60x26x24 A.G.E upgrade- [Archive] - Reef Central Online Community

mc-cro

10/12/2011, 08:16 AM

In January of this year (2011) I purchased an awesome AGE tank from a fellow reefer in Cincinnati, and started a build thread on the local LMAS forum. I have been keeping that thread up to date for 10 months, albeit very, very slow. Now that progress is being made at a faster rate, I figured I would go ahead and start a build thread here on RC in our local forum as well. So, over the next few days I will be updating this thread, most will probably be cut and paste, but I will try and cut out stuff thats not relevant.

Jan 9th, 2011:( I slightly underestimated the time frame for this project)

Well, after 10yrs with the 72g bowfront, I have finally decided its time to upgrade the tank. After some discussions, my wife and I initially decided on a standard 180g. But, something kept bugging me, I wanted something a little more unique with some more depth to it. I suggested we go with a 30" wide tank. Problem is, I didn't want to pay to have a custom tank built. If I was going to go custom, I would want starphire glass, eurobraced, external overflow, etc. and I just couldnt justify the price

Then a few days ago I ran across a guy on reefcentral from cincy selling his custom A.G.E. hybrid tank. 60x26x24, 3 sided Starphire, acrylic eurobracing, external adjustable overflow, and a 1" PVC bottom. Its not 30" wide, but its close enough. Although the asking price was still beyond what I wanted to spend on a tank, I had to at least call and see what kind of deal I could make. A few emails and phone calls later, a deal was struck.

So, I have several weeks( or months) coming of planning and upgrades. The first is the stand and canopy, then closed loop plumbing.

mc-cro

10/12/2011, 08:21 AM

Feb 07,

Here is the post from Feb 07, and some shots of the my 72g tank, and the room before we did some painting.

Here are a couple pics of the tank and the room. The wife is still trying to decide on colors, and I still got to figure out if I am going to pay someone or redo the hardwoods myself.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank031.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank020.jpg

Here is the wall where the new tank is going

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank030.jpg

the fire place and bookcases. Still deciding what to do, if anything. Most likely put mantle in, and paint the bookcases. Maybe a fireplace insert?

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank033.jpg

I spent the entire day yesterday tearing down the 72g. I moved the pump and lights saturday night, so yesterday all I had to do was move the corals,a small amount of live rock, and a few fish downstairs. then just scoop out the sand and move the tank out to the garage. Sounds simple enough, and it was, but it took me 7hrs to get it done, and I missed the 1st QTR of the superbowl.

mc-cro

10/12/2011, 08:25 AM

this post is a week later still Feb

I was really disappointed with how poorly a single 250w halide covered my frag tank, so I decided to just build a quick VHO fixture. Not including the new bulbs, I have less than $30 in aluminum that I had to buy. I had everything else laying around. I still need to buy some thin sheet metal, paint it black, and use a break to wrap the fixture.

So anyway, off to Lowes again......, grabbed a 6 pack of adult beverages, and hammered out a new fixture.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank002.jpg
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank005.jpg
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank004.jpg
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank006.jpg
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank008.jpg
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank007.jpg

mc-cro

10/12/2011, 08:26 AM

We have been busy the last couple of days between working on the tank, my birthday, and working on the den. I think I have made 7 trips to Lowes in the last 2-3 days because we keep finding little projects. I also had to fix the kitchen ceiling where we had a leak in the bathroom upstairs a couple weeks ago. And I will spare you the drama of the wife picking colors and the whole HGTV stuff I accomplished.

Here is the tank related stuff I have been working on. First, last week I set up the frag tank that has been sitting dry for about 5yrs. I tied it into my existing sump, then just moved the corals down and took down the main tank. You can also see the unfinished light fixture I have been working on.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank011.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank014.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank015.jpg

Here you can see the clam, I am a little concerned, he has been ticked off for 5 days now, every since I put him down there. He opens about half way, but I have yet to see him open all the way. He is under the same 250w MH from the main tank, and the lighting is within a few inches of the same distance.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank012.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank013.jpg

My full size Lumenarc III came in, I can believe how freaking BIG they are! I meant to take a picture with a beer can for scale, but I drank it and forgot.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank001.jpg

mc-cro

10/13/2011, 12:26 PM

Since I was taking down one tank, and putting up another, it was a perfect opportunity to refinish the hardwood floors in that room

I really hate sanding floors

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank019-1.jpg

mc-cro

10/13/2011, 12:27 PM

UPS dropped off a couple of boxes, my reefkeeper lite, plumbing parts, and misc supplies was in one box, and the rock was in the other box. All I can say is WOW! This rock is exactly the type of rock I was hoping for.

This is 60# of Pukani, its light, porus, and has tons of places for fish and stuff to hide. It is clearly old dead coral heads and not really rock. Its actually kinda brittle, so I was really amazed that there was literally only a handful of rubble pieces in bag from shipping. It so brittle, I am a little concerned that when I go to drill it, I may break it.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank025-1.jpg
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank022-1.jpg
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank024-1.jpg
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank026-1.jpg

I also grabbed a quick pic from Saturday night when I pulled my clam out for a good scrubbing.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank020-1.jpg

mc-cro

10/13/2011, 12:32 PM

At just past the 60day mark, things are progressing, although slowly. I still don't have the stand. My fathers wood shop got flooded when we had all that rain about 2 weeks ago, and the sides got water damaged so he had to pull them back off and start over. We took that opportunity and revamped the design of the stand. I am losing the doors in the front, but I like the new design better. I will not have any equipment under the tank, so only having side access isnt that big of deal.

I also decided to return the RKL and go ahead and purchase an APEX Lite, PH probe, and extra EB4 instead. I am not going to use even half of the available features, but I figured by the time I built up a ReefKeeper Lite to do the few things I wanted, I was in the APEX price range, so why not. It will probably take me another 60 days to learn how to program it. although the pc and web interfaces should make things go easier.

I did decide on the new aquascaping. It just so happens that my work bench was almost the exact same size as tank, so I used it for mock ups for a week or two until I settled on something. I like the less is more type of thing, so I am only going to have 3 large pieces of BRS pukani rock. With this layout I have A LOT of sand bed, good water flow potential, and still have lots of real estate for coral because I can see 3 sides of my rockwork. Plus, I have somewhere to put that big clam right in the middle of the tank. So today I drilled the rock and used some orange fiberglass driveway markers as rods.

pics of the rods, I covered the orange with some 5 min fiberglass epoxy and sand.
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/tank030.jpg

My assistant:
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/tank028.jpg

I am going to have a 4-5"DSB so you wont see the brown base rocks, they will be buried.
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/tank027.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/tank035.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/tank034.jpg

The wall is the same space away as the back of the tank, so you will be able to see down the lenght of the back wall
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/tank032.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/tank033.jpg

out of focus shot
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/tank031.jpg

One of the rocks was kind of square looking, so I grafted on a large piece of rubble to round it out.
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/tank036.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/tank037.jpg

After I drilled them, I took them back apart and put the new dry rock in a tub with some of the live rock that I have been cooking for the last 2 months. I figure I might as well and get a head start on getting the rock to cycle or cure or whatever. It should be live rock by the time I actually get to put it in a tank.

mc-cro

10/13/2011, 12:45 PM

After I drilled my dry rock, I went ahead and started curing it. Threw it in a rubbermaid with an old ETS downdraft skimmer. There must have been a lot of dead organics in the rock, the skimmer went nuts for about a week, the whole basement smelled foul, and the water turned as yellow as pee.

My Apex Lite came in, looks cool, but I havent even started to think about programming it yet. Although I did buy about 50ft of USB cable to connect it to my router. It was cheaper to buy USB cables from monoprice.com than purchasing a wireless gaming adapter, plus it seems I have to reboot my router once a week. So, that would really tick me off if I couldnt access it while on traveling because my router needed to be powercycled.

I also stopped in at premium when I was in Indy last week and picked up 300lbs of Tropic Eden's Aragasnow and 60lbs of mini flakes. The Aragasnow looks really nice and clean, it will make a nice DSB. The mini flakes will just provide a thin layer to decrease the sandstorms.

I went to Lowes to pick up some 1" flexible pvc, and couldnt believe how much they wanted! I ordered some from Savko, and picked up all the black pvc plumbing to do my overflow, and had it all shipped for the same price as what I would have paid for just the flexible pvc at Lowes.

The overflow needed some modifications, the previous owner had the return line running out through the teeth in the overflow. I am going to use a bean animal overflow system, and run the returns over the back of the tank. I had to cut some acrylic strips and custom fit them into the whole.

I forgot to take pics until about half way through, so at this point, I have already ground down the teeth some with a dremel, cut the strips to size, and already glued 2 of them in place. The blue tape is so I wouldnt drip acrylic glue all over everything. Forgive the dirty tank, I still have not had a chance to put water in it and clean it, since my stand hasnt come back yet.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/tank038.jpg

Here is the finished product:

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/tank043.jpg
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/tank042.jpg
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/tank040.jpg

mc-cro

10/14/2011, 05:38 PM

Several delays and months later, the stand was brought in and the tank set in place for the first time.

Here is pic of the stand when we brought it in:

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/stand001.jpg

The inside of the tank was all dirty from sitting inside the garage for the last 9 MONTHS, so I had to bribe my 5 yr old to get in and clean it. The back wall still has corraline on it from the previous owner, I will give it a good vinegar bath when I do the fresh water test.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/stand004.jpg
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/stand003.jpg
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/stand005.jpg

some pics of the tank and stand. I decided against doing a full canopy, and leave it as open top. So my wife and I are trying to agree on some designs for a floating canopy. She wont go for just a hanging fixture.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/stand007.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/stand009.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/stand008.jpg

mc-cro

10/14/2011, 05:45 PM

During the planning phase I ran into a couple of reasons not to use the standard 3/4" loc lines for the returns as was the original plan. I ended up going ahead and getting the 1" oceans motions omni flex nozzles. They are obscenely overpriced, and surely not worth the money. But, I didnt want to regret going the cheap route later.

http://www.oceansmotions.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=41&osCsid=b4e26c0e0051a73f5d86678e90c12bfd

Either by design, or by dumb luck, they left plenty of room in the center of the overflow between the original bulkheads to drill another 1" bulkhead. So I measured everything out, centered and drilled a 3rd hole in the overflow. This allows me to use a modified "bean animal" overflow. If your not familiar with it, it uses 1 line at a full syphon, a second durso line to accomodate fluctuations, and yet another line for absolute emergency use should both the 1st and 2nd drains become blocked. Its a rock solid design when implemented correctly.

So, after ordering a few more fittings I forgot about, I finally had all my parts and was able to plumb the back of the tank. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow I can run the lines down inside the wall, through the ventilation returns and across the basement.

The way the tank will be situated,from the kitchen you will have a line of sight down between the tank and the wall. because of this I decided to do all black plumbing. I also cut a couple sheets of plywood and made a block of wood to match the overflow box for plumbing support.

Here is the back of the tank

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/stand013.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/stand010.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/stand011.jpg

mc-cro

10/14/2011, 05:48 PM

Progress is being made quickly now, and I am getting all giddy like its christmas or something. I was able to run the plumbing through the ventilation ducts in the basement and up into the wall and connect them to the tank. It wasnt easy but I got it done. From the fish tank room, the bend to go up into the wall was about 5ft from where plumbing exited the duct, and from upstairs down, me nor the wife could reach the bottom to grab the pipes, so I had to go into another room in the basement and access the ventilation ducts from that side. It was still about a 2.5ft reach, but I was finally able to get the pipes turned and run up into the wall.

underside:
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/stand019.jpg

behind the tank: I didnt have any black flexible pvc, so I just wrapped the last foot or so with black gorrilla tape.
Not the best, but I think it will work long term. besides, nobody should be looking at it once the tank is full.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/stand017.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/stand016.jpg

I also went ahead and plumbed in a small 30g rubbermaid as a temporary sump. I also got the added supports in a couple of weeks ago. Here is a quick shot, the fish tank room is a disaster, but it tends to happen when your re-arranging stuff. The small rubbermaid will allow me to keep the new system isolated until its ready.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/stand018.jpg

Next I will go ahead and fill it up with tap water, check for leaks( I really, really, hope there arent any) then pour several gallons of vinegar in with the water to give it a good cleaning for 24-48hrs.

Soon, very soon, there will be salt in that tank :mrgreen:

mc-cro

10/14/2011, 05:50 PM

I talked my wife into letting me skip the kids soccer practice so I could finish up the temporary plumbing and start filling the tank, after about an hour or so of messing around with some final details, I got the water hose and waited..........over 45mins to fill, but

Woo-Hoo!!! its got water in it!!

filling...
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/stand021.jpg

filling some more...
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/stand022.jpg

ahh, its full....
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/stand026.jpg

And its pretty close to being level
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/stand023.jpg

I did have one major scare, I was standing outside while it was filling, and I heard a really loud bang. :o thinking the tank just exploded I ran back in the house only to find that the dog and cat had knocked something over chasing each other.

So far there are no leaks in the permanent plubming. thank goodness. I did have to glue a connection on the temporary sump, but I was trying to not glue as much as that as possible, so no big deal.

got the vortechs hooked up, dumped in a few gallons of vinegar, and will let it run for another 24hrs or so. then I will clean it, drain it, wipe it down and be ready for salt. which reminds me, I better get the ro unit going, I got a couple hundred gallons of water to make.

Now all I need to do is actually make the canopy and put rocks and sand in it.

BHD

10/19/2011, 02:57 PM

Very nice looking.
What kind of fishes are you going to keep in there?

mc-cro

10/19/2011, 08:29 PM

Thanks, I will be keeping several different types of wrasse, a couple of clowns, some goby's, including a jawfish. some active filler like some chromies probably.

I doubt I will have a tang, as I have my 18"+ Derasa clam as the center piece.

I am having a tough time possibly reconsidering my lighting plan. I really like the growth and look of the VHO actinics with 10K bulbs. So I had planned on using my existing 250w MH ballast, and VHO tubes. I purchased a pair of LumenArc III 's earlier this year and also went ahead and built a tray to hold them. My dilemma now is that I am afraid the canopy will be too big. The lights plus vho are 12"tall, plus I want an additional 4" in height toa shade the light so it is not right in your eyes like a lot of open tops.

So just go with one of the nicer all in one fixtures right? holy cow, I know nothing about DE fixtures, T5/s ballast, and all that. I really dont have the time or energy right now to go researching to make sure I get what I really want. Plus, most 60" fixtures only come with 2 DE bulbs, and a lot of people are not happy with the spread on such a large tank for 2 bulbs. I would really hate to go buy a maristar or one of the new hamiltons for $$$$ and then find decide I am not happy with the coverage of only 2 bulbs. I also am keeping an eye towards LED's in the somewhat near future, so no point is shelling out tons of money for a new fixture now, for even more cash in a just a few years. well, maybe. those geissman fixtures are SEXY.....

I figure I would go ahead and make up a "mock up" of the floating canopy that I want. just something to give me and the wife and idea on what it may look like.

light tray,
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/IMG_20111010_141109.jpg

start of wood cutting
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/IMG_20111010_141046.jpg

the somewhat finished mock up.
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/IMG_20111010_155735.jpg

I think its a monster, but the wife actually thinks that it is not long enough, and that it should be the length of the tank. Will think on it for a few more days and see what happens.

After all these months and water changes, my Pukani rock from BRS still has a fairly high p04 reading, so I am trying some pool and spa p04 remover that I have been reading about. It just takes a few drops, and the water turns cloudy as it attracts the free p04, and the skimmer looks like its pulling baby powder out of the water. will test later on tonight, but I am thinking the last of my phosphates should be gone. I am not sure if I would do it on a live tank as others have done, but with cured rock and nothing else, there is basically no risk. At least I know I wont be putting p04 laden rock right into a fresh tank.

I have about 150g of salt water made, just about another 50 or so to go. The plan is place the rock, sand, and water in the tank, either tomorrow or wed.

oh man, its getting close, just need to make a decision about the lights.

mc-cro

10/21/2011, 01:34 PM

So last week was the big day, I even took a couple vacation days just to get ready to put rock sand and water in the tank. I didnt get any shots of me putting in just the base rock and display rock,( we couldnt find the camera) but once my wife found the camera, she got several shots of me just adding sand.

I am really digging the aquascaping, its a good thing, because it cant be changed without tearing everything down. There are rods that are drilled down into the base rock that is buried in the sand. what do you guys think?
I really like the large open area of sand bed, plus keep in mind there will be a giant derasa clam between the 2 bommies

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/filling002.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/filling006.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/filling003.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/filling004.jpg

mc-cro

10/21/2011, 01:35 PM

ready for filling
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/filling016.jpg

mc-cro

10/22/2011, 02:44 PM

My helper thinking we were going the fresh water route again, uhh no son I have "special" water downstairs.
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/filling019.jpg

Filling
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/filling022.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/filling023.jpg

Its a little cloudy, but not even remotely close to the old southdown milkshake days. this is right out of the bag no rinsing at all

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/filling025.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/filling027.jpg

And here it is the next morning. clearing up nicely. the skimmer hasnt really kicked in yet, all the new sand and water has it flat for now.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/filling028.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/filling030.jpg

Now for the waiting game. Not sure how much of a cycle is going happen since the rock has been curing since about march (6months). At one point it had plenty of pods and stuff, and was ready to go in as live rock. but I have abused it fairly well recently. dosing all that P04 remover, then water overheated at one point several weeks ago getting up to over 90*, plus it was out of water yesterday during the set up for probably close to 2hrs. so, it may take a little while, I will add some live rock from the current set up, plus I still need to figure out lights.

mc-cro

10/23/2011, 06:36 AM

I took a basket of live rock rubble that has been in my sump for several months and placed it in the middle of the sand bed. I have been feeding the sand bed every few days, hoping to get it going. I also took a scoop of sand from my frag tank and spread over the sand bed. So far, I got a couple of the little white/clear worms out in the bed. I saw 2 pods one day in the basket, along with tons of tiny filter feeders and at least 1 large bristleworm. But none of them have started to colonize outside of the basket.

Endy0430

10/23/2011, 10:47 AM

Looking good...:thumbsup:

Question what kind of sand did you use looks very fine.. Also were did you get your plumbing parts?

mc-cro

10/23/2011, 01:28 PM

Thanks!

the sand is a mix of about 5 bags tropic eden aragasnow, and 2 bags mini flakes. With the vortechs in there, natural looking 2" ripples are being created, looks really good IMO.

I got the plumbing parts at Savko on line.

mc-cro

10/23/2011, 06:24 PM

I cant believe it, its been almost 2 weeks since the salt water went in. I put a basket of live rock rubble from my sump and a scoop of sand from the frag tank in it about a week ago. so far, not much action as far as pods go. I have been lightly feeding the tank every couple of days, saw a couple of pods and bristleworms in the basket, but none have started to venture out to the rock yet.

The vortechs have been making some interesting ripples in the sand, I am kinda liking it.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/filling040.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/filling032.jpg

I found a place to mount the vortech controllers today too. I had been trying to figure out a place to hide them, yet accessible, and out of reach of tiny fingers.

The side of the overflow box in the center of the tank appears to be that place.
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/filling037.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/filling039.jpg

I also grabbed a couple shots of the false panel on the side for access to under the stand.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/filling042.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/filling043.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/filling044.jpg

david00061

10/24/2011, 05:33 AM

looks real nice... Im subscribed....

Dustin1300

10/24/2011, 07:29 AM

Subscribed. I love the aquascape and 'rippled' sand. Are you having any sandstorms or not? I am still on the fence on whether I should go BB or SSB in my build I'm planning. Looks so much more natural to have sand in it!~

mc-cro

10/24/2011, 07:41 AM

I am not having any sandstorms, the ripples are gently created over several days. The ripples were mostly created with the "lagoon" settings on the vortechs, at about 60-70% power. This is with new sand too. Once the sand has a good bacteria film on it, I think I can really crank up the flow. The other thing that is nice is that since it is so deep, even when sand does shift, its not going to blow a hole in the bed all the way to the bottom of the tank.

I am a DSB fan, have been using them for over 10yrs, and subscribe to the theory if they are set up correctly, and maintained, they can last for many years.

I currently have a SSB in my frag tank. It has actually turned out to be more hassle than I thought it would be. The first problem is that a good amount of flow does move the sand around, and leaves big open areas of just glass on the bottom. Thats fine for a frag tank, but I would not want that in my display. Secondly, since its shallow, it gets dirty and should be siphoned regularly. I will be taking it out shortly and going BB in the frag tank.

sam75

10/25/2011, 08:01 AM

Looking great! Love the look of the tank and stand.

gofor100

10/25/2011, 11:55 AM

Looks great! I'll be following your thread to see if you can give me any ideas for mine :D!

-Chad

mc-cro

10/25/2011, 02:15 PM

thanks for the compliments!!

I am still trying to decide on my lighting. My play is to use the basics of what I already have; 2 250W MH ballast that I have been running for years, and VHO's for actinics.

I am going to build a floating canopy, but having the light shining in our eyes is not going to be acceptable. To help with that, I will want the canopy to be about 4" lower than the lights, creating more of a lampshade effect. I hope this will help with light spillover as well.

However to use the full size LAIII's that I already purchased, the canopy would have to be like 18" tall. That is just entirely too big for the room.

So I am about to pull the trigger on the mini LAIII's, then I can mount the VHO tubes beside the reflectors, instead of under,total height of about 7" and still have a 4" blind below the lights. This will drop the total canopy height down to just under 12".

question is, do you think 2 mini's will provide adequate light? I am planning on having some LPS down on the sand, with the majority of the sps up on the rock bommies.

hatfielj

11/06/2011, 07:58 PM

Its funny I haven't gotten on reefcentral in months since I've left the hobby, but today I randomly decided to snoop around and I found this thread!

Great job on the build! I'm very happy to see the tank put to good use! The stand you build around it looks excellent. Keep up the great work!

mc-cro

11/07/2011, 06:49 AM

Thanks man, I am glad you approve of what I have done with it. I am really loving the tank, I dont think I could have spec'ed it out better, its perfect.

So do you still have your nano?

david00061

11/07/2011, 07:19 AM

looking good!!!!!

hatfielj

11/07/2011, 08:12 PM

No, unfortunately I decided to get out of the hobby altogether until we move into a bigger place. Hopefully I'll be back up and running in the next few years!

mc-cro

11/26/2011, 05:57 PM

It has been a while since I have updated this thread, but I have been busy working on the sump.

Previously I had always used a rubbermaid stock tub for a basement sump,I loved the simplicity and durability of it. Plus, if I wanted to mount something, I just drilled a hole in it. That was all good, but the fact that I couldnt see the bottom all that well was really starting to bother me, plus I couldn't clean it that well since it was 100g of water, and it was on the floor so you couldn't siphon or vacuum very easily. It was an all day event to clean the detritus off the bottom.

here is a pic of what it looked like up until about month ago : http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank014.jpg

and the rest of fish room: http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/stand018.jpg

I decided that I wanted a new sump, and this time I wanted to be able to see into it, and I wanted it off the ground some. When I purchased the display tank, the guy also threw in his 75g sump. So I decided I may as well make use of it. I also still had my old table that held my shallow lagoon, well actually my wife had it as a laundry table. So I just cut the legs down and re-purposed it as a sump platform, boy was she surprised.

I had to drill a hole the return pump
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/sump001.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/sump002.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/sump004.jpg

Initially I just removed the rubbermaid sump and put the new glass sump and table exactly where it had been. But I had the sump perpendicular to the frag tank, and that was becoming a bit of challenge to get everything where I wanted it. In addition, the drain lines from the display tank were not going to line up the way I was envisioning. SO, I needed to flip everything around 180*

so I tore everything down again, drained the frag tank this time, and painted the shelf while I was at it.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/sump006.jpg

I also built a workbench, its a real pain trying do everything from plumbing to fraggin on the top of a washing machine
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/sump007.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/sump010.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/sump009.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/sump008.jpg

I still have to finish cleaning up all the wiring, and set up the Neptune, but thats about it.

what do you guys think?

mc-cro

11/26/2011, 06:08 PM

gofor100

11/28/2011, 02:32 PM

So the good news is that the main tank is cycled, and I have it plumbed into the sump with the frag tank now. All I need to do now is complete the light canopy.

the bad news is that the stress from all these changes to the system, were too much for my huge derasa clam and I lost it. I am very depressed about it, I have had that clam for about 8yrs and he was huge, and this entire year long tank upgrade was built around him and because of him. It was a very sad day at the house, the wife even cried when I pulled him out of the tank.

Geez... you've been busy!!!

So sorry to hear about the clam. One of the only negatives to an upgrade is the possibility of losing stuff.

Things are moving slower than expected with my upgrade (as you probably saw on my thread), but I'm glad to see things are progressing with your build!

Thanks,

Chad

mc-cro

11/28/2011, 05:16 PM

thanks,but its hard to say things are progressing. I guess in the last month or two it has been moving along, but remember, I purchased this tank the first week of January. It didnt even get water in it until October.

btw, have you gotten your new tank yet? I saw that it was scratched and you sent it back.

The delays in the build have actually been a blessing in disguise in a lot of ways. It has really allowed me to take my time, improve some designs, and build the tank I have always wanted.

Not having the clam as the center piece of tank leaves a huge hole in my already minimal rock structure. I happen to have 1 large piece of very nice rock from my old tank that may fit in that spot nicely. Unfortunately, the rock has been dry for months, so I started curing it the same day the clam died.

gofor100

11/28/2011, 06:00 PM

david00061

11/29/2011, 06:21 AM

2 weeks is not long

Luckedout

12/02/2011, 06:38 PM

This is a great build so far! I'm sorry about the clam. That was my first thought when I saw your old tank, "Holy crap that's a big clam!'

mc-cro

12/03/2011, 07:52 AM

Thanks for the compliments.

My canopy should be finished in the next week or so, looks like I may have lights on this before christmas.

been working on trying to set up the APEX controller.... that may take all weekend.

whiteheadfamily

12/24/2011, 04:26 PM

Just subscribed myself. Awesome build so far. It caught my eye when you said you bought your tank in Jan and got water into it in Oct. I'm in a similar boat with a 125 gal. I bought it in Sep of 2010 and I'm still planning and building it, with no water yet. I just want to make it the best I can and enjoy it once it's going. I'll be posting a build thread shortly while watching yours come together too. Good luck and can't wait to see it grow!!!

mc-cro

12/26/2011, 06:45 PM

thanks for the compliment. I have been working on getting my canopy done this weekend. I finally got it hung about 11:30pm christmas eve. Santa had to work around me because there was no way I was going to have family show up Christmas day and not have lights on the tank. No corals in it, but there was lights. Today I got a chance to move about a dozen corals up into the tank and tidy up a few things on the wiring. Hopefully I will get some pics worth posting in the next couple of days

fasteddie99

12/26/2011, 08:17 PM

following along. Love that size tank!

whiteheadfamily

01/02/2012, 09:43 AM

...I have been working on getting my canopy done this weekend.

I'm dying to see what it looks like!

...Today I got a chance to move about a dozen corals up into the tank and tidy up a few things on the wiring. Hopefully I will get some pics worth posting in the next couple of days

Let's see how it looks! I'm sure everyone else it wanting to see as well!

mc-cro

01/03/2012, 08:34 AM

I have been dragging my feet about updating this thread, I was a little busy between Christmas and new years. One of the original agreements with the wife is that she would get a new room downstairs if I got a new tank. So, now that the tank is about 99% done, that project has been keeping me a little busy

this is what the basement looked like a couple of week ago

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/basement002.jpg

progress up to now

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/basement013.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/basement012.jpg

mc-cro

01/03/2012, 08:37 AM

Also, I have been a little more serious about my QT tank after my experience earlier this year with redbugs and nudibranchs. Although, up until Christmas, it was just a 5g tank sitting on a couple of concrete blocks and piece of plywood. I had a huge batwing reflector hanging over it with a 250w Mh. I knew I was going to have to reclaim the ballast for the display tank, so I ordered some of those DIY LED kits from aquastyle. I ordered a kit with 2 dimmable ballast, 7 whites and 7 blue LEDs, and a black heatsink. I also ran over to radioshack and got a DC computer case fan with blue LEDs in it. The kit is pretty cool, and most of it appears decent quality, except for the pots for the ballast. They are poor quality and cause the lights to flash and flicker when you turned the knob. I could not fin a suitable replacement locally, so I luckily I was able to take them apart and doctor them up a little so they work better, but still not great.

After I got the light fixture built, it looked pretty good, but then I got the urge to put a little better stand. but I didnt want to take up any floor space for a little 5g tank, so I ran to Lowes yesterday morning and got some shelving. Not too bad for a weekend project.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/IMG_20120101_122135.jpg
(Guess I really should paint that nasty wall)

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/IMG_20120101_122049.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/IMG_20120101_122100.jpg

Dustin1300

01/03/2012, 10:01 AM

How do you plan to keep the frag QT stable?

I'm planning on a smaller setup for my frag QT too with several dippings before entering frag tank/DT. I'm still building my setup but am thinking for the QT that I'll just put my drain line of my automatic water changer to the frag tank. That should keep the frag qt stable but isolated from the system. Only thing then I would have to monitor is the SG and would likely have to top off with some RO/DI from time to time.

mc-cro

01/03/2012, 10:44 AM

In my original layout, I was going to use the drain water from an auto water changer too. However I know that having to monitor and adjust the salinity due to evap was something that I would slack on. So I scrapped that idea.

Here is my routine that have used to keep the tank stable for several months.
I have actually been using this QT tank set up for about 6 months and so far I have never lost an sps in it. average time in Qt is 4-6weeks.

Initial fill is with display tank water, and a large piece of live rubble. I manually top off the evap water every day or two, and this keeps the salinity stays dead stable. I just keep a bucket of fresh ro/di next to the tank, and once a day I dunk a cup in the bucket and top off, if I miss a day, its not that big of a deal.

About once per week or two I change out 50%(2.5gs) of the water, using display tank water.

I have a small HOB filter that I use to run carbon in when I feel it necessary, especially when first putting new frags in that may be putting off toxins due to stress.

At 4-6 weeks, once I have determined the frags are clean, I remove the frags, dip them one more time just to be sure (I have found nudi's after 6 weeks of no siteings), put them into the frag tank. The QT tank gets drained, cleaned, and refilled. I take the piece of live rock rubble out and throw into the dry rock rubble pile on the shelf, and replace it with another piece of live rock rubble from the sump. I have about 30-40lbs of rubble, so there is no chance of running out. Eventually the dry rubble will be cured again and put back into the sump. (may take a couple of years)

Dustin1300

01/03/2012, 07:29 PM

Thanks for the response:) This is something in my system I've still not figured out!

whiteheadfamily

01/04/2012, 09:30 PM

You've been busy! The new room is coming along nice and the QT setup is sweet. Good info being learned here!!!

lhemphill

01/21/2012, 11:23 PM

Great set up! I might have missed it but what size return pump are you using the get water back to the DT?

biecacka

01/21/2012, 11:48 PM

pictures of the canopy
corey

mc-cro

01/22/2012, 09:13 PM

the main circulation pump is a panworld 200. probably the best pump I have ever owned. Its a little loud, but its fine in the basement.

Here are 2 bad shots of the canopy, I need to get some better pics. In these 2 I have laid black paper in the insets to see if I wanted to paint them black. We couldnt find a thin ply to match the grain on the stand with the time crunch we were under because of Christmas. So, I can either try and find a better wood and redo it, or possibly paint it back.

with center piece
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/basement008.jpg

without
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/basement009.jpg

which one do you guys like?

hatfielj

01/23/2012, 07:55 AM

I like with the center peice. Where did you get your stand from by the way? Its really nicely done.

mc-cro

01/23/2012, 08:18 AM

Jason, that is actually the same metal stand I got from you. I cut it down to 32" tall and rewelded it, then just had my father skin it with some nice wood.

He also built a black trim piece to go along the bottom of the tank. It looks like its a piece of trim on the tank.

gofor100

01/23/2012, 11:43 AM

I like without the center piece... but to each their own :)

Looks great!

-Chad

mc-cro

01/28/2012, 07:25 PM

...

mc-cro

01/28/2012, 07:26 PM

I have decided that I wanted to go with Radiums, and my old DIY 250w magnetics werent going to cut it, so I purchased a pair of the Lumatek 250/400W dimmable ballast. I plugged them in yesterday, and wow, it was like I added a couple extra bulbs. I dont know if they are that much better, or if my old ballast was just that weak. I figure I will run the 10K's for a couple more weeks to get some good growth laid down before I switch over to the radium bulbs.

Then today, I got my point and shoot camera out and tried to take a some decent shots

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Jan2012003.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Jan2012010.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Jan2012015.jpg

Here is shot of how I mounted the canopy, very clean lines.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Jan2012042.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Jan2012041.jpg