200 starfire upgrade

[consumed reef]

for those who don't know the history, i had an old 200 acrylic tank in-wall in my basement. the tank itself was scratched and crazed so badly that you could barely see through it in some spots, but the tank was free so i took it on as a large tank experience planning that someday i would swap the tank out for a new one. a very aggressive type of colonial hydroids got into the tank on a piece of rock that a coral i had came on. within 9 months it had spread to at least 75% of the rocks in the tank and also the bottom and sides of the tank itself. as a last resort to knock it, i dosed the tank with a medicine called panacure. this left the tank empty of corals and inverts, so for the next year it was a fish only w/ liverock tank.

so now i've bought a new tank, cleansed all of the liverock with an acid bath and bleech, and am ready to start fresh! i have learned a lot in the past 2 years and hope to not make some of the same mistakes i've made before. as i read someone else say, we can call our previous tanks, experience, and money spent as tuition!

on with the good stuff...

tank dimensions: 80x24x25
tank volume: ~205g
glass: 1/2" euro-braced w/ front starphire glass
sump: 100g stock tank + 50g stock tank remote dsb + 50g stock tank for additional water volume and water change tank

equipment:
4 x 250w phoenix de bulbs in lumenarc mini reflectors
2 x dual 250w pfo hqi ballasts
light rack on aluminum rails to allow full access over the tank
2 x ecotech vortech pumps
tunze wavebox
mrc mr-3 dual beckett skimmer w/ 6" custom neck / pcx-55
octopus dual chamber calcium reactor w/ reef fanatics ph controller
panworld return pump
fluidized reactors for gfo and carbon
reefkeeper 2
2 x 300w heaters

tank was delivered to johnny's reefing experience in bloomington this past friday, the 15th. the next day the acrylic tank was disposed of and the new tank picked up and moved to the old tank's stand. aquascaping began that night and was finished yesterday. tonight the new sand was rinsed and put in the display, and the tank is currently filling with ro/di.

here are some pics of some of the equipment and tank.

ballasts:

http://www.richpeopleforums.com/images/newtankbuild/ballasts.jpg

sand:

http://www.richpeopleforums.com/images/newtankbuild/sandinbags.jpg

new skimmer next to my old mr-2:

http://www.richpeopleforums.com/images/newtankbuild/skimmers.jpg

new tank delivered:

http://www.richpeopleforums.com/images/newtankbuild/tankonfloor.jpg

finished aquascaping (note lights are not the halides...temporary lighting just for the pic):

http://www.richpeopleforums.com/images/newtankbuild/aquascaped.jpg

note the back of the tank - there is at least 5" of open space all long the back...the towers are "false walls" if you will, just one layer thick. no real place for ditritus to build up and i can blow them out from the back with a powerhead weekly:

http://www.richpeopleforums.com/images/newtankbuild/aquascaping/backoftank.jpg

the wavebox is completely hidden from view from the front:

http://www.richpeopleforums.com/images/newtankbuild/aquascaping/backright.jpg

opposite tower:

http://www.richpeopleforums.com/images/newtankbuild/aquascaping/backleft.jpg

this shows the channel that the wavebox and vortechs will have to fire down behind the rock structures. this should provide great circular flow:

http://www.richpeopleforums.com/images/newtankbuild/aquascaping/rearchannel.jpg

finally, this was the vision that i had for the aquascaping and flow. eventually i will add two more vortechs to add in the remaining corners so that i can switch the direction of the whole tank's flow:

http://www.richpeopleforums.com/images/aquascaped.jpg

special thanks to bret, louis, jason, scot, and john for the help moving the tank, aquascaping, and moral support.

the fun begins!!!

[Dave Dunbar]

HEY I know you!!!!!

[consumed reef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13789574#post13789574 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dave Dunbar
HEY I know you!!!!!

:shifty

[swegyptian]

Wow, the aquascape looks great.

[local44]

lookin good

[panaboy95]

looks good should be a great set up.

[saltyshoe_nano]

sweet tank and design cant wait to see water in it!