanted. Let me know if you want advice on getting rid of any pests that accidentally get past you. Wink

Aloha,
Mark  Hug

P.S.
Thank you for finding humor in my responses. Are you familiar with the old cartoon of the OSHA Horse?
Where you picked my brain, was that the MWRF where, for the Aquascaping Contest, I did the Avatar Tank? 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote speyside712 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 30 2017 at 1:54am
Mark - to address your filter sock comments.

I agree with you that having a filter sock on the overflow will remove some of the "good stuff."  However, I am ok with that.  I have the expectation that this tank will have less of the "good stuff" than most tanks we see in the hobby due to the way I'm starting this tank.

I started this reef with all dry rock.  I didn't use any live rock, live sand, or anything from another tank.  I have been very careful not to use any tools or equipment on this tank that have been in contact with my other tank.

Basically, this thing is sterile at the moment, with the exception of the bacteria I'm working on growing during the cycling period.  I had a pest problem in my last tank: the small brown flatworms that kill your LPS and sit on your softies stealing all their light, tons of tiny white pest starfish, a variety of pest snails including box snails, limpets, and pyramid snails) and I'm trying very hard to avoid that this time around.  In my previous tank I did not have a quarantine system set up for fish, nor did I fresh water dip or treat corals prior to putting them in my tank.  I am lucky I have never killed any fish when I brought home new ones that could have been infected with a variety of problems, however, I wasn't so lucky in the coral pest department when buying frags.

The new tank I'm setting up will have no "good stuff" that usually comes from buying live rock.  I plan to dip all my corals and quarantine things extensively prior to letting them enter my new tank.  So if all goes to plan, the only life in my tank should be that which I introduce on purpose.

Now I know we all try to keep pests out of our tank, but that doesn't always happen.  I'm sure its possible bad or good creatures other than the one i'm paying for could possible tag along for the ride and enter the tank.  However, I do think my startup method will drastically reduce the level of life in my tank, especially in the early months.

I may consider removing the filter socks once the tank is more established and the refugium is up and fully functioning.  But at the moment they have been very useful.  I chose not to rinse my sand before putting it in.  The filter socks cleaned up that mess in a matter of hours.

Your method of an as-natural-as-can-be reef is pretty cool and does support lots of tank life, I just don't think its my cup of tea.



Back to the bubble trap question I had.  You mention "avoid waterfalls in the sump."  I agree 100% that this waterfall is creating the bubbles.  However, the only way to avoid a waterfall to your return pump is to put more water in the system..... I want to have the least water possible..... Hmmm, there has got to be a way to get the best of both worlds here.  I am going to try putting some more filter floss in the bubble trap to lessen the distance the water has to fall before it hits something.  My goal here being to have the return pump only barely submerged by maybe an inch of water above the intake (which forces a waterfall), but still no bubbles.  I think I can make this work...


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote speyside712 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 30 2017 at 1:22am
LOL Mark I get a kick out of your responses.  "Convoluted piping" and "Rube Goldberg contraption" LOL

I agree that my overflow doesn't follow the "keep it simple stupid" concept LOL  But I promise there is a method to my madness.

The main drainline that includes 2 unions, a gate valve, multiple 90 degree elbows, and a variety of fittings was all planned out.  Literally every thing I have read and every reefer I have talked to (with the exception of you lol) has told me "put as many unions as you can possibly fit on your plumbing, you will be thankful you did in the future when you need to take it apart or reconfigure to add equipment!"

I visited a number of reef aquariums to get an idea of what I wanted to do, and asked for a lot of advice from each of them.  I figured out what I liked and what I didn't.  I visited Teknik777's tank when he lived in centerville, BillyC's tanks both in provo and again after he moved to centerville, and FatMan's 3 tanks in south weber.  All three of these guys are pretty experienced in the hobby and have beautiful tanks, I'm sure I drove them crazy with questions, but they were all happy to help.

Mark I even checked out one of your tanks believe it or not.  Although, it was set up at Mountain Wesdt ReefFest at the Red Lion.  Its been a few years I think it was 2013 or 2014?  I pestered your with a few questions too back then!

The shape I created was specifically designed to fit a gate valve between two unions so that I could remove the whole section if needed.  The top section above the first union was designed to allow me to use slip-to-slip bulkheads but still be able to remove them without cutting anything.  I hate cutting PVC and will avoid it at all costs.  It leads to gluing right under your tank to fix the cut sections, dripping messy PVC glue all over the place, and just an overall hassle.  And If the fittings are already closer than an inch to eachother, you are SOL and get to start over.  Basically its a task I would really like to avoid.

I needed more room in order to fit unions and a gate valve on my main overflow.  The length I had available was simply not long enough to fit the unions and gate valve if I went directly from the tank to the sump.  My elbows didn't fit, the pipe was passing by the sump entry point once I had all my fittings in place.  The second issue I ran into when planning this out was that the second overflow line was too close to the first one.  This prevented me from doing the same shape for both overflows. Basically the pipes ended up bumping into each other.  I had to divert the main line away from the backup to give me enough room.  After trying a number of configurations, I ended up with this one.  It kept the plumbing out of the way so that I could fit my skimmer in the first sump compartment.  The gate valve was easily accessible even with the skimmer in place; and it met all of my requirements regarding the multiple unions, easy removal of the entire thing, and easy removal of the bulkhead.

As for the weight issue.  I will admit that is not something I have ever thought of.  This is the first time I've ever even considered weight on the bulkhead being a problem.  I'm glad you brought that up to expand my horizons a bit.  However, now that I'm thinking about it, I don't think there is much weight on the bulkhead at all.  The overflow is attached to the sump.  When I attached this thing in the first place I was being held up completely by the sump.  If I unscrew the top union, the pipe doesn't move at all (although It was not full of water in this test, its not a significant amount of water in 2 feet or so of pipe).  I think the weight of the overflow could rest on either the bulkhead or the sump without breaking or causing a leak, however it is attached to both, splitting the weight between the two and keeping it perfectly upright.  I would hope this would be enough to prevent the bulkhead from bending and eventually leaking.  The pipe is pretty far out of the way so I don't foresee bumping it when trying to work in the sump.  It is up high and in the back corner.  I'll just have to be careful when changing filter socks or cleaning the skimmer not to bump it.

I do bump the return line all the time, however, this one is free floating and not attached to anything so that one isn't a problem.  I used the industrial strength velcro to attach the return line to the back of the tank in a few places.  This way I didn't have to drill into my fancy new stand.  I stuck the velcro right to the glass on the back of the tank, behind the overflow compartment so you can't see it from the front.  It does a really good job of holding the return line in place.  You couldn't get this stuff off without using both hands, its pretty tough.

Back to the overflow though - 
I do agree with you that my creation is not a simple design and has more spots where it could fail (all the unions...) but there was a lot of thought put into it.  And I think those unions will help more than they will hurt.

I might not have mentioned, but I'm planning on moving in about 2 years or so.  So I tried to build the tank in a way that it can be taken down and taken apart without too much effort.  It will still be an entire day of work to move it, but at least now its possible without cutting pipe and re-gluing it.
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